Abstract:
A frame holding removable food grills is provided for cooking food within a fireplace. The frame extends behind and below a convention grate holding a fire within the fireplace. The grills are removably held in slots within the frame, with a number of slots being provided for placing the grills at various distances above the fire.

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
   1. Field of the Invention 
   This invention relates to cooking apparatus, and, more particularly, to cooking apparatus for use within a fireplace. 
   2. Background Information 
   The patent literature includes a number of examples of apparatus providing a surface for cooking over a fire within a fireplace, with a portion of the apparatus being fastened to one or more surfaces of the fireplaces, and with the surface to be used for cooking being adjustable but not readily removable from the portion of the apparatus fastened in place within the fireplace. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 3,834,370 describes a grill for use in a fireplace or outdoors comprises a 1 rack and pinion elevating assembly. A shaft which operates the pinion may be pushed to lock the elevating assembly and pulled to unlock the elevating assembly so that the grill may be raised or lowered. The grill may be tilted and latched in any one of several tilted positions. 
   U.S. Pat. No. 4,766,879 describes another example of such apparatus, in which a fireplace cooking grill is supported for vertical and horizontal adjustment in a fireplace opening with the grill being supported from a vertically disposed support post having a rack Sear along one edge thereof with the grill including a slide on the post having a manually rotatable gear mounted in a gear housing in engagement with the rack gear for vertically adjusting the grill. The rotatable gear is provided with a detachable handle, which can be removed when desired, and the gear housing includes a bracket having a horizontally disposed support member slidably supporting a grill frame and a removable grill therein which enables the grill to be vertically adjustable in relation to the fireplace and horizontally adjustable inwardly and outwardly of the fireplace to enable optimum positioning of the grill in relationship to a fire, coals, or other heat source in the fireplace. 
   Yet another example of such apparatus is described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,911,146, in the form of a fireplace cooking device which provides for translation a grill or other cooking device in three orthogonal directions. The device has a wall assembly, which attaches to the sidewall of the fireplace and maintains a mechanism to raise or lower a grill or other cooking device. Attached to the wall assembly are a series of elements which are pivotably mounted to provide planar translation of a grill or other cooking device. 
   What is needed is apparatus providing a cooking surface without a necessity for fastening a portion of the apparatus in place within the fireplace. Furthermore, what is needed is a method for readily removing the cooking surface for cleaning or to provide for other uses of the fireplace. 
   U.S. Pat. No. 4,086,905 describes a combination fire grate and fireplace cooking grill in which a modular design facilitates the use of various sizes of fuels, such as charcoal or wood. A lightweight handle with a coupling configuration is provided for repositioning the cooking grill with respect to the fire, and/or for removing the cooking grill and food from the fire. This coupling means is designed to quickly and positively engage the cooking grill when inserted from a direction approximately perpendicular to the cooking surface. As the handle is then displaced arcuately towards the plane of the cooking surface, a novel hook-shaped tip portion and basal portion of the coupling means of the handle matably engage appropriately formed surfaces on the cooking grill because the secure inner connection of the handle and cooking grill. Further arcuate displacement of the handle then causes a tracking portion formed on the cooking grill to disengage from stops to thereby allow the cooking grill to be moved freely to any of a variety of cooking positions, or to be removed entirely for serving. What is needed is a cooking grill having an elongated handle to allow installation and removal of the cooking grill without a need to grip a surface near a fire being held within the grate. Additionally, what is needed is a simple structure, such as slots, each open at one end, for removably engaging the cooking grill. Furthermore, what is needed is a frame mounting the cooking grill, with the frame being separate from the grate, so that the cooking apparatus can be used with an existing grate. 
   A conventional Hibachi unit typically includes a pair of slotted brackets that are used to hold removable cooking grills at various levels above a charcoal fire held within the Hibachi unit. Examples of such units are described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,256,080 and 4,413,609. What is needed is an apparatus for fireplace cooking employing slotted brackets to hold one or more removable cooking grills at various levels above a fire in the fireplace. 
   U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,083,354 and 4,553,525 describe portable grill apparatus including a food grill adjustably clamped to an upstanding elongated member supported by a foot assembly. The device can be used to hold the food grill over a fire in an outdoor campsite or in a fireplace. What is needed is a frame for removably holding one or more cooking grills behind a fire within a fireplace. 
   SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
   In accordance with a first aspect of the invention, apparatus is provided for cooking food within a fireplace having a space for building a fire. The apparatus includes a food grill and a frame. The food grill includes a food support surface and an elongated handle extending from a proximal end of the food support surface. The frame includes a coupling portion, a support portion, and a base portion. The coupling portion removably accepts a distal end of the food grill to hold the food grill to extend horizontally outward from the coupling portion, above the space for building a fire. The support portion extends downward from the coupling portion to be disposed behind the space for building a fire. The base portion extends outward from a lower end of the support portion to be disposed along a floor of the fireplace below the space for building a fire. 
   It is understood that the space for building a fire is disposed upward from the floor of the fireplace, for example, by a conventional grate holding wood or other fuel, so that air can be brought upward through the grate to support combustion. The upward and downward directions are accorded their ordinary meanings with the cooking apparatus sitting in the fireplace under conditions of normal use. The outward direction is understood to be the direction extending outward from the fireplace opening into a room. A food grill in place within the apparatus is understood to have a proximal end facing in this outward direction and a distal end held by the frame. 

   
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES 
       FIG. 1  is a left elevation of cooking apparatus built in accordance with the invention, shown within a fireplace; 
       FIG. 2  is a front elevation of the cooking apparatus of  FIG. 1 , also shown within the fireplace; 
       FIG. 3  is a plan view of the cooking apparatus of  FIG. 1 ; and 
       FIG. 4  is a plan view of a frame within the cooking apparatus of  FIG. 1 ; 
   

   DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
     FIGS. 1 and 2  show fireplace cooking apparatus  10  built in accordance with a first embodiment of the invention, as used within a fireplace  11 , with  FIG. 1  being a front view of the cooking apparatus  10 , while  FIG. 2  is a front view thereof. The cooking apparatus  10  includes a frame  12  and a pair of removably attached food grills  14 . The food grills  14  hold food objects  16  above a fire  18  built using pieces of wood  20  held within a grate  22 , which may be a conventional device. The grate  22  holds the wood  20  spaced above a floor  24  of the fireplace  11  to allow air to move upward between spaced-apart grate members  26  and to provide a space for the placement of fire starting materials, such as rolled paper. These grate members  26  are held in place by a descending grate support structure  28 . 
     FIG. 3  is a plan view of the cooking apparatus  10 . Each of the food grills  14  includes a generally rectangular grilling portion  30  including ribs  32  extending among rectangular spaces  34  through which the food objects  16  (shown in  FIGS. 2 and 3 ) are heated by a combination of radiation and convection from the fire below, and through which juices are allowed to drip. The food objects  16  are additionally heated by conduction from the ribs  32 . Each of the food grills  14  also includes an elongated handle  36  extending outward to a round grip  38  through a distance sufficient to allow the grill  14  to be moved without reaching near or over the fire  18 . 
     FIG. 4  is a plan view of the frame  12 . Referring to  FIGS. 1 ,  2  and  4 , the frame  12  includes a coupling portion  40  a support portion  41 , and a base portion  42 . The grill attachment portion  40  includes four upstanding slotted grill attachment brackets  44 , each of which includes a slotted portion having a number of grill attachment slots  46 , extending between flat sides of the slotted portion from a narrow edge of the slotted portion, and arranged to accept the distal ends  48  of the food grills  14 . Each of the food grills  14  can be moved vertically from one pair of slots  46  in adjacent grill attachment brackets  44  to another to vary the distance between the fire  18  and the grill  14 . While each of the slots  46  has an open end  50  that is preferably enlarged to permit easy entry of the distal end  48 , the slots  46  are preferably configured to hold the grills  14  to extend nearly horizontally. In the example of the figures, each of the grill attachment brackets  44  additionally includes a twisted portion  52 , extending between the slotted portion of the grill attachment bracket  44  and a lower portion of the grill attachment bracket  44  providing for attachment to an upper crossbar  54 , which holds the attachment brackets  44  so that each of the grills  14  is held in a pair of adjacent brackets  44 , with a flat side of the lower portion of the grill attachment bracket  44  being attached to the upper crossbar  54 . 
   The support portion  41  of the frame  12 , which extends downward from the coupling portion  40 , includes upper legs of a pair of L-shaped stand brackets  56  extending vertically between the upper crossbar  54  and the base portion  42 , being attached to the upper crossbar  54 , with the upper crossbar  54  holding the grill attachment brackets  44  horizontally spaced apart from one another and from the upper legs of the stand brackets  56 . The base portion  42  includes lower legs of the L-shaped stand brackets  56 . The base portion  42  additionally includes a front crossbar  56  and a rear crossbar  58  extending between the L-shaped stand brackets  56 . The base portion  40  includes a pair of small L-shaped brackets  62  extending rearward from the L-shaped stand brackets  62  to provide additional stability on the fireplace floor  24 . 
   The apparatus  10  is particularly configured to provide for supporting the food items  16  above the fire  18 , built within a central portion of the fireplace  11 . To this end, the support section  41  is configured to be disposed behind the fire  18  while the base portion  42  is configured to be disposed below the fire  18 , extending along the floor  24  of the fireplace  11 . 
   Using the apparatus of the present invention provides a number of advantages over the use of background art cooking methods. For example, in comparison to the use of conventional barbecue or Hibachi apparatus, or of the apparatus described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,256,080 and 4,413,609, the present invention provides an easy way to cook within a fireplace, so that food can be cooked over an open fire during inclement weather without leaving a building. 
   In comparison with the apparatus described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,086,905, the present invention provides a section for holding the food grills that is behind instead of in front of the fire, so that the fire can be more effectively used for other purposes when it is not being used for cooking. Also, the elongated handle of the present invention allows the food grills to be installed on and removed from the frame without moving one&#39;s hand close to the fire. Furthermore, the present invention provides a more straightforward method of removing, installing, and changing the position of the food grills. Additionally, the present apparatus provides cooking apparatus that can be used with a pre-existing grate. 
   In comparison with the apparatus described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,834,370, 4,911,146, and 4,766,879, the present apparatus provides the advantages of food grills that are readily removable for serving, cleaning, and for using the fireplace for purposes other than cooking, including the processes necessary to build and maintain a fire. Additionally, the present invention provides a frame that is disposed behind and under a grate within the fireplace, instead of beside the grate, as in the background are. Furthermore, the present invention is easily set in place within the fireplace, without a need to fasten or clamp the frame to structures of the fireplace. 
   In comparison with the apparatus described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,083,354 and 4,553,525, the present invention provides the advantage of a frame that is disposed behind and under a grate instead of a frame that has to be placed on the hearth in front of the fireplace, together with the advantage of food grills that are easily removable from the frame. 
   While apparatus including a pair of food grills has been shown and described, it is understood that similar apparatus could be built in accordance with the invention to provide for only a single food grill or for many more food grills. 
   While the frame  12  has been shown as being formed by welding metal strips together, it is understood that such a frame may alternately be made by bolting strips together or by casting an integral structure. 
   It is further understood that the right elevation of the apparatus is a mirror image of the left elevation, shown in  FIG. 1 , and that the rear and bottom sides of the apparatus (not shown) do not include decorative features. 
   While the invention has been shown in its preferred form or embodiment with some degree of particularity, it is understood that this description has been given only by way of example, and that many changes may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention, as described in the appended claims.