Abstract:
A sideburner is disclosed, including a burner pan, a base, and a burner element supported by the burner pan. The burner pan comprises a floor, upper sidewalls with a first dimension, lower sidewalls with a second dimension, and a substantially horizontal shelf. The second dimension is smaller than the second dimension. The shelf joins an upper portion of the lower sidewall to a lower portion of the upper sidewall. The base has a substantially flat top surface and a front surface. The top surface has a recessed opening located over the burner pan.

Description:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION  
       [0001]     The present invention relates generally to barbecue grills, and, more particularly, to an improved sideburner assembly.  
       BACKGROUND  
       [0002]     Outdoor grills are popular for cooking a variety of foods, but often a complete meal includes foods that are not easily cooked on a grill. For example, a pot or pan containing sauce can be placed on the grill and heated by the burner underneath. However, the grill and burner elements are designed to cook food items in direct contact with the grill, and are not optimal for even and controlled heating of a pan placed on the grill. Many grills are designed to work most efficiently with the lid of the grill in a closed position, precluding the use of pots and pans under the closed lid. In addition, the handles on many pots and pans cannot withstand the sometimes extreme temperatures inside a barbecue grill.  
         [0003]     Prior art grills have addressed this problem by providing a separate burner, with its own control, which is mounted to the side of the grill. Some sideburners use a conventional grill so that a pan may be placed above the burner. Other sideburners do not use a grill above the burner, and instead use a burner ring configured to support a pan like an indoor stove. In either case, cooking by direct contact with a grate on prior art grills can be performed on the main burners, but not with the prior art sideburners.  
         [0004]     As different foods finish cooking on the grill at different times, it is also convenient to keep the finished foods warm. The main grill area is typically unsuitable for this, even when one of the burners is turned off, due to heat from adjacent burners. However, the conventional sideburner is also not optimal for warming. Even a low flame on the sideburner will cause the finished items to become overcooked. But without a flame heat dissipates quickly and the food items get cold.  
         [0005]     Thus, a heretofore unaddressed need exists in the industry to address the aforementioned deficiencies and inadequacies.  
       SUMMARY  
       [0006]     An embodiment of a sideburner in accordance with the invention includes a burner pan, a base, and a burner element supported by the burner pan. The burner pan is typically rectangular, comprising a floor, upper sidewalls with a first dimension, lower sidewalls with a second dimension, and a substantially horizontal shelf. The second dimension is smaller than the first dimension. The shelf joins an upper portion of the lower sidewall to a lower portion of the upper sidewall. The base has a substantially flat top surface and a front surface. The top surface has a recessed opening located over the burner pan.  
         [0007]     Another embodiment of a sideburner in accordance with the invention includes a burner pan, a base, a burner element supported by the burner pan, and a tray. The base has a substantially flat top surface and a front surface. The top surface has a recessed opening located over the burner pan. The tray is disposed on the top surface of the base and sized to cover the opening of the base. The tray comprises a rectilinear surface having a front corner and a back corner. The surface slopes from the front corner to the back corner. A depressed area is disposed on the back corner of the rectilinear surface at the lowest point of the slope to serve as a grease collection area.  
         [0008]     Other features and/or advantages in addition to, or in lieu of, those presented above will be or may become apparent to one with skill in the art upon examination of the following drawings and detailed description. It is intended that all such additional features and/or advantages be included herein within the scope of the present invention. 
     
    
     DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       [0009]     The disclosed burner assembly can be better understood with reference to the following drawings. The components in the drawings are not necessarily to scale, emphasis instead being placed upon clearly illustrating the principles of the burner assembly. Moreover, in the drawings, like reference numerals designate corresponding parts throughout the several views.  
         [0010]      FIG. 1  is a perspective view of a sideburner assembly of the present invention disposed on a barbecue grill cart.  
         [0011]      FIG. 2  is an exploded perspective view of a sideburner assembly of the present invention.  
         [0012]      FIG. 3  is a side elevational and cross-sectional view of the burner pan of  FIG. 2 , taken along line  3 - 3  of  FIG. 2 .  
         [0013]      FIGS. 4A and 4B  are side elevational and front elevational views, respectively, of the tray of  FIG. 2 .  
         [0014]      FIG. 5A  is a perspective view of another embodiment of the burner pan.  
         [0015]      FIG. 5B  is a perspective view of another embodiment of the burner pan.  
         [0016]      FIG. 5C  is a perspective view of still another embodiment of the burner pan.  
         [0017]      FIG. 6A through 6D  are cutaway elevation views of the sideburner assembly as used with different cookware. 
     
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION  
       [0018]      FIG. 1  is a perspective view of a sideburner assembly of the present invention disposed in a barbecue grill cart frame  104 . Grill  100  includes firebox  101 , cover  102 , gas supply  103 , frame  104 , and sideburner assembly  200 . Base  201  of sideburner assembly  200  is mounted to frame  104 , and lid  202  is secured by a hinge mechanism to base  201 . In the example embodiment of  FIG. 1 , sideburner assembly  200  is mounted along one side of frame  104 , such that the top surface of sideburner assembly  200  is at roughly the same height as the top of firebox  101 . Using this arrangement, the same gas supply  103  and manifold (not shown) can easily supply gas to the burner elements in the firebox  101  and to the burner element  203  (see  FIG. 2 ) in sideburner assembly  200 . However, other mounting arrangements for sideburner assembly  200  are also possible, for example, at different heights.  
         [0019]      FIG. 2  is an exploded perspective view of a sideburner assembly of the present invention. The sideburner assembly  200  comprises base  201 , lid  202 , burner element  203 , and burner pan  204 . Base  201  has a substantially flat top surface  205  with a recessed opening  206 . Burner pan  204  is disposed within opening  206 , and is supported by base  201 . In one embodiment, this support is provided by a flange  207  which extends outward from the upper perimeter of burner pan  204 . In this embodiment, pan  204  is disposed within opening  206  such that the flange  207  rests on the top surface  205  of base  201 . In another embodiment, pan  204  could be disposed within opening  206  and fastened to base  201  through fastening means such as screw, rivet, nut and bolt, etc.  
         [0020]     Pan  204  has a floor  208  and sides  209 . Floor  208  supports burner element  203 . Perforations  210  in the sides  209  of  601  allow air to enter the sideburner assembly  200  in the vicinity of the burner element  203 . Perforations  210  can be of various sizes and shapes, such as holes, slits, etc. In this example embodiment, perforations  210  are located on all sides  209  of  204 , but other variations in placement of perforations  210  are possible.  
         [0021]     Gas is dispersed through a plurality of orifices (not shown) formed on the burner element  203 . The exiting gas mixes with the air entering through perforations  210 , and the resulting air-gas mixture is ignited by an ignitor (not shown). In an example embodiment, the venturi tube of burner element  203  extends into  204  through an aperture  211  in the floor  208 , and burner element  203  is disposed above this aperture  211 . Other embodiments are possible, for example, the venturi tube may enter through an aperture in one of the sides  209  of  204 .  
         [0022]     Sideburner assembly  200  allows several ways of cooking food. Tray  212  is sized larger than opening  206 , so that it rests on top surface  205 . When burner element  203  is ignited, food items can be cooked by placing the items directly on the tray  212 , or a pan can be placed on tray  212 . Pan  204  is made of a heat conducting material such as metal, which allows heat produced by burner element  203  to be reflected and captured within sideburner assembly  200 . Cooking is thus more efficient with pan  204  than with burner element  203  and base  201  alone. The material and placement of pan  204  also allows it to conduct heat from the firebox  101  (see  FIG. 1 ). Thus, sideburner assembly  200  can be used as a warming area for items (e.g., buns, fish, meat, hot dogs, hamburgers, etc.) placed on tray  212  by closing lid  202  and turning burner element  203  to the off position. In a preferred embodiment, tray  212  has a non-stick coating such as Teflon®.  
         [0023]     The vertical depth of lid  202  is greater than on prior art sideburner lids, which are typically shallow. This deep design allows lid  202  to cover pots, pans, and foods of various sizes which cannot be accommodated by shallow prior art lids. Lid  202  has a handle  214 , which in one embodiment is secured to lid  202  at one end of the handle but not at the other. In this embodiment, handle  214  is shaped so that it slopes away from lid  202  at the end not mounted to lid  202 . This defines a gap between handle  214  and lid  202 . The gap provides space for a hand to easily grip handle  214 , and keeps the handle  214  cool. Another handle  213  mounted to base  201  allows the entire grill  100  to be easily moved. In a preferred embodiment, lid  202  has at least one hole or slot on its back surface, which provides ventilation.  
         [0024]      FIG. 3  is a side cutaway view of the pan  204  of  FIG. 2 . Pan  204  includes upper and lower sidewalls  219 ,  220 . In this embodiment upper sidewall  219  and lower sidewall  220  are not vertical, but have a slope. The sloped surfaces reflect heat toward the center and top of the pan, thus providing more efficient cooking for items placed above burner element  203  (see  FIG. 2 ), as compared to vertical surfaces.  
         [0025]     Shelf  221  joins the lower portion of upper sidewall  219  with the upper portion of lower sidewall  220 . The upper portion of the pan, defined by upper sidewall  219 , has a diameter  222  which is different than the diameter  223  of the lower portion of the pan, defined by lower sidewall  220 . The perforations  210  in lower sidewall  220  are thus located closer to burner element  203  than the perforations  210  in upper sidewall  219 , allowing improved air circulation within pan  204  for efficient burning. Shelf  221  also allows a deep pan with a shallow base, such as a wok, to be used with sideburner assembly  200 . The base of the wok rests on shelf  221 , allowing the bottom of the pan to be closer to burner element  203 , and reducing the overall height of the pan above the burner element  203 .  
         [0026]     In an example embodiment, a grate  224  is sized to fit on, and be supported by, shelf  221 . Since this lower portion of pan  204  is closer to burner element  203  than is the upper portion, the grate  224  allows food items or pots/pans to be positioned closer to the flame for more efficient cooking. In a preferred embodiment, grate  224  has a non-stick coating such as Teflon(&amp;.  
         [0027]      FIGS. 4A and 4B  are a front cutaway and a side cutaway view, respectively, of the tray  212  of  FIG. 2 . As can be seen in the figure, the top surface  401  of tray  212  slopes from right side  402  to left side  403 , and from front  404  to back  405 . This arrangement allows drippings from food placed on tray  212  to drain toward the back left corner of tray  212 , where a depression  406  is located. With this arrangement, foods that produce relatively large amounts of grease, such as bacon, can be cooked and the grease conveniently collected in depression  406 . The drippings can then be easily disposed of by removing tray  212  and pouring out the drippings.  
         [0028]     FIGS.  5 A-C show perspective views of several example embodiments of  204 , each with a different arrangement of perforations  210 . In the embodiment of  5 A, the perforations  210  are substantially circular, and arranged on only one side of pan  204 . This arrangement allows multiple configurations: the perforated side may be placed toward the firebox  101 , where the perforations  210  improve heat conduction from the firebox; or the perforated side may be placed on the opposite side, where the perforations  210  provide improved ventilation and cooling. In the embodiment of  5 B, each perforation  210  comprises a single slot running substantially parallel to the edges of  601 , and three sides of pan  204  have a perforation  210 . The larger slot increases air flow for greater heat conduction or ventilation. In the embodiment of  5 C, the perforations  210  are substantially circular, and arranged on opposing sides of pan  204 .  
         [0029]     FIGS.  6 A-D are front cutaway views of sideburner assembly  200  in use with types of different cookware, showing how sideburner assembly  200  can be used to perform various cooking and grilling tasks.  FIG. 6A  shows sideburner assembly  200  configured with grate  224  resting on shelf  221 , and a pan  601  resting on grate  224 . The diameter of pan  601  is small relative to the diameter of upper sidewall  219 . In this configuration, pan  601  is thus heated by burner element  203 , and pan  601  may contain, for example, a liquid. In this configuration, tray  212  is not used, and lid  202  is open.  
         [0030]      FIG. 6B  shows sideburner assembly  200  configured with grate  224  resting on shelf  221 , and wok  602  resting on grate  224 . The slope and diameter of upper sidewall  219  allows a relatively large portion of the volume of wok  602  to be received in the space formed by upper sidewall  219 . In this configuration, the bottom surface of wok  602  is directly heated by burner element  203 , and the side surfaces of wok  602  receive additional indirect heat from upper sidewall  219 . In this configuration, tray  212  is not used, and lid  202  is open.  
         [0031]      FIG. 6C  shows sideburner assembly  200  configured with tray  212  resting on top surface  205  and lid  202  open. In this illustration, grate  224  is also present, but this is not necessary for this configuration. In this configuration, burner element  203  is set to a relatively high setting, so that tray  212  receives enough heat to be used to fry/grill food (for example, bacon).  
         [0032]      FIG. 6D  shows sideburner assembly  200  configured with tray  212  resting on top surface  205  and lid  202  closed. In this illustration, grate  224  is also present, but this is not necessary for this configuration. In this configuration, burner element  203  is set to a relatively low setting, so that tray  212  receives some heat from burner element  203 . However, warming rather than cooking will take place because tray  212  is spaced relatively far from burner element  203 .  
         [0033]     The foregoing description has been presented for purposes of illustration and description. It is not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the invention to the precise forms disclosed. Obvious modifications or variations are possible in light of the above teachings. The embodiments discussed, however, were chosen and described to illustrate the principles of the invention and its practical application to thereby enable one of ordinary skill in the art to utilize the invention in various embodiments and with various modifications as are suited to the particular use contemplated. All such modifications and variation are within the scope of the invention as determined by the appended claims when interpreted in accordance with the breadth to which they are fairly and legally entitled.