Patent Abstract:
A grill side burner assembly including a burner having a generally disc-shaped body with an oval cross-section. Louvered main ports are arranged around the upper part of the burner body and create a cyclone-like distribution of heat to the cooking surface thereby improving efficiency. A fuel feed channel is formed integrally into a lower portion of the burner and provides fuel to the interior of the burner body. The burner can be attached to the bottom of a bowl-like recess in a side-burner base and covered with a grid. The side burner assembly can be implemented with a very low parts count.

Full Description:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
     The present application relates to burners and more specifically to side burners for grills. 
     BACKGROUND INFORMATION 
     Propane cooking grills often include side burners for providing an auxiliary heating surface in addition to the main grilling surface. Conventional side burner assemblies, however, can be quite complex, often requiring large numbers of components. For example, a typical side burner assembly includes a base, bowl, facia, lid, burner, grid, valve, valve bracket, knob, electrode and a variety of screws, nuts and washers. Parts counts of 25 or more are typical. Such complexity leads to substantial assembly time, cost, lost parts and reduced reliability. 
     Known side burner designs can also be inefficient, failing to deliver a substantial portion of the heat generated to the cooking surface. The heat not delivered to the cooking surface is typically dissipated in the base, raising the temperature of the base. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     The present invention provides a burner, which can be used as a side burner of a grill, that overcomes many problems of conventional side burners. 
     An exemplary embodiment of a side burner assembly in accordance with the present invention comprises a burner base sub-assembly, a grid and a valve. The burner base sub-assembly includes a base and a burner, with the base and burner being staked together. An exemplary embodiment of the burner has a generally circular configuration with a substantially oval cross section. A fuel feed channel extends radially from a lower portion of the burner. An upper portion of the burner comprises a plurality of apertures arranged about a generally cylindrical protrusion at the top of the burner. 
     Both the base and the burner may be composed of stamped sheet metal, the base preferably of stainless steel and the burner preferably of aluminized or stainless steel. A dual spark electrode may also be arranged proximate to the burner for ignition. 
     The burner of the present invention has a substantially reduced parts count, leading to reduced assembly time, reduced cost and improved reliability over known burners. 
     In addition, the burner of the present invention includes a novel arrangement of flame ports which provides improved heat delivery and distribution to the cooking surface, thus also improving efficiency. Comparisons to known burner arrangements show a 25-30% improvement in efficiency. Heat dissipated in the base is substantially reduced, resulting in a cooler base. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING 
     FIGS. 1A and 1B show a perspective view and side view, respectively, of an exemplary embodiment of a side burner assembly in accordance with the present invention. 
     FIG. 1C shows a perspective view of an exemplary embodiment of a side burner assembly with the grid removed. 
     FIGS. 2A and 2B show a perspective view and side view, respectively, of an exemplary embodiment of a burner in accordance with the present invention. 
     FIG. 3 shows a perspective view of an exemplary embodiment of a burner grid in accordance with the present invention. 
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
     An exemplary embodiment of a side burner assembly  10  in accordance with the present invention is shown in FIG. 1A in perspective view. The assembly  10  comprises a base  20 , a burner  30 , a grid  40  and a fuel valve sub-assembly  50 . 
     FIG. 1B shows a side view of the burner assembly  10 . The base  20  includes a bowl-like recess  25  with a circular opening in its bottom for receiving a top portion of the burner  30 . This arrangement can also be seen in FIG. 1C which shows a perspective view of a side burner assembly  10  with the grid removed. As shown in FIG. 1C, a dual ignitor sub-assembly may be included with two ignitors  251  and  252  arranged proximate to the burner  30 . When activated, each ignitor  251 ,  252  generates a spark between it and the burner  30 . The provision of two arcs improves ignition. Moreover, the inclusion of two ignitors provides redundancy, should one of the ignitors fail to operate. 
     The fuel valve sub-assembly  50  can be implemented using conventional components and can be attached to the base  20  in a conventional manner. 
     FIG. 2A shows a perspective view of an exemplary embodiment of a burner  30  as used in the assembly  10  of FIGS. 1A and 1B. FIG. 2B shows a side view of the burner  30 . As shown in FIGS. 2A and 2B, the burner comprises a generally disc-shaped body  300  with a fuel feed channel  310  extending radially from the body  300 . The burner  30  comprises a bottom portion  320  and an upper portion  330  each of which comprises a flange  322  and  332 , respectively, by which the two portions are joined such as by welding, hemming or other appropriate joining techniques. 
     The lower portion  320  of the burner comprises a dish-like recess  325  from which the fuel feed channel  310  extends. The upper portion  330  comprises a dome-like structure  340  whose perimeter substantially matches that of the recess  325  in the lower portion. When the upper and lower portions  330 ,  320  are joined, the dome-like structure  340  and the dish-like recess  325  form a generally disc-shaped compartment with a generally oval cross-section. Furthermore, upon joining the upper and lower burner portions  320  and  330 , the fuel feed channel is enclosed on its top side by the flange of the  332  of the upper portion. 
     A generally cylindrical projection  345  extends upwards from the top of the dome-like structure  340  of the upper burner portion  330 . Proximate to the base of the projection  345 , a plurality of apertures or ports  355  are arranged on the dome-like structure  340 . The projection  345  helps shield those ports  355  that are downwind from wind that may blow across the burner  30 , thus preventing the flame emitted from the burner from being blown out. 
     In the exemplary embodiment shown, each port  355  comprises a hood-like projection, or louver  356 . As shown in FIG. 2A, the louvered ports  355  are spaced radially around the dome-like structure  340  with the louvers  356  pointing in a counter-clockwise direction, as seen from above. The plurality of louvered ports  355  create a cyclone effect which helps direct the heat generated by the burner upwards, to the cooking surface. Each of the louvered ports  355  emits a flame at an angle above horizontal so that the flame emitted does not shoot directly at the flame emitted by the adjacent port. This prevents the flames from joining together as one flame which would impede the cyclone effect. 
     In the exemplary embodiment shown, below the plurality of louvered ports  355 , the dome-like structure  340  comprises a plurality of secondary ports  357 . Below the ports  357 , a further plurality of secondary ports  359  are included on the dome-like structure  340 . The secondary ports  357  and  359  are spaced apart sufficiently to prevent the blending of the individual flames emitted from each port. The secondary ports  357  and  359  provide additional flame-generating capacity for additional heat delivery to the cooking surface. The secondary ports  357  and  359  also act to prevent “lifting” of the flame emitted by the main, louvered ports  355 . Furthermore, by being further shielded from wind, due to their arrangement below the main ports  355 , the secondary ports  357  and  359  help keep the burner  30  lit in windy conditions. 
     When assembled, the burner  30  is attached via its joined flanges  332 ,  322  to the bottom of the recess  25  in the base  20 , as shown in FIG.  1 B. As shown in FIG. 2A, the flanges  322 ,  332  comprise mounting holes  383 , arranged around the burner body  300 , by which the burner  30  can be attached to the base  20 , such as by staking, riveting or other appropriate attachment methods. In one such method, the holes  383  receive corresponding embossed cylindrical features (not shown) on the base. Once the burner  30  is seated in the base, the embossed cylindrical features are flattened over the holes  383 , thereby capturing the burner between the base and the flattened features. 
     The bowl-like recess  25  has a circular opening at its bottom for receiving therein the dome-like structure  340  of the burner. As shown in FIG. 1A, arcuate openings  29  concentrically surround the circular opening of the recess  25 . The openings  29  provide additional secondary air to the burner ports. The openings  29  also allow any water or moisture that may enter the bowl-like recess  25  to drain. Furthermore, when attached to the base  20 , the burner  30  is coupled via the fuel feed channel  310  to a fuel outlet of the valve sub-assembly  50 , as shown in FIG.  1 B. 
     As shown in FIGS. 2A and 2B, the fuel feed channel  310  preferably comprises a gutter  315  which runs along the length of the channel  310 . The gutter  315  is inclined downward (e.g. 2%) as it extends away from the dish-like recess  325  of the lower portion  320  of the burner. The gutter  315  serves to drain any water or moisture that may be in the burner body  300 . 
     FIG. 3 shows, in perspective view, an exemplary embodiment of a grid  40 , as used in the exemplary side burner assembly described. The grid  40  is generally in the shape of a truncated cone, with a circular base and a circular top. Tabs  425  are arranged along the perimeter of the base of the grid  40  and are received in corresponding openings in the burner base  20  surrounding the recess  25 . The grid  40  is thereby secured against lateral motion over the burner  30 , as shown in FIG.  1 A. While the grid  40  is thus partially secured to the base, the grid can be readily removed from the base  20  (such as for cleaning) by being lifting upwards. The upper surface of the grid  40  comprises a plurality of spokes  450  extending from a central hub  475 . The spokes  450  and the central hub  475  are preferably cupped on their bottom surfaces to promote the retention of heat and for stiffening the overall grid structure. The side wall of the grid  40  acts primarily as a windscreen but includes a plurality of openings  430  which allow exhaust gasses to escape. 
     The grid  40  can be advantageously formed by being stamped or embossed from a single piece of sheet metal. The stamped sheet metal can then be coated with porcelain using known techniques. The unitary construction of the grid of the present invention provides a much sturdier construction than known grids that are typically constructed by welding several component parts together. The unitary construction is also better suited to porcelain coating, as distortions caused by welding are avoided.

Technology Classification (CPC): 5