Abstract:
A multi-purpose grill which easily can be converted for use as a conventional grill and as an open fire pit by selectively opening and closing a movable covering.

Description:
BACKGROUND 
     The present invention relates to an outdoor grill which easily can be converted to serve as an open fire pit by selectively moving a movable covering to open and close a vertical gap between the upper body portion of the grill and the base of the grill. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         FIG. 1  is a right front perspective view of a grill in the fully enclosed configuration; 
         FIG. 2  is a left rear perspective view of the grill of  FIG. 1 ; 
         FIG. 3  is the same view as  FIG. 2 , but with the fuel access door open; 
         FIG. 4  is the same view as  FIG. 1  but with the grill lid open; 
         FIG. 5  is the same view as  FIG. 4 , but with the cooking grid removed and a rotisserie added; 
         FIG. 6  is the same view as  FIG. 4 , but with the cooking grid replaced by a plate supporting a cooking pot; 
         FIG. 7  is the same view as  FIG. 6 , but with an adapter ring inserted to support a smaller cooking pot; 
         FIG. 8  is a right front perspective view of the grill of  FIG. 1 , but opened up into the open fire pit configuration; 
         FIG. 9  is a left rear perspective view of the grill in the open fire pit configuration of  FIG. 8 ; 
         FIG. 10  is a view along line  10 - 10  of  FIG. 3 ; 
         FIG. 11  is a view similar to  FIG. 10 , but showing a first step in the opening of the grill into the open fire pit configuration; 
         FIG. 12  is a view similar to  FIG. 11 , but showing a next step in the opening of the grill into the open fire pit configuration; 
         FIG. 13  is a view similar to  FIG. 12 , but showing a further step in the opening of the grill into the open fire pit configuration; 
         FIG. 14  is a view similar to  FIG. 13 , but showing another step in the opening of the grill into the open fire pit configuration; 
         FIG. 15  is a view similar to  FIG. 14 , but showing another step in the opening of the grill into the open fire pit configuration; 
         FIG. 16  is a view similar to  FIG. 15 , but showing another step in the opening of the grill into the open fire pit configuration; 
         FIG. 17  is a view similar to  FIG. 16 , but showing another step in the opening of the grill into the open fire pit configuration; 
         FIG. 18  is a view similar to  FIG. 17 , but showing a final step in the opening of the grill into the open fire pit configuration; 
         FIG. 19  is a left side view of the grill as shown in  FIG. 13 , after the left side wall has been opened to convert the grill to the open fire pit configuration, but before the cooking grid has been removed; 
         FIG. 20  is a left side view, similar to  FIG. 19 , but showing a first step in the removal of the cooking grid; 
         FIG. 21  is a left side view, similar to  FIG. 20 , but showing a next step in the removal of the grid; 
         FIG. 22  is a left side view, similar to  FIG. 21 , but showing another step in the removal of the grid; 
         FIG. 23  is a view along line  23 - 23  of  FIG. 14 ; 
         FIG. 24  is a broken-away, section view along line  24 - 24  of  FIG. 8 ; 
         FIG. 25  is a view similar to  FIG. 24 , but showing a first step in the opening of the grill lid; 
         FIG. 26  is a view similar to  FIG. 25 , but showing a further step in the opening of the grill lid; 
         FIG. 27  is a view similar to  FIG. 26 , but showing another step in the opening of the grill lid; 
         FIG. 28  is a view similar to  FIG. 27 , but showing another step in the opening of the grill lid; 
         FIG. 29  is a view similar to  FIG. 28 , but showing a final step in the opening of the grill lid; 
         FIG. 30  is a broken-away, section view along line  30 - 30  of  FIG. 1 ; 
         FIG. 31  is a broken-away, view along line  31 - 31  of  FIG. 30 ; 
         FIG. 32  is a view similar to  FIG. 30  but after the cover  56  has been lifted in preparation for swinging it around; 
         FIG. 33  is a broken-away view along line  33 - 33  of  FIG. 32 ; 
         FIG. 34  is a view similar to  FIG. 32  but after the cover  56  has been lifted and separated from the button  62 ; 
         FIG. 35  is a broken-away section view along line  35 - 35  of  FIG. 1 ; 
         FIG. 36  is a broken-away section view along line  36 - 36  of  FIG. 2 ; and 
         FIG. 37  is a view similar to  FIG. 36  but after the cover  52  has been lifted in preparation for swinging it around. 
     
    
    
     DESCRIPTION 
       FIGS. 1-4  show a convertible grill  10 . The grill  10  includes a base  12 , which is made up of a body having a bottom, and front, rear, left and right sides, and is supported by four legs  20  which elevate the base  12  off of the ground. The base  12  has planar, trapezoidal left, right, front and rear walls, which form a body with a rectangular horizontal cross-section, tapering from a larger rectangle at the top to a smaller rectangle at the bottom, and with a sliding rectangular plate  21  (See  FIG. 20 ) enclosing the bottom. It forms a concave upper surface for receiving and supporting a material to be burned, such as wood or charcoal. 
     An upper body portion  16  is supported on and fixed to the base  12  by means of a fixed wall  14 , which spans across the entire rear of the base  12  and extends partway along the rear portions of the right and left sides  50 ,  48  (See  FIGS. 8 and 9 ). The upper body portion  16  is spaced above the base  12  by means of the fixed wall  14  so as to define a vertical gap  44  between the upper body portion  16  and the base  12  across the entire front and along the forward portions of the left and right sides. 
     The upper body portion  16  also forms a body with a rectangular horizontal cross-section, tapering from a larger rectangle at the bottom to a smaller rectangle at the top. In this embodiment, the rectangular cross-section of the bottom of the upper body portion  16  is the same as the rectangular cross-section of the top of the base  12 , with the bottom of the upper body portion  16  lying directly vertically above and aligned with the top of the base  12 . The upper body portion  16  has a rectangular rear wall, a smaller rectangular front wall  17 , trapezoidal side walls, and a top wall  19 , all of which are fixed relative to the fixed wall  14 . 
     The upper body portion  16  includes a smokestack  18  at the highest elevation portion of its top wall  19  to direct and vent exhaust gas and smoke from the grill  10 . 
     The base  12  is supported by four legs  20 , which elevate the base  12  off of the ground. As best appreciated in  FIG. 8 , the legs  20  may be mounted on a flat platform  22 , which may further include elongated elements  24  to contain ashes once the ashes have been ejected from the grill  10 . 
     Referring to  FIGS. 15 and 19 , the base  12  includes an upper horizontal plate  26  and a lower horizontal plate  21 , with the upper plate  26  lying on top of the lower plate  21 . Each of the upper and lower plates  26 ,  21  defines a plurality of slotted openings  30 , and the upper plate  26  can be slid forward and backward relative to the lower plate  21  to move their corresponding slotted openings  30  into and out of alignment with each other, which provides openings that allow combustion air to enter the grill  10 , or which closes off those openings, or provides an intermediate sized opening, thereby controlling the amount of combustion air allowed to enter the grill  10 . 
     If the grill is to be used as a conventional grill, the slotted openings  30  would be substantially aligned to provide good air flow (with the vertical gaps between the walls of the upper portion  16  and the base  12  closed). If the grill is to be used as a smoker, the slotted openings  30  would be adjusted to be almost completely closed. 
     A bar  32  is secured to the upper sliding plate  26  and is used as a handle that is grasped by the operator to adjustably open or close the slotted openings  30  to control the amount of combustion air allowed into the grill  10 . It should be noted that the slotted openings  30  also may be used to remove the ashes from the base  12 , with the user moving the top plate  26  relative to the bottom plate  21 , or brushing the ashes along the bottom of the base  12 . so the ashes fall though the openings  30 . While, in this embodiment, it is the upper plate  26  that moves, it could be the lower plate  21 , or some other known adjustable venting arrangement could be used. 
     Angle irons  28  are secured to the front, back, left and right sides of the base above the upper plate  26 . A log grid  34  rests on top of the angle irons  28  and is used to support the fuel (logs or charcoal) while allowing air to circulate around the fuel. In the grill configuration shown in  FIGS. 2 and 3 , a fuel access door  36  can be opened to provide access to the log grid  34  area in order to add fuel to the fire. The fuel access door  36  is hinged on one side, and it is opened by lifting a latch mechanism  38  (shown in  FIG. 2 ) and swinging the door  36  open to pivot about a vertical hinge as shown in  FIG. 3 . The opening  116  is large enough to permit logs to be inserted through the door  36 . 
     Referring to  FIGS. 2 and 3 , the base  12  also includes an air vent mechanism  40  to fine tune the amount of combustion air. This is a rotatable wheel with four openings which is secured to the side wall of the base  12 . The side wall has four corresponding openings, and rotation of the wheel aligns the openings in the wheel with the openings in the wall to a greater or lesser degree, from complete alignment (which provides the largest air passage) to complete misalignment (which provides no air passage). 
     Referring now to  FIGS. 8 and 9 , the fixed wall portion  14  of the grill  10  defines a large vertical gap  44 , extending completely across the front of the grill  10  and extending rearwardly most of the distance from the front to the back on both the left and right sides. The fixed wall portion  14  includes a rear wall  46  and left and right side walls  48 ,  50 , which lie at right angles to the rear wall  46 , and which are aligned with and attached, as by welding, to the left and right side walls and rear wall of the base  12 . The fixed wall portion  14  also forms part of the upper body portion  16 , which is spaced above the base  12 . 
     The large vertical gap  44  is closed with hinged covers when in the grill configuration, as discussed below. 
     Referring now to  FIGS. 1 ,  2  and  10 , there are hinged covers, which can be moved to open and close the vertical gap  44  between the upper body portion  16  and the base  12 . A left cover  52  is pivotably mounted to the left side of the rear wall  46 , pivoting about a vertical hinge  64 ; a front cover  54  is pivotably mounted to the right cover  56 , pivoting about a vertical hinge  96 ; and a right cover  56  is pivotably mounted to a plate  55 , which is fixed to and projects rearwardly from the right side of the rear wall  46 , pivoting about a vertical hinge  98 . Each of these covers  52 ,  54 ,  56  has a handle  58  to help the user in slightly lifting and handling its corresponding cover. The fuel access door  36 , which was mentioned earlier, is mounted on the left cover  52  and covers an opening defined by the left cover  52 . 
     There are buttons  62  on the left and right sides of the upper body portion  16  and upwardly projecting tabs  60 ,  72 ,  74  on the base  12  that hold the covers  52 ,  54 ,  56  inwardly against the fixed base  12  and upper body portion  16  of the grill  10 . 
     Referring to  FIGS. 30-34 , the buttons  62  have an enlarged head  112  and a smaller diameter shank  114 , with the end of the shank  114  being secured, as by welding, to the upper body portion  16 . The left and right side covers  52 ,  56  each have a keyhole opening  62 A that has a larger diameter at the bottom and a smaller diameter at the top. The larger diameter bottom portion of the keyhole opening  62 A is large enough to receive the head  112  of the button  62 , while the smaller diameter top portion of the keyhole opening  62 A is large enough to receive the shank  114  but not the head  112 . When the covers are closed, the smaller diameter, upper portions of the keyholes  62 A on the left and right side covers  52 ,  56  are aligned with the buttons  62 , and the shanks  114  of the buttons  62  are extending through the smaller diameter portions of the keyholes  62 A, with the inner surfaces of the heads  112  of the buttons  62  abutting the respective outer surfaces of the left and right side covers to hold them inwardly and prevent them from separating from the fixed portions of the grill  10 . 
     Referring to  FIG. 35 , the upwardly projecting tabs  60 ,  72 ,  74  bear against the outer surface adjacent the bottom edge of the respective covers  52 ,  54 ,  56  to hold them inwardly and prevent them from separating from the fixed portions of the grill  10 . 
     To convert the grill  10  from the fully enclosed grill configuration shown in  FIG. 1 , with the vertical gap between the upper body portion  16  and the base  12  fully closed, to the open fire pit configuration shown in  FIG. 8 , with the front and most of the left and right sides open between the upper body portion  16  and the base  12 , the first step is to stow the left cover  52  against the rear wall  46  of the grill  10 . 
       FIGS. 10-13  show the steps involved in stowing the left cover  52 . First, the fuel access door  36 , which is shown in the open position in  FIG. 10 , is closed against the left cover  52 , as shown in  FIG. 11 . Next, grabbing the handle  58  (See  FIG. 2 ), the user lifts slightly on the left cover  52  so that the cover  52  just clears the upwardly projecting tab  60 , and the head of the button  62  on the left side is aligned with the large diameter portion of the keyhole opening  62 A on the left cover  52  so the head of the button  62  passes through the keyhole opening  62 A as the left cover  52  is opened. The user then swings the left cover  52  outwardly, pivoting about the vertical hinge  64 . The left cover  52  is swung 270 degrees, until it is parallel with and adjacent to the rear wall  46  as shown in  FIG. 13 . Referring to  FIGS. 36 and 37 , it should be noted that the knuckles  116 ,  118  on the hinge  64  are spaced apart a sufficient distance to allow the knuckles  118  that are fixed to the left cover  52  to be lifted upwardly along the vertical hinge pin  120  relative to the fixed rear wall  46  and base  12 . 
     Next, the user wants to open the front cover  54  outwardly toward the right of the grill  10 . Looking at  FIGS. 4 and 19 , it can be seen that there is a cooking grid  42 , which, on its front edge, is pivotably connected to the front cover  54 , and, on its rear edge, is secured to hooks  66  that are fixed to the left and right fixed side walls  48 ,  50  of the grill  10 . There is a vertical member  106  at the rear end of the cooking grid  42 , which receives the hooks  66  to secure the rear of the cooking grid  42  to the fixed side walls  48 ,  50  of the grill  10 . Since the front edge of the cooking grid  42  is secured to the front cover  54 , and the rear edge of the cooking grid  42  is fixed to the fixed side walls  48 ,  50 , the cooking grid  42  prevents the front cover  54  from being swung open. The user must therefore first disengage the rear end of the cooking grid  42  from the hooks  66  before he swings out the front cover  54 . To accomplish this, the user opens the lid  68  (and latches it in the open position as will be described later) and reaches in to grab and lift the rear edge of the cooking grid  42  so as to disengage the vertical member  106  from the hooks  66  as shown in  FIG. 20 . 
     The user grasps the handle  58  on the front cover  54  and slightly lifts the front cover  54 , so as to clear the clip  72  (See  FIG. 4 ), and swings the front cover  54  outwardly toward the right side of the grill  10 , as shown in  FIGS. 14 and 21 . The right front hinge  96  between the front cover  54  and the right side cover  56  has the same type of arrangement described with respect to the left rear hinge  64 , which allows the front cover  54  to be lifted up relative to the right cover  56 . 
     As the user swings the front cover  54  outwardly, toward the right side of the grill, as shown in  FIG. 21 , the user slowly lowers the cooking grid  42 , as shown in  FIG. 22 , from its initial horizontal orientation to a vertical orientation, adjacent to the interior of the front cover  54 , as shown in  FIGS. 14 and 23 . Note that the cooking grid  42  rests on supporting hooks  70  on the front cover  54 , which not only allows the cooking grid  42  to pivot from the horizontal orientation of  FIG. 19  to the vertical orientation of  FIG. 23 , but also allow the user to completely remove the cooking grid  42  when desired, such as when using the cooking pot configuration, as described later. 
     Once the cooking grid  42  is vertically stowed adjacent to the front cover  54  (as shown in  FIGS. 14 and 23 ), the user continues to swing the front cover  54  about the right front hinge  96 , as shown in  FIG. 15 , until it is stowed against the right cover  56 , as shown in  FIG. 16 . Then, both front and right covers  54 ,  56  are lifted up slightly along the right rear hinge  98 , such that the right cover  56  clears the upwardly projecting tab  74  at the bottom and is released from the button  62  at the top (See  FIG. 4 ), and both the front and right side covers  54 ,  56  are held together and are swung out to the right and towards the back, pivoting about the right rear hinge  98 , as shown in  FIG. 17 . After 270 degrees of rotation, the front and right covers  54 ,  56  are stowed flat against the left cover  52 , parallel to the rear wall  46 , as shown in  FIG. 18 . It should be noted that the rearwardly projecting plate  55  causes the right rear hinge  98  to be located a sufficient distance rearwardly of the rear wall  46  to provide space for the grid  42  and front cover  54 . 
     The user then closes the lid  68  to complete the conversion of the grill  10  from a grill configuration (as shown in  FIG. 4 ) to an open fire pit configuration (as shown in  FIGS. 8 and 9 ). In this configuration, the upper body portion  16  serves as a hood, collecting the fumes from the fire and venting them through the chimney  18 . 
     Referring to  FIG. 8 , the upper portion  16  of the grill  10  includes the lid  68  which rests upon the slanted top wall  77  of the grill  10 . This top wall  77  defines the opening  76  which is covered by the lid  68 . The lid  68  is pivotably mounted to the wall  77  via horizontally oriented hinges  90  which allow the lid  68  to be opened or closed. 
     There is a mechanism that makes it easy to hold the lid  68  in the “open” position, which is shown in  FIG. 8  and shown in detail in  FIGS. 24-28 . On each of the left and right sides of the top wall  77  in the area covered by the lid  68  are two linearly aligned slotted openings  78 ,  80 , separated by a small bridge  81 . Secured to the bottom surface of the lid  68  are two downwardly projecting tabs  82 . A pivoting latch  84  is mounted on each of the tabs  82 . Each latch  84  includes a short projection  88  and a long projection  86 . 
     As shown in  FIG. 24 , when the lid  68  is closed, the latches  84  are inside the grill  10 , projecting through the lower slotted openings  80 . As the user raises the lid  68 , the latches  84  begin to rise up through the lower openings  80 , as shown in  FIGS. 25 and 26 . Once the short projection  88  of each latch  84  clears the top wall  77 , the weight of the latch  84  causes it to pivot, so the short projection slides up along the bridge  81 , as shown in  FIG. 27 . Once the short projection  88  reaches the upper slotted opening  78 , the user releases the lid  68 , which falls forward slightly, allowing the short projection  88  to enter the upper slotted opening  78 , as shown in  FIG. 28 . The lowering lid  68  then causes the short projection  88  to impact against the upper edge of the bridge  81 , holding the lid  68  in the open position as shown in  FIGS. 29 and 4 . The latch  84  is weighted and mounted on the lid  68  such that it naturally pivots in the desired direction to ensure that the short projection aligns with the upper slotted opening  78  when the lid  68  is opened. 
     To close the lid  68 , the user lifts the lid  68  until the short projection  88  exits the upper slotted opening  78 . He then manually pivots the latches  84  in the opposite direction until the short projections  88  are riding on top of their respective bridges  81 . Further lowering of the lid  68  results in the latches  84  falling through their respective lower slotted openings  80 , allowing the lid  68  to fully close. 
       FIG. 1  shows the grill  10  in the fully enclosed, grill configuration. As shown in  FIG. 4 , in this configuration, the cooking grid  42  is installed with the front edge of the cooking grid  42  resting on the hooks  70  of the front cover  54  (See  FIG. 19 ) and the rear edge of the cooking grid  42  resting on the hooks  66 . This arrangement not only secures the cooking grid  42  inside the grill  10 ; it also holds the upper edge of the front cover  54  tightly closed. The lower edge of the front cover  54  is held tightly against the grill  10  by the clip  72  as shown in  FIGS. 1 and 4 . 
       FIG. 5  shows the grill  10  with a rotisserie attachment which includes a motor  92  and a long, solid rod  94  which is rotated by the motor  92 . The motor  92  may be powered by batteries or by electricity from an electrical outlet. 
       FIG. 6  shows the grill  10  in the enclosed configuration, but with a solid plate  100  having an opening  104  that receives a cooking pot  102  instead of the grill plate  42  of  FIG. 4 . The top edge of the cooking pot  102  has a larger outside diameter than the opening  104 , so that larger diameter portion rests on the top surface of the plate  100 . (The pot  102  may alternatively have handles that extend beyond the opening  104  and that rest on the top surface of the plate  100 .) The cooking pot attachment plate  100  mounts in the same manner as the grid  42  and is designed as a direct replacement of the grid  42  when using the grill  10  in the pot cooker configuration shown in  FIG. 6 . 
       FIG. 7  shows a slight modification to the pot cooker configuration of  FIG. 6 . In this arrangement, an adapter ring  108  is used to effectively reduce the diameter of the opening in the plate  100  so it can support a smaller diameter pot. The adapter ring  108  has an outside diameter which is larger than the opening  104  of the cooking pot attachment plate  100 , and an inside diameter sized to receive the smaller pot  110 . 
     When the grill  10  is fully enclosed, as shown in  FIG. 1 , it is in a conventional grill configuration. The food to be cooked is place on top of the grid  42  via the opening  76  (See  FIG. 7 ), which is exposed when the lid  68  is raised. Fuel for the grill  10  may be added via the fuel access door  36 , and the amount of combustion air may be regulated via the air vent mechanism  40  (See  FIGS. 2 and 3 ) and through the adjustment of the upper plate  26  relative to the lower plate  21  (See  FIG. 19 ) to adjust the slotted openings  30  (See  FIG. 15 ). In the fully closed configuration shown in  FIG. 1 , and with the combustion air vents substantially closed, the grill  10  can be used as a smoker. 
     In this same configuration, a rotisserie  92  (See  FIG. 5 ) may be added to the grill  10 . The cooking pot attachment plate  100  (See  FIGS. 6 and 7 ) may be used instead of the grid  42  to convert the grill  10  to a pot cooker configuration. The adapter ring  108  (See  FIG. 7 ) may be used with the cooking pot attachment  100  for use with smaller cooking pots  110 . 
     To convert the grill  10  from the enclosed, conventional grill configuration to the open fire pit configuration, the covers  52 ,  54 ,  56  are folded back against the rear wall  46  of the grill  10 , resulting in a large vertical opening  44  between the upper portion  16  and the base  12  along the front and most of the left and right sides, as shown in  FIGS. 8 and 9 . 
     The grid  42  is interchangeable with the cooking pot attachment  100 , and either one may be supported vertically against the front cover  54  when the grill  10  is opened up to the fire pit configuration, thus keeping substantially all the major components of the grill  10  on the grill  10  as it is converted to its multiple configurations. 
     It will be obvious to those skilled in the art that modifications may be made to the embodiments described above without departing from the scope of the present invention.