Abstract:
A grill having an upper housing that is hingedly affixed to a lower housing. A universal fit upper grate assembly is provided that may be easily installed within an upper housing of grills of various sizes. The upper grate assembly is pivotally mounted to an inside surface of the upper housing. The upper grate assembly is made up of slidably interconnecting segments to facilitate an adjustable length of the upper grate assembly to accommodate different sized grills.

Description:
[0001]    This application claims the priority of U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 61/447,534 entitled “UNIVERSAL SWING AWAY FOOD SUPPORTING RACK,” filed Feb. 28, 2011, the contents of which are hereby incorporated by reference. 
     
    
     FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
       [0002]    The present invention relates generally to outdoor cooking grills, and more specifically to an adjustable food supporting grate installed in a lid of an outdoor cooking grill. 
       BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
       [0003]    Gas-fired barbecue grills have experienced a tremendous growth in popularity since their introduction. Most gas-fired barbeque grills have a rectangular box-like structure with a hinged lid and a burner mounted in the bottom of the grill casting. The burner is connected to a gas supply line and is used to supply convective heat for cooking food as well as to heat lava rock, metal plates of various configuration, or wood product briquettes to supply some radiant heat and provide hot surfaces for grease vaporization. A grate is located above the rock or briquettes to provide a surface to support the food while it is being cooked. An additional upper grate mounted within the hinged lid is often provided and is made of a size and shape to match the particular hinged lid of the barbeque grill in question. There is a need to provide an additional upper grate that can fit a variety of sizes and types of upper hinged lids to match a wide range of barbeque grills with the same or “universal” part. 
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
       [0004]    The present invention describes a cooking grill cradle or food supporting rack having telescoping rods for adjusting the effective length for mounting on various sizes of grills. The food supporting rack of the present invention is considered “universal” because it fits most cooking grills. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0005]      FIG. 1  is a perspective view of a grill having an upper housing and a lower housing wherein the upper grate assembly of the invention is installed in the upper housing. 
           [0006]      FIG. 2  is a perspective view of the upper grate assembly of  FIG. 1 . 
           [0007]      FIG. 3  is a perspective exploded view of the upper grate assembly of  FIG. 1 . 
           [0008]      FIG. 4  is a perspective view of the upper grate assembly and mounting hardware of  FIG. 1 . 
           [0009]      FIG. 5A  is a plan view of an outer grill member of the grill assembly of  FIG. 1 . 
           [0010]      FIG. 5B  is an end view of the outer grill member of the grill assembly of  FIG. 5A . 
           [0011]      FIG. 5C  is a side view of the outer grill member of the grill assembly of  FIG. 5A . 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
       [0012]    Referring first to  FIG. 1 , shown is a grill designated generally  10 . Grill  10  has a stand  12  that supports a cooking enclosure that is made up of a lower housing  14  and an upper housing  16 . Upper housing  16  is hingedly affixed to lower housing  14 . Upper housing  16  has a top portion  18 , first sidewall  20 , and second sidewall  22 . Upper housing  16  preferably has an outwardly protruding lip  24  that extends around the bottom edge of upper housing  16 . 
         [0013]    A grate support  26  is provided within lower housing  14 . Grate member  28  is supported by grate support  26 . 
         [0014]    First bracket  30  ( FIGS. 1 and 4 ) is removably affixed to first side wall  20  of upper housing  16 . First bracket  30  has an inner leg  32  and outer leg  34 . Outer leg  34  has an outer step  36  for resting on an upper surface of outwardly protruding lip  24  of upper housing  16 . Inner leg  32  preferably defines threaded orifice  38  proximate an upper end. Second bracket  40  ( FIGS. 1 and 4 ) is removably affixed to second side wall  22  of upper housing  16 . Second bracket  40  has an inner leg  42  and an outer leg  44 . Outer leg  44  has an outer step  46  for resting on upper surface of outwardly protruding lip  24  of upper housing  16 . Inner leg  42  preferably defines threaded orifice  48  proximate an upper end. 
         [0015]    A first securement member  50  engages a first bracket  30  for affixing first bracket  30  to upper housing  16  to form first bracket assembly  49 . In one embodiment, first securement member  50  is a first I-bolt having an enclosed end  52  and a threaded end  54 . First base member  56  is attached on threaded end  54  of first I-bolt  50 . First I-bolt  50  is received within threaded orifice  38  of first bracket  30  for forcing first base member  56  to engage with first sidewall  20  of upper housing  16  for securing first bracket  30  within upper housing  16 . 
         [0016]    A second securement member  58  engages second bracket  40  for affixing second bracket  40  to upper housing  16  to form second bracket assembly  59 . In one embodiment, second securement member  58  is a second I-bolt  58  having an enclosed end  60  and threaded end  62 . Second base member  64  is attached on threaded end  62  of second I-bolt  58 . Second I-bolt  58  is received within threaded orifice  48  of second bracket  40  for forcing second base member  64  into engagement with second sidewall  22  of upper housing  16  for securing second bracket  40  within upper housing  16 . Although I-bolts  50  and  58  are shown as examples, it should be understood that other securing devices could also be used in association with brackets  30  and  40 . 
         [0017]    As best seen in  FIG. 3 , upper grate assembly  66  includes upper grate first end section  68 , upper grate center section  70 , and upper grate second end section  72 . Upper grate end section  68  has an outer end  74 , an inner end  76 , and a front protuberance  78  extending towards inner end  76 . Upper grate first end section  68  additionally has a rear protuberance  80  that extends towards inner end  76 . First hanger  82  is affixed proximate to outer end  74  of upper grate first end section  68 . 
         [0018]    Upper grate second end section  72  has an outer end  84  and an inner end  86 . A front protuberance  88  extends towards inner end  86 . Rear protuberance  90  extends towards inner end  86 . A second hanger  92  is affixed proximate to outer end  84  of upper grate second end section  72 . 
         [0019]    Upper grate center section  70  has a front tube member  94  having a first end  96  for slidably receiving front protuberance  78  of upper grate first end section  68 . Front tube member  94  has a second end  98  for slidably receiving front protuberance  88  of upper grate second end section  72 . Upper grate center section  70  also has a rear tube member  100  having a first end  102  for slidably receiving rear protuberance  80  of upper grate first end section  68 . Rear tube member  100  also has a second end  104  for slidably receiving rear protuberance  90  of upper grate second end section  72 . A slidable engagement of protuberances  78 ,  80 ,  88 , and  90  within front tube member  94  and rear tube member  100  allows for a length of upper grate assembly  66  to be adjustable to fit within an existing upper housing  16  of various sizes. For purposes of example, the figures show tube members  94  and  100  affixed to a center section  70  for receiving protuberances  78 ,  80 ,  88 , and  90 . However, the arrangement of tubes and protuberances could be reversed, i.e., protuberances could be located on center section  70  and tubes located on end sections  68  and  72 , or any combination of locations of mating tubes and protuberances or other slidably engageable members. 
         [0020]    First hanger  82  of upper grate first end section  68  is configured to engage first I-bolt  50  and second hanger  92  of upper grate second end section  72  is configured for engagement with second I-bolt  58  to facilitate suspension of upper grate assembly  66  from upper housing  16  of grill body  10 . 
         [0021]    In a preferred embodiment, hangers  82 ,  92  are pivotally engaged with I-bolts  50 ,  58  so that upper grate assembly  66  is free to swing to maintain a substantially horizontal orientation when upper housing  16  is pivoted to an upper open position or to a lower closed position. 
         [0022]    Thus, the present invention is well adapted to carry out the objectives and attain the ends and advantages mentioned above as well as those inherent therein. While presently preferred embodiments have been described for purposes of this disclosure, numerous changes and modifications will be apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art. Such changes and modifications are encompassed within the spirit of this invention as defined by the claims.