Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
When cooking on a grill over burning charcoal, ga~ burner heated
ceramic briquettes or other heating means it is usually necessary to turn
the meat or other food being broiled and such turning is often difficult
for various reasons Accordingly, a need exists for a grill constructed
in a manner whereby the meat or other Eood thereon may be more readily
turned.
In addition3 when grilling food it is sometimes diEficult to
properly position the faod on the grill if the grill is positioned over the
cooking heat. Accordingly, a further need exists Eor a grill constructed
in a manner such that the food or meat supporting portion thereoE may be
readily shifted out of registry with the cooking heat.
Examples of various different forms of grills and similar struc-
ture~ including some of the general structural and opera~ional features of
the instant invention are disclosed in U.S. Pat. ~os. 2,109,0793 2,681,001,
3,352,227 and 3,389,361.
The gill is constructed in a manner whereby the relatively pivotal
grill panels thereof may be swu~g to 9G relatively angularly displared open
positions with at least a major portion of the lower horizontal grill panel
out of registry with an associated heat source thereby enabling meae or other
Eood to be grilled to be placed on the lower grill panel. Thereafter, the
open grill panel may be swung to the closed position and the support and grill
panels include coacting structure whereby swinging of the open grill panet to
the closed position will automatically displace the lower meat or other food
supporting grill panel into registry with the associated heat source. l`he
grill panels may be locked together against relatiYe angular displacement for
initial grilling of the food supported therefrom. Thereafter, when it becomes
necessary to "turn" the food, the entire combination comprising the two
grill panels and the food supported therebetween can be readily turned
relative to the heat source.
After the cooking operation has been completed, one pair of
corresponding edges of the grill panels may be released from latched engage-
ment with each other and one of the grill panels may be swung ~o its open
position disposed generally normal to the other grill panel while at the
same time the other grill panel is automatically displaced to a position
with a major portion thereof out of registry with the cooking heat.
The main object of this invention is to provide a cooking grill
which will greatly facilitate the grilling of meat and other foods.
Another object of this invention is to provide a grill including
a pair of grill panels between which food ~o be grilled may be clamped and
thereby securely held in position relative to the grill panels.
Still another important object of this invention in accordance
with the immedi.ately preceding objects is to provide a grill constructed
in a manner whereby all of the food clamped between the grill panels may
be simultaneously "turned" relative to the cooking heat~
Yet another object of this invention is to provide a cooking
grill including a pair of grill panels and with the panels being supported
from one another for relative angular displacement between parallel closely
juxtaposed positions and positions disposed substantially nonmal to each
other.
~lother object of this invention, in according with the immediately
preceding objects is to provide a grill constructed in a manner whereby when
one of the grill panels is swung to an open poaition disposed substantially
normal to the other grill panel a major portion of the other grill panel
will be automatically displaced to a position out of registry with the cook-
ing heat.
A final object of this invention to be specifically enumerated
herein is to provide a cooking grill in accordance with preceding object~
and which will conform to conventional forms of manufacture, be of simple
construction and easy to use so as to provide a device that will be
economically feasible, long lasting and relatively trouble free in operation.
Figure 1 is a top plan view of the grill of the instant invention;
Figure 2 is a front elevational view of the grill of the instant
invention and will an alternate open position of the upper grill panel thereof
illustrated in phantom lines;
Figure 3 i8 a vertical sectional view taken substantially upon the
plane indicated by the section line 3--3 of ~igure 2;
Figure 4 is a perspective view of the grill with the grill panels
thereof in an inter~ediate position during the turning of the grill panels
between positions with opposite sides thereof registered with the underlying
associated cooking heat;
Figure 5 is a fragmentary exploded perspective view of the latch
structure of the grill panels for latching the lat~er against relative angular
displacement in adjusted spaced relation; and
Figure 6 is a perspective vîew of the grill with the upper grill
panel in a vertical open position and the lower horizontal grill panel dis-
placed laterally outwardly from the forward side of the base structure.
Referring now more specifically to the drawings, the numeral 10
generally designates the grill of the instant invention. The grill 10
consists of a base structure referred to in general by the reference numeral
12 and a pair of grill panels 14 and 16. The base structure 12 includes a
palr of opposite side frames 18 and 20 interconnected by front and rear
transverse members 22 and 24 extending and connected between the front and
rear ends of the side frames 18 and 24. ~ach of the side frames 18 and 20
includes a pair of upper and lower ~ertically spaced, upwardly concave and
parallel front to rear extending arcuate members 26 and 28 interconnected
at their corresponding front and rear ends and the front and rear ends of
each of the arcuate members 26 terminates in downturned leg 30 and the lower
ends of the legs 30 are adapted for support from a suitable support surface
32 such as the bottom of an upwardly opening fire pan having charcoal bri
quettes therein or some other suitable support surface having a cookirlg heat
g
source associated therewith in a location whlch may be spanned by the legs 30.
Each pair of arcuate members 26 and 28 defines an arcuate guide-
way 31 therebetween and a first grill panel 16 includes a pair of front-to-
rear extending opposite side grill bars 34 and 36 interconnected along their
length by transverse grill bars 38 extending and secured therebetween. The
rearmost transverse grill bar 38 of the grill panel 16 is oE slightly greater
diameter stock and includes e~tended opposite ends 40 which are slidably re-
ceived in the corresponding guide~ays 31 and also rotatably received therein.
The forward ends of the grill bars 36 of the grill panel 16 are coiled as at
42 for slidably and rotatably receiving opposite end portions of a transverse
latch bar 44 and terminate in downwardly directed legs 46. One end of the
latch bar 44 extends outwardly of the outer side of the guide bar 34 and has a
threaded abutment nut 48 threadedly supported from its outer terminal end. In
addition, a compression spring 50 is disposed about the outer end of the latch
bar 44 between the abutment 48 and the outer side of the grill bar 34. The
other end of the grill bar 44 projects outwardly oE the outer side of the
grill har 36 and has a heat dissipating handle 52 thereon as well as an
abutment disposed between the handle 52 and the outer side of the grill bar
36.
~0 The second grill panel 14 includes an upstanding keeper bar 56
supported from the forward transverse grill bar 38 thereafter centrally
intermediate its opposite ends and the keeper bar 56 includes vertically
spaced transverse bores 58 formed therein in which the laterally directed
upper terminal end 60 of an upstanding latch member 62 carried by the latch
bar 44 is selectively engageable. In addition9 the rearmost transverse
grill bar 38 of the grill panel 16 includes a pair o~ upstanding latch
members 66 similar to the latch member 62 and including oppositely directed
upper ends 68 corresponding to the terminal end 60 of the latch member 62
and the rearmost transverse grill bar 38 of the grill panel 14 includes a
pair of upstanding keeper bars 70 corresponding to the keeper bar 58 and
including vertically spaced transverse bores 72 corresponding to the bores
58. However, the latch members 60 are not mounted on a reciprocal transverse
grill bar, but rather the corresponding stationary grill bar~ and are slightly
fle~ible whereby the upper ends thereof may oe biased toward each other in
order to axially withdraw the upper ends 68 thereof from the corresponding
bores 72 in order that the upper ends 68 may be placed in a different pair
of corresponding bores 72 for adjusting the height of the grill panel l4
relative to the grill panel 16. It will be noted that the upper ends 68
are rotatably received in the corresponding bores 72 and thereby also serve
to pivotally support the upper grill panel 14 from the lower grill panel 16.
The opposite side frames 18 and 20 further include inverted U-shaped
guide members 78 secured to the longitudinal midportions of the arcuate members
26 and the guide members 78 define upstanding guideways 80 in which outwardly
projecting guide members 82 carried by longitudinal midportions of the opposite
side grill bars 34 and 36 of the grill panel 14 are slidably received. Ihe
guide members 82 comprise threaded bolts removably threadedly engaged in nuts
84 welded or otherwise secured to the longitudinal midportions of the cor-
responding grill bars 34 and 36. In addition to being slidably received in
the guideways 80, the guide members 82 are also rotatably received therein.
The longitudinal midportion of the arcuate member 28 of the side frame 18
includes a laterally outwardly directed handle shank 86 equipped with a heat
dissipating handle 88 on its outer end, the handle 88 being of generally the
same coniguration as the handle 52 and provided for the purpose of ~teadying
the base structure 12.
In operation, the grill 10 may have its base structure 12 disposed
on any suitable surface such as the surface 32 with which a cooking heat
source is operati~ely associated and with the cooking heat source disposed
between the legs 30. Then, with one hand steadying the base structure 12
through the utilizatlon of the handle 38, the handle 52 may be grasped and
displaced slightly further outwardly of the side grill bar 36 oE the grill
panel 16 against the bias;ng action of the spring 50 in order to axially
withdraw the terminal end 60 of the latch member 62 from the corresponding
bore 58 of the keeper bar 56. Thereafter, the forward end of the grill panel
14 may be urged upwardly whereupon. the guide members 82 will slide upwardly
in the guideways 80 during upward swinging movement of the guide panel 14 to
the vertical position thereof illustrated in Figure 6 and the grill panel 16
will be displaced forwardly of the base structure 12 to the position thereof
illustrated in Figure 6. ~ereaftar, food to be grilled may be placed upon
the grill panel 16 and the grill panel 16 may be displaced back toward its
original position through the utilization of the handle 52 and such rearward
displacement of the grill panel 16 will cause the grill panel 14 to swing
downwardly to its original position. After the grill panel 14 has been swung
downwardly to a horizontal position9 the handle 52 may be utiliæed to again
engage the terminal end 60 of the latch member 62 in one of the bores 58 of
the keeper bar 56 so that the grill panel 14 will be properly spaced relative
to the grill panel 16 and lightly clampingly engage the food to be cooked
between the panels 14 and 16. Of course, the upper ends 68 of the latch
Members 66 are previously set in the proper bores 72 of the keeper bars 70.
After the food clamped between the grill panels 14 and 16 has been
cooked on the lower side thereof, the handle 52 is swung upwardly and rear-
wardly whereby the grill panels 14 and 16 will swing in a clockwise d;rection
in the malmer illustrated by the phantom line arrow 90 in Figure 3 until the
grill panels 14 and 16 have been rotated substantially 180~ with the grill
panel 14 disposed in its lowermost position. During this movement, the guide
members 82 move upwardly and downwardly in the gui.deway 80 and the ends 40
slide forwardly through the guideway 31. Thereafter, after the food has been
cooked on the second side, the handle 52, which is now disposed at the rear
of the grill 80, may again be raised in order to rotate the grill panels 14
and 16 180 in a clockwise direction returning them to their original pOSitiOII
illustrated in solid lines in Figure 3. Then, when it is desired to move the
cooked food from between the grill panels 14 and 16, the hand].e 52 is again
utili~ed to withdraw the terminal end of the latch member 62 from the asso-
ciated bore 58 of the keeper bar 56 after which the forward end of grill panel
14 may again be raised to the position thereof illustrated in Figure 6 of the
drawings with the lower grill panel 16 :Eorwardly displ.aced outwardly of the
forward side of the base structure 12. Of course, the cooked food may then
be removed from the grill panel 16.
