IES20050809A2 - A barbecue - Google Patents

Abstract

A gas fuelled barbecue is described. The barbecue includes a thermally insulating barrier located under the cooking portion of the barbecue and above a storage area in a lower part of the barbecue. The barrier prevents the passage of heat from burner elements to this storage region and thereby allows a storage of the gas cylinder within the storage area during operation of the barbecue. <Figure 2>

Description

The invention relates to barbecues and in particular ΐ OPEN TO PU8US ^SFKisOa j i UNDER SFCWi 28AK'O SW 23! tad died'barbecues Background With the growth in the enjoyment of the outdoors more and more people are turning to their gardens and using them as an outdoor room. The present inventors have addressed this previously by providing parasol heaters which are configured to provide one or more of heat and light to the user. Such parasol heaters have also been described which incorporate a table barbecue. Although this is advantageous in that the user may purchase such a heater and then have a focal point about which he can sit, cook and eat not all users wish to cook their own food.

Stand-alone barbecues are already known. Traditionally fuelled by charcoal, developments have led to gas fuelled barbecues which operate using bottle gas. Such barbecues may differ in size and aesthetic appearance but most suffer from the same problem in that regulations require the gas bottle to be stored separately from the barbecue when the barbecue is being used. This i a problem where space is limited and also distracts somewhat from the aesthetic of the barbecue.

A further disadvantage with known barbecues is related to the control mechanisms provided for control of the gas supply to the barbecue burner element. Normally provided with three operating positions; high, medium and low; and one off position the control knob is provided to the front of the barbecue to enable alteration by a user operating the barbecue. With an indicator provided on the front face of the knob rotation of the knob until the indicator matches the correct location provided on the bevel of the knob, ensures that the correct desired operating condition is achieved. Where two IE 0 5 0 80 ί burner elements are provided each of the elements may be independently operated by providing each with its own control functionality. While such control systems have been known and have operated satisfactorily for many years, the present inventors have realised that there is a problem associated with them in that the user must step back from the barbecue to visually inspect the alignment of the two indicators to ensure that the correct operating condition has been achieved. This presents an additional problem associated with the known barbecues.

Summary Accordingly these and other problems are addressed by a barbecue in accordance with present invention. A first embodiment of the invention provides a bottle gas fuelled barbecue, the barbecue having a housing supporting a cooking portion, the cooking portion being located in an upper region of the housing and including a burner having at least one burner element and configured in use to be in fluid communication with a bottle of gas, control of the flow of gas from the bottle to the burner element being provided by a control knob located on an exterior face of the housing and wherein the cooking portion further includes a grill located above the burner and a base located below the burner, the base sealing the cooking portion from the housing below so as to ensure that any residue cooking material does escape from the cooking portion, the barbecue being further configured to provide a thermally insulating membrane adjacent to the base of the cooking portion, the thermally insulating membrane providing a thermal barrier within the housing restricting the transfer of heat generated by the burner to the housing below the cooking portion such that the gas bottle may be stored and operated from a location immediately below the cooking region.

Such an insulating arrangement ensures that when the barbecue is being used that the temperature within the housing immediately below the cooking portion does not exceed the maximum temperature allowed for operating a gas bottle supply. It will be appreciated that the height of bottle gas supplies may vary depending on the jurisdiction where they are being provided but by ΙΕ ο 5 o g ffg j varying the configuration of the insulating membrane that such variances can be catered for.

The insulating membrane may be incorporated within the base panel or may be provided as a separate membrane to the base panel. Suitable materials include a steel sheet spaced apart from the base of the cooking portion. The spacing apart of the sheet provides an air gap between the lower portion of the cooking portion and the thermal insulating membrane, the steel sheet. Typical distances for the air gap are of the order of 120mm. The steel membrane insulates heat, in the mainstay radiated heat by providing a reflector against the radiated from the base of the cooking portion. It will be appreciated that the dimensions of the sheet are typically of the order compatible with the dimensions of the burner elements and such a typical footprint for the insulating membrane is that of the dimensions of the lower surface of the cooking portion. However it will be appreciated that any dimension large enough to protect the upper surface of the gas fuel supply will be sufficient.

The housing may further include a base panel located in a lower region of the housing, the base panel having an aperture defined therein, the aperture being dimensioned to receive and seat an upstanding bottle of gas. By providing such a base panel the bottle gas is located further away from the cooking portion and also as is it seated within the base panel is less likely to fall should the barbecue be moved.

The control knob is desirably located on a front panel of the housing adjacent to the cooking portion. Typically a unique control knob is provided for each burner element of the burner so that each burner element can be each independently controlled. The control knob includes a rotatable element which is rotatable relative to a fixed casing and desirably is mounted proud of the casing. Alignment of corresponding markers on each of the rotatable element and the casing define operating parameters for the burner. Desirably the alignment marker on the casing is fixed and an operating condition of the burner is achieved when the rotatable element is rotated so as to bring an IE appropriate marker into alignment with the marker on the casing. In accordance with the teaching of the invention a first set of alignment markers are provided on a front face of the rotatable element and a front face of the casing such that the alignment may be viewed from a first viewing location, the front of control knob. Such a first set desirably includes a plurality of markers provided on the front face ofthe rotatable element and a single marker provided on the casing. A second set of alignment markers are also provided, the second set being provided on side surfaces of the casing and the rotatable element so as to provide a second viewing location, from above the control knob. Desirably the second set also includes a plurality of markers provided on a side surface ofthe rotatable element and a fixed alignment marker provided on the casing. Desirably the fixed alignment marker of the first set is located at a different location to the fixed alignment marker ofthe second location. The fixed alignment marker ofthe second set is desirably provided by a cut out portion on the casing such that a bringing of specific alignment marker ofthe rotatable element into the cut out portion signifies achievement of a specific operating condition of the burner element.

The housing may include a casing providing an outer surface of the barbecue and defining there within a storage location for the gas bottle. Such a casing may be a solid casing. In such an embodiment a door may be required to gain access to the storage location. In an alternative embodiment the housing includes a skirt disposed about a lower region ofthe barbecue, the skirt being moveable to enable access to the storage location located in the interior portion of the housing.

The barbecue may include one or two side panels which are mountable adjacent the cooking portion of the barbecue and defining working surfaces. The side panels are desirably removably mountable to the barbecue.

These and other features ofthe present invention will be better understood with reference to the following drawings.

Brief description ofthe drawings IE 0 50 809 Figure 1 is a perspective view from the front of a barbecue according to a first embodiment of the invention.

Figure 2 is a section through the barbecue of Figure 1.

Figure 3 shows examples of the sets of marking indicators that may be used on the control knob of the barbecue of Figure 1.

Figure 4 is a perspective view of a barbecue in accordance with a second embodiment of the invention.

Figure 5 is a side view of the barbecue of Figure 4.

Figure 6 is a front view of the barbecue of Figure 4 with the front panel removed.

Figure 7 is a sectional view of the barbecue of Figure 4.

Detailed description of the drawings.

The invention will now be described with reference to exemplary embodiments thereof which are provide to illustrate the type of structures that may be provided in accordance with the teachings of the invention and are not intended to limit the invention in any way except as may be deemed necessary in the light of the appended claims. Such exemplary embodiments are provided in Figures 1 to 7.

As shown in Figure 1 a bottle gas fuelled barbecue 100 is provided. The barbecue has a housing 105 supporting a cooking portion 110, the cooking portion being located in an upper region 115 of the housing. The cooking portion includes a burner 120 having at least one burner element 125. The burner is configured, in use, to be in fluid communication with a bottle of gas through the use of rubber tubing connecting the burner with the gas supply, as will be appreciated by those skilled in the art. Control of the flow of gas from the bottle to the burner is provided by a control knob 130 located on an exterior face 135 of the housing. The cooking portion further includes a grill 140 located above the burner and a base 145 located below the burner. ΙΕ 05ο eo9 As shown in the sectional view of Figure 2, the base 145 of the cooking portion is configured to seal the cooking portion from the housing below so as to ensure that any residue cooking material does escape from the cooking portion. This sealing is desirably effected by providing the base 145 integral with side walls 146 of the cooking portion so that a sealed basin configuration is provided. The barbecue is further configured to provide a thermally insulating membrane 150 adjacent to but separated from the base of the cooking portion, the thermally insulating membrane providing a thermal barrier within the housing restricting the transfer of heat generated by the burner to the housing below the cooking portion. By providing such a thermal insulation between the cooking portion and the housing below the cooking portion it is possible to store and operate a gas bottle from a location immediately below the cooking region. The thermal membrane is typically provided by a steel sheet which is separated by an air gap 151 from the base of the cooking portion. The combination of the air gap and the reflective nature of the steel sheet serve to prevent heat transfer from the cooking portion to the storage area below where the gas bottle is located.

Such an insulating arrangement ensures that when the barbecue is being used that the temperature within the housing immediately below the cooking portion does not exceed the maximum temperature allowed for operating a gas bottle supply as defined in the European Standard EN498:1997. It will be appreciated that the height of bottle gas supplies may vary depending on the jurisdiction where they are being provided but by varying the configuration of the insulating membrane that such variances can be catered. Typical heights from the bottom of the steel sheet to the top of the gas bottle are of the order of 100mm.

It will be appreciated that where membranes of high insulation value are used that the distance of the air gap between the base and the thermal membrane may be reduced. In certain circumstances it may be possible to integrally form the insulating membrane within the base panel or may be provided as a separate membrane to the base panel. The dimensions of the thermal membrane are sufficient to protect the upper portion of the gas fuel container.

IE 0 50 809 This can be achieved by matching the dimensions of the membrane to that of the upper footprint of the fuel container or indeed by matching the footprint of the thermal membrane to that of the base of the cooking portion.

The housing may further include a base panel 155 located in a lower region 160 of the housing. The base panel may provide a seat 165 for the bottle of gas 166.

A lid 170 may also be provided, the lid being configured to be moveable to cover the cooking portion. Such movement of the lid may be achieved, as shown in Figure 1 by the use of hinges 175, or could for example be a completely removable item that is placed separately from the barbecue when not required. The lid 170 is advantageous in that it can protect the cooking portion when not in use, and also serves in the cooking portion to confine the heat if so required. In the embodiment of Figure 1, the lid further includes a second grill 142 which can be used to store food before and after the cooking process. Desirably the second grill also includes support legs 143, which when the lid is moved to an open position are configured to move to engage with the cooking portion and provide a support to a front region 144 of the grill.

The barbecue may include one or two side panels 180 which are mountable adjacent the cooking portion of the barbecue and defining working surfaces 181. The side panels are desirably removably mountable to the barbecue.

The control knob 130 is desirably located on a front panel 135 of the housing adjacent to the cooking portion. Typically a unique control knob is provided for each burner element of the burner so that each burner element can be each independently controlled, as shown in Figure 1 as control knob 130a and control knob 130b- each controlling one burner element. A sparker control 130c may also be provided. As shown in Figure 3, the control knob includes a rotatable element 300 which is rotatable relative to a fixed casing 305 and desirably is mounted proud of the casing. In this way a portion of the side wall 310 of the rotatable element is visible from above the control knob. Alignment IE 0 5 0 8 08 of corresponding markers 315a, 315b on each of the rotatable element and the casing define operating parameters for the burner.

In accordance with the teachings of the present invention, desirably two sets of corresponding markers are provided, each set providing for control of the burner elements from different viewing locations. Figure 3 shows a view from above and to the front for each of three position; a high output (Figure 3A), a medium output (Figure 3B) and a low output (Figure 3C). Desirably the first set of alignment markers enable control from inspection of the knob from the front, and the second set enable control from inspection of the knob from above. In this way the user of the barbecue does not have to step back from the cooking portion to ensure that the correct burner setting has been achieved - traditional barbecues have only provided control markers visible from the front of the barbecue.

In the configuration of the first set of alignment markers, desirably a plurality of fixed alignment markers are provided on the casing. Control of the gas flow to the burner element corresponding to this control knob is achieved by rotating a single alignment marker 350 provided on the rotatable element to achieve alignment with one of the plurality of corresponding alignment markers 351, 352, 353 on the fixed casing. As shown in Figure 3C a low setting is achieved by having the alignment marker 350 align with a marker indicating a single bar 351 located at the 6 o’clock position on the casing. As shown in Figure 3B, by rotating the rotatable element clockwise through about 45 degrees, the alignment bar 350 achieves alignment with a double bar 352- thereby indicating a medium setting. High power is achieved by further rotation to a location approximately corresponding with a 9 o’clock position and alignment with three markers 353 on the casing (Figure 3A). This high setting is typically also the setting that would be used to achieve an initial ignition of the burner element, the two alignment markers being brought into alignment and then the sparker element 130C (shown in Figure 2) is pushed inwardly so as to achieve activation of a piezo electric sparking element or the like. It will be appreciated that as the alignment markers are provided on front faces 320, IE 050 8 09 325 of the rotatable element and casing respectively that such alignment markers are only useful if the control knob is viewed from the front.

To achieve control from a second viewing location, the control knob of the present invention provides a second set of alignment markers which when aligned at the top of the control knob- approximately the 12 o’clock position on the rotatable element- indicate an achieved operating condition. In this embodiment the plurality of alignment markers are provided on the rotatable element and the single marker is provided on the casing. The second set of markers is provided on side surfaces of the casing and the rotatable element. In both examples of the two sets of alignment markers the fixed markers are provided on the casing- the non-rotatable element. To ensure that correct operation is achieved, the fixed alignment markers of the first set are located at a different location to the fixed alignment marker of the second location.

The fixed alignment marker of the second set is desirably provided by a cut out portion 330 on the casing at about the 12 o’clock location. The rotation of the rotatable element to bring specific alignment marker of the rotatable element into the cut out portion signifies achievement of a specific operating condition of the burner element.

In the embodiment described heretofore the housing includes a solid casing 190 providing an outer surface of the barbecue and defining there within a storage location for the gas bottle. In such an embodiment a door 191 may be required to gain access to the storage location, the door being hinged 191 to enable access to the interior portion of the housing.

In an alternative embodiment shown in Figures 4 to 7, such a solid casing is not provided. The same reference numerals with the first integer being changed from 1 to 4 will be used to describe similar components. In this embodiment, the housing may include a skirt (not shown) disposed about a lower region of the barbecue, the skirt being moveable to enable access to the storage location located in the interior portion of the housing. Desirably a solid front panel 495 may be provided immediately below the control knobs, the IE solid panel serving to prevent a user from kicking a gas bottle stored within the housing.

As shown in Figure 5, the base panel may have an aperture 500 defined therein, the aperture being dimensioned to receive and seat an upstanding bottle of gas 501. By providing such a base panel the bottle gas is located further away from the cooking portion and also as is it seated within the base panel is less likely to fall should the barbecue be moved.

The control knobs 130 of this second embodiment of the invention are desirably mounted on a control knob platform 502 which provides an arcuate surface 503 on which the control knobs are arranged. The provision of such an arcuate surface ensure that the control knobs are angularly orientated upwardly to enable easy viewing of the position of the control knobs by a user It will be understood that what has been described herein are exemplary embodiments of a gas fuelled barbecue. By providing a thermally insulating membrane below the cooking portion of the barbecue it is possible to reduce the heat transfer from the cooking portion to the interior portion of the barbecue below the cooking portion. As a result of this reduction it is therefore possible to store a gas bottle within the confines of the barbecue, something that was heretofore not possible. The storage of the gas bottle not only ensures that the barbecue can be utilised in a more confined area than previously possible- it is not necessary to have an additional area adjacent to the region of operation of the barbecue to store a gas bottle but also improves the safety of operation in that the risk of a person falling over the bottle or the connecting gas fuel supply lines is reduced. The invention also provides an improved control knob arrangement which facilitates the provision of two viewing locations for control of the flow of gas to the burner elements of the barbecue. By enabling a user to operate the control mechanism by either looking down on the knob as it is rotated to the correct position or by stepping backwardly from the barbecue so as to view the front of the knob, the ease of operation is improved. While the invention has been described with reference to two exemplary embodiments it will be appreciated that it is not intended that IE 050 80.# the invention be limited in any way except as may be deemed necessary in the light of the appended claims.

The words comprises/comprising when used in this specification are to specify the presence of stated features, integers, steps or components but does not preclude the presence or addition of one or more other features, integers , steps, components or groups thereof.

Claims (10)

Claims .

1. A bottle gas fuelled barbecue, the barbecue having a housing supporting a cooking portion, the cooking portion being located in an upper region of the housing and including a burner having at least one burner element and configured in use to be in fluid communication with a bottle of gas, control of the flow of gas from the bottle to the burner element being provided by a control knob located on an exterior face of the housing and wherein the cooking portion further includes a grill located above the burner and a base located below the burner, the base sealing the cooking portion from the housing below so as to ensure that any residue cooking material does escape from the cooking portion, the barbecue being further configured to provide a thermally insulating membrane adjacent to the base of the cooking portion, the thermally insulating membrane providing a thermal barrier within the housing restricting the transfer of heat generated by the burner to the housing below the cooking portion such that the gas bottle may be stored and operated from a location immediately below the cooking region.

2. The barbecue as claimed in claim 1 wherein the insulating membrane is incorporated within the base panel or may be provided as a separate membrane to the base panel.

3. The barbecue as claimed in any preceding claim, the housing further including a base panel located in a lower region of the housing, the base panel having an aperture defined therein, the aperture being dimensioned to receive and seat an upstanding bottle of gas.

4. The barbecue as claimed in any preceding claim wherein the control knob is located on a front panel of the housing adjacent to the cooking portion.

5. The barbecue as claimed in any preceding claim wherein a plurality of burner elements are provided, each of the plurality of burner elements having a corresponding control knob so that each burner element can be each independently controlled.

6. The barbecue as claimed in any preceding claim wherein the control knob 5 includes a first member and a second member, the first and second members being rotatable relative to one another.

7. The barbecue as claimed in claim 6 wherein the first member is provided by a rotatable element which is rotatable relative to the second member which is 10 provided by a fixed casing, and wherein the rotatable element is mounted proud of the casing.

8. The barbecue as claimed in claim 7 wherein a plurality of alignment markers are provided on one of the casing or rotatable element and wherein 15 alignment of one of the plurality of alignment markers with a fixed marker provided on the other of the casing or rotatable element defines operating parameters for the burner.

9. The barbecue as claimed in claim 8 including first and second set of 20 alignment markers, the first set of alignment markers being provided on a front face of the rotatable element and a front face of the casing such that the alignment may be viewed from a first viewing location, the front of control knob, and the second set being provided on side surfaces of the casing and the rotatable element so as to provide a second viewing location, from above 25 the control knob.

10. A barbecue substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to and as illustrated in the accompanying drawings. ΙΕ ο5θβο·