Indoor barbecue system

• US 7,044,050 B1
• Filed: 03/31/2005
• Issued: 05/16/2006
• Est. Priority Date: 03/31/2005
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Willie Cook
• Original Assignee: Willie Cook
• Inventors: Cook, Willie
• Primary Examiner(s): Simone, Timothy F.
• Application Number:
  US11/093,985
• Time in Patent Office: 411 Days
• Field of Search: 993/39, 993/40, 994/41, 994/67, 99444-450, 99476-479, 994/27, 126/25.R, 126/9.R, 126/59.5, 126/21.A, 426/314, 426/315, 426/233, 426/523
• US Class Current: 99/482
• CPC Class Codes: A47J 37/0754 with blowers providing forced air circulation

Abstract

A barbecue system includes a housing including a plurality of monolithically formed side walls sized and shaped for defining a cooking cavity therebetween. The housing further includes a plurality of rigid support legs attached to a bottom one of the side walls. The support legs are outwardly canted at an oblique angle from the housing. The barbecue system further includes a mechanism for withdrawing heat and smoke from the cavity in such a manner that ambient air and ambient temperature within the enclosed environment can remain substantially smoke-free and heat-free during cooking operations and a mechanism for supplying heat into the cavity. A mechanism for disseminating an artificially-flavored air stream is also included. The disseminating mechanism is positioned vertically above the heat supplying mechanism and a cooking platform is registered above the disseminating mechanism.

Claims

1. A barbecue system employable within an enclosed environment, said barbecue system comprising:

a housing including a plurality of monolithically formed side walls sized and shaped for defining a cooking cavity therebetween, a front one of said side walls having an opening formed in such a manner that an operator can selectively place foodstuff within the cavity during cooking operations, a top one of said side walls having an oblique outer surface defining a dome provided with a centrally registered apex having an exit aperture formed therein, said housing further including a plurality of rigid support legs attached to a bottom one of said side walls for maintaining said housing at an elevated position above a ground surface, said housing further including an access door pivotally connected to said front side wall in such a manner that the operator can effectively articulate said access door about a horizontally aligned fulcrum axis extending across a width of said front side wall opening and between raised and lowered positions respectively;

means for withdrawing heat and smoke from the cavity in such a manner that ambient air and ambient temperature within the enclosed environment can remain substantially smoke-free and heat-free during cooking operations, said withdrawing means extending outwardly and away from said housing and leading directly to an opening formed in an exterior wall structure such that heat and smoke byproducts can be effectively discharged exterior of the enclosed environment;

means for supplying heat into the cavity;

means for disseminating an artificially-flavored air stream such that the air stream saturates the cavity and impregnates the foodstuff during cooking operations, said disseminating means being positioned vertically above said heat supplying means; and

a cooking platform registered above said disseminating means in such a manner that the air stream passes upwardly through the foodstuff supported on said cooking platform prior to exiting said housing via said withdrawing means;

wherein said heat supplying means and said withdrawing means are independently operable during cooking operations such that the operator can effectively smoke the foodstuff without employing said heat supplying means after the cavity has reached a predetermined temperature threshold and said disseminating means has effectively saturated the cavity respectively.

2. The barbecue system of claim 1, wherein said withdrawing means comprises:

an exhaust conduit operably conjoined to the exit opening and in fluid communication with the cavity, said exhaust conduit having first and second end portions wherein said first end portion is securely coupled to said housing; and

a power fan assembly operably attached to said second end portion of said exhaust conduit, said fan assembly including a cage nested within the wall structure of the enclosed environment and further including a rotary blade nested within said cage wherein the smoke and the heat are extracted therethrough during operating conditions.

3. The barbecue system of claim 1, wherein said heat supplying means comprises:

a gas inlet passing through a lower portion of said housing; and

a burner operably mated to said gas inlet and spanning across a bottom surface of said housing.

4. The barbecue system of claim 1, wherein said disseminating means comprises:

a tray having monolithically formed side walls for defining a substantially planar bottom surface and upwardly protruding edges, said tray being sized and shaped so that the operator can selectively remove said tray from said housing while said cooking platform remains nested within said housing; and

a plurality of flavored pellets removably situated within said tray, said pellets being heat-activated for releasing a selected aroma upwardly towards said cooking platform.

5. The barbecue system of claim 1, wherein said cooking platform comprises:

a drip pan sized and shaped for spanning across an entire width of said disseminating means while being freely removably from said housing through said front side wall opening; and

a grill surface removably positioned on top of said drip pan in such a manner that said drip pan collects undesirable foodstuff byproducts for effectively sheltering said disseminating means during cooking operations.

6. The barbecue system of claim 1, wherein said access door comprises:

an elongated hinge axially situated along the fulcrum axis.

7. A barbecue system employable within an enclosed environment, said barbecue system comprising:

a housing including a plurality of monolithically formed side walls sized and shaped for defining a cooking cavity therebetween, a front one of said side walls having an opening formed in such a manner that an operator can selectively place foodstuff within the cavity during cooking operations, a top one of said side walls having an oblique outer surface defining a dome provided with a centrally registered apex having an exit aperture formed therein, said housing further including a plurality of rigid support legs attached to a bottom one of said side walls for maintaining said housing at an elevated position above a ground surface, said housing further including an access door pivotally connected to said front side wall in such a manner that the operator can effectively articulate said access door about a horizontally aligned fulcrum axis extending across a width of said front side wall opening and between raised and lowered positions respectively, said access door being provided with a transparent window centrally conjoined thereto so that the operator can maintain continuous visual contact with the cavity when standing exterior of said housing;

means for withdrawing heat and smoke from the cavity in such a manner that ambient air and ambient temperature within the enclosed environment can remain substantially smoke-free and heat-free during cooking operations, said withdrawing means extending outwardly and away from said housing and leading directly to an opening formed in an exterior wall structure such that heat and smoke byproducts can be effectively discharged exterior of the enclosed environment;

means for supplying heat into the cavity;

means for disseminating an artificially-flavored air stream such that the air stream saturates the cavity and impregnates the foodstuff during cooking operations, said disseminating means being positioned vertically above said heat supplying means; and

a cooking platform registered above said disseminating means in such a manner that the air stream passes upwardly through the foodstuff supported on said cooking platform prior to exiting said housing via said withdrawing means;

wherein said heat supplying means and said withdrawing means are independently operable during cooking operations such that the operator can effectively smoke the foodstuff without employing said heat supplying means after the cavity has reached a predetermined temperature threshold and said disseminating means has effectively saturated the cavity respectively.

8. The barbecue system of claim 7, wherein said withdrawing means comprises:

an exhaust conduit operably conjoined to the exit opening and in fluid communication with the cavity, said exhaust conduit having first and second end portions wherein said first end portion is securely coupled to said housing; and

a power fan assembly operably attached to said second end portion of said exhaust conduit, said fan assembly including a cage nested within the wall structure of the enclosed environment and further including a rotary blade nested within said cage wherein the smoke and the heat are extracted therethrough during operating conditions.

9. The barbecue system of claim 7, wherein said heat supplying means comprises:

a gas inlet passing through a lower portion of said housing; and

a burner operably mated to said gas inlet and spanning across a bottom surface of said housing.

10. The barbecue system of claim 7, wherein said disseminating means comprises:

a tray having monolithically formed side walls for defining a substantially planar bottom surface and upwardly protruding edges, said tray being sized and shaped so that the operator can selectively remove said tray from said housing while said cooking platform remains nested within said housing; and

a plurality of flavored pellets removably situated within said tray, said pellets being heat-activated for releasing a selected aroma upwardly towards said cooking platform.

11. The barbecue system of claim 7, wherein said cooking platform comprises:

a drip pan sized and shaped for spanning across an entire width of said disseminating means while being freely removably from said housing through said front side wall opening; and

a grill surface removably positioned on top of said drip pan in such a manner that said drip pan collects undesirable foodstuff byproducts for effectively sheltering said disseminating means during cooking operations.

12. The barbecue system of claim 7, wherein said access door comprises:

an elongated hinge axially situated along the fulcrum axis.

13. A barbecue system employable within an enclosed environment, said barbecue system comprising:

a housing including a plurality of monolithically formed side walls sized and shaped for defining a cooking cavity therebetween, a front one of said side walls having an opening formed in such a manner that an operator can selectively place foodstuff within the cavity during cooking operations, a top one of said side walls having an oblique outer surface defining a dome provided with a centrally registered apex having an exit aperture formed therein, said housing further including a plurality of rigid support legs attached to a bottom one of said side walls for maintaining said housing at an elevated position above a ground surface, said housing further including an access door pivotally connected to said front side wall in such a manner that the operator can effectively articulate said access door about a horizontally aligned fulcrum axis extending across a width of said front side wall opening and between raised and lowered positions respectively, said access door being provided with a transparent window centrally conjoined thereto so that the operator can maintain continuous visual contact with the cavity when standing exterior of said housing, said access door further including a plurality of handles secured to a top lip of said access door for assisting the operator to adapt said access door between the raised and lowered positions, said support legs being outwardly canted at an oblique angle from said housing;

means for withdrawing heat and smoke from the cavity in such a manner that ambient air and ambient temperature within the enclosed environment can remain substantially smoke-free and heat-free during cooking operations, said withdrawing means extending outwardly and away from said housing and leading directly to an opening formed in an exterior wall structure such that heat and smoke byproducts can be effectively discharged exterior of the enclosed environment;

means for supplying heat into the cavity;

means for disseminating an artificially-flavored air stream such that the air stream saturates the cavity and impregnates the foodstuff during cooking operations, said disseminating means being positioned vertically above said heat supplying means; and

a cooking platform registered above said disseminating means in such a manner that the air stream passes upwardly through the foodstuff supported on said cooking platform prior to exiting said housing via said withdrawing means;

wherein said heat supplying means and said withdrawing means are independently operable during cooking operations such that the operator can effectively smoke the foodstuff without employing said heat supplying means after the cavity has reached a predetermined temperature threshold and said disseminating means has effectively saturated the cavity respectively.

14. The barbecue system of claim 13, wherein said withdrawing means comprises:

an exhaust conduit operably conjoined to the exit opening and in fluid communication with the cavity, said exhaust conduit having first and second end portions wherein said first end portion is securely coupled to said housing; and

a power fan assembly operably attached to said second end portion of said exhaust conduit, said fan assembly including a cage nested within the wall structure of the enclosed environment and further including a rotary blade nested within said cage wherein the smoke and the heat are extracted therethrough during operating conditions.

15. The barbecue system of claim 13, wherein said heat supplying means comprises:

a gas inlet passing through a lower portion of said housing; and

a burner operably mated to said gas inlet and spanning across a bottom surface of said housing.

16. The barbecue system of claim 13, wherein said disseminating means comprises:

a tray having monolithically formed side walls for defining a substantially planar bottom surface and upwardly protruding edges, said tray being sized and shaped so that the operator can selectively remove said tray from said housing while said cooking platform remains nested within said housing; and

a plurality of flavored pellets removably situated within said tray, said pellets being heat-activated for releasing a selected aroma upwardly towards said cooking platform.

17. The barbecue system of claim 13, wherein said cooking platform comprises:

a drip pan sized and shaped for spanning across an entire width of said disseminating means while being freely removably from said housing through said front side wall opening; and

a grill surface removably positioned on top of said drip pan in such a manner that said drip pan collects undesirable foodstuff byproducts for effectively sheltering said disseminating means during cooking operations.

18. The barbecue system of claim 13, wherein said access door comprises:

an elongated hinge axially situated along the fulcrum axis.