With Means Facilitating Ash Removal Patents (Class 126/554)
  • Patent number: 8973758
    Abstract: An ash basket can act as a sieve or strainer, allowing a user to lift out the charcoal from a kamado grill, clean out the ash, and place the ash basket back into the grill for future use. The ash basket retains larger pieces of charcoal that can be reused, while allowing the ash to pass through to a bottom plate of the grill. The bottom plate has openings to permit the ash to fall to an ash collection chamber. Without the ash basket, pieces of charcoal can block the openings in the bottom plate, making ash collection difficult. Moreover, with the openings blocked, proper air flow through the openings. Finally, the ash basket creates and additional air space that covers the entire surface of the interior walls by separating the ash from the wall, improving air flow, which is critical to the kamado grill design.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 30, 2013
    Date of Patent: March 10, 2015
    Inventor: John Norman Nunnery
  • Patent number: 8322331
    Abstract: A burner for fuel in pellet or granular form in which the fuel has a high ash content, for example grass or hay pellets in which the ash content is 5% or more. The burner has a combustion chamber with a grate at its lower end, into which fuel and air are fed, the combustion chamber having a hot gas outlet for exhausting combustion gases. The grate is provided with a rotary member having upstanding vanes which is adapted to continually move ash or clinker on the grate through outlet apertures spaced around the grate. The grate is a generally planar, horizontal surface which is imperforate apart from the outlet apertures; air inlet ports are arranged in a circumferential wall surrounding the grate.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 14, 2009
    Date of Patent: December 4, 2012
    Inventor: Harold Angus Swanson
  • Patent number: 8220452
    Abstract: The removable fireplace cleanout facilitates the chore of cleaning ash and/or other residue from a fireplace. The cleanout device is a relatively wide, low pan or tray configured for placement within a fireplace hearth. Wheels and/or other rolling supports extend beneath the device to facilitate its installation in and removal from the fireplace hearth. One wall of the device includes a dump door, with the weighted door being held closed by gravity until the unit is tilted to dump ash and residue therein. Fillets may be provided to preclude trapping of ash in the corners of the device. An integral grate may be permanently installed atop the floor of the device, thereby precluding need for grate removal and soiling of the area where the grate is placed during conventional fireplace cleanout.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 15, 2004
    Date of Patent: July 17, 2012
    Inventor: John P. Brown
  • Publication number: 20090283092
    Abstract: A light weight, reusable, disposable, and relatively inexpensive pan that can be placed in a fireplace. One embodiment of the firelog pan includes a base, risers in the base that permit airflow under a firelog placed on the risers (thus helping the firelog to burn properely), and sidewalls that retain ash from a firelog burned in the firelog pan. The pan preferably is made of a lightweight heat resistant material. The pan preferably can be re-used several times before being discarded. The pan preferably is relatively inexpensive, so the pan can be replaced when desired.
    Type: Application
    Filed: July 1, 2008
    Publication date: November 19, 2009
    Inventor: Clancy Malone
  • Patent number: 6910410
    Abstract: A method and apparatus for manufacturing charcoal grilled foods including a forge conveyer loading and transferring charcoals burning after firing, a temperature sensor detecting the heating power on the forge, a continuous type forge of a charcoal fire consisting of an air blower to keep heating power constant by means of adjusting air-capacity on the basis of the heating power detected by the temperature sensor, an ingredients transportation conveyer arranged over the forge and appropriately turning over the ingredients while transferring them.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 13, 2001
    Date of Patent: June 28, 2005
    Assignee: Ajinomoto Co., Inc.
    Inventors: Morihiro Sada, Teijirou Nakamura
  • Patent number: 6405724
    Abstract: A vertical stack—vertical draft fireplace grate which has a forwardly inclined log retaining portion with a lowermost log in close proximity to the floor of the fireplace and which cooperates with the rear wall of the fireplace to hold logs in a V-shaped stack immediately adjacent the wall. Undesired smoke is eliminated, starting facilitated and heat radiation forwardly through the fireplace opening greatly enhanced, while both safety and automatic feeding features are also enhanced.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 16, 2000
    Date of Patent: June 18, 2002
    Inventor: Jesse Richard
  • Patent number: 6250297
    Abstract: A grate at the bottom of a hearth leads to a funnel shaped ash hopper and then to an ash removal pipe conduit. An electrical motor creates a vacuum in a canister located at an end of the pipe conduit distal from the ash hopper. An electric switch in a residence containing the hearth actuates the motor and causes cooled ash to move from the hearth to the canister where it can be removed for off site disposal.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 30, 2000
    Date of Patent: June 26, 2001
    Inventor: Byron Lloyd Matlock
  • Patent number: 5718217
    Abstract: A safety device for fireplaces provides a non-flammable apron adjacent to the fireplace opening, the apron being sloped up in a direction away from the fireplace. Thus, logs or embers discharged from the fireplace will engage the apron, and will dissipate their energy in moving up hill. The device has a switch that is closed when the apron is contacted for sounding an alarm. A panel beneath the apron defines a space, and the air in the space will be heated. The heated air is directed into the living space, either by natural or forced convection.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 17, 1996
    Date of Patent: February 17, 1998
    Inventors: Javier Aleman, Kevin B. McBurney
  • Patent number: 5513625
    Abstract: An improved fireplace grate which controls the scattering of ashes from fire logs is disclosed. A shroud is attached to the outer edges of a fireplace grate so that ashes from burning logs are deflected inward toward the grate instead of outward onto the floor of the fireplace. A removable tray beneath the grate is provided to collect the ashes and allow the ashes to be disposed of by simply removing and emptying the tray.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 26, 1995
    Date of Patent: May 7, 1996
    Inventor: George R. Landman
  • Patent number: 4979495
    Abstract: There is disclosed a fireplace system to be installed in a chimney, the chimney having at least two openings in side walls of the chimney, comprising a hearth vertically moveable in the chimney, the hearth being accessible through the openings, doors to seal the openings, lifting means connected to the hearth for moving the hearth vertically in the chimney, vertical guide means for guiding the hearth in the chimney during vertical motion, and holding means for holding the hearth at a vertical position.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 2, 1990
    Date of Patent: December 25, 1990
    Inventor: Joseph Delattre
  • Patent number: 4901706
    Abstract: An ash mat comprises a laminate preformed to the size and shape of the bottom of a structure in which ashes are generated, such as a fireplace, a wood burning stove or an outdoor bar-b-que appliance. The laminate is made up of two outer layers of aluminum foil and an inner layer of fiberglass matting or spun glass matting adhered to the outer layers. The laminate is provided with handles so that it can be picked up easily, thus facilitating disposal of the mat and its contents. The handles are in the form of holes through the laminate and are preferably reinforced to prevent tearing of the material and to avoid sharp edges which would be hazardous to the user.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 5, 1986
    Date of Patent: February 20, 1990
    Inventor: Leroy F. Schwanke, Jr.