US 12,342,960 B1
Grill feed and burn system
Justin Johnson, Gilbert, AZ (US); and Christopher James, Phoenix, AZ (US)
Assigned to Dansons US, LLC, Scottsdale, AZ (US)
Filed by Dansons US, LLC, Scottsdale, AZ (US)
Filed on Feb. 25, 2024, as Appl. No. 18/586,487.
Claims priority of provisional application 63/458,388, filed on Apr. 10, 2023.
Int. Cl. A47J 37/07 (2006.01)
CPC A47J 37/0786 (2013.01) [A47J 37/0704 (2013.01)] 20 Claims
OG exemplary drawing
 
1. A cooking appliance for cooking with a fuel, the cooking appliance comprising:
a hopper configured to hold the fuel and funnel the fuel into a throat, the throat extending between the hopper and an outlet of the cooking appliance;
a burn pot configured to receive the fuel and hold the fuel during combustion thereof;
a feed tube extending from an upstream end, proximate the hopper, to a downstream end, proximate the burn pot, wherein the feed tube is configured to move the fuel from the upstream end to the downstream end;
the upstream end of the feed tube is lower than the downstream end of the feed tube; and
a drain at the upstream end of the feed tube, disposed in the throat between the hopper and the outlet, and a trap mounted for sliding, reciprocating movement out of and into the throat between a first position in which the trap opens the drain to clear the fuel from the feed tube into the throat and out the outlet, and a second position in which the trap closes the drain;
wherein the trap includes a semi-cylindrical medial channel, disposed below an underside of the feed tube, and opposed flanges extending apart from the channel;
in the first position, the channel is out of registration with the drain to open the drain and the flanges open the throat on opposed sides of the feed tube, and
in the second position, the channel covers the drain and the flanges occlude the throat on the opposed sides of the feed tube.