1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to outdoor grills. More particularly, the present invention relates to an outdoor grill of the type that employs a propane or butane fueled burner element placed under a flat grilling surface of a table top, wherein a specially configured tabletop and pedestal arrangement enables a cook to stand next to and cook food on the tabletop grilling surface, and wherein a plurality of individuals are able to sit next to the table at positions next to a cool zone that has quickly removable tiles for easy replacement spaced away from the cook.
2. General Background of the Invention
Teppanyaki is a type of Japanese cuisine. It can also refer to a type of grill. In Japan, Teppanyaki can refer to a number of different dishes that are cooked using a flat iron or other metal plate that is heated. It is popular to locate the hot plate at the center of a diner's table. In America, the Benihana® Restaurant chain has for years employed a Teppanyaki style grilling table for the cuisine that they served.
Teppanyaki style or Asian style table grills are commercially available. One example is a Teppanyaki Asian table grill by Silit-Werke Gmbh & CoKG and sold at www.amazon.com.
A website that offers a Teppanyaki style cooking apparatus is www.cook-n-dine-usa.com. The product offered by Cook 'N Dine.com provides a cooking center which sinks down slightly and thus forms a shallow pit of up to sixteen (16) inches diameter (thermal expansion towards the heat source underneath). A second area is a warming area, said to be a ring of about three (3) inches width surrounding the cooking center. The temperature in that warming area is approximately fifty percent (50%) lower than the set cooking temperature at the cooking center. A third area is a dining area which is the remaining space toward the edge of the table surface which stays completely cold. The Cook 'N Dine.com product provides a foot having stabilizer arms, a pipe or stand, a heating element and a heating element enclosure with a tabletop cooking surface that includes the three aforementioned zones or areas.
Large and relatively expensive, Teppanyaki style grills are available from www.Become.com, such as for example the model DI-48-12KW Drop In Teppanyaki Grill which measures 48″H×23″W×1″deep. A larger 60″×23″×1″ model is also available. Similar commercial model Teppanyaki grills are available from www.instawares.com.
The following possibly relevant U.S. patents are incorporated herein by reference:
TABLEPAT. NO.TITLEISSUE DATE5,740,723 Portable Outdoor High TemperatureApr. 21, 1998Griddle4,724,823Radiant Gas Burner AssemblyFeb. 16, 19886,995,340Portable OvenFeb. 07, 2006