U.S. patent number 3,809,054 [Application Number 05/313,901] was granted by the patent office on 1974-05-07 for collapsible camp stove.
This patent grant is currently assigned to Olin Corporation. Invention is credited to Cader E. Bowman, Daniel W. Lapins.
United States Patent |
3,809,054 |
Bowman , et al. |
May 7, 1974 |
COLLAPSIBLE CAMP STOVE
Abstract
A campstove of the collapsible variety having preferably three
point support. Two pivotable legs provide two of the points of
support for the stove and the fuel container provides the third
point of support. Burner means for the stove is mounted on a
bracket as are the two stove legs. Utensil supports are sandwiched
between the burner means and the bracket and are pivotable between
operative and inoperative positions. The stove can be collapsed for
storage without use of special tools.
Inventors: |
Bowman; Cader E. (Sycamore,
IL), Lapins; Daniel W. (Dekalb, IL) |
Assignee: |
Olin Corporation (New Haven,
CT)
|
Family
ID: |
23217657 |
Appl.
No.: |
05/313,901 |
Filed: |
December 11, 1972 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
126/38;
126/44 |
Current CPC
Class: |
F24C
3/14 (20130101) |
Current International
Class: |
F24C
3/14 (20060101); F24C 3/00 (20060101); F24c
005/20 () |
Field of
Search: |
;126/40,38,44,9R,25 |
References Cited
[Referenced By]
U.S. Patent Documents
Foreign Patent Documents
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
910,865 |
|
Feb 1946 |
|
FR |
|
71,828 |
|
Feb 1960 |
|
FR |
|
82,351 |
|
Jan 1935 |
|
SW |
|
1,017,795 |
|
Jan 1966 |
|
GB |
|
1,350,068 |
|
Dec 1963 |
|
FR |
|
Primary Examiner: O'Dea; William F.
Assistant Examiner: Joyce; Harold
Attorney, Agent or Firm: Motsko; Donald R. Kieser; H. Samuel
Jones; William W.
Claims
1. A portable campstove comprising:
a. a bracket;
b. a fuel tank assembly rigidly secured to said bracket, said fuel
tank assembly having a rigid fuel conduit having a threaded end
portion extending through an opening in said bracket;
c. burner means having a threaded opening screwed onto said
threaded end portion of said fuel conduit to mount said burner
means on said bracket;
d. support means pivotally connected to said bracket and movable
thereon between an erected position and a collapsed position, said
support means, when in said erected position, combining with said
fuel tank assembly to provide stable support for the campstove;
e. means on said bracket for engaging said support means to hold
the latter against pivotal movement when said support means is in
said erected position and the campstove is off of a supporting
surface; and
f. utensil-supporting means mounted on said bracket about said
burner means for supporting an object to be heated, said
utensil-supporting means including a plurality of supporting
members each having a portion which is sandwiched between said
burner means and said bracket and secured to said bracket by pins
extending through aligned openings in said supporting member and
said bracket, said pins being held in place by said burner means,
at least two of said members being pivotally mounted on said
bracket and movable between collapsed positions closely adjacent to
another member, and erected positions angularly offset from each
other and
2. The campstove of claim 1 further comprising stop means on said
bracket for positively locating said movable utensil-supporting
members in their respective erected positions.
Description
This invention relates to a collapsible stove for camping or for
emergency use around the house. The stove has a bare minimum of
parts, and can be folded into a compact configuration for storage,
or erected for use in a matter of seconds without any tools being
required.
A great variety of camping stoves have been developed for use by
ever expanding recreational camping public. The campstoves of the
prior art range from multi-burner stoves contained in luggage-like
cases, which stoves are rather expensive and complex, to skeleton
stoves of wire frame construction which are quite inexpensive and
of comparatively simple design.
No matter how complex or simple the stove, it must include a
burner, a utensil support, a fuel source, and conduits for feeding
the fuel to the burner. Also, preferably, there will be some means
for adjusting the flame height emitting from the burner. Some
stoves are fueled with kerosene, white gas, or some other form of
fuel which is atomized before being fed to the burners, and other
stoves are fueled with the vapors of liquid petroleum fuel, such as
propane, which is contained under pressure in a fuel cylinder.
The stove of this invention is of the type fueled by the vapors of
a liquid petroleum fuel, such as propane, which is stored under
pressure in a fuel cylinder. The stove is also of the skeletal
variety which includes a minimum number of parts. The burner of the
stove of this invention is elevated from the ground or other
supporting surface by means of a tripod, two parts of which are
formed by legs, and the third part of which is formed by the fuel
cylinder. The legs are preferably rod-like in construction, and are
mounted on a bracket for pivotal movement thereon between an
erected position and a compact storage position. The
utensil-supporting members are preferably rod-like elements which
are pivotally mounted on the bracket for movement between a compact
storage position and a utensil-supporting operating position. The
burner is preferably a cup-shaped member which is threaded onto a
fuel conduit which passes through the bracket, thus the fuel
conduit and burner are connected together to the bracket.
It is thus an object of this invention to provide a campstove
having a minimum number of parts which can be quickly folded into a
compact storage configuration.
It is a further object of this invention to provide a campstove of
the character described which is fueled by propane contained in a
cylinder under pressure.
It is yet another object of this invention to provide a campstove
of the character described wherein the fuel cylinder serves as one
of the supports for the burner.
These and other objects and advantages of this invention will be
more readily apparent from the following detailed description of a
preferred embodiment of the invention taken in conjunction with the
accompanying drawings, in which:
FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a preferred embodiment of the stove
of this invention shown in its erected condition and ready for
use;
FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the stove of FIG. 1 shown in its
collapsed condition for storage;
FIG. 3 is a perspective view of one of the utensil-supporting
elements used on the stove of FIG. 1;
FIG. 4 is a perspective view of a portion of one of the legs of the
stove;
FIG. 5 is a plan view of the underside of the bracket member of the
stove;
FIG. 6 is a sectional view taken along line 6--6 of FIG. 5;
FIG. 7 is a sectional view taken along line 7--7 of FIG. 5; and
FIG. 8 is a vertical sectional view taken axially through the
bracket and burner portion of the stove in the erected condition
showing details of the manner in which the stove is assembled.
Referring now to FIG. 1, the stove is shown in its erected position
wherein it is operative to be used for cooking or heating. The
stove includes a main bracket member 2 having a pair of downwardly
turned side portions 4 and a generally flat, horizontal mid portion
6. A pair of rod-like legs 8 are pivotally mounted to the bracket
side portions 4 by means of rivets 10, the legs 8 being angularly
offset from each other at an included angle of approximately
40.degree.. A burner assembly 12 is mounted on the upper side of
the bracket 2, the burner 12 including a plurality of openings 14
for the emission of fuel to form flame jets. A rigid fuel conduit
16 is secured to the burner 12 on one end and carries a valve
housing 18 of conventional construction, on the other end. The gas
pressure regulator valve housing 18 is threaded onto a conventional
fuel cylinder 20 which holds a liquid petroleum fuel such as
propane under pressure. The lower end of the fuel cylinder 20
touches the ground, or other supporting surface, so that the legs 8
and fuel tank 20 combine to provide three point support for the
burner 12. It will be noted that the upper, or outlet end of the
fuel cylinder 20 is elevated with respect to the bottom of the fuel
cylinder when the stove is erected for use thus causing the fuel
vapor within the cylinder to move to the outlet end thereof to be
drawn into the fuel conduit 16. The valved fitting 18 is provided
with a control stem 22 and knob 24 which are rotated to open and
close the valve (not shown) within the fitting 18 to control the
flowage of fuel from the cylinder 20 into the fuel conduit 16. The
conduit 16 is provided with air inlet openings 26 through which
ambient air is drawn into the fuel for combustion. A plurality of
U-shaped utensil support members 28, 30 and 32 are mounted on the
bracket 2 in a manner more clearly set forth hereinafter, the
members 28, 30 and 32 being symmetrically disposed at approximately
120.degree. angles from each other when the stove is in the erected
condition.
The stove of this invention is shown in FIG. 2 in its collapsed
condition which is a compact, space-saving arrangement wherein the
stove can be easily transported or stored. The legs 8 are both
pivoted into close proximity to the fuel cylinder 20, and the
utensil supports 32 and 30 are each pivoted in opposite directions
until they lie in close proximity to the remaining utensil support
28. The burner 12 is held above the fuel tank 20 by the rigid fuel
conduit 16. Thus the entire stove is easily carried by the bottom
of the fuel tank 20. It will be noted that the folded stove takes
up very little lateral space above and beyond that occupied by the
fuel cylinder 20 alone.
Referring to FIG. 3, one of the utensil supporting elements is
shown, each of the elements preferably being identical in
construction. The elements 28, 30 and 32 each include a lower
portion 34 having a flattened terminal part 36 which is sandwiched
between the burner 12 and the bracket 2 when the stove is
assembled. A pair of openings 38 and 40 are disposed on the flat
36. An upwardly extending mid portion 42 serves to interconnect the
lower portion 34 with an upper horizontal utensil supporting
portion 44.
Referring to FIG. 4, one of the legs 8 is shown, both of the legs
being identical in construction. The leg includes a first upper
straight portion 46 having a terminal flat part 48 through which is
disposed an aperture 50. The remainder of the leg is an axially
straight portion 52 which extends at an angle from the first
portion 46.
Referring now to FIGS. 5, 6 and 7, the bracket 2 is shown from the
bottom or underside. As previously noted, the bracket 2 includes a
pair of downwardly extending side wall portions 4 interconnected by
a flat web or mid portion 6. Each side wall 4 is provided with a
hole 54 which is aligned with the hole 50 on the legs 8. The rivet
10 passes through the aligned holes 50 and 54 to connect the legs 8
to the bracket 2, with the legs 8 being pivotable about the rivets
10. It should be noted that the rivets 10 can be riveted (peened)
or simply inserted through holes 50 and 54 without riveting since
the burner assembly 12 will imprison mount all elements in final
assembly. An inwardly protruding dimple is disposed on each side
wall 4 so as to provide a bump 56 on each side wall which bump 56
engages the flat part 48 of each leg 8 when the latter is pivoted
to its erected position to hold the legs 8 in their erected
positions even if the erected stove is lifted off of the ground or
other supporting surface. This locking feature is shown most
clearly in FIG. 8. The bracket web 6 is provided with a central
aperture 58 through which the fuel conduit 16 extends, and a pair
of aligned apertures 60 and 62. The aligned apertures 60 and 62
receive pins 64 and 66 (see FIG. 8) respectively which also pass
through openings 38 and 40 in the utensil support element 28 to
fasten the latter to the bracket 2. Other apertures 68 and 70 are
disposed about the aperture 58 through the web 6, the apertures 68
and 70 each receiving a pin which also passes through the opening
38 in the utensil supports 32 and 30 respectively to attach the
latter to the bracket 2 in a pivoting connection. A pair of
semi-perforations 72 and 74 are positioned of the bracket web 6 so
as to provide stops 76 to limit the amount of pivotal movement
which can be imparted to the supports 30 and 32. The support 30 can
be pivoted in a counter-clockwise direction from the collapsed
position shown in FIG. 2 until it strikes the stop 76 which is
located so that the support 30 will angularly offset 120.degree.
from the support 28 when the stove is erected. Likewise, the
support 32 is pivoted in a clockwise direction from its position
adjacent the support 28 until it strikes its respective stop
76.
Referring now to FIG. 8, the manner in which the stove is assembled
is most clearly shown. The burner 12 includes an inverted
cup-shaped member 78 having an outwardly sloping side wall 80
through which the flame openings 14 extend. A base plate member 82
comprises the bottom of the burner 12, the plate 82 having an
upwardly and inwardly turned flange 84 which overlies and captures
the rim of the member 78 to lock the members 78 and 82 together.
The plate 82 is provided with a boss 86 having a threaded bore 88
into which is screwed the threaded terminal 90 of the fuel conduit
16. The fuel conduit terminal 90 passes through the bracket
aperture 58. Thus when the burner 12 is screwed tightly down onto
the fuel conduit 90, the burner base plate 82 overlies and holds
the pins 64 and 66 (which in turn secure the support 28 to the
bracket 2) in place, and likewise holds the pins which hold the
other supports 30 and 32 in place. It is noted that the plate 2 is
trapped between the burner plate 82 and the upset ring 91 on the
fuel conduit 16.
Thus the assembly of the stove is quite simply and easily
accomplished. After the legs 8 are riveted to the bracket portions
4, the supports are properly positioned on top of the bracket web
6, and the pins, such as 64, 66, etc. are passed through the
aligned support and bracket openings. The fuel conduit terminal 90
is then passed upwardly through the bracket opening 58 and the
burner 12 is screwed tightly down onto the fuel conduit terminal
90.
It will be readily appreciated that the stove of this invention is
of maximum stability due to the three point support afforded the
stove by the two legs and the fuel tank. Further stability is
provided by the three sturdy utensil supporting elements. By
locking the legs in their erected positions, one can pick the stove
up while in the erected position and move it without any danger
that the legs will move so as to create the possibility of collapse
when the stove is put down again. The utensil support stops ensure
that the supports will always be properly positioned for maximum
stability when the stove is erected. The stove is inexpensive
because of its relatively few components, their relatively simple
construction, and the ease with which the stove can be assembled.
Finally, the stove can be quickly erected for use, and can be
quickly collapsed to a very compact form not much larger than the
fuel tank for storage and transport.
Since many changes and variations of the disclosed embodiment of
the invention can be made without departing from the inventive
concept, it is not intended to limit the invention otherwise than
as required by the appended claims.
* * * * *