Patent Application
20200393136
The present disclosure relates to fire pits for burning combustible materials.
Conventional fire pits are metal structures used for providing platforms, raised above ground level, upon which fires may be formed. Many of these structures are intended to be portable for convenience of use during camping, for example. Unfortunately, these fire pits tend to suffer from complicated disassembly/assembly procedures and/or other shortcomings, such as limited airflow paths for sustaining the fires. Therefore, it is desirable to provide fire pit systems that address these and/or other perceived deficiencies.
Fire pit systems are provided. An embodiment of a fire pit system comprises: a base having an upper surface and defining an outer perimeter; a housing defining an interior, a bottom opening and a top opening, the bottom opening communicating with the interior and the top opening communicating with the interior, the housing having legs spaced from each other, the legs being attached to the base and configured such that the bottom opening is displaced from the upper surface of the base and the housing extends upwardly from the upper surface; a fire platform disposed within the interior of the housing between the bottom opening and the top opening, the fire platform extending across the interior and being configured to support combustible materials placed thereon, the fire platform defining openings therethrough; and support legs extending downwardly from the base, the support legs being configured to raise the base from surface upon which the base is positioned.
In some embodiments, the housing exhibits a rectangular cross-section.
In some embodiments, the housing is formed of four interconnected panels.
In some embodiments, the first of the panels defines a carry opening disposed between the top and the fire platform.
In some embodiments, a first of the panels has a body portion, a first flange, a second flange, a first leg portion and a second leg portion; the body portion defines a first side edge and an opposing second side edge; the first flange extends outwardly from the body portion along the first side edge; and the second flange extends outwardly from the body portion along the second side edge.
In some embodiments, the first flange of the first of the panels defines a first slot; and a second of the panels has a pin configured to engage within the first slot to secure the second of the panels to the first of the panels.
In some embodiments, the first leg portion has a first side edge aligned with the first side edge of the body portion, and the first flange further extends along the first side edge of the first leg portion; and the second leg portion has a second side edge aligned with the second side edge of the body portion, and the second flange further extends along the second side edge of the second leg portion.
In some embodiments, the first leg portion and the second leg portion define, at least in part, an air flow path between the housing and the base.
In some embodiments, the first leg portion defines a bottom edge and has a first mounting flange extending outwardly therefrom; the second leg portion defines a bottom edge and has a second mounting flange extending outwardly therefrom; and the first mounting flange and the second mounting flange are configured to mount the first of the panels to the base.
Other features and/or advantages will become apparent from the following detailed description of the preferred but non-limiting embodiments.
For ease in explanation, the following describes several embodiments of fire pit systems. It is to be understood that the invention is not limited in its application to the details of the particular arrangements shown since the invention is capable of other embodiments. Also, the terminology used herein is for the purpose of description and not of limitation.
In this regard, various embodiments may provide alternatives to conventional fire pit systems. This may be accomplished by a fire pit system that incorporates interlocking panels that may be conveniently assembled. Preferred embodiments will now be described with reference to the drawings.
As shown in
Housing 104 defines an interior 116 within which a fire is intended to burn. Housing 104 also defines a bottom opening 118 and a top opening 120, both of which communicate with interior 106. In this embodiment, housing 104 exhibits a rectangular cross-section and is formed of four interlocking panels (e.g., panel 122) that will be described in greater detail later.
Housing also incorporates legs (e.g., legs 131 and 132) that are spaced from each other and used to attach the housing to base 102 so that housing 104 extends upwardly from upper surface 108. In particular, the legs are configured to displace bottom opening 118 from upper surface 108 of base 102.
Fire platform 106 is disposed within interior 116 between bottom opening 118 and top opening 120. Fire platform 106 extends across interior 116 and is configured to support combustible materials placed thereon. In some embodiments, fire platform 106 extends across the entirety of the width and length of the interior. Fire platform 106 also defines openings (e.g., opening 136) that are configured to permit flows of air therethrough.
Additionally, support legs (141-144) extend downwardly from base 102 and are configured to elevate base 102 from a surface (e.g., the ground) upon which base 102 is positioned. Positioning may be accomplished by a user lifting fire pit system 100 by carry openings 146 and 148, which are defined by housing 104 and positioned between platform 106 and top opening 120. In this embodiment, the carry opening are formed by cut-out portions (e.g., cut-out portion 124) of the metal panels that are bent along a fold line. This configuration, being spaced from the fire, enables the metal in the vicinity of the carry openings to cool more quickly which facilitates convenience of movement. This position may also result in reduced soot accumulation about the carry openings. Further, unlike a conventional fire pit, which incorporates handles near the base, the position of the carry opening towards the top of the fire pit system eases movement by making it unnecessary for the user to bend over as is typically done when attempting to grasp base-level handles.
As shown in
Panel 122 also incorporates a set of openings (e.g., opening 126) that are disposed above the mounting position of fire platform 106 in order to facilitate air flow into the interior of housing 104. In this embodiment, the openings positioned closer to fire platform 106 are generally of a larger area than those positioned farther from the fire platform to accommodate larger inflows of air closer to fire platform 106.
Also shown in
In this embodiment, four panels are used to form the housing, with panels 122 and 162 being similarly configured and panels 160 and 164 being similarly configured (
Additionally, leg portions 182 and 184 extend downwardly from a bottom of panel 122. Leg portion 182 includes an outer side edge 183 that is aligned with side edge 152, and leg portion 184 includes an outer side edge 185 that is aligned with side edge 154. In this embodiment, flange 153 extends downwardly along outer side edge 183, and flange 155 extends downwardly along outer side edge 185.
Mounting flanges are used to attach panel 122 to base 102. Specifically, mounting flange 193 extends outwardly from a bottom edge 192 of leg portion 182, and mounting flange 195 extends outwardly from a bottom edge 194 of leg portion 184. In this embodiment, the mounting flanges define through-holes through which mechanical fasteners (e.g., bolt and nut assemblies) are attached. The leg portions of each panel assist in defining an airflow path located adjacent to base 102. The airflow path communicates with interior 116 to provide an upwardly directed flow of air toward and through fire platform 106. By way of example, leg portions 182 and 184 of panel 122 assist in defining an airflow path 200.
As shown in
The embodiments described above are illustrative of the invention and it will be appreciated that various permutations of these embodiments may be implemented consistent with the scope and spirit of the invention.
