Patent Grant
10641489
This invention relates to canteens for storing and drinking water and, more particularly, to such canteens that have one or more water fire-starting lenses therein to start fires with the canteen using sunlight.
The technology of the burning glass or fire-starting lens has been known since antiquity. Fire-starting lenses are still used to light fires in outdoor and primitive settings. A fire-starting lens is simply a small powerful magnifying glass. Any sort of magnifying lens may be used to start a fire on a sunny day. The lens is held at such an angle as to focus the sun's light into as small an area as possible. By placing some tinder under this spot the tinder will soon start to smoke and catch fire.
Campers, hikers, and the like use fire-starting lenses to start fires outdoors for cooking, to sterilize water, for warmth, to light up the darkness, and for some degree of protection against animals. They also carry canteens for water. It is known to have one side of a canteen as a lens to heat water within the interior of the canteen, as disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,696,284. There are two chambers in the canteen of this patent, with one being for water and the other for air. The air chamber is positioned between water chamber and the lens. The lens focuses sunlight on the water chamber to heat the water therein. The lens as it is constructed in this canteen is not useful as a fire-starting lens. What would be useful, but heretofore unavailable, is a lens in a canteen that can be used as a fire-starting lens to start fires.
The present invention is a canteen having sides, a top portion, and a bottom portion defining an interior, wherein the top portion and the bottom portion allow passage of light. A divider is positioned in the interior forming a first chamber and a second chamber within the interior, wherein the divider allows passage of light. The second chamber forms a fire-starting lens in combination with the divider wherein the fire-starting lens is a solid lens or a water lens; and the divider has an opening for filling the second chamber with water. Preferably, the fire-starting lenses are convex lenses.
In another embodiment the canteen is a combination of a first canteen and a second canteen. The first canteen has an outer side wall and an inner side wall, a top portion, and a bottom portion, defining an interior therein, wherein the top portion and the bottom portion allow passage of light. The first canteen has an open central portion. The second canteen has sides, a top portion, and a bottom portion, defining an interior therein, wherein the top portion and the bottom portion allow passage of light. The second canteen is positioned reversibly or permanently in the open central portion of the first canteen. A divider in the interior of the first canteen forms a first chamber and a second chamber in the interior of the first canteen. The divider in the first canteen allows passage of light and the second chamber of the first canteen forms a fire-starting lens in combination with the divider. A divider in the interior of the second canteen forms a first chamber and a second chamber in the interior of the second canteen. The divider in the second canteen allows passage of light and the second chamber of the canteen forms a fire-starting lens in combination with the divider. The lenses in the first canteen and the second canteen can be solid lenses, water lenses, or a combination thereof. The divider in the first canteen has an opening for filling the second chamber in the first canteen with water. The side in the second canteen has an opening for filling the second chamber in the second canteen with water. The fire-starting lens in the first canteen and in the second canteen are convex lenses and they combine to form a functional single lens.
In another embodiment the canteen has sides, a top portion, and a bottom portion, forming an interior therein. The top and bottom portions are convex shaped and are transparent to light. The interior is a single water fire-starting lens. Light emitting from either the top or bottom portion is focused. The interior forms a biconvex water fire-starting lens in a thick-lens shape and acts as magnifying glass.
In another embodiment the canteen is a combination of a first canteen and a second canteen. The first canteen has an outer side wall and an inner side wall, a top portion, and a bottom portion, defining an interior therein, wherein the interior forms a section of a thick biconvex lens magnifying glass as well as a water fire-starting lens. The first canteen has an open central portion. A second canteen has sides, a top portion, and a bottom portion, defining an interior therein, wherein the interior forms a section of a thick biconvex magnifying glass as well as a water fire-starting lens. The second canteen is positioned reversibly or permanently in the open central portion of the first canteen. The top portion in the first canteen and in the second canteen are convex with respect to the associated interior for that portion. The bottom portion of the water fire-starting water lens in the first canteen and in the second canteen are convex with respect to the associated interior for that portion. The top portion in the first canteen and in the second canteen combine to form a top boundary of a functional single lens. The bottom portion in the first canteen and in the second canteen combine to form a bottom boundary of a functional single lens.
An advantage of the canteen of the present invention is that it can be used to start fire as well as carry water.
Another advantage is a canteen that has two chambers, one to carry water and the other to both carry water and start fire. In some embodiments the chamber used solely to carry water is very much larger than the fire-starting lens compartment. A camper can drink almost all of the water and still be able to start a fire.
Another advantage is a canteen that is composed of an inner canteen and an outer canteen which can be separated to form two canteens that camping partners can each use to carry water and start fire.
Another advantage is that in some embodiments some chambers can be drained of water so that they cannot start a fire thus improving fire safety. Later, the fire lens compartment can be filled with water and used to start a fire. This feature allows the fire-starting ability to be switched on and off at will.
Another advantage of some embodiments is that the fire-starting lens is in the form of a magnifying glass. The camper can use the canteen to inspect small objects. Boy or Girl Scouts, geologists, and biologists can use the canteen to inspect objects of interest.
Another advantage of some embodiments is that the fire-starting lens requires a minimal volume of liquid. Any liquid with the correct optical characteristics can be used, even urine. Even if the small fire-starting compartment has been contaminated the other, larger chamber can still be used to store potable water.
Another advantage is that if the canteen is not broken and if there is sunlight and fuel, then the camper can always start a fire. Unlike some other means of starting fire which use expendable ingredients this method will never use up its components. A popular means to start a fire is to use a magnesium stick combined with a flint. The magnesium is eventually all used and/or the flint wears out. That method also requires a piece of metal to strike against the flint (which might not be available).
Another advantage is that some embodiments of this canteen should be less expensive to manufacture than some alternative types of fire starters. This in turn means that it will be easier for consumers to afford to own and use it. Since this particular invention keeps people alive who would otherwise die from thirst or from freezing to death then this is a notable advantage.
While the following description details the preferred embodiments of the present invention, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited in its application to the details of its structure and construction described herein, since the invention is capable of other embodiments and of being practiced in various ways.
The top portion 13 and the bottom portion 17 are transparent and allow the passage of light. Light, such as sunlight, passes through the top portion 13, through the solid fire-starting lens 22 or the water fire-starting water lens 27, and through the bottom portion 17. As light passes through these lenses it is focused at a point beyond the bottom portion 17 where the light generates enough heat to create fire in any suitable type of tinder. Spout 15 in the upper chamber 20 and spout 24 in the lower chamber 21 are used to fill these chambers with fluid, such as water, and to empty them. When the lower chamber 21 is filled with water, the convex shaped divider 19 plus the water in the lower chamber 21 form a fire-starting lens.
The top portions 37 and 40 and the bottom portions 46 and 52 are transparent and allow the passage of light. Light, such as sunlight, passes through the top portions 37, 33, through the solid fire-starting lenses 51a, 51b or the water fire-starting lenses 60a, 60b, and through the bottom portions 46, 52. As light passes through these lenses it is focused at a point beyond the bottom portions 46, 52 where the light generates enough heat to create fire in any suitable type of tinder. Spout 42 in the upper chamber 49 and spout 62 in the lower chamber 50 in the outer canteen 31 are used to fill these chambers with fluid, such as water, and to empty them. When the lower chamber 50 is filled with water, the convex shaped divider 48 plus the water in the lower chamber 50 form a fire-starting lens. Opening 44 in the upper chamber 55 and opening 65 in the lower chamber 56 in the inner canteen 33 are used to fill these chambers with fluid, such as water, and to empty them. When the lower chamber 56 is filled with water, the convex shaped divider 54 plus the water in the lower chamber 56 form a fire-starting lens. The solid fire-starting lens 51a in the outer canteen 31 and the solid fire-starting lens 51b in the inner canteen 33 combine to form a functional single lens. The water fire-starting lens 60a in the outer canteen 31 and the water fire-starting lens 60b in the inner canteen 33 combine to form a functional single lens.
In a preferred embodiment the diameter of the canteen 70 is 4 to 8 inches, preferably 6 inches. The length is, preferably, 3 to 6 inches. The radius of curvature of the lenses formed by the top 72 and the bottom 78 portions is 1.5 to 3 inches. The magnification produced by the biconvex water fire-starting lens is 2 to 6-fold. For example, a canteen with a 6-inch diameter, a 3-inch length, and a radius of curvature of 1.5 inches for the lenses would produce about a 6-fold magnification. The canteen 10 is made, preferably, in one piece by stretch-blow manufacturing using plastic that is transparent, suitable for containing liquids, rugged, and light weight, preferably, PETG (polyethylene terephthalate glycol-modified) thermoplastic polymer resin. Polyacetic acid (PLA) may also be used. The thickness of the sides 71, the top portion 72, and the bottom portion 78 is, preferably, 5 to 7 mils (0.127 to 0.178 mm).
The canteens of the present invention have transparent top and bottom portions which allow the passage of light sufficient for using solid lenses or water lenses to use light to ignite fire by methods know in the art. The entire canteen can be transparent and allow the passage of light if desired. The canteen can be made of any suitable plastic or metal. Any suitable type of plastic, glass, or crystal can be used to form the solid lenses or the convex divider. The lenses can be convex, concave, or a combination thereof. The water can be replaced by any other suitable liquid. The upper chamber is used to store water and the lower chamber is used as a fire-starting water lens and for the storage of water. In the embodiments having an outer canteen and an inner canteen, the canteens can be used in combination or separately to start fires. Although the canteens are shown as circular they can be formed in any desired shape and size. The convex divider forms a fire-starting water lens in combination with the lower chamber filled with water. The size and shape of the divider and lower chamber can be varied as desired to generate the desired focal properties of the fire-starting water lens.
The foregoing description has been limited to specific embodiments of this invention. It will be apparent, however, that variations and modifications may be made, by those skilled in the art, to the disclosed embodiments of the invention, with the attainment of some or all of its advantages and without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention.
This application is a Continuation-In-Part of application Ser. No. 15/472,101, filed Mar. 28, 2017, the entirety of which is incorporated by reference herein.
| Number | Name | Date | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1912117 | Allen | May 1933 | A |
| 1958595 | Stewart | May 1934 | A |
| 5829593 | Appleton | Nov 1998 | A |
| 8365907 | Mooney | Feb 2013 | B1 |
| 9067804 | Jones | Jun 2015 | B2 |
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Parent | 15472101 | Mar 2017 | US |
| Child | 16285831 | US |
