Patent Application
20120064215
The following is a tabulation of some prior art that presently appears relevant:
For many outdoor enthusiasts, whether they be fishing, hunting, snowmobiling, travelling on all-terrain-vehicles, or exploring, fires are often made as a means of staying warm or preparing food. If this is during a cold winter, the fire is often started on the snow or ice. The heat from the fire then melts the snow or ice into water, thereby extinguishing the fire. If the fire is made during a warm season, the problem becomes preventing the fire from spreading to the surrounding environment. To avoid these problems, a fire box is required. But such boxes are cumbersome to carry along since travel space is limited for outdoor enthusiasts.
Although the stove in U.S. Pat. No. 4,708,122 to Rock, 1987 Nov. 4, can be towed by a person, the described tow ropes make it very impractical to be towed by a moving vehicle such as a snowmobile or an all-terrain-vehicle. Furthermore, due to skis being rigidly fixed to a firebox and with little ground clearance provided, the device would have much difficulty negotiating uneven terrain. The device also makes food preparation difficult since there is no place to rest items that are not to be heated. The fact that heat is distributed from one open side of the device also limits the number of people that can benefit from the heat produced. There is also very little storage room for fuel or other gear.
A stove is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 2,677,363 to Bryan, 1984 May 4, for outdoor enthusiasts. Ice-fishing enthusiasts typically bore a hole through the ice on a frozen waterway to be able to present their lure to the fish under the surface of the ice. These holes have a tendency of freezing. French's device is meant to prevent ice-fishing holes from freezing. It provides no means to cook food or produce heat for the user.
A portable cooking apparatus is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 6,557,547 to Macintoch, 2003 May 6, destined for use by caterers. Its large size and plurality of cooking compartments makes this apparatus unsuitable to the outdoor enthusiast.
The movable campfire box in U.S. Pat. No. 6,050,256 to French, 2000 Apr. 18, is equipped with wheels, but this device remains impractical for the outdoor enthusiast wishing to bring along a heat source. French's device is not suitable for snowy or off-road terrains and provides no means for towing.
All the outdoor stoves of which I am presently aware suffer from a number of disadvantages:
In accordance with one embodiment a portable outdoor stove comprises a fire compartment supported by a frame, a hitch for connecting to a towing vehicle, and skis or wheels attached to the frame.
Accordingly, several advantages of one or more aspects are as follows: an improved stove is provided for outdoor enthusiasts that can be pulled by a towing vehicle over a variety of terrains. The stove can be used to prepare food and to provide means of transporting fuel or gear. Other advantages of one or more aspects will be apparent from a consideration of the drawings and ensuing description.
One embodiment of my stove is illustrated in
Each support leg is pivotally attached to a ski 26 by a bolt 34. Wheels (not shown in
Fire compartment 20 is preferably made of stainless steel, but can be made of other heat-resistant materials, such as carbon steel, tin, copper, or aluminum. If the fire compartment is made of a material that is subject to corrosion, it is preferable to coat its exterior with heat paint. Fire compartment 20 may be fixed to base 30 by welding, bolting, or pinning.
Although shown as having a cylindrical tub-type shape, fire compartment 20 may have any other shape that allows it to hold burning fuel, such as square, rectangular, oval etc. The fire compartment is roughly 500 mm in diameter and 300 mm in height. The frame components support it such that the top of the fire compartment is one meter from the ground. The length of tow bar 22 is roughly 1.5 m.
Hitch 24 is shown as being annular in shape, but may be of any other shape to mate properly with the hitch of the towing vehicle (not shown).
The stove is first connected to a towing vehicle by engaging hitch 24 onto the hitch of the towing vehicle. The towing vehicle may be an all-terrain-vehicle, snowmobile, automobile, or other motorized vehicle. The stove is towed behind the vehicle to a desired location. The user then fills fire compartment 20 with wood, charcoal, or other combustible fuel and ignites it. The heat released from the stove is enough to keep several people comfortably warm. The user may leave the stove hitched onto the towing vehicle or remove it and support the tow bar with an object that will hold the stove in a generally upright position, such as a stump, box, another available object, or a fold-down lever that is hingedly attached to the tow bar. Once the user is ready to leave, the fire is extinguished, the stove is reconnected to the vehicle if it was removed, and the user departs.
As seen in
Referring to
As shown in
As shown in
A spinnable cover 90 fits over the fire compartment and has a pin 92 that can slide longitudinally within a vertical bore in a cover support post 94. This allows the cover to be moved upward, allowing it to clear the fire compartment and then spin about post 94; this allows the cover to remain near the cooking area while its surface can be used as a table to hold cooking items.
As shown in
Referring to
Cover 90 is lifted so as to clear the upper edge of fire compartment 20; this is allowed by cover pin 92 that slides longitudinally within post 94. Pin 92 also allows the grill to be spun out of the way of the fire compartment. One can then use the cover to as a table surface, to hold cooking items or other objects. As seen in
As shown in
A manifold 100 is attached to the bottom of fire compartment 20. The manifold is connected to a fuel reservoir 106 by a hose 102. Fuel reservoir 106 has a valve 104 that regulates the flow rate of fuel leaving the reservoir.
Wheel 46 is bolted to a wheel post 114 which fits inside support leg 28. Post 114 is secured within support leg 28 by a support leg pull pin 112. This allows wheels 46 to be exchanged for skis 26. The stove can thereby easily be converted from a summer to winter use, and vice versa.
Before leaving with the stove, the user can choose which ground engagement would be most appropriate: wheels or skis. In either case, pull pin 112 is removed and the appropriate ground engagement is chosen; if wheels are desired, wheel posts 114 are slid up into support legs 28 and the pull pins are reengaged; if skis are desired, the U-brackets are slid over support legs 28 and the pull pins are reengaged to pivotally join the skis to the support legs.
Once the user arrives at the desired location, they can remove the stove from the towing vehicle (not shown), set it in place, and level it. The cover is removed or swung aside as described in previous embodiments. The storage compartment is removed and reservoir 106 is connected to manifold 100 via hose 102. Valve 104 is opened to let fuel flow from reservoir 106 to manifold 100. Fuel flowing out of manifold 100 is ignited and the grill is set in place to start food preparation.
A support member 128 is connected to tow bar 22 by a pivot bolt 130. A locking plate 132 is mounted flush with a vertical side of the tow bar. A locking pin 134 pins member 128 so that the latter is either perpendicular or parallel to tow bar 22. When member 128 is perpendicular, pin 134 engages a hole in locking plate 132 (not shown). When member 128 is parallel to tow bar 22, pin 134 engages a hole 133 in tow bar 22. An adjustable foot 136 slides within member 128 and is fixed in place by adjustable foot pull pin 140 that engages member 128 and one of a plurality of holes 138 in foot 136. Cover 38 has a mounting boss 126 on its underside that is dimensioned to slide into support member 128.
A lower grill post 122 is rigidly fixed to base 30. An upper grill post 120 is pivotally joined to lower grill post 122 so that the upper grill post may rotate relative to the lower grill post about a longitudinal axis. Grill 50 has a grill sleeve 68 and engages post 120 in a way similar to previous embodiments.
This embodiment shows support member 128 serving a double function: supporting the cover and acting as a support foot. These two functions however can be fulfilled by two separate members; the support member 128 may be rigidly fixed to the frame and another, separate pivoting member can exist for the function of supporting the tow bar.
The stove is towed with member 128 in a horizontal position. Once at the desired location, one disengages pin 134 and rotates member 128 to a vertical position. Pin 134 is then engaged in a hole in locking plate 132 (not shown) to maintain member 128 vertical. Foot 136 is adjusted to a proper height by disengaging pin 140 and reengaging it in an appropriate hole 138 so that the stove is level.
Cover 38 is removed from fire compartment 20 and placed on member 128 so that it may serve as a table. Any gear or fuel that was transported in fire compartment 20 is removed. Grill 50 is slid over upper grill post 120 and can be adjusted in height in the same way as described in previous embodiments. Upper grill post 120 can rotate about lower grill post 122 so that grill 50 can be spun away from the fire compartment. The ability of grill 50 to rotate allows to control the amount heat exposed to the food or to clear the way to tend to the fire.
A tiltable cover 148 is attached to fire compartment 20 via a hinge 150. A slotted grill post 144 has a plurality of slots 146 that can receive grill 50. In operation, cover 148 can rotate about hinge 150 between two positions: closed, when it is covering fire compartment 20; and open as shown in
As shown in
In operation, one slides grill 160 over post 152 and sets pin 156 to support the grill at an appropriate height. The plurality of holes 154 allows the grill to be set at various heights. One can rotate the grill away from the fire compartment to reduce the cooking heat or to have clear access to the fire compartment.
From the description above, a number of advantages of some embodiments of my portable outdoor stove become evident:
(a) Outdoor enthusiasts are able to easily bring with them behind their all-terrain-vehicle or snowmobile a portable heat source to stay warm and prepare food.
(b) The stove doubles as a trailer, allowing the user to carry extra gear.
(c) The stove may be used in winter or summer, in temperate or Nordic climates, since either wheels or skis may be attached to it.
(d) The adjustable-height grill allows the cooking temperature to be controlled.
(e) The grill can easily be spun out of the way, which gives clear access to the fire compartment to add fuel or tend to the fire.
(f) The cover doubles as a table that can hold various items that are useful for cooking, such as utensils, condiments, oven mitts, etc.
(g) The stove need not be permanently associated with a towing vehicle: it can easily be permanently set-up in a fixed location.
(h) The stove can be used with gaseous fuel such as propane, or solid fuel, such as wood or charcoal.
(i) Although primarily moved by a towing vehicle such as a snowmobile or all-terrain-vehicle, the stove is light enough to be moved by a single person.
Conclusions, Ramifications, and Scope
Accordingly, the reader will see that the portable outdoor stove of the various embodiments can be conveniently towed behind a snowmobile or all-terrain-vehicle over a variety of terrains, can store fuel and gear, can be used to warm persons and cook food. In addition, the cooking temperature can be conveniently varied by changing the height of the grill, and the cover acts as a convenient table to hold items during cooking. Also, the stove can be permanently installed outside on its own without being connected to a snowmobile or all-terrain-vehicle. It is light enough to be moved by a person. Furthermore, the stove has the additional advantages in that:
Although the description above contains many specificities, these should not be construed as limiting the scope of the embodiments but as merely providing illustrations of some of several embodiments. For example, the fire compartment can have other shapes, such as oval, rectangular, square, etc.; the grill post can be mounted near the front or near rear of the fire compartment instead of on the side; the structural members can have rectangular, circular or other cross-sectional shapes; various types of standard trailer jacks can be used instead of the adjustable foot; various types of pull-pins may be used including detent pins, spring-loaded pins, cotter pins, trailer hitch pins, etc. Several different combinations of features from the various embodiments can be selectively used or discarded; for example, the grill post that allows the height adjustment of the grill in some embodiments can be rigidly connected to the frame without pivoting about the lower grill post; such a combination allows for the varying of the grill height without allowing grill rotation. Many other combinations of features are possible.
Thus the scope of the embodiments should be determined by the appended claims and their legal equivalents, rather than by the examples given.
This application claims the benefit of provisional patent application Ser. No. 61,381,348, filed 2010 Sep. 9 by the present inventor.
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 61381348 | Sep 2010 | US |
