GB2045064A - Improvements in barbecue cooking stoves - Google Patents

Abstract

A cooking stove which can be folded up compactly for storage or for carrying. The stove includes a basket 12 in which solid fuel such as charcoal is burned and legs 14 which support the basket clear of the ground. The legs and at least the base of the basket are pivotable relative one another about a common line 60 so that they can all lay flush or flat with one another in the folded position. Over the top of the basket is a grill 16 on which food is cooked, the grill being removable or hinged so that, when the stove is folded up, it can also be flush with the rest of the stove. <IMAGE>

Description

SPECIFICATION Improvements in and relating to cooking stoves This invention relates to cooking stoves and in particular cooking stoves of the type used to barbecue food.

Many such types of portable cooking stoves are known but generally the stoves are assembled after purchase and it is not thereafter convenient to disassemble them quickly. Accordingly, when they need to be transported or stored they tend to take up considerable space which is obviously most incon venientwith a device which is intended to be portable.

It is therefore an object of the invention to provide a cooking stove which can readily be assembled and disassembled and when in its disassembled position, takes up relatively little space.

According to the invention there is provided a cooking stove which can be folded up to a closed position for storage, comprising a basket in which solid fuel is placed for burning, the basket being supported on legs clear of the ground when the stove is in its open usable position, the legs and the basket being pivotable relatively to one another about a common line so that, in the closed position of the stove, at least the base of the basket and the legs lay substantially flat, means for limiting the extent of pivoting of the legs so that, in the open position of the stove, the legs form a stable structure, means for retaining the basket in a level condition in the open position of the stove so that fuel can be accommodated in the basket for burning, and a grill which is capable of being supported over the top of the basket in the open position of the stove and on which food can be placed for cooking.

Such a cooking stove can, after use, be readily folded so that it is substantially flat. In this way, the folded stove takes up relatively little space and so can easily be accommodated in the boot of a car or stored, e.g. by being hung on the wall. Also, because the stove is quite flat, it is relatively simple to carry it around in the folded condition.

Preferably, the basket has a base which is in the form of a grid or mesh so that ash and the like can readily pass downwardly through it and combustion air can pass up through it. In addition, the basket preferably has at least rear and side walls to retain fuel in the basket and to limit the effect of winds and draughts. The rear and side walls are desirably hinged so that they can be folded flush with the base when the stove is to be stored. By way of example, the rear wall can be hinged to the base and the side walls hinged to the rear wall and provided the length of the sides is less than the length of the rear, it is a simple matter to fold the sides against the rear and then fold the rear and the sides flush down against the base.In addition, it is desirable that the basket be provided with a front wall which can be opened independently of the rear and the side walls so as to provide access for adding fresh fuel and for stoking or raking the fuel and so this front wall is also desirably hinged to the base so that it can be folded flush with the base when the stove is to be stored.

The grill over the top of the basket is preferably made so as to be completely detachable from both the basket and the legs. Thus in the working position, the grill can rest on top of the legs and when the stove is to be folded the grill can be removed, the rest of the stove folded up and the substantially flat grill placed flush against the folded stove which does not substantially increase the overall thickness of the stove. Alternatively, the grill can itself be hinged to, say, the legs and so be capable of being folded flat with the remainder of the stove.

The legs are preferably constituted by the arms of a pair of "inverted-U" shaped members. Then in the closed position of the stove, the horizontal portions of those members which join the arms constituting the legs can act as carrying handles whilst in the open position those portions can act as a support for the grill over the top of the basket. The point about which the legs and the basket pivot is preferably at an intermediate position along the arms of the "inverted-U" shaped member and desirably the length of the legs below the point of pivoting in the open position of the stove is greater than half the width of the basket.

In the open position of the stove, the horizontal portions of the U-shaped members, the arms of which constitute the legs, can also serve as a point for the attachment of the basket to the legs so as to hold the basket level. Thus, clips or the like can be provided on the front, side and/or rear walls of the basket which can be attached to these horizontal portions to provide a secure fixing for the basket whilst in use and for quick release once the stove is to be folded up after use.

Preferably, the cooking stove is made from a metal e.g. stainless steel or chromium-plated steel so that it is resistant to the cooking temperatures and can easily be kept clean.

The invention will now be described, by way of example, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: Figure 1 is a perspective view of a cooking stove according to the invention in its open and working position with the top grill shown moved upwardly away from the top of the stove for the purposes of clarity; Figure 2 is a diagram illustrating the way in which the parts of the cooker are moved to fold it up; Figures 3 and 3A are enlarged details showing the point where the legs and basket are pivoted, Figure 3A being taken in the direction of the arrow A of Figure 3; and Figure 4 is a front view showing the stove in its closed position but without the grill.

The cooking stove 10 according to the invention comprises a basket 12 in which solid fuel is contained for burning and legs 14 on which the stove stands. A grill 16 rests on the top of the stove to support food or cooking utensils during the cooking process.

The legs are formed by bending a rod into the shape of a flattened "inverted-U", the arms of the U constituting the legs 14 and the joining portions 18 extending across the top of the basket and joining pairs of legs. Struts 20 join pairs of the legs 14 near their lower ends to steady the legs. At the lower ends the legs are terminated by plastic buffers 22.

The cooking basket comprises a rectangular shaped frame 30 made of metal rod. This frame is pivoted to the legs as will be described in due course about a point 32. Covering the frame 30 is a wire mesh 34 which allows ash from the combustion of the fuel to pass down through it and also air to pass up through it for combustion.-Hinged to the rear of the frame 30 is an upright back wall 36. This wall has a pair of upstanding clips 38 which are a snap fit over the intermediate portion 18 so as to steady the basket when the cooking stove is in use. The rear wall 36 is hinged to the frame 30 by means of spring clips 40 which clip around the frame 30. Joined to the rear wall 36, are side walls 44 by means of hinges 46.In the assembled and working position of the cooking stove 10 shown in Figure 1,the rearwall 36 and side walls 44 act to contain the cooking fuel which can, for example, be charcoal and also to exclude stray winds and draughts.

The front wall 50 is hinged to the frame 30 by means of spring clips 52 which clip onto the frame 30. The front wall also has upstanding clips 54 which are a snap fit over the intermediate portion 18 so that the front wall can be closed to retain the cooking fuel by snapping the clips 54 over the intermediate portion or the front wall can be hinged down to the position shown in Figure 1 when it is required to rake the fuel or perhaps add fresh fuel. When the front wall is in its upward position and the clips 54 attached to their respective intermediate portion 18 this gives further stability to the basket.

The spring clips 40 and 52 by means of which the rear and front walls 36 and 50 are hinged to the frame, enable these walls and the side walls 44 to be detached from the frame 30 when required to clean them.

The two pairs of legs and the frame 30 are all hinged to one another about a common pivot line 60 by means of a suitable pivot or rivot 62. Also hinged about that point is a U-shaped stop 64. This stop 64 limits the extent of opening of the legs. Thus, referring to Figures 3 and 3A, which show the legs in their fully opened positions, the legs will abut the arms of the U-shaped members 64 when in this fully opened position and so be prevented from opening any further. In this position the legs 14 are spaced apart and preferably extend outwardly beyond the width of the basket so as to give good stability to the cooking stove. The arms of the stop 64 are of such a length that they contact both legs 14 but are clear of the frame 30 and so do not inhibit its pivoting during folding of the stove.

For ease of understanding of the drawings, the grill 16 is shown in a position above the rest of the stove. In the cooking position shown in Figure 1 of the stove, the grill 16 will normally rest over the top of the basket. The grill has four hooks 70. which rest over respective intermediate portions 18. They assist in generally stabilising the cooker but the grill can readily be removed as and when the cooking stove is to be folded up. The grill 18 includes rows of parailel rods 74 forming a conventional grill and for simplic ityonlyafewareshown in Figure 1.

Referring now to Figure 2 this shows diagrammatically how the cooking stove 10 is folded up. First of all, the grill 16 is lifted upwardly from the top of the stove in the direction of the arrows 80. The front wall 50 and rear wall 36 are inclined from their respective portions 18. After this, the two side walls 44 can be hinged flat against the rear wall 36 and then the combined side walls 44 and rear wall 36 are hinged down flat against the frame 30 in the direction of the arrow 84 and the front wall 50 hinged flat against the frame 30 in the direction of the arrow 82. The frame 30 and its accompanying walls 36,44 and 50 can now all be pivoted into line with one of the pairs of legs in the direction of the arrow 86. After this, the other pair of legs is pivoted flat against the first mentioned pair of legs in the direction of the arrow 88.

As will be appreciated, the resulting structure is very compact and flat which is a great advantage for transporting and storing the cooker. Figure 4 shows the cooking stove in this position. In addition, the grill 16 can now be placed flush against the folded stove and will add very little to the overall thickness of the folded stove. The grill 16 can be laid flat against the frame 30 with one pair of its hooks 70 clipped over one of the struts and a pair of U-shaped clips 80 (Figure 4) used to engage the other hooks 70 to retain the grill 16 in place. In addition, the clips 80 retain the frame 30 and legs 14 secureiy in the folded position.

In order to provide a neat package for carrying or storing, the folded stove as shown in Figure 4 can be enclosed within a suitable cover such as a shaped plastic sleeve. This will ensure that when the stove is carried, dirt and cooking debris are not transferred to the clothes of the person carrying the stove.

Because of the intense heat during use, the whole stove is desirably made of metal. Thus, for example, the walls 36,44 and 50 and the mesh 34 are formed from stainless steel whilst the rest of the store, for example, the legs 14, the struts 20, the frame 30 and the grill 16, are formed from steel rods and chromium plated so that all the parts can readily be cleaned and will not rust or deteriorate during use.

Claims (9)

1. A cooking stove which can be folded up to a closed position for storage, comprising a basket in which solid fuel is placed for burning, the basket being supported on legs clear of the ground when the stove is in its open usable position, the legs and the basket being pivotable relatively to one another about a common line so that, in the closed position of the stove, at least the base of the basket and the legs lay substantially flat, means for limiting the extent of pivoting of the legs so that in the open position of the stove, the legs form a stable structure, means for retaining the basket in a level condition in the open position of the stove so that fuel can be accommodated in the basket for burning, and a grill which is capable of being supported over the top of the basket in the open position of the stove and on which food can be placed for cooking.

2. A cooking stove as claimed in Claim 1, in which the basket has rear and side walls upstanding from the base, the rear and side walls being hinged so that they can be folded flush with the base.

3. A cooking stove as claimed in Claim 2, in which the rear wall is hinged to the base and the side walls are hinged to the rear wall.

4. A cooking stove as claimed in any preceding claim in which the basket has a front wall hinged to the base.

5. A cooking stove as claimed in any preceding claim in which the legs are constituted by the arms of a pair of "inverted-U" shaped members.

6. A cooking stove as claimed in Claim 5 in which, in the open position of the stove, the portions of the "inverted-U" shaped members which join the arms serve as a point for the attachment of the basket to the legs so as to hold the basket level.

7. A cooking stove as claimed in Claim 6 in which clips are provided for the ready attachment and release of the basket to the said portions.

8. A cooking stove as claimed in any preceding claim in which a U-shaped stop is pivotally mounted about the common line, and the arms of that stop are engaged by the legs when they reach the open position and so preventing further opening move mentofthe legs.

9. A cooking stove substantially as herein described with reference to the accompanying drawings.