TW202415891A - Smokeless multi-fuel portable stoves with reversible cooking attachment - Google Patents

Abstract

A portable stove is provided. The stove includes a body with an exterior wall, a bottom with foldable legs attached to it, and a top with an opening to which can be affixed a reversible cooking attachment, the cooking attachment having an outward orientation and an inward orientation. Inside the walls of the stove body are an electronics housing, an electric fan with an adjustable speed above the electronics housing, a shield above the fan, a removable ash pan above the shield, and a burn chamber with a fire grate above the ash pan. The cooking attachment further includes a mounting ring and foldable arms which are connected by a collar. The collar projects up from the stove in the outward orientation and into the stove in the inward orientation. The mounting ring has a rounded lip. Each foldable arm has a supporting side with dogs and an angled tip.

Description

Smokeless multi-fuel portable stove with reversible cooking attachment

The present invention relates generally to portable stoves and, more particularly, to a smokeless multi-fuel portable stove with a reversible cooking attachment.

Being able to prepare food and heat water in a safe and easy manner is a basic human need. This need requires stoves to allow for greater flexibility in cooking and preparing food in a variety of environments using a variety of fuel sources.

The problem with many stoves that can accommodate a variety of cooking vessels and can be used both indoors and outdoors is that they may be limited to a specific fuel, which may be expensive or difficult to transport. On the other hand, in the event that they can accommodate a temporary fuel source (e.g., twigs, leaves, sticks, wood pellets, etc.), they may not generate enough heat to function properly, or they may generate a large amount of smoke that is harmful to both the health of the user and the nutritional value of the food being cooked.

To address these and other drawbacks, various embodiments of the present invention provide a smokeless multi-fuel portable stove with a reversible cooking structure.

FIG. 1 illustrates an example of a smokeless multi-fuel portable stove 100 with a reversible cooking attachment 104 according to an embodiment of the present technology. The stove 100 includes a main body 101 having a top and a bottom, and foldable legs 102 attached to the bottom. The stove main body 101 may have a rectangular cross-section to make the stove 100 easier to store. The main body 101 further includes an outer wall with a vent 115 that allows air intake for a fan illustrated in the following figures. Each foldable leg 102 has an extended position as illustrated in FIG. 1. With the foldable legs 102 in the extended position, the bottom of the main body 101 has a gap 103 separating it from the surface on which the stove stands. This gap 103 can be between 5 and 20 percent of the height of the stove body and can allow oxygen to enter the fan while also preventing foreign matter (e.g., dust, ash, grit, etc.) from entering the fan. A reversible cooking attachment 104 can be attached to the opening at the top of the stove body 101. The reversible cooking attachment 104 has a collar 105 and a foldable arm 106 connected to the collar 105. The reversible cooking accessory can be attached to the opening of the top of the stove body 101 in a first position so that it has an outward orientation, as illustrated in FIG1 , with the collar 105 protruding upward from the stove top and the foldable arms extending away from the opening to support a cooking vessel wider than the collar (e.g., pot, basin, wok, bowl, kettle, pan, etc.). Additionally, the collar can have vents to aid air flow.

FIG. 2 illustrates an example of a smokeless multi-fuel portable stove 200 with a reversible cooking attachment according to an embodiment of the present technology. In this example, the stove legs 202 are in a folded position, thereby creating a shorter profile (e.g., by reducing the gap between the bottom of the main body 201 and the surface on which the stove stands) and enabling more convenient storage of the portable stove 200. Additionally, the reversible cooking attachment 204 can be attached to the opening at the top of the stove main body 201 in a second position such that it has an inward orientation, as illustrated in FIG. 2. In this inward orientation, the collar protrudes into the stove main body and the foldable arm is folded within the circumference of the stove top opening such that the arm occupies the space within the collar. This orientation can further reduce the profile of the stove 200 and assist in storage, or enable the arm to support a cooking vessel that is narrower than the collar (e.g., cups, mugs, bottles, cylinders, etc.). Remaining in this orientation, the time to boil water can be greatly reduced. See the subsequent drawings for details of the reversible cooking attachment.

FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view of a smokeless multi-fuel portable stove 300 with a reversible cooking attachment according to an embodiment of the present technology. Within the stove body 301 is an electronics housing 307 located at the bottom of the stove body. Above the electronics 307 is an electric fan 308 having a circuit electrically connected to the electronics 307 that controls the speed of the fan. This circuit may include a rheostat with a user interface located on the outer wall of the stove body. A shield 309 is located above the fan 308, above which is located a removable ash pan 310. Above the ash pan is a combustion chamber 311 having a grate 312 that allows ash to fall into the ash pan 310, thereby allowing the fire to continue to burn with improved efficiency as the fuel is consumed. The ashtray 310 may also serve as a firebox, where fire starters (e.g., liquids, gels, volcanic rock, wax, pelletized fire starters, cubes, grass, cotton balls, tinder, etc.) may be ignited to burn fuel placed on the grate 312. The firebox may have its own oxygen holes (e.g., in one or more of its side walls, as illustrated in FIG. 3 ), which may allow a fire to start in the combustion chamber 311 with a small fire starter within the firebox. These holes may improve the supply of oxygen to the flame to aid in fire starting and adequate fuel consumption.

Electronic component housing 307 may include an external power connector (e.g., a DC barrel port, a USB-C port, a Type-A port, a Type-B port, a Mini port, a Micro port, a USB 3.x port, a high current or sleep-and-charge port, or a High-retention connector, etc.), a battery compartment (e.g., for holding one or more user-replaceable and/or rechargeable batteries), and an external hatch configured to provide access to the battery compartment through the bottom of the stove. In addition, the external power connector may be configured to draw power for an electric fan of the stove from a power source connected to the input port and/or to recharge batteries in the battery compartment, or to provide power to an output port of an electrical component connected to the output port. In some embodiments, a single port may provide both input and output features (e.g., with appropriate circuitry for detecting voltage and/or current of a connected device), while in other embodiments, dedicated and separate input and output ports may be provided.

The shield 309 may have a conical shape configured to generate a swirling airflow within the main body of the stove (using air from the fan). This airflow allows the stove to cook food or boil water while burning fuel with relatively low specific energy (e.g., wood chip pellets, twigs, branches, leaves, any biomass material, etc.), thereby providing a heat-uniform fire at a low cost. Of course, the stove 300 can also use canned heat as fuel, so the stove 300 can be operated indoors or under shelter.

Between the shield and the ash pan is a space to optionally provide insulation to protect electronic components at the bottom of the chamber from the heat of the combustion chamber above. In addition to this insulating property, the space can also provide positive pressure to force air to flow upward around the combustion chamber and thereby create a draft that can increase the cooking temperature of the stove.

FIG. 4 is an exploded view of a smokeless multi-fuel portable stove 400 with a reversible cooking attachment according to an embodiment of the present technology. From this view, the inner wall 413 of the combustion chamber is visible, which will contain the fuel to be burned. This inner wall has ventilation holes to allow air exchange with the interior of the stove body. The stove body may further include an intermediate wall 414 between the outer wall 415 of the body and the inner wall 413 of the combustion chamber. The intermediate wall may also have ventilation holes. These holes may be strategically placed throughout the interior of the stove 400 so that a chimney effect occurs and higher temperatures are reached, such as would be seen in a forge. Additionally, the electric fan 408, shield 409, ash pan 410, and combustion chamber may all be contained within this intermediate wall 414. This "triple wall structure" prevents the exterior and bottom of the main body of the range from getting too hot to the touch. Also visible is a mounting ring 416, which is the portion of the opening that allows cooking accessories to be removably attached to the top of the portable range 400. A collar 405 may be connected to the mounting ring 416 and to the foldable arm 406. Additionally, this range 400 may include an on/off indicator light that may be used to display to the user whether the electric fan is powered, whether the electric fan is being charged from an external source, whether the portable range is supplying power to external electrical components, etc. The ash pan 410 may have a handle accessible from an outer wall 415 of the stove 400 that will enable a user to extract the ash pan 410 from the stove 400 and properly discard the ash that has collected therein.

FIG. 5 is a detailed view of a reversible cooking accessory 504 in an inward orientation according to an embodiment of the present technology. From this view of the reversible cooking accessory 504 in its inward orientation, it is apparent that the reversible cooking accessory 504 has foldable arms 506 with angled top ends 517. In the inward orientation, the angled top ends 517 are coplanar with each other and are therefore configured to act as coplanar supports for the cooking vessel that are narrower than the collar 505 of the reversible cooking accessory 504 when in the inward orientation. Additionally, in its inward orientation, the reversible cooking accessory 504, when supported by the foldable arms 506, has a gap from the bottom of the combustion chamber to the bottom of the narrow cooking vessel that measures between one and one and one-half inches. This gap maximizes heat when using canned fuel for indoor use.

The angled top ends 517 of the foldable arms 506 may each have an angle between forty and eighty degrees, as measured from the back side opposite the support side with the claws. This angle may be designed to allow the top ends 517 to form a coplanar surface with the bottom of a narrow cooking container and assist in supporting the narrow container when the arms are folded into their inward position.

6 is a detailed view of a reversible cooking attachment 604 in an outward orientation according to an embodiment of the present technology. From this view in which it is oriented outward, it is apparent that the foldable arms 606 of the reversible cooking attachment 604 each have a support side 618 with a claw. The support sides 618 with claws are configured to contact the bottom of a wider cooking container (e.g., a pot, bowl, wok, etc.) so that the claws are configured to assist in holding the wider container above the stove and prevent it from shifting laterally.

FIG. 7 is a detailed perspective view of a mounting ring 716 according to an embodiment of the present technology. From this view, it is apparent that the mounting ring 716 has one or more notches 719 and a rounded edge 720. Each notch 719 allows the ring 716 to be secured to a vertical retaining element (e.g., screws, struts, rivets, etc.) of an opening of the stove body. The rounded edge 720 is configured to generate a downward airflow and redirect smoke back into the stove body. This rounded edge can force exhaust gases downward for secondary combustion, which generates higher heat with less fuel, while increasing the air pressure within the stove to also eliminate smoke. To create this effect, the rounded edge 720 may have an angle of between twenty and forty degrees relative to the top.

As used herein (including in the claims), "or" as used in a list of items (e.g., a list of items that begins with a phrase such as "at least one of" or "one or more of") indicates an inclusive list, so that, for example, a list of at least one of A, B, or C means A or B or C or AB or AC or BC or ABC (i.e., A and B and C). In addition, as used herein, the phrase "based on" should not be understood to refer to a closed set of conditions. For example, an exemplary step described as "based on condition A" may be based on both condition A and condition B without departing from the scope of the present invention. In other words, as used herein, the phrase "based on" should be interpreted in the same manner as the phrase "based at least in part on."

As used herein, the terms "vertical," "lateral," "upper," "lower," "above," and "below" may refer to the relative direction or position of features in a semiconductor device in view of the orientation shown in the figure. For example, "upper" or "uppermost" may refer to a feature that is positioned closer to the top of the page than another feature. However, these terms should be broadly understood to include semiconductor devices having other orientations, such as inverted or tilted orientations, where top/bottom, above/below, over/under, up/down, and left/right may be interchanged depending on the orientation.

It should be noted that the method described above describes possible implementation schemes, and operations and steps can be rearranged or otherwise modified, and other implementation schemes are possible. In addition, two or more embodiments from the method can be combined.

It will be appreciated from the foregoing that specific embodiments of the present invention have been described herein for purposes of illustration, but various modifications may be made without departing from the scope of the present invention. On the contrary, in the foregoing description, numerous specific details are discussed to provide a thorough and instructive description of embodiments of the present technology. However, a person skilled in the art will recognize that the present invention may be practiced without one or more of the specific details. In other cases, well-known structures or operations typically associated with storage systems and devices are not shown or described in detail to avoid confusing other aspects of the technology. In general, it should be understood that various other devices, systems, and methods other than those specific embodiments disclosed herein may be within the scope of the present technology.

100: stove 101: main body 102: foldable legs 103: gap 104: reversible cooking accessories 105: collar 106: foldable arm 115: vent 200: stove 201: main body 202: legs 204: reversible cooking accessories 215: vent 300: stove 301: main body 307: electronic component housing 308: electric fan 309: shield 310: removable ash tray 311: combustion chamber 312: grate 400: stove 402: legs 405: collar 406: Folding arm 407: Electronics housing 408: Electric fan 409: Shield 410: Ash tray 412: Grate 413: Inner wall 414: Intermediate wall 415: Outer wall 416: Mounting ring 500: Stove 504: Reversible cooking attachment 505: Collar 506: Folding arm 516: Mounting ring 517: Angled top 600: Stove 604: Reversible cooking attachment 605: Collar 606: Folding arm 616: Mounting ring 618: Support side 700: Stove 716: Mounting ring 719: Notch 720: Rounded edge

Figures 1 to 2 are perspective views of a smokeless multi-fuel portable stove according to an embodiment of the present invention. Figure 3 is a cross-sectional view of a smokeless multi-fuel portable stove according to an embodiment of the present invention. Figure 4 is an exploded view of a smokeless multi-fuel portable stove according to an embodiment of the present invention. Figures 5 to 6 are detailed views of a reversible cooking attachment for a smokeless multi-fuel portable stove according to an embodiment of the present invention. Figure 7 is a detailed perspective view of a mounting ring according to an embodiment of the present invention.

100: Stove

101: Subject

102: Foldable legs

103: Gap

104: Reversible cooking accessories

105: Ring

106: Foldable arms

115: Ventilation hole

Claims (20)

A portable stove comprising: A body comprising: An outer wall having a vent, A bottom, A foldable leg attached to the bottom, A top having an opening; A reversible cooking accessory having an outward orientation and an inward orientation, the reversible cooking accessory comprising: A collar protruding upward from the stove top in the outward orientation to support a cooking container wider than the collar, and protruding into the stove body in the inward orientation for storing and supporting a cooking container narrower than the collar, a mounting ring for removably attaching the accessory to the opening in the top of the stove body, the ring having a rounded edge for generating a downward airflow and redirecting smoke back into the stove body, and a foldable arm having a support side with a claw and an angled top end, the arm extending away from the opening in the outward orientation so that the support side is configured to contact the bottom of a wider cooking container, so that the claw is configured to assist in retaining the wider container above the stove, and the arm folds within a circumference of the stove top opening in the inward orientation so that the arm occupies a space within the collar and the angled top end of the arm is coplanar with the bottom of the narrower cooking container and is configured to serve as a support for the bottom of the narrower cooking container, wherein the collar connects the arm to the mounting ring; an electronics housing located within and below the main body of the range, the electronics housing comprising: an external power connector, a battery box, and an external hatch configured to provide access to the battery box through the bottom of the range; an electric fan located above the electronics housing, the fan comprising: an electrical connection to an electrical circuit that controls the speed of the fan; a shield located above the fan; a removable ash pan located above the shield; a combustion chamber located above the ash pan, the combustion chamber comprising: a grate that allows ash to fall into the ash pan, and an inner wall having a vent; The electric fan, the shield, the ash tray, a fire box and the combustion chamber are inside the wall of the stove body. A stove as described in claim 1, wherein the stove body has a rectangular cross-section. A stove as described in claim 1, wherein each of the foldable legs has a folded position and an extended position, and in the extended position, the leg creates a gap below the bottom of the stove between five percent and twenty percent of the height of the stove body. A stove as described in claim 1, wherein the sleeve ring has a ventilation hole. The stove as described in claim 1, wherein the shield has a conical shape configured to generate a vortex airflow within the stove body. The stove as described in claim 1, wherein the circuit for controlling the speed of the fan includes a rheostat having a user interface positioned on the outer wall of the stove body. A stove as described in claim 1, wherein the external power connector includes a USB-C port. A stove as described in claim 1, wherein the external power connector includes an input port configured to draw power from a power source connected to an input port to an electric fan of the stove, and an output port configured to provide power to an electrical component connected to an output port. A stove as described in claim 1, wherein the stove body further includes a middle wall between the outer wall of the body and the inner wall of the combustion chamber, the middle wall has a vent, and wherein the electric fan, the shielding member, the ash tray and the combustion chamber are contained in the middle wall of the stove body. A stove as described in claim 1, wherein the stove has an on/off indicator light. A stove as described in claim 1, wherein the ashtray has a handle accessible on the outer wall of the stove. A stove as described in claim 1, wherein the angled top ends of the foldable arms each have an angle between forty and eighty degrees, as measured from a back side opposite the supporting side with the claw, the angle being designed to allow the top ends to form a surface coplanar with the bottom of the narrower cooking container and to assist in supporting the narrower cooking container when the arm is folded into the inward position. A stove as described in claim 1, wherein the inward orientation of the reversible cooking attachment has a gap from the bottom of the combustion chamber to the bottom of a cooking container supported by the foldable arm, the gap measuring between one and one and a half inches. A stove as described in claim 1, wherein the mounting ring has a recess to allow the ring to be secured to a vertical retaining element of the opening of the stove body. A stove as described in claim 1, wherein the circular edge has an angle between twenty degrees and forty degrees relative to the top. A portable stove comprising: an outer housing comprising: a bottom, a foldable leg attached to the bottom, a top having an opening, an outer wall having a vent, a middle wall having a vent; an electronics housing located inside and at the bottom of the middle wall of the housing, the electronics housing comprising: an electrical connector, a battery box, and a hatch configured to provide access to the battery box through the bottom of the stove; a fan above the housing, the fan comprising: an adjustable speed, and an electrical connection to a circuit that controls the speed of the fan; a conical shield above the fan; a removable firebox above the shield, the removable firebox configured to hold a fire material; a combustion chamber above the firebox, the combustion chamber including a grate configured to hold a fuel and an inner wall having a vent; and a detachable holder above the combustion chamber, having a cup orientation and a pot orientation, the detachable holder comprising: a collar having a vent, the collar projecting upwardly from the range top in the pot orientation and projecting into the range housing in the cup orientation, a ring for attaching the holder to the range top in either the cup orientation or the pot orientation, the ring having a notch and an edge angled above the opening in the range top, and an arm, each arm having a clawed support side and an angled top end, the arm folding outwardly from the collar in the pot orientation so that the clawed support side faces upward, and the arm folding into the collar in the cup orientation so that the clawed support side faces downward, wherein the collar connects the arm to the ring, wherein the fan, the shield, and the firebox are located inside the middle wall of the housing. A stove as described in claim 16, wherein each of the foldable legs has a folded position and an extended position, and in the extended position, the leg creates a gap below the bottom of the stove between five percent and twenty percent of the height of the stove shell. A stove as described in claim 16, wherein the angled top end of each arm has an angle between forty and eighty degrees as measured from a back side opposite the supporting side with the claw, the angle being designed to allow the top end to form a surface coplanar with the bottom of a narrower cooking container and to assist in supporting the narrower cooking container when the arm is folded into the cup position. A stove as described in claim 16, wherein the edge of the ring has an angle between twenty degrees and forty degrees relative to the top. A stove as described in claim 16, wherein the power connector includes an input port configured to draw power from a power source connected to an input port to a fan of the stove, and an output port configured to provide power to an electrical component connected to an output port.