Portable campfire cooker

• US 4,829,977 A
• Filed: 03/07/1988
• Issued: 05/16/1989
• Est. Priority Date: 03/07/1988
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Edward L. Valentine
• Original Assignee: Edward L. Valentine
• Inventors: Valentine, Edward L.
• Primary Examiner(s): Yeung, James C.
• Application Number:
  US07/164,864
• Time in Patent Office: 435 Days
• Field of Search: 126/9 R, 126/9 B, 126/38, 126/43, 126/25 R, 126/30, 126/145, 126/9 A, 126/29, 126/25 A, 126/25 AA, 126/152 R, 248/246, 211/186, 211/189, 220/4 F, 220/80
• US Class Current: 126/9.00R
• CPC Class Codes: F24C 1/16 with special adaptation for travelling, e.g. collapsible

Abstract

A portable campfire cooker formed of metal walls, posts, grills and other parts, easily assembled and disassembled, providing a rigid and safe fire box. Cylindrical posts lock together interconnecting walls, which walls reciprocably support these posts against inadvertent displacement. Grill supports and pot supports are rotatably mounted on these posts in a secure arrangement. Spit members are similarly mounted onto these posts. Grill, pot and spit members are released by merely lifting from these posts. The walls can be of selected unit lengths to form polygonal shaped fire boxes of symmetrical or non-symmetrical configurations.

Claims

1. A portable campfire cooker comprising

a plurality of pieces in ready disassembly for transportation but adapted for convenient assembly into a rigid and safe fire box for supporting grills, pots, pans, dutch ovens and the like, comprising:

a plurality of sheet metal walls forming an enclosed fire box resting upon the ground surface having lipped top and bottom edges and interlocking ends having one or more return bends adapted to interfit with a mating adjacent wall and secured together by a vertical cylindrical post which post is driven into the ground thereby securing rigidly said walls together and in fixed positions to the ground;

at least one of said vertical cylindrical posts having longitudinally annular grooves spaced along the length of said post;

a grill support rotatably and releaseably mounted by a support member on said post having annular grooves, said support having a radial arm extending sideways from said post with a terminal end mounting a horizontal grill member, said grill member of a size to be swung to various positions above said walls forming said fire box and sideways outside said fire box;

said support member secured at the end of said radial arm remote from said grill member, said support member having parallel sides embracing the sides of said post and said sides carrying a transverse pin adapted to engage one of said annular grooves, said parallel sides adjacent said radial arm having an upright abutment to engage the sides of said post, and said parallel sides extending diagonally from said abutment across said post to said transverse pin whereby said support member can rotate in vertical secured relationship about said posts with said pin engaging said groove but raising said radial arm releases said pin from said groove whereby said support member can be moved vertically relatively to said post for convenient positioning or removal; and

each said post carrying said support member having a pointed lower end for ready insertion into the ground and an enlarged shoulder portion spaced from said lower end and said shoulder abutting the upper edges of said walls secured together by said post whereby said post is secured against the weight of said grill member from being undesireably pushed into the ground.

2. The cooker of claim 1 wherein at least one of said cylindrical posts carries at its upper end a rotatable pot holder, said post having a pointed lower end for ready insertion into the ground and an enlarged shoulder portion spaced from said lower end and said shoulder abutting the upper edges of said walls secured together by said post whereby said post is secured against the weight of said pot holder from being undesireably pushed into the ground, and said pot holder having a radial arm extending sideways from said post with a hooked terminal end arranged for suspending a pot or like utensils, and said pot holder having an upright socket terminal on said arm for reasonably mounting atop said pots whereby said pot holder can be rotated about said post to position the utensils relative to said fire box.

3. The cooker of claim 2 wherein said hooked terminal is carried at one end of a tubular member forming said radial arm, and said hooked terminal comprises an upright bent rod secured within said tubular member and a second rod with upright bend ends is secured transversely to said tubular member and said bent rod.

4. The cooker of claim 2 whereas said post is selected from cylindrical posts carrying annular grooves.

5. The cooker of claim 1 wherein said support member has a tubular member forming said radial arm, said parallel sides connected by an end side forming said upright abutment with said tubular member secured to said end side, and said terminal end formed of a second tubular member secured upright at one end of said tubular member and receiving rotatably a downwardly extending pin carried by said horizontal grill member whereby said grill member can be rotated in the horizontal.

6. The cooker of claim 1 wherein a removable grill is mounted transversely between opposite walls by a plurality of downwardly extending hooks carried at the ends of rods supporting said grill.

7. The cooker of claim 1 wherein said walls carry circular shaped return bends to snugly receive said cylindrical posts whereby said walls can be arranged into a desired fire box shape before said posts are inserted into the ground.

8. The cooker of claim 1 wherein said walls carry return bends formed into a three sided right angular form whereby said walls are secured by insertion of said posts into the ground through said bends between mounting walls, while walls in an angular configuration are restrained from movement by said bends.

9. The cooker of claim 1 provided with a spit wherein cylindrical posts secure said walls on opposite sides of said fire box and said cylindrical posts having longitudinally spaced annular grooves spaced along said posts, and said posts having a pointed lower end for ready insertion into the ground and an enlarged shoulder spaced from said lower end and said shoulder abutting the upper edges of said walls secured together by said posts whereby said posts are secured against weight of said spit from being undesireably pushed in to the ground, said spit formed of a transverse elongated spit member secured releaseably to said posts by spit supports, and each said spit supports having parallel sides embracing the sides of said post and sides carrying a transverse pin adapted to engage one of said annular grooves, said sides adjacent to said spit member having an upright abutment to engage the sides of said posts and upright bent hooks to secure said spit member, and said parallel sides extending diagonally from said abutment across said post to said transverse pin whereby said spit supports can be rotated about said posts with said pin engaged in said grooves but raising said spit member by its hooks releases said pin from said groove whereby said spit support can be moved vertically relative to said post for convenient positioning and removal from said cooker.

10. A portable campfire cooker comprising a plurality of pieces for transportation but adapted for convenient assembly into a rigid and safe firebox for supporting grills, pots, pans, dutch ovens and the like comprising:

a plurality of sheet metal walls forming an enclosed firebox resting upon the ground surface having lipped top and bottom edges and interlocking ends having one or more return bends adapted to interfit with a mating adjacent wall and secured together by a vertical cylindrical post which post is driven into the ground thereby securing rigidly said walls together and in fixed position to the ground;

a removable grill mounted transversely between opposite walls by a plurality of downwardly extending hooks carried at the ends of rods supporting said grill;

said walls carrying return bends each bend formed into a three sided right angular form adapted to embrace said post whereby said walls are secured by insertion of said posts into the ground through said return bends on interfitted mating walls which walls are secured in an angular configuration restrained from movement by said bends; and

said bends of one mating wall abutting face-to-face with said bends of the other mating wall whereby said mating walls rigidly interlock selectively into right angular configuration with placement of said locking pin therebetween.