Abstract:
A portable stove holder traversable between an erected position and a collapsed position is disclosed herein. In the collapsed position, a plurality of arms are collapsed and stacked upon each other to form a compact size so that the portable stove holder can be easily transported by a hiker or camper. In the erected position, the arms are angularly spread apart to hold the gel chafing fuel and a pot above the gel chafing fuel.

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
       [0001]    The application claims the benefit under 35 U.S.C. §119(e) to Provisional Patent Application No. 62/290,884 filed Feb. 3, 2016, the entire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference. 
     
    
     STATEMENT RE: FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH/DEVELOPMENT 
       [0002]    Not Applicable 
       BACKGROUND 
       [0003]    The various embodiments described herein relate to a portable stove holder. 
         [0004]    When camping, the size of the equipment is crucial since everything that the hiker utilizes must be carried and transported into the camp site. A basic equipment for campers and hikers is a stove. Unfortunately, stoves are bulky and difficult to transport. 
         [0005]    Accordingly, there is a need in the art for an improved stove that is easily transportable. 
       BRIEF SUMMARY 
       [0006]    A portable stove holder is disclosed herein. The portable stove holder has a plurality of arms that are rotatable about a common vertical pivot axis between collapsed and erected positions. In the collapsed position, the plurality of arms are stacked one upon each other so that the collapsed portable stove holder is flat for easy transport and does not require a significant amount of space. In the erected position, the plurality of arms are angularly spread apart equidistant from each other to provide a stable platform to hold a gel chafing fuel within the plurality of arms and a pot above the gel chafing fuel for cooking purposes. 
         [0007]    More particularly, a portable stove for holding a pot over a gel chafing fuel is disclosed. The stove may comprise first, second and third support arms and a key. The first, second and third support arms may be attached to each other and pivotable about a vertical pivot axis. Each of the first, second and third support arms may have a horizontal member disposable on a horizontal surface and operative to support the gel chafing fuel and a vertical member to support the pot. The key may have extending nubs that extend toward the horizontal members of the first, second and third support arms at different levels so that each nub blocks pivotal movement of one of the first, second and third support arms when the first, second and third support arms are being traversed to a deployed position so that the vertical members of the first, second and third support arms are collectively operative to support the pot above the gel chafing fuel. The first, second and third support arms may be pivoted to a stored position wherein the first, second and third support arms are smaller when in the stored position compared to the deployed position. 
         [0008]    The first, second and third support arms may be stacked upon each other in the stored position. 
         [0009]    The horizontal members of the first, second and third support arms may be pivotably attached to each other. 
         [0010]    The horizontal members of the first, second and third support arms may have a flat gel chafing fuel support surface for supporting the gel chafing fuel when the first, second and third support arms are in the deployed position. 
         [0011]    The stove may further comprise one or more support arms. 
         [0012]    The support arms may be angularly spaced apart evenly when the support arms are in the deployed position. 
         [0013]    The extending nubs may extend downward. 
         [0014]    The vertical members of the support arms may have a first level pot support surface for supporting the post at the first level when the first, second and third support arms are in the deployed position. The stove may further have upper arms that are pivotable to the support arms to define second level pot support surfaced rotatable about the vertical member to position the upper arms and the second level pot support surface so that the second level pot support surfaces of the support arms collectively support the pot. The second level pot support surface is higher than the first level post support surface. 
         [0015]    The vertical members may each have a stop to limit rotational movement of the upper arms and the second level pot support surface. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0016]    These and other advantages and features of the invention will be better appreciated in view of the following drawings and descriptions in which like numbers refer to like parts throughout, and in which: 
           [0017]      FIG. 1  illustrates a first embodiment of the portable stove holder in a collapsed position; 
           [0018]      FIG. 2  illustrates the portable stove holder of  FIG. 1  in an erected position; 
           [0019]      FIG. 3  illustrates the portable stove holder of  FIG. 1  when used in conjunction with a gel chafing fuel and a pot; 
           [0020]      FIG. 4  illustrates the portable stove holder wherein upper ledges are being rotated into an up position to increase a distance between the pot and the gel chafing fuel; 
           [0021]      FIG. 5  illustrates the portable stove holder shown in  FIG. 4  with the distance between the pot and the gel chafing fuel being greater than that shown in  FIG. 3 ; 
           [0022]      FIG. 6  is a top view of a key and end portions of the plurality of arms; 
           [0023]      FIG. 7  is an exploded view of the key and end portions of the plurality of arms; 
           [0024]      FIG. 8  is a second embodiment of the portable stove holder; and 
           [0025]      FIG. 9  is a third embodiment of the portable stove holder. 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
       [0026]    Referring now to the drawings, a collapsible stove holder  10  for holding a pot  12  over a gel chafing fuel  14  is shown. The collapsible stove holder  10  may be folded into a flat configuration as shown in  FIG. 1  or erected to support the pot  12  at a first elevation shown in  FIG. 3  or at a second elevation shown in  FIG. 5 . In order to collapse the portable stove holder  10 , a plurality of support arms  16  may be rotated into the flat configuration shown in  FIG. 1 . The support arms  16  are rotatable about a vertical pivot axis  18 . A key  20  (see  FIGS. 6 and 7 ) and the support arms  16   a, b, c  are held together with a rivet  22 . The key has a plurality of extending nubs  24   a, b, c  which extend downward to different distances so that the support arms  16   a, b, c  may be rotated out about the vertical pivot axis  18  to equidistant angles  28  and stopped to stably support the gel chafing fuel  14  under the pot  12 . 
         [0027]    In  FIGS. 1-7 , a collapsible stove holder  10  having three support arms  16   a - c  is shown. However, it is also contemplated that the collapsible stove holder  10  may have three or more support arms  16  as shown in  FIGS. 8 and 9 . 
         [0028]    The collapsible stove holder  10  may have a horizontal section  30   a - c  and a vertical section  32   a - c  that form the support arms  16   a - c.  The horizontal and vertical sections  30 ,  32  may be fabricated from a unitary sheet of material. The horizontal sections  30  each define an end portion  34   a - c  that is flat and generally perpendicular to the vertical pivot axis  18 . The end portions  34   a - c  of the horizontal sections  30  of the support arms  16   a - c  may be stacked upon each other. When stacked, the vertical sections  32   a - c  are generally upright. The end portions  34   a, b, c  may have a through hole sized and configured to receive the rivet  22 . Additionally, the key  20  may also have a through hole that is sized and configured to receive the rivet  22 . The end portions  34   a, b, c  and the key  20  may be stacked upon each other and held together by the rivet  22 . 
         [0029]    Moreover, the through hole formed in the key  20  and the end portions  34   a - c  and the rivet  22  define the vertical pivot axis  18 . The support arms  16   a - c  can pivot about the rivet  22  independently from each other. The topmost support arm  16   a  is preferably trapped between two of the downwardly extending nubs  24   a,    24   b.  When the user rotates the support arms  16   b, c  about the vertical pivot axis  18 , the support arm  16   a  and the key  20  remain in a fixed position with respect to each other. The bottommost support arm  16   c  may rotate about 270° until the support arm  16   c  contacts and is stopped by the nub  24   a.  The horizontal section  30   c  of the support arm  16   c  slides under nubs  24   b.  The middle support arm  16   b  slides under nub  24   b  until it contacts and is stopped by the nub  24   c.  As discussed above, the nubs  24   a - c  extend downward at different distances as shown in  FIG. 7 . 
         [0030]    The downwardly extending nubs  24   a, b, c  extend downward to different distances. This is shown in  FIG. 7  by distances  36   a,    36   b  and  36   c.  A thickness  38   a  of the end portion  34   a  of the support arm  16   a  is sized so that the horizontal section  30   b  of the support arm  16   b  does not contact the nub  24   b  and can be rotated about the vertical pivot axis  18 . To this end, the top surface of the end portion  34   b  of the support arm  16   b  is lower than the end surface of the downwardly extending nub  24   b.  This is accomplished by adjusting the thickness  38   a  of the end portion  34   a  of the support arm  16   a.    
         [0031]    The horizontal section  30   a  of the support arm  16   a  is trapped and fixed between the nubs  24   a  and  24   b  so that the support arm  16   b  can be rotated away from the support arm  16   a  from the collapsed position. The support arm  16   b  may be rotated or around vertical pivot axis  18  until the support arm  16   b  contacts the nubs  24   c.  The distance  36   c  is sufficient to block traversal of the end portion  34   b  of the support arm  16   b.  The thicknesses  38   a  and  38   b  of the support arms  16   a,  b is sized so that the bottom surface of the end portion  34   b  of the support arm  16   b  is lower than the end of the downwardly extending nub  24   c  so that the support arm  16   c  can be rotated under the extending nub  24   c.  The distance  38   a  of the extending nub  24   a  is sufficient to block rotation of the support arm  16   c.    
         [0032]    The horizontal sections  30   a - c  have a horizontal support surface  40   a - c.  The horizontal support surface  40   a - c  is positioned to support a bottom surface  42  of the gel chafing fuel  14 , as shown in  FIGS. 3 and 5 . A vertical surface  42   a - c  that forms a step with the support surfaces  40   a - c  is sized so that the vertical surfaces  42   a - c  define a circle which is greater than an outer diameter  44  of the gel chafing fuel  14 . This allows for the gel chafing fuel to be disposed within the support arms  16   a - c.    
         [0033]    The collapsible stove  10  may support the pot  12  on lower ledges  46   a - c  that define support surfaces  48   a - c.  As shown in  FIG. 3 , the pot  12  may rest on top of the support surfaces  48   a - c  of the lower ledges  46   a - c.  In this configuration, there is a gap  50  between the pot  12  and the gel chafing fuel  14  defined by distance  52 . The collapsible stove holder  10  also has the ability to increase the gap  52  to a distance  54  shown in  FIG. 5 . To do so, the user rotates an upper arms  56   a - c  so that upper ledges  56   a - c  are pivoted to the up position as shown in  FIG. 5 . The upper arms  56   a - c  are pivotable about the vertical sections  32   a - c  about rivets  58   a - c.    
         [0034]    In operation, the collapsible stove holder  10  may be transported in the collapsed position as shown in  FIG. 1 . By way of example and not limitation, the user may store the collapsible stove holder  10  in a backpack or other gear until needed. The collapsible stove holder  10  may be fabricated from a lightweight material that is resistant to heat. For example, the material may be metallic such as aluminum or steel. Additionally, the collapsible stove holder  10  may be fabricated from plastic and metallic materials. In particular, the support arms  60   a - c  may be fabricated from high temperature resistant polymer whereas the upper arms  56   a - c  are fabricated from an even higher temperature resistant material such as aluminum or metal. The upper arms  56   a - c  directly contact the pot  12  and thus reach a higher temperature when the upper arms  56   a - c  are used. However, at the point of connection between the upper arms  56   a - c  and the support arms  16   a - c , the heat dissipates and the upper arms  56   a - c  may not exceed the melting or deformation temperature of the support arms  16   a - c  at such connection points. 
         [0035]    To erect the collapsible stove holder, the user rotates the support arms  16   a - c  outward so that the support arms  16   a - c  are equidistantly spaced apart. In particular, if there are three arms, each arm is spread apart by about 120°. The gel chafing fuel  14  is inserted between the support arms  16   a - c.  If the gel chafing fuel  14  is too wide to fit between the spread apart support arms  16   a,  then the support arms  16   a - c  may be slightly collapsed in order to make room for the gel chafing fuel. Once the gel chafing fuel  14  is inserted between the support arms  16   a,  then the support arms  16   a  may be spread apart so as to be about 120° apart from each other. 
         [0036]    The pot  12  may be supported by the support surfaces  48   a - c  the lower ledges  46   a - c  or the upper arms  56   a - c.  The lower ledges  46   a - c  are used in order to provide more heat to the pot  12  since the pot  12  is closer to the gel chafing fuel  14  and the flame produced by the gel chafing fuel  14  with the pot  12  is supported by the lower ledges  46   a - c.  Similarly, the upper ledges  56   a - c  are used in order to provide less heat to the pot  12  since the pot  12  is further away from the gel chafing fuel  14  and the flame produced by the gel chafing fuel  14  with the pot  12  supported by the upper arms  56   a - c.    
         [0037]    To use the upper ledges  56   a - c , the user rotates the upper ledges  56   a - c  about rivets  58   a - c.  The upper ledges  56   a - c  are rotated until they are stopped by catches  60   a - c.    
         [0038]    As discussed above, the collapsible stove holder  10  may have additional support arms as shown in  FIGS. 8 and 9  in order to further stabilize the collapsible stove holder  10  during use. 
         [0039]    Moreover, the support arms  16   a - c  may also have feet  62   a - c  that contact the ground. 
         [0040]    The above description is given by way of example, and not limitation. Given the above disclosure, one skilled in the art could devise variations that are within the scope and spirit of the invention, including various ways of Fabricating the support arms  16   a - c.  Further, the various features of this invention can be used alone, or in varying combinations with each other and are not intended to be limited to the specific combination described herein. Thus, the invention is not to be limited by the illustrated embodiments.