Portable fused campfire

A portable, fused essentially waterproof campfire is presented. The campfire has a trapezoidal cross-section with kindling, a firestick and a fuse located near the bottom center of the trapezoid. The fuse runs from the firestick to the outside of the campfire. Surrounding the firestick and kindling are increasingly larger sizes of wood, ranging from one inch in diameter to approximately 5 inches in diameter at the top. The campfire, once constructed, is entirely surrounded by a clear combustible material such as shrink wrap and a handle is attached. The shrink wrap not only keeps the campfire in its trapezoidal shape, it also keeps water from penetrating. The campfire is highly portable and easily started even under damp conditions. One simply lights the fuse, which ignites the firestick and kindling and the rest of the fire.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
This invention relates to the field of camping and picnic supplies. More 
particularly, it discloses a unique fused, self-contained, portable and 
highly efficient campfire. 
In the field of camping and outdoor activities, the campfire is one of the 
most fundamental necessities. Although campers frequently use tents, gas 
stoves, electric heaters, and other means for keeping warm or cooking 
food, the standard campfire is popular throughout the United States and 
the World. Different devices have been produced that are designed to 
either cook the food of the camper or to keep the camp warm during the 
evening hours, or both. For example, gas-fueled portable stoves are known 
in the art as are various types of portable heating devices. Campfires of 
differing designs and uses are also known in the art. 
One such portable, pre-packaged fire and barbecue is disclosed in the 1971 
patent issued to Hosford, U.S. Pat. No. 3,575,156. The Hosford device is a 
pre-packaged unit made of charcoal, also having a grill. This unit is 
packaged and intended for single, disposable use. Yet another type of 
pre-packaged device is found in the 1986 Patent issued to Pratt, U.S. Pat. 
No. 4,627,854. The self-contained log fire starting kit of Pratt comprises 
a cardboard carton which is set alight by igniting paper wads, which in 
turn start kindling strips and finally logs. Beeson (U.S. Pat. No. 
4,063,904) disclosed a self-contained fuel package consisting of wood 
blocks resting on kindling and ignited by excelsior. 
All of these devices, while an improvement over the prior art, have certain 
drawbacks. For example, the Hosford charcoal is difficult to light even 
under the best of circumstances. The volatile fuel required to light the 
Beeson wood blocks can be dangerous and burdensome in their transport to 
the camp fire site. Similarly, the Pratt device works well under ideal 
conditions but its utility decreases under damp or wet conditions. If the 
Pratt device is carried over a distance when it is raining, or if the 
device is set in the snow, the paper starter fuel used to light the device 
may become damp and unlightable. All of the prior devices are expensive 
and require special materials to compose the fuel package. Most are bulky 
to transport. 
It is an object of this invention to provide a self-contained campfire 
which may be carried to a campsite by a convenient handle and packaging. 
It is an object of this invention to provide a self-contained campfire 
which is highly portable and lightweight. It is a still further object of 
this invention to provide a highly portable self-contained campfire which 
is inexpensive because it is made of standard scrap wood which is readily 
available. 
It is another and primary object of this invention to provide a highly 
portable, lightweight, inexpensive campfire which may be ignited under all 
circumstances. Yet another object of this invention is to provide a fused, 
portable campfire which is highly reliable and can provide hours of warmth 
to a camper even under the most inclement conditions. Further and other 
objects of this device will become apparent upon reading the below 
described Specification. 
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DEVICE 
A portable, fused, self-contained campfire is presented which is 
inexpensive to manufacture, convenient to carry and extremely reliable. 
The device is formed in a trapezoidal shape. The center of the trapezoid 
is an internal combustion area consisting of a fire starter stick 
connected to an elongated fuse. The fuse protrudes outside of the 
trapezoidal campfire. Surrounding the firestick is small kindling, which 
is in turn surrounded by small combustible logs. As the campfire builds 
from the center starting point, the logs become increasingly larger. 
Semi-circular logs of approximately 5 inch diameter are placed on the top 
of the trapezoidal campfire. The unignited campfire is contained by a 
combustible shrink wrap type material. The entire campfire has a handle 
attached at its top so that it is highly portable. The campfire may be 
started by simply lighting the fuse which in turn lights the remaining 
portions of the campfire.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT 
A portable, fused, self-contained campfire is presented which may be 
readily started even under the most inclement conditions. As best shown in 
FIGS. 1, 3 and 4, the campfire has an essentially trapezoidal shape, with 
a wood base 2. The trapezoidal campfire 1 is arranged so that an internal 
combustion area 3 in the center ignites the remaining portion of the 
campfire. 
Utilized as the primary burning fuel in this device is "slab wood". Slab 
wood consists of the semi-circular outer portions of a log which commonly 
remain in the lumber industry after the log is cut and shaped into flat 
sections. These semi-circular logs 2 (in FIG. 1) and 9 (in FIG. 3) have 
bark on the outside, but have a flat edge (the diameter of the 
semi-circle). This slab wood base 2 can consist of logs which are 
approximately 2 inches in diameter. For aesthetic reasons it is desired to 
find slab wood which has bark on the circular portion of the log so that 
the campfire will have an outward appearance of a normal log, bark 
campfire. The logs are arranged on the campfire so that the bark side is 
facing outwardly, except on the bottom, which is flat. 
The self-contained campfire package has a trapezoidal cross-section as 
shown in FIG. 1, with approximately even end edges as shown on FIG. 2. 
Once the campfire has been assembled, as will be described in the 
following portion of the Specification, it is surrounded with a shrink 
wrap 13. The slanted edges 15 of the trapezoid are created by the use of 
approximately 2 inch slab wood semi-circular logs 8. 
Turning now to FIG. 3, the internal combustion portion of the portable, 
fused, self-contained campfire is shown. Located at the lower central 
section 3 of the trapezoidal campfire is the main initial combustion 
material. As shown in FIG. 4, this main internal combustion material 
comprises a fire starter stick 4 connected to a fuse 5 and surrounded by 
small kindling 6. This firestick 4 is an essentially rectangular slab of 
highly combustible material which creates a large amount of heat per cubic 
inch of material. Firesticks are commonly used to start campfires, 
barbecues and fireplace fires and are known throughout the industry. The 
firestick is approximately five inches long by one inch wide and one-half 
inch thick and is securely connected to the fuse 5. 
The fuse 5 may be a cannonball type fuse of the type commonly found in 
fireworks. The fuse is approximately 15 inches in length and stretches 
between the centrally located firestick 4 and the outer part of the 
campfire. The end of the fuse opposite the firestick protrudes out the 
side edge of the campfire as best shown in FIG. 4. Surrounding the fuse 
and firestick is small kindling 6. This kindling may be small branches or 
twigs and is designed to catch fire once the fuse ignites the firestick. 
As the internal portion 3 of the campfire is ignited, it in turn ignites 
the increasingly larger fire logs. Surrounding the firestick 4 and 
kindling 6 is located a series of intermediate-sized logs 7 approximately 
one-inch in diameter. These intermediate-sized one-inch logs 7 are in turn 
surrounded by large-sized approximately two-inch slab wood logs 8 which 
are generally semi-circular in shape. The large-sized approximately 
two-inch logs 8 form the outer sides of the campfire as shown in FIGS. 2 
and 6. 
On top of the self-contained campfire are the largest and longest burning 
slab wood semi-circular logs 9 and 10. These largest logs 9 and 10 
generally have an approximate five inch diameter and will burn for one to 
two hours under ideal conditions. 
As can be seen from the above described arrangement, the easily ignited 
fuse in turn lights the firestick which in turn ignites the kindling and 
the increasingly larger fuel supply logs contained in the package. The use 
of the fuse and firestick, in combination with the configuration and 
location of the increasingly larger logs, insures that this campfire will 
light under all conditions. 
In order to hold the campfire together prior to use, a shrink wrap 
combustible material shown in FIG. 6 is used. This material 13 is slipped 
over the campfire 1 and then is contracted until the trapezoidal form 
shown in FIGS. 3 and 4 can be maintained by the shrink wrap 13. The shrink 
wrap 13 may have a plastic handle attached to it for ease of carrying. 
Alternatively, a central handle log 10, shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, is located 
on top of the trapezoidal form. This handle log 10 has a combustible 
handle 11 attached to it by means of combustible loops 12. When the shrink 
wrap 13 is inserted around the campfire 1, a slot 14 allows the handle 11 
to protrude out the top of the shrink wrap, thereby providing a reliable 
yet combustible handle for carrying the campfire to remote locations. 
Since the main fuel utilized in this invention is scrap slab wood, the cost 
of producing the campfire is kept at a minimum. Due to the use of the fuse 
and firestick, this campfire will start even under adverse conditions such 
as are found in the snow and rain. Since the campfire is surrounded by an 
essentially waterproof yet combustible material, the campfire is kept dry 
and hence highly combustible even when it is carried or used under adverse 
conditions such as rain, sleet, or snow. 
Although the preferred shape of the campfire is the trapezoidal shape shown 
in the Drawing Figures, the campfire may also be arranged in a circular or 
oval cross-sectional pattern while still keeping within the spirit and 
disclosure of this invention. One key to the invention disclosed herein is 
the ignition of the campfire by means of the fuse and firestarter stick, 
surrounded by the small kindling (which is in turn surrounded by 
increasingly larger pieces of fuel). Although it is desirable to use 
inexpensive slab wood, other logs, surrounding the kindling in an 
increasingly larger pattern, may also be utilized in practicing this 
invention. 
Since the slab wood usually has bark on the outside and since the shrink 
wrap or other material is clear, the campfire has a pleasing aesthetic 
wood bark look prior to being ignited. Additionally, since larger logs are 
found at the top of the campfire, the campfire will burn for one to two 
hours.