Self extinguishing fire pit

A self extinguishing fire pit designed to fit flush with or extend above a level surface consisting of three basic parts including a wall, a rim which fits about the top of the wall, and a lid which is adapted to fit into the rim which serves to extinguish any flame or fire which has been kindled within the wall. Other attachments and/or modifications are also described.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
This invention relates to fire pits having a self extinguishing feature. 
More specifically, this invention relates to fire pits consisting of a 
fire wall, a rim which fits about the top of the fire wall, and a lid 
which fits within the rim and preferably rests upon the top surface of the 
fire wall thereby inhibiting the flow of oxygen to the flame thereby 
providing a self extinguishing feature. 
Fire pits or fireplaces are becoming increasingly popular, both in the 
backyard patios as well as in national forests, state parks, private 
parks, campgrounds, and the like. A particular problem associated with 
fire pits and/or open fires is that the fire is not properly extinguished 
resulting in the creation of numerous forest fires each year caused by the 
fanning of glowing embers into action by bursts of wind and the like. 
Campfire pits and the like are known in the prior art, but such are not 
self extinguishable. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 3,378,002 which issued 
Apr. 16, 1968, teaches a semi-portable fireplace for outdoor use which has 
a semi-portable fireplace ring and barbeque grill. However, such apparatus 
has a draft passage means extending radially through the wall adjacent the 
lower end and does not contain any self extinguishing feature. 
U.S. Pat. No. 3,515,118 which issued June 2, 1970, teaches a campfire pit 
which is embedded into the ground having attached thereto a permenant 
grill or grate. Again, there is no provision for a self extinguishing 
feature to be associated with said fire pit. 
OBJECTS OF THE INVENTION 
It is an object of the present invention to therefore provide a self 
extinguishing fire pit. 
It is also an object of the present invention to provide a self 
extinguishing fire pit which preferably comprises a wall, a rim adapted to 
fit over and about the top of the wall, and a lid insertable in the rim 
which, when inserted, will deprive any fire within the wall from access to 
air. 
It is a further object of the present invention to provide a self 
extinguishing fire pit which may be inserted into a patio, campground or 
the like such that the pit will be flush with or slightly elevated from 
the surrounding surface or terrain. 
A still further object of the present invention is to provide a self 
extinguishing fire pit having various attachments which provide greater 
freedom and adaptability in cooking to the outdoorsman. 
The principal features of this invention include a veritcal fire wall which 
may be of any desired shape, but is preferably cylindrical and is 
preferably made of reinforced concrete. Seated over the upper surface of 
the fire wall is a rim or ring which has an inside diameter substantially 
the same as the outside diameter of the fire wall and has an inwardly 
extending lip adapted to fit over the top surface of the fire wall. The 
inner portion of the lip is preferably beveled from the top to the bottom 
of the lip portion and the self extinguishing lid has a shape adapted to 
fit securely within the beveled lip portion and will also preferably rest 
upon the inner top portion of the fire wall. 
Other adaptations may be made in the invention as will be explained in the 
detailed description.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
A complete embodiment of the invention is shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 with 
accessories being illustrated by FIGS. 3 through 6. 
There is shown at FIGS. 1 and 2 a fire pit 10 which is preferably 
cylindrical in shape but can obviously be made of any desired shape. The 
fire pit 10 consists of a firewall 11 which has a flat top. Preferably, 
fire wall 11 is embedded either partially or completely into the 
surrounding surface, i.e., ground, cement, patio or other terrain. Seated 
around the fire wall is a rim 12 which has an inside diameter 
substantially the same as the outside diameter of the fire wall and which 
further has an inwardly protruding lip adapted to rest on the flat top 
portion of fire wall 11. As illustrated in the drawings, the inner edges 
of the lip are beveled from the top to the bottom to provide a more 
suitable seating means for the lid as will be defined. However, the inside 
edge of the rim may be in a vertical position instead of being beveled at 
an angle if desired. When not in use, the fire pit will be covered with 
lid 13 which inhibits or prevents the flow of air into the fire pit 
thereby extinguishing any flame that may be burning therein. FIGS. 1 and 2 
illustrate two means contained in the lid for removing the lid from the 
fire pit. One may be a lid aperture 14 through which a finger, stick or 
other object may be inserted to remove the lid or place the lid over the 
burning fire within the pit. The other means is a handle 15 which may be 
fixedly mounted to always protrude above the surface of the lid or may be 
slidably engaged as illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 2. Such handle would have a 
base portion 16 attached thereto which would engage the bottom of lid 13 
when the handle 15 was raised to an operative position. At a public 
campground or the like it may be desirable to secure the lid to the rim 
and/or fire wall to prevent the loss of the lid. In such case a chain or 
cable 17 may be attached to the rim and lid by bolts or other appropriate 
fastening means 18. 
The bottom of the fire pit may consist of earth, cement, rock or other 
materials, but preferably contains an ash pan 19 which facilitates the 
removal of ashes after the fire has been extinguished. Preferably, ash pan 
19 will be constructed of an appropriate metal such as iron, steel and the 
like, and consists of a horizontal bottom having raised sides which turn 
upwardly from the bottom, preferably at right angles. The diameter of ash 
pan 19 is substantially the same as the inside diameter of fire wall 11. 
In some instances it may be desirable to use the ash pan as a briquet 
holder and to place a grill over the pan for use as a cooking surface. In 
that event rods 20 are slidably engaged in metal loops 21. The rods can be 
slid outwardly and will then rest upon the top surface of rim 12, and the 
horizontal portion of pan 19 can be used for holding charcoal briquets. It 
can thus be seen that ash pan 19 may also substitute as a briquet holder 
by a simple modification and therefore has multiple uses. 
FIG. 4 illustrates yet another embodiment of the invention whereby the rim 
12 contains an aperture 22 into which may be inserted a vertical rodlike 
member 23 which may be adapted to hold various cooking implements over the 
fire pit. As illustrated in FIG. 4, the rodlike member 23 bends at the top 
in an arcuate position until said rod is angling downwardly at which point 
the rod again bends upwardly forming a notch 24 over which the bail 25 of 
a dutch oven or kettle 26 may be placed. Also, as shown in FIG. 4, the 
rodlike member 23 may have a horizontal rod attached thereto by means of 
welding, threading and the like, which rod 27 is adapted to hold a grate 
28. A frying pan 29 or other cooking utensils may be placed on the grate 
for cooking purposes. It is obvious that rod 23 may be rotated so that 
either the grate or the dutch oven is over the fire pit, and when not in 
use, rod 23 can be lifted out of aperture 22. 
FIGS. 5 and 6 present still another embodiment of the present invention 
wherein fastening means are contained in the fire wall for securing a 
cooking surface over the fire pit. As shown in FIG. 6, the fastening means 
preferably consist of eye bolts 30 which protrude through fire wall 11 and 
are secured thereto by means of nuts 31. The eye bolts 30 are in vertical 
alignment so that a rod 32 may be inserted through the eyelet as shown. 
Preferably, rod 32 is bent at right angles and has a grate 33 or other 
cooking surface attached thereto. The positioning of the grate above the 
fire pit may be controlled by means of a series of apertures 34 drilled 
through rod 32 and held in place by means of a bolt or pin 35 which is 
inserted through apertures 34 and rests on the top of fire wall 11. If 
desired, other apertures 36 at right angles to apertures 34 may be 
contained in rod 32 to secure the grate away from the fire pit when it is 
not desired to have a cooking surface extending thereover. 
The above modifications are only illustrative of the many usages that can 
be made of the fire pit. It should be borne in mind, however, that the 
single most important feature of the fire pit is the fact that lid 13 may 
be inserted over the fire pit whenever desired thereby extinguishing any 
flame therein and eliminating any danger of fire spreading beyond the 
confines of the fire pit itself. The fire pit may be made of any desired 
material, but preferably is constructed of reinforced concrete which is 
preferably precast and then inserted into a patio campground or other 
appropriate areas. In this manner it may be seen that the fire wall, the 
rim and the lid may be reproduced using the same set of molds and is 
amenable to mass production. In some instances, it may be preferable to 
have the lid 13 constructed of a metal in order to avoid breakage. The rim 
may also be constructed of a metal if desired and be bolted or otherwise 
fastened to the fire wall. 
Although the invention as has been described is deemed to be that which 
would form a preferred embodiment, it is recognized that the self 
extinguishing feature is predominant and that many variations may be used 
without departing from the scope of the invention which is not limited to 
the details disclosed, but is to be accorded the full scope of the claims 
so as to include any and all equivalent devices and apparatus.