Patent Publication Number: US-2006000465-A1

Title: Foldable barbecue grill

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
      1. Field of the Invention  
      The present invention relates to a foldable barbecue stove, and more particularly to a barbecue stove that is folded easily and conveniently.  
      2. Description of the Related Art  
      A conventional barbecue stove comprises a support stand, a broiler pan mounted on the support stand, and a cover mounted on the support stand to cover the broiler pan. However, the conventional barbecue stove cannot be folded easily due to existence of the broiler pan, so that the conventional barbecue stove has a larger volume when not in use, thereby greatly causing inconvenience in storage, package and transportation of the conventional barbecue stove.  
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
      The present invention is to mitigate and/or obviate the disadvantage of the conventional barbecue stove.  
      The primary objective of the present invention is to provide a barbecue stove that is folded easily and conveniently, thereby facilitating storage, package and transportation of the barbecue stove.  
      Another objective of the present invention is to provide a barbecue stove, wherein when the barbecue stove is folded, the support racks and the casings are disposed at an upright state, and the broiler pans are hidden in the support racks, thereby reducing space of storage, and thereby facilitating a user carrying the barbecue stove.  
      A further objective of the present invention is to provide a barbecue stove, wherein when the barbecue stove is expanded, the support racks are pivoted outward and disposed at a horizontal state, so that the broiler pans are disposed at a horizontal state, thereby facilitating the user using the barbecue stove.  
      A further objective of the present invention is to provide a barbecue stove, wherein the wing plates are mounted on the support racks to facilitate movement of the support racks, thereby facilitating the user folding and expanding the barbecue stove.  
      A further objective of the present invention is to provide a barbecue stove, wherein each of the two retractable lamp units is pulled outward and protruded outward from a respective one of the lamp seats to provide an illuminating effect, thereby facilitating the user using the barbecue stove at the night.  
      In accordance with the present invention, there is provided a barbecue stove, comprising:  
      a base;  
      two casings combined with each other and each having a first end mounted on the base; and  
      two support racks detachably combined with each other and each pivotally mounted on a second end of a respective one of the casings.  
      Further benefits and advantages of the present invention will become apparent after a careful reading of the detailed description with appropriate reference to the accompanying drawings. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       FIG. 1  is a perspective view of a barbecue stove in accordance with the preferred embodiment of the present invention;  
       FIG. 2  is an exploded perspective view of the barbecue stove as shown in  FIG. 1 ;  
       FIG. 3  is a perspective expanded view of the barbecue stove as shown in  FIG. 1 ;  
       FIG. 4  is a side plan operational view of the barbecue stove as shown in  FIG. 1 ; and  
       FIG. 5  is a schematic operational view of the barbecue stove as shown in  FIG. 4 . 
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION  
      Referring to the drawings and initially to  FIGS. 1-3 , a barbecue stove in accordance with the preferred embodiment of the present invention comprises a base  10 , two casings  20  combined with each other and each having a first end mounted on the base  10 , and two support racks  40  detachably combined with each other and each pivotally mounted on a second end of a respective one of the casings  20 .  
      The barbecue stove further comprises two pivot plates  22  each having a first end pivotally mounted on a respective one of the two casings  20 , and two wing plates  23  each having a first end pivotally mounted on a second end of a respective one of the two pivot plates  22  and a second end pivotally mounted on a respective one of the two support racks  40 .  
      Each of the two casings  20  has a side formed with two spaced pivot ears  21 , and the first end of each of the two pivot plates  22  is pivotally mounted on the pivot ears  21  of a respective one of the two casings  20 .  
      In addition, the first end of each of the two wing plates  23  is formed with two spaced pivot ears  230 , and the second end of each of the two pivot plates  22  is pivotally mounted on the pivot ears  230  of a respective one of the two wing plates  23 .  
      In addition, the second end of each of the two wing plates  23  is formed with two spaced pivot portions  231 , and each of the two support racks  40  has a side formed with a pivot portion  41  pivotally mounted on the pivot portions  231  of a respective one of the two wing plates  23 .  
      The second end of each of the two casings  20  is formed with two spaced pivot blocks  250 , and each of the two support racks  40  has a first end provided with two spaced pivot seats  42  each pivotally mounted on a respective one of the pivot blocks  250  of the respective casing  20 , so that each of the two support racks  40  is pivotally mounted on the respective casing  20 .  
      Each of the two support racks  40  has a second end formed with a grip portion  45 , and a snapping member  46  is detachably mounted between the grip portions  45  of the two support racks  40  to detachably lock the two support racks  40  as shown in  FIG. 1 .  
      The barbecue stove further comprises two broiler pans  50  each mounted on an inner face of a respective one of the support racks  40  to move therewith, two oil cups  51  each mounted between a respective one of the support racks  40  and a respective one of the broiler pans  50 , two burners  55  each mounted on a respective one of the oil cups  51  and each aligning with a respective one of the broiler pans  50 , a gas container  15  is mounted on the base  10  and located between the two casings  20 , two support seats  27  each mounted on the casings  20  and each provided with two connecting pipes  270  connected to the gas container  15  and a respective one of the burners  55  respectively, and a switch unit  28  mounted on the casings  20  to control a gas flow rate from the gas container  15  to each of the burners  55 .  
      The second end of the two casings  20  is formed with two spaced lamp seats  25 , and the barbecue stove further comprises two retractable lamp units  30  each detachably mounted on a respective one of the lamp seats  25 .  
      Each of the retractable lamp units  30  includes a first tube  31  detachably mounted in a respective one of the lamp seats  25 , a second tube  32  retractably mounted in the first tube  31 , a third tube  33  retractably mounted in the second lamp tube  32 , and a lamp shade  34  mounted on the third tube  33 . The third tube  33  of each of the retractable lamp units  30  has an inside provided with at least one battery (not shown) and at least one bulb (not shown).  
      The first tube  31  of each of the retractable lamp units  30  is formed with a locking slot  310 , and the barbecue stove further comprises two locking members  26  each pivotally mounted on a respective one of the lamp seats  25  and each detachably locked in the locking slot  310  of the first tube  31  of a respective one of the retractable lamp units  30 .  
      As shown in  FIG. 1 , the two support racks  40  are combined with each other by the snapping member  46 , so that the barbecue stove is folded. In such a manner, when the barbecue stove is folded, the support racks  40  and the casings  20  are disposed at an upright state, and the broiler pans  50  are hidden in the support racks  40 , thereby greatly reducing the space of storage, and thereby facilitating a user carrying the folded barbecue stove.  
      As shown in  FIG. 3 , the two support racks  40  are detached from each other by releasing the snapping member  46 , so that the barbecue stove is expanded. In such a manner, when the barbecue stove is expanded, the support racks  40  are pivoted outward and disposed at a horizontal state, so that the broiler pans  50  are disposed at a horizontal state, thereby facilitating the user using the expanded barbecue stove. In addition, the wing plates  23  are mounted on the support racks  40  to facilitate movement of the support racks  40 , thereby facilitating the user folding and expanding the barbecue stove.  
      As shown in  FIG. 4 , each of the two retractable lamp units  30  is pulled outward and protruded outward from a respective one of the lamp seats  25  to provide an illuminating effect, thereby facilitating the user using the barbecue stove at the night.  
      As shown in  FIGS. 2 and 5 , each of the two locking members  26  is pivoted outward and detached from the locking slot  310  of the first tube  31  of a respective one of the retractable lamp units  30 , so that each of the retractable lamp units  30  is detached from a respective one of the lamp seats  25  to function as a flashlight.  
      Accordingly, the barbecue stove is folded easily and conveniently, thereby facilitating storage, package and transportation of the barbecue stove. In addition, when the barbecue stove is folded, the support racks  40  and the casings  20  are disposed at an upright state, and the broiler pans  50  are hidden in the support racks  40 , thereby greatly reducing space of storage, and thereby facilitating a user carrying the barbecue stove. Further, when the barbecue stove is expanded, the support racks  40  are pivoted outward and disposed at a horizontal state, so that the broiler pans  50  are disposed at a horizontal state, thereby facilitating the user using the barbecue stove. Further, the wing plates  23  are mounted on the support racks  40  to facilitate movement of the support racks  40 , thereby facilitating the user folding and expanding the barbecue stove. Further, each of the two retractable lamp units  30  is pulled outward and protruded outward from a respective one of the lamp seats  25  to provide an illuminating effect, thereby facilitating the user using the barbecue stove at the night.  
      Although the invention has been explained in relation to its preferred embodiment(s) as mentioned above, it is to be understood that many other possible modifications and variations can be made without departing from the scope of the present invention. It is, therefore, contemplated that the appended claim or claims will cover such modifications and variations that fall within the true scope of the invention.