The present invention relates to portable cooking devices and is more particularly directed to lightweight, foldable, portable cooking devices which provide for adjustable disposition of cooking and fire grates.
The variables encountered in the outdoor environment field present unique problems in the packaging and use of the outdoor cooking equipment. For example, to achieve portability, such equipment must be constructed of lightweight materials, be compact or collapsible to small proportions, and yet be versatile to accomodate different conditions.
Portable cooking implements have been devised in the past. Representative of such art is U.S. Pat. No. 4,433,671. That patent, however, which is similar to known portable cooking grills and devices, does not permit infinite adjustment of the fire and cooking grates with respect to the ground, or with respect to one another. That device also does not permit leveling of the cooking and fire grates when the implement is used on uneven surfaces, nor does it collapse to a compact unit.
The present invention is an improvement over known portable cooking devices and provides a lightweight, foldable, compact, portable cooking device which allows adjustment of the elevation of both the fire and cooking grates to accommodate any surface and situation, allows leveling of both the fire and cooking grates, and has a collapsible construction which results in a minimal external storage profile.
In particular, the present invention consists of three main elements: a vertical support means (pole), a fire grate and a cooking grate. The fire grate and cooking grate are removeably and slidably attached to the vertical support means and are each hingedly divided into sections for compaction and storage purposes. Similarly, the vertical support means comprises a tubular member which is made up of several segments for storage purposes and preferably has a pointed end for insertion in the ground. The cooking and fire grates each have a frame to which a tubular sleeve is attached. The vertical support member is inserted within the tubular sleeves of the fire and cooking grates and the grates are adjustably held in place by set screws. Both grates can be set and releaseably locked at any selected elevation on the vertical support means. Adjustment of the fire grate elevation relative to the ground permits control of the air flow thereby controlling fuel burn rate and temperature. Similarly, adjustment of the cooking grate relative to the fire grate permits control of the cooking time and temperature. The fire grate alternately can be used as a second cooking grate.
The fire and cooking grates may be supported by using a single vertical support post or multiple vertical support post which have been driven into the ground. The infinite range of adjustability, featured by the vertical support posts, permits leveling of the fire and cooking grates on even the roughest surface conditions.
The embodiments as herein described achieve the features of the invention by allowing leveling of the fire and cooking grates, permitting infinite adjustability of both the fire and cooking grate elevations, and providing hinged fire and cooking grates and a vertical support post which may be separated into segments and folded or collapsed thereby allowing the invention to be collapsed to a minimum storage profile.
Additional objects and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from reading the detailed description of the preferred embodiment which makes reference to the following set of drawings.