US2288482A - Safety stove-cabinet - Google Patents

Description

2 Sheets-Sheet l c. PLOHBERGER SAFETY STOVE-CABINET Filed April 1, 1940 June 30, 194 2.

3nnentor lm/us: FL 011858253 Cittorneg Patented June 30, 1942 UNITED STATES PATENT GFFI CE SAFETY STOVE-CABINET- Charles Plohberg'er, New York, N; Y. ApplicationApril 1, 1940, Ser'ial-No; 327,182

9 Claims;

This invention relates to safetycabinetsfor gas stoves.

The main object of the invention is to provide a cabinet adapted to house'a cooking stove and constructed and arranged to reduce fire hazards:

More particularly, the safety cabinet of the present invention is provided with means operative upon the occurrence of a predetermined temperature in the cabinet to close-the same.

Another object of the invention is to provide 1 means for turning off the gas supplied to the stove in the event that the temperature within the cabinet rises beyond a predetermined degree.

More specifically, in accordance Withthe present invention there. is-pr0vided a-cabinet for a for confining in the cabinet fires which may be caused, for example, :by the ignition of -fats or greases utilized in preparing various foods. Also,

the invention contemplates the provision of means for turning off the gas supplied to the stove, in the event thatsuch fire occurs and persists long enough to raise the temperature within the cabinet to a degree sufficient to effect the movement of the closure means to closed position.

The invention and the above mentioned and other objects thereof will be fully understood from the following description, reference being had to the accompanyingillustrated drawings;

In the drawings:

Fig. 1 is a front view of a safety stove-cabinet embodying the present invention, the closure means being in open position; v

Fig. 2 is a verticalsectional view of the cabinet on the line 2--2 of Fig. 1, showing in dotted lines the closed position of the closure means;

Fig. 3 is a sectional view on the line 3-3 of Fig. 2;

Fig. 4 is a sectional view on the line 4'4 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 5 is a sectional view on'the line 5--5 of Fig. 1; s

Fig. 6 is a sectional view of part of the ope ating mechanism on the line 66 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 7 is a sectional view on the line 11 of Fig. 2;

Fig. 8 is a detail sectional view on the line 8--8 of Fig. 2.

Considering now the safety cabinet of the present invention in detail as illustrated in the draw ings, said cabinetis as here 'shown' a sheet metal enclosure 'having a rear wall- [01a rounded 'top' wall 12; opposed side walls ll-and a front" wall [6' which terminates at its upper ends. short distance above the horizontal wall l8 on which the gas stove'S issupported. The" cabinet thus has a front and top opening which is normally open for providin'g'access 'tothe stove. The top wall i2 is rounded-to prevent-the placement 'of articles thereon; Said cabinet is mounted on supporting legs I Qandcan be'open at thebottom.

As hereinbefore indicated; animportant fea ture of the invention resides inthe" provision'of means for closing the cabinet upon the occur rence of a firether'ein as,-for example, when" fat or grease ignites.- Theclosure means comprisesanupper closure member 20;-whichconf0rms in curvature tothat of thetop wall 12, and a lower closure member 22, said closure members 20 and 22 being movablefrom retracted-position illus-" tratedin-full linesinFig; 2 to-projected or c1os'-' ing position indicated in-do'tted lines in Fig; -2;-

Closure member 20-is pivotally mounted by two pairsoi companion side links -24 and 26 disposed adjacent the opposite sidewalls l4 ofthe cabinet, the inner endsofsaid links being mounted forpivotal movement on a pivot pin 28 carried by the offset portion 30 of a"mounting-strap 32 1 secured toeach side'- wall M of the cabinet. The

outer ends of links 24 and ZSaresecured toupper closure member 20 many suitable way, and preferably as here show'n'said outer ends of the links are fastened by bolts -or screws to angle irons- 34 at the side edges of closure' mer'nber- 20-in any suitable wayas by bolts-or screws.

Closure member 26 is urged'for movement from retracted positionto the projected position thereof by suitable means here shown as gravityactuated means or counter-Weights 35. Said weights are positioned-Within the cabinet and are connected to said closure member by flexible Wires 38 passing'over guide rollers 10,42, 44, 46,

48 and '50 mounted on the cabinet walls adjacent the opposite sides ot the cabinet. The upper ends of wires 38 are securedto the lower end of closure member ZBadjacen't the opposite side edges thereof. The lower ends of said wires 33 are secured to compression springs 52 attached to companion counterweights 36. Closure mem#- ber 22 is biased to retracted position by its own weight and to closed position by said counterweights 36,'for which purpose flexible wires 54 are connected at their ends'to closure member 22 in any suitable way as bywelding thereto as indicated at 56.- Said wires pass over guide rollers 58 mounted on the opposite side walls {4 of the cabinet and over the above mentioned guide rollers 46, 48 and 50 and are secured to Springs 52. Closure member 22 is guided for rectilinear movement to open and retracted positions by angle irons 62 and reinforcing bars 64 at the front corners of the cabinet.

Counter-weights 36 are operable to move closure members 20 and 22 to projected or closed position, in which position the adjacent ends of said closure members meet at the front of the cabinet along a line indicated at 60 in Fig. 2. However, said closure members 20 and 22 are held normally in retracted or open position, whereby counter-weights 36 are ineffective to project said closure members except upon the occurrence of a dangerous condition, that is, when a predetermined temperature is reached in the cabinet as, for example, when fat or grease or other substance ignites therein. For this purpose a fusible and disconnectible link device 66 is provided. Said device comprises metal members 68 and secured to closure member and to rear wall It, respectively, and secured normally against relative movement by a fusible button 12, as illustrated in detail in Fig. 4.

It will be understood that upon the occurrence in the cabinet of a'temperature in excess of a predetermined degree as determined by the fusing temperature of button 12, members 68 and Iii will be released from each other thereby permitting counter-weights 36 to move closure members 20 and 22 to fully projected positions. This serves to completely close the front and top opening of the cabinet whereby to confine the fire therein and thus to prevent spreading of the fire to the kitchen or other room in which the stove is utilized. It will be noted that upper closure member 20 is biased by its own Weight to retracted position and can move to projected position only when released by the fusible means. This prevents accidental movement of said upper closure member to projected position.

Provision is made in accordance with the present invention for turning off the gas supplied to the stove when the safety closure is operated. For this purpose the gas supply pipe 14 is provided with a safety valve 76 which is automatically closed when closure members 20 and 22 are moved to closed position. For this purpose, as best shown in Figs. 1 and 6, one of the links 26 by which the closure member 20 is pivotally mounted has pivotally connected thereto a link 11 by means of a pivot pin 18, and said link 11 is pivotally connected by a pivot pin 80 to an arm 82 connected to the safety valve NS for turning the latter for closing the passage of gas from supply pipe 14 to the gas stove. It will be understood that normally, safety valve 16 is open, and closure members 20 and 22 are in their retracted positions. When, however, said closure members are operated by counter-weights 36, upon the release of members 68 and H! of the fusible-link connection 66, link 11 will be operated simultaneously with the movement of said closure members to closed position whereby to close safety valve 16 and cut 01f the supply of gas to the stove.

Thus it is seen that the safety stove-cabinet as herein disclosed is well adapted to accomplish the several objects of the invention. It will be understood, however, that while I have illustrated and described the present preferred embodiment of the invention, the latter may be embodied otherwise than as herein specifically disclosed,

and that in the illustrated embodiment, certain changes in the details of construction and in the arrangement of parts may be made. Accordingly,

I do not Wish to be limited to the invention as herein illustrated or described except to the extent which may be required by the scope of the appended claims.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

l. A safety cabinet of the character described having an opening for access to the interior of the cabinet, closure means for said opening mounted in the cabinet for movement from retracted position to projected position for covering said opening, said closure means comprising upper and lower members spaced from each other in said retracted position and movable toward each other for covering said opening, said upper member having a pivotal movement and disposed in its retracted position so that said opening extends through the top of the cabinet, said lower member being mounted for sliding movement and disposed in its retracted position below said opening, said upper and lower members being movable toward each other to close said opening, means operatively connected to said upper and lower members for causing them to move to cover said opening, and temperatureresponsive means for releasably preventing movement of said members to cover said opening.

2. A safety cabinet of the character described having an opening for access to the interior of the cabinet, closure means for said opening mounted in the cabinet for movement from retracted position to projected position for covering said opening, said closure means comprising upper and lower members spaced from each other in said retracted position and movable to- Ward each other for covering said opening, said upper member having a pivotal movement and disposed in its retracted position so that said opening extends through the top of the cabinet, said lower member being mounted for sliding movement and disposed in its retracted position below said opening, said upper and lower members being movable toward each other to close said opening, gravity actuated means operatively connected to said upper and lower members for causing them to move to cover said opening, and temperature-responsive means for releasably preventing movement of said members to cover said opening.

3. A safety cabinet of the character described having a stove mounted therein and provided with an opening for access to said stove, closure means for said opening mounted in the cabinet for movement from retracted position to projected position for covering said opening, temperature-responsive means normally holding said closure means in retracted position, means mounted within the cabinet and operable under the control of said temperature-responsive means for causing the movement of said closure means to said projected position, means including a valve for supplying fuel to said stove, and means within said cabinet and operable under the control of said temperature-responsive means for closing said valve to out off the fuel supply when said closure means is projected to cover said opening.

4. A safety cabinet of the character described having a stove mounted therein and provided with an opening for access to said stove, closure means for said opening mounted in the cabinet for movement from retracted position to projected position for coverin said opening, said closure means comprising upper and lower members mounted for movement in the cabinet and spaced from each other in said retracted position and movable toward each other for covering said opening, means within the cabinet operatively connected to said upper and lower members for causing them to move to cover said opening, temperature-responsive means for releasably preventing movement of said members to cover said opening, means including a valve within the cabinet for supplying fuel to said stove, and means within the cabinet and operable under the control of said temperature-responsive means for closing said valve to cut off the fuel supply when said closure means is projected to cover said opening.

5. A safety cabinet of the character described having an opening for access to the interior of the cabinet, said opening extending along the front and to and over the top of the cabinet, closure means for said opening mounted in the cabinet for movement from retracted position to projected position for covering said opening, said closure means comprising upper and lower members spaced from each other in said retracted position and movable toward each other for covering said opening, said upper member having a pivotal movement and disposed in its retracted position rearwardly of the part of said opening at the top of the cabinet, said lower member being mounted for sliding movement and disposed in its retracted position below said opening, said upper and lower members being movable toward each other to close said opening, fusibly connected members secured to one of said closure members and to a fixed part of the cabinet for normally preventing movement of said upper closure member to projected position, and means operatively connected to both of said closure members for projecting the same to cover said opening under the control of said fusibly connected members.

6. A safety cabinet of the character described having an opening for access to the interior of the cabinet, closure means for said opening mounted in the cabinet for movement from retracted position to projected position for covering said opening, said closure means comprising upper and lower members spaced from each other in said retracted position and movable toward each other for covering said opening, said upper member having a pivotal movement and disposed in its retracted position so that said opening extends through the top of the cabinet, said lower member bein mounted for sliding movement and disposed in its retracted position below said opening, said upper and lower members being movable toward each other to close said opening, fusible means for normally preventing movement of said upper closure member to projected position, and means operatively connected to both of said closure members for projecting the same to cover said opening under the control of said fusible means, said upper closure member being movable to closed position only when released by said fusible means.

'7. A safety cabinet of the character described having a top wall terminating at its front edge in spaced relation to the front of the cabinet whereby the cabinet is partially open at the top, said cabinet also having a front opening, closure members for said top and front openings mounted in said cabinet for movement from retracted positions to projected positions for covering said openings, respectively, said closure member for the top opening being so mounted that it is biased by the weight thereof to retracted position, and temperature-responsive means for controlling the movement of said closure members to said projected positions, said closure member for the top opening being movable to projected position only when released by said temperatureresponsive means.

8. A safety cabinet of the character described having a top wall terminating at its front edge in spaced relation to the front of the cabinet whereby the cabinet is partially open at the top, said cabinet also having a front opening, closure members for said top and front openings mounted in said cabinet for movement from retracted positions to projected positions for covering said openings, respectively, said closure members being so mounted that they are biased by t leir own weights to said retracted positions, means operatively connected to said closure members to move them in opposition to the action of gravity thereon to said projected positions, and fusible means for normally preventing movement of said closure members to said projected positions thereof, said closure member for the top opening being movable to projected position only when released by aid temperature-responsive means.

9. A safety cabinet of the character described having a rounded top wall terminating at its front edge in spaced relation to the front of the cabinet whereby the cabinet is partially open at the top, said cabinet also having a front opening, closure members for said top and front openings mounted in said cabinet for movement from retracted positions to projected positions for covering said openings, respectively, said closure members being so mounted that they are biased by their own weights to said retracted positions, means operatively connected to said closure members to move them in opposition to the action of gravity thereon to said projected positions, and fusible mean for normally preventing movement of said closure members to said projected positions thereof, said closure member for the top opening being movable to projected position only when released by said temperatureresponsive means.

CHARLES PLOHBERGER.

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