US3005611A - Leg structure for brazier - Google Patents

Description

1961 G. c. TERRY 3,005,611

LEG STRUCTURE FOR BRAZIER Filed June 3, 1959 IN VENTOR. GEORGE c. TERRY ATTORNEY i United States Patent York a Filed June 3, 1959, Ser. No. 817,815

2 Claims. (Cl. 248-129) This invention relates to leg structures and relates more particularly to an improved torsionally stable leg arrangement for portable charcoal grills of the brazier type which includes a bowl-shaped fire box with a grid above the fire box adjustable as to height.

In order to give the charcoal broiler a sufiiciently strong supporting leg structure, it has been the practice to provide two inverted, generally U-shaped tubular devices secured by bolts to the lower face of the grill which provide four legs, two of which generally have a shaft extending between them and two rubber-tired wheels are positioned on the shaft.

The two inverted U-shaped leg structures are separately secured to the bowl and are otherwise not interconnected in any way except for the shaft and so do not cooperate with each other to reinforce the lower wall of the bowl which supports the grid as well as the charcoal, nor does one leg structure give stability to the other.

An important object of the present invention is to provide a novel three-legged structure forming a rigid and torsionally stable platform, and employing two horizontal curved sections underlying the bowl and which are interconnected so as to give greater support for the working surface of the bowl and permitting the bowl to be made from lighter guage material than heretofore, which saves shipping costs. It may be said, in fact, that the heavy guage material formerly used for making these bowls was not actually necessary to their useful life as fireboxes, but it was throught necessary to use thick sheet steel in order to give stability to the leg structure.

A further object of the invention is to provide a novel demountable three-legged structure which can be packed for shipping in a square carton having dimensions not materially greater than the diameter of the bowl. By reducing the guage of the metal and therefore the weight of the bowl and by packaging the entire unit in a smaller carton, the apparatus is more favorably received by the retail units handling the grill, and there is a considerable saving in shipping costs.

Yet another object of the invention is to provide an improved leg structure wherein the three legs actually give greater stability than the four previously used. Of the inverted U-shaped legs previously mentioned, two of the legs, one from each of the U-shaped members, were interconnected by the shaft at their lower ends which carried the wheels. The remaining two legs were not connected and became loose and wiggled. In the structure of the present invention these two latter legs are replaced by a single leg rigidly connected with the first two legs supporting the wheels, and the result is a more effective and stable support for the bowl which does not have to be levelled on a stone terrace or other sometimes uneven surface.

In the drawings:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a brazier type grid having the three-legged supporting structure of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a section taken on line 22 of FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing a slightly modified construction.

FIG. 4 is a broken perspective view showing a second modified construction.

FIG. 5 is a section taken on line 5-5 of FIG. 4.

FIG. 1 shows the brazier with its bowl-shaped, cir- 3,005,611 Patented Oct. 24, 1961 cular firebox 10, a handle 11 at the front, a sleeve 12 rigidly mounted at the center through which a post 13 passes, a grid 14 being rigidly secured at the upper end of the post. The grill, which has separate handles 14, is adjustable as to height by turning a crank 15 which is journalled in a box 16 secured to the lower wall of the bowl. All the foregoing is conventional and forms no part of the present invention.

Thelegstructure includes two similarly shaped but oppositely formed leg structures 20 and '21 formed preferably from tubular stock. Each leg has a horizontal upper section 22 whose contour is slightly curved to fit the contour of the spherical lower surface of the bowl. At its further end the latter section has a downwardly extending section 23 which, when viewed from the front, is also inwardly curved at 24 and its terminal is flattened and formed into a semi-circular section 25 shown in FIG. 2.

The third leg 25 is a length of tubular material having a resilient cap 27 at its lower end and bolts 30 passing through aligned holes in leg 26 and curved terminal 25 secure the third leg to the other leg elements as shown in FIG. 2. By forming the legs with the downwardly inclined sections 23 and the inwardly inclined sections 24 there is provided a suitable space between these oppositely formed sections for the box-like bearing 16 for the shaft of crank 15. The horizontal sections 22 of legs 20 and 21 have holes (not shown) through which bolts extending through the base of the bowl pass.

These holes are shown at 30 in the modified construction of FIG. 3. The two inverted L- shaped legs 31 and 32 in this instance have the horizontal sections 33 shaped and curved to fit the contour of the bowl. The opposite ends of these sections have downwardly extending terminal sections 34 which, however, omit the curve 24 to the side shown in FIG. 1. This does not provide the space shown in FIG. 1 for the bearing for the shaft and this arrangement is used for a slightly different type of grill where the bearing 35 is positioned at one side of the front where the third leg 36 is located. The flattened curved terminals 37 and the securing bolts are the same as shown in FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 gives an excellent idea of the torsionally stable tripod structure wherein the legs are tied together structurally and torsionally to form a rigid platform on which the bowl is mounted.

The same general structure is illustrated in FIGS. 4 and 5 except that the third leg 40 is formed integrally with leg 41 and the legs are interconnected by horizontal section 42. The third leg has the horizontal section 43 and the flattened arcuate terminal section 44 secured by bolts 45 to leg 40. This type of structure may be used in cases wherein it is not necessary to conserve space in the packaging and shipping of the item.

While there have been described herein what are at present considered preferred embodiments of the invention, it will be obvious to those skilled in the art that many modifications and changes may be made therein without departing from the essence of the invention. It is therefore to be understood that the exemplary embodiments are illustrative and not restrictive of the invention, the scope of which is defined in the appended claims, and that all modifications that come within the meaning and range of equivalency of the claims are intended to be included therein.

What I claim is:

1. A tripod leg structure for supporting a brazier type of charcoal grill having a bowl-shaped firebox, said structure including a pair of similarly shaped but oppositely formed inverted, generally L-shaped tubular members whose vertical portions form spaced legs and whose horizontal portions have an upwardly concave curvature, and

which are inclined toward each other to form a substantially V-shaped support, the outer ends of said latter" portions extending downwardly and inwardly toward each other and the lower ends thereof being: shaped to form a semi-circular contour, and a third leg whose upper end is received and secured between said lower ends.

2. A tripod leg structure for supporting a hrazier type of charcoal grill having a bowl-shaped firebox, said structure including a pair of similarly shaped but oppositely formed inverted, generally L-shaped tubular members whose vertical portions form: spaced. legsv and whose horizontal portions have an upwardly concave curvature, the outer ends of said latter portions extendingdownwardly and the lower ends thereof. being shaped to form a contour which is semi-circular in cross section,

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Reinecke Nov. 24,, 1953 Armstrong -tt. July 17, 1934 Booth Feb. 26, 1952 Alter Apr. 9, 1957 Leach Apr. 12, 1960 FOREIGN PATENTS France Aug. 18', 1954 Germany Sept. 22, 1955

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