US3543890A - Camper kitchen - Google Patents

Description

United States Patent Inventor Appl. No. Filed Patented CAMPER KITCHEN 11 Claims, 7 Drawing Figs.

US. Cl

Int. Cl Field of Search References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2/1909 Reese 312/282 5/1917 l-lopwood..... 190/12 11/1918 l-lackerson... 190/12 7/1942 Duplin 190/12 9/1949 Paden 190/12 5/1964 McGill 3 12/231 Primary Examiner-Reinaldo P. Machado Attorney-Clarence A. OBrien, Harvey B. Jacobson ABSTRACT: A cabinet unit intended for use by campers which has an interior that incorporates shelf and storage space and a foldable work surface. The legs for the device are retractable into the unit so as not to be lost and to simplify storage.

Patented Dec. 1, 1970 v 3,543,890

Sheet 1 0:2

Fig./

Donald E. Criswel/ INVENTOR.

i MW

Sheet Donald E. Cris well IN VIiN'I'OK CAMPER KITCHEN The present invention relates to what is commonly known as a camping kitchen. The device comprises a cabinet structure with shelves therein to store the kitchen supplies that are most normally associated with camping. The front side of the cabinet is angled and is closed by a pair of closure units that contribute increased working area to the already ample top of the cabinet and bottom shelf of the cabinet. One of the closure members is an elongated member hinged to the front lower edge of the cabinet and folds out into a plane parallel and coplanar with the bottom shelf thereof. The other closure member is a hinged panel that folds upwardly and in a first position has one panel of the assembly coplanar with the top of the cabinet thereby providing an enlarged work surface area. The cabinet is supported on four retractable legs that in i a stored position are retracted into the device thereby eliminating the problem of carrying the legs separately and 1 possible loss thereof. Since the device has these legs it can be set up at the camp site in a convenient place and does not have to be supported on the tailgate of a station wagon or on some other structure to raise it to a convenient use height.

"l lisetogether with other objects and advantages which will become subsequently apparent reside in the details of construction and operation as more fully hereinafter described and claimed, reference being had to the accompanying drawings forming a part hereof, wherein like numerals refer to like parts throughout, and in which:

- FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the device with the legs extended and the two work surface areas in operative position.

FIG. 2 is a sectional view taken substantially along the line 2-2 of FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is an enlarged sectional view taken substantially along the line 3-3 of FIG. 1.

FIG. 4 is an enlarged fragmentary sectional view of one of the legs in a retracted position.

FIG. 5 is a sectional view taken substantially along the line 5-5 of FIG. 4.

FIG. 6 is a sectional view taken substantially along the line 6-6 of FIG. 1.

FIG. 7 is an enlarged perspective view of the support arrangement for the hinged front panel assembly.

Referring now to the drawings, numeral 10 generally indicates the camper kitchen device, numeral 12 generally indicates the cabinet structure, while the numerals l4 and 16indicate the upper and lower closure members respectively, and numeral 18 indicates the supporting leg structure therefor.

The cabinet structure 12 is a generally five-sided box with the front side thereof being open. The cabinet structure comprises a main or bottom surface 20 which has a back wall 22 attached along the rear longitudinal edge thereof. The bottom surface 20 and the back wall 22 form a right angle therebetween and are connected at each end by a trapezoidshaped end wall 24 which has the lower edge thereof attached to the bottom surface 20 and the rear vertical edge thereof attached to the back wall 22. The end walls 24, being trapezoidal shaped, have the longer edge thereof at the bottom and the shorter edge at the top, thereby supporting a top surface 26 between the trapezoidal end walls and the back wall 22. These five walls, therefore, provide the exterior of the cabinet structure which is inherently rigid, with further rigidity being added thereto by a series of shelves inserted in the interior thereof. The shelves can be chosen to suit the particular needs of the person desiring the unit, providing at least one vertical member 28 and a series of horizontal shelves 30. A drawer assembly, or series thereof, 32 may be provided to hold small articles that might ordinarily become loose when the device is transported. Since the end walls of the cabinet structure are trapezoidal in shape and the shelf structure in the cabinet terminates parallel to the rear wall of the cabinet structure and spaced from the front edge thereof, a clear or work area 34 is provided in front of the shelf structure on the front portion of the bottom surface 20.

The lower closure member 16, comprises an elongated rectangular shelf 36 which is hinged at the rear edge thereof to the bottom surface 20 of the cabinet structure by a hinge member 38. The shelf 36 is hinged to the front edge of the bottom surface 20, slightly inward therefrom, so that when the shelf is rotated into its storage position, as shown in FIG. 2, it will be completely inside the plane of the open front of the cabinet structure. The shelf 36 is supported in its use or parallel position to the bottom surface 20 by a link structure 40 which is attached between-the shelf 36 and the end walls 24. There is a link structure 40 at each end of the shelf 36 which comprises a lower link 42 pivoted to the shelf 36 by an abutment 44 and an upper link 46 pivotally connected at its free end to the free end of link 42 and pivoted at its other end to the end wall by a pin or other such structure 48. There are two pins 50 attached to the sides of the shelf 36 near the front edge thereof to be received in U-shaped slots 52 cut into the free edges of the end wall 24 so as to support the shelf therefrom when in a folded position such as shown in FIG. 2. By thus supporting the shelf 36 in its stored position the shelf is prevented from unrestrained rotation in the interior of the cabinet thereby preventing possible breakage, or damage to the contents thereof.

The upper closure member 14 is comprised of two elongated rectangular panels 54 and 56. The panels 54 and 56 are pivoted together along one edge thereof by a piano-type hinge 58 with panel 56 being shorter than panel 54 to fit within the end walls 24. The free edge of the panel 54 is hinged to the top wall 26 of the cabinet structure by a piano-type hinge 60 extending therealong. The two hinged panels 54 and 56 when in a coplanar position overlie and close the angled open side of the cabinet structure. The lower or free edge of the panel 56 has pins 62 thereon which are similar to the pins 50 on the shelf 36, in that they extend perpendicular to the side edge thereof near the lower edge. The panel 56 is slightly wider than the panel 54, so that when the panels are folded into the position shown in FIG. I, and in dash lines in FIG. 2, with the pins 62 engaged in the U-shaped slots 52, the panel 54 is disposed in coplanar relationship with the top surface 26 of the cabinet thereby providing an even larger work surface area. The panels 54 and 56 are provided at each edge thereof with a suitcase type latch 64 which secures the closure assembly 14 in overlying position on the angled open side with the pins 62 received in slots 65 to permit the panel 56 to be coplanar therewith. As noted hereinbefore, the shelf 36 is pivoted inside the plane of the open end of the cabinet so as to lie completely therewithin, as shown in FIG. 2, so that the closure structure 14 can thereby close the opening. A handle 66 is provided at the lower or free edge of the panel 56 to facilitate the opening and raising of the closure assembly 14. Similarly, handles 68 are provided at the upper edge of the end panels 24 to facilitate the carrying of the unit when in a stored or closed position or when moving the entire unit from place to place.

The support leg structure 18 of the device comprises four leg units 70 generally located at each corner of the device to support it from a surface. Each leg unit 70 comprises an upper portion 72 and a lower portion 74. The upper portion 72 is a square cross section, hollow tube closed at one end 76 and having two pair of attachment lugs 78, each pair spaced near each end of the portion 72. The lugs 78 are used to fasten the leg assemblies to the interior surface of the sides 24 with the lower sections 74 extending through openings in the bottom 20. The lower portion 74 of the leg unit is of square cross-sectional area of an outside dimension slightly smaller than the inside dimension of the lower portion 74 so as to be telescopingly received within the upper portion. The lower portion is likewise closed at one end 80 which end has an opening 82 therethrough. The upper portion 72 has an elongated rod 84 attached to the center of the closed end 76 thereof, which rod extends through the opening 82 in the lower portion 74 and terminates near the open end of upper portion 72 in a plate-like abutment 86. Thus, the lower section of the leg unit cannot be separated from the upper unit and thereby lost or misplaced. The open end of the lower leg portion 74 has a pad or plate 88 attached thereto for engagement with the surface upon which the kitchen is to be supported. The plate 88 is attached to the lower leg portion 74 at an angle corresponding to the angular relationship of the installation of the leg unit on the kitchen to insure that the pad 88 is parallel to a planar surface on which the kitchen might be supported. A latching assembly 90 is provided to hold the lower leg portions in their stored or in-use position. The latching assembly includes a tubular section 92 attached to a side of the upper leg portion 72 extending in a perpendicular relationship to the end wall 24 of the cabinet structure. A hole 94 is drilled through the end wall 24 of the cabinet in alinement with the tubular section 92 to receive the leg portion of a J-shaped latch member 96. The leg portion thereof extends through the sidewall 24 and has a coil spring 98 received thereon and is capped by a button 100 thereby maintaining the J-shaped latch member in a biased position as shown in FIG. 5. With the member 96 thus biased in the locking position the toe portion 102 thereof extends through a hole 104 in the wall of the upper portion 72 spaced parallel to the end wall 24 of the cabinet structure. The toe 102 of the J-shaped latch member 96 also extends through any one of a series of holes 106 along the corresponding juxtaposed sidewall of the lower portion 74. The holes 106 can be spaced along the lower portion 74 in whatever spacing it is desired to have the legs adjustable. When it is desired to release the legs the button 100 is pushed in thereby withdrawing the toe portion 102 from the alined holes 104 and 106 thereby allowing the lower leg portion 74 to freely telescope down the upper portion 72. Thus it can be seen that when arriving at a camp site with the legs completely withdrawn into the upper portion 72, it is merely necessary to press the four buttons 100 associated with the four legs and the legs will drop out, by the action of gravity thereon, and be latched in position and the kitchen allowed to rest on the ground.

The operation of the camp kitchen is simple and straightforward as is evident from the above disclosure of the structure thereof. Upon arrival at a camp site or wherever the kitchen is to be used, the suitcase type latches 64 would be disengaged thereby allowing the upper closure member 14 to be pivoted up and out of the way as shown in H6. 2. The shelf 36 would then be pivoted outwardly and downwardly to assume the parallel position to the bottom surface of the cabinet as shown in FIG. 1 and in dotted lines in FIG. 2. The interior of the cabinet would thus be fully exposed and the contents thereof readily available, as well as the work surface provided by the:

free area 34 and the surface of the shelf 36. if it is desired to rest a camp stove on top of the cabinet, or for some other reason to desire an additional large surface area, the upper closure structure 14 would be pivoted back toward the front of the cabinet and the pins 62 inserted into the slot 52 thereby propping the closure 14 into the position shown in PEG. 1 and in dash lines in FIG. 2 wherein the rectangular panel 54 is held in coplanar relationship with the top of the cabinet 26. if it is desired to support the kitchen on the ground, the four buttons 100 would be depressed thereby releasing the legs to fall downwardly to an extended position and the buttons 100 would be released thereby allowing the ends 102 of the latching mechanism to engage the leg portions 72 and 74 and prevent relative movement therebetween. The closing up of I the kitchen would, logically be the reverse order of the setting up of the kitchen. The construction of the kitchen would be of suitable and convenient materials, such as, the cabinet would be of wood, sheet metal, or other rigid nonmetallics such as nylon or plastic. The leg structures would most conveniently be made of metal to provide the necessary strength to support the cabinet and the contents therein, which would normally be canned goods. The kitchen would be available in various sizes depending upon the number of persons who would be depen- Provision could be made for holding utensils, spices, condiments, and various of the other kitchen supplies as well as food supplies.

lclaim:

l. A camp kitchen, comprising: a cabinet having an open side therein, a support structure on said cabinet, and a closure for said open side, said cabinet being a six-sided box with trapezoid-shaped ends and the front side thereof being the open side, the top and bottom of the cabinet being parallel with the top being narrower than the bottom thereby making the open side angled upwardly and inwardly, said closure including a closure member hinged to the top of said cabinet along the open side thereof, the closure member comprising a first and second panel hinged together, whose combined area closes the open side of the cabinet.

2. The device of claim 1 wherein the first panel is hinged along one edge to said top of said cabinet and along the other edge to one edge of the second panel.

3. The device of claim 2 wherein the other edge of said second panel has means thereon to engage a cooperating means along the angled edge of said open side to dispose said first panel in coplanar relationship with the top of said cabinet.

4. The device of claim 3 wherein said means are pins and said cooperating means are slots cut into the ends of the cabinet from the angled open side thereof.

5. The device of claim 2 wherein the ends of said first and second panels have latching means thereon to secure said panels to the ends of the cabinet.

6. The device of claim 8 wherein the support structure comprises a plurality of telescoping legs with each leg comprising a first and second section.

7. The device of claim 6 wherein said first sections are attached to the inside surface of said cabinet and said second sections extend through apertures in the cabinet to be received inside of the first sections.

8. The device of claim 7 wherein the first sections have locking means thereon to prevent relative movement between the first and second sections.

9. A camper kitchen, comprising: a cabinet including end walls, a top and bottom interconnecting said walls and extending parallel to each other, a back, and an open front defined by the front edges of the end walls, the top, and the bottom; a closure for said open front, said closure comprising first and second panels, said first panel having a first edge hinged to said top along the front edge thereof, the second edge of said first panel being hinged to one edge of said second panel, the combined areas of said first and second panels closing the open front of said cabinet, the second edge of said second panel having means thereon engageable with cooperating means along the front edges of said end walls at a point between the top and bottom whereby said second panel angles outwardly and upwardly therefrom to dispose said first panel in coplanar relationship with the top of said cabinet.

10. The device of claim 9 wherein the means on said second panel and the cooperating means on the end walls comprises a pair of laterally projecting pins on said second panel and slots cut into the end walls extending inwardly from the front edges thereof.

11. The device of claim 10 including a panel hinged to the front edge portion-of the bottom of said cabinet for an outward folding thereof so as to provide a generally coplanar extension of said bottom, this bottom mounted panel being engaged with said bottom in inwardly spaced relation to the front edge of the bottom and the front edges of the opposed end walls for an upward folding of this panel into the Cabinet.

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