Collapsible Combustion Container With Hinged Base for Portable Heat
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Solution Overview
Problem
Portable combustion devices that utilize solid fuels face challenges in reducing size and bulk while maintaining effective heat output, as smaller combustion chambers limit heat and energy production, and often require assembly or are bulky for transportation.
Innovation Solution
A collapsible combustion container with vertically oriented panels joined by hinges and hinge pins that form a base and heating platform, allowing for expansion or reduction of the container's size and control of combustion location through fuel opening configuration, enabling efficient heat production from a small chamber.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Volume of moving object
If the combustion chamber is made smaller to reduce device size, then portability is improved, but heat output is reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The combustion container employs collapsible walls that can transition between a compact stored configuration and an expanded operational configuration. This dynamic structure allows the device to maintain a small volume for portability while providing a larger combustion chamber volume when deployed, thereby resolving the contradiction between device size and heat output capability
Solution Approach 2:
The invention utilizes vertical stacking of multiple fuel pieces within the combustion chamber to maximize heat output from a compact footprint. By arranging fuel pieces vertically rather than horizontally, the effective combustion volume is increased without proportionally increasing the device's external dimensions, thus maintaining portability while enhancing heat production
2Volume of moving object
If the combustion chamber is made smaller, then portability is improved, but the amount of fuel that can be held is reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The collapsible wall structure enables the chamber to expand from a compact form during storage to a larger volume during operation, allowing sufficient fuel capacity when needed while maintaining portability when not in use
Solution Approach 2:
The chamber is designed to accommodate multiple discrete fuel pieces that can be stacked vertically. This segmentation approach allows the fuel to be organized in a space-efficient manner, maximizing the quantity of fuel that can be held within the constrained chamber volume
3Weight of moving object
If the device is made lighter and more portable, then ease of transport is improved, but structural complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The hinge pins serve dual functions: they act as structural connectors joining the collapsible wall panels together, and simultaneously function as support legs when the container is collapsed. This merging of functions reduces the number of separate components needed, thereby reducing overall device weight and simplifying the assembly process while maintaining portability
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The solution allows for significant heat output from a small chamber, facilitating portable and efficient cooking and heating, while maintaining a compact and lightweight design for easy storage and transport.
Implementation Method 1
The hinge pins can be configured to form at least part of a base that supports the container, or at least part of a heating platform above the container
Implementation Method 2
at least two of the vertically oriented panels can contain fuel openings. Such fuel openings are configured to facilitate control of combustion within the container at a location where fuel inserted through one opening converges with or otherwise contacts fuel inserted from another opening
Data Source
AI summary
Collapsible combustion containers are disclosed and described. Such combustion containers generally include a plurality of vertically oriented panels joined by hinges. The hinges include hinge pins that can be configured to form at least part of a base that supports the container or at least part of a heating platform above the container or both. Further, the panels can contain one or more fuel openings which allow a user to control placement of fuel in the container inserted from each opening so as to select a point inside the container where the fuel will converge and combust.