Fire safe fire pit
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Solution Overview
Problem
Increasing wildfires have led to stricter regulations on open fires, necessitating the development of fire containment solutions that allow for safe outdoor cooking and ambiance while minimizing the risk of wildfires.
Innovation Solution
A fire safe camp stove and fire pit device with a movable lid and access door, featuring a fire chamber, two cooking surfaces, and screens to contain flames and reduce sparks, allowing for controlled cooking and ambiance while adhering to fire safety ordinances.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Object-affected harmful factors
If open fires are used for cooking and ambiance, then cooking functionality and warmth are provided, but wildfire risk increases and compliance with fire safety regulations becomes difficult
Solution Approach 1:
The fire pit is segmented into distinct functional zones: a fire containment chamber with mesh screens for spark control, a cooking surface positioned above the fire, and an ash collection area. This segmentation allows the fire to be contained and controlled while maintaining cooking functionality on the separate cooking surface.
Solution Approach 2:
A mesh screen acts as an intermediary barrier between the fire and the surrounding environment. The screen contains sparks and embers within the fire chamber while allowing heat and light to pass through, thus reducing wildfire risk without completely isolating the cooking function from the fire source.
2Reliability
If fire containment structures are implemented to reduce wildfire risk, then safety is improved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The fire containment structure uses thin mesh screens instead of thick rigid walls. These thin film-like screens provide effective fire containment and spark suppression while maintaining visual transparency and minimizing structural complexity. The mesh screens are easy to install and remove compared to permanent concrete or metal enclosures.
Solution Approach 2:
Instead of building complex enclosed fire pits and trying to open them selectively, the design inverts the approach by using simple mesh screens that are inherently open yet contain fire effectively. The containment is achieved through the mesh structure itself rather than through complex mechanical opening/closing mechanisms.
3Object-affected harmful factors
If mesh screens are used to contain sparks and flames, then wildfire risk is reduced, but heat loss increases
Solution Approach 1:
The mesh screen is a porous material that allows heat and light to pass through while blocking sparks and embers. The open structure of the mesh provides sufficient heat transfer for cooking functionality while the interwoven wires capture and contain sparks, thus reducing wildfire risk without significant heat loss.
Solution Approach 2:
The mesh screen provides more than enough spark containment capability, but its open structure ensures that heat loss remains minimal. The design applies partial blocking (only of sparks, not heat) rather than complete enclosure, achieving the necessary safety level without excessive heat loss.
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 device effectively contains flames and reduces sparks by 95%, providing a safe and enjoyable outdoor cooking experience while complying with fire safety regulations, maintaining heat for cooking and ambiance without the risk of wildfires.
Implementation Method 1
The fire safe camp stove and fire pit device dampens and eliminates 95% or more of sparks emitted from a fire burning in the fire chamber, and completely contains the flames
Implementation Method 2
a first cooking surface directly over the fire chamber
Data Source
AI summary
A fire safe fire pit device is disclosed. An example device includes a fire chamber. The example device also includes a lid movable between an open position and a closed position. The example device also includes a baffle configured to route smoke around edges of an upper surface while also retaining heat adjacent the upper surface.