BORNMAN, André (7 Wuras Street, Wilgehof, 9301 Bloemfontein, ZA)
| CLAIMS:
1. A tank for a paraffin stove including:
a single cavity inside the tank to hold paraffin therein;
a first opening through which paraffin can be inserted into the cavity;
a second opening through which a wick can be inserted into the cavity, wherein the cavity is sized and shaped so that when the tank is upright a wick inserted into the second opening will be in contact with paraffin in the cavity but when the tank is not upright the paraffin in the cavity will flow to another part of the cavity away from the second opening and a wick inserted into the second opening will thereby not be in contact with the paraffin.
2. A tank according to claim 1 wherein the first opening is located at approximately half or less than half the height of the cavity.
3. A tank according to claim 1 or claim 2 wherein the shape of the tank is such that an upper wall of the tank is shaped so that there is room to accommodate the paraffin when the tank is on its side or upside down.
4. A tank according to claim 3 wherein the second opening is formed in the upper wall at a point such that the second opening is lower than a highest part of the upper wall. |
SAFETY MECHANISM ON A PARAFFIN STOVE
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
This invention relates to a tank for a paraffin stove.
Paraffin stoves operate with a tank into which paraffin is inserted and a wick which is then dipped into the paraffin and which is lit. The flame is then used to cook food, typically placed in a pot on a pot holder above the stove.
Such stoves are very dangerous in that they often cause fires when they are knocked over. The paraffin spills out and catches alight from the wick which is burning.
The present invention seeks to implement an improved tank for a paraffin stove including safety features.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
According to a first example embodiment a tank for a paraffin stove includes:
a single cavity inside the tank to hold paraffin therein;
a first opening through which paraffin can be inserted into the cavity;
a second opening through which a wick can be inserted into the cavity, wherein the cavity is sized and shaped so that when the tank is upright a wick inserted into the second opening will be in contact with paraffin in the cavity but when the tank is not upright the paraffin in the cavity will flow to another part of the cavity away from the second opening and a wick inserted into the second opening will thereby not be in contact with the paraffin,
The first opening may be located at approximately half or less than half the height of the cavity.
The shape of the tank may be such that an upper wall of the tank is shaped so that there is room to accommodate the paraffin when the tank is on its side or upside down.
The second opening may be formed in the upper wall at a point such that the second opening is lower than a highest part of the upper wall.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
Figure 1 is a cross section through a first example embodiment of a tank for a paraffin stove;
Figure 2 shows the tank of figure 1 on its side; and
Figure 3 shows the tank of figure 1 upside down.
DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS
Figure 1 illustrates an example embodiment of a tank 10 for a paraffin stove. The tank could be used with any number of different paraffin stoves and so only the tank is illustrated without the remainder of the paraffin stove.
In any event, the tank includes a single cavity for holding paraffin and a first opening 12 through which paraffin 14 can be inserted into the paraffin holding cavity in the tank.
A second opening 16 into the paraffin containing cavity is sized so that a wick 18 can be inserted into the cavity of the tank. Typically, the wick extends towards the top of the paraffin stove and feeds paraffin from the cavity in the tank towards the top of the stove where the wick is lit and the paraffin burns.
The tank is sized and shaped so that when the wick 18 is inserted into the second opening 16 it will be in contact with paraffin located in the cavity as illustrated in Figure 1.
However, when the tank is not upright the paraffin in the tank will flow to another part of the cavity in the tank away from the second opening 16 and the wick 18 inserted into the second opening 16 will thereby not be in contact with the paraffin.
Examples of this are shown in Figures 2 and 3. In Figure 2 the tank is shown on its side and as illustrated, the paraffin 14 has moved to one side away from the second opening 16.
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In Figure 3 the tank is shown upside down and as illustrated, the paraffin 14 has moved to the top half of the cavity of the tank away from the second opening 16.
It will be appreciated that the shape and size of the tank and the location of the first opening are important in order to ensure that this occurs.
Thus, in the illustrated embodiment, the first opening 16 is located at approximately half the height of the cavity. However, the first opening 16 may be placed lower than this with the point being that the cavity in the tank cannot be filled all the way to the top through this opening. In effect, the cavity can only be filled to the height of this opening as it is being filled through this opening.
In addition, the shape of the tank is such that an upper wall 20 of the tank is shaped so that there is room to accommodate the paraffin 14 when the tank is on its side or upside down. This is accomplished in the illustrated embodiment by having the second opening 16 formed in this upper wall 20 at a point such that the second opening is lower than the highest part of the upper wall 20.
In the illustrated embodiment, the second opening is arranged so that is of a similar height to the first opening 12 although different combinations of this could be arranged to achieve a similar effect.
Thus it will be appreciated that a paraffin stove incorporating a tank as described will prevent spillage of the paraffin when the stove is tilted or knocked over.