U.S. patent application number 11/485939 was filed with the patent office on 2008-01-17 for pellets with infused accelerants and method of use.
Invention is credited to Ashok V. Chandaria.
Application Number | 20080010898 11/485939 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 38923588 |
Filed Date | 2008-01-17 |
United States Patent
Application |
20080010898 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Chandaria; Ashok V. |
January 17, 2008 |
Pellets with infused accelerants and method of use
Abstract
A pellet manufactured from a porous combustible material which
is infused with a combustible liquid accelerant. The pellet is
preferably made from wood shavings, crushed cocoa shells or coffee
grounds that are compressed together. The compressed materials are
then soaked in a liquid accelerant, such as a petroleum product, or
sprayed with a petroleum product. This results in a pellet that has
only an outermost layer that includes the accelerant or the entire
pellet is saturated with the accelerant. The pellets are then
poured over the wood or briquettes that are to be burned and they
tend to filter into the spaces between the wood logs or briquettes.
The accelerant is volatile and consequently when a flame is applied
to one or more pellets they ignite quickly and the flames spread
rapidly from one pellet to another and thereby to the wood logs or
briquettes that they surround.
Inventors: |
Chandaria; Ashok V.;
(Nairobi, KE) |
Correspondence
Address: |
SAND & SEBOLT
AEGIS TOWER, SUITE 1100, 4940 MUNSON STREET, NW
CANTON
OH
44718-3615
US
|
Family ID: |
38923588 |
Appl. No.: |
11/485939 |
Filed: |
July 12, 2006 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
44/435 |
Current CPC
Class: |
C10L 11/04 20130101;
C10L 5/363 20130101; C10L 11/06 20130101; C10L 5/44 20130101; C10L
5/361 20130101; Y02E 50/30 20130101; Y02E 50/10 20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
44/435 |
International
Class: |
C10L 1/24 20060101
C10L001/24 |
Claims
1. A combustion aid for igniting a plurality of combustible
members; said combustion aid comprising: a plurality of pellets
formed from a combustible material; an accelerant applied to said
pellets so that the accelerant is retained within at least a
portion of said combustible material.
2. The combustion aid as defined in claim 1, wherein the pellet is
comprised of compacted combustible material formed into a
substantially cylindrical shape.
3. The combustion aid as defined in claim 2, wherein the pellet has
a length of between 1/4 inch to 3/4 inch and a diameter of 1/8 inch
to 1/2 inch.
4. The combustion aid as defined in claim 3, wherein the pellet has
a length of 3/8 inch and a diameter of 1/4 inch.
5. The combustion aid as defined in claim 1, wherein the pellet is
manufactured from a porous combustible material.
6. The combustion aid as defined in claim 5, wherein the pellet is
manufactured from one of wood shavings, sawdust, crushed cocoa
shells, coffee grounds and combinations of the same.
7. The combustion aid as defined in claim 6, wherein coffee grounds
comprise between 2% and 60% of the total amount of porous
combustible material within the pellet.
8. The combustion aid as defined in claim 7, wherein coffee grounds
comprise between 2% and 10% of the total amount of porous
combustible material within the pellet.
9. The combustion aid as defined in claim 1, wherein the accelerant
is distributed throughout one of an outermost layer of the pellet
and the entire pellet.
10. The combustion aid as defined in claim 1, wherein the
accelerant is one of a liquid petroleum-based product and kerosene
and a combination of the same.
11. The combustion aid as defined in claim 1, further comprising a
layer of non-porous combustible material applied around an exterior
surface of the pellet.
12. The combustion aid as defined in claim 11, wherein the layer of
non-porous combustible material is a wax layer.
13. A combustion aid comprising a plurality of combustible pellets
made from porous combustible materials saturated with a flammable
liquid; and wherein said combustible pellets are adapted to be
distributed throughout a plurality of spaced apart combustible
members to be ignited.
14. The combustion aid as defined in claim 13; wherein the pellets
are formed from porous combustible materials that are compacted
together with a binder.
15. The combustion aid as defined in claim 14, wherein the porous
combustible materials are one of wood shavings, sawdust, crushed
cocoa shells, coffee grounds and combinations of the same.
16. The combustion aid as defined in claim 14, wherein the
flammable liquid is a one of an inorganic material, an organic
material and a combination of inorganic and organic materials, and
the pellets are soaked in or sprayed with the flammable liquid.
17. The combustion aid as defined in claim 16, wherein the
flammable liquid is one of a petroleum-based product and kerosene
and combinations of the same.
18. The combustion aid as defined in claim 14, wherein the pellets
each have a length of between 1/4 inch and 3/4 inch and a diameter
of between 1/8 inch and 1/2 inch.
19. A method of lighting a plurality of combustible members using a
combustion aid; said method consisting of the steps of; providing a
combustion aid comprising a plurality of combustible pellets
saturated with a flammable liquid; stacking the combustible members
to be ignited; pouring the pellets over the stack of combustible
members; whereby the pellets drop into spaces formed between the
combustible members in the stack; igniting one or more of the
pellets.
20. The method defined in claim 19, further comprising the step of:
pouring a layer of pellets into a container within which the
combustible members are to be stacked prior to the step of stacking
the combustible members.
Description
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0001] 1. Technical Field
[0002] This invention generally relates to materials for igniting
fires. More particularly, the invention relates to a material that
is applied to combustible materials such as wood and charcoal prior
to lighting of the fire. Specifically, the invention relates to a
plurality of small pellets infused with an accelerant which are
poured onto the combustible material and then ignited.
[0003] 2. Background Information
[0004] One of the problems people encounter when igniting an
outdoor wood fire or charcoal for a barbeque is that the
combustible material may not easily catch fire. In the case of a
wood fire, small fibrous pieces of a log may catch fire but as soon
as they are consumed, the fire tends to go out. In the case of
barbeque charcoal, the briquettes are typically dense and smooth
and it is difficult for the flame from a match or lighter to reach
the interior of the briquette quickly enough to cause it to burn.
It is therefore fairly common to apply some sort of combustion aid
to the combustible material prior to lighting the fire. The
combustion aid burns long enough and hot enough that the log or
briquettes will themselves begin to burn. Typical combustion aids
have included kindling, liquid lighter fuel and small logs made
from wax and wood shavings.
[0005] The small wax and wood logs can be used to start a wood fire
fairly easily because of the fibrous nature of the wood. The flames
from the wax logs cause the fibers in the surrounding pieces of
wood to ignite and the flames move easily from one fibrous log to
the other. Wax logs are not as desirable for use with charcoal
briquettes because only a few of the briquettes actually contact
the wax log. Consequently, the fire spreads very slowly from one
small group of briquettes to the next. It has therefore become more
common to use liquid lighter fuel as a combustion aid with charcoal
briquettes. The fuel is poured onto the pile of briquettes and will
trickle into the interior of the pile. A greater number of
briquettes will therefore be contacted by the combustion aid and,
consequently, the flames will spread more rapidly through the pile.
The liquid lighter fuel presents some problems in that the fuel
tends to soak into only the uppermost layers of briquettes and does
not penetrate to any great extent into the lower layers.
Consequently, when the barbeque is lit, mainly the upper layers of
briquettes burn and the lower layers do not. Furthermore, because
the upper layers are soaked with fuel, they tend to burn very
rapidly and therefore do not create many coals for cooking
purposes. Additionally, because the charcoal under the fuel soaked
layers does not ignite as easily, the user may be tempted to add
more liquid fuel to the partially burning pile of briquettes. This
may cause a flash back, flare up or minor explosions when the added
fuel catches fire, thus increasing the risk that a person standing
next to the barbeque will be burned. Liquid fuel may also be
accidentally splashed onto surfaces surrounding the barbeque,
thereby creating an additional fire-hazard. A further problem that
has been encountered with liquid fuel starters is that the liquid
tends to look like water and there have been instances of children
mistakenly drinking the fuel starter and becoming seriously
ill.
[0006] There is therefore a need in the art for an improved
combustion aid that is easily distributed throughout the material
to be burned, which ignites easily and more uniformly and that can
be used with greater safety.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0007] The present invention comprises a pellet manufactured from a
porous combustible material which is infused with a combustible
liquid accelerant. The pellet is preferably made from wood
shavings, crushed cocoa shells or coffee grounds that are
compressed together. The compressed materials are then soaked in a
liquid accelerant, such as a petroleum-based product, or sprayed
with a petroleum-based product. This results in a pellet that has
only an outermost layer that includes the accelerant or the entire
pellet is saturated with the accelerant. The pellets are then
poured over the wood or briquettes that are to be burned and they
tend to filter into the spaces between the wood logs or briquettes.
The accelerant is volatile and consequently when a flame is applied
to one or more pellets they ignite quickly and the flames spread
rapidly from one pellet to another and thereby to the wood logs or
briquettes that they surround.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0008] The preferred embodiments of the invention, illustrative of
the best mode in which applicant has contemplated applying the
principles, are set forth in the following description and are
shown in the drawings and are particularly and distinctly pointed
out and set forth in the appended claims.
[0009] FIG. 1 is a front view of a barbeque holding a plurality of
charcoal briquettes and having the pellets of the present invention
distributed therebetween;
[0010] FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the pellet of the present
invention;
[0011] FIG. 3 is a cross-section of a pellet in accordance with the
present invention and in which the accelerant is retained within
the outermost layer of the pellet; and
[0012] FIG. 4 is a cross-section of a pellet in accordance with the
present invention and in which the accelerant is retained within
the core of the pellet.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
[0013] Referring to FIGS. 1-4 there is shown a barbeque 10 holding
a plurality of charcoal briquettes 12 and having a plurality of
pellets 14, in accordance with the present invention, distributed
therebetween.
[0014] Pellets 14 are manufactured from a porous combustible
material such as wood shavings, sawdust, crushed cocoa shells,
coffee grounds and the like, together with a suitable binder. The
binders are known to those of ordinary skill in the art.
Combinations of these porous combustible materials may also be used
without departing from the spirit of the present invention. The
proportion of coffee grounds used can range between 2% and 60%, and
preferably between 2% and 10%, of the total amount of porous
combustible material within the pellets. These combustible
materials are compressed into small compact bodies. In the
preferred embodiment of the invention, the bodies are generally
cylindrical in shape and have a length of 1/4 inch to 3/4 inch and
a diameter of 1/8 inch to 1/2 inch. Preferably, the bodies have a
length of 3/8 inch and a diameter of 1/4 inch.
[0015] A liquid accelerant is then applied to the compact bodies.
Suitable liquid accelerants may be inorganic accelerants such as
combustible petroleum products like kerosene; or organic
accelerants such as resins. Furthermore, the liquid accelerants may
comprise a combination of inorganic and organic accelerants such as
a combination of kerosene and resin. The accelerant is applied to
the compact bodies by spraying them with the liquid accelerant or
by immersing them in the liquid accelerant and allowing the
accelerant to soak into the compacted, but porous, materials. In a
first instance, shown in FIG. 3, the accelerant is retained mainly
in an outermost layer 16 of pellet 14, and does not penetrate into
a core region 18 thereof. This type of pellet may be produced by
spraying the accelerant onto the surface of the compacted bodies or
by soaking the compacted bodies for a shorter interval of time in
the liquid accelerant. In a second instance, shown in FIG. 4, the
accelerant is found throughout the entire core 118 of pellet 114.
This may be achieved by spraying the pellet 114 or immersing the
pellet 114 for a longer period of time in the liquid accelerant.
This type of pellet 114 may additionally have a higher
concentration of accelerant in the outermost layer 116 thereof.
Alternatively, core 118 may be manufactured by immersing the
compacted body in the liquid accelerant for a long time and then
applying an outermost layer 116 of a different combustible material
thereto. A suitable different combustible material for this purpose
would be a wax layer. The wax layer would prevent any volatile
compounds from evaporating easily from pellets 114. Furthermore, as
an alternative method of manufacture, the accelerant may be added
to the wood shavings, sawdust, cocoa shells, coffee grounds and the
like prior to formation of the pellets.
[0016] The combustion aid of the present invention is used in the
following manner. A smaller layer of pellets 14 (or 114) may be
sprinkled onto the bottom surface 10a of the barbeque. A plurality
of briquettes 12 are then poured over the sprinkled pellets 14 and
additional pellets 14 are sprinkled over the plurality of
briquettes 12. Because pellets 14 are much smaller than the
briquettes, the pellets 14 work their way into the spaces between
the briquettes. Ultimately, barbeque 10 has a plurality of
briquettes 12 disposed therein with a plurality of pellets 14 being
distributed fairly evenly throughout all the briquettes 12. The
accelerant retained within the outermost layers 16 of pellets 14
tends to be volatile and therefore ignites easily when a flame is
applied to the mixture of briquettes 12 and pellets 14. The flames
spread quickly throughout the mixture because of the volatility of
the accelerant. Furthermore, the combustible material that forms
the core 18 of each pellet 14 is easily ignited by the burning
outermost layer 16 thereof. Each briquette 12 is substantially
surrounding by burning pellets 14 and they therefore ignite quickly
and easily and tend to burn evenly. In the instance of the pellets
114, the concentration of accelerant is higher and therefore those
pellets 114 would ignite more quickly than is the case with the
pellets 14. Furthermore, in the instance where a wax layer 116 is
applied to the core 118, the wax ignites quickly and drips onto the
surrounding briquettes, thereby applying the flames directly to the
briquettes themselves.
[0017] The pellets of the present invention provide an easier and
safer way to distribute an accelerant throughout a plurality of
briquettes. The pellets work their way into the spaces surrounding
the briquettes and consequently there is not a concentration of the
highly combustible materials at the upper surface of the barbeque.
This more even distribution of the combustion aid reduces the
tendency of the combustion aid to burst rapidly into flame when
first ignited, thereby reducing flash back and flare ups.
Furthermore, if the pellets are accidentally poured onto surfaces
surrounding the barbeque, they are more easily noticed and more
easily cleaned up than would be the case with liquid fuel. The
pellets also cannot be accidentally mistaken for edible or
drinkable substances and are consequently safer to use around
children. Additionally, the release of the accelerant from the
pellets is slower than would be the case if a liquid starter fuel
was used. All of these factors increase the safety of lighting a
barbeque with the present invention.
[0018] In the foregoing description, certain terms have been used
for brevity, clearness, and understanding. No unnecessary
limitations are to be implied therefrom beyond the requirement of
the prior art because such terms are used for descriptive purposes
and are intended to be broadly construed.
[0019] Moreover, the description and illustration of the invention
is an example and the invention is not limited to the exact details
shown or described.
* * * * *