FIRELIGHTER CHIPS Field of the Invention

The invention relates to methods of producing wood-based firelighter chips and/or firelighter chips. Background to the Invention

Paraffin based cubes are a common form of firelighters. These are often placed among the coals of a barbeque and since they are readily flammable, they provide a sufficiently long- lasting flame to ignite the coals. In this context, kindling and paraffin cubes are also often used; whereby the kindling acts as a primer and paraffin as the source of ignition. Igniting a fire based on paraffin cubes therefore primarily requires the combustion of a hydrocarbon with combustion products which are particularly detrimental to the environment and may actually be particularly unpleasant to the using public. There is therefore a real need to propose an alternative to these paraffin based cubes which does not suffer from these drawbacks whilst retaining efficient ignition properties when lighting a fire as the using public has now come to expect. The invention seeks to address these problems and any other problems which can be readily derived from the description which now follows. Summary of the Invention

In a first broad independent aspect, the invention provides a method of producing wood- based fire lighting chips comprising the steps of:

• Chipping pieces of natural wood into wood chips;

• Drying said wood chips;

• Providing molten wax;

· Treating said wood chips with molten wax; and

• Drying said treated wood chips.

A particular advantage arises from the fact that the wood chips, by definition, are not reconstituted from particulate wood but instead incorporate a body of natural wood with natural wood grain and configuration providing for a long lasting burning effect. The combination of chipping wood chips and treating the wood chips with molten wax is particularly advantageous because it produces wood chips which have both natural relief and indentations which result from the chipping which are particularly suited for the deposition and absorption of molten wax. It is therefore not simply a coating of wax but at specific regions of the chip, molten wax can be found to have been retained within the wood external envelope. This produces a treated wood chip which has both natural wood burning properties and the requisite rapid ignition properties expected from the modern fire lighter. The steps of drying the wood chips also contribute to advantageous ignition properties. Furthermore, the step of drying the treated wood chips is particularly advantageous since it allows a plurality of wood chips to be sold in contact with one another in a bag and/or a box of any suitable shape and configuration. There is therefore an additional advantage in terms of reducing the packaging required which often usually surrounds prior art cubes. An important further advantage of the process and its resultant chip is that it fulfils the function of traditional firelighters and kindling in one overall product. It allows the rapid ignition of a firelighter to be achieved with the extended burning properties of kindling which serve to ignite a fire. In a subsidiary aspect, said step of treating said wood chips comprises a step of dipping said wood chips into molten wax. This step is particularly advantageous since it lends itself to advantageous absorption and retention of molten wax on the chip. In a further subsidiary aspect, said step of treating said wood chips comprises a step of spraying said wood chips with said molten wax. This configuration is also particularly advantageous because it allows the process to be scaled up for high volume production as individual wood chips may be placed on a conveyor belt or the like and displaced under a spraying nozzle.

In a further subsidiary aspect, said step of drying said wood chips comprises an air drying step. This provides an advantageous approach which doesn't consume any fossil fuels if in a preferred embodiment there is no pumped air. In a further subsidiary aspect, the method comprises the step of providing a mixture of molten wax and scented oil.

In a second broad independent aspect, the invention provides a wood based firelighter chip imbued in a wax based substance. The chip incorporates a body of solid natural wood which has not been reconstituted from particulate wood. It therefore comprises a natural wood grain and configuration. In addition, the wood chip may be produced by chopping a piece of natural wood into chip sizes. The wood chip therefore may incorporate indents or crevices resulting from its manufacturing process which are particularly suited for receiving a wax based substance. This configuration is particularly advantageous because it provides a particularly flammable yet natural looking product by contrast to prior art paraffin cubes. It also avoids having to produce separate kindling and sources of ignition as in the prior art. It therefore considerably reduces the impact on the environment compared to the prior art. The inventive chip is also particularly straightforward to handle. In particular, each chip in certain embodiments may be particularly thin and wide in order to offer greater ignition properties due to their inherent aspect ratios. In a subsidiary aspect, the wood chip is constituted of 80 to 92% by weight of natural wood.

In a further subsidiary aspect, the wood chip is constituted of 8 to 20% by weight of a wax based substance. This range is in sharp contrast from the typical range for igniters which generally rely on a low percentage of particulate wood with say 80% of a hydrocarbon.

In a further subsidiary aspect, the wood chip is constituted of 8 to 15% by weight of a wax based substance.

In a further subsidiary aspect, the wood chip is constituted of 5 to 15% by weight of a wax based substance. The duration of burn together with the ease of ignition is particularly advantageous in this range when in one embodiment soy wax is employed. In a further subsidiary aspect, said substance incorporates a beeswax. This configuration is particularly advantageous in terms of retention of the wax on the surface of the chip. It also offers natural properties. The products of the combustion of such a chip may be more environmentally friendly than the prior art options. In a further subsidiary aspect, said substance incorporates a soy wax. This is also particularly advantageous in terms of the natural compatibility between this kind of wax and wood, whilst at the same time offering a particularly environmentally friendly solution.

In a further subsidiary aspect, said wax based substance is of more than 90% wax and less than 10% fragrance.

In a further subsidiary aspect, said chip has a moisture content of less than 20%. This provides long lasting adhesion of the wax onto the chip compared to any higher moisture content.

In a further subsidiary aspect, said chip has a moisture content of less than 10%. This configuration is particularly advantageous in terms of adhesion of the wax as well as particularly enhancing the combustion properties of the chip. In a further subsidiary aspect, said chip incorporates indentations in addition to any natural relief; whereby both said additional indentations and said natural indentations are filled with said wax based substance. This configuration particularly enhances the combustion properties of the chip, allowing it to be ideally suited to lighting fires.

In a further subsidiary aspect, said chip incorporates a natural dye. Preferably the natural dye incorporates a plant extract.

Brief Description of the Figures

Figure 1 shows a perspective view of a wood based firelighter chip which is covered by a wax based substance.

Figure 2 shows a perspective view of a wood based firelighter chip with both natural relief and additional indentations.

Detailed Description of the Figures

Figure 1 shows a wood based firelighter chip imbued in a wax based substance. The wax based substance acts as a film which at least partially covers, if not entirely covers, the chip. The natural wood based chip incorporates a number of peaks and troughs. For example, peak 2 is shown in Figure 1. The wood may be of a low grade timber which may incorporate a number of splits along grain boundaries such as grain boundary 3. A recessed portion is in effect provided in order to receive wax. In this manner, the wax penetrates within the external envelope 4 of the chip. The wood based firelighter chip may be covered on its upper face only or if necessary covered on every face of the chip. As shown in Figure 1 , the wood based firelighter chip is relatively thin compared to its width and depth. In a potential embodiment, the width of the chip is at least three times the thickness of the chip in order to provide a greater potential wax covered surface. The wood chip incorporates a body of natural wood with natural grains. It is not a reconstituted pellet of particulate wood. The body of the chip constitutes between 80 and 92 % of the weight of the wood chip. The remaining 8 to 20% of the weight of the wood chip is constituted by natural wax which is preferably a soy wax. In addition, the wax and/or the body may be dyed with a natural dye which may be based on a plant extract. Other such dyes might be incorporated.

In one embodiment, the wood chip is constituted of 8 to 15% by weight of a wax based substance.

In another embodiment, the wood chip is constituted of 5 to 15% by weight of a wax based substance. The duration of burn together with the ease of ignition is particularly advantageous in this range when in one embodiment soy wax is employed.

Figure 2 shows an alternative embodiment of a wood based firelighter chip which is of similar configuration as the chip of Figure 1. However, in addition to the natural relief of the chip a number of machine-formed lines 6 and 7 are provided. These lines form a trough which may be ideally filled by wax in order to allow the chip to hold a greater quantity of wax than would otherwise be possible, relying solely on the natural configuration of the chip. The invention also envisages indentations in the form of hemispherical recesses which may be formed in the chip during the chipping process.

The process of manufacture may follow the following steps:

1 ) Selecting a form of low grade timber;

2) Chipping said low grade timber pieces in order to obtain chips;

3) Air drying the chips;

4) Dipping the chips in a bath of molten wax;

5) Drying the imbued chips;

6) Placing the dried chips in a form of collective packaging, which may take the form of a cardboard box.

The process incorporates no stage of binding particulate wood. A basket may be used in combination with the bath to assist in the dipping process. The basket may incorporate a closed lid in order to retain the chips within the basket. Advantageously, the chips are dried in order to reduce the moisture content to below 20%. In a further preferred embodiment, the drying process is pursued until a moisture content of less than 10% is achieved. Instead of dipping the chips into wax, molten wax may be sprayed onto the chips whilst placed on a displaceable conveyor.

Another advantageous option would be to employ a conveyor belt which is configured to allow draining through the belt. This arrangement may be provided by an upper and a lower conveyor which may take the form of a grid with passages to allow the flow of molten wax. Thereby, the conveyor may be used to convey the wood chips through the molten wax.

Another advantageous option would be to employ a first succession of fingers or guides to convey the chips into a bath of wax and a second succession of fingers or guides to collect the chips from the bath of wax. The first succession of fingers may be provided at a relatively low point of the bath whilst the second succession of fingers may be provided at a relatively high point of the bath. The wax based substance is preferably selected from the group comprising: beeswax, a natural oil wax, a natural resin, and a natural soy wax.

The wax based substance may comprise less than 10% fragrance in a preferred

embodiment. The fragrance may be lower than 6%. Particular kinds of fragrances are envisaged for particular uses of the firelighter chips. For example, a so-called festive fragrance may be incorporated which may have a pine based smell. Other fragrances may be meat-based or herb-based. Any of these fragrances is covered within the scope of the claims that follow.