FIELD OF INVENTION The invention relates to a firelighter.

SUMMARY OF INVENTION

According to a first aspect of the invention, there is provided a firelighter, which includes: - a plurality of sheets of paper which are infused, impregnated, doused and/or coated with a flammable material and arranged in a stacked relationship so as to form a block; and a retaining means for retaining the sheets in the block form.

The sheets of paper may be offcuts, preferably of kraft paper, typically having a grammage in the range of 130g/m ² (gsm) to 250g/m ² (gsm) and a thickness in the range of 0.01 mm to 10mm, respectively, preferably being 150g/m ² (gsm) and 0.1 mm, respectively.

The block formed by the plurality of sheets may have a length, width and height, in the ranges of 40mm to 250mm, 15mm to 50mm and 20mm to 50mm respectively, preferably being 80mm, 24mm and 24mm, respectively.

The flammable material may be in the form of any suitable combustible fuel which is readily ignitable when exposed to a spark or flame. Typically, the flammable material may be selected according to a desired burn temperature and/or rate of burning. The flammable material may be selected from any petroleum based substance of the group including oil, coal oil, mineral oil, paraffin and kerosene, preferably being an odourless form of kerosene. The retaining means may be in the form of any suitable adhesive for adhering to the sheets of paper in the stacked relationship so as to retain the sheets of paper in the block form. The adhesive may be applied to a face of the block formed by the sheets in the stacked relationship so as to come into contact with edges of the sheets forming the block. In particular, the adhesive may be applied to faces which are located at opposing end regions of the block so as to allow a longitudinal side of the block to be in direct contact with the flame during igniting of the block in operation. The adhesive may be any suitable conventional adhesive substance of the group including craft glue, wood glue, super glue, hot glue, epoxy, pressure sensitive adhesives, gum padding, pad glue and polyurethane, preferably being pad glue. The adhesive may include any suitable non-toxic and/or water-based compounds. A strengthener may be applied to the face of the block on which the adhesive is applied for strengthening and improving bonding properties of the adhesive. The strengthener may be in the form of a layer of gauze, preferably binding gauze. The face of the block on which the adhesive is applied may have a notch or groove defined therein, preferably a plurality of notches, for allowing adhesive to be received and collect therein for increasing contact surface area between the adhesive and the sheets of paper forming the block thereby improving structural integrity of the block. The notch or groove may extend substantially along the height of the face.

According to a second aspect of the invention, there is provided a method of manufacture of a firelighter as hereinbefore described which includes the following steps: - collecting offcuts in the form of sheets of kraft paper; stacking the sheets of kraft paper offcuts to form a first stack; trimming edges and/or sides of the first stack to form a generally rectangular stack having a length, width and height of 650mm, 80mm and 500mm, respectively; cutting grooves into a longitudinal side face of the generally rectangular stack; applying an adhesive to the longitudinal side face of the generally rectangular stack, allowing the adhesive to collect and harden in the grooves; separating the offcuts of the generally rectangular stack into a plurality of smaller stacks having a length, width and height of 650mm, 80mm and 24mm respectively; and cutting the smaller stacks along their widths to form a plurality of blocks having a length, width and height of 80mm, 24mm and 24mm respectively.

Grooves may be cut into opposing longitudinal side faces of the large substantially rectangular stack of offcuts.

According to a third aspect of the invention there is provided a firelighter, which includes: - a generally ring-shaped member which is formed from a centre core of a sheet- like product which is configured to be carried and/or stored in a rolled form, which generally ring-shaped member is infused, impregnated, doused and/or coated with a flammable material.

The generally ring-shaped member may be comprised of kraft paper. The generally ring-shaped member may be sized according to a desired rate of burning. Typically, the generally ring-shaped member may have an outer diameter, thickness and width in the ranges of 40mm to 180mm, 5mm to 20mm and 10mm to 30mm respectively, preferably being 122mm, 12mm and 15mm respectively.

The flammable material may be in the form of any suitable combustible fuel which is readily ignitable when exposed to a spark or flame. Typically, the flammable material may be selected according to a desired temperature and/or rate of burning. The flammable material may be selected from any petroleum based substance of the group including oil, coal oil, mineral oil, paraffin and kerosene, preferably being an odourless form of kerosene.

A bag may be provided for allowing storage of firelighters therein. The bag may include a resealable opening for allowing a user to reseal the bag so as to reduce the rate of evaporation of the flammable material out of the firelighter thereby improving storage- and/or shelf-life thereof when contained and sealed within the bag. The bag may be hermetically sealed. The bag may be manufactured from any suitable plastic and/or foil material. The bag may preferably be in the form of a sealable bag known as a“zipper storage bag”.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

A firelighter in accordance with the invention will now be described by way of the following non-limiting examples with reference to the accompanying drawings.

In the drawings: -

Figure 1 is a three-dimensional schematic which shows a perspective view of a first embodiment of a firelighter in accordance with the invention; Figures 2 and 3 are three-dimensional schematics which show partially exploded assembly views of the firelighter shown in Figure 1 ;

Figure 4 is a three-dimensional schematic which shows a perspective view of a second embodiment of a firelighter in accordance with the invention

Photographs 1 to 6 show steps to be carried out in the method of manufacture of the first embodiment of the firelighter shown in Figures 1 to 3;

Photographs 7 and 8 show centre cores of sheet-like products in a stacked configuration;

Photographs 9 and 10 show the second embodiment of the firelighter; and Photographs 11 to 13 show the second embodiment of the firelighter whilst burning in operation.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

Referring now to a first embodiment of the invention, as shown in Figures 1 to 3, reference numeral 10 refers generally to a firelighter in accordance with the invention.

In this embodiment, the firelighter 10 which includes a plurality of sheets of paper 12 which are infused, impregnated, doused or coated with flammable material (not shown) and arranged in a stacked relationship so as to form a block 14 and a retaining means in the form of an adhesive 16 for retaining the sheets of paper 12 in the block form.

The sheets of paper 12 are offcuts 13, typically of kraft paper. The sheets of paper 12 have a grammage in the range of 130g/m ² (gsm) to 250g/m ² (gsm) and a thickness in the range of 0.01 mm to 10mm, respectively. The grammage and thickness of the sheets of paper 12 typically being 150g/m ² (gsm) and 0.1 mm, respectively.

The block 14 formed by the plurality of sheets of paper 12 has a length, width and height, in the ranges of 40mm to 250mm, 15mm to 50mm and 20mm to 50mm respectively. The length, width and height of the block 14 typically being 80mm, 24mm and 24mm, respectively.

The flammable material (not shown) is in the form of an odourless form of kerosene which is readily ignitable when exposed to a spark or flame. Typically, the flammable material is selected according to a desired burn temperature or rate of burning.

The adhesive 16 typically adheres to the sheets of paper 12 in the stacked relationship so as to retain the sheets of paper 12 in the block form. The adhesive 16 is applied to a face 18 of the block 14 formed by the sheets 12 in the stacked relationship so as to come into contact with edges 20 of the sheets 12. In particular, the adhesive 16 is applied to faces 22 which are located at opposing end regions 23 of the block 14 so as to allow a longitudinal side 24 of the block 14 to be in direct contact with the flame (not shown) during igniting of the block 14 in operation. The adhesive 16 is selected from any suitable conventional adhesive substance of the group including craft glue, wood glue, super glue, hot glue, epoxy, pressure sensitive adhesives, gum padding, pad glue and polyurethane. The adhesive 16 is typically pad glue. It is to be appreciated that for the purposes of this specification, pad glue and gum padding may be understood as being a glue or adhesive which is typically used to bind sheets of paper to form a pad. The adhesive 16 includes any suitable non-toxic and water based compounds. A strengthener (not shown) is applied to the face 18 of the block 14 on which the adhesive 16 is applied for strengthening and improving bonding properties of the adhesive 16. The strengthener (not shown) in the form of a layer of gauze, preferably being binding gauze. The faces 22 of the block, on which the adhesive is applied, has a plurality of grooves 26 defined therein for allowing the adhesive 16 to be received and collect therein for increasing contact surface area between the adhesive 16 and the sheets of paper 12 forming the block 14 thereby improving structural integrity of the block 14. The grooves 26 extend substantially along the height of the opposing longitudinal faces 22.

Referring now to Photographs 1 to 6, there is provided a method of manufacture of a firelighter 10 as hereinbefore described which includes the following steps: collecting offcuts of kraft paper in the form of sheets 12, stacking the sheets 12 of kraft paper offcuts to form a first stack, trimming edges and sides of the first stack to form a generally rectangular stack having a length, width and height of 650mm, 80mm and 500mm respectively, cutting grooves 26 into longitudinal side faces of the generally rectangular stack, applying an adhesive to the longitudinal side face of the generally rectangular stack, allowing the adhesive to collect and harden in the grooves, separating the offcuts of the generally rectangular stack into a plurality of smaller stacks having a length, width and height of 650mm, 80mm and 24mm respectively and cutting the smaller stacks along their widths to form a plurality of blocks 14 having a length, width and height of 80mm, 24mm and 24mm respectively.

Referring now to a second embodiment of the invention, as shown in Figure 4, reference numeral 110 refers generally to a further firelighter in accordance with the invention.

In this embodiment, the firelighter 110 includes a generally ring-shaped member 128 which is formed from a centre core of a sheet-like product (not shown) which is configured to be carried and/or stored in a rolled form, which generally ring- shaped member 128 is infused, impregnated, doused and/or coated with a flammable material (not shown). More particularly, the generally ring-shaped member 128 is formed by cutting the centre core, typically having a generally tubular shape, of a sheet-like product along its diameter.

The generally ring-shaped member 128 is comprised of kraft paper generally ring-shaped member 128 is sized according to a desired rate of burning generally ring-shaped member 128 has an outer diameter, thickness and width of 122mm, 12mm and 15mm respectively.

The flammable material (not shown) is in the form of a fuel-like material such as an odourless form of kerosene (not shown) which is readily ignitable when exposed to a flame (not shown). Typically, the flammable material (not shown) is selected according to a desired temperature and/or rate of burning. A bag (not shown) is provided for allowing storage of firelighter 10 or 110 therein. The bag (not shown) includes a resealable opening (not shown) for allowing a user to reseal the bag (not shown) so as to reduce the rate of evaporation of the flammable material (not shown) out of the firelighters 10 or 110 thereby improving storage- and/or shelf-life thereof when contained and sealed within the bag (not shown). The bag (not shown) is manufactured from a combination of plastic and foil material. The bag (not shown) is in the form of a sealable bag known as a“zipper storage bag”.

The inventor believes the firelighters in accordance with the invention are advantageous in that the manufacturing thereof has a low carbon footprint due to the fact that wastage material from other industrial processes are used thereby alleviating the need to manufacture new specialised materials. The firelighters are manufactured from wastage material that otherwise would not be recycled, which manufacturing goes some way to align with an ever-increasing trend towards“green” products.

It is, of course, to be appreciated that the firelighter in accordance with the invention is not limited to the precise constructional and functional details as hereinbefore described or illustrated with reference to the accompanying drawings.