PELLETS WITH INFUSED ACCELERANTS AND METHOD OF USE

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

TECHNICAL FIELD

JO001]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.

BACKGROUND INFORMATION

[0002] 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 theyare 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.

[0003]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. [0004]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

[0005]The present invention provides a combustion aid for igniting a plurality of combustible members, according to claim 1 or claim 13, and a method of lighting a plurality of combustible members, according to claim 18. Optional features of the invention are set out in the dependent claims.

[0006JThe 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

[0007]The preferred embodiments of the invention, illustrative of the best mode in which applicant has contemplated applying the principles, are set forth. by way of example only, in the following description, with reference to the drawings, in which: [0008] 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; [0009] Fig. 2 is a perspective view of the pellet of the present invention; [0010] 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 [0011] 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

[0012] 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.

[0013]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 6.35

mm to 19.05 mm (Vi inch to % inch) and a diameter of 3.17 mm to 12.7 mm (Ve inch

to Vz inch). Preferably, the bodies have a length of 9.53 mm ( ³ A inch) and a diameter

of 6.35 mm (Vi inch).

[0014]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.

[0015]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.

[0016]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. [0017] 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. [0018] Moreover, the description and illustration of the invention is an example and the invention is not limited to the exact details shown or described.