Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
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WO 99/0677Q PCT/AU98/00592
GAS FUELLED FIRE LIGHTER TORCH
Field of the Invention
s This invention relates to a fire lighter and refers particularly to a fire
lighter for lighting
fires without the use of paper, kindling or similar devices, but wherein a gas
is used.
Background of the Invention
With the lighting of fires the traditional method has been to use paper,
kindling and other
wood to light the fire. This has meant the storing of paper, the chopping of
kindling and the
io wood, the time taken to set the fire, and to ignite it. Quite often, the
fire will not ignite
correctly. This is the normal method whether the fire be for wood, logs,
briquettes,
charcoal, heat beads, or other similar solid hydro carbons. As a recent
development, there
have been supplied to the market fire lighters in the form of solid cubes of a
highly
absorbent material saturated with a liquid hydrocarbon. These fire lighters
emit a large
~ s amount of smoke, and very strong fumes. Again, they have also proven to be
not highly
reliable, particularly when starting large fires.
Furthermore, for fires with a chimney, until the fire is alight there is
insufficient heat to
warm the air within the fireplace to cause the air to rise into the chimney,
thus allowing
new air to be drawn into the fire. This can cause oxygen starvation and thus
failure,
2o incomplete or slowness in the fire commencing full combustion.
With other fires such as those in barbeques, including kettle barbeques, there
can be
considerable difficulty in lighting the fire and having it at the correct
operating temperature
within the required time. The use of the liquid hydrocarbon fire Lighters
requires the fire to
have been burning for some time before it can be used so that all of the
fumes, odours and
2s smoke is eliminated prior to food being cooked. This itself causes
difficulty. For the form
of kettle barbecue known as "Weber" they have acknowledged that the most often
asked
question is how to have the coals or heat beads ignited quickly, easily and
reliably, and in
sufficient time for the food to be cooked.
The present invention seeks therefore to provide a device which will enable
the lighting of
3o fires using gas rather than the solid fuel means that have been used
hitherto.
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Brief Description of the Invention
The present invention provides a fire lighter having a handle, a tube
extending axially
through the handle and having a gas injection nozzle therein, the tube having
an inlet end
extending axially beyond a first end of the handle, the inlet end having a
valve to control
s the supply of a gas to the fire lighter; the tube also having an elongate
outlet end extending
axially beyond a second end of the handle, the outlet end having a plurality
of gas outlet
apertures therealong, the outlet end being closed at its outer end.
The tube may be coaxial with the handle for its entire length or the outlet
end may be
angled relative to the handle. The angle may be by being at an angle to the
axis of the
~ o handle from approximately the second end of the handle; or may be by
having an offset
portion extending at a substantial angle to the axis of the handle, and then
substantially
parallel to the axis of the handle. This would make the outlet end of the tube
somewhat
crank shaped. The substantial angle may be greater than 30 degrees, and may
even be
approximately 90 degrees.
~ s Advantageously, the handle is provided with an air inlet to enable the
combustion of the
gas.
Preferably, the gas outlet apertures are arranged longitudinally along the
outlet end and are
substantially equally spaced on either side of the tube, extending radially
outwardly.
The outlet tube may be bifurcated, trifurcated, or so forth.
2o The outlet tube or tubes may be provided with a guard extending along the
portion thereof
having the gas outlet apertures, the guard being located adjacent the gas
outlet apertures, so
as to prevent the fuel being ignited from blocking the gas outlet apertures or
otherwise
interfering with the gas flow. The guard may be of any form including a ring,
a plurality of
longitudinally extending rods, a plurality of transversely extending rods, a
plate, grill or
2s otherwise.
Description of the Drawings
In order that the invention may be understood there shall now be described by
way of non
limitative example only preferred embodiments incorporating the principal
features of the
present invention, the description being with reference to the accompanying
illustrative
3o drawings in which:
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Figure 1 is a rear perspective view from below of a first embodiment of the
present
invention;
Figure 2 is a side view of the embodiment of Figure 1;
Figure 3 is a side view of a second embodiment;
s Figure 4 is a front perspective view from above of a third embodiment;
Figure 5 is a perspective view from the front and above of a fourth
embodiment;
Figure 6 is a side view of the embodiment of Figure 5;
Figure 7 is a front perspective view from above of a fifth embodiment of the
present
invention;
io Figure 8 is a side view of the embodiment of Figure 7;
Figure 9 is a front perspective view from above of a sixth embodiment of the
present invention;
Figure 10 is a front perspective view from above of a seventh embodiment;
Figure 11 is a perspective view from the rear and beneath of an eighth
embodiment
~ s of the present invention;
Figure 12 is a perspective view from above of a ninth embodiment; and
Figure 13 is a perspective view from above of a tenth embodiment.
Description of the Preferred Embodiments
Throughout the description of the preferred embodiments, identical reference
numerals are
2o used for identical components except that a prefix number is used to
designate which
embodiment is relevant. Therefore, the description in relation to the first
embodiment has
a prefix number 1, for the second embodiment prefix number 2, and so forth.
To refer to the first embodiment illustrated in Figures 1 and 2, there is
shown a fire lighter
which has an elongate handle 110 which is generally cylindrical. However, it
may be any
2s appropriate shape.
The handle 110 is hollow having a central bore extending therethrough to form
a tube
through the centre of the handle 110. An air inlet hole 112 is provided in the
handle 110
for air to gain access to the central tube so that air can mix with gas
passing therethrough to
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4
enable the gas to be ignited. A gas injector nozzle is located in the central
tube adjacent the
air inlet hole 12.
The handle I IO has a first end I 14 and a second end 116. IJxtcnding axially
outwardly
from first end 114 is an inlet end 118 of a tube 120 which is a continuation
of the tube
s extending through the centre of handle l 10. To the inlet end 118 there is
secured valve 122
which has a valve handle 124 so that the inlet of gas can be controlled. A gas
connector
126 is provided to enable normal bottled or other gas to be able to be
supplied to the fire
lighter.
The tube 120 has an outlet end 128 which is a continuation of the tube passing
through the
to centre of handle 110. Along the length of outlet end 128 there are a
plurality of gas outlet
apertures 130 which extend through the wall of outlet end 128 to the hollow
interior of
outlet end 128. The gas outlet apertures 130 are generally equally spaced
along part of the
length of outlet end 128, and extend on either side of the outlet end 128. The
gas outlet
apertures 130 extend generally transversely to the longitudinal axis of outlet
end 128.
i s Outlet end 28 is closed at its outer end 132.
When bottled or other gas is supplied to the fire lighter through the gas
connector 126,
handle 124 is turned to the "on" position to enable valve 122 to admit gas to
inlet portion
118 and thus the injector nozzle, with air being drawn through hole 112 by the
Venturi
effect to mix with the gas. The gas air mixture then passes along outlet end
128 and
2o through gas outlet apertures 130. Upon an appropriate ignition device being
used (eg
match, cigarette lighter, or other similar device) the gas passing through the
outlet
apertures 130 will ignite. At this stage the fire lighter can be placed in the
fire with wood or
the fuel to be combusted above it so that the gas passing through gas outlet
apertures 130
will ignite the fuel to be burnt. When the fuel is well alight, the handle 124
can be turned to
2s stop the supply of gas, and the fire lighter removed from the fire.
Combustion will then
continue. In this way, the fire lighter can be used to light a fire without
the use of paper,
kindling, or other solid fire lighters.
Also, by virtue of the heat generated by the burning gas, the air in the fire
is heated to
create a drawing effect much earlier. This assists early combustion of the
fuel.
3o The fire lighter can also be used even after combustion has commenced if,
for example,
extra logs are added to a fire and they do not ignite fully. The fire lighter
can then be turned
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on by rotation of the handle 124 to open valve 122. If the fire lighter is
then placed in the
fire, the hot coals or embers in the fire will ignite the gas passing through
gas outlet
apertures 130 and cause ignition of the gas. It can then be left in the fire
for a number of
minutes until the new fuel has ignited.
s The fire lighter can be used with any form of solid fuel such as wood,
briquettes, charcoal,
coal, heat beads, or the like; in solid fuel burning appliances; or with gas-
fired appliances
such as stoves, barbeques, heaters, hot water services, central heating units,
or other similar
services.
To refer to the embodiment of Figure 3, this is substantially the same as the
embodiment of
Figure 1 and therefore the general operation of this embodiment and much of
its
construction will not be described in detail. The principal difference is that
between second
end 216 and outlet end of tube 228 there is an intermediate portion 234. The
intermediate
portion is angled relative to the tube 220 at second end 216 by a substantial
angle. The
angle illustrated is approximately 60 degrees, although any angle from
somewhere
i s approaching 30 degrees through to approximately 90 degrees may be used. At
the outer end
of intermediate portion 234 the outlet end 228 is angled relative thereto so
that outlet end
228 is substantially parallel to the longitudinal axis of handle 210.
This form of fire lighter is useful when dealing with fires where the access
to the fire is
above that location where ignition is required. This may be relevant in
situations where a
2o slow combustion fire is being used, a kettle barbecue, a normal barbecue,
slow combustion
stove, or the like.
Figure 4 shows a third embodiment. This embodiment, like that of Figure 3, is
similar in its
operation to that of Figures 1 and 2 and therefore will not be described in
great detail.
Again, the tube 320 has an intermediate portion 334 but which remains co-axial
with the
2s handle 310. The difference here is that the outlet end 328- is bifurcated
so that two outlet
ends 328(a) and 328(b) are provided. In the embodiment illustrated, these are
identical,
although they rnay be different if required. Each outlet end 328(a) and
(328(b) is provided
- with gas outlet apertures 330, and closed ends 332, as with earlier
embodiments. The
operation of this embodiment is exactly the same as with the earlier
embodiments.
3o However, as can be imagined, with four sets of outlet flames (one on each
side of each of
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the outlet ends 328(a) and (b)) the ignition of the fuel will be more
substantial, and
somewhat faster. This form may be of more use in larger fires.
In Figures 5 and 6 there is illustrated a further embodiment which, in
reality, is a
combination of the embodiments of Figures 3 and 4. Again, as a general
operation of this
s embodiment is similar to the earlier embodiments, the operation will not be
described in '
great detail.
Here the tube 420 is again bifurcated to form two outlet ends 428(a) and
428(b). As
illustrated, these are identical, although this may not always be so. Again,
each outlet end
428(a) and (b) has a plurality of transversely extending gas outlet apertures
430 on each
io side thereof, and closed ends 432. The intermediate portion 434 is again
angled relative to
tube 420 and the longitudinal axis of handle 410, although as can be seen from
Figure 6 the
angle in this instance approximates 90 degrees. The outlet ends 428(a) and (b)
are
somewhat parallel to the longitudinal axis of handle 410, although as can be
seen from
Figure 6 they are at an angle towards that axis. Again, with this embodiment,
with the
i s bifurcated outlet ends 428(a) and (b) faster combustion will be realised
and, with the
angled intermediate portion 434, the embodiment can be used with fires having
some form
of lip or other restriction of access to that region where ignition is to take
place.
Outlet ends 428(a) and (b) may be placed into or under separate braziers
which, after
achieving ignition, may be placed in any required position such as, for
example, a "Weber"
2o barbecue.
In Figures 7 and 8 there is illustrated a fifth embodiment which is
substantially identical to
the embodiment of Figures 5 and 6 except that along the upper surface of
outlet ends 5 to
8(a) and (b) there is provided a guard 536. The guard 536 has an axial extent
at least as
great as the axial extent of the outlet apertures 530. The purpose of guard
536 is to prevent
2s fuel from falling and covering or otherwise obstructing the gas outlet
apertures 530, and
thus preventing or interfering with correct ignition of the fuel. In the form
illustrated, the
guard 536 has ends 538 and side rails 540. The side rails 540 extend beyond
the width of
the outlet ends 528(a) and (b) so that any fuel falling will strike the rails
540 and fall away
from the outlet ends 528(x) and (b) and thus not block the gas outlet
apertures 530. The
so guard 536 may be spaced from the outlet ends 528(a) and (b) by spacers 542,
or may be
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flush therewith. It may be secured to the outlet ends 528(a) and (b) by
welding, gluing, or
other similar attachment.
Although the guard illustrated is somewhat elliptical, it may take the form of
a plurality of
spaced-apart substantially parallel bars extending transversely to the outer
ends 528(a) and
s (b) by being located generally in the same area as guard 536 as illustrated.
Alternatively, it
may be a grill, plate or other suitable form.
To refer now to Figure 9, there is shown a sixth embodiment which, as before,
is
substantially similar to many of the earlier embodiments and therefore will
not be
described in great detail. As can be seen, in this instance the guard 636 has
been placed on
~o each of the outlet ends 628(a) and (b). The only difference with the guards
is that end 638
are somewhat squarer rather than being curved.
It is to be noted here that the intermediate portion 634 is co-axial with the
handle 610, but
is somewhat angled in relation to the outlet ends 628(a) and (b).
In Figure 10 there is shown a seventh embodiment which is similar to the
embodiment of
is Figure 3 but with a guard 736 fitted thereto. The guard 736 is similar to
the guards 636 of
the embodiment of Figure 9.
Another embodiment is illustrated in Figure I l, which is similar to the
embodiment of
Figures 1 and 2, but with a guard 836 fitted; the guard 836 being similar to
the guards 736
and 636.
2o Figures 12 and 13 illustrate further embodiments where the guard 936 is in
the form of a
grill passing over and joining the two outlet ends 928(a) and (b). This form
would be of
advantage when dealing with briquettes because the briquettes are raised above
the hearth
allowing the igniting flames to spread beneath the briquettes. With the small
surface area
for a given volume in briquettes, ignition may thereby be achieved rapidly.
2s The varying embodiments may also be used to directly heat or cook food
placed thereon,
whether or not in a cooking pan or the like. The outlet ends (and the handle)
may be
rotated through 180° to facilitate this function, but preferably the
valve 122 is not rotated
for ease of operation.
The fire lighters of the varying embodiments may be made of any suitable
material such as,
3o for example, brass, copper, steel, stainless steel, or any other material
capable of
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withstanding the relatively high temperatures due to gas ignition, and/or a
fire burning.
The gas used may be any suitable gas such as liquefied petroleum gas, or other
gas used in
domestic or commercial situations.
Whilst there has been described in the foregoing description preferred
constructions of fire
s lighters incorporating the principal features of the present invention, it
will be understood
by those skilled in the technology concerned that many variation or
modifications in details
of design of construction may be made without departing from the present
invention.
It will be understood that the invention disclosed and defined herein extends
to all
alternative combinations of two or more of the individual features mentioned
or evident
from the text or drawings. All of these different combinations constitute
various alternative
aspects of the invention.
It will also be understood that where the term "comprises" or its grammatical
variants, is
employed herein, it is equivalent to the term "includes" and is not to be
taken as excluding
the presence of other elements or features.
is
