FIRE-STARTER AND METHOD THEREOF HAVING IMPROVED VENTILATION

Abstract

A fire starter having improved ventilation and an associated method are provided. The fire starter may include a housing folded to form a pyramid, wherein the housing includes at least three sidewalls and a base. The sidewalls converge to a single point at the top of the housing and may contain one or more windows. These sidewalls may include a detachable portion in an upper region of each sidewall. Further, the housing may contain a plurality of ignitable chips, including elongated wooden sticks, charcoals, wood chips, or a combination thereof. In operation, the windows can be opened and the detachable portion of the housing removed to expose the ignitable chips seated within. To start a fire, a flame may be applied to the ignitable chips, which can completely ignite the fire starter and any wood laid thereon.

Description

BACKGROUND

Outdoor fire pits, barbeque grills, and fireplaces inside the home bring warmth and beauty to one and all. The fires within these differing utilities must be manually started. Generally, starting a fire naturally may include first applying a spark from a magnesium bar to dry kindling materials, such as leaves, conifer needles, small twigs and the like. Once the fire is begun, wood and charcoal can be added. However, since wood and charcoal are difficult to light, fires are generally begun using some type of lighter/starter fluid applied to this wood and/or charcoal. Yet, the chemicals and the fumes of the starter fluid are harmful to the eco-system and pose a health hazard to the user. Further, the misuse of starter fluid and barbeque fires has caused serious injuries of the user in the past. Moreover, the unpleasant odor and chemicals associated with starter fluid can impact the taste of food and the physical health of individual.

Conventional brick fire starters have been designed to eliminate the need for the lighter fluid. Some are made from a composition of wax and sawdust. These brick fire starters, however, are cumbersome and difficult to ignite. In contrast, a combustion chamber type of a unit, also known as a chimney, can be used to start a fire. In particular, a few charcoal bricks may be placed within the unit to burn to a stage where they can be added to ignite a larger pile of bricks. However, chimneys prove not to be an effective source for starting fires due to their bulky size.

It is within this context that the embodiments arise.

SUMMARY

Embodiments of a fire starter having improved ventilation and an associated method are provided. It should be appreciated that the present embodiment can be implemented in numerous ways, such as a process, an apparatus, a system, a device, or a method. Several inventive embodiments are described below.

In some embodiments, a fire starter having improved ventilation is provided. The fire starter may include a housing folded to form a pyramid, wherein the housing includes at least three sidewalls and a base. The sidewalls converge to a single point at the top of the housing and may contain one or more windows. These sidewalls may include a detachable portion in an upper region of each sidewall. Further, the housing may contain a plurality of ignitable chips, including elongated wooden sticks, charcoals, wood chips, or a combination thereof. In operation, the windows can be opened and the detachable portion of the housing removed to expose the ignitable chips seated within to promote the air flow throughout the fire starter. To start a fire, a flame may be applied to the ignitable chips, which can completely ignite the fire starter and any wood laid thereon.

In some embodiments, a method for starting a fire is provided. The method may include assembling a housing for a fire starter. For example, a four panel housing cardboard cut-out may be folded to form a pyramid, wherein a first triangular panel folds towards a triangular upper portion of a second panel, a third panel and a fourth panel; and one or more rectangular portions of the panels form a base for the pyramid. The method may further include filling the housing with a plurality of ignitable chips, wherein the chips may be selected from a group comprising wooden sticks, charcoal sticks or composition sawdust/wax sticks. The method may further include opening at least one window within the housing. For example, at least one sidewall of the housing may include a perforated cut out for a window having at least one door. In particular, a user may open at least one of the doors to enable a draft of air to flow through the pyramid. The method may further include removing the upper portion of the housing to expose the plurality of ignitable chips in the upper portion of the housing to further enhance the draft of air and generate traction smoke. Finally, the method may include lighting the ignitable chips with a spark or flame of fire, so that the ignitable chips may kindle.

Other aspects and advantages of the embodiments will become apparent from the following detailed description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings which illustrate, by way of example, the principles of the described embodiments.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The described embodiments and the advantages thereof may best be understood by reference to the following description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. These drawings in no way limit any changes in form and detail that may be made to the described embodiments by one so skilled in the art without departing from the spirit and scope of the described embodiments.

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a fire starter having improved ventilation, in accordance with some embodiments.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the fire starter of FIG. 1, including a sidewall with a window opened, in accordance with some embodiments.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the fire starter of FIG. 2, including a detachable portion of the housing removed, in accordance with some embodiments.

FIG. 4 is a top view of an unfolded housing panel set, in accordance with some embodiments.

FIG. 5 is a flow diagram of a method for starting a fire, in accordance with some embodiments.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The following embodiments describe a fire starter having improved ventilation and an associated a method. It can be appreciated by one skilled in the art, that the embodiments may be practiced without some or all of these specific details. In other instances, well known process operations have not been described in detail in order not to unnecessarily obscure the embodiments.

A fire starter having improved ventilation and an associated method are provided. The fire starter may include a housing folded to form a pyramid, wherein the housing includes at least three sidewalls and a base. The base may be trilateral, quadrilateral, or polygon in shape. The sidewalls converge to a single point at the top of the housing and may contain one or more windows. The windows may include a first door and a second door coupled to the sidewall, wherein the first door and the second door open to expose the plurality of ignitable chips within the housing and close to meet at a midpoint of the window. These sidewalls may include a detachable portion in an upper region. The housing may contain a plurality of ignitable chips, including elongated wooden sticks, wood chips, thin wood, waste wood production, wood cod, wood chips, wood cod from a root (fatwood), a variety of other waste wood materials and the like. In operation, the windows can be opened and the detachable portion of the housing removed to expose the ignitable chips seated within in an effort to promote a draft of airflow enhancing the fire when started. To start a fire, a flame may be applied to the ignitable chips, which can completely ignite the fire starter and any wood laid thereon.

Advantageously, the fire starter having improved ventilation described herein is long lasting in comparison to the conventional brick fire starters. The fire starter disclosed herein comprises a more efficient design in comparison to most due to the movement of air within its housing. This enables an easy, user-friendly start of a fire in a fireplace or outdoors. The fire starter disclosed herein can be begin to kindle without the use of any gas fluids. It provides an eco-safe option. This fire starter product, FireSource™, will burn for six minutes at over 1100F, which is the temperature needed to start a fire. Further, the housing encompasses an efficient design that is easy to assemble. The product may be sold pre-assembled or disassembled, which allows for easy transportability when traveling. The ignitable chips can be made from a great variety of materials, which make it an economical solution. Additionally, the fire starter disclosed herein provides cleanliness of use in a fireplace of a home.

In the following description, numerous details are set forth. It will be apparent, however, to one skilled in the art, that the present invention may be practiced without these specific details. In some instances, well-known structures and devices are shown in block diagram form, rather than in detail, in order to avoid obscuring the present invention.

Reference in the description to “one embodiment” or “an embodiment” means that a particular feature, structure, or characteristic described in connection with the embodiment is included in at least one embodiment of the invention. The phrase “in one embodiment” located in various places in this description does not necessarily refer to the same embodiment. Like reference numbers signify like elements throughout the description of the figures.

Referring to FIG. 1, a perspective view of a fire starter having improved ventilation, in accordance with some embodiments is illustrated. The fire starter 100 may include a housing 102 having three or more panels and a plurality of ignitable chips (not shown in FIG. 1, yet exposed in explained and more detail in FIGS. 2 and 3). The housing 102 may be made of a variety of materials, including but not limited to, cardboard, recyclable paper, wood, compressed sawdust/wax, and the like. In some embodiments, the housing may be folded to form a pyramid, wherein the housing includes at least three sidewalls and a base (not shown). The shape of the housing may be folded in a variety of other shapes, including but not limited, spherical, hexagonal, rectangular, polygonal, and the like. The sidewalls (118a, 118b annotated in FIG. 2) can converge to a single point at the top 104 of the housing 102. Each sidewall (118a, 118b) may contain one or more windows 106, having perforated cutout doors (110, 112) and a perforated circular handle 108. As shown, the windows 106 may be arch-shaped, but they are not limited to this shape. In particular, the windows 106 may be circular, elliptical, rectangular, octagonal, polygonal, and like. These sidewalls (118a, 118b) may include a detachable portion in an upper region 104, wherein a perforated line/crease 116 may be broken to detach the upper region 104 of the housing 102 for generating a flow of air through the housing during the kindling. In particular, a perforated circle handle 114 can be implemented in the design to severe the upper region 104 from the housing 102. The housing 102 may contain a plurality of ignitable chips, including elongated wooden sticks, charcoals, wood chips, thin wood, waste wood production, wood cod, wood cod from a root (fatwood), a variety of other waste wood materials and the like (not shown).

In operation for some embodiments, one or more windows 106 can be opened and the detachable portion 104 of the housing 102 can be removed to expose the ignitable chips seated within. The airflow through windows 106 and the top detached portion 104 of the housing 102 generates traction smoke in the housing 102; wherein, fresh air access can accelerate the burning of the ignitable chips. To start a fire, a flame may be applied to the ignitable chips, which can completely ignite the fire starter and any wood laid thereon. In another embodiment, the windows 106 may be opened without removing the top detachable portion 104 to generate enough traction smoke within the housing 102 to kindle the ignitable chips. For example, some embodiments may include four sidewalls each having two perforated windows. During operation each of these windows may opened and the ignitable chips may be exposed to either a spark or a flame of fire.

Referring to FIG. 2, a perspective view of the fire starter of FIG. 1, including a sidewall with a window opened, in accordance with some embodiments. In particular, the window 106 can be opened, wherein a first door 110 and a second door 112 can be pulled open by inserting a finger into the perforated circular handle 108. As noted supra, the plurality of ignitable chips 120 can be exposed and accessible to the user for lighting of the fire starter 100. The plurality of ignitable chips 120 may be made of materials selected from the group, including but not limited to thin wood, waste wood production, wood cod, wood chips, wood cod from a root (fatwood), a variety of waste wood materials and the like. The ignitable chips 120 in some embodiments may be comprised of the following materials, including but not limited to, charcoal, paper, a composition of wax and sawdust, and the like.

Referring to FIG. 3, a perspective view of the fire starter of FIG. 2, including a detachable portion of the housing removed, in accordance with some embodiments. In particular, after the detachable portion 104 (shown in FIGS. 1 and 2) of the housing 102 is removed, the plurality of ignitable chips 120 can be exposed to the air to create a draft for the fire to catch throughout the fire starter housing 102. For a fireplace set up or a campfire set-up, a plurality of wood pieces may be stacked around the fire starter 100 to build a kindling fire prior to igniting the ignitable chips.

Referring to FIG. 4, a top view of an unfolded housing panel set 102, in accordance with some embodiments. The housing 102, in some embodiments, can be made from a cardboard cut-out, having a first triangular panel 402, a second panel (404, 406), a third panel (408, 410), and a fourth panel (412, 414). Each panel can be coupled at a first and second corner of the shortest edge of the triangular portion (402, 404, 408, 412). For example, as shown, the second corner of the first panel 402 may be coupled to the first corner of the triangular portion of the second panel 404. Further, the second corner of the triangular portion 404 may be coupled to the first corner of the triangular portion of the second panel 408. Also, the second corner of the triangular portion 408 may be coupled to the first corner of the triangular portion of the fourth panel 412. Each panel may include a rectangular portion (406, 410, 414) for forming a stable base portion of the fire starter housing 102), wherein a perforated line/crease (430a, 430b, 430c) can separate the two portions one from another. In some embodiments, the first triangular panel 402 may include a tongue insert 416 on a shortest edge of the triangular panel 402. Further, the first triangular panel 402 may include a flap 426 on a non-coupled edge of the first triangular panel 402. The second panel (404, 406) may include a rectangular portion 406 having a notched edge 418, which makes assembly and disassembly an ease for gripping. The third panel (408, 410) may include a rectangular portion 410 having a flap segment 422 with a recess 420 for securing the tongue 416 of the first panel 402 during assembly. The fourth panel (412, 414) may include a rectangular portion 414 having a notched edge 424, enabling ease of grip of the rectangular portion during assembly and disassembly.

In some embodiments, one or more windows may be including within the sidewalls of the housing. For example, as shown the first panel portion 402 and the third panel portion 408 include a window (106a, 106b), having a first door (110a, 110b) and a second door (112a, 112b). Further, each window (106a, 106b) may include a perforated circular handle (108a, 108b) for gripping the doors of each window for opening. Each panel may include a detachable portion (104a, 104b, 104c, 104d) in an upper region of each triangular portion (402, 404, 408, 412), wherein a perforated line/crease (428a, 428b, 428c, 428d) such that the upper region may detached from the housing 102 for generating a flow of air through the housing during the kindling when at least one window (106a, 106b) is opened.

For assembly of the housing panel set 102, the method may include folding the first triangular panel 402 to meet the triangular portion of a second panel 404, wherein the first triangular panel 402 including a tongue insert 416 on a shortest edge. The first corner of the first triangular panel 402 may be coupled to a first corner of the second panel 404. A second corner of the second panel 404 coupled to a first corner of a third panel 408. A second corner of a third panel 408 coupled to a first corner of a fourth panel 412. The method may further include folding a rectangular portion 406 of the second panel upwards perpendicular to the triangular portion 404 of the second panel. The method may further include folding the triangular portion of third panel 408 to meet the triangular portion of the second triangular panel 404. The method may include folding rectangular portion 410 of the third panel to lie in overlying relationship with the rectangular portion 406 of the second panel. Further, the method may include folding the triangular portion of forth panel 412 to meet the triangular portion of the first triangular panel 402. The method may also include folding the rectangle portion 414 of the fourth panel to lie over the rectangular portion 410 of the third panel. Further, the method may include inserting the tongue 416 into the recess 420 of the flap 422. Finally, a flap 426 may be glued on the triangular portion 412 of the fourth panel, wherein the flap 426 is positioned on the non-coupled edge for the first triangular panel 402.

Referring to FIG. 5, a flow diagram of a method for starting a fire, in accordance with some embodiments. In a first action 502, the method 500 may include assembling a housing for a fire starter. For example, a four panel housing cardboard cut-out may be folded to form a pyramid, wherein a first triangular panel folds towards a triangular upper portion of a second panel, a third panel and a fourth panel, and rectangular portion of one or more panels may form a base of the pyramid. The method may further include filling the housing with a plurality of ignitable chips, wherein the chips may be selected from a group comprising wooden sticks, charcoal sticks or composition sawdust/wax sticks, in an action 504. Further, in an action 506, the method may further include opening at least one window within the housing. For example, at least one sidewall of the housing may include a perforated cut out for a window having at least one door. In particular, a user may open at least one of the doors to enable a draft of air to flow through the pyramid. The method may further include removing the upper portion of the housing to expose the plurality of ignitable chips in the upper portion of the housing and further enhance the airflow through the housing, in an action 508. Finally, the method may include lighting the ignitable chips with a spark or flame of fire so that the ignitable chips may kindle in an action 510.

It is appreciated that the components of exemplary fire starter 100 are exemplary and more or fewer components may be present in various configurations. It is appreciated that fire starter may be part of a larger grilling system, a fireplace housing, a fire pit set-up, and the like.

In the above description, numerous details are set forth. It will be apparent, however, to one skilled in the art, that the present invention may be practiced without these specific details. In some instances, well-known structures and devices are shown in block diagram form, rather than in detail, in order to avoid obscuring the present invention.

It is to be understood that the above description is intended to be illustrative, and not restrictive. Many other embodiments will be apparent to those of skill in the art upon reading and understanding the above description. Although the present invention has been described with reference to specific exemplary embodiments, it will be recognized that the invention is not limited to the embodiments described, but can be practiced with modification and alteration within the spirit and scope of the appended claims. Accordingly, the specification and drawings are to be regarded in an illustrative sense rather than a restrictive sense. The scope of the invention should, therefore, be determined with reference to the appended claims, along with the full scope of equivalents to which such claims are entitled.

Detailed illustrative embodiments are disclosed herein. However, specific functional details disclosed herein are merely representative for purposes of describing embodiments. Embodiments may, however, be embodied in many alternate forms and should not be construed as limited to only the embodiments set forth herein.

It should be understood that although the terms first, second, etc. may be used herein to describe various steps or calculations, these steps or calculations should not be limited by these terms. These terms are only used to distinguish one step or calculation from another. For example, a first calculation could be termed a second calculation, and, similarly, a second step could be termed a first step, without departing from the scope of this disclosure. As used herein, the term “and/or” and the “I” symbol includes any and all combinations of one or more of the associated listed items. As used herein, the singular forms “a”, “an” and “the” are intended to include the plural forms as well, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. It will be further understood that the terms “comprises,” “comprising,” “includes,” and/or “including,” when used herein, specify the presence of stated features, integers, steps, operations, elements, and/or components, but do not preclude the presence or addition of one or more other features, integers, steps, operations, elements, components, and/or groups thereof. Therefore, the terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing particular embodiments only and is not intended to be limiting.

Although the method operations were described in a specific order, it should be understood that other operations may be performed in between described operations, described operations may be adjusted so that they occur at slightly different times or the described operations may be distributed in a system which allows the occurrence of the processing operations at various intervals associated with the processing.

The foregoing description, for the purpose of explanation, has been described with reference to specific embodiments. However, the illustrative discussions above are not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the invention to the precise forms disclosed. Many modifications and variations are possible in view of the above teachings. The embodiments were chosen and described in order to best explain the principles of the embodiments and its practical applications, to thereby enable others skilled in the art to best utilize the embodiments and various modifications as may be suited to the particular use contemplated. Accordingly, the present embodiments are to be considered as illustrative and not restrictive, and the invention is not to be limited to the details given herein, but may be modified within the scope and equivalents of the appended claims.

Claims

1. A fire starter comprising:

a housing having at least three side walls and a base, wherein the at least three sidewalls converge to a single point at a top of the housing;

wherein at least one side wall includes a window;

wherein each of the at least three side walls include a detachable portion in an upper region of the at least three side walls, such that the detachable portion of each sidewall including the single point at the top of the housing is removable from the housing; and

a plurality of ignitable chips seated within the housing.

2. The fire starter of claim 1, wherein the window comprises:

a first door coupled to the side wall; and

a second door coupled to the sidewall, wherein the first door and the second door open to expose the plurality of ignitable chips within the housing and close to meet at a midpoint of the window.

3. The fire starter of claim 1, wherein the window comprises:

a first arch-shaped door coupled to an arch-shaped opening of the window; and

a second arch-shaped door, wherein the first arch-shaped door and a second arch-shaped door open to expose the plurality of ignitable chips within the housing and close to meet at a mid-point of the window.

4. The fire starter of claim 1, wherein the ignitable chips are elongated wooden sticks.

5. The fire starter of claim 1, wherein a shape of the window is selected from the group comprising circular, elliptical, rectangular, octagonal, and polygonal.

6. The fire starter of claim 1, wherein the housing is made of a material selected from a group comprising cardboard, wood, saw dust, and paper.

7. The fire starter of claim 1, wherein the ignitable chips are made of materials selected from the group comprising wood, charcoal, paper, elongated wooden sticks, wood chips, thin wood, waste wood production, wood cod, wood cod from a root (fatwood), and a variety of other waste wood materials.

8. The fire starter of claim 1, wherein the ignitable chips are made of a composition of wax and sawdust.

9. The fire starter of claim 1, wherein the base is trilateral, quadrilateral, or polygon shape.

10. A method of starting a fire comprising:

assembling a housing for a fire starter;

filling the housing with a plurality of ignitable chips;

opening at least one window formed within the housing to expose the portion of the plurality of ignitable chips;

removing an upper portion of the housing to create a draft for air flow through the at least one window and the upper portion of the fire starter; and

lighting the ignitable chips.

11. The method of claim 10, wherein the assembling comprises:

folding a first panel, a second panel, a third panel and a fourth panel to form a pyramid.

12. The method of claim 10, wherein the assembling comprises:

folding a first triangular panel to meet a triangular portion of a second panel, wherein the first triangular panel having a tongue insert on a shortest edge and a flap on a second edge of the triangular portion;

wherein a first corner of the first triangular panel coupled to a first corner of the second panel at, a second corner of the second panel coupled to a first corner of a third panel, a second corner of a third panel coupled to a first corner of a fourth panel;

folding a rectangular portion of the second panel upwards proximately perpendicular to the triangular portion of the second panel;

folding the third panel having a triangular portion to meet the triangular portion of the second panel, the third panel having a rectangular portion having a flap including a recess;

folding the rectangular portion of the third panel to lie in overlying relationship with the rectangular portion of the second panel;

folding the forth panel having a triangular portion to meet the triangular portion of the first triangular panel, the second panel and the third panel, the forth panel having a rectangular portion having a notch;

folding the rectangle portion of the fourth panel to lie over the rectangular portion of the third panel;

inserting the tongue into the recess of the flap; and

gluing the flap on the second edge of the first triangular panel to the triangular portion of the fourth panel.

13. The method of claim 10, wherein the opening of window comprises:

removing a perforated circular pattern from the window;

disconnecting a pair of perforated shutters from the window to an open position; and

opening the pair of perforated shutters to expose the ignitable chips within the housing.

14. The method of claim 10, wherein the removing the upper portion of the housing comprises:

disconnecting a perforated top portion of each of at least three sidewalls of the housing; and

removing the perforated top portion of each of at least three sidewalls of the housing to expose the ignitable chips within the housing.

15. The method of claim 8, wherein the lighting of ignitable chips comprises:

applying a spark or a flame to the ignitable chips.

16. A fire starter comprising:

a spherical housing having at least three side walls, wherein the at least three sidewalls converge to a single point at a top and a bottom of the housing;

wherein at least one side wall includes a window;

wherein each of the at least three side walls include a detachable portion in an upper region of the at least three side walls, such that the detachable portion of each sidewall including the single point at the top of the housing is removable from the housing; and

a plurality of ignitable chips seated within the housing.

17. The fire starter of claim 16, wherein the window comprises:

a first door coupled to the side wall; and

a second door coupled to the sidewall, wherein the first door and the second door open to expose the plurality of ignitable chips within the housing and close to meet at a midpoint of the window.

18. The fire starter of claim 16, wherein the window comprises:

a first arch-shaped door coupled to an arch-shaped opening of the window; and

a second arch-shaped door, wherein the first arch-shaped door and a second arch-shaped door open to expose the plurality of ignitable chips within the housing and close to meet at a mid-point of the window.

19. The fire starter of claim 16, wherein the ignitable chips are selected from a group including, elongated wooden sticks, wood chips, thin wood, waste wood production, wood cod, wood cod from a root (fatwood), and a variety of other waste wood materials.

20. The fire starter of claim 16, wherein a shape of the window is selected from the group comprising circular, elliptical, rectangular, octagonal, and polygonal.