Abstract:
An accessory for a conventional fireplace grate that is positioned on top of the fireplace grate and which supports a synthetic firelog thereon. The accessory provides better support for the synthetic log than the grate alone, and the firelog therefore bums longer than if it were placed on the fireplace grate without the accessory. The present invention provides a handy accessory that adapts fireplace grates that are designed primarily for real wood to adequately support synthetic logs.

Description:
RELATED APPLICATIONS  
       [0001]     This application claims priority to U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/090,993 filed Mar. 4, 2002, which claims priority to U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 60/276,014, filed Mar. 15, 2001. 
     
    
     FIELD OF THE INVENTION  
       [0002]     The present invention relates to fireplace grates and more particularly relates to conventional fireplace grates adapted to be used with synthetic firelogs.  
       BACKGROUND  
       [0003]     Traditionally, sawdust produced by wood mills and wood product manufacturers was disposed of by burning or by hauling to landfills. Synthetic firelogs were created in the late 1960s when it was discovered that sawdust could be put to a more responsible use. Engineers determined that soft wood fiber had a very good absorbency and bonded well with petroleum wax. These same engineers discovered they could combine the sawdust with petroleum wax and extrude the mixture into a log-shaped form. The new extruded logs were designed for burning in residential fireplaces as an alternative to natural firewood.  
         [0004]     Unfortunately, synthetic firelogs such as Duraflame® firelogs tend to soften and break apart while burning and need proper support to assure maximum burn time. Further undesirably, once the firelogs break apart, the names typically become smaller, less uniform and therefore less attractive. Conventional “real wood” fireplace grates with parallel bars spaced greater than two to three inches do not provide adequate support for synthetic firelogs. Nonetheless, such firelogs are commonly burned on these grates, resulting in log Thus, it is desirable to provide a fireplace grate or an accessory therefor to avoid the aforementioned problems.  
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
       [0005]     The present invention provides an accessory for a conventional fireplace grate that is positioned on top of the grate and which supports a synthetic firelog thereon. The accessory provides better support for the synthetic log than the grate alone, and the firelog therefore bums longer than if it were placed on the fireplace grate without the accessory.  
         [0006]     In one form thereof, the present invention provides a fireplace grate assembly. The assembly comprises a grate having substantially parallel spaced bars adapted for supporting a log. A plurality of legs extends downwardly from the spaced bars thereby supporting the grate away from a fireplace floor on which the grate is placed. An accessory in accordance with the invention rests on top of the grate. The accessory comprises two elongate members positioned across a portion of the parallel spaced bars, the elongate members being spaced apart and connected to one another by at least one connecting member.  
         [0007]     In a preferred form, the elongate members are substantially parallel to one another. The connecting member comprises a pair of spaced bars disposed between the elongate members. The pair of spaced bars are substantially orthogonal to the elongate members.  
         [0008]     In a further preferred form, the elongate members comprise cylindrical steel stock of diameter between ⅜ inches to ⅞ inches and whose centers are spaced apart between 2½ to 3½ inches. Further, the connecting member comprises a pair of spaced bars disposed between the elongate members, the pair of bars being substantially orthogonal to the elongate members and being formed from the same stock.  
         [0009]     In another form thereof, the present invention provides a method a method of burning a synthetic firelog with a fireplace grate of the type having substantially parallel spaced bars adapted for supporting one or more natural logs, and a plurality of legs connected thereto and extending downwardly therefrom, thereby supporting the grate away from a fireplace floor on which the grate is placed. The method comprises positioning an accessory on top of and across a portion of the spaced bars of the grate, the accessory comprising two elongate members spaced apart and connected to one another by at least one connecting member. A synthetic firelog is then placed on top of the accessory, the firelog aligned substantially lengthwise with the accessory, thereby substantially sandwiching the accessory between the grate and the firelog. The firelog is then ignited, whereby the firelog bums longer without breaking apart than if the accessory were not used.  
         [0010]     In a preferred form, the substantially parallel spaced bars of the grate are spaced at least 2 inches apart, more preferably at least 3 inches apart. Preferably, the log is positioned over and supported by the elongate members and the connecting member.  
         [0011]     The advantage of the present invention is that it provides a low-cost, easy to use accessory for allowing synthetic logs to be used with conventional Fireplace grates. The present invention addresses the problem of synthetic logs softening and breaking apart when burned on conventional fireplace grates. With the present invention, the burn time of a synthetic firelog is increased. Further, the flames maintain their attractiveness for a longer duration because the synthetic log is less prone to break apart. 
     
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       [0012]     The above mentioned and other features and objects of this invention, and the manner of attaining them, will become more apparent and the invention itself will be better understood by reference to the following description of an embodiment of the invention taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, wherein:  
         [0013]      FIG. 1  is an exploded perspective view of a fireplace grate, a grate accessory in accordance with the present invention, and a synthetic fireplace log;  
         [0014]      FIG. 2  is an exploded perspective view of another fireplace grate that is similar to the grate of  FIG. 1  (except that the bars are spaced further apart), a grate accessory in accordance with the present invention, and a synthetic fireplace log;  
         [0015]      FIG. 3  is an exploded perspective view of yet another fireplace grate, a grate accessory in accordance with the present invention, and a synthetic fireplace log;  
         [0016]      FIG. 4  is an exploded perspective view of another fireplace grate that is similar to the grate of  FIG. 3  (except that the bars are spaced further apart), a grate accessory in accordance with the present invention, and a synthetic fireplace log;  
         [0017]      FIG. 5  is an exploded perspective view of yet another fireplace grate, a grate accessory in accordance with the present invention, and a synthetic fireplace log;  
         [0018]      FIG. 6  is a top view of a grate accessory in accordance with the present invention, showing two differently sized firelogs in phantom;  
         [0019]      FIG. 7  is a top view of a grate accessory in accordance with the present invention; and  
         [0020]      FIG. 8  is a fragmentary elevational view of a connecting member for a grate accessory in accordance with the present invention.  
     
    
       [0021]     Corresponding reference characters indicate corresponding parts throughout the several views. Although the drawings represent embodiments of the present invention, the drawings are not necessarily to scale and certain features may be exaggerated in order to better illustrate and explain the present invention.  
       DETAILED DESCRIPTION  
       [0022]     Turning to  FIGS. 1 and 2 , fireplace grate  20  includes substantially parallel spaced bars  22  that are adapted for supporting a log made of real wood (not shown). Bars  22  can be spaced apart anywhere from 2 to 3 inches or more, measured center to center (compare  FIGS. 1 and 2  for spacing differences). Four legs  24  extend downwardly from bars  22 , thereby supporting the grate away from the fireplace floor on which it sits. A grate accessory  26  rests on top of grate  20  as indicated.  
         [0023]     Accessory  26  includes two elongate members  28  that are positioned across a portion of bars  22 . As shown in  FIGS. 1 and 2 , elongate members  28  arc substantially parallel to one another. Members  28  are spaced apart and are connected to one another by connecting members  30 . Connecting members  30  comprise a pair of spaced bars disposed between elongate members  28 , the connecting members  30  being substantially orthogonal to elongate members  28  in the embodiment shown in  FIGS. 1 and 2 . It is envisioned that for most applications, accessory  26  need merely rest upon grate  20 ; however, clamps (not shown) may be provided with accessory  26  to removably attach the same to grate  20 .  
         [0024]     Problematically in the prior art, if a synthetic firelog, for example, one formed of an extrudate of petroleum wax and sawdust, such as that marketed under the trade mark Duraflame®, be placed on grate  20  and ignited, the maximum bum time of the log will likely not be achieved. Instead, the firelog will break into smaller pieces as it burns and the pieces will fall between bars  22 . Such breakage will occur more quickly if a grate with larger spacing between its bars  22  (see  FIG. 2 ) is used. The overall burn time of a synthetic log is reduced when it breaks into smaller pieces. By contrast, if accessory  26  is placed on bars  22  as indicated in  FIGS. 1 and 2 , and synthetic log  32  is placed thereon, log  32  will burn longer. This is believed to be the case because accessory  26  having elongate members  28  and connecting members  30  provides a better support for log  32  than the grate alone.  
         [0025]     While grate accessory  26  is shown in  FIGS. 1 and 2  with a  27  inch grate whose bars  22  are curved upward at each end, accessory  26  can be used with any of a variety of commercially available traditional fireplace grates. For example,  FIGS. 3 and 4  depict accessory  120  having bars  122  that are substantially radially disposed. Similarly,  FIG. 5  shows accessory  26  being used with a 23 inch grate  220  whose bars  222  are flat in the middle and bent upward at each end. Significantly, as the spaces between bars  22 ,  122  or  222  become greater (compare  FIGS. 1 and 2 ;  FIGS. 3 and 4 ), accessory  26  provides greater extension in the burn time of a synthetic log.  
         [0026]     Turning now to  FIG. 6 , grate  26  supports different sized firelogs  32  and  32 ′, both of which are shown in phantom. It is preferable that elongate members  28  of grate accessory  26  are spaced to a width that is smaller than the width of the firelog  32 ′. In this manner, both elongate members  28  and connecting members  30  provide support for the firelog as it burns, thereby maximizing the time the log will burn without breaking and falling through the grate.  
         [0027]     Turning now to  FIGS. 7 and 8 , the detailed structure of a preferred grate accessory of the present invention can be appreciated. Elongate members  28  are preferably formed from round ½ inch diameter commercially available steel stock. While ½ inch is the preferred diameter, it is anticipated that smaller or larger diameters may be employed with satisfactory results. Preferably the diameter of the steel (or iron) used to form accessory  26  would be between ⅜ inch and ⅞ inch. Welded to elongate members  28  and spacing same apart are connecting members  30  (shown more closely in  FIG. 8 ), which are also formed of ½ inch diameter round steel.  
         [0028]     It is to be understood that the dimensions described herein with reference to  FIGS. 7 and 8  merely represent the preferred embodiment at the time this application was written. However, one of ordinary skill in the art may modify the dimensions and still achieve the desired result of increasing burn time of a synthetic log used on a conventional fireplace grate as depicted in  FIGS. 1-5 , or other conventional fireplace grates. Further, more than two connecting members  30  may be employed to connect the elongate members  28  of accessory  26 .  
         [0029]     The inventor of the present invention has conducted side-by-side comparison testing using identical synthetic firelogs on the same conventional fireplace grate, with and without grate accessory  26  of the present invention. Initial testing has shown that by using a grate accessory  26  as taught by the present invention, the burn time of a firelog is increased by at least 10 to 20 minutes, sometimes much longer. Further, the flames maintain their uniformity and attractiveness longer because the log is less prone to break apart.  
         [0030]     While this invention has been described as having an exemplary design, the present invention may be further modified within the spirit and scope of this disclosure. This application is therefore intended to cover any variations, uses, or adaptations of the invention using its general principles. Further, this application is intended to cover such departures from the present disclosure as come within known or customary practice in the art to which this invention pertains.