Patent Publication Number: US-2007119444-A1

Title: Charcoal gas lighter

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
      The present invention relates to a charcoal gas lighter. More particularly, this invention relates to a charcoal gas lighter that utilizes a commonly used gas burner so that efforts and fuel required to start the charcoal can be substantially reduced.  
      Briquettes of charcoal are widely used to barbecue due to their unique flavor and long standing heating fire. Charcoal is inherently not easy to light. That is, it is not easy to start fire on briquettes of charcoal. While some expensive briquettes contain volatile materials included in them in the manufacturing process to facilitate lighting by a match, etc, most briquettes require pouring light fluid onto the briquettes and igniting the fluid to light the briquettes of charcoal. This is a very inconvenient procedure involving unpleasant fumes and risk. Also the price of the lighter fluid and caution required to handle the lighter fluid have bothered many people who enjoy barbecue cooked with charcoal.  
      An economic, safe and convenient device for lighting briquettes of charcoal has long been in need.  
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
      The present invention contrives to solve the disadvantages of the prior art.  
      An objective of the invention is to provide a simple and convenient device for lighting briquettes of charcoal.  
      Another objective of the invention is to provide a charcoal lighting device that is easy and safe to operate.  
      Still another objective of the invention is to provide a charcoal lighting device that uses less fuel to light briquettes of charcoal.  
      In order to achieve the above objects, the present invention provides a charcoal gas lighter that includes a fire basket, a mesh plate and a gas burner. The fire basket is for containing briquettes of charcoal. The fire basket includes a charcoal container having an upper end and a lower end. The upper end and lower end are open to allow air to pass through the charcoal container.  
      The mesh plate is attached near the lower end of the charcoal container. The mesh plate is adapted to support the briquettes of charcoal.  
      The gas burner supports the fire basket. Heat generated by the gas burner is guided into the fire basket so that the briquettes of charcoal are lighted.  
      The fire basket further includes a handle attached to the charcoal container, a heat block plate that is provided between the charcoal container and the handle, and one or more brackets. The handle includes a plurality of grooves that are adapted to fit with fingers of a user. The handle is attached to the charcoal container with the brackets, and the heat block plate is fixed to the brackets.  
      The charcoal container includes a substantially cylindrical wall. The brackets are fixed to the cylindrical wall, and the heat block plate is substantially rectangular. Preferably, the charcoal container has a diameter ranging from about 7 inch to 11 inch, and a height ranging from about 8 inch to 12 inch.  
      A plurality of holes are provided on the cylindrical wall so that air for burning the briquettes of charcoal may be provided through the holes in addition to the air provided through the open lower end of the charcoal container.  
      The charcoal container is partially inserted into the gas burner. In detail, the cylindrical wall includes a first circular protrusion near the lower end of the charcoal container. The gas burner includes a burner body, and the burner body includes a substantially cylindrical wall, an upper end and a lower end. The upper and the lower end of the burner body are open. The lower end of the charcoal container is inserted into the gas burner. The first circular protrusion of the charcoal container abuts with the upper end of the burner body.  
      The gas burner further includes three or more detachable legs. The cylindrical wall of the charcoal container further includes a second circular protrusion near the upper end of the charcoal container.  
      The mesh plate includes a plurality of concentric rings, and a plurality of radial spokes that connect the concentric rings. The mesh plate is cone-shaped, and the mesh plate is positioned inside the charcoal container. The apex of the mesh plate is directed away from the lower end of the charcoal container.  
      The gas burner further includes a grill that is adapted to be placed on the upper end of the burner body. The grill is used for supporting cookware when the gas burner is used for cooking rather than lighting charcoal. The grill includes two orthogonally connected grill bars. Each of the grill bars comprises two recesses, into which the cylindrical wall of the burner body is inserted.  
      The advantages of the present invention are: (1) the charcoal gas lighter provides a safe and convenient way of lighting charcoal; (2) the charcoal gas lighter is economical since it uses less fuel compared to prior art method or devices; and (3) the charcoal gas lighter is versatile since it can be used as a gas cooker also.  
      Although the present invention is briefly summarized, the fuller understanding of the invention can be obtained by the following drawings, detailed description and appended claims. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
      These and other features, aspects and advantages of the present invention will become better understood with reference to the accompanying drawings, wherein:  
       FIG. 1  is an exploded perspective view showing a charcoal gas lighter of the present invention;  
       FIG. 2  is a front elevation view of the charcoal gas lighter and shows that a fire basket is assembled with a gas burner;  
       FIG. 3  is a perspective view of a mesh plate that is adapted to be placed inside the fire basket;  
       FIG. 4  is a perspective view of a grill that may be used instead of the fire basket;  
       FIG. 5  is a plan view of the fire basket;  
       FIG. 6  is a plan view of the gas burner;  
       FIG. 7  is a perspective view showing another fire basket with different air intake holes; and  
       FIG. 8  is a plan view the fire basket of  FIG. 7 . 
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION  
       FIGS. 1 and 2  show a charcoal gas lighter  10  that includes a fire basket  12 , a mesh plate  14  and a gas burner  16 . The fire basket  12  is for containing briquettes of charcoal. The fire basket  12  includes a charcoal container  18  having an upper end  20  and a lower end  22 . The upper end  20  and lower end  22  are open to allow air to pass through the charcoal container  18 .  
      As shown well in  FIG. 1 , the mesh plate  14  is attached near the lower end  22  of the charcoal container  18 . The mesh plate  14  is adapted to support the briquettes of charcoal in a way to allow free passage of air into the charcoal container  18  while supporting the briquettes so that they do not fall through the mesh plate  14 .  
      The gas burner  16  supports the fire basket  12 . Heat generated by the gas burner  16  is guided into the fire basket  12  so that the briquettes of charcoal are lighted.  FIG. 3  shows that the fire basket  12  is assembled on top of the gas burner  16  so that the heat generated by the gas burner  16  is concentrated onto the briquettes of charcoal in the fire basket  12 .  
      The fire basket  12  further includes a handle  24  attached to the charcoal container  18 , a heat block plate  26  that is provided between the charcoal container  18  and the handle  24 , and two brackets  28 . The handle includes a plurality of grooves  30  that are adapted to fit with fingers of a user. The handle  24  is attached to the charcoal container  18  with the brackets  28 , and the heat block plate  26  is fixed to the brackets  28 . The handle  24  and the heat block plate  26  are made of heat-insulating material such as plastic and facilitate handling of the fire basket  12  containing hot lighted charcoal.  
      The charcoal container  18  includes a substantially cylindrical wall  32 . The brackets  28  are fixed to the cylindrical wall  32 , and the heat block plate  26  is substantially rectangular. Preferably, the charcoal container  18  has a diameter ranging from about 7 inch to 11 inch, and a height ranging from about 8 inch to 12 inch. More preferably, the charcoal container  18  has a diameter of about 9 inch, and a height of about 10 inch. These dimensions provide an optimal size for lighting the amount of charcoal commonly used.  
      A plurality of holes  34  are provided on the cylindrical wall  32  so that air for burning the briquettes of charcoal may be provided through the holes  34  in addition to the air provided through the open lower end  22  of the charcoal container  18 .  
      The charcoal container  18  is partially inserted into the gas burner  16 . In detail, the cylindrical wall  32  includes a first circular protrusion  36  near the lower end  22  of the charcoal container  18 . The gas burner  16  includes a burner body  38 , and the burner body  38  includes a substantially cylindrical wall  40 , an upper end  42  and a lower end  44 . The upper end  42  and the lower end  44  of the burner body  38  are open. The lower end  44  of the charcoal container  18  is inserted into the gas burner  16 . The first circular protrusion  36  of the charcoal container  18  abuts with the upper end  42  of the burner body  38 . This scheme provides stable support of the fire basket  12  and prevents loss of heat generated by the gas burner  16 .  
      The gas burner  16  further includes three detachable legs  46 , a gas container  62 , a gas regulator  64 , a burner head  66  and a gas pipe  68 . The legs  46  are attached on the cylindrical wall  32  using holes (not shown) provided on the cylindrical wall. The cylindrical wall  32  of the charcoal container  18  further includes a second circular protrusion  48  near the upper end  20  of the charcoal container  18 . This adds to the structural rigidity of the charcoal container  18 .  
      As shown in  FIG. 3 , the mesh plate  14  includes a plurality of concentric rings  50 , and a plurality of radial spokes  52  that connect the concentric rings  50 . The mesh plate  14  is cone-shaped, and the mesh plate  14  is positioned inside the charcoal container  18 . The apex of the mesh plate  14  is directed away from the lower end  22  of the charcoal container  18 . This scheme provides effective distribution of heat from the burner head  66  to the briquettes of charcoal contained in the fire basket  12 .  
      As shown in  FIGS. 4 and 6 , the gas burner  16  further includes a grill  56  that is adapted to be placed on the upper end  42  of the burner body  38 . The grill  56  is used for supporting cookware when the gas burner  16  is used for cooking rather than lighting charcoal. The grill  56  includes two orthogonally connected grill bars  58 . Each of the grill bars  58  comprises two recesses  60 , into which the cylindrical wall  40  of the burner body  38  is inserted.  
       FIG. 5  shows the fire basket  12  viewed from the above, with the mesh plate  14  placed in it.  
      In this embodiment, the charcoal gas lighter  10  uses a standard 16.4 oz (small bottle) propane gas container as the gas container  64 . Operation of the charcoal gas lighter  10  is explained below.  
      1) Proper amount of briquettes of charcoal are poured into the fire basket  12 .  
      2) The gas burner  16  is started by turning on the gas regulator  64 , and the fire basket  12  is placed on the gas burner  16 .  
      3) Smoke is generated from about 5 to about 7 minutes, while the briquettes are lighted.  
      4) When there is no more smoke, the gas regulator  64  is turned off.  
      5) Even though the gas burner  16  is turned off, and no heat is transferred from the gas burner to the fire basket  12 , since the briquettes positioned in lower part of the fire basket  12  has been lighted, the heat from the burning briquettes heat and light the briquettes in the upper part of the fire basket  12 .  
      6) Burning the briquettes for additional 7˜8 minutes after turning off the gas burner  16  changes the surface color of the briquettes to ash state, which is adequate for barbecue. Then a user moves the lighted briquettes from the fire basket  12  to a barbecue grill.  
      7) Depending on situations, the gas burner  16  may be used as an ordinary cooking burner by putting the grill  56  instead of the fire basket  12  on the gas burner  16 .  
      The charcoal gas lighter  10  of the present invention consumes about 0.82 oz of gas to light 5 lb of briquettes of charcoal. Therefore, it is possible to use one 16.4 oz propane gas container for lighting charcoal 20 times. Since the price of a 16.4 oz container is about $3.00, and the cost for lighting a single load of briquettes is about $0.15.  
      In comparison, with the conventional charcoal lighter fluid, about 1.6 FL oz of the fluid is consumed to light 1 lb of briquettes, and about 8 FL oz is required for 5 lb of briquettes. Since the common 64 FL oz lighter fluid costs about $4.20, the 64 FL oz fluid may be used 8 times, and the cost per lighting a single load of briquettes is about $0.525.  
      Therefore, the charcoal gas lighter is much more economical than prior art.  
       FIGS. 7 and 8  show a fire basket  70  having holes  72  for air intake. The holes  72  are recessed into the fire basket  70 . Each of the holes  72  may be formed by cutting a line segment on the cylindrical wall  32  of the fire basket  70 , and pressing the sheet metal below the cut line segment into the inner space of the fire basket  70 . The recessed holes  72  facilitate intake of air so that the lighting of charcoal may be more effectively performed.  
      While the invention has been shown and described with reference to different embodiments thereof, it will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that variations in form, detail, compositions and operation may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as defined by the accompanying claims.