Patent Publication Number: US-8967154-B2

Title: Briquette ignition device

Description:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
     The present invention concerns accessories for smoking implements. More particularly, the invention concerns a device for the ignition of a smoking briquette. 
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     Smoking tobacco and other smoking matter such as various herbs, spices, and other plant matter has been a tradition for centuries. Many devices have been developed to assist in the smoking of such smoking matter, including various types of pipes and hookahs. The main parts to a hookah include a bowl for the tobacco, a hollow tube providing an air passage between the bowl and a water jar, and a hose that provides an air passage from the water jar to the person smoking the hookah. Although smoking matter other than tobacco can be smoked, smoking tobacco is most common and will be referred to herein as the smoking matter, but it is to be understood that any suitable smoking matter can be used. Smoke is drawn from the burning tobacco in the bowl, down the hollow tube, into the water jar, and from the water jar through the hose to the smoker. 
     Burning briquettes are placed above the tobacco in the bowl to burn the tobacco. The briquettes can be made from wood, sawdust, or coconut, for example. Once the briquettes are ignited they continue to burn, smolder, and maintain an ember for a period of time. Whether in a home or at a public hookah bar, the briquettes are typically ignited over a stove at location remote from the hookah. Once the briquettes are ignited, they are removed from the stove with tongs and placed in a serving dish and transported to the hookah. Tongs are then used to remove the briquettes from the serving dish and place them over the tobacco in the hookah. This process is both inconvenient and possesses safety risks. The process of lighting the briquette requires supervision because leaving a briquette burning on a stove unattended creates a potential fire hazard. This means that someone has to be dedicated to the chore of lighting the briquette, using time and separating that person from others around the hookah. Further, removing burning, hot briquette from the stove and transporting it from the stove to the hookah creates a further hazard because the briquette could be dropped. 
     The present invention addresses these problems by providing a small, self contained briquette igniter that can be located close to the hookah. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     According to one aspect of the invention, an igniter for an incendiary briquette of a type suitable for smoking a smoking substance disposed in a bowl of a hookah includes a housing and defining an interior having a sidewall, a bottom wall, and a top opening providing access to the interior. An ignition source is disposed in the interior of the housing and supported by the bottom wall. The ignition source produces a flame. The device includes a removable tray for supporting the incendiary briquette. The tray has at least one heat transfer hole therein and is sized to be removably supported by the housing at a location above the flame of the ignition source, wherein heat from the flame flows upwardly through the heat transfer hole to cause a burning of the incendiary briquette. The tray is sized to seat above the bowl of the hookah so that heat from the burning briquette flows downwardly through the heat transfer hole to cause a burning of the smoking substance. 
     In a more particular, optional arrangement, the igniter further includes a lid movably supported relative to the sidewall of the housing. The lid is movable between an open state wherein the interior of the housing is accessible, and a closed state wherein the lid is disposed over the top opening of the housing. 
     In a further arrangement, the igniter the lid, the tray, and the sidewalls of the device provide a substantially air tight seal in the closed state, and wherein the sidewall of the housing includes an access hole sized to provide finger access to the ignition source and to restrict air flow into the interior of the housing so that the air flow is sufficient to maintain the flame of the ignition source prior to the burning of the incendiary briquette, and the air flow is sufficiently restricted such that upon the burning of the incendiary briquette the interior of the housing fills with smoke causing a self-extinguishing of the flame. 
     According to further optional arrangements, the sidewall of the housing includes an access hole sized and positioned to provide access by a finger to the ignition source. 
     In more particular, optional arrangements the tray includes a plurality of heat transfer holes. 
     In further, optional arrangements, a mesh is supported by tray so that the mesh extends across the plurality of heat transfer holes. 
     In yet a further, possible arrangement, the tray includes a single heat transfer hole. 
     According to further optional arrangements, a mesh is supported by tray so that the mesh extends across the single heat transfer hole. 
     In a further particular, possible arrangement, the tray includes a handle. 
     In further, optional arrangements, the handle is non-heat conducting. 
     In a more particular, possible aspect, the ignition source is a fuel and wick lighter. 
     In yet a further, possible arrangement, a sleeve is supported by the bottom wall in the interior of the housing, wherein the sleeve sized to receive the ignition source. 
     In further, optional arrangements, the ignition source is a candle. 
     In more particular, optional arrangements a grip member is supported by the sidewall of the housing. 
     In further, optional arrangements, the grip member is non-heat conducting. 
     According to further optional arrangements, a self-extinguishing igniter for an incendiary briquette of a type suitable for smoking a smoking substance disposed in a bowl of a hookah includes a chimney having walls defining an internal chamber. An ignition source is disposed within the chimney and supported thereby, the ignition source producing a flame. The igniter includes a removable tray for supporting the incendiary briquette. The tray has at least one heat transfer hole therein and is sized to be removably supported by the chimney at a location above the flame of the ignition source, so that heat from the flame flows upwardly through the heat transfer hole to cause a smoking of the incendiary briquette. A cover is movably disposed above the tray, wherein the cover, tray, and walls of the chimney provides a substantially air tight seal. The walls of the chimney include an access hole sized to provide finger access to the ignition source and to restrict air flow into the internal chamber of the chimney so that the air flow is sufficient to maintain the flame of the ignition source prior to a smoking of the incendiary briquette, and the air flow is sufficiently restricted such that upon a smoking of the incendiary briquette the internal chamber fills with smoke causing a self-extinguishing of the flame. 
     Various features, aspects and advantages of the invention can be appreciated from the following Description of Certain Embodiments of the Invention and the accompanying Drawing Figures. 
    
    
     
       DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING FIGURES 
         FIG. 1A  is an perspective view of an ignition device according to an embodiment of the invention; 
         FIG. 1B  is an exploded perspective view of the ignition device of  FIG. 1A ; 
         FIG. 2A  is cross-section view of a housing of the ignition device of  FIG. 1A ; 
         FIG. 2B  is an cross-section view of the ignition device of  FIG. 1A ; 
         FIG. 3  is cross-section view of a housing according to another embodiment of the invention; and 
         FIG. 4  is a side view of a tray of the ignition device of  FIG. 1A  seated on a bowl of a hookah. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF CERTAIN EMBODIMENTS OF THE INVENTION 
     By way of overview and introduction, the present invention is described in detail in connection with a portable, self-contained, compact igniter for a briquette. 
     In one implementation, referring to  FIGS. 1A and 1B , a briquette igniter  100  includes a housing  102 , a tray  104 , and a lid  106 . An ignition device  200  (e.g. a lighter) is housed within the housing  102 . 
     The housing  102  that defines an interior space and has a sidewall  108  and a bottom wall  110   112 . The housing  102  has a top opening  114  that provides access to the interior space  112  of the housing. The housing  102  is illustrated as being cylindrical in shape, but other shapes are contemplated. The housing  102  constitutes a chimney that allows for the burning of an incendiary briquette. The housing can be made from metal, ceramic, or other material. Ceramic or stoneware is preferred due to its ability to withstand high heat and non-flammable characteristics, its relatively low heat transfer rate (insulating), and relative low cost and easy to manufacture. 
     A shoulder  116  is formed on the interior side  118  of the sidewall  108  of the housing. The shoulder  116  removably seats the tray  104 , as can be seen in  FIG. 2B . Shoulder  116  is a ridge or lip in the sidewall  108  that holds the tray  104  above the lighter  200 . A cut-out or notch  120  is provided in the sidewall  108  of the housing to accommodate the handle  105  of the tray  104 . 
     The upper portion  122  of the sidewall  108  removably seats the lid  106 . The upper portion  122  can be formed with a lip that is complementarily shaped to seat the lid  106 . The lid  106  provides a closes the top opening  114  of the housing  102  when the lid  106  is seated on the upper portion  122 . Removing the lid  106  provides access to the interior  112  of the housing  102  through the top opening  114 . 
     The interior bottom portion  124  of the housing  102  is sized and shaped to receive the lighter  200 . As can be seen in  FIGS. 2A and 2B , the round shaped lighter  200  is received in the interior bottom portion  124  of the housing  124 . The lighter  200  is restricted from side-to-side movement. However, the lighter  200  can be removed and reinserted vertically into the interior bottom portion  124  so that the lighter can be replaced or refilled when it runs low on fuel. Thus, the interior bottom portion itself  124 , or a fingers supported in the interior  112  provides a sleeve into which the lighter can be inserted and held in place. The ignition source can also be a candle. 
     As can be seen in  FIG. 3 , alternatively the interior bottom portion  124   a  of the housing  102  has a rectangular shape and is sized and shaped to receive a rectangular shaped lighter (not shown). Accordingly, the interior bottom portion  124   a  provides a sleeve to receive conventional rectangular shaped flint and wick style lighters. Alternatively, the sleeve can comprise fingers as noted above. One common source for such a rectangular lighter is a windproof lighter sold under the brand name ZIPPO®, by the Zippo Manufacturing Company located in Bradford, Pa. The lighter is preferably of a type that once it is lit it continues to burn for a sufficient amount of time to ignite a briquette without requiring a user to further manipulate the lighter (e.g., once the wick is ignited, fuel is drawn from a reservoir through the wick for continued burning without further action from a user). 
     Referring to  FIGS. 1B and 2A , the housing  102  includes an access hole  126  is provided in the sidewall  104  of the housing  102 . The access hole  126  is sized and positioned so that a user&#39;s finger can access and operate the lighter  200  when the lighter  200  is seated in the sleeve  124 . The lighter can be positioned in the sleeve  124  at a 45 degree angle relative to the access hole  126  with the ignition control (e.g., flint wheel) angled toward the hole  126  so that it is easy to access and operate the lighter via the hole  126  (e.g., by passing a finger through the access hole to spin the flint wheel, thereby creating sparks that ignite fuel on the lighter wick and creates a flame). If the housing includes sleeve  124   a  for a rectangular lighter, the sleeve can be formed at a 45 degree angle relative to the access hole  126  so that the lighter is positioned at the 45 degree angle. 
     Referring to  FIG. 1B , the tray  104  includes a briquette holding portion  128  and a handle  105 . The tray  104  is preferably made from a heat resistant material having a low heat conductance. The briquette holding portion  128  of the tray includes a hole  132 . As can be seen in  FIG. 2   b , the briquette holding portion  128  and the hole  132  therein are sized and shaped so that a briquette  300  can be seated on the tray  104  with a portion of the briquette  300  disposed over the hole  132 . The hole  132  is a heat transfer hole that allows flame and heat that originates from an ingnition source (e.g. lighter  200 ) located below the tray  104  to pass through the hole  132  to the upper side of the tray  104 . The tray  104  is not limited to having a single hole and can have a plurality of holes. The plurality of holes allows heat to reach a briquette seated on an upper surface of the briquette holding portion of the tray. The tray can also include screen or mesh that extends of the hole(s) of the tray. The screen allows heat to pass through while providing a catch to prevent piece of briquette falling through the tray. 
     The lid  106  includes a plurality of holes  134  and a handle  136 , as shown in  FIGS. 1B and 2B . The holes  134  allow air to pass from the outside of the housing  102  to an interior of the hosing. The function of the holes  134  will be described in further detail below. The handle  136  permits a user to unseat and remove the lid  106  from the housing  102 . 
     The housing  102  includes a grip member or handle  138 . The handle  138  allows the briquette igniter  100  to be transported by a user. The handled is made of a material that does that has a low rate of heat transfer (e.g., ceramic) so that the handle does not become too hot to hold. 
     Referring now to  FIGS. 1B and 2B , an example of operation of the briquette igniter  100  is described. In order to initially set up the briquette igniter  100  for operation, the tray  104  and the lid  106  are removed from the housing  102  so that access to the interior  112  through the top opening  114  is provided. The lighter  200  is inserted through the top opening  114  of the housing and seated in the bottom portion  124  of the housing. 
     With the lighter  200  seated, the tray  104  is seated on the shoulder  116  of the housing with the tray handle  105  extending through the notch  120  in the housing. A briquette  300  is seated on the tray  104  and at least portion of the briquette disposed over the hole  132 . As can be seen in  FIG. 2B , the briquette  300  seats over and covers the hole  132 . Accordingly, air flow through the hole  132  is restricted because the briquette  300  seats over the hole and acts as a cover. The tray  104  seats with the shoulder  116  of the housing and the handle  105  of the tray seats with the notch  120  of the housing. When seated, air flow around the tray is restricted. Accordingly, the tray  104  and briquette  300  seated on the tray divide the interior of the housing into an upper portion  140  above the tray and a lower portion  142  below the tray. Air flow is restricted between the upper and lower portions  140 ,  142  such that the tray  104  and briquette  300  create a substantially air tight barrier between the upper and lower portions of the housing. 
     Once the tray  104  and briquette  300  are seated, the lid  106  is seated on upper edge  122  of the housing  102 . A user inserts a finger or other instrument through the access hole  126  so that the user can manipulate the lighter  200  such that it produces a flame (e.g., by rotating a flint strike wheel to ignite fuel on a wick). The lighter  200  is located below the tray  104  and briquette  300  so that the flame of the lighter  200  cause the briquette to heat up until the briquette ignites. Once the briquette ignites it produces smoke and the burning of the briquette consumes oxygen. Smoke (indicated by arrows in  FIG. 2B ) from the burning of the bottom portion of the briquette fills the lower portion  142  of the housing. The access hole  126  is sized so that enough air enters the lower portion  142  of the chamber to maintain the flame of the lighter  200  prior to ignition of the briquette, but once the briquette ignites the smoke fills the lower portion  142  and extinguishes the flame of the lighter  200 . The size of the access hole  126  and the production of smoke and consumption of oxygen caused by the ignition of the briquette create a self-extinguishing effect on the flame of the lighter. In one exemplary embodiment, the diameter of the access hole is about 1.5 inches and the diameter of the housing is about 3.2 inches. 
     Once the briquette  300  is burning, smoke escapes through the holes  134  in the lid  106  indicating that the briquette is ready to be used to smoke tobacco. The holes  134  also allow air to enter the upper portion  140  of the housing in order to maintain burning of the briquette. The lid  106  is removed from the housing  102  once the briquette is burning. Using the tray handle  105 , the tray  104  with the briquette  300  seated thereon are removed together, from the housing  102 . The tray  104  and briquette  300  can be safely transformed to and seated on a bowl  402  of a hookah  400 , as shown in  FIG. 4 . The heat from the burning briquette can pass through the hole  132  in the tray so that the tobacco in the bowl burns during smoking of the hookah. The tray  104  can also be tilted such that the briquette slides off the tray and is seated on the tobacco in the hookah or seated on foil that is over the tobacco. 
     Accordingly, the ignition device of the present invention provides an easy and safe way to ignite briquettes. The device is relatively small and portable so that the briquettes can be ignited in close proximity to the hookah where tobacco will be smoked. This eliminates the need to transport burning briquettes long distances between the point of ignition and the location of the smoking of the hookah. In addition, the tray  104  can be used to support the briquette during the igniting process in the ignition device and the same tray can be used to support the briquette in relation to the tobacco in the bowl during smoking. 
     While the invention has been described in connection with certain embodiments thereof, the invention is not limited to the described embodiments but rather is more broadly defined by the recitations in any claims that follow and equivalents thereof.