Improvements in or relating to Firelighters.
Year: 1893

page_text: Date of Application, 16th Nov., 1893
Complete Specification Left, 17th Sept., 1894-Accepted. 10th Nov., 1894
We,
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in or relating to Firelighters.
JAMES FLETCHER KEMPE and JOHN ALEXANDER
WYLIE
of
5 Harrington Street in the City of Liverpool, Gentleman and Accountant
respectively, do hereby declare the nature of this invention to be as follows:-
1
This invention has for its object a fire lighter formed of two varieties of
substances, first an exceedingly inflammable article which can be at once lit, and
secondly, a material such as wood which when lit, if properly arranged will keep
alight sufficiently to ignite the coal, thirdly, a fire lighter that under no
circumstances will stop up the draft.
Now a good number of fire lighters at the present time are flat on their base
consequently if they are laid on the bottom of the grate they are liable to stop up
a very considerable amount of the air space.
Now our fire lighter is so designed that it shall rest on two edges only and
consequently shall not impede to any appreciable extent the draught. It is
formed by making two blocks of the highly inflammable material and placing
two, three or more, preferably three, pieces of wood fixed on these blocks and to
extend from one block to the other but so arranged that no two sides of any of them
are in the same line but in whichever side they lie only the edges of each shall
rest on the bottom. The form of block which we prefer is a triangle, say an
isosceles triangle with its altitude rather higher than its base and having two
rectangular notches near the bottom of each side and a third rectangular notch in
place of the apex. When therefore the pieces of wood are placed in these notches
the top piece forins the apex of the original triangle but somewhat blunted and the
two side pieces form short projections on each side the tout-en-semble being
roughly a rectangle. The blocks are preferably made out of a warm mixture of
resin or pitch, sawdust, cork dust, turnings and the like, wax compounds, mineral
or other oils and napthalene, or of any of these according to their cheapness,
there being sufficient however of the solid and hard setting ingredients to make a
hard setting block when cold. The wood is preferably dipped in a hot mixture of
oils wax or other hot hydrocarbons so as to make it more inflammable. In some
instances we may do without the wood altogether forming a rough angular block
of the igniting composition. In such case however we prefer to put an extra
amount of wood cuttings sawdust, shavings or the like in the material, in fact as
much as we can work in, without the block falling to pieces with a slight knock.
Dated the 15th day of November 1893.
WM. P. THOMPSON & Co.,
Of 6, Lord Street, Liverpool, Patent Agents for the Applicants.
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in or relating to Firelighters.
We, JAMES FLETCHER KEMPE and JOHN ALEXANDER WYLIE of
5 Harrington Street, in the City of Liverpool, Gentleman and Accountant
respectively, do hereby declare the nature of this invention and in what manner
the same is to be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and
by the following statement :-
This invention has for its object a fire lighter formed of two varieties of

page_text: substances, first, an exceedingly inflammable material which can be at once lit,
Becondly, a material such as wood which when lit if the draught be properly
arranged will keep alight sufficiently to ignite the coal, thirdly, a fire lighter which
under no ordinary circumstances will stop up the draugut. Most firelighters at
the present time are so constructed that they will lie flat on their base, consequently
if they are laid on the bottom of the grate, they are liable to stop up a very
considerable amount of air space. Now our fire lighter is so designed that it shall
rest on two edges only, and consequently shall not impede to any appreciable extent
the draught.
The invention is best described by aid of the accompanying drawings in which
Fig. 1 is a perspective view of a firelighter, and Fig. 2 a cross section.
In these A A are two blocks of highly inflammable material which when hot is
plastic; such a material may be made of resin and sawdust. B B are strips of
wood with their ends embedded in the end piece A while these latter are in a
plastic state, and are preferably so placed that no two sides of any of these strips
of wood are in the same plane, so that whichever side the firelighter lies upon, an
edge only of each of the two or more pieces of wood shall rest on the bottom
instead of the sides resting on it. We can however use only two or even one chip
with the end pieces projecting.
The form of block we prefer is that shown in the drawings, namely, a triangular
one, say an isosceles triangle with its altitude rather higher than the base, and
having two rectangular notches near the bottom at each side and a third rectangular
notch in the place of the apex, the ends of the pieces of wood being pressed therein.
If only two pieces of wood are used they are preferably inclined to each other.
The blocks are preferably stamped out to substantially the right shape from a
warm mixture of (a) resin or pitch, (b) saw-dust, cork-dust, turnings, and the like,
(c) waxy compounds, mineral or other oils, naphthalene, or any of these according
to their cheapness, there being sufficient however of the solid and hard setting
ingredients to make a hard setting block when cold. The following is a good
recipe, rosin 55 parts, saw-dust (coarse pitch pine) 27, cork dust 17-98, petroleum 02.
The wood is preferably dipped in a hot mixture of oils, wax or other hot
hydrocarbons so as to make it more inflammable.
In some instances we do without the wood altogether forming the rough angular
block, and the cross pieces of the igniting composition. In such cases however we
prefer to put an extra amount of wood cuttings, sawdust, shavings or the like into
the material, in fact as much as we can work into it without the block falling to
pieces with a slight knock.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of our said inven-
tion, and in what manner the same is to be performed, we declare that what
we claim is :-
-
1. The manufacture of fire lighters consisting of wood strips separated from
each other but with composition ends uniting the same without the use of wire,
nails or the like.
2. A fire lighter formed of wood fitted into end pieces preferably of inflammable
composition such as described in such manner that the fire lighter can only stand
on its end or ends, or on the edges of the wood instead of on their sides.
3. The herein firelighter, substantially as described and illustrated.
WM. P. THOMPSON & Co.,
Of Liverpool, Manchester, Birmingham, Nottingham, and London,
Patent Agents for Applicants.