Patent ID: 7866311

Claim:
An igniter for solid cooking fuels, the igniter comprising a body, comprising: a shell that defines an internal compartment having at least one inlet and an outlet; an air-permeable partition that separates the internal compartment into fluidly connected upper and lower chambers, wherein the partition is adapted to support a quantity of a solid cooking fuel within the upper chamber, and further wherein the at least one inlet includes at least a forced-air inlet, which is adapted to deliver a positive airflow to the lower chamber, and an environmental-air inlet, which is adapted to permit air from external the igniter to flow naturally into the lower chamber; and further wherein the lower chamber is adapted to receive a quantity of a starting fuel; a closure adapted to selectively obstruct at least a substantial portion of the environmental-air inlet; wherein the closure is configured for movement relative to the shell between a closed position, in which the closure at least substantially obstructs air from flowing through the environmental-air inlet, and an open position, in which the closure does not at least substantially obstruct air from flowing through the environmental-air inlet; wherein the shell includes a bottom region; wherein the bottom region defines the environmental-air inlet; and further wherein the closure forms a base upon which the shell is supported when the closure is in the closed position; and a handle extending from the shell, the handle comprising: a grip sized to be grasped in a user's hand for moving the igniter; at least one linkage interconnecting the grip with the shell; and an air delivery mechanism adapted to be selectively actuated to provide the positive airflow to the lower chamber through the forced-air inlet to promote combustion of the starting fuel and the cooking fuel, wherein the air delivery mechanism comprises: an air propulsion source adapted to generate the positive airflow from air external the igniter; a drive assembly adapted to selectively actuate the air propulsion source; and an actuator adapted to initiate actuation of the air propulsion source by the drive assembly responsive to receipt of a user input.