Device for lighting charcoal

Description

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The invention relates to an apparatus for igniting charcoal with the help of an inflammable sustainable material, especially a material based on wood

DESCRIPTION OF THE PRIOR ART

Different igniting aids are used for igniting charcoal, which consist either of an easily inflammable, fixed, pasty or liquid combustible or of a carrier impregnated with an easily inflammable combustible. The disadvantage in connection with such known igniting aids is that they form locally limited pockets of fire which produce individual nests of embers from which it is necessary to kindle a stock of embers which will then gradually include the entire charcoal. This mostly requires the use of blast air. An additional factor is that such igniting aids must meet respective requirements concerning the neutrality of taste and odor and the freedom of harmless effects concerning their use in connection with foodstuffs. Wood materials meet such requirements, but it is necessary to light the charcoal with the help of wood chips or slats because the wood material needs to be ignited first and with the use of the flames and the smoke gases the charcoal applied to the wood fire needs to be heated to inflammation temperature. Moreover, the igniting of charcoal into a uniform stock of embers with the help of a wood fire depends on the type of stacking of the wood and the employed wood quantity and thus on the skill and experience of a person igniting the wood fire.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The invention is thus based on the object of providing an apparatus for igniting charcoal of the kind mentioned above in such a way that a uniform stock of embers is achieved irrespective of the skill of a person igniting the charcoal, and this without having to use blast air.

This object is achieved by the invention by a cage receiving the charcoal which comprises a circumferential wall which is provided with pass-through openings and is made of the sustainable material.

Since as a result of this measure the material for igniting the charcoal forms a cage enclosing the charcoal, the charcoal to be lit is held together within the circumferential wall of the cage and is heated on all sides by the burning circumferential wall, with the pass-through openings in the circumferential wall ensure not only a favorable supply of combustion air for the lit cage, but also for the charcoal enclosed by the cage. The combustion of the circumferential wall of the cage leads to a bundling of the heat in the region of the charcoal enclosed by the cage, which ensures a stock of embers which penetrates the stacked charcoal in an even fashion without having to employ additional blast air. Since the quantity of charcoal to be used on the average is predetermined at least roughly by the receiving volume of the cage and the quantity of material used for forming the circumferential wall can be adjusted to this quantity of charcoal, very advantageous conditions for igniting the charcoal required for a barbequing process are obtained.

Although the basic shape of the cage is not relevant for the successful igniting of the charcoal, a cage is still recommended which comprises a circumferential wall with a polygonal configuration composed of straight walls because straight walls are generally easier to produce. Such walls can consist of boards into which the pass-through openings for the combustion air have been punched, drilled or milled. In order to avoid the waste entailed by the cutting of the pass-through holes, the walls of the circumferential walls of the cage can advantageously consist of rods which are spaced from one another and situated above one another and are made of a sustainable material, so that the pass-through openings between the rods are obtained automatically.

The joining of the rods into cage walls can occur in different ways, e.g. by fastening the rods to corner pillars. Especially simple constructional conditions are obtained in this connection when the ends of the rods of adjacent cage walls lie above one another in an alternating fashion and are joined with each other, so that the rods of the one wall act as spacers for the rods of the other wall. The stacked rod ends also ensure a sufficient cohesion of the cage during the igniting of the charcoal due to the larger quantity of combustible in the corner region.

Although the rods of adjacent cage walls can be joined to each other in the stacked end region in different ways, especially advantageous constructional conditions are obtained when the ends of the stacked rods are joined by penetrating wood dowels because in this case the joining means will also burn completely without residue. The wood dowels can be held in an interlocking manner in the receiving pass-through bores in the rods in order to avoid glued joints.

The cage principally does not require a floor if the cage is placed on a grating receiving the charcoal. A cage floor offers advantages however because prior to the burning of the cage floor the coal is held by the same. Such cages can therefore also form a packing unit together with the charcoal. To ensure that a simple and uncomplicated floor for the cage can be inserted, the cage can comprise a floor made of cardboard which in the case of a configuration of the cage walls made of rods is preferably held between the two lowermost layers of rods.

For igniting the cage receiving the charcoal, igniting aids can be used. In this connection the circumferential wall of the cage can be impregnated at least in sections with an easily flammable combustible, with wax being the obvious choice as a natural combustible. It is also possible that the cage carries igniting aids in its corner regions on the floor side, which igniting aids are impregnated with an easily inflammable combustible and consist of cotton strings which are saturated with wax. The circumferential wall will generally consist of wood. It is also advantageous to process other sustainable materials such as straw or reed, if respectively available.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The subject matter of the invention is shown in the drawings by way of example, wherein:

FIG. 1 shows an apparatus in accordance with the invention for igniting charcoal in a partly elevated, simplified side view, and

FIG. 2 shows the apparatus according to FIG. 1 in a top view.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

The illustrated apparatus consists according to the shown embodiment of a cage with a circumferential wall 1 which is square in its layout and comprises cage walls 2 and 3 which are opposite of each other in pairs. Said cage walls 2 and 3 are each composed of rods 4 made of sawn wooden laths which are spaced and arranged above one another. For this purpose the ends of the rods 4 of adjacent cage walls 2, 3 are situated alternating above one another, as is shown in FIG. 1. Wood dowels 5 are provided for joining the rods of adjacent walls 2, 3, which dowels penetrate the rods 4 in aligned pass-through bores 6. In order to avoid the use of glue, a non-positive fixing of the wood dowels 5 in the pass-through bores 6 is sufficient. The cage 1 is not under tension in the direction of the wood dowels 5.

A floor 9 made of cardboard is inserted between the two lowermost rod layers 7, 8, which floor is also penetrated by the wood dowels 6. The charcoal to be lit can thus be poured onto the floor 9 between the cage walls 2, 3 before the cage walls 2, 3 are lit.

Igniting aids 10 can be provided for igniting the cage walls 2, 3, which igniting aids can consist of a cotton string 11 which is saturated with wax and which is wrapped around corner pillars which are formed by the superimposed rod ends and is held together by twisting the string ends. A sufficiently even igniting of the circumferential wall 1 of the cage is ensured by igniting such igniting aids 10 in the region of all cage corners.

Another possibility for igniting the circumferential wall of the cage is to impregnate the rods 4 of the individual cage walls 2, 3 with an easily inflammable combustible such as wax, so that the rods 4 per se can be lit in an easy manner. A saturation of the lower rod layers would be sufficient in this case because the rising flames and smoke gases will ensure a rapid igniting of the upper rod layers.

As a result of the circumferential wall 1 which can be ignited on all sides, the charcoal stacked in the cage is heated from all sides, leading to the rapid formation of a stock of embers in the charcoal expanding over the entire layout of the cage without having to use blast air in addition. The combustion air is guided through the pass-through openings 12 to the expanding stock of embers in the charcoal, which pass-through openings are obtained between the stacked rods 4 of the individual walls 2, 3, so that there are favorable igniting conditions also within the circumferential wall 1.

It is understood that the invention is not limited to the illustrated embodiment because it is merely relevant to produce a cage with a circumferential wall forming pass-through openings for the combustion air, which wall is representative of a combustible sufficient for igniting the charcoal and consists of a sustainable, readily available material, as is formed especially by wood. The circumferential wall can also be made of other combustible materials such as straw or reed. It is merely necessary to take into account that the circumferential wall leads to a sufficient stock of combustible in order to ignite a quantity of charcoal into a stock of embers which is determined by the receiving volume of the cage. The contour of the cage does not play any role linked to the function, although a square layout ensures simple constructional conditions, especially when the walls are composed of individual rods.