AU2020100583A4

AU2020100583A4 - A burner

Info

Publication number: AU2020100583A4
Application number: AU2020100583A
Authority: AU
Inventors: Jeffrey Bland
Original assignee: Levendale Ridge Pty Ltd
Current assignee: Levendale Ridge Pty Ltd
Priority date: 2020-02-07
Filing date: 2020-02-07
Publication date: 2020-05-28
Anticipated expiration: 2028-02-07

Abstract

A burner 1 comprising a container 3, 5 for enclosing a volume of material. The material is incombustible and is absorbent to absorb fuel. The container comprises holes to communicate the fuel with atmosphere. The holes are dimensioned to 5 retain the material.

Description

A BURNER

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The invention relates to a burner.

BACKGROUND TO THE INVENTION

Humans have utilised fire for a wide range of purposes for millennia. As such, a vast array of related technologies have been developed.

Wood fires have long been used, e.g. for heating and cooking or simply for ornamental effect. Lighting a wood fire can be challenging. Modern firelighters comprise small blocks of solid fuel that are easily ignited (e.g. with a match) and burn steadily long enough to ignite the wood which then becomes the primary fuel source.

Such firelighters can be costly, inconvenient and smelly. Often they are kerosene based and thus give off a foul odor as they burn.

Liquid fuels such as methylated spirits are often more easily ignited than solid fuels such as wood and can be cost effective and convenient in some contexts. By way of example, hikers sometimes carry a stove marketed under the trade mark TRANGIA™ along with a bottle of methylated spirits. The stove comprises an upwardly open vessel into and in which methylated spirits is poured and ignited. Whilst popular, such stoves are not without their drawbacks. The liquid fuel is at risk of rapidly spreading fire (and thus potentially causing injury and/or property damage) if it is splashed out of the upwardly open vessel and/or that vessel is tipped over.

As detailed in Australian patent no. 2016101486, the present inventor has previously developed a firelighter in the form of a block of vermiculite. Vermiculite is used as a sponge to absorb an accelerant. The block of vermiculite, wet with accelerant, can then be used as firelighter. To recharge the block, it is placed in the accelerant for a minimum of 30 minutes to absorb enough accelerant to burn for about 10 minutes. The vermiculite is reusable although over time it tends to degrade and break up.

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Furthermore, like the conventional firelighter blocks, there is no convenient method for extinguishing these vermiculite blocks.

The present invention aims to provide improvements in and for burners and burning or at least provide an alternative for those concerned with such things.

SUMMARY

One aspect of the invention provides a burner comprising a container for enclosing a volume of material;

wherein the material is incombustible and is absorbent to absorb fuel;

the container comprises holes to communicate the fuel with atmosphere; and the holes are dimensioned to retain the material.

The container preferably comprises a base for cupping the material. The base is preferably impermeable. Optionally, the base is at least predominantly an integral body of material. The burner may comprise a screen portion above the base and defining the holes, which screen portion is preferably at least predominantly an integral body of material.

The burner preferably comprises support portions positioned above the holes to support above, and space from, the holes an object to heated.

In some variants, the screen portion spans a horizontal area and the burner comprises support portions positioned above the holes to support over the area, and space from the holes, an object to heated.

The burner preferably comprises an impermeable cover for covering the holes to extinguish the burner. In variants comprising a base the cover is preferably configured to engage the base for transport and storage of the burner. Optionally the cover is at least predominantly an integral body of material.

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The burner is preferably dimensioned to, when viewed in plan, occupy an area of not more than 32,000 mm². Optionally the burner is dimensioned to, when viewed in plan, occupy an area of not less than 1,900 mm². The burner is preferably not more than 200 mm high.

The container may be at least predominantly metallic. The material may be loose material, in which case it is preferably dimensioned so that it is capable of passing through a screen comprising 15 mm, or preferably 10 mm, openings; e.g. it may have a size distribution substantially corresponding screenings in the range of 2 mm to mm. Most preferably the loose material is 3 mm screenings (or is otherwise formed 10 to have substantially that size distribution). The burner may comprise the material.

The material may be vermiculite. The burner may comprise the fuel. The fuel may be methylated spirits.

Another aspect of the invention provides the use of the burner to light a solid fuel fire.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

Figure 1 is a perspective view of a burner in its open configuration; and

Figure 2 is a perspective view of the burner of Figure 1 in its closed configuration.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The burner 1 comprises a base 3 in the form of an upwardly open cup. The top of the base is spanned by a screen member 5. The screen member 5 takes the form of a 20 downwardly open cup configured to mate with a base 3 to enclose a volume of absorbent material. The absorbent material is preferably loose material, although a solid block of absorbent material is also possible. The absorbent material is incombustible. Vermiculite is a preferred option, although perlite and asbestos are other possibilities.

The screen member 5 consists of a single integral body of material. ‘Integral’ and variants of that terminology are used herein in their conventional sense to refer to a single continuous body of material such that two bodies may be integrated by

P1683AU00 welding but not by conventional adhesives or mechanical fastening. In this case the screen member 5 consists of perforated metal. The holes of the screen member 5 serve to communicate the fuel within the burner 1 with the atmosphere to facilitate combustion but are small enough to retain the absorbent material.

In this example, the base 3 is impermeable. Preferably, the base 3 is filled with loose material and then liquid fuel is added. Preferably the quantity of liquid fuel added is selected to be not more than about the capacity of the loose material to absorb so that at least a vast majority of the liquid fuel is soaked up by the absorbent material and minimal free liquid is left within the base 3. In this way, the risk of fire being spread is much reduced relative to a typical TRANGIA™ stove.

Furthermore, the screen member 5 protects fuel soaked absorbent material from falling debris whereby the burner 1 can be safely used as a firelighter to start a wood fire where a TRANGIA™ stove could not.

The screen member 5 also works to hold the flame resulting in a controlled distribution of flame across its top, and to shield the absorbent material from the wind whereby the burner 1 is wind resistant.

Whilst the base 3 and the screen member 5 together define a container having impermeable lower portions, such a container may be formed in other ways and entirely different options are possible. By way of example, the container might simply be a cage. Such an option might be usefully employed in contexts (e.g. such as lighting a campfire) where drips from the loose material are not problematic.

The burner 1 further comprises a cover in the form of lid 7 which is impermeable and has a downwardly open cup-like form dimensioned to fit over the screen member 5 and engage with the base 3 to isolate the absorbent material from atmosphere and thereby extinguish the fire. Alternatively, the cover might take the form of a wet rag.

The lid 7 (or other form of cover) is preferably configured to engage with the base member 2 to at least impede the escape of fuel. In this example the base 3 and lid 7 are pressed metal components configured for a snug fit whereby the burner 1

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2020100583 07 Feb 2020 complete with wet absorbent material can be carried in its upright configuration without leaking fuel. Advantageously a more secure sealing arrangement might be added to enable the inoperative burner complete with wet absorbent material to be safely carried without regard to its orientation. By way of example, the components 3, 5 7 may be equipped with an O-ring and complementary threads which are engaged to screw the components together and compress the O-ring. The O-ring might be removable so that it doesn't have to be capable of withstanding fire.

Whilst methylated spirits has been mentioned as the preferred fuel, any convenient liquid fuel (e.g. ethanol or other alcohol, paraffin, diesel or kerosene) might be used.

When used as a firelighter to light a solid fuel fire, the burner (without its cover) can be simply left in place until the fire has died down. The solid fuel might be, by way of example, wood, charcoal or a proprietary product such as the pelletised product marketed under the trade mark HEAT BEADS™. Once the coals have cooled, the burner 1 can be removed and the cold combustion products (e.g. wood ash) removed from the burner (e.g. by simply brushing over the top). The burner might be inverted and shaken to discard solid combustion products that have found their way downwardly through the screen member 5, although typically in practice these combustion products can be left in place with difficulty.

The burner 1 can be recharged with liquid fuel and reused. In this way, the burner 1 20 can utilise relatively inexpensive liquid fuel to replace conventional firelighter blocks.

Advantageous variants of the burner 1 are compact, e.g. to sit conveniently at the bottom of a wood fire. Preferably the burner 1 is dimensioned to, when viewed in plan, occupy an area of not more than 32,000 mm². This corresponds to a diameter of about 200 mm, although of course non-circular shapes are possible. More preferably, the burner is dimensioned to, when viewed in plan, occupy an area of not more than 18,000 mm² (corresponding to a diameter of about 150 mm). A diameter of about 50 mm, corresponding to an occupied area of 1,900 mm², is regarded as a practical minimum for lighting a wood fire utilising methylated spirits.

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Preferably, the burner is not more than 100 mm high. Most preferably the burner, with its cover removed, is wider than it is tall for stability. The burner 1 has a form approximating a squat upright cylinder with a diameter of about 112 mm and a height of about 75 mm. The base is about 50 mm high and has an internal diameter of about 108 mm and thereby defines a cavity in the vicinity of 460 ml. Preferably the base is filled with the preferred 3 mm size vermiculite nearly to its brim in which case:

• about one cup (250 ml) of methylated spirits is a convenient amount to add;

• about 290 ml is a preferred maximum and substantially corresponds to the absorbency of the vermiculite; and · 100 ml is a preferred minimum.

When charged with about 1 cup of methylated spirits, the burner 1 can burn for more than 45 minutes without giving off an offensive smell or emitting noticeable smoke. Thus preferred variants of the burner 1 are clean burning and more environmentally friendly than various other options.

After the burner has been used and removed from the cold coals, and the ash has been blown away, the burner can be simply recharged with methylated spirits and is then ready for use again. The loose vermiculite can absorb this fuel almost instantaneously whereby the half hour soaking time associated with larger blocks of vermiculite is not required.

The burner 1 may be employed for purposes other than lighting fires, e.g. it may be used for cooking or simply for its ornamental value.

The burner 1 comprises three spigots 9 upwardly projecting from, and spaced around, the screen member 5. The spigots 9 are support portions for supporting the planar base of a cooking vessel (or other item to be heated) above and clear of the 25 holes at the centre of the screen member 5. Of course, the support portions could take a variety of form and, for the avoidance of doubt, a single long support structure (e.g. an S-shaped feature on top of the screen member 5) may define an infinity of support portions to stably support an object.

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Whilst various preferred variants and exemplary features are disclosed herein, the invention is not limited to these variants or features. Rather the invention is defined by the claims.

The term ‘comprises’ and its grammatical variants has a meaning that is determined 5 by the context in which it appears. Accordingly, the term should not be interpreted exhaustively unless the context dictates so.

Claims

1. A burner comprising a container for enclosing a volume of material;

wherein the material is incombustible and is absorbent to absorb fuel;

5 the container comprises holes to communicate the fuel with atmosphere; and the holes are dimensioned to retain the material.

2. The burner of claim 1 wherein the container comprises a base for cupping the material.

3. The burner of claim 2 wherein the base is impermeable.

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4. The burner of claim 2 or 3 wherein the base is at least predominantly an integral body of material.

5. The burner of any one of claims 2 to 4 comprising a screen portion above the base and defining the holes.

6. The burner of claim 5 wherein the screen portion is at least predominantly an

15 integral body of material.

7. The burner of claim 5 or 6 wherein the screen portion spans a horizontal area and the burner comprises support portions positioned above the holes to support over the area, and space from the holes, an object to heated.

8. The burner of any one of claims 2 to 7 comprising an impermeable cover for

20 covering the holes to extinguish the burner; and wherein the cover is configured to engage the base for transport and storage of the burner.

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9. The burner of any one of claims 1 to 7 comprising an impermeable cover for covering the holes to extinguish the burner.

10. The burner of claim 8 or 9 wherein the cover is at least predominantly an integral body of material.

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11. The burner of any one of claims 1 to 6 comprising support portions positioned above the holes to support above, and space from, the holes an object to heated.

12. The burner of any one of claims 1 to 11 dimensioned to, when viewed in plan, occupy an area of not more than 32,000 mm².

13. The burner of any one of claims 1 to 12 dimensioned to, when viewed in plan, 10 occupy an area of not less than 1,900 mm².

14. The burner of any one of claims 1 to 13 being not more than 200 mm high.

15. The burner of any one of claim 1 to 14 wherein the container is at least predominantly metallic.

16. The burner of any one of claims 1 to 15 wherein the material is loose material.

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17. The burner of claim 16 wherein the material has a size distribution substantially corresponding 4 mm screenings.

18. The burner of any of claims 1 to 17 comprising the material.

19. The burner of claim 18 wherein the material is vermiculite.

20. The burner of any one of claims 1 to 19 comprising the fuel and wherein the fuel 20 is methylated spirits.

21. The use of the burner of any one of claims 1 to 20 to light a solid fuel fire.