US20070044376A1

US20070044376A1 - Environment-friendly fire starter

Info

Publication number: US20070044376A1
Application number: US11/214,530
Authority: US
Inventors: Kim Monin
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 2005-08-29
Filing date: 2005-08-29
Publication date: 2007-03-01

Abstract

In accordance with one aspect of the present invention, there is provided an all-natural fire starter comprising a natural article impregnated with a natural, inflammable agent. In accordance with another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method for making an all-natural fire starter, comprising the steps of liquidifying a natural, inflammable agent; impregnating a natural article with the liquidified agent; solidifying the agent.

Description

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

Not applicable

STATEMENT REGARDING FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH OR DEVELOPMENT

Not applicable.

REFERENCE TO A “SEQUENCE LISTING”

Not applicable.

FIELD OF INVENTION

The invention relates to fire starters and, in particular, it relates to easily ignited, environment-friendly fire starters used as igniters for other long burning materials.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The method of igniting a hard-to-light, long-burning article by placing it in the vicinity of an easy-to-light article and igniting the easy-to-light article as a primer for the hard-to-light article has heretofore been existant for sometime.
A preliminary way of implementing this method is to pour a highly inflammable liquid over the hard-to-light, long-burning article and ignite the inflammable liquid. The major drawbacks of this method all relate to the tendency of causing accidental fires: (1) It is not uncommon for fires started in such manner to “flash back” into the inflammable liquid container causing it to explode. (2) Liquids are prone to spillage; therefore, pouring a liquid over an area to be set on fire could prove dangerous since the liquid might spill to other areas that are not intended to be lit setting said other areas on fire. This is exceptionally unsafe when utilized during camping or hunting trips in wooded areas. (3) Most highly inflammable liquids are combustible, which makes their storage problematic.
A considerable advance in respect of this conventional method is represented by the introduction of “fire starters.” (Although the inflammable liquid of the aforementioned method is considered to be a fire starter, the term “fire starter” is used hereinafter in the sense of “manufactured fire starters.”) Fire starters usually consist of inflammable materials assembled in a way to avoid and overcome the above-discussed problems. The fire starter is usually placed adjacent to the hard-to-light, long-burning article and ignited for use as an igniter for the hard-to-light article.
However, known fire starters include the use of inflammable materials that harm the environment—prior to or after lighting. This limitation is not acceptable in today's world: it is not condoned and is often frowned upon.
Also, most known fire starters require the use of multiple agents and materials, and more importantly, are not very easy to manufacture.
Further, many of these fire starters use chemical materials that should not be used in starting fires to be used for cooking due to health issues.
Therefore, there exists a need for a safe, water repellent, environment-friendly, easy-to-manufacture fire starter that is also suitable for starting cooking fires. The present invention provides that.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

In accordance with one aspect of the present invention, there is provided an all-natural fire starter comprising a natural article impregnated with a natural, inflammable agent.
In accordance with another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method for making an all-natural fire starter, comprising the steps of liquidifying a natural, inflammable agent; impregnating a natural article with the liquidified agent; solidifying the agent.
An advantage of the present invention is that it provides an all-natural, environment-friendly, easy-to-manufacture fire starter and method of making the same. Other advantages will suggest themselves to those skilled in the art.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

The following description describes only preferred embodiments of the present invention. Various modifications might be apparent to those skilled in the art without departing from the scope of the present invention, which is only limited by the appended claims. Therefore, the embodiments described are only illustrative, not restrictive.
To avoid any confusion, the word “inflammable” needs to be defined. It is not uncommon for people to use the word “flammable” to mean “readily combustible.” Further, certain people might be thrown off by the “in-” in the word “inflammable” to think that it means “not combustible.” It will be generally understood that the term “inflammable” as used hereinafter is used in the dictionary sense and means “readily combustible.”
Although there exists many natural, inflammable materials that do not harm the environment when burned (all of which could be used for the purpose of the present invention), in the preferred embodiment, beeswax, preferably 100%, and water repellent, or a product directly derived therefrom, is chosen as the inflammable agent used to make an all-natural, environment-friendly fire starter. It is also noted that paraffin could be used in some embodiments.
A natural article is impregnated with liquid beeswax and allowed enough time and appropriate environmental conditions—appropriate temperature—for the liquid beeswax to solidify. Preferably, the article would be an easy-to-light article, so that the fire starter would work better and more efficiently when used to light a hard-to-light, long-burning article such as coal or charcoal to be used in barbeques; or wood in a camping or hunting fire, or in a house's fireplace.
One way of making the fire starter of the present invention is by melting the beeswax by heating it to a temperature equal to or greater than its melting temperature. An absorbent, natural article, for instance cotton, organic cotton, muslin or hemp, without being restrictive, is immersed into and soaked in the melted beeswax until the required amount of beeswax has been absorbed by the absorbent article. The soaking duration is dependent on the absorption characteristic of the article and on the amount of beeswax needed to be absorbed. The soaked article is then allowed enough time to cool down in order for the beeswax to solidify.
Another way of making the fire starter is to melt the beeswax and apply it to a natural article by spraying it thereonto. The sprayed article is then allowed enough time to cool down in order for the beeswax to solidify forming a coat on at least part of the article. For this method of making the fire starter, the article used does not need to be absorbent; however, it should have characteristics that allow it to hold the beeswax coating.
For better preservation of the fire starters, they may be packaged in airtight packages, which, for safety reasons, may be fireproof (aluminum cans packages, for example). So packaged, the product can be safely stored for several years and still be effective as a fire starter when needed. It should be noted that the natural impregnated article can be package before or after the beeswax solidifies—the beeswax could be left to solidify after the packaging process.

Claims

1. A method for making an all-natural fire starter, comprising the step of impregnating a natural article with a natural, inflammable agent.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising the steps of:

liquidifying the agent before impregnating the article therewith; and

solidifying the agent after impregnating the article therewith.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the natural, inflammable agent is beeswax.

4. The method of claim 3, wherein the agent is water repellent.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the article is cotton, organic cotton, muslin or hemp.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the article is absorbent.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the impregnating step comprises soaking the article in a liquidified agent.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein the impregnating step comprises spraying a liquidified agent onto at least part of the article.

9. The method of claim 1, further comprising the step of packaging the impregnated article in a fireproof package.

10. An all-natural fire starter comprising a natural article impregnated with a natural, inflammable agent.

11. The fire starter of claim 10, wherein the natural, inflammable agent is beeswax.

12. The fire starter of claim 10, wherein the natural article is cotton, organic cotton, muslin or hemp.

13. A method for making a fire starter, comprising the step of impregnating a natural article with an inflammable agent.

14. The method of claim 13, further comprising the steps of:

liquidifying the agent before impregnating the article therewith; and solidifying the agent after impregnating the article therewith.

15. The method of claim 13, wherein the inflammable agent is paraffin.