US556352A - Fire-kindler - Google Patents

Description

(No Model.) R. C. A, JONES.

FIRE KINDLER.

No. 656,352 Patented Mar. 17, 1896.

fleeg 611111511138.

ANDREW BIRMMM. IPHUXQUTHQWASNINGYUN. 1C:

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

REESE C. A. JONES, OF HILLSBOROUGH, ILLINOIS.

FIRE-KINDLER.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 556,352, dated March 17, 1896.

Application filed July 13, 1894. Serial No. 517,442. (No model.)

To aZZ whom it may concern:

- Be it known that I, REEsE G. A. JONES, a citizen of the United States, residing at Hillsborough, in the county of Montgomery and State of Illinois, have invented a new and useful Fire-Kindler, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to fire-kindlers, and particularly to that class in which an absorbent core is inclosed within a cage or case adapted to be contracted to compress the core as the latter is reduced by disintegration caused by heat, abrasion, &c., and the object in view is to provide an improved construction wherein the container of the absorbent core may be contracted both laterally and axially or longitudinally to provide for preventing looseness in either direction, and, furthermore, to provide means whereby only the edges of a strip or ribbon of absorbent material are exposed for contact with other objects, said edges being exposed in order to facilitate absorption when the head of the kindler is immersed in an inflammable liquid.

Further objects and advantages of this invention will appear in the following description, and the novel features thereof will be particularly pointed out in the appended claims. 1

In the drawings, Figure l is a perspective view of a kindler constructed in accordance with my invention. Fig. 2 is a longitudinal section of the same. Fig. 3 is a detail view of the foraminous shield.

Similar numerals of reference indicate corresponding parts in all the figures of the drawings.

The head 1 of the fire-kindler consists of a core 2 of absorbent material inclosed circumferentially by a rolled cylindrical shield 3 of foraminous material, said shield being held at the proper adjustmentto exert the desired lateral pressure upon the core by means of a contractible cage 4. In the construction illustrated this core consists of a tight roll of a strip or ribbon of absorbent material, such as asbestos, said strip or ribbon being continuous and being rolled in such a manner as to form a solid center or axis and the roll being continued until the core is of the desired size. Around the roll thus formed is arranged a foraminous shield, preferably constructed of a strip of sheet metal of less width than the strip or ribbon of absorbent material and having free overlapping extremities, which are adapted to slide one over the other to provide for the lateral contraction of the shield. Thus the exterior side or the surface of the core is covered approximately throughout by a shield, which protects said surface from abrasion by contact with other objects without preventing the free volatilization of the inflammable liquid with which the core is saturated. The ends of the core, which are formed by the lateral edges of the strip or ribbon of absorbent material, are exposed in the first place to facilitate the absorption of the inflammable liquid by the core, inasmuch as it is obvious that the liquid will be absorbed through capillary attraction more readily in the direction or in the planes of the layers of the material than across said layers, and, in the second place, in order to allow axial or longitudinal contraction of the cage 4, irrespective of the foraminous shield, in order to prevent longitudinal vibration of the core in the shield, as will be more fully understood hereinafter.

The cage 4 consists of a plurality of loops 5 arranged in intersecting planes disposed parallel with and embracing the axis of the core. In the construction illustrated, two of these intersecting loops are employed, the same being arranged in perpendicular planes and the sides or legs of the loops (there being four of said sides or legs) being twisted together, as shown at 6, to form a handle which terminates in a ring 7. The opposite sides of the loops 5 bear against the outer surface of the cylindrical foraminous shield, and it is clear that by contracting the loops laterally said shield may be correspondingly contracted to compress the core in a plane perpendicular to its axis. It is obvious, furthermore, that by reason of the extension or projection of the ends of the core beyond the corresponding ends of the'cylindrical shield, the ends of said loops bear, respectively, upon the ends of the core, whereby, when the length of the core is reduced by disintegration caused by abrasion or otherwise, the longitudinal contraction of the loops may be accomplished without interferenee or contact with the ends of the cylinder formed by the shield.

It is obvious that by twisting the handle the length of the twisted portion 6 may be extended and the exposed portions of the sides of the loops 5 will be correspondingly taken up, thus contracting said loops 5. This contraction operates not only laterally but axially upon the head of the fire-kindler, thus contracting the foraminous shield laterally by causing a greater overlapping of the ends thereof, and at the same time pressing upon the extremities of the core to prevent longitudinal vibration of the core in the shield. Thus the shield is contraetible laterally by means of the cage and the cage is contractible axially, and by having a bearin g upon the opposite ends of the core secures the latter against axial movement.

It will be seen, furthermore, that the wires of which the cage and handle are constructed are doubled upon themselves at their centers to form the loops 5 with the sides or legs of the loops twisted together, as at (5, and hence the loops are continuous with no loose extremities of the wires, said loose ends being disposed solely at the ring 7. Hence the extremities of the wires employed in connection with the fire-kindler are not exposed to the intense heat produced at the point of ignition, and, therefore, the danger of fusion of the wire is reduced to the minimum.

Various changes in the form, proportion, and the minor details of construction may be resorted to without departing from the spirit or sacrificing any of the advantages of this invention.

Having described my invention, what I claim is 1.. A fire-kindler having a non-combustible absorbent core, a cylindrical laterally-contractible foram inous shield encircling the core and terminating short of the ends of the core, a laterally and axially contractible cage inelosing the core and shield and bearing against the outer surface of said shield and the extremities of the core, and a handle integral with said cage and adapted to be twisted to contract the cage axially and laterally, substantially as specified.

2. A fire-kindler having a core constructed of a continuous strip or ribbon of non-combustible absorbent material, a cylindrical foraminous shield consisting of a metal strip extending around the core and having its extremities overlapped, the strip forming the shield being of less width than the strip or ribbon of absorbent material, and a cage constructed of wire loops arranged in intersecting planes embracing the axis of the core and having their sides or legs twisted together to form a handle 6 in alignment with the axis of the core, said loops bearing against the outer surface of the cylindrical shield and against the projecting extremities of the core, sulr stantially as specified.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing as my own I have hereto affixed my signature in the presence of two witnesses.

REESE O. A. JONES. Witnesses:

EDWARD MARCUS STUBBLEFIEL'D, MARIoN Cnocxn'r'r MoWILLIAMs.

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