Charcoal starter
First Claim
1. A charcoal starter comprising,a tapered housing arranged to rest vertically on a supporting surface and being formed by interconnecting quadrilateral sidewalls to define an open top portion and an open base portion with said base portion having an area greater than said top portion,a plurality of spaced apart air inlet apertures extending through each of said sidewalls at the lower portions thereof and openings extending through each of said sidewalls at the upper portions thereof,handle means having end portions detachably engageable with said openings of one of said housing sidewalls for lifting said housing into and out of position on said supporting surface,means for supporting charcoal to be ignited within said housing above said air inlet apertures of said housing sidewalls, said charcoal supporting means positioned for vertical movement within said housing,said handle means including means for securing said charcoal supporting means within said housing for storage of said charcoal starter when said handle means is detached from engagement with said openings in one of said sidewalls, andsaid charcoal supporting means having a plurality of apertures extending therethrough and a diagonal dimension greater than the diagonal dimension of said open top portion of said housing.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A charcoal starter used with a conventional charcoal barbecue grill for outdoor cooking includes a tapered housing formed by interconnecting quadrilateral sidewalls that are arranged to rest vertically on the supporting surface of the charcoal grill. The sidewalls define open top and bottom portions with the area of the bottom opening being greater than the area of the top opening. A row of air inlet apertures and a pair of openings are provided in each of the sidewalls adjacent the lower end portions and the upper end portions thereof respectively. A handle member is detachably engageable with a pair of openings for lifting the housing into and out of position on the barbecue grill supporting surface. A grate having a plurality of apertures extending therethrough is positioned in the housing and is supported at an elevation above the sidewall air inlet apertures by support members secured to the grate. Ignitable material such as paper is received within the housing below the grate, and charcoal briquets are supported on the grate. The combustion gases from the burning of the ignitable material flow upwardly through the grate to thereby ignite the charcoal. The handle also functions to lift the grate from the grill by engagement with one of the apertures in the grate and to disperse the heated charcoal briquets into the grill. After use the charcoal starter is conveniently stored by extending the handle down through the open top portion of the housing to engage the grate by the apertures. Vertically lifting the grate by the handle within the housing urges the edge portions of the grate into frictional engagement with the housing sidewalls. Thus, by suspending the handle above the housing the grate remains secured to the housing.
44 Citations
6 Claims
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1. A charcoal starter comprising,
a tapered housing arranged to rest vertically on a supporting surface and being formed by interconnecting quadrilateral sidewalls to define an open top portion and an open base portion with said base portion having an area greater than said top portion, a plurality of spaced apart air inlet apertures extending through each of said sidewalls at the lower portions thereof and openings extending through each of said sidewalls at the upper portions thereof, handle means having end portions detachably engageable with said openings of one of said housing sidewalls for lifting said housing into and out of position on said supporting surface, means for supporting charcoal to be ignited within said housing above said air inlet apertures of said housing sidewalls, said charcoal supporting means positioned for vertical movement within said housing, said handle means including means for securing said charcoal supporting means within said housing for storage of said charcoal starter when said handle means is detached from engagement with said openings in one of said sidewalls, and said charcoal supporting means having a plurality of apertures extending therethrough and a diagonal dimension greater than the diagonal dimension of said open top portion of said housing.
Specification