Close packing briquet shapes

Abstract

Briquet designs that facilitate close packing and improve burn efficiency are provided herein. Such designs can include scaled down briquet size and close packing shapes, which can include pyramidal shaped portions, such as rectangular pyramids and tetrahedron shapes, as well as oblate spheroid and hexoid shapes, to facilitate closer random packing when the briquets are randomly arranged in a pile when poured from a bag. Some briquet shapes can further include special surface features, such as flattened or rounded portions or depressions, such as dimples, that reduce volume without increasing the bulk density in order to further improve burn performance and efficiency.

What is claimed: 
     
         1 . A briquet comprising:
 a solid combustible fuel formed in a shape,   wherein the shape is defined to allow for close-packing at a density of 450 to 3,000 briquets per cubic foot when a plurality of briquets of like shape are randomly arranged within a randomly poured pile,   wherein the shape comprises a generally spheroidal shape having a pair of semi-spheroidal portions extending from opposite sides of a mid-plane portion such that that the briquet is symmetrical about the mid-plane portion and an apex region of each semi-spheroidal portions is flattened or compressed toward the mid-plane portion.   
     
     
         2 . The briquet of  claim 1 , wherein the shape is defined so that a volume of each briquet is within a range between 0.2 to 2 cubic inches. 
     
     
         3 . The briquet of  claim 1 , wherein each of the semi-spheroidal portions comprises a plurality of curved faces extending towards the apex region. 
     
     
         4 . The briquet of  claim 3 , wherein the plurality of curved faces meet the mid-plane portion at smooth rounded edges such that the briquet has a substantially continuous surface. 
     
     
         5 . The briquet of  claim 1 , wherein the mid-plane portion comprises a circle. 
     
     
         6 . The briquet of  claim 1 , wherein the mid-plane portion comprises a regular polygon with five or more sides. 
     
     
         7 . The briquet of  claim 6 , wherein the polygonal mid-plane portion is a hexagon. 
     
     
         8 . The briquet of  claim 6 , wherein each of the semi-spheroidal portions comprises a plurality of ridges, each ridge extending from a corner of the polygonal mid-portion to the flattened apex region. 
     
     
         9 . The briquet of  claim 1 , wherein each of the flattened apex portions comprises an upper-third or less of the respective semi-spheroidal portion. 
     
     
         10 . A close packing briquet comprising:
 a solid combustible fuel formed in a shape,   wherein the shape comprises a pair of semi-spheroidal portions extending from opposite sides of a mid-plane portion such that that the briquet is symmetrical about the mid-plane portion,   wherein an apex region of each semi-spheroidal portions is flattened or compressed toward the mid-plane portion,   wherein the briquet is shaped and dimensioned to facilitate close packing when a plurality of briquets of like shape are randomly arranged within a randomly poured pile.   
     
     
         11 . The briquet of  claim 10 , wherein the shape comprises a volume within a range from 0.20 to 2.0 cubic inches. 
     
     
         12 . The briquet of  claim 11 , wherein close packing comprises a density of 450 to 3,000 briquets per cubic foot. 
     
     
         13 . The briquet of  claim 10 , wherein each of the semi-spheroidal portions comprises a plurality of curved faces extending towards the apex region. 
     
     
         14 . The briquet of  claim 13 , wherein the plurality of curved faces meet the mid-plane portion at smooth rounded edges such that the briquet has a substantially continuous surface. 
     
     
         15 . The briquet of  claim 10 , wherein the mid-plane portion comprises a circle. 
     
     
         16 . The briquet of  claim 10 , wherein mid-plane portion is a regular polygon having five or more sides. 
     
     
         17 . The briquet of  claim 16 , wherein mid-plane portion is a hexagon. 
     
     
         18 . The briquet of  claim 16 , wherein each of the semi-spheroidal portions comprises a plurality of ridges, each ridge extending from a corner of the polygonal mid-portion to the flattened apex region. 
     
     
         19 . The briquet of  claim 10 , wherein the flattened apex portion is defined along an upper third or less of the respective semi-sphereoidal portion. 
     
     
         20 . The briquet of  claim 10 , wherein the shape is defined so a total number of edges within the randomly poured pile is within a range from 5,000 to 15,000 inches per cubic foot.