Firelog tray

The present invention relates to a tray arranged to support a firelog thereon, for example in a fireplace, and more particularly relates to a tray arranged for collecting ash resulting from combustion of the log.

Use of firelogs are common in fireplaces in which the firelog may comprise a synthetic log including wax and other flammable fuels which are formed into elongate log shape which is either generally cylindrical or rectangular in shape so as to represent a wood log of the type typically burned in residential fireplaces and the like. When typically burning a synthetic firelog, the resulting fire can occasionally be limited in brightness due to a limited surface area of the log being exposed to combustion air for burning.

U.S. Pat. No. 4,955,362 belonging to Underdown, U.S. Pat. No. 4,759,340 belonging to Chong, U.S. Pat. No. 4,180,054 belonging to Romero et al and U.S. Pat. No. 5,575,275 belonging to Gazaille disclose various examples of devices for supporting logs in a fireplace however in each instance the log is intended to be supported directly against a large surface area of the device thus limiting the exposed surface area of the log to which combustion air is accessible so that the resulting brightness of the flame is reduced.

A further function of a log supporting device in a typical fireplace is to collect ash resulting from the combustion of firelogs. Typical ash collecting trays are separate from the components which support the log thereon and comprise a form of tray with raised edges for retaining ashes collected thereon.

U.S. Pat. No. 5,513,625 belonging to Landman and U.S. Pat. No. 6,006,744 belonging to Taylor disclose examples of fireplace trays for catching ashes. In each instance the tray includes a flat bottom with side walls extending upwardly about a full periphery of the flat bottom. While the sides serve to retain the ash collected on the bottom, when disposing of the collected ash, the pan must be flipped over and inverted to release the ash so that the dumping of the ash typically results in a large cloud of dust due to the large disturbance of the ash in inverting the tray to dispose of the ash.

According to one aspect of the invention there is provided a firelog tray for supporting a firelog thereon, the tray comprising:

a rigid plate arranged to span in a longitudinal direction a length of a firelog to be supported above the plate and arranged to span in a lateral direction a width of the firelog to be supported above the plate; and

a plurality of log supporting members mounted on the rigid plate, each comprising a protrusion extending upwardly from the plate to a free end spaced above the plate;

the log supporting members being spaced apart from one another in the longitudinal direction and in the lateral direction of the plate so as to be arranged to support the firelog on the free ends of the log supporting members spaced above the plate.

By providing a plurality of log supporting members which extend upwardly to respective free ends thereof spaced above the plate, the plate serves to collect ashes thereon from the combustion of a firelog while the firelog is supported spaced above the tray with a minimum surface area of the log being contacted only by the free ends of the log supporting members to maximize the air flow to the firelog and accordingly maximize the brightness of the flame and the combustion of the firelog.

Furthermore by providing protrusions which extend upwardly from the plate to a free end spaced above the plate, the log supporting members are well suited for securely receiving a log which is under combustion thereon as the protrusions serve to penetrate into the burning log thus reducing the risk of the log rolling off of the tray during combustion for increased safety compared to many prior art designs of log supporting devices and firelog trays.

In a preferred embodiment the firelog tray includes a rearward portion which extends upwardly along a rear edge of the tray by at least a height of the log when supported on the log supporting members so as to reflect heat and light from the combustion of the log forwardly back towards the log and towards the room with which the fireplace communicates to further maximize combustion and brightness of the combustion of a firelog. A reflective plating may be provided on the rigid plate of the firelog tray to maximize the reflective properties of the light of combustion as well as resisting any heat damage to the plate.

The plate which extends upwardly along a rear edge behind a log supported thereon can be formed to include a continuous concave inner surface for ease of manufacturing as compared to the assembly of multiple different panels or forming multiple folds and formations in a panel when manufacturing firelog trays according to the prior art.

Furthermore by manufacturing the rigid plate of the firelog tray as a continuous curved sheet in the form of a generally U-shaped trough with open ends, the shape of the rigid plate readily collects ash towards a central portion of the plate while permitting the ash to be easily disposed of by sliding through one of the open ends of the trough shape for minimum disturbance of the ash when disposing the ash as opposed to flipping the tray into an inverted position as required according to the prior art. Accordingly in addition to ease of manufacturing, the curved shape of the preferred embodiment of the firelog tray disclosed herein readily permits a cleaner disposal of the resulting ash from combustion of a firelog.

The rigid plate preferably comprises a continuous sheet of material which is free of apertures.

The log supporting members are preferably supported on a lowermost portion of the rigid plate.

The rigid plate may extend upwardly and outwardly in two opposing direction from the lowermost portion. The lowermost portion of the plate may comprise a central portion extending generally horizontally in the longitudinal direction.

In this instance there may be provided a forward portion extending upwardly and outwardly in the lateral direction from a forward side of the central portion and a rearward portion extending upwardly and outwardly in the lateral direction from a rearward side of the central portion.

The central portion, the forward portion and the rearward portion preferably form a trough extending in the longitudinal direction between opposite ends of the rigid plate having a generally U-shaped cross section in which at least one of the opposite ends being open and unobstructed.

The central portion, the forward portion and the rearward portion may have a continuous inner surface which is generally concave so as to be arranged to be curved about the firelog to be supported above the plate.