Patent Application
20050194002
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention generally relates to heating appliances, and more specifically relates to air control systems for heating appliances.
2. Related Art
Many heating appliances include an air circulation system that draws in cool air into or around the source of heat thereby heating the cool air, and then exhausts the heated air to a targeted area. The cool air is typically drawn from one of several sources: a local living space in which the heating appliance resides, a remote living space, or a space outside the building that houses the heating appliance. One advantage of using the targeted living space as a source of cool air is that the cool air in that particular space is removed from the room by being drawn from a lower part of the living space into the heating appliance. The cool air can then be replaced with warmer air. Similarly, drawing cool air from a lower portion of a remote living space removes the cool air from that remote space so that warm air can replace the removed cool air.
A disadvantage of using the living spaces of a building as a source of cool air is that a vacuum condition may result, which may result in cool air from outside the building being drawn into the building through the many small cracks and openings that are common in almost all buildings. The cool outside air leaking into the building then typically settles downward in the living space because it is more dense than the warm air in the building, and moves toward the cool air inlet for heating appliance causing a “draft” condition throughout the building.
Using outside air as a source of cool air also has some advantages. One such advantage is that fresh, typically clean air is brought into the building in a controlled way. Another advantage of using outside air is that the air drawn in from outside the building creates an overpressure condition in the building that forces the stale air out of the small cracks and openings of the building, which in turn prevents cool air from leaking into the building through those same small cracks and openings in an uncontrolled manner.
Most known heating appliances include one of the air control systems discussed above. Once a heating appliance with one of these air control systems is installed there are limited alternatives for the source of cool air besides the single source provided by the system.
The present invention relates to heating appliances and air control systems for heating appliances. More specifically, the present invention relates to an air bypass system for a heating appliance such as a wood stove or fireplace, which controls whether air being heated in an air space around the heat source (e.g., around a combustion chamber enclosure) is provided from a remote location or from the room in which the heating appliance resides.
One aspect of the present invention relates to an air bypass system for use with a heating appliance that includes an outer enclosure and a combustion chamber enclosure positioned within the outer enclosure. The bypass system includes a first opening providing an air passage between a source of air from a remote location and an air space defined between the outer enclosure and the combustion chamber enclosure. The bypass system also includes a second opening providing an air passage between a source of room air and the air space, and an actuating member configured for movement between a first position substantially covering the first opening wherein the second opening is open for air flow, and a second position substantially covering the second opening wherein the first opening is open for air flow.
Another aspect of the present invention relates to a method of controlling air flow in a heating applicant that includes an adjustable member, an outer enclosure, and a combustion chamber enclosure positioned within the outer enclosure. The heating appliance includes an air space defined between the outer enclosure and the combustion chamber enclosure. The method includes providing a first opening between the air space and a source of air from a remote location, and a second opening between the air space and a source of room air. The method further includes moving the adjustable member between a first position wherein the first opening is substantially covered by the adjustable member and the second opening is left open for the flow of remote air into the air space, and a second position wherein the second opening is substantially covered by the adjustable member and the first opening is left open for the flow of room air into the air space.
A yet further aspect of the invention relates to an air bypass system that includes a housing member having first and second chambers, and an adjustable cover. The first chamber includes a first air inlet opening and a first air outlet opening, and the first chamber is in fluid communication with a source of air from a remote location. The second chamber includes a second air inlet opening and a second air outlet opening, and the second chamber is in fluid communication with a source of local air. The adjustable cover is movable between a first position substantially shutting off air flow through the first chamber, wherein the second chamber is left open for the flow of remote air through the second air inlet and outlet openings, and a second position substantially shutting off air flow through the second chamber, wherein the first chamber is left open for the flow of local air through the first air inlet and outlet openings.
The above summary of the present invention is not intended to describe each disclosed embodiment or every implementation of the present invention. The Figures and the detailed description that follow more particularly exemplify embodiments of the invention. While certain embodiment of the invention will be illustrated in describing embodiments of the invention, the invention is not limited to use in such embodiments.
The invention may be more completely understood in consideration of the following detailed description of various embodiments of the invention in connection with the accompanying drawings, in which:
While the invention is amenable to various modifications and alternative forms, specifics thereof have been shown by way of example in the drawings and will be described in detail. It should be understood, however, that the intention is not to limit the invention to the particular embodiments described. On the contrary, the intention is to cover all modifications, equivalents, and alternatives falling within the spirit and scope of the invention.
The present invention relates to an air bypass system for a heating appliance such as a wood stove, which controls whether air being heated in an air space around the heat source of the heating appliance (e.g., around a combustion chamber enclosure of a wood stove) is provided from a remote location or from the room in which the heating appliance resides.
The heating appliances disclosed and illustrated herein for use with the air bypass system of the present invention are wood stoves. However, the air bypass system of the present invention may be used with other heating appliances, such as, for example, gas fireplaces, electric fireplaces, heaters, furnaces, or other heating appliances that require control of air to a space around the heat source. Some example fireplaces that may be used in conjunction with the air bypass system of the present invention include a direct vent, a universal vent, a B-vent, a horizontal/vertical-vent, a dual direct vent, and a multisided unit having two or three glass panels as combustion chamber side panels. While the present invention is not so limited, an appreciation of various aspects of the invention will be gained through a discussion of the examples provided below.
As used herein, a “combustion chamber” may include any structure that at least partially encloses a space in which a flame is generated from combusting material, solid or gas, simulating a flame, or otherwise producing heat. An “outer enclosure” is defined as any structure of a heating appliance surrounding the combustion chamber enclosure. The terms “outside air”, “fresh air”, and “remote air” generally refer to air supplied from a location outside a living space in which the heating appliance resides. The terms “room air” and “local air” generally refer to air supplied from the living space in which the heating appliance resides.
Referring now to
The channels and panels listed above direct fresh combustion air from a combustion air inlet 56 into the combustion chamber enclosure 14, and direct air from a remote location through a remote air inlet 58 into the air bypass system 16 and into a space 13 between the outer enclosure 12 and combustion chamber enclosure 14. The space 13 provides an air insulation barrier between a heated combustion chamber enclosure 14 and the outer enclosure 12.
The outer enclosure 12 includes top and bottom panels 40, 42, front and rear panels 44, 46, and first and second side panels 48, 50. A vent pipe opening 52 is formed in the top panel and a vent pipe flange 54 associated with opening 52 may be used to couple an exhaust vent pipe to the wood stove assembly 10. In some types of heating appliances, such as a direct vent fireplace, fresh combustion air for combustion in the combustion chamber 14 may be provided coaxially with the exhaust vent pipe of the heating appliance rather than using a separate co-lineal pipe as shown in
The outer enclosure 12 defines an inner volume sized to receive the combustion chamber enclosure 14, and includes top and bottom panels 70, 72, front and rear panels 74, 76, and first and second side panels 78, 80 that together define a combustion chamber 84. Typically, a combustion air inlet 82 is formed in the bottom panel 72 or at other targeted areas in the combustion chamber enclosure 14 to provide fresh combustion air at required locations within combustion chamber 84.
The combustion chamber 84 may be used to contain any type of heat generation common in the art such, as for example, combustion of solid fuel such as wood, wood pellets, corn, etc., combustion of gas, and electric heat generation. The air bypass system of the present invention is generic to any heating appliance since it deals primarily with heat recovery around the combustion chamber enclosure rather than fluid flow within the combustion chamber enclosure.
Referring now to
Air bypass system 16 further includes first and second track members 118, 120, a cover 122, a mounting bracket 124, and an adjustment arm 126. The adjustment arm 126 includes first and second ends 128, 130, a slot 132, and a pivot point 134. The cover 122 is retained between first and second track members 118, 120 so as to be movable in the plane of top panel 100 between a first position covering the first outlet opening 114, and a second position covering second outlet opening 116. The first end 128 of adjustment arm 126 is coupled to the cover 122 via a fastener that moves in slot 132. The slot 132 allows linear motion of cover 122 when actuated by the pivotal movement of adjustment arm 126 about pivot point 134. The second end 130 of adjustment arm 126 extends out beyond the front panel 144 of the outer enclosure 12 for easy access by a user. The second end 130 is movable in the direction D to move cover 122 into the second position, and is movable in the opposite direction E to move the cover 122 into the first position (See
Although the cover 122 is shown in
Holding the cover members 321, 322 (or the cover member 122 described above) in a position between the first and second positions may have certain advantages such as, for example, providing a limited source of fresh air into the living space and pressurizing the living space under certain conditions.
Referring now to
Referring first to
Referring now to
The air bypass system 16 provides the advantage of controlling the source of air being heated within a wood stove assembly between the combustion chamber enclosure and the outer enclosure depending on the needs of the user and the heating requirements of the living structure in which the wood stove assembly resides. For example, if some areas of the living structure are colder than others (such as a basement room), air may be drawn from that particular room in the living structure and provided as the source of remote air supplied to the air bypass system, while warmer air is replaced in the room where the remote air is drawn. In another example, the source of remote air may be outside the living structure so as to provide fresh air into the living structure and create a desired pressure conditioned within the living structure. In a yet further example, the air bypass system may be adjusted so that room air is heated by the wood stove assembly rather than air from a remote source.
Another air bypass system (not shown) may control air flow between the space around the combustion chamber enclosure and three or more sources of air. For example, the air bypass system may include three separate air chambers that are connected separately to a remote source of air and two local sources of air, or to three remote sources of air. An air bypass system with three or more separate sources of air may be configured so that one, two or all of the air sources provide air to the space around the heat source of the heating appliance at any given time.
The air bypass system illustrated in the Figures discloses a cover member(s) that provides opening of one air outlet while the other air outlet from the bypass system is being closed. Although the examples disclosed herein may provide for partial opening of both air outlets, a configuration in which both air outlets are fully open is not shown. It is envisioned that other embodiments may include features that individually control air flow through each air outlet of the air bypass system, whether there are two, three or more air outlets corresponding to separate sources of air in fluid communication with the air bypass system. With such individual control of the air outlets, all or some of the air outlets may be opened or closed simultaneously.
Air flow through the air outlets of the air bypass system may be controlled with any of a variety of control mechanisms and devices such as, for example, the slideable cover shown in
Although the figures described above illustrate exhaustion of the heated air out of the wood stove assembly directly back into the living space in which the wood stove assembly resides, other embodiments may be configured to direct the heated air to a heat recovery system, such as the systems disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,550,687, U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/339,739 filed on Jan. 8, 2003 and entitled HEAT EXCHANGE SYSTEM, and U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/371,761 filed on Feb. 24, 2003 and entitled FIREPLACE MAKEUP AIR HEAT EXCHANGE SYSTEM, which issued patent and patent applications are incorporated herein by reference. The heated air produced may also be directed to various places within the living structure as disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,019,099, which is also incorporated herein by reference.
A method according to principles of the present invention may be directed to controlling air flow in a heating appliance that includes an adjustable member, an outer enclosure, and a combustion chamber enclosure positioned within an outer enclosure so as to define an air space between the outer enclosure and the combustion chamber enclosure. The method may include steps of providing a first opening between the air space and a source of air from a remote location, and a second opening between the air space and a source of room air, and moving the adjustable member between a first position wherein the first opening is substantially covered by the adjustable member and a second opening is left open for the flow of remote air into the air space, and a second position wherein the second opening is substantially covered by the adjustable member and the first opening is left open for the flow of room into the air space.
The heating appliance of the method may further include an air bypass system that includes a housing having first and second air chambers, the first air chamber including the first opening and the second air chamber including the second opening, and the first chamber is in fluent communication with the remote air and the second chamber is in fluent communication with the room air. Another step of the method may include heating air in the air space by moving the air around the combustion chamber enclosure and exhausting the heated air out of the outer enclosure. The adjustable member of the heating appliance may include a movable cover, and the moving step includes sliding the cover between the first and second positions or rotating the cover between the first and second positions. A yet further step of the method may include positioning the air bypass system vertically below the combustion chamber enclosure.
The present invention should not be considered limited to the particular examples described above, but rather should be understood to cover all aspects of the invention as fairly set out in the attached claims. Various modifications, equivalent processes, as well as numerous structures to which the present invention may be applicable will be readily apparent to those of skill in the art to which the present invention is directed upon review of the instant specification.
