Patent Application
20130333687
This disclosure pertains products for minimizing drafts through fireplaces in residences.
Wood burning fireplaces are popular structures in homes, particularly single family homes. A wood burning fireplace often comprises a fire box with an open front and a flue connected to the top of the fire box which extends through a chimney. A damper is often located between the fire box and the flue allowing one to at least partially block the flow of air from the fire box into the flue. A masonry area in front of the fire box and in the living space of the home is often referred to as the hearth. The vertical surface surrounding the fire box opening and the living space is often masonry and is sometimes called the facing. There may also be wood elements surrounding the fireplace opening including a shelf called a mantel.
Some fireplaces are equipped with glass doors. These doors are usually openable to allow a homeowner to put logs into the fireplace for creating a fire. These glass doors often do not provide an airtight seal.
Fireplaces allow homeowners to build fires which are viewable from the living space of a home. Such fires sometimes provide radiant heat. Fires also provide a cozy ambiance on a cold winter night. Fires in fireplaces are not always efficient in heating a home. Moreover, even when not in use, fireplaces often provide paths for the escape of heated air from a home. Thus, the damper between the fire box and the flue does not always provide a good seal. There is sometimes air flow from the home into the fire box, through the damper and flue and out into the atmosphere. This is air that has already been heated and must be replaced with cold air from outside.
Additionally, cold air may enter a chimney and flue and cause a cold draft from the fireplace into the home.
The present exemplary embodiment relates to a draft blocker. It finds particular application in conjunction with a fireplace, and will be described with particular reference thereto. However, it is to be appreciated that the present exemplary embodiment is also amenable to other like applications.
The fireplace draft blocker of the disclosure is adapted to close the generally vertical opening of a fireplace fire box with a rectangular fireplace opening cover having four corners with sockets in each of the four corners, two rods interconnecting the four corners crossing at the cover center and holding the four corners in spaced relationship, a support holding the cover adjacent the fireplace opening and a sealing element around the periphery of the cover, the sealing element being faux fur, a body of bristles, or loose, flexible fabric.
Further, in accordance with the disclosure, the fireplace opening cover has flexible tubular elements extending from the four corners of the fireplace opening cover toward the opening cover center and the rods extend between the corners within the tubular elements crossing at or near the center.
Yet further in accordance with the disclosure, the rods are longer than the shortest distances between the corners they interconnect thereby causing the fireplace opening cover to assume a convex shape bowing away from the fireplace fire box.
Yet further in accordance with the disclosure, the two rods are composed of several separable rod segments, the rod segments adapted to be fitted together in end to end relationship when in use.
Yet further in accordance with the disclosure, the two rods are each comprised of three rod segments whereby the rods cross one another at a location other than a joint.
Still further in accordance with the disclosure, the fireplace opening cover is provided with an aperture which is closed with a sheet of low melting point plastic adapted to rupture at a selected temperature whereby air will be introduced into the fire box in a controlled manner if the temperature in the fireplace exceeds that selected temperature.
Still further in accordance with the disclosure, the low melting point plastic sheet is a polyethylene sheet with a melting temperature of about 250° F. (120° C.).
It is an object of the disclosure to provide a fireplace draft blocker which prevents the flow of air into a fireplace when held against the fireplace without requiring any permanent mounting of elements to the fireplace or its surrounding facing.
It is another object of the present disclosure to provide a fireplace opening draft blocker which seals around its edges even when applied to a non-planar surface such as a brick surface with depressed mortar joints.
It is still another object of the present disclosure to provide a fireplace blocker which is easily held in a vertical orientation against the fireplace opening without the need for permanent installation of fasteners.
It is still another object of the present disclosure to provide a fireplace draft blocker which is easily disassembled and storable in a compact state.
It is still another object of the present disclosure to provide a removable fireplace draft blocker product which can be sold in a disassembled state and easily assembled and applied to a fireplace opening by a consumer without the use of tools.
It is still another object of the present disclosure to provide a portable, removable draft blocker which is easily assembled and used; and, easily stored by a consumer.
Further objects, features and advantages of the disclosure will be apparent from the following detailed description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings showing a preferred embodiment.
Referring now more particularly to the drawings, wherein the showings are for the purposes of illustrating preferred embodiments of the disclosure only and not for the purpose of limiting same,
An opening in the top of the firebox 12 connects with the flue 18. The flue is adapted to carry the products of combustion created in the firebox 12 through a chimney and vent the products of combustion to the outside atmosphere. A damper 20 is located between the firebox 12 and the flue 18. In many fireplaces, the damper 20 has a handle accessible through the fascia 14 allowing one to open and close the damper 20. Not all dampers have external handles.
Dampers in fireplaces must operate in an environment which can be cold when there is no fire in the fireplace or very hot when there is a substantial fire in the fireplace. Dampers are often installed when a fireplace is built and not replaced or repaired during the lifetime of the house. Dampers often fail to seal completely when closed. Fireplaces are frequent sources of air leakage from or into homes.
Alternatively, the central socket 56 can be provided with four blind holes rather than tunnels and the tubular elements sized to extend from the central socket 56 to the corner sockets 36, 38, 40, 42.
A support base 70 is a triangular shaped piece of fabric constructed from the same material as the fireplace opening cover 32. The support base 70 is preferably an isosceles triangle with its base sewn to the center bottom edge of the fireplace opening cover 32. The support base 70 is hemmed on the other two edges 72, 74 creating base tubular elements along the two edges. A central base tubular element 76 is formed by sewing a strip of material from the apex 80 of the support base 70 to the center of the lower edge of the fireplace opening cover 32. The apex 80 of the support base 70 has a support socket 82. The support socket 82 can be a simple fabric triangle sewed along two edges of support base 70 with an open end or ore robust solid plastic piece fixed to the support base 70.
The fireplace opening cover 32 has an aperture 90 in its upper half. The aperture 90 is closed by sewing or otherwise fixing a sheet 92 of low melting point plastic (low melt plastic) to the fireplace opening cover 32 around the entire periphery of the aperture 90. The low melt plastic sheet is preferably a polyethylene sheet with a melting temperature of around 250° F. (180° C.). This melting temperature is significantly below the melting temperature of the fireplace opening cover 32.
A sealing element 100 is fixed to the fireplace opening cover 32 around its entire periphery. The sealing element 100 is preferably a faux fur element, a bristle element, or a very loose, floppy, soft fabric element. The faux fur option resembles the faux fur seen on many garments, particularly around the hoods of parkas and the like. It provides an air flow blocking function and will engage and fill irregular surfaces. The bristle option is similar but uses a more directed body of soft bristles of selected length similar to what one sees in soft paint brushes. The fabric option uses one and preferably more layers of fabric approximately two inches wide sewn to the periphery of the fireplace opening cover 32. The fabric is very loose and flexible and can engage an irregular surface easily.
Three rod segments 102, 104, 106 are provided with recesses in one end and projections on the other end matching those recesses. Such recesses and projections are commonly used to allow the joining of rod segments in an end to end relationship forming a longer rod. Such joints are often called ferrules. The three rod segments 102, 104, 106 are assembled together, end to end, to form a rod of appropriate length to extend between opposite corners 36, 40 of the fireplace opening cover 32. The assembled rod segments 102, 104, 106 have a length slightly greater than the distance between the corners 36, 40 causing the assembled rod segments to arch or form a bow when assembled as described.
Rod segments 108, 110, 112 are identical to rod segments 102, 104, 106 and can be assembled to form a rod appropriate for extending between sockets 38, 42.
Two base edge rod elements 116, 118 are adapted to fit into the base edge hem 72, 74 and a base center rod element 120 is adapted to fit into the base central tubular element 76. These three rod elements 116, 118, 120 also are engaged by the support socket 82. The rod elements hold the support socket 82 away from the fireplace opening cover 32 and maintain the shape of the support base 70. The rod elements in the base, 116, 118, 120 are optional. When the rod elements are assembled with the fireplace opening cover 32 and support base 70, a configuration such as seen in
With reference to
As can be seen with references to
The fireplace draft blocker 30 may be assembled and placed against the wall face 14 around fireplace 10 soon after a fire is believed to be extinguished. If, however, the fire is still in process in the fireplace, problems may be encountered if the fireplace draft blocker 30 is left in place for a period of time and then suddenly removed allowing quantities of air containing oxygen to reach a dormant fire quickly. To prevent this situation, the low melt plastic sheet 92 acts as a thermal fuse. If the fireplace draft blocker 30 is placed against the fireplace when a fire is still creating significant amounts of heat, the temperature within the firebox is likely to increase to a point exceeding the melt temperature of the low melt plastic sheet 92. At this point, the low melt plastic sheet will melt and rupture allowing air and oxygen in a controlled amount to enter the firebox 12. The fire may then burn itself out or the home user is alerted to the fact that a fire still exists within the fireplace and the user is alerted to the dangerous condition.
The disclosure has been described with reference to preferred embodiments. Obviously, modifications and alterations will occur to others upon the reading and understanding of the specification. It is intended to include all such modifications and alterations insofar as they come within the scope of the appended claims or the equivalents thereof.
