Patent Application
20050257787
This invention relates to an improved fireplace heat recovery system. More particularly, this invention relates to an improved fireplace heat recovery system that optionally provides the ability to dispense fragrance into a room while also filtering the impurities produced by the combustion of fuel within a fireplace.
Conventional fireplaces typically loose between 60 to 80 percent of the heat they generate up the fireplace's chimney. The prior art contains several forced air fireplace heaters having blowers for circulating air through a heat exchanger within a fireplace and then into a room. These types of heat recovery systems often employ fans in order to circulate heated air for a more even heating of the air within the room. However, the prior art fails to address some of the disadvantages associated with the use of a fireplace.
One such disadvantage comes from the use of wood as a fuel. When wood is ignited it produces energy in the form of heat along with several byproducts. These byproducts include compounds of hydrogen, carbon, oxygen, char (which is nearly pure carbon), and ash (which is all of the unburnable minerals in the wood (e.g., calcium, potassium, etc.)). These byproducts may pollute the interior of a home, produce offensive odors, and may even be toxic to persons within the home.
It therefore would be desirable to provide an improved fireplace heat recovery system that provides even heat distribution within a room and overcomes the disadvantages associated with the use of the fireplace not addressed by the prior art.
It is an object of the present invention to provide an improved fireplace heat recovery system that provides even heat distribution within a room while reducing/filtering the level of pollutants, particulates, offensive odors, and toxins given off by the fuel burned within a fireplace.
It is also an object of the present invention to provide an improved fireplace heat recovery system that allows a user to choose a particular fragrance to circulate within a room.
In accordance with the present invention, a fireplace heat recovery system is provided. The fireplace heat recovery system may include an intake blower that intakes air from a room; a heat exchanging means that receives and heats air from the intake blower; and an output blower that evenly distributes the heated air into a room. In one embodiment the system may include a filter means located within the intake blower and/or the output blower that filters pollutants, particulates, offensive odors, and toxins given off by the fuel burned within the fireplace. The system may also include a fragrance dispensing means located within the intake blower and/or the output blower to distribute a desired fragrance within a room.
The above and other objects, features, and advantages of the present invention will become apparent upon consideration of the following detailed description, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings in which like reference characters refer to like parts throughout.
After drawing in unheated air from a room, intake blower 10 may transfer the air to heat exchanging means 40 via tube means 20. Tube means 20 may be, for example, a rigid or flexible metal tube, ceramic tube, or any other tube of suitable construction designed to withstand high temperatures that may be detachably coupled in any suitable manner to both intake blower 10 and heating element means 40.
As shown in
As mentioned above, heat exchanging means 40 may include one or more heating tubes 300. Heating tubes 300 may be holes bored within heating exchanging means 40 that may be coplanar across a plurality of horizontal planes of heat exchanging means 40. Heating tubes 300 may provide an additional means for the heat energy produced within a fireplace to transfer to the air circulating within air circulation tubes 200.
As shown in
Referring back to
Although not shown, some embodiments of system 100 may optionally include either input blower 10 or output blower 50 to dispense heated air into a room. For example, system 100 may function as described above, however, in the case where system 100 only includes input blower 10, system 100 will be a push system (i.e., intake blower 10 pushes air through system 100). In the case where system 100 only includes output blower 50, system 100 will be a pull system (i.e., output blower 50 pulls air through system 100).
In some embodiments, as shown in
In some embodiments, intake blower 10 and/or output blower 50 may incorporate filter means 65. Filter means 65 may be, for example, a high-efficiency particulate air (HEPA) filter and/or an activated carbon air filter. The incorporation of these filters are designed to assist in capturing the odorous and gaseous contaminates produced by the combustion of fuel within the fireplace.
In some embodiments, intake blower 10 and/or output blower 50 may incorporate fragrance dispensing means 70. Fragrance dispensing means 70 may be, for example, a disposable scented cartridge, refillable scented oil tray, or any other suitable means for dispensing one or more desired fragrances into a room utilizing the airflow within system 100.
As shown in
Thus, a fireplace heat recovery system is provided. Persons skilled in the art will appreciate that the described embodiments are presented for the purpose of illustration rather than limitation and that the present invention is limited only by the claims that follow.
