Patent Application
20060157049
Not Applicable
Not Applicable
Not Applicable
1. Field of Invention
This invention is for a fireplace insert consisting of a logset which simulates the appearance of a series of logs and twigs and which has a cavity that holds round cans of alcohol gel fuel as well as a vapor restrictor plate that partially covers the top openings of the cans, thereby self regulating the height, depth and burn time of the flames produced when the fuel is ignited without the use of manually operated control knobs or adjustment mechanisms and producing a realistic looking semi-rectangular fireplace fire that is fuel efficient and does not require supplemental illumination from electric light bulbs.
2. Background
Fireplaces that burn alcohol gel fuel in round cans have been popular for a number of years. Although such fireplaces do not produce large amounts of heat, they have a pleasing visual effect. To many consumers, the visual effect is the key.
An example of such a fireplace is described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,573,905, to Meyers. Myers refers to the cans of alcohol gel fuel as “standard one-pint size” cans. (Column 5, line 17.) As the illustrations in Myers' patent indicate, the fuel cans are round. Currently, such cans are sold under tradenames like “Realflame”.
After the lid of the round can is removed alcohol vapors rise from the top of the can. These vapors mix with ambient oxygen and may be ignited with a match. This produces a round fire coming from a round can.
Manufacturers of alcohol gel used in fireplaces use round cans for a variety of reasons. For example, round cans are relatively plentiful on the market. Most can manufacturers make many types of round cans.
Real fireplace fires, however, are not round. That is because real fireplaces are wider than they are deep, i.e., rectangular. The logs placed in real fireplaces are also generally rectangular. Even the gas burners used in most gas fireplaces are generally rectangular.
For these reasons, fireplaces that use round cans of alcohol gel fuel present several problems. Some cannot produce rectangular fires at all. Others require the use of a rectangular holding box, holding the round cans, in an attempt to reshape the round fires into a rectangular fire. Some others use manually adjusted lids, sitting over the rectangular holding box, as a means of adjusting the height, depth and burn time of the fire coming from the round cans.
Some other fireplaces using round cans of fuel present other problems. For example, some require supplemental illumination from electric light bulbs. Others waste the fuel in the cans, by burning fuel that produces flames which are partially hidden. Since the visual effect of the flames is the key, burning fuel to produce flames that are hidden is wasteful.
And lastly, some fireplaces using round cans of fuel are fake looking, since the cans are plainly visible to the consumer, while others are complex mechanisms, requiring the use of over 150 components.
There is a need, therefore, for a simple apparatus, with few components, that solves these problems. The current invention does this by:
The prior art has not solved the problems listed above.
For example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,573,905, to Meyers, describes a complicated alcohol gel fireplace that has over 190 features but still requires an electric light bulb to supplement the illumination provided by the burning alcohol gel fuel. In addition, this patent does not include a vapor restrictor plate that restricts the flow of alcohol vapors out of the top of the fuel cans to produce a rectangular fire. Moreover, the cans inside Myer's fireplace are clearly visible, as his
Many of these problems are also present in Myers' next attempt, U.S. Pat. No. 4,890,600, which still uses an electric light bulb to supplement the illumination provided by burning the fuel in the cans.
Likewise, U.S. Pat. No. 4,838,781, to Fischer, has not solved the problems listed previously. Fischer's invention wastes fuel by hiding a part of the fire behind log 29a in Fisher's
Nor does Bertolas, in U.S. Pat. No. 6,609,514, describe the present invention. Instead of describing a fireplace insert Bertolas describes “a portable fire pit”. Nor does Bertolas provide a vapor restrictor plate that partially covers the top openings of the cans of fuel to restrict the flow of alcohol vapor out of the cans, and oxygen into the cans, so as to regulate the height, depth and burn time of the fire without manually operated control knobs or adjustment mechanisms. And, Bertolas'
Likewise, Hilker, in U.S. Pat. No. 4,076,490, does not disclose the present invention. First, Hilker's fireplace system exposes the cans of fuel to view when one looks down into the system. This creates a fake looking appearance. Second, Hilker's system does not include a vapor restrictor plate that self regulates the flow of alcohol vapor from the can and the flow of oxygen into the can, so as to control the height, depth and burn time of the fire. And lastly, Hilker shows a series of three individual round fires coming from three cans, as opposed to a realistic looking semi-rectangular fire.
Other patents disclose mechanisms for burning fuel, in general, but they are also different from the present invention. For example, Maust, et al., in U.S. Pat. No. 6,267,113 B1, does not disclose an insert which is placed inside a fireplace and uses round cans of fuel. Instead, Maust discloses a freestanding hearth that uses pourable fuel which is poured into a tray. This is an entirely different system than the present invention.
Similarly, Orlov, in U.S. Pat. No. 5,026,271, does not disclose the present invention. First, Orlov does not show an invention that uses round cans of fuel. Second, Orlov wastes fuel by hiding some of the flames underneath his logs. Third, Orlov does not disclose a vapor restrictor plate that self regulates the flow of alcohol vapor out of the cans and the flow of oxygen into the cans. Instead, Orlov uses a manually adjusted control knob connected to a damper plate. Column 4, lines 6-9.
Nor do U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,993,430 to Forker, or 4,582,478 to Hilker, or 4,637,372, to Mogol, disclose the present system. All of these reveal burner systems that employ liquid fuel, such as “fuel oil” (see Forker's Abstract), as opposed to alcohol gel fuel in cans. Instead of burning fuel in cans, liquid fuel systems transport fuel in pipes and tubes to a burner. See, the pipe 22 in Hilker, and the tube 14 in Mogol. These liquid fuel systems therefore, do not disclose the present system.
Objects and Advantages
The objects and advantages of the fireplace insert invention described herein are:
In accordance with the present invention, there is provided a noncombustible logset that simulates the appearance of a series of logs and twigs, which logset has a cavity that holds round cans of alcohol gel fuel. The logset is placed inside a fireplace.
The apparatus includes a vapor restrictor plate which partially covers the top openings of the fuel cans, thereby self regulating the height, depth and burn time of the flames produced when the fuel is ignited without the use of manually operated control knobs or adjustment mechanisms.
The apparatus hides the cans of fuel from view and produces a realistic looking, semi-rectangular fireplace fire that is wider than it is deep, as opposed to a series of individual round fires coming from round cans.
The apparatus is simple. It has few components. It is easy to maintain. It also does not require the use of electric light bulbs.
The apparatus is fuel efficient. It does not burn fuel to produce flames that are hidden from view.
1 Invention
2 Logset
3 Vapor restrictor plate
4 Cavity in logset
4A Aperture in vapor restrictor plate
5 Hinges
6 Metal top of round can of alcohol gel fuel, with lid removed.
7 Alcohol gel
8 Overlapping flames
The presently preferred embodiment of the invention is illustrated in
Lines 101 and 102 in
Line 103 in
Operation
The invention operates by: (1) restricting the flow of alcohol vapors out of the cans of fuel, and (2) restricting the flow of ambient oxygen into the cans of fuel, thereby controlling the height, depth and burn time of the fire produced when the alcohol gel is ignited, without the use of manually operated control knobs or adjustment mechanisms, and producing a fire with a semi-rectangular shape. The invention also hides the metal tops of the fuel cans from view.
This is accomplished by the vapor restrictor plate 3, which: (1) completely covers the metal tops 6 of the cans of fuel, and (2) partially restricts vapor flow out of, and into, the cans.
Vapor restriction is achieved because the depth of the apertures in the vapor restrictor plate, as represented by Line 104 in
Reshaping is also accomplished because each aperture 4A is centered over each can of fuel and because the width of each aperture, represented by Line 103 in
As measurement 104 is made progressively smaller in relation to measurement 102, the flames from the cans of fuel will have less depth, less height, and will burn for longer periods of time. Experience indicates that depending on the type of alcohol gel, a good result may be obtained if measurement 3B varies from approximately 50%-70% of measurement 6B.
As can be seen in the figures, when measurement 104 is 50%-70% of measurement 102 the aperture 4A assumes a semi-rectangular shape. In addition, because the flame produced by the fuel in each can flutters and waves, the flames 8 will overlap from aperture 4A to aperture 4A, as illustrated in
The overlapping flames result in the production an over-all fire pattern that appears to have a semi-rectangular shape, as
Alternative Embodiments
Although the figures show the invention used with three cans of fuel, it can easily be imagined that any number of multiple cans, such as two or four, may be used to achieve the same result. Hence, the scope of the current invention should be determined by the concepts explained above and the appended claims, and their legal equivalents, rather than by the specific descriptions illustrated in the figures.
