Patent Application
20170051920
Not Applicable.
Not Applicable.
The present invention relates to the field of fire and water systems, and more specifically to the field of combining fireplaces and waterfalls.
Fire has been an integral component for mankind since virtually the beginning of time. Humans have used fire for cooking, heating, creating, destroying and transforming numerous objects. Fire and the constant movement associated with it also has a soothing effect. Currently, many households use indoor heaters in the form of fireplaces. These fireplaces can be fueled by wood, biofuel, gas, electric power and other types of fuel sources. In many cases, fireplaces are located in a central part of a home or household where people entertain each other, gather to relax and interact with each other.
In many cases, such fireplaces or heaters only are used during cold times of the year when the indoor temperatures require heat to raise temperatures to increase comfort. However, during the warmer months of the year the fireplaces are not used and remain idle. People have created useful ways to use that idle space. In some cases, people have inserted decorative objects to fill the empty space of an unused fire place.
In other cases, people have added decorative waterfalls or fountains in the fire place. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,092,312 to Zolow discloses a water-fountain that surrounds a platform for holding a gas burner. However, U.S. Pat. No. 5,092,312 fails to disclose structure and plumbing suitable for providing a waterfall. By way of another example, U.S. Publication no. 2003/0041855 to Grady et al. discloses a waterfall and heating unit. However, U.S. Publication no. 2003/0041855 is not configured to be located flush against a wall, and fails to disclose an enclosure that prevents water from exiting out of the enclosure or that maintains water inside the enclosure. By way of another example, U.S. Publication no. 2003/0084897 to Coughlin, discloses a waterfall and gas burning fireplace combination. However, U.S. Publication no. 2003/0084897 fails to disclose an enclosure that prevents water from exiting out of the enclosure or that maintains water inside the enclosure. By way of another example, U.S. Pat. No. 2004/0251780 to Frink et al. discloses a patio heater sculpture. However, Frink fails to disclose structure suitable for indoors or an enclosure that can be combined with a variety of heating units.
As a result, there exists a need for improvements over the prior art and more particularly a safer, more practical way of providing a waterfall and fireplace combination.
A system for providing a combined fireplace and waterfall is disclosed. This Summary is provided to introduce a selection of disclosed concepts in a simplified form that are further described below in the Detailed Description including the drawings provided. This Summary is not intended to identify key features or essential features of the claimed subject matter. Nor is this Summary intended to be used to limit the claimed subject matter's scope.
In one embodiment, a system for providing a combined fireplace and waterfall is disclosed. The system includes a housing configured for storing water. The housing has a front side, wherein a portion of the front side is open. A platform within the housing is configured for receiving a fireplace module on top the platform, the fireplace module is configured for producing a flame that is visible from the front. A horizontally aligned tube is coupled proximate to the front side of the housing, wherein the horizontally aligned tube includes at least one opening for dispersing water. A vertically aligned transparent pane is coupled proximate to the front side of the housing, wherein said transparent pane is configured such that water dispensed from the horizontally aligned tube flows down a front side of the pane. A pump configured to move water through tubing from a lower end of housing to the horizontally aligned tube.
Additional aspects of the disclosed embodiment will be set forth in part in the description which follows, and in part will be obvious from the description, or may be learned by practice of the disclosed embodiments. The aspects of the disclosed embodiments will be realized and attained by means of the elements and combinations particularly pointed out in the appended claims. It is to be understood that both the foregoing general description and the following detailed description are exemplary and explanatory only and are not restrictive of the disclosed embodiments, as claimed.
The accompanying drawings, which are incorporated in and constitute part of this specification, illustrate embodiments of the invention and together with the description, serve to explain the principles of the disclosed embodiments. The embodiments illustrated herein are presently preferred, it being understood, however, that the invention is not limited to the precise arrangements and instrumentalities shown, wherein:
The following detailed description refers to the accompanying drawings. Whenever possible, the same reference numbers are used in the drawings and the following description to refer to the same or similar elements. While disclosed embodiments may be described, modifications, adaptations, and other implementations are possible. For example, substitutions, additions or modifications may be made to the elements illustrated in the drawings, and the methods described herein may be modified by substituting reordering, or adding additional stages or components to the disclosed methods and devices. Accordingly, the following detailed description does not limit the disclosed embodiments. Instead, the proper scope of the disclosed embodiments is defined by the appended claims.
The disclosed embodiments improve upon the problems with the prior art by providing a system that can be easily configured to receive a plurality of different types of fireplaces to be integrated with a water fall. The disclosed embodiments provide a vertical pane that allows for water to fall flow down and assists in preventing water from inadvertently exiting the system. Additionally, the system can include a plurality of different lighting arrangements to disperse light onto the water fall. The disclosed embodiments may also include a remote computing device or a remote control to control the lighting used within the water fall, the flow of water, the amount of heat produced by the fire place and the height of the flame produced by the fire place. The disclosed embodiments also provide an enclosure that prevents water from exiting out of the enclosure or that maintains water inside the enclosure so as to prevent injury or interference with the fire place and the water inside of the enclosure.
Referring now to the Figures,
The housing is such that a reservoir 109 on the bottom end 111 is defined such that water can be stored in the reservoir. In the present embodiment, the housing is a generally rectangular shaped housing, having a front side 121, a rear side 122 and two shorter sides 124 and 126. A portion of the front side is open. The open portion of the housing allows for a person to view the fire, waterfall or water and light emitting components of the module when the module is fully assembled.
A platform 115 is positioned above the reservoir within the housing and is configured for receiving a fireplace module (illustrated s 205 in
The fireplace module 205 is configured for producing a flame that is visible from the front side of the fireplace module. It is understood that the housing and the platform can be designed to receive and surround the fireplace module. In one embodiment, the fireplace module is a self-contained fireplace. The fireplace module may be electric, gas, wood burning etc. The fireplace module may include a vent proximate to the upper end of the fireplace module for allowing heat and smoke emitted from the fireplace.
A vent covered by a grill 130 may be coupled to a cutout presented on the top side of the housing 105. In one embodiment, the vent comprises a cutout on the panel of housing on the top end 112 of the housing. The cutout is configured to form a duct or passage such that any heat or smoke produced from inside the housing can flow to outside of the housing. Additionally, in other embodiments, a cutout on the housing is configured to attach to an air duct having a first end and a second end. The first end of the air duct connects to the cutout and the second end of the air duct is configured to mate with a heater vent of a fireplace module such that any heat produced from the fireplace module can flow to outside the system. The duct may comprise a traditional thin steel duct (the most widely used in galvanized steel), aluminum duct, another new type of inorganic fiberglass duct, aluminum foil composite fiberglass duct, aluminum foil polyurethane air duct, aluminum foil Phenolic foam air duct and so on. Additionally, other ducts can be used and are within the spirit and scope of the present invention.
A horizontally aligned tube 120 is coupled proximate to the front side of the housing. In the present embodiment, the horizontally aligned tube is configured to couple via a friction fit channel 131 along the panel of the front side of the housing. In other embodiments, the horizontally aligned tube may be fastened using a fastener such as a u-shaped staple, strap, tie, rivets, permanent and releasable adhesives, slidingly engaging fasteners, clamps, crimps, solder, cement, etc. The tube may be formed from both flexible or rigid materials such as polymers such as rigid PVC, acrylic, butyrate, polycarbonate, Polyurethane, Nylon, PVC (Vinyl) and Polyethylene, carbon steel, low and high alloy steel, stainless steel, aluminum, titanium, polyethylene, polyvinyl chloride (PVC), acrylonitrile-butadiene-styrene (ABS) copolymers, concrete, fiber-reinforced polymers, or any combination. Additionally, other materials having rigid or flexible properties can be used and are within the spirit and scope of the present invention.
The horizontally aligned tube comprises at least one opening (illustrated as 210 in
A vertically aligned transparent pane 110 is coupled proximate to the front side of the fireplace module. The transparent pane is configured such that water dispensed from the horizontally aligned tube flows down a front side of the pane. The pane may comprise glass, or polymeric based material having heat resistant properties. Additionally, other materials having transparent or translucent and heat resistant properties can be used and are within the spirit and scope of the present invention. The transparent feature of the pane is configured so that the fire element emitted by the fireplace module can be seen from behind the water element or water element. The pane 110 is configured such that the water dispensed from the horizontal tube falls down the pane. In the present embodiment, the horizontally aligned tube is frontward or in front of the pane. In some embodiments, the pane may be somewhat angled either frontward or rearward.
In
The pump may be configured to move water through a plurality of tubes. In one embodiment, the pump is configured for pumping water from the reservoir through the vertically aligned tubes 119, 305 via horizontally aligned tubes 310, 306 located within the reservoir so that the water can be dispersed through the horizontally aligned tube 120. Having two vertically aligned tubes feeding fluid into both ends of the horizontally aligned tube allows for water to flow into the horizontally aligned tube at both ends and provides for a more even distribution of water down the transparent pane 110, which can be more visually appealing. In other embodiments, the pump water may be configured through only one vertical tube. The pump is configured to be conductively coupled and powered by an external power source, such as by solar energy, electrical power grid, battery, rechargeable battery, wind power, etc. However, other power sources may be used and are within the spirit and scope of the present invention.
The system may also include at least one light emitting object or bulb configured to emit light. In the present embodiment, the light emitting element comprises a light emitting diode (LED) strip 410 within a housing 415. However, other light emitting elements may be used and are within the spirit and scope of the present invention such as fluorescent bulbs, incandescent bulbs, power-saving bulbs, glass bulbs, UV light bulbs etc. The light emitting element may be configured to be conductively coupled and powered by an external power source, such as by solar cell, electrical power grid, battery, rechargeable battery, wind power, etc. However, other power sources may be used and are within the spirit and scope of the present invention.
The remote controlling device may be used to control the light emitting element and/or pump in order to adjust the operation of the light emitting element and the operation of the pump. For example, the remote controlling device can be used to: turn on/off the pump and water flow; increase or decrease the water flow; turn on/off the light emitting element; change the color of the light emitted by the lighting element, etc.
In one embodiment, the system may also include a communication device 701 for communicating with a remote computing device 702 (illustrated in
With reference to
Computing device 700 may have additional features or functionality. For example, computing device 700 may also include additional data storage devices (removable and/or non-removable) such as, for example, magnetic disks, optical disks, or tape. Such additional storage is illustrated in
Computing device 700 may also contain a communication connection 716 that may allow device 700 to communicate with other computing devices 718, such as over a network in a distributed computing environment, for example, an intranet or the Internet or wirelessly with devices 630 and 635. Communication connection 716 is one example of communication media. Communication media may typically be embodied by computer readable instructions, data structures, program modules, or other data in a modulated data signal, such as a carrier wave or other transport mechanism, and includes any information delivery media. The term “modulated data signal” may describe a signal that has one or more characteristics set or changed in such a manner as to encode information in the signal. By way of example, and not limitation, communication media may include wired media such as a wired network or direct-wired connection, and wireless media such as acoustic, radio frequency (RF), wireless communication includes wireless Bluetooth® technology, WIFI, infrared, and other wireless media. The term computer readable media as used herein may include both computer storage media and communication media.
As stated above, a number of program modules and data files may be stored in system memory 704, including operating system 705. While executing on processing unit 702, programming modules 706 may perform processes including performing sound processing functions such as signal processing, digital processing, etc. Computing device 702 may also include a graphics processing unit 703, which supplements the processing capabilities of processor 702 and which may execute programming modules 706, including all or a portion of those processes identified or alluded to above. The aforementioned processes are examples, and processing units 702, 703 may perform other processes. Other programming modules that may be used in accordance with embodiments of the present invention may include electronic mail and contacts applications, word processing applications, spreadsheet applications, database applications, slide presentation applications, drawing or computer-aided application programs, etc.
Generally, consistent with embodiments of the invention, program modules may include routines, programs, components, data structures, and other types of structures that may perform particular tasks or that may implement particular abstract data types. Moreover, embodiments of the invention may be practiced with other computer system configurations, including hand-held devices, multiprocessor systems, microprocessor-based or programmable consumer electronics, minicomputers, mainframe computers, and the like. Embodiments of the invention may also be practiced in distributed computing environments where tasks are performed by remote processing devices that are linked through a communications network. In a distributed computing environment, program modules may be located in both local and remote memory storage devices.
Furthermore, embodiments of the invention may be practiced in an electrical circuit comprising discrete electronic elements, packaged or integrated electronic chips containing logic gates, a circuit utilizing a microprocessor, or on a single chip (such as a System on Chip) containing electronic elements or microprocessors. Embodiments of the invention may also be practiced using other technologies capable of performing logical operations such as, for example, AND, OR, and NOT, including but not limited to mechanical, optical, fluidic, and quantum technologies. In addition, embodiments of the invention may be practiced within a general purpose computer or in any other circuits or systems.
Embodiments of the present invention, for example, are described above with reference to block diagrams and/or operational illustrations of methods, systems, and computer program products according to embodiments of the invention. The functions/acts noted in the blocks may occur out of the order as shown in any flowchart. For example, two blocks shown in succession may in fact be executed substantially concurrently or the blocks may sometimes be executed in the reverse order, depending upon the functionality/acts involved.
While certain embodiments of the invention have been described, other embodiments may exist. Furthermore, although embodiments of the present invention have been described as being associated with data stored in memory and other storage mediums, data can also be stored on or read from other types of computer-readable media, such as secondary storage devices, like hard disks, floppy disks, thumb drives, or a CD-ROM, or other forms of RAM or ROM. Further, the disclosed methods' stages may be modified in any manner, including by reordering stages and/or inserting or deleting stages, without departing from the invention.
Although the subject matter has been described in language specific to structural features and/or methodological acts, it is to be understood that the subject matter defined in the appended claims is not necessarily limited to the specific features or acts described above. Rather, the specific features and acts described above are disclosed as example forms of implementing the claims.
This patent application claims benefit of the filing date of U.S. Provisional Application Ser. No. 62/206,338 filed Aug. 18, 2015 and the subject matter of which is incorporated herein by reference.
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 62206338 | Aug 2015 | US |
