Patent Application
20070207429
a) Field of the Invention
This concept relates generally to the field of furnishings and more particularly to furniture objects such as tables, chairs, fountains, coffee tables, patio tables, wall furnishings, and other items which occur within the human living environment. More particularly, this concept relates to providing an ornamental flame as a centerpiece within the furnishing object. The operation and control of the flame as it appears above noncombustible media such as water, rocks, glass, sand, and other material which is noncombustible is provided within this general concept.
b) Background Art
The following prior art discusses various forms of burner assemblies but it is believed that they in no way disclose the present concept.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,926,517 discloses an apparatus and method for simulated campfires which has a fire pan, a diffuser element located within the pan, and a gas injector which extends into the interior. Referring to column 2 at line 47, the campfire apparatus can be assembled on a support surface and connected to a fuel source. A fire pan which has a main body with an inner surface and an upper rim holds the vaporized fuel when the gas is injected through a gas outlet into the pan interior. A vaporized fuel diffuser helps to disperse the fuel into the pan. Low density, nonflammable, material is disbursed in the pan to a depth sufficient to cover the gas fuel injector and the diffuser element. The particulate material allows the fuel vapor to pass upwards and restricts ignition of the fuel until the fuel reaches the upper surface of the particulate material. The particulate matter as discussed in column 3 around line 6, is selected from a group of materials such as silicates, carbonates, course sands, ores, and material such as vermiculite.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,769,906 discloses a fire effect appliance which has a bowl which is supplied by a flammable gas line. A defusing device is also included and evenly distributes the gas throughout particulate matter contained within the inner chamber of the fire bowl. The bowl can be placed on a freestanding mount, or placed within a table. A fan as seen in
U.S. Pat. No. 6,609,514 discloses a portable fire pit and fire pit stand which has an elevated platform, fire pit within the platform, and a container of fuel. A decorative item may be placed within the fire pit and around the fuel. The fuel is ignited to display a large flame. A cover is placed over the fire pit. Referring to column 3 at line 25, a flange is formed around the top perimeter of the fire pit and allows the pit portion to be inserted and retained in the elevated platform without need of fastening. A container grate as seen in column 3 around line 36 is placed in the bottom of the fire pit, which reduces heat transfer from the heating element to the bottom of the pit. Further down at line 42, at least one container of fuel is surrounded by a decorative item which mimics for example, a noncombustible log, coals, stones or other items. The fuel is in one form a gel or in another form a type of alcohol fuel derivative.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,354,288 discloses a portable fireplace which has an inner housing and a flame pit. An outer housing surrounds the inner housing and a space is formed between the inner and outer housings to create an insulation zone. A support is contained within the flame pit to hold a flame presentation substance. Referring to column 3 at line 5, a fire ring which has a series of interconnected tubes forming a manifold has perforations and allows gas to be fed to the fire ring to exit and be ignited by a suitable ignition source. Contained over the fire ring as discussed in column 3 at line 48, is the flame presentation substance such as wood, log, rocks, artificial logs, and other similar ornamental looking devices.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,192,881 discloses a portable fireplace with a planar base and a plurality of gas orifices. The base can be any shape, and the gas is directed through channels to orifices where it emerges and ignites. In an alternative embodiment, the base is enclosed within a tight wind screen and contains water which allows the illusion of flames emerging from a flame burning water surface. Referring to column 3 at line 40, it is possible to add rocks to the base in order to enhance the visual effect. Also, the fluid as discussed in line 59 may also comprise any noncombustible fluid. Once the gas emerges from the water, the gas is ignited by a match or spark igniter, and the flame gives an enjoyable visual effect in a sustained manner above the surface of the fluid. When used with the fluid, the orifices discharging the gas also use a diaphragm valve or check valve to prevent the water or fluid from entering into the gas channel.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,065,466 discloses a barbecue and patio table combination with a burner pit positioned in the upper section of the table which can be covered when not in use by a lid which is flush with the upper surface of the table slab. Cooking griddle, charcoal plate, and ash collecting bucket are held within the inner wall of the burner pit in an inverted frusto conical shape.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,868,128 discloses a fire pit which has controls for flames from a lava rock media visibly displayed at the base portion of an elevated platform. Surrounding the platform is a wall to contain the lava rocks. A gas line which has a number of outlet ports disposed throughout the lava rocks is contained herein. Attached to the base portion is a lid support structure which is substantially open around the lateral sides above the wall, which allows clear view of the law for rocks within the base portion. A controlled fire may be safely displayed in any outdoor space including residential areas of urban and suburban locales.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,168,796 discloses a combination table and cooking grill, which has a horizontal tabletop and a centrally disposed aperture in the middle of the table where the tabletop is mounted on the upper portion of a vertical hollow pedestal. An inner grill housing houses the heat source and the cooking grate with the grate and the heat source positioned below or in line with the central aperture. Users can place food items around the periphery of the table and grill the barbecued food as desired.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,582,250 discloses a gas fire fireplace basket which simulates a coal fire and incorporates a plurality of gas burners beneath the screen which in turn supports a plurality of pieces of noncombustible material in a loosely disposed shallow layer. A deepened pocket in the screen locates pieces of noncombustible material adjacent cutaway areas in the front portion of the basket which provides for the illusion of greater depth of the noncombustible materials than is actually provided.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,565,337 discloses a flaming fountain, which is a display device where natural or other combustible gases mixed with water as the water is ejected from a special mixing chamber and causes the gas to be trapped and encapsulated with air bubbles suspended in the water stream so that when a mixture of gaseous and water breaks over a loss of momentum and gravity, the bubbles break, releasing the combustible gas which is ignited and provides a flame at the point where the water breaks over. By varying the pressure of the water, the encapsulated gas may be released at selected heights and over greater various areas.
Generally speaking, this concept relates to providing an ornamental flame which appears to combust above a noncombustible media. For example, the ornamental flame may appear to float or bum above say for example rocks, water, sand, glass, or other media which normally does not bum unless at extremely high temperatures. The ornamental flame is provided within an ornamental flame object which will be discussed below.
Referring to
Discussing further the ornamental effect of the flame, and referring to
To provide for this ornamental flame 20 burning above the noncombustible media 38, a series of fuel dispersion assemblies 40 which will discussed below as seen in
To create the ornamental flame 20, a vapor fuel is provided which feeds the combustion. The vapor fuel is provided from a vapor fuel container 24 which in this case is a propane tank. In the current embodiment, the propane tank 24 is strapped to the outside of one of the support legs 14 of the table or ornamental flame object 10, but in alternative embodiments the propane tank 24 is provided in a recess within the support leg 14.
The vapor fuel is fed to the burner 34 through the use of a fuel vapor line 28. The vapor fuel is regulated by a control valve 26 as it is provided at the outlet of the pre-pressurized propane tank 24. The burner 34 extends through the bottom wall 32 of the media recess 16 through a burner port 30 which is sealed to keep the noncombustible media 38 from exiting through the burner port but allows the vapor fuel feed line 26 to extend up through the port and into the fuel dispersion assembly 40 which will be further discussed below.
Although the current embodiment provides for a single fuel source or propane tank 24 to feed the burner unit 34, additional fuel sources with additional control valves 26 can be provided as desired for the arrangement and configuration of the final ornamental effect of various ornamental flames, thus providing various arrangements and combinations as will be discussed below.
While providing the vapor fuel through a vapor fuel line 28 is part of the first stage of creating the ornamental effect, dispersing the vapor fuel which this case is propane, within the noncombustible media 38 to achieve the desired burning effect requires the use of a fuel dispersion assembly 40 as seen in
In this current embodiment, only a single fuel dispersion assembly 40 is provided. It is already conceived that additional assemblies can be used to create combinations of ornamental effects as will be discussed below.
The overall operation includes the following: after the fuel travels through the fuel vapor line 28 it enters into a fuel dispersion section or cup 44. The propane exits through the top of the vapor fuel line 28 and filters down through the bottom of the fuel dispersion cup 44. The vapor fuel then enters into a fuel staging section or cup 42 which is arranged to collect the vapor fuel 46 and present it at the top surface of the noncombustible media 38 so that it can be ignited and produce the ornamental flame 20. In order to provide for the proper presentment of the fuel vapor 46 at the desired location within the noncombustible media 38, the fuel cup 42 as seen in
The fuel cup 42 in this current embodiment has a fuel cup bottom wall 62 and a fuel cup side wall 65 and an open-edged fuel cup top edge 64. In this current embodiment the fuel cup is arranged to allow the fuel vapor line 28 to enter through the center portion of the fuel cup bottom wall 62. Referring to
In detailed flow operation: the fuel vapor 46 has a certain flow rate 45 because of the pre-pressurized propane tank 24. This flow rate 45 provides an exit velocity of the vapor fuel into the fuel cup 42. To keep the propane from exiting in the vertical direction, and enabling the vapor fuel to be dispersed within the fuel cup 42, the fuel dispersion cup 44 is provided with exit ports. The fuel dispersion cup has as previously mentioned a solid top wall 52 with cylindrical side walls 54. The cup is substantially open on the vertically lower or bottom edge 56.
The propane is deflected from its vertical travel path down into the bottom portion of the fuel dispersion cup 44 and then it passes through a plurality of predefined fuel dispersion exit ports 58. These exit ports 58 direct the vapor fuel 46 into the bottom region of the fuel cup 42 in the desired predetermined locations.
As the vapor fuel 46 begins to collect at the bottom of the fuel cup 42 (referring back to
During the burning operation, the combustion of the vapor fuel 46 will create around the perimeter and underneath the flame 20 itself, convection currents 48 which feeds the oxygen fuel combustion. The convection current 48 acts to draw up the vapor fuel 46 as it begins to spill over the edge 64 of the fuel cup 42. If the fuel cup recess height 50 is too great and the distance between the top edge of the fuel cup 64 and the top surface of the noncombustible media allows the aggregate spillover of the vapor fuel 46 to exceed the updraft convection current drag of the convection current 48, the vapor fuel 46 will begin to collect into the media recess 16. To keep the vapor fuel from allowing uncontrollable flames to extend beyond the edge of the fuel cup and into the media recess, the fuel cup recess height 50 needs to be substantially small enough to prevent this spillover from happening.
Although the current fuel dispersion assembly 40 is utilizing the fuel dispersion cup 44 in conjunction with the fuel cup 42, other assembly types are needed for various ornamental effects as well as for dispersion of the fuel within various noncombustible media.
For example, referring to
The air stone 82 in the current embodiment is configured as a tapered cylinder having a wider bottom cylinder base and a narrower top cylinder surface. The fuel vapor exit line 60, exits or terminates at the bottom of the air stone bottom wall 88 and is surrounded and held in position by an air stone stem 90.
While the above air stone fuel diffuser 82 exemplifies one embodiment of the vapor fuel dispersion assembly 40 in a liquid environment, other orientations synchronizing multiple vapor fuel dispersion assemblies are utilized.
Referring to
The fuel dispersion cups 44 distribute the fuel 28 within the inner wall region of the cylindrical fuel up 102. The fuel vapor is ignited and the circular ornamental flame 106 appears above the noncombustible media 38 as previously discussed.
Another alternative embodiment of the ornamental flame object 10 is shown with a spiral ornamental flame configuration 120 as seen in
Referring to
Now discussing in more detail the control for regulating the fuel into the fuel vapor cup (referring to
To provide for ignition and flow control, a fuel dispersion assembly with a programmable integrated circuit 160 is provided. The programmable integrated circuit 110 integrates with a control interface 172 which operates the control logic through an interface control application 174. The analog signals which are sent to the actuated control valve 164 and the piezo electric igniter 162 are sent from the digital to analog relay 171.
The programmable integrated circuit 110 can operate with a single fuel dispersion assembly, an ornamental frame object, or an ornamental flame assembly.
For example, the single control element performed by the programmable integrated circuit 110 on the fuel dispersion assembly 160 as seen in
One embodiment for providing single fuel dispersion assembly control, ornamental object flame control, or ornamental flame assembly control is through the use of a series of sub-applications within the main control application 174 as seen in
These control sub-applications include a fuel dispersion assembly operation application 182, an ornamental flame object operation application 184, and an ornamental flame assembly operation application 186. To perform their various functions, these applications draw from and initialize from a series of control class objects 176. The objects included within this class include a continuous burn object 190, the continuous burn object enabling the single application or assembly to bum the flame for a continuous period and then have manual shut off. Also is a timed bum object 192 which enables the user to set a time period for showing the ornamental flame.
The users may wish to utilize a series of predetermined variable flame configurations, which have been saved into the programmable integrated circuit 110. Thus in order to control the flames, a variable bum object 194 is provided.
Users may wish to set the height of various ornamental flames, therefore control logic as provided through the use of a burn level object 196 which includes a high level object 198, medium level object 200 and a low level object 202. In addition, users may wish to utilize performance burn object 204 which provides for functionality between multiple ornamental flame objects.
Additional control objects include an open valve object 206, an ignite object 208, a timer object 210, a lights on/off object 212, and a variable light control object 214.
The operation of the control application 174 for controlling a single flame dispersion assembly 182 operation application will now be provided. Referring to
In order to run the flame at a continuous burn, the control application takes a series of continuous bum steps 224 including as seen in
Similarly, in order to perform a timed burn at step 226 (referring to
In order to operate the variable bum setting of the ornamental flame at step 228, the application starts the variable burn process at step 286 and the user can set a rate to vary the control valve opening at step 294. The user can choose a high variable rate at step 280, a medium variable rate at step 290, or a low variable rate at step 292. After the control valve rate is set, the control application poles the valve to determine whether or not the valve is set to open at decision block step 296. If the valve is set to close then the control application signals the valve to open at step 298; otherwise the control application will then set the time to burn the flame at step 300. The application also enables the user to set the upper height of the ornamental flame at step 302 as well as the lowest height of the ornamental flame level at step 304. The control application will then enable the user to send an ignition signal at step 306 to the piezo electric igniter. The variable burn process 228 will run until in this case the while loop reaches the time equal to zero at step 308 at which point the variable bum process will end at step 310.
