GB2462847A

GB2462847A - Domestic heating appliance with contactless proximity control

Info

Publication number: GB2462847A
Application number: GB0815304A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Keith Jonathan Stokes
Original assignee: Valor Ltd
Current assignee: Valor Ltd
Priority date: 2008-08-22
Filing date: 2008-08-22
Publication date: 2010-02-24
Also published as: GB0815304D0

Abstract

A heating appliance 10 with a contactless control means 24 that may comprise a proximity sensor 28. A first control function may be requested when a property of the output signal from the proximity sensor 28, which may be the amplitude of the signal, exceeds a predetermined value for a preset period of time. A second control function may be requested when a second, longer preset period of time is exceeded. The first control means may be the control of the actuation of the appliance 10 and the second control means may be the control of the heat output of the appliance 10. The proximity sensor 28 may comprise a means for transmitting 26, detecting 28 and measuring 34 the reflected signal. Infra red radiation or electromagnetic radiation may be transmitted, received and measured. The control means 24 may also be concealed. The main use is within a domestic electric flame effect fire 10 or a gas-fuelled imitation fire (Figure 3).

Description

DESCRIPTION

HEATING APPARATUS

The present invention relates to heating appliances and in particular, but not exclusively, to domestic heating appliances.

Domestic heating appliances, for example flame effect electric heaters and living-flame gas heaters, require manually-operable controls in order to turn the appliances on and off and to adjust the heat output.

For electric heating appliances, this has traditionally been achieved by one or more simple switches, for example rocker switches, located on the apparatus in a position which is readily accessible to a user. For a gas heating appliance, the control normally takes the form of a lever which is displaceable in order to adjust one or more regulating valves to control the supply of fuel to the appliance.

However, it is felt that the use of traditional switches can adversely affect the appearance of the appliance in some circumstances, by spoiling the design. In particular, several designs of heating appliance have recently been made available which are fitted with a polished glass front sheet which typically has a smoked glass border and a clear central area for viewing a simulated glowing bed of fuel, stones or the like and/or a flame effect (for electric fires) or for viewing a simulated fuel bed and flames produced by the combustion of fuel (for gas heaters).

One approach to overcome this problem is to provide a touch-sensitive control which is built into the heating appliance. An example of such a touch-sensitive control is disclosed in GB 2408569, in which a conductive surround forming part of the apparatus serves as a capacitive touch-sensitive control element which is operative to control the heating appliance.

However, the touch-sensitive control of a heating appliance frequently results in fingerprints being left on a polished surface of the appliance, which detracts from the appearance.

Moreover, the very nature of a heating appliance results in the temperature of the appliance increasing in use, which can have the effect of making the touch-sensitive control of the appliance uncomfortable in use.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a heating appliance which does not suffer from the disadvantages of the prior art.

In accordance with a first aspect of the present invention, a heating appliance comprises a contactless control means operative to control one or more functions of the appliance.

By using a contactless control means it is not necessary to touch the heating appliance in order to control it. Thus, the formation of unwanted marks or fingerprints on the outer surface of the appliance can be avoded. Moreover, since it is not necessary to touch the appliance in order to control it, it is no longer a problem to a user of the appliance if it becomes hot in use.

In one embodiment, the contactless contact means comprises a proximity sensor.

Preferably, the control means determines that a first control function has been requested when a property of the output signal from the proximity sensor exceeds a predetermined value. More preferably, the control means determines that a first control function has been requested when a property of the output signal from the proximity sensor exceeds a predetermine value for the first predetermined period of time.

The first control function may be, for example, the control of the actuation of the appliance.

In one embodiment, the control means determines that a second control function has been requested when the property of the output from the proximity sensor exceeds a predetermined value for a second, longer predetermined period of time, The second control function may, for example, be the control of the heat output of the appliance.

The property of the output signal which is used to determine that a control function has been requested may comprise the amplitude of the signal.

A proximity sensor may comprise means for transmitting the signal and means for detecting and measuring the reflected signal.

For example, the control means may comprise means for transmitting, and means for detecting and measuring, electromagnetic radiation, e.g. infra-red radiation.

Preferably the control means is concealed, The present invention includes both an electrical heating appliance and a gasfuelled heating appliance.

By way of example only, specific embodiments of the present invention will now been described, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: Fig. 1 is a perspective view of a first embodiment of heating appliance in accordance with the present invention; Fig. 2 is a schematic cross-sectional view through the control means of Fig. I; and Fig. 3 is a perspective of a second embodiment of heating appliance in accordance with the present invention.

Fig. 1 is an embodiment of electrical heating appliance in accordance with the present invention. The heating appliance shown in Fig. 1 is of the "slimline" wall-mounted type and comprises a slim cuboidal casing 10, whose front vertical face is covered with a highly polished glass sheet 12. The glass sheet has a darker border 14 and a clear rectangular central portion 16, through which an illuminated simulated fuel bed 18 located within the casing 10 can be seen.

Known flame effect means (e.g. illuminated, vertically disposed elongate ribbons positioned in an air current behind a translucent screen) are also provided within the casing to produce simulated moving flames 20 in a known manner. The appliance also comprises a fan heater 22 located at the base of the casing 10, which produces a current of heated air.

The appliance is controlled by contactless control means 24 located behind the glass cover panel 14 in the region of the darker border. The control means 24 is illustrated in more detail in Fig. 2 and in this particular embodiment comprises a proximity sensor having an infrared light emitting diode 26 and an infra-red sensor 28 mounted on a common circuit board 30. Electrical power for the components of the circuit board 30, and signals from the infra-red sensor 28, are transferred by means of conventional electrical connectors 32 to a mother board 34.

In the particular embodiment, when a user places his or her hand 36 in the vicinity of the control means, infra-red radiation from the LED 26 is reflected from the user back to the infra-red sensor 28. When the output of the sensor 28, as determined by the mother board 34, exceeds a predetermined value, it is determined that a user wishes to control the heating appliance.

The control means is set up and calibrated such that a control request will be deemed to have been made if part of a user's hand is positioned within a distance d up to a maximum of 50mm from the outer face of the glass panel, and if a property of the signal from the infra-red detector 28, e.g. amplitude exceeds the threshold for a predetermined period of time, for example, two seconds, as determined by programming of the mother board 34. This guards against the control function being inadvertently implemented if, for example, a person were to walk past the control means 24, which might momentarily result in a signal from the sensor 28 in excess of the threshold.

In the simplest arrangement, the control means is adapted to switch on the appliance it turned off or switch off the heating appliance if already turned on. However, by appropriate programming of the mother board 34, additional functions may be provided.

For example, control means 24 may be arranged such that detection of a signal by the Infra-red sensor 28 in excess of the threshold for an extended period of time (for example 4 seconds) is deemed to be a request that the output of the heating appliance is to be changed. This may be achieved sequentially, whereby holding a user's hand In position for an extended period scrolls the control of the output from zero, then to a first level, then to a second level, then back to zero, and so on.

The control means 24 may be arranged to generate a signal to indicate to a user that a control request has been acted upon. For example, the control means may be operative to generate an audio signal (e.g. a buzzer) and/or a visual signal (e.g. a flashing LED, as illustrated schematically at 38 in Fig. 1).

A second embodiment of the present invention is illustrated in Fig. 3. The hearing appliance Illustrated in Fig. 3 is a gas-fuelled appliance of the type referred to in United Kingdom patent 2402468. Briefly, the appliance comprises a pressed metal casing 40 within which a simulated fuel bed42 is positioned. Gaslsfedtothesimulatsdfuelbed42andls ignited, thereby causing the simulated fuel bed 42 to glow and producing flames 44 in the manner of a real fire.

A planar, rectangular heat-resistant fluoroslllcate glass sheet 46 having the same dimensions as the front face of the casing 40 is positioned in front of the casing, parallel to Its front face. The sheet is mounted on four pins 48 projecting perpendicularly to the outer face of the front wall of the casing, one located in each corner of the sheet. The mounting of the sheet 46 spaces the sheet from the front wall of the casing and forms a gap 50 between the casing and the rear face of the sheet 46 to allow the exhaust of combustion products in the event of a blockage of the exhaust flue.

As for the first embodiment, the glass sheet 46 comprises a darkened outer border 50 and a clear rectangular central portion 52, through which the simulated fuel bed 42 and flames 44 are visible.

A control means 24 identical to that of the first embodiment, is located behind the rear face of the glass sheet 46. As for the first embodiment, by positioning a hand in the vicinity of, but not touching, the control means 24, the operation of the heating appliance can be controlled. The control of the heating appliance is governed by the mother board, but in view of the fact that the control of a gas fire requires adjustment of control valves and the like, the output control signal of the mother board would be used to control such valves, in a conventional manner.

As for the first embodiment, the contactless control means 24 may be arranged merely to switch the heating appliance on and off or may be more sophisticated, more example to increase or decrease the heat output of the heating appliance, by holding the user's hand in front of the control means for an extended period, whereby the relevant control(s) would be cycled smoothly from minimum output to maximum output, back to minimum output, and so on, for as long as the user's hand is held in the vicinity of the control means.

The invention is not restricted to the details of the foregoing embodiments. For example, although the embodiments have been described with reference to the use of a source of infra-red radiation and detection of that radiation, other means of contactless sensors may be used, including, but not limited to, photoelectronic sensors, temperature differential sensors, Doppler sensors ultrasonic sensors, other forms of proximity sensor, or other types of sensors.

Claims

CLAIMS1. A heating appliance comprising a contactless control means operative to control one or more functions of the appliance.
2. A heating appliance as claimed in claim 1, wherein the contactless contact means comprises a proximity sensor.
3. A heating appliance as claimed in claim 2, wherein the control means determines that a first control function has been requested when a property of the output signal from the proximity sensor exceeds a predetermined value.
4. A heating appliance as claimed in claim 3, wherein the control means determines that a first control function has been requested when a property of the output signal from the proximity sensor exceeds a predetermined value for a first predetermined period of time.
5. A heating appliance as claimed in claim 4, wherein the first control function is the control of the actuation of the appliance.
6. A heating appliance as claimed in claim 4 or claim 5, wherein the control means determines that a second control function has been requested when a property of the output signal from the proximity sensor exceeds a predetermined value for a second, longer predetermined period of time.
7. A heating appliance as claimed in claim 6, wherein the second control function is the control of the heat output of the appliance.
8. A heating appliance as claimed in any of claims 3 to 7, wherein the property of the output signal is the amplitude of the signal.
9. A heating apparatus as claimed in any of claims 2 to 8, wherein the proximity sensor comprises means for transmitting a signal and means for detecting and measuring the reflected signal.
10. A heating appliance as claimed in claim 9, wherein the control means comprises means for transmitting, and means for detecting and measuring, electromagnetic radiation.
11. A heating appliance as claimed in claim 10, wherein the control means comprises means for transmitting, and means for detecting and measuring, infra-red radiation.
12. A heating appliance as claimed in any of the preceding claims, wherein the control means is concealed.
13. An electrical heating appliance as claimed in any of the preceding claims.
14. A gas-fuelled heating appliance as claimed in any of claims I to 12.
15. A heating appliance substantially as herein described, with reference to, and as illustrated in, the accompanying drawings.