EP2700880B1

EP2700880B1 - Fireplace insert appliance

Info

Publication number: EP2700880B1
Application number: EP20130181400
Authority: EP
Inventors: Michael Stack
Original assignee: WATERFORD FOUNDRY INV S Ltd; Waterford Foundry Inventions Ltd
Current assignee: Waterford Foundry Inventions Ltd
Priority date: 2012-08-22
Filing date: 2013-08-22
Publication date: 2015-04-22
Anticipated expiration: 2033-08-22
Also published as: EP2700880A3; IE86470B1; IE20130249A1; EP2700880A2

Description

The present invention relates to fireplace insert appliances.
Open fireplaces which burn solid fuel are still used extensively to heat rooms, such as living rooms in houses and other domestic dwellings. However, an open fireplace is very inefficient for burning solid fuel as most of the heat generated goes up the chimney. It is estimated that up to approximately 40m³ of hot air per hour escapes up the chimney which of course means that 40m³ of cold air per hour from the room has to replace that hot air. As well as being inefficient this also generates draughts of air within the room being heated.
To overcome these problems, many companies supply fire fronts which are fixed to the front of the fireplace. When fitted initially and properly sealed, they will give an improved performance. However, these fire fronts are prone to leaking due to the breakdown of the sealing material, such as a rope seal and/or inconsistencies in the surface of the fireplace surround or fireback. Such leaks as well as obviously increasing the consumption of air by the fire can, in certain circumstances such as a down draught in a chimney, lead to the escape of carbon monoxide and other gases into the room where people are located which unfortunately may have fatal consequences.
US 4 36205 A , GB 778586 A , GB 738849 A and GB 2452275 A are examples of prior art fireplace insert appliances relevant to the invention.
The present invention seeks to alleviate the disadvantages associated with the prior art and is disclosed in the appended Claims 1 to 9 which are incorporated into this description.
The present invention provides a fireplace insert appliance comprising a fireback unit for insertion into an existing fireplace, a fire front adapted to engage with and seal the fireback unit, the fireback unit having means to anchor it to an existing fireplace area, the appliance having means to secure it adjustably to the anchor means of the fireback unit and top clamping means for securing the upper portion of the appliance in a fireplace and which in conjunction with the anchoring means and securing means are adapted to seal the appliance in the fireplace and the anchoring means comprises a locating plate for anchoring to a floor of the appliance and the securing means comprises a floor plate having adjustable securing means for fixing to the appliance.
The present invention also provides a fireplace insert appliance comprising a fireback unit for insertion into an existing fireplace, a fire front adapted to engage with and seal the fireback unit, the fireback unit having baffle means operable to control flue draught in the appliance, the baffle means comprises at least one baffle plate and baffle support means, whereby the baffle plate is removable from the baffle support means after installation of the fireplace insert appliance.
The present invention provides a baffle system enabling a baffle plate to be removed to facilitate unencumbered access to the chimney space while the appliance remains installed in a fire place. Accordingly, the appliance does not have to be removed in order to gain access for chimney cleaning and a cleaner may access the chimney space via the door opening of the appliance. Moreover, removal of the baffle plate without having to remove the appliance will enable back filling of non-combustible material around the body of the appliance in the fire place, such back filling is important for stopping the ingress of creosote and moisture into the building masonry or fire place structures behind and around the appliance.
Preferably, the baffle plate is adjustable on the support means to increase or decrease flue draught.
Preferably, the baffle support means comprises support lugs. Alternatively, the baffle support means is in the form of support ledges. Lugs and/or support ledges may be arranged at positions or levels in the appliance so that the position of the baffle plate may be adjusted to control the flue draught in the appliance.
The present invention will now be described more particularly with reference to the accompanying drawings in which are shown one embodiment of a fireplace insert appliance in accordance with the present invention. \
In the drawings:

Figure 1 is a side sectional view of a fireplace insert appliance in accordance with the present invention;
Figure 2 is an enlarged view of the detail of a fixing arrangement for anchoring a floor plate and a locating plate of the appliance together;
Figure 3 is a perspective view of the floor plate showing an aperture in the floor plate which is adapted to receive the locating plate; and a fixing means for securely anchoring the locating plate to the floor plate when the locating plate is engaged in the opening of the floor plate; and
Figure 4 is a perspective view of the locating plate engaged in the floor plate opening and anchored to the floor plate by the fixing means.
Figure 5 is a front perspective view of the fireplace insert appliance of Figure 1;
Figure 6 is a cross-sectional side view of the appliance as shown in Figure 5;
Figure 7 is a front perspective view of the fireplace insert appliance of Figure 5 with a baffle plate removed;
Figure 8 is a rear perspective view of Figure 7;
Figures 9 and 10 are side sectional views of Figure 6 showing respectively cleaning and back filling when the baffle plate is removed, and
Figure 11 is a perspective view showing convection air movement in the appliance of Figure 1.

Referring now to the drawings, and initially Figures 1 to 4, the fireplace insert appliance of the present invention is indicated generally by reference numeral 100 and includes a fireback unit 101 and a fire front 102. The fire front 102 includes an opening 104 through which fuel is fed into the appliance and a hinged door 106 is openable and closable by a handle 108.
A locating plate is indicated generally by reference numeral 10 and a floor plate is indicated generally by reference numeral 20. The floor plate 20 has an opening 21 cut out of the floor plate 20. The floor plate 20 also has a fork 22 located rearwardly of the slot 21 and generally aligned with the opening 21 such that the slot 23 in the fork 22 is aligned centrally with the opening 21. The locating plate 10 has a lug 11 underneath. The lug 11 is adapted to fit into the opening 21 and be securely engaged in the ground through the opening 21 by a floor fixing bolt 25 but leaving a clearance 13 to allow the floor plate 20 to slide relative to the locating plate 10.
The locating plate 10 also has an upstanding wall 12 provided at one end of the locating plate 10. The wall 12 is provided with a threaded screw opening 15 which is engaged by a fixing bolt 16. The main body of the locating plate 10 is wider or longer than the opening 21 which helps secure the floor plate 20 to the ground.
The locating plate 10 is designed with a dual function:

(1) To anchor the floor plate 20 to the ground; and
(2) To allow the floor plate 20 to be adjusted in line with a top clamp 40 to guarantee a completely sealed unit around its periphery and prevent against the possibility of flue gases leaking into the room.

The lug 11 on the underside of the locating plate 10 is designed to fit into the opening 21 in the floor plate 20. The height of the lug 11 is higher than the thickness of the floor plate 20 which means that when the locating plate 10 is secured to the floor, the floor plate 20 can slide freely forwards and backwards as required due to the clearance 13.
To install and use the fireplace insert appliance of the present invention, the fireback unit 101 is pushed into position in an existing fireplace while the seal is provided around the fire front 102 or surround. Once the installer is satisfied that the fireback unit 101 is in its desired position, the locating plate 10 is placed into position, making sure it is positioned at the back of the slot in the floor plate 20.
The locating plate 10 is fixed to the floor using the masonry floor fixing bolt 25. Once the locating plate 10 is secured to the floor, a fixing means such as the bolt 16 and washer 17 can be inserted through the fork 22 in the floor plate 20 and secured to the locating plate 10. As the fixing is tightened, this pulls the floor plate 20 and fireback unit 101 back towards the locating plate 10 and compresses the seal to give an air tight seal around the inside of the fire front.
Referring now to Figures 1 and 5 to 10, included in the fireback unit 101 is a baffle means, indicated generally by the reference numeral 51, operable to control flue draught in the appliance 100. The baffle means comprises at least one baffle plate 50 and baffle support means 52.
The baffle plate 50 is adjustable on the support means 52 to increase or decrease flue draught.
The baffle support means 52 comprises support lugs, support ledges and/or other suitable means upon which a baffle plate 50, or end of the baffle plate, is supported or held in the fireback unit 101. The lugs and/or support ledges are positioned in the fireback unit 101 such that the position and/or orientation of the baffle plate 50 may be adjusted to control the flue draught in the appliance 100.
The baffle plate 50 is removable both partially and/or fully from the baffle support means, such as by lifting or sliding the plate 50 from the baffle supports means 52, even when the fireplace insert appliance 100 is installed. When the baffle plate 50 is removed from the baffle support means 52 an opening 58 to the chimney 57 is formed in the top of the fireback unit 101.
Accordingly, the appliance 100 does not have to be removed in order to gain access for chimney cleaning and a cleaner may access the chimney 57 with a cleaning implement, such as a brush 53, via the door opening 104 of the appliance 100. Moreover, removal of the baffle plate 50 without having to remove the appliance 100 will also enable a user 60 to back fill non-combustible material 55, such as sand, gravel or other suitable material, around the appliance 100 in the fire place, such back filling being important for stopping the ingress of creosote and moisture into the building masonry or fire place structures 56 behind and around the appliance 100.
Included in the fireback unit 101 is thus a separately adjustable baffle 50 which is used to control the flue draught in the appliance. The draught can be adjusted to increase or decrease the flue draught to suit a particular chimney. The baffle 50 can be freely adjusted after installation by locating it on one or more support lugs 52 and may be removed when subsequently cleaning the chimney.
The baffle 50 thus co-operates with the locating plate 10 to give the optimum draught for the appliance in a manner which maintains the integrity of the air and gas seal around the unit.
Figure 11 illustrates the flow of ambient air into the appliance 100 via inlet means in or adjacent the base of the appliance 100. The ambient air moves by convection through heat transfer conduits of the appliance 100 and this heated convection air passes out of the appliance 100 through apertures 59 to heat a room.
A modified top clamp 140 is shown in Figures 5 to 11 and comprises an elongate clamp bar 141 having an angled upper face 142, an adjustable anchor bolt 144, a mid section threaded bar 146 which extends through a slot 148 in the clamp bar and engages with a spacer bar 150 secured with lock nuts 152. When installing the appliance in position, the top clamp 140 is adjusted and tightened using the bolts with lock nuts 152 to adjust the angle of clamp bar 141 and secure it to the inner surface of the fireplace. The adjustment and securing of the clamp 141 in conjunction with the adjustment and securing of the floor plate 20 with the locating plate 10 are used together to secure the fireplace insert appliance 100 in position.

Claims

A fireplace insert appliance (100) comprising a fireback unit (101) for insertion into an existing fireplace, a fire front (102) adapted to engage with and seal the fireback unit (101), the fireback unit (101) has means (10,25) to anchor it to an existing fireplace area, the appliance has means (20) to secure it adjustably to the anchor means (10,25) of the fireback unit (101) and top clamping means (40, 100) for securing the upper portion of the appliance in a fireplace and which in conjunction with the anchoring means (10,25) and securing means (20) are adapted to seal the appliance in the fireplace, characterized in that the anchoring means (10,25) comprises a locating plate (10) for anchoring to a floor of the appliance and the securing means comprises a floor plate (20) having adjustable securing means (16) for fixing to the appliance.
A fireplace insert appliance (100) as claimed in Claim 1, in which the fireback unit (101) has baffle means (51) operable to control flue draught in the appliance, the baffle means (51) comprises at least one baffle plate (50) and baffle support means (52), whereby the baffle plate (50) is removable from the baffle support means (52) after installation of the fireplace insert appliance.
A fireplace insert appliance as claimed in Claim 2, in which the baffle plate (50) is removable to facilitate unencumbered access to the chimney space while the appliance remains installed in a fire place, whereby, the appliance does not have to be removed in order to gain access for chimney cleaning and a cleaner may access a chimney space via a door opening (104) of the appliance, and whereby, removal of the baffle plate (50) without having to remove the appliance will enable back filling of non-combustible material around the body of the appliance in the fire place.
A fireplace insert appliance as claimed in Claim 2 or Claim 3, in which the baffle plate (50) is adjustable on the support means (52) to increase or decrease flue draught.
A fireplace insert appliance as claimed in any one of Claims 2 to 4, in which the baffle support means (52) comprises support lugs or ledges.
A fireplace insert appliance as claimed in Claim 5, in which the lugs or support ledges are arranged at positions or levels in the appliance so that the position of the baffle plate (50) may be adjusted to control the flue draught in the appliance.
A fireplace insert appliance (100) as claimed in Claim 1, in which the locating plate (10) has a raised lug (11) adapted to be securely engaged in the ground through an opening (21) in the floor plate (20) by means of a masonry floor fixing means (25), while leaving a clearance (13) to allow the floor plate (20) to slide relative to the locating plate.
A fireplace insert appliance (100) as claimed in Claim 7, in which the locating plate (10) has an upstanding wall (12) at one end, the upstanding wall having a screw threaded orifice for the receipt of a fixing bolt (16), and the floor plate (20) has a fork (22) for engagement with the fixing bolt (16) to allow the fork (22) to be securely moved and fixed relative to the upstanding wall (12).
A fireplace insert appliance (100) as claimed in Claim 1, in which the clamping means (140) comprises an elongate clamp bar (141) having an angled upper face (142) and a slot (148), an adjustable anchor bolt (144), a mid section threaded bar (146) engagable through the slot (148), a spacer bar (150) and lock nuts (152), whereby the clamp bar (141) is adjustably securable to the inside of a fireplace.