EP4145041A1

EP4145041A1 - Apparatus for creating a simulated flame effect

Info

Publication number: EP4145041A1
Application number: EP22020418.4A
Authority: EP
Inventors: John Leslie Watts
Original assignee: Flamerite Fires Ltd
Current assignee: Flamerite Fires Ltd
Priority date: 2021-09-07
Filing date: 2022-08-31
Publication date: 2023-03-08

Abstract

Apparatus for creating a simulated flame effect and suitable for an electric fire comprises:-
a capture screen (11) to receive light from a light pattern projector;
a light pattern projector (14, 16) for projecting towards the capture screen a moving light pattern, and
wherein there is provided between the light pattern projector and the capture screen a textured light transmitting panel (12) the refractive index of which repeatedly varies over the surface of the panel whereby the image received by the capture screen comprises varying distortions of the light projected by the light pattern projector.

Description

This invention relates to an apparatus and a method for creating a realistic simulated flame effect, for example in an electric fire.
There are many designs of electric fires on the market that include some form of flame effect picture. Typically that flame effect picture is provided behind a fuel effect such as real or simulated coal or wood, or a decorative type simulated fuel effect such as one comprising bevels or glass spheres.
The present invention seeks to provide an apparatus and method that more efficiently and conveniently facilitates provision of a realistic simulated flame effect.
In accordance with one aspect of the present invention apparatus for creating a simulated flame effect and suitable for an electric fire comprises:-

a capture screen to receive light from a light pattern projector;
a light pattern projector for projecting towards the capture screen a moving light pattern, and
wherein there is provided between the light pattern projector and the capture screen a textured light transmitting panel the refractive index of which repeatedly varies over the surface of the panel whereby the image received by the capture screen comprises varying distortions of the light projected by the light pattern projector.

The panel may be formed from a material which may be described as one or more of transparent, semi-transparent and translucent, in contrast to opaque materials. Materials falling within said definition are known also as diffusing or roll pattern materials.
The textured panel may be a panel of a plastics material, such as Perspex, but more preferably is a panel of glass.
The capture screen may be translucent and, in use, the pattern of the flame effect image may be observed from that face of the screen opposite that face which receives light that has been transmitted through the textured panel.
In an alternative configuration the capture screen which receives light that has been transmitted through the textured panel is in the form of a reflective panel or mirror that serves to display the flame effect image when viewed from the same side of the capture screen as that side at which the textured panel is positioned.
In said alternative configuration the light pattern image reflected by a face of the capture screen when in the form of a reflective panel or mirror optionally may be arranged to be transmitted back through the textured panel such that the moving light pattern provided by the light pattern projector will have been transmitted twice through the textured panel and thus will have been subject to two steps of distortion by the textured panel. After transmission through the textured panel for a second time the image optionally may be viewed through a front screen of the apparatus, being a screen spaced from that face of the textured panel opposite that face of the textured panel that faces the capture screen.
Preferably the capture screen and textured panel are spaced apart.
Typically, though not necessarily, the textured panel and capture screen may each be substantially planar. The textured panel and capture screen may be positioned in spaced apart planes that are parallel with one another. Alternatively the textured panel and capture screen may be positioned in planes that are angled relative to one another. The relative angle may be between 0° and 90°, for example 45^0, but an angle in the range 0° to 20° may be advantageous if a compact construction is desired.
To ensure that an enhanced image is received by the capture screen the capture screen and textured panel should be positioned neither too close to one another nor too far apart. If the capture screen and textured panel are in substantially parallel planes, preferably the spacing is in the range 5mm to 70mm, more preferably in the range 10mm to 30mm, the spacing for optimum effect being a function of type of patterning of the textured panel.
If the capture screen and textured panel are angled relative to one another the texture pattern of the textured panel will tend to be elongated when received by the capture screen and typically there will be a varying degree of magnification as a function of the varying spacing between different regions of the capture screen and the textured panel.
An example of a suitable glass panel which has a refractive index that varies repeatedly across the surface of the panel is that of a panel formed from a glass know as "Flemish" patterned glass as supplied by Pilkington Group Limited.
The textured panel may comprise a pattern, such as that of Flemish patterned glass that is repeated across the surface of the textured panel in at least one of two mutually perpendicular directions.
Additionally or alternatively the textured panel may comprise a combination of two or more differently patterned areas. Thus the textured panel may comprise a plurality of panel sections and two or more panel sections may have different texturing.
The textured light transmitting panel preferably has a privacy level of no more than 3 as determined in accordance with the privacy level measurements of the scale 1 to 5 of Pilkington Group Limited. Preferably the privacy level of the textured panel is no more than 2. A panel having a privacy level of 1 has been found to be particular advantageous in the context of the present invention.
The textured panel may have a refractive index that varies in one or more directions over the face of the panel but does not vary in a second direction across the face of the panel. Preferably, however, the refractive index varies across the face of the panel in each of any two mutually perpendicular directions.
The light pattern projector may comprise a combination of a light source (such as an LED light source) and at least one moveable and reflective member which converts a constant, uniform light from the light source to a moving pattern which is then transmitted through the textured panel.
Additionally or alternatively the light pattern projector may comprise a light source that provides a moving pattern electronically,
The light source may comprise LEDs of a plurality of different colours or LEDs all of the same colour.
The light source may be in the form of at least one LED strip.
The LED strip may comprise one or more LED's. The or each or at least some of a plurality of LEDs may be programmable to change in at least one of colour, brightness and frequency of change. The software may be of a type operable to create a pattern of light using a plurality of LEDs positioned along the length of an LED strip. When employed in the context of the present invention with the use of the textured panel the light passage through the textured panel may be more advantageously manipulated than if employing constantly illuminated LEDs. Thus it is thereby possible to create a more realistic flame effect and randomly varying image on a capture screen (and a front panel if provided) than would otherwise be possible.
Although a light source as described in the preceding paragraph is particularly beneficial for creating a realistic flame effect apparatus which comprises the use of a panel of textured light transmitting material as herein described, it is to be understood that said form of light source may also be employed in other types of apparatus intended to create a realistic simulated flame effect.
Although a light source comprising at least one programmable LED light source is potentially advantageous, it is to be understood that the present invention alternatively may employ a light source that provides light of uniform colour and or brightness.
The apparatus may comprise a fuel effect, such as logs or coal, which may be solid or may be hollow at least in part.
If the apparatus comprises fuel effect of a type comprising a hollow region, that hollow region may be provided with a light source, such as an LED light source.
The fuel effect may comprise at least in part a region which is transparent or translucent for transmission of light therethrough from an internally positioned light source. The fuel effect may be of a shape that defines an opening through which light may pass from an internally positioned light source.
Light from an internal light source of a fuel effect may be directed forwards towards the front of the apparatus. Light from an internal light source may be directed additionally or alternatively in one or each of upwards and backwards directions.
The light from a light source within a fuel effect may be of constant intensity and, or colour or may be of varying colour and or intensity.
The light from an internally located light source of a fuel effect may be directed towards a capture screen for reflection by that screen thereby to provide a multidimensional effect and give the impression of a flame image burning between two fuel effects even there may be only one fuel effect present. Thus the provision of a light source within a fuel effect may be employed to provide an enhanced overall realism, and especially if the light source comprises for example programmable LEDs.
The provision of LED's located inside a fuel effect such as a log is optional but a combination with illumination from under the fuel effect may be preferable for some applications.
The apparatus may comprise a base which may be employed to support a fuel effect. Said base may be provided with one or more electric sockets for supply of electrical power to a light source, whether within a fuel effect or elsewhere within the apparatus. The electrical supply cable(s) for supply of electricity to the or each socket may be provided underneath the base of the apparatus thereby normally to be concealed from sight. Preferably the or each socket is positioned coincident with the required position of a fuel effect or light source thereby to be concealed from sight by presence of the light source or fuel effect.
One suitable type of moveable and reflective member is that conventionally termed "a flicker unit". Thus the moveable and reflective member(s) may comprise a rotatable spindle which supports a plurality of reflective vanes spaced apart along the length of the spindle. One known version of a rotatable and reflective member is described in GB 1345332A .
To facilitate a compact construction the light source may be positioned at least in part beneath a space which separates the textured panel and the capture screen. The light source may be of a type which primarily directs light to moveable and reflective member(s), such as a flicker unit. The flicker unit or the light of another light pattern projector may be provided at that side of the textured panel opposite the side that faces the capture screen.
A light shield may be provided in the space between the textured panel and capture screen to prevent an unwanted transmission of light upwards between the panel and screen. The shield may comprise an extension section and said extension section may extend beneath the textured panel to inhibit unwanted transmission of light in a forwards direction directly onto a viewing screen in the case of a configuration in which a viewing screen is provided at that side of the textured panel opposite that side which faces the viewing screen.
The simulated flame effect apparatus of the present invention may be provided in combination with an electrical heating element. Alternatively or additionally the simulated flame effect apparatus may be provided in combination with fuel elements such as artificial coals or logs.
The simulated flame effect apparatus of the present invention may comprise one or more features of the simulated flame effect apparatus the subject of our co-pending UK patent application GB 2116657.4 (published as GB2601907A ).
In the specification of said co-pending application there is disclosed a simulated flame effect apparatus suitable for an electric fire and which comprises:-

a housing comprising a base and a top wall spaced apart to define therebetween a housing interior, the housing additionally comprising a front for providing a line of sight into said interior,
the top wall comprising a capture screen that faces in a direction towards the base of the housing,
a reflector disposed within the housing to lie between the top wall capture screen and the housing base, said reflector comprising a reflective front face that is inclined relative to the line of sight into the housing interior,
an image projector to project an image towards the top wall capture screen, and
wherein the reflector is angled relative to the top wall capture screen whereby an image received by the top wall capture screen from the image projector is seen on the reflector front face thereby to be reflected forwards in the direction of said line of sight.

An image projector may be located behind the capture screen at a position whereby an image such as a flame image is back-projected onto the capture screen and then directed forward, in the direction of said line of sight by the reflector. In accordance with the present invention said construction of our co-pending application may be modified to provide a textured light-transmitting panel between the light pattern projector and the capture screen.
In our aforementioned co-pending application there is described also that an image such as a moving flame effect image or image of fuel elements may be provided rearwards of an inclined reflector, at a side of the reflector opposite that viewed in the direction of line of sight. In accordance with the present invention a capture screen may be provided at a position rearwards of an inclined reflector to display an image which can be viewed through the inclined reflector.
In accordance with another aspect of the present invention a method for providing a simulated flame effect comprises use of apparatus in accordance with the invention and as herein described.
Embodiments of the present invention will now be described by way of example with reference to the accompanying diagrammatic drawings in which:-

Figure 1 is a perspective view of components of a simulated flame effect apparatus in accordance with a first embodiment of the invention;
Figure 2 is a side view of the apparatus of Figure 1;
Figure 3 is a perspective view of components of a simulated flame effect apparatus in accordance with a second embodiment of the invention;
Figure 4 is a side view of the apparatus of Figure 3;
Figure 5 is a cross sectional side elevation view of an electric fire as described more particularly in the specification of our co-pending UK patent application GB 2116657.4 ;
Figure 6 is a cross-sectional side elevation view of an electric fire comprising another embodiment of apparatus in accordance with the invention of our co-pending UK patent application GB 2116657.4 ;
Figure 7 is a cross-sectional side elevation of an electric fire in accordance with the present invention and which is a modification of the electric fire of Figure 5;
Figure 8 is a cross-sectional side elevation of an electric fire in accordance with another embodiment of the present invention and which is a modification of the construction of Figure 6;
Figure 9 is a cross-sectional side elevation view of an electric fire comprising the features of Figures 7 and 8, and
Figures 10 and 11 are modifications of the apparatus as shown respectively in Figures 1 and 2.

In the accompanying drawings component parts such as a conventional housing or other supporting structure are omitted in the interest of clarity for showing the significant features associated with the present invention.
A simulated flame effect apparatus 10 comprises a capture screen 11 and a textured glass panel 12 each secured to a support frame (not shown).
The screen and panel are each of a planar form and are supported in planes which are spaced apart and parallel with one another thereby to define a space 13 therebetween. In this embodiment the screen and panel are spaced apart by a distance of 15mm.
Beneath the screen and panel there is provided a light pattern projector 14 which comprises a light source 15 and moveable reflective members 16 which, in this embodiment, are in the form of a flicker unit 17.
In this embodiment of the invention each of the capture screen and textured glass panel lie wholly above the projector 14 but in an alternative construction one or each of the capture screen and textured glass panel may extend further downwards to a position out of line of sight and at which position the screen or panel may be supported relative to the housing.
The light source 15 comprises a plurality of multi-coloured LEDs which direct light to the flicker unit 17. The LEDs are provided on two strips and at least some, or all, of the plurality of LEDs are individually programmable by a control module (not shown) to change in at least one of colour, brightness and frequency of change. It will be understood that in alternative embodiments only a single or at least three such LED strips may be employed.
The flicker unit comprises a motor 21 which is operable to drive a rotatable spindle 22 that carries a plurality of the reflective vanes 16 at positions spaced along the length of spindle.
A light shield 28 extends under the space 13 and comprises a downwardly inclined extension 29 that prevents passage of light from the LEDs to that side of the textured panel 12 opposite the screen 11.
In use (see Figure 2) light from the LEDs is reflected by the vanes on the spindle 22 such that a moving light pattern is then directed to the textured panel 12 and transmitted through the panel onto the capture screen 11.
The textured panel 12 is a sheet of "Flemish" rolled glass (ex Pilkington Group Limited and of privacy level 1), the panel therefore having a refractive index which repeatedly varies across the panel in all mutually perpendicular directions. In consequence the capture screen receives a moving image that has been subject to distortion by the textured panel.
The capture screen 11 is formed from a sheet of translucent material, such as glass or plastics, and accordingly the flame effect image which the capture screen receives on a first face from the textured panel 12 is viewable from the other side 26 of the capture screen. The side 26 may be generally reflective whereby if a fuel effect such as logs or coals is provided in front of the side 26, the capture screen will reflect the fuel effect in front of side 26, thus giving an impression of depth and with the flame effect 'burning' in the centre of both the actually fuel effect and that of the reflection.
In a second embodiment of the present invention (see Figures 3 and 4) a simulated flame effect apparatus 30 is constructed substantially as in respect of the first embodiment except that the capture screen 31 is a reflective screen which reflects light from the light source. A separate translucent viewing screen 32 is provided in front of, but spaced from the textured panel 33.
In consequence of providing a capture screen which acts as a mirror, the moving light pattern which has been subject to distortion as it travels from the flicker unit 35 through the textured panel 33 to the capture screen 31 is then reflected back through the textured panel such that it can then be viewed through the translucent viewing screen 32. Again, the side from which the flame effect is viewed generally may be reflective so as to reflect any fuel effect provided in front of that side, thus giving an impression of depth and of the flame effect 'burning' in the centre of both the actually fuel effect and that of the reflection.
Figure 5 shows an electric fire described more particularly in the specification of our aforementioned co-pending UK patent application.
In this construction a reflector 50 is supported in an inclined position relative to a housing 51 and a front face 52 of the reflector receives an image from a capture screen 53, said image then being visible in the direction X of the line of sight.
The capture screen 53 receives an image from a projector 55 positioned at a side of the capture screen opposite the reflector. In accordance with the present invention, and as illustrated in Figure 7, an assembly of a light pattern projector 60, capture screen 61 and textured glass panel 62, such as described in respect of the first embodiment of this invention, is provided above an inclined reflector 63. The reflector 63 preferably is transparent thereby to ensure visibility of artificial fuel elements 64 positioned rearwards of the reflector and which fuel elements may be illuminated by separate projector or, for example, LEDs 65 positioned for illumination of the artificial fuel elements 64.
One or more fuel elements 64 may be hollow at least in part thereby to define a cavity or recess within which a light source may be located. Particularly if the fuel effect is at least in part hollow, at least a part of the fuel effect may be transparent or translucent.
Figure 8 shows a modification of the construction of Figure 7 and in which the assembly of the projector, capture screen and textured glass panel are provided rearwards of the reflector, thus being a modification of the construction of Figure 6 as described more particularly in the specification of our aforementioned co-pending UK patent application.
Figure 9 is a cross-sectional side elevation of an electric fire in accordance with the present invention and which combines features of the electric fires of Figures 7 and 8, and in particular which is provided with two assemblies each comprising a projector 60, capture screen 61 and textured glass pane 62. Thus in this embodiment, as viewed in the direction X of the line of sight, there is visible a first image received from an uppermost assembly of projector, capture screen and textured glass panel, that being reflected forwards by the reflector 63 in front of the fuel element 64. The image transmitted through the reflector from the rearwardly positioned assembly of projector, capture screen and textured glass panel is behind the fuel element 64. Therefore both of the flame images present a 3-dimensional image around the fuel element 64.
It is not essential that the capture screen and textured glass panel are in planes parallel with one another. A modification of the embodiment of Figures 1 and 2 is shown in Figures 10 and 11, the textured glass panel 12" being tilted at an angle of relative to the capture screen 11"
The simple provision of a panel of textured material, such as textured glass has been found to significantly improve the realism of the simulated flame provided by use of a conventional flicker unit. That beneficial effect is achieved without the need for expensive adaptation of conventional simulated flame effect apparatus.

Claims

Apparatus for creating a simulated flame effect and suitable for an electric fire comprises:-
a capture screen (11) to receive light from a light pattern projector;

a light pattern projector (14) for projecting towards the capture screen a moving light pattern, and

wherein there is provided between the light pattern projector and the capture screen a textured light transmitting panel (12) the refractive index of which repeatedly varies over the surface of the panel whereby the image received by the capture screen comprises varying distortions of the light projected by the light pattern projector.
Apparatus according to claim1 wherein the light pattern projector (14) comprises a combination of a light source (15) and at least one moveable and reflective member (16) which converts a constant, uniform light from the light source to a moving pattern which is transmitted through the textured light transmitting panel.
Apparatus according to any one of the preceding claims wherein the capture screen (11) is translucent.
Apparatus according to claim 3 wherein the capture screen (11) displays a flame effect image at that face (26) of the screen opposite that face which receives light that has been transmitted through the textured panel.
Apparatus according to claim 1 or claim 2 wherein the face of the capture screen (11) which receives light that has been transmitted through the textured panel (33) is a reflective panel (31) that serves to display the flame effect image when viewed from the same side of the capture screen as that side at which the textured panel is positioned.
Apparatus according to claim 5 wherein the light pattern reflected by the reflective face of the capture screen (11) is transmitted back through the textured panel (33) such that the moving light pattern provided by the light pattern projector is transmitted twice through the textured panel.
Apparatus according to any one of the preceding claims wherein the capture screen (11) and textured panel (12) are spaced apart.
Apparatus according to any one of the preceding claims wherein the capture screen (11) and textured panel (12) are each substantially planar.
Apparatus according to any one of the preceding claims wherein the capture screen (11) and textured panel (12) are spaced apart and lie in planes that are parallel with one another.
Apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 8 wherein the capture screen (11") and textured panel (12") are positioned in planes angled relative to one another.
Apparatus according to any one of the preceding claims wherein the textured light transmitting panel (12) has a privacy level of no more than 3 as determined in accordance with privacy level measurements scale 1 to 5 of Pilkington Group Limited.
Apparatus according to any one of the preceding claims wherein the refractive index of the light transmitting panel (12) varies across the face of the panel in each of two mutually perpendicular directions.
Apparatus according to any one of the preceding claims wherein the capture screen (61) is positioned rearwards of an inclined reflector (63) to display an image which can be viewed through the inclined reflector.
Apparatus according to any one of the preceding claims and comprising a fuel effect (64) within or underneath which a light source (65) is located.
An electric fire comprising apparatus (10) according to any one of the preceding claims and an electrically powered heater.