GB2149904A

GB2149904A - Duplex gas burner

Info

Publication number: GB2149904A
Application number: GB08428334A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Michael Boyes
Original assignee: AEROMATIC CO Ltd
Current assignee: AEROMATIC CO Ltd
Priority date: 1983-11-17
Filing date: 1984-11-09
Publication date: 1985-06-19
Also published as: GB2149904B; GB8428334D0

Abstract

A duplex gas burner has a tube (10), with rows of gas outlet ports, in which partition members (26,28) define three spaces (48,50,52). The members (26,28) and closure members (12,14) each have substantially the same cross-section as the burner tube (10) so that the members (26,28) can be push fitted into the tube (10) and the closure members can be folded and metal sealed onto the ends of the tube (10). The partition members (26,28) and the closure members (12,14) can be used with different lengths of burner tube (10). An inlet tube (44) delivers gas to the central space (48) and an inlet tube (46) delivers to one (50) of the other spaces from where the gas can pass to the space (52) through a connecting member (51) supported by the partition members (26,28). The length of the member (51) is varied to suit the selected burner tube (10). <IMAGE>

Description

SPECIFICATION Improvements in or relating to gas burners This invention is concerned with improvements in or relating to gas burners, and particularly burners for use with radiants of domestic gas fires.

The majority of domestic gas fires in current production use a duplex gas burner designed for location beneath radiants of the fire. In a duplex burner, the flame strip has spaced apart areas wherein main gas ports are provided, so as to fire into the hollow centre of the respective radiants. The burner is arranged such that in a three radiant fire, the centre radiant can be fired separately or together with the other radiants, and the latter can also be fired separately from the centre radiant. In a four radiant fire the middle two radiants and the outer two radiants can be fired separately or together.

Although various designs of duplex burners have been provided where the burner tube is separated by a baffle into two chambers supplied separately with gas, each size of burner has required new tooling in order to produce baffles which are gas tight and this means high investment costs. Further, the conventional form of burner tube section requires manufacturing techniques which also can lead to high expenditure.

According to one aspect of the present invention there is provided a gas burner comprising a burner tube with gas outlet ports therein, means usable with any selected length of the tube for partitioning the tube so as to define at least three spaces longitudinally thereof, means usable with any selected length of the tube for introducing gas directly into the central one of the spaces, and means usable with any selected length of the tube for introducing gas directly into a first of the other spaces, and therefrom into the second of the other spaces through a connecting member, the latter being selected to have a length suitable for use in the selected length of burner tube.

According to another aspect of the invention there is provided a gas burner comprising a burner tube formed with a continuous peripheral wall having a plurality of gas outlet ports therein, means for partitioning the tube comprising at least two partition members of substantially the same cross section as the burner tube and mounted at longitudinally spaced apart locations in the tube to define at least three spaces longitudinally of the tube, closure members of substantially the same cross section as the burner tube mounted respectively on opposed ends of the tube, means providing communication from externaily of the tube directly into the central space defined between the partition members for introduction of gas thereto, means providing communication from externally of the tube into a first of the other spaces for introduction of gas thereto, and a connecting member providing communication directly between said other spaces for introduction of gas to the second space thereof.

The partition members may be formed to be a push fit within the burner tube, while the closure members may each be formed with a double-walled flange which is locatable over the respective end of the burner tube to be attached thereto.

The burner tube may be of a cross section having a rectangular shape formed at its opposed ends with semi-circular parts, hereinafter referred to as the "defined cross section" where each of the end parts defines an "end axis". The outlet ports are preferably provided in one semi-circular end, and at said one end, the burner tube may be provided with a top plate for connection to radiant supports in a fire, the top plate having a planar wall section in which an opening is provided, and further wall sections extending between the planar wall section, at the opening therein, and the burner tube, such that the outlet ports are aligned with the opening, the further wall sections having openings therein to enable flow of secondary air from externally of the burner tube to the location of the outlet ports.

The partitioning means may define at least three separate spaces longitudinally of the tube within the central space, means being provided for introducing gas directly into the middle one of the three separate spaces, and a further connecting member being provided to enable communication between the others of the three separate spaces.

Preferably the means for introducing gas into said first space comprises an inlet tube, and the first-mentioned connecting member is axially aligned with the inlet tube. The latter may be mounted at one end of the respective closure member and terminate short of the connecting member, or may be supported at one end on the respective closure member and supported at the other end by the respective partition member so as to locate in the connecting member.

The means for introducing or passing gas into the central space preferably comprises a tube which is supported at one end on the respective closure member and at the other end on the respective partition member.

Advantageously the partition members and the closure members are formed by pressing blanks from a metal sheet and have openings formed therein with peripheral lips whereby to enable location of respective ones of the tubes by push fitting.

The present invention also provides a method of manufacturing a gas burner, the method comprising forming a burner tube to have a continuous peripheral wall with a plu rality of gas outlet ports therein, forming each of at least two partition members, and each of a pair of closure members, of substantially the same cross section as the burner tube by pressing a blank out of a sheet of material, forming openings in the partition members and on at least one of the closure members, mounting the partitions at longitudinally spaced apart locations in the tube to define at least three spaces longitudinally of the tube, and mounting the closure members on the respective ends of the tube, and mounting communication means on the partition members and on at least said one of the closure members, whereby to enable communication from externally of the burner tube directly into a central space defined between the partition members for introduction of gas thereto, communication from externally of the tube into a first of the other spaces for introduction of gas thereto, and communication directly between said other spaces for introduction of gas to the second space thereof.

Embodiments of the present invention will now be described by way of example only with reference to the accompanying drawings in which: Figure 1 is a top plan of a first embodiment of a gas burner according to the invention; Figure 2 is a section on c-c of Fig. 1; Figure 3 is a section on b-b of Fig. 2; Figure 4 is a sectional view similar to Fig. 2 but showing a modified arrangement; Figure 5 is a section on a-a of Fig. 4; Figure 6 is a sectional view similar to Figs.

2 and 4 but showing a further embodiment; and Figure 7 is a sectional view of another embodiment.

Referring to Figs. 1 to 3 of the drawings, a gas burner comprises a burner tube 10 of the defined cross section having a continuous peripheral wall formed from a metal sheet which is seam welded or otherwise suitably formed.

At each end the tube 10 mounts a closure member of substantially the same cross section as the tube 10, each of the closure members 12,14 being formed initially with a dished configuration to be fitted into the tube 10, with a peripheral flange extending outwardly, the flange then being folded or wiped on to the outer wall of the tube 10 to form a double walled flange 16 metal sealed to the burner tube 10. Each of the closure members 1 2,14 can be formed from a blank pressed from a metal sheet and the member 14 is formed with extruded openings 18,20 whose axes lie on the respective end axes, each of the openings 18,20 being defined by an annular lip 22,24 respectively, facing inwardly of the tube 10.

The internal volume of the tube 10 is separated by partition members 26,28 into three spaces. Each of the partition members 26,28 has substantially the same cross section as the burner tube 10 and is formed with a peripheral lip 30. Each of the lips 30 may be formed to extend outwardly at an angle of other than 90 to the plate, whereby the partition members 26,28 can be push fitted into the burner tube 10 and be retained in a desired position by the resilience of the lips 30. It will be appreciated, however, that the partition members 26,28 can be positioned in the tube 10 by any other suitable means.The partition member 26 is positioned towards the closure member 1 2 and is preferably formed from a blank pressed from a metal sheet, the member 26 having an extruded opening 32 whose axis lies one one of the end axes and is defined by an annular lip 34 extending towards the closure member 1 2. The other closure member 28 is preferably also formed from a blank pressed from a metal sheet and has a similar sized extruded opening 36 whose axis lies on said one end axis and is defined by an annular lip 38 facing towards the partition member 26. The partition member 28 further has an extruded opening 40 whose axis lies on the other of the end axes and is of a size the same as the opening 1 8 in the closure member 14, the opening 40 being defined by an annular lip 42 facing towards the partition member 26.

The closure member 14 supports gas inlet tubes 44,46. The tube 44 is supported at one end within the lip 22 defining the opening 1 8 and at its other end within the lip 42 defining the opening 40, the tube 44 being openended such that communication is provided from externally of the closure member 14 to the central space 48 defined between the partition members 26,28. The inlet tube 46 is supported at one end in the lip 24 defining the opening 20 and terminates at its other end within the space 50 defined between the partition member 28 and the closure member 14, the tube 46 being open-ended to provide communication from externally of the closure member 14 with the space 50. A connecting tube 51 is supported adjacent to one end in the lip 38 defining the opening 36 on the partition member 28, and adjacent to its other end in the lip 34 defining the opening 32 on the partition member 26, to provide communication between the spaces 50 and 52.

The tubes 44,46,51 may be push fitted in the respective lips or may be secured thereto by any other suitable technique.

The burner tube 10 is provided along one of its semi-circular ends with the plurality of gas outlet ports, a plurality of main ports 54 being provided along each length above the respective one of the spaces 48,50,52, and a plurality of cross lighting ports 56 extending between adjacent areas of main ports 54 to conduct burning between the latter. Within each area of the main ports 54 there are provided retention ports 58 in a conventional manner for stabilisation of the main flame. At said one semi-circular end, the burner tube 10 is formed with a top plate 60 which extends beyond each edge of the burner tube 10 and has a central elongate opening 62 within its planar area 64. The plate 60 is secured to the tube 10 and has walls 66 (Fig. 3) extending inwardly and downwardly from the lateral edges of the opening 62 to be in contact with the arcuate wall of the burner tube 10.The top plate 60 is so positioned that the gas outlet ports in the burner 10 are positioned to fire through the opening 62. The walls 66 are castellated to provide openings for passage of secondary air from externally of the tube 10 into the opening 62 at the location of the gas outlet ports. A primary airbox in the form of a support 68 for mounting the gas injectors (not shown) is mounted externally of the closure member 14 and is connected between the top plate 60 and the closure member 14, the support 68 being substantially rectangular in cross section and having lipped openings 70,72, which are plunged and tapped, on the respective end axes to introduce gas from the injectors to the inlet tubes 44,46 respectively.

In use, the top plate 60 may be mounted directly onto supports (not shown) for the radiants in a gas fire and gas may be introduced selectively into the space 48 and/or the spaces 50,52 in the burner tube 10 to form a duplex burner. The same design of a majority of the components used in forming the burner may also be used on burners of different sizes. For example, where a burner tube of increased length is required, the positions of the partition members can be varied as necessary, with the requirement only that a connecting tube of a different length from that described be used. Therefore there is a single tooling investment required for producing a range of burners and a high level of tooling can be provided to produce relatively inexpensive common components. The distribution to the spaces 50,52 can be controlled by the diameter of the connecting tube 51.

In a modification (Figs. 4 and 5) where like reference numerals are used for like parts of the Figs. 1 to 3 embodiment, the partition members 26,28 are shown each to be formed of a stepped configuration, being stepped in opposite directions so as to be able to locate the connecting tube 51 therebetween. The locating sections on the partition member 26 is formed with an opening 74 on the respective end axis while the locating section of the other partition member 28 is defined by inwardly projecting, but circumferentially spaced apart, lugs 76 (Fig. 5) for supporting the inlet tube 46, which in this modification is of increased length to extend from the closure member 14 into the connecting tube 51.The spaces between the lugs 76 enable the gas being introduced through the tube 46 to pass back into the space 50 as well as to pass through the connecting tube 51 and the opening 74 into the space 52. Adjustment of the spaces between the lugs 76 and/or of the size of the opening 74 enables control of the gas distributed to the spaces 50,52.

In an alternative embodiment (Fig. 6), where again like reference numerals are used for like parts of the Figs. 1 to 3 embodiment, the top plate is omitted. In this embodiment, the closure members and the partition members are substantially the same as those in the first embodiment as is the connecting tube 51, but the gas inlet tubes 44,46 extend outwardly of the closure member 1 4 and are connected to a wall 77 of a modified support 78 for the gas injectors. The primary airbox or support 78 is formed with plunged and tapped openings 80,82 in a wall 79 spaced from the wall 77.The support 78 provides a planar extension at one edge of the burner tube 10 at the location of the gas outlet ports and is connected to the flange of the closure member 14, while at the other edge of the burner tube 10 a planar extension is defined by one limb of an L-shaped member 84, the other limb of which extends across the area of the burner tube 10 and is connected to the flange 1 6 of the closure member 1 2.

In the embodiment of Fig. 7 which shows a triplex burner, features corresponding to features of the previous embodiment have been given like reference numerals with 100 added thereto.

The internal volume of the tube 110 has partition members 126,128 defining spaces 1 52 and 1 50 respectively with the respective closure members 112,114. Between the partition members 126,128 and spaced therefrom, are positioned a further pair of partition members 226,228 which are spaced apart to define a central space 230. Each of the partition members 226,228 is formed in substantially the same way as the partition members 126,128 and is similarly fitted into the burner tube 110.

The partition member 226 is positioned towards the partition member 1 26 and has a first extruded opening 232 whose axis is coaxial with the connecting tube 1 51 but of a greater diameter, and a second extruded opening 234 whose axis is substantially coaxial with the axis of the gas inlet tube 144.

The partition member 228 has an extruded opening 236 of the same size as the opening 232 in the partition member 226 and aligned therewith such that a connecting tube 238 can be supported at its ends in the respective extruded openings of the partition members 226,228. The arrangement is such that the connecting tube 238 concentrically surrounds the connecting tube 151.The partition member 1 26 is provided with a further extruded opening 240 aligned with the opening 234 in the partition member 226 and also aligned with an extruded opening 242 formed in the end closure member 11 2. A gas inlet tube 244 extends between the closure member 11 2 and the partition member 226 through the partition member 1 26 to provide communication from externally of the closure member 112 to the central space 230.

In use, the triplex burner as described may have gas introduced selectively into the space 230, and/or effective second and third spaces 1 48a, 1 48b, which are now separated but communicate through the annular space defined between the connecting tube 238 and the connecting tube 1 51, and/or the spaces 150,152. It will be appreciated that the same advantages are to be found in the triplex burner as in the duplex burner.

Various modifications may be made without departing from the invention. For example the burner tube could be of other than the defined cross section provided the requirements of the invention are met, and the configuration of, for example, the partition members may differ from that described and shown, provided again the necessary requirements are met. Although the first embodiment describes the burner tube with a top plate for a particular application to domestic gas fires, it should be appreciated that the burners may be used in other gas fire applications, for example in an arrangement where the burner is spaced from the radiant mountings, so that secondary air can be introduced between the latter and the burner.

Claims

1. A gas burner comprising a burner tube with gas outlet ports therein, means usable with any selected length of the tube for partitioning the tube so as to define at least three spaces longitudinally thereof, means usable with any selected length of the tube for introducing gas directly into the central one of the spaces, and means usable with any selected length of the tube for introducing gas directly into a first of the other spaces, and therefrom into the second of the other spaces through a connecting member, the latter being selected to have a length suitable for use in the selected length of burner tube.

2. A gas burner comprising a burner tube formed with a continuous peripheral wall having a plurality of gas outlet ports therein, means for partitioning the tube comprising at least two partition members of substantially the same cross section as the burner tube and mounted at longitudinally spaced apart locations in the tube to define at least three spaces longitudinally of the tube, closure members of substantially the same cross section as the burner tube mounted respectively on opposed ends of the tube, means providing communication from externally of the tube directly into the central space defined between the partition members for introduction of gas thereto, means providing communication from externally of the tube into a first of the other spaces for introduction of gas thereto, and a connecting member providing communication directly between said other spaces for introduction of gas to the second space thereof.

3. A burner according to claim 2, wherein the partition members are formed to be a push fit within the burner tube.

4. A burner according to claim 2 or 3, wherein the closure members are each formed with a double-walled flange which is locatable over the respective end of the burner tube to be attached thereto.

5. A burner according to any of claims 2 to 4, wherein the outlet ports are provided in one semi-circular end.

6. A burner according to claim 5, wherein, at said one end, the burner tube is provided with a top plate for connection to radiant supports in a fire.

7. A burner according to claim 6, wherein the top plate has a planar wall section in which an opening is provided, and further wall sections extending between the planar wall section, at the opening therein, and the burner tube, such that the outlet ports are aligned with the opening, the further wall sections having openings therein to enable flow of secondary air from externally of the burner tube to the location of the outlet ports.

8. A burner according to any of the preceding claims, wherein the partitioning means defines at least three separate spaces longitudinally of the tube within the central space, means being provided for introducing gas directly into the middle one of the three separate spaces, and a further connecting member being provided to enable communication between the others of the three separate spaces.

9. A burner according to claim 8, wherein the first-mentioned connecting member is in the form of a tube which passes through the three separate spaces and through the further connecting member.

1 0. A burner according to any of the preceding claims, wherein the means for introducing gas into said first space comprises an inlet tube, and the first-mentioned connecting member is axially aligned with the inlet tube.

11. A burner according to claim 10, wherein the inlet tube is mounted at one end of the respective closure member and terminates short of the connecting member.

1 2. A burner according to claim 10, wherein the inlet tube is supported at one end on the respective closure member and supported at the other end by the respective partition member so as to locate in the connecting member.

13. A burner according to any of the preceding claims, when dependent on claim 2, wherein the means for introducing or pass ing gas into the central space comprises a tube which is supported at one end on the respective closure member and at the other end on the respective partition member.

1 4. A burner according to claim 13, wherein the partition members and the closure members are formed by pressing blanks from a metal sheet and having openings formed therein with peripheral lips whereby to enable location of respective ones of the tubes by push fitting.

1 5. A method of manufacturing a gas burner, the method comprising forming a burner tube to have a continuous peripheral wall with a plurality of gas outlet ports therein, forming each of at least two partition members, and each of a pair of closure members, of substantially the same cross section as the burner tube by pressing a blank out of a sheet of material, forming openings in the partition members and on at least one of the closure members, mounting the partitions at longitudinally spaced apart locations in the tube to define at least three spaces longitudinally of the tube, and mounting the closure members on the respective ends of the tube, and mounting communication means on the partition members and on at least said one of the closure members, whereby to enable communication from externally of the burner tube directly into a central space defined between the partition members for introduction of gas thereto, communication from externally of the tube into a first of the other spaces for introduction of gas thereto, and communication directly between said other spaces for introduction of gas to the second space thereof.

1 6. A gas burner substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

1 7. A method of manufacturing a gas burner substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

1 8. Any novel subject matter or combination including novel subject matter herein disclosed, whether or not within the scope of or relating to the same invention as any of the preceding claims.