GB2226396A

GB2226396A - Convection air heating

Info

Publication number: GB2226396A
Application number: GB8828879A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Colin Walter Eaves; Craig Nutter
Original assignee: OUZLEDALE FOUNDRY Co Ltd
Current assignee: OUZLEDALE FOUNDRY Co Ltd
Priority date: 1988-12-09
Filing date: 1988-12-09
Publication date: 1990-06-27
Also published as: GB8828879D0

Abstract

Air enters a duct system beneath a cross wall 16 of a fire and passes upwardly between a rear wall 20 and an adjacent parallel spaced wall 56. The air flows adjacent to the knee 18 of the fire so that the air has the benefit of the heat from the fire which is directed at the knee before being divided upwardly and outwardly by guides 60 leading the air to a pair of spaced outwardly extending ducts 62, the downwardly facing surfaces of which also receive heat from the fire. The air leaves the ducts 62 through a pair of spaced openings. <IMAGE>

Description

IMPROVEMENTS IN OR RELATING TO FIRES AND SURROUNDS.

The present Invention relates to an ornamental fire surround and to a method of assemblIng an ornamental fire surround, a method of heating air and a heatIng duct arrangement.

In a known fire the ornamental surround which faces outwardly and extends above the fire and down either side Is made out of a one pierce Iron castling.

Such castings are extremely difficult to produce as a fault occurrlng In any one of the side extents or the top extent renders the complete surround useless.

Furthermore, It is doubtful whether a sufficiently skilled tradesman exists who can make a mould suitable for such an iron casting In view of the intracacles of the work required to make the mould, as such surrounds have not been made for many years as they have not been In fashion. At present, cast iron fire surrounds are made from one plece moulds which were made many years ago but which have not been used for perhaps fifty years.

Additional disadvantages with the one plece fire surrounds are that they are extremely heavy, thus requiring careful manipulation, and are prone to breakage because of their awkward shape.

In a known convector fire air is taken in from In front of the fire from beneath the fire and passed upwardly behind the fire through a duct system and outwardly in front of and above the fire from either side thereof. The air picks up heat from the fire as It passes upwardly behind the fire but the heat which it picks up Is not very great as It passes stralght uP the back of the fire. Furthermore when the air reaches the top of Its travel In the duct system it abuts a horizontal top plate before passing to either side and then leaving the duct system In a forwards direction. As the alr swirls about before passIng out of the duct system considerable heat In the air is lost at the upper region of the duct system before It I exhausted Into a room.

According to one aspect of the present Invention an ornamental fire surround comprIses an ornamental first port ion arranged to extend across and above a fire and a palr of ornamental side portions arranged to extend downwardly at either side of the fire In which the first portion and the side portions are comprised by a plurality of separate components.

Each of the side portions and the first portion may be comprised by a separate component. Each side portion may be arranged to extend downwardly from either end of the first port Ion. Each of the side portions and the first port Ion may be connected to a common support.

At least a part of the ornamental fire surround may be formed by casting. At least a part of the ornamental fire surround may be brass or, alternatively or additional ly, at least a part of the ornamental fire surround may comprise aluminium.

According to another aspect of the present invention a method of assembling an ornamental fire surround Including an ornamental first port Ion extending across and above a fire and a pair of ornamental side portions extending downwardly at either side of the fire comprises assembling a plurality of components to comprise the fire surround. The plurallty of components may be mounted on a common support.

The present invention also includes a fire Including an ornamental fire surround as herein referred to or Including an ornamental fIre surround which has been assembled by a method as herein referred to.

According to another aspect of the present Invention a method of heatIng air wlth a fire comprlses allowing air to pass upwardly on the other side of a wall to that on which a fire Is located, and allowing the air to pass In a fIrst path which Is aligned with a first direction which extends over the fire whilst the air remains on the other side of the wall.

As the air passes along the first path It may also pass upwardly.

The air may be arranged to pass in a second path which extends In a second direct Ion opposed to said first direction after the air has passed on said first path.

The alr may pass upwardly as It passes along said second path.

The air may subsequently be allowed to pass Into a room, and the air may pass Into a room at a higher elevation than the fire.

The air may be guided as It passes along said first or second paths. A further wall may be spaced from said wall with the air being constrained to pass between the walls. The further wall may be generally parallel to said wall whilst air is passing upwardly or along said first or second paths.

The air may be guided towards at least one outlet of less width than the width of air which Initially passes upwardly on the other side of a wall. The air may be divided and guided towards at least two outlets each of less width than the width of air which InItially passes upwardly on the other side of the wall.

The air may be arranged to pass beneath the fire prlor to passing upwardly on the other side of the wall.

Air may also be allowed to pass on the other side of another wall to that on which the fire is located, that wall extending at an angle of less than 1800 between that wall and said wall on the side of the walls on which the fire Is located.

According to another aspect of the present Invention a heating duct arrangement Includes a passageway extending upwardly adjacent to a fire region on which a fire Is arranged to be located and outwardly In the direction extending towards the side of the passageway on which the fire region Is located.

The passageway may extend upwardly whilst it extends outwardly. The passageway may extend rearwardly after It has extended outwardly. The duct may have an outlet arranged to allow air to pass into a room. The outlet may be located at a higher region than the fire.

Alr may be arranged to be guided as It passes upwardly within the passageway.

The duct may include a guide port Ion arranged to guide air towards at least one outlet as air passes upwardly through the passageway. The outlet may be of less width than the width of the duct at a lower reglon.

The arrangement may Include two outlets, and air flowing upwardly within the passageway may be arranged to be divided and guided towards at least two outlets, each of which Is of less width than the width of the duct at a lower level.

The passageway may be arranged to receive air which has travelled beneath the fire region.

The outlet or outlets may also be arranged to recelve air which has travel led through a further passageway extending upwardly from the fire region.

According to another aspect of the present invention a heating duct arrangement Includes a passageway extending upwardly adjacent to a fIre region in which a fire Is arranged to be located, the passageway Including guide means arranged to cause at least some of the air in the passageway to move In a sideways direction as it moves upwardly.

The guide means may be arranged to move at least some of the alr moving upwardly in the passageway sideways towards an outlet.

The guide means may be arranged to divide air moving upwardly towards at least two outlets.

The passageway may be arranged to extend outwardly in the direction extending towards the side of the passageway on which the fIre region Is located as the air moves upwardly, prior to the air reaching the guide means.

According to another aspect of the present Invention a method of heating air with a fire comprises allowing alr to pass upwardly on the other side of a wall to that on which a fire Is located and guiding at least some of the air In a sideways dIrectIon.

The present Invention may be carrled Into practice In various ways, but one embodiment will now be described by way of example and with reference to the accompanying drawings, In which: Figure 1 Is a schematic perspective exploded vlew showing the relationship between a duct system 10 and hearth components 12, Flgure 2 is a view similar to Figure 1 showing the duct system 10 and the hearth components 12 with fire surround components 14 in an exploded vIew, and Figure 3 is a schematic sectional perspective vlew showing the detalls of the alr flow through the duct system.

As shown In Flgure 1, the duct system 10 Is arranged to be located In a recess In a wall with the hearth components 1 being connected thereto.

In use, a fire Is mounted on a raised cross wall 16 located towards the lower region of the duct system.

The fire may be an Imitation coal or log fire and the heat rises upwardly around a knee 18 which projects first forwardly and upwardly from a rear wall 20 of the duct system and then rearwardly and upwardly. The flue gasses then pass upwardly through an opening 22 In the top of the duct system into a conventional chimney (not shown).

The hearth components 12 comprIse a pair of upwardly extending plates 24 which bolt onto either side of the duct system, an upper canopy 26 which Is also bolted onto the duct system at either side and extends across the front of the upper region of the duct system and a grld 28 which Is provided with hooks 30 which locate in recesses 32 of the duct system after passing through openings 34 in the plates 24. A cover 36 rests on the floor and abuts each plate 24. A flap 38 is pivotally connected to the cover 36 and can be moved to control or direct the flow rate of air between the floor and a raised ledge 40 of the cover beneath the cross wall 16 of the duct system. A fire surround mounting bar 42 Is located across the top of the duct system.

As shown In Figure 2, the fire surround components 14 include an inverted steel sheet channel sectlon 43 which is located across the front of the bar 42 by fasteners extending through three openings 44 In the bar 42 which open upwardly. A fastening bar 46 extends across the bar 42 and downwardly facing openings 48 In the bar 46 are aligned wlth the openings 44 in the bar 42 to prevent the fasteners from becoming unseated.

A pair of angled sectlons 50 are secured to the rear of the downwardly extending portions of the channel sectlon 43 with each sectlon 50 extending rearwardly and Inwardly.

An ornamental surround Includes a cross bar 52 which Is mounted on the cross member of the channel sectlon 43 and a pair of side bars 54 which are mounted on the downwardly extending portions of the channel section.

The ornamental surround comprising the cross bar 52 and the side bars 54 can be made of brass or aluminium and may be made from castling. As the surround Is made from separate pleces any moulds requ red can be simply made and the pieces can be stored and handled relatively easily prlor to assembly. Furthermore the bars are relatively lightwelght when compared to cast iron.

Referring now to the duct system shown In Figure 3, air enters the duct system from beneath the cross wall 16 and passes upwardly between the rear wall 20 and an adjacent parallel spaced wall 56. The air Is caused to flow adjacent to the knee 18 by a correspondingly shaped rear knee wall 58 so that the air has the full benefit of the heat from the fire which Is directed at the knee.

Not only Is the surface area across which heat transfer can take place Increased, as the surface of the duct does not extend straight up, but also the speed of air flow Is decreased by being deflected around the knee to increase the time durlng which heat transfer takes place. The knee not only Imparts heat to the air In the duct but also radlates heat outwardly and forwardly Into a room.

At the upper region of the knee the air flow Is divided by a pair of upwardly and outwardly extending guldes 60 which lead the air directly to a pair of spaced outwardly extending ducts 62, the downwardly facing surfaces of which also recelve heat from the fIre. The air then enters the room after passing through a pair of spaced openings 64 In the canopy 26 (shown In Figures 1 and 2).

In addition to the air which passes upwardly behind and above the fire through the knee, alr also passes from beneath the cross wall 18 up through a pair of ducts 68 located at the side of the duct system towards the rear thereof. Alr in the side ducts 68 passes Into the respective outwardly extending duct 62 for emission Into a room.

Claims

1. A method of heating air with a fire comprising allowing air to pass upwardly on the other side of a wall to that on which a fire is located, and allowing the air to pass in a first path which is aligned with a first direction which extends over the fire whilst the air remains on the other side of the wall.

2. A method as claimed in Claim 1 comprising, whilst the air passes along the first path, the air also passing outwardly.

3. A method as claimed in Claim 1 or 2 in which the air is passed in a second path which extends in a second direction opposed to said first direction after the air has passed along said first path.

4. A method as claimed in Claim 3 in which the air passes upwardly as it passes along said second path.

5. A method as claimed in any preceding claim in which the air passes into a room subsequent to having passed along the first path.

6. A method as claimed in Claim 5 in which the air passes into a room at a higher elevation than the fire.

7. A method as claimed in any preceding claim in which the air is guided as it passes along the first path.

8. A method as claimed in any preceding claim in which the air is guided as it passes along the second path.

9. A method as claimed in any preceding claim including a further wall spaced from said wall with the air being constrained to pass between the walls.

10. A method as claimed in Claim 9 in which the further wall is general ly paral lel to said wail whilst the air is passing upwardly.

11. A method as claimed in Claim 9 or Claim 10 in which the further wall is generally parallel to said wail whilst the air is passing along said first path.

12. A method as claimed in any of Claims 8 to 11 in which the further wall is generally parallel to said wall whilst air is passing along said second path.

13. A method as claimed in any preceding claim in which the air is guided towards at least one outlet of less width than the width of air which initially passes upwardly on the other side of the wall.

14. A method as claimed in Claim 13 in which the air is divided and guided towards at least two outlets each of less width than the width of air which initially passes upwardly on the other side of the wall.

15. A method as claimed in any preceding claim in which the air passes beneath the fire prior to passing upwardly on the other side of the wall.

16. A method as claimed in any preceding claim in which air is allowed to pass on the other side of another wall to that on which the fire is located with that wall extending at an angle of less than 1800 between that wall and said wall on the side of the walls on which the fire is located.

17. A method of heating air with a fire substantially as herein described, with reference to and as shown in the accompanying drawings.

18. A heating duct arrangement including a passageway extending upwardly, adjacent to a fire region on which a fire is arranged to be located, and outwardly in the direction extending towards the side of the passageway on which the fire region is located.

19. An arrangement as claimed in Claim 18 in which the passageway extends upwardly whilst it extends outwardly.

20. An arrangement as claimed in Claim 19 in which the passageway extends rearwardly after if it has extended outwardly.

21. An arrangement as claimed in any of Claims 18 to 20 in which the duct has an outlet arranged to allow air to pass into a room.

22. An arrangement as claimed in Claim 21 in which the outlet is located at a higher region than the fire.

23. An arrangement as claimed in any of Claims 18 to 22 in which the air is arranged to be guided as it passes upwardly within the passageway.

24. An arrangement as claimed in any of Claims 18 to 23 in which the duct includes a guide portion arranged to guide air towards at least one outlet as air passes upwardly through the passageway.

25. An arrangement as claimed in Claim 21 or 22, or Claim 23 or 24 when dependent on Claim 21 or 22 in which the outlet Is of less width than the width of the duct at a lower region.

26. An arrangement as claimed in Claim 21, or any of Claims 22 to 25 when dependent upon Claim 21 including two outlets, with air being arranged to flow upwardly within the passageway being arranged to be divided and guided towards the two outlets, each of the outlets being of less width than the width of the duct at a lower level.

27. An arrangement as claimed in any of Claims 18 to 26 in which the passageway is arranged to receive air which has travelled beneath the fire region.

28. An arrangement as claimed in any of Claims 18 to 27 including an outlet or outlets which are arranged to receive air which has travel led through a further passageway extending upwardly from the fire region.

29. A heating duct arrangement substantially as herein described with reference to, and as shown in the accompanying drawings.

30. A heating duct arrangement including a passageway extending upwardly adjacent to a fire region in which a fire region is arranged to be located, the passageway including guide means arranged to cause at least some air located in the passageway to move in a sideways direction as it moves upwardly.

31. An arrangement as claimed in Claim 30 in which the guide means are arranged to move eir moving upwardly in the passageway sideways towards an c;tlet.

32. An arrangement as claimed in Claim 30 or 31 in which the guide means are arranged to divide air moving upwardly within the passageway towards at least two outlets.

33. An arrangement as claimed in any of Claims 30 to 32 in which the passageway is arranged to extend outwardly in the direction extending towards the side of the passageway on which the fire region is located as air moves upwardly, prior to the air reaching the guide means.

34. A method of heating air with a fire comprising allowing air to pass upwardly on the other side of the wall to that on which a fire is located and guiding at least some of the air in a sideways direction.

35. An ornamental fire surround comprising an ornamental first portion arranged to extend across and above a fire and a pair of ornamental side portions arranged to extend downwardly at either side of the fire in which the first portion and the side portions are comprised by a plurality of separate components.

36. A surround as claimed in Claim 35 in which each of the side portions and the first portion are comprised by separate components.

37. An arrangement as claimed in Claim 35 or 36 in which each side portion is arranged to extend downwardly from either end of the first portion.

38. An arrangement as claimed in any of Claims 35 to 37 in which each of the side portions and the first portion are connected to a common support.

39. An arrangement as claimed in any of Claims 35 to 38 in which at least part of the ornamental fire surround is formed by casting.

40. An arrangement as claimed in Claim 39 in which at least a part of the ornamental fire surround is brass.

41. An arrangement as claimed in Claim 39 or 40 in which Ch at least a part of the ornamental fire surround is aluminium.

42. An ornamental fire surround substantially as herein described with reference to, and as shown in the accomsanying drawings.

43. A method of assembling an ornamental fire surround including an ornamental first portion extending across and above a fire and a pair of ornamental side portions extending downwardly at either side of the fire comprising assembling a plurality of components to comprise the fire surround.

44. A method as claimed in Claim 43 in which the plurality of components are mounted on a common support.

45. A method of assembling an ornamental fire surround substantially as herein described with reference to, and as shown in the accompanying drawings.

46. A method of assembling an ornamental fire surround as claimed in any of Claims 43 to 45 in order to arrive at an ornamental fire surround as claimed in any of Claims 35 to 42.