US20230280031A1

US20230280031A1 - Gas Hearth Improvements

Info

Publication number: US20230280031A1
Application number: US18/116,012
Authority: US
Inventors: Matthew Leonard; Jonathan Barnes
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 2022-03-04
Filing date: 2023-03-01
Publication date: 2023-09-07

Abstract

An improved gas fireplace hearth provides a controller and can perform new features. A pressure sensor may be provided to communicate to the controller to warn of a drop of inlet gas pressure to indicate a problem with gas service rather than the hearth. An ambient temperature sensor can provide an input to the controller for various features including a safety feature to shut off gas flow if the hearth becomes too hot. The hearth can be made more efficient by having the controller implement a zero voltage alternating current system to adjust the speed of the fan, flame height, lighting, BTU output or other feature.

Description

CLAIM OF PRIORITY

This application claims priority to U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 63/316,451 filed Mar. 4, 2022, which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to improvements to gas hearths, and more particularly to electronically controlled gas hearths as it relates to programmable temperature control either through at least one of BTU output, flame height and/or fan speed, sensing input gas pressure received at the hearth from an external source, and/or providing more efficient electrical operation over prior art designs.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Gas fireplaces and hearths have been in use for decades. These gas fireplaces will often have a pilot valve which can then be employed to ignite at least one, if not multiple, burners when those valves are open. While there have been some efforts at remote control of flame height and/or fan speed by providing a regulator to the burners in communication with a remote having a thermostat such to provide an ability to regulate temperature at the remote, there is not believed to be any effort to provide an ability to have other means of temperature regulation, particularly there is not believed to be any temperature sensing performed at the hearth.
Another problem with existing prior art hearths is that if the main gas supply to the hearth is closed or otherwise not at a proper pressure, the unit and user are unaware of this except for the inability to keep pilot lights or burners lit, or other problem. One may incorrectly assume that there is a problem with the hearth.
Finally, temperature control is believed to be performed somewhat in a brute force method by having the thermostat increased the speed of the fan or increase the flame height through a process directed by the remote until the desired temperature is reached. There is believed to be a more efficient way of performing this heating step.
Accordingly, there is a need for an improved hearths and fireplaces in the marketplace.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

It is object of many embodiments of the present invention to provide an improved hearth, i.e., a gas fireplace, which can sense incoming gas pressure and use this information for beneficial purposes.
It is another object of many embodiments of the present invention to provide an improved hearth that may more efficiently regulate temperature through at least one of operation of a circulation fan, flame height adjustment or desired BTU output.
It is another object of many embodiments of the present invention to provide an improved hearth which employ zero voltage switching through a controller for at least one of fan speed, flame height, and lighting to at least one of regulate temperature and lighting in a room through the hearth.
It is another object of many embodiments of the present invention to provide an improved hearth for use in a connected manner as a “smart” hearth.
It is another object of many embodiments of the present invention to provide an improved hearth.
Accordingly, in accordance with the presently preferred embodiment of the present invention a hearth includes a pressure sensor, whether that be a separate sensor, or a sensor integrated into a valve, which senses the pressure of either propane or natural gas as provided at the inlet of the hearth. The pressure sensor can either sense on or off or can measure the pressure for various embodiments. The sensor could be connected to a processor or controller which could then be in communication with a display either at the controller or remotely therefrom so as to alert at least one individual that there is a problem with the gas pressure that is being provided to the hearth presumably at the premises. One advantage of this notification system is that the hearth manufacturer is not then initially contacted in the event of a loss of gas so as to create a potential service call for the hearth company as opposed to the gas provider to remove a customer service issue for the hearth provider. Other benefits may be recognized with these or other embodiments.
An ambient temperature sensor may be provided in communication with the processor or controller so as to sense the ambient temperature in or at the hearth, preferably by being directly tied to the hearth whether on the controller or being routed from somewhere on the hearth for at least some embodiments. The controller can regulate flame height by modulating the flame to turn it up or down based on the temperature reading and/or it could potentially also turn off the flame if excessive temperatures are detected. Fan speed could also be adjusted in a similar way. It may also be that the controller directs the output of BTUs through the burners as opposed to flame height depending on the particular construction of the burners.
For many embodiments instead of full “on” until reaching a desired temperature setting, as the fan or a full height flame may be controlled through zero voltage switching. Zero voltage switching may be employed by a hearth controller so as to optimize the efficiency of the fan or flame height in an effort to provide a desired temperature in an efficient manner and/or provide a desired amount of lighting by the hearth such as for principally aesthetic purposes for principally lighting purposes as opposed to heating purposes.
By employing zero voltage switching by a controller, at least one of the fan, flame height and the lighting may be modulated.
When in zero voltage switching mode, the fan, the flame height and/or other lighting may be controlled via direct Vac (voltage, alternating current) output via a triac for variable level settings. The output may have fuse protection such as 4A peak, 2A continuous, or other values. The flame height and/or fan speed may be controlled as would be understood by those of ordinary skill in the art and explained below. Specifically, when turning the fan on it preferably starts for the first period of time such as ten seconds and then regulates down to the appropriate user selected level for at least some embodiments. For these reduced levels of operation, triac voltage switching preferably occurs at the zero cross voltage switchover thereby achieving a reduced level setting by missing line cycles and not voltage stepping in the middle of a voltage wave such as occurs in phase control, etc. Thus, the fan or flame height (or other lighting) may have a delayed start and a delayed off as specified to ensure that the air may be warm before circulating and to prevent overheat from residual heating when stopping.
Obviously, if a fan has an alternating current motor to accommodate the zero-voltage switching feature, the controller controls the operation of the motor by providing a set percentage of the sine waves for a particular cycle for a desired fan speed as would be understood by those of ordinary skill in the art. A similar operation may be employed lighting and/or flame height. Other features of the hearth may be controlled in a similar fashion in other embodiments.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The particular features and advantages of the inventions with other objects will become apparent from the following description taken in connection with the accompanying drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is a diagram representation of the present preferred embodiment of the present invention; and

FIG. 2 is a graph showing a comparison between zero voltage switching and phase control as it relates to alternating current voltage over time.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

FIG. 1 shows a presently preferred embodiment of the present invention in the form of a hearth 10 as would be located inside of a fireplace 12 principally for office or residential applications. Unlike prior art hearths 10, a controller 14 is preferably provided within the hearth 10 to assist in controlling various features of the hearth 10.
First, a sensor 16 may be present in some embodiments, such as a pressure sensor, to sense the incoming gas pressure from a gas supply 18 which could be propane or natural gas normally stored outside of the building containing the fireplace 12. The sensor 16 could take one of many embodiments such as an ability to detect the presence or absence of a least a predetermined pressure i.e., on/off, and provide a signal to the controller 14 which then can provide a display such as a warning light 20 or an indication from the controller 14 as would be explained in further detail below. By providing this early indication of a lack of gas pressure (or an improper pressure), then user of the hearth 10 would know that there is no gas being provided to the hearth 10 so that the user doesn't incorrectly assume that the hearth 10 has a malfunction. Instead, a service provider from the gas company could be called and not the manufacturer of the hearth 10 or a check of the premises could reveal a valve securing flow of gas to the hearth, etc. This can reduce if not eliminate many service calls to the hearth manufacturer. The sensor 16 may be integral to a valve such as main burner valve 22 or an auxiliary burner valve 24 with it being shown integral to the main burner valve 22 although it certainly could be a separate component such as along the manifold 26 as the gas supply is being provided to the various burners. Sensor 16 could be located at the gas inlet of the valve or at the gas valve inlet for at least some embodiments. Sensor 16 could also be located at or along the pilot assemblies 26,28 and associated manifold 30 for still other embodiments.
Additionally, the sensor 16 could provide a signal to the controller 14 advising of the specific pressure at the sensor 16 so as then be able to provide that information to a service personnel for further diagnostic capabilities or other uses for at least some embodiments.
Some embodiments of the hearth 10 may employ a ambient temperature sensor 34 preferably located internal to the hearth 10 (whether they have a pressure sensor 16 or not) and connected to the controller 14 if not extending therefrom. The temperature sensor 34 may be utilized to assist in modulating a speed of a fan such as circulation fan 36 to the controller 14 as will be described below if not also assist in controlling BTU output and/or the flame heights from the burners 38 and/or 40. The burner 38 may be a primary burner in the illustrated embodiment and the burner 40 may be an auxiliary burner. A burner 38,40 (and/or others) may modulate either an infinite number of flame heights or predetermined flame height such as high, medium, low, etc. Auxiliary burners 40 may operate similarly or differently. The ambient temperature sensor 34 may be utilized to turn the fan on or off depending on the temperature reading. The sensor 34 may also be utilized by the controller 14 for at least some embodiments to modulate the flame to be higher or lower based on the temperature reading such as a safety feature. The sensor 34 may also be utilized by the controller 14 to turn the flames off if a predetermined setting is reached which may or may not relate to the ambient room temperature or even the ambient temperature internal to the fireplace to potentially be a safety temperature or serve other purposes for at least some embodiments.
Finally, zero voltage switching as shown in FIG. 2 may be employed with some embodiments. Instead of phase control as is shown at the top of FIG. 2 when a load is applied along a non-zero value in voltage, the controller 14 may selectively apply a voltage at zero voltage switching opportunities. Specifically, a triac may be employed to directly control the voltage AC output to the fan 36 under various circumstances. For instance, when first turning the fan 36 on it may start at 100% for a first period of time and then regulate with zero voltage switching or otherwise to a reduced level. For the reduced levels of operation, the triac voltage switching preferably occurs at zero cross voltage switch over, thereby achieving the reduced level setting by missing line cycles and not voltage chopping in the middle of voltage sine waves. This feature may dramatically increase the efficiency of the fan 36. This feature potentially minimizes the electrical interference injected out the power lines in relation to a traditional dimming device with AC wire chopping. The fan 36 may also have a delayed start and/or delayed off to ensure that the air is warm before circulating and/or the system is secured there is no overheating such as from residential heating on stopping. Light 42 may be similarly adjusted if not the flame height from the burners 38,40 as well. Dramatic reduction of electrical energy usage could be required by the zero-voltage switching option.
In order to change or direct operation of the controller 14, it may be that remote communication through one or more devices is employed such as a Wi-Fi or router 50 which may communicate with a Bluetooth or other receiver 52 in communication with the controller 14. Various appliances such as Echo or Siri units such as illustrated as device 54, may permit verbal communication to control and/or provide other controls various speeds of the hearth 10 as would be understood by those of ordinary skill in the art. A dedicated remote 56 could also be utilized to communicate directly with a receiver 52. A wall mounted switch 58 may communicate either wired or wirelessly with the controller 14 such as through wire 60 or wirelessly as illustrated. A smartphone or other computing device 60 may communicate through the Wi-Fi system 50, BLE or other system. A Wi-Fi Bluetooth hub 64 may be utilized with still other embodiments as would be understood by those or ordinary skill in the art. Furthermore, a cell phone or other computing device 66 may communicate through the world wide web 68 to communicate with the router 50 for at least some embodiments.
Accordingly, displays such as to indicate a loss of gas pressure could be displayed on any of the various remote device such as cell phones 62,64, remote 56 or other displays. A verbal warning may be provided by a communicating system 54 or various alters provided. Other features of the hearth 10 may be communicated to displays or the various devices as well.
Operation of the hearth 10 may be at least assisted utilizing controlled or regulated by various remote systems illustrated. Specifically, a temperature setting could be set to be provided. A fan speed could be set, a flame height could be set, or other feature could be provided as would be understood by those of ordinary skill in the art. A “smart” hearth 10 can be provided by the embodiment shown in FIG. 1 or others a would be understood by those of ordinary skill in the art.
Numerous alterations of the structure herein disclosed will present themselves to those skilled in the art. However, it is to be understood that the present disclosure relates to the preferred embodiment of the invention which is for purposes of illustration only and not to be construed as a limitation of the invention. All such modifications which do not depart from the spirit of the invention are intended to be included within the scope of the appended claims.

Claims

Having set forth the nature of the invention, what is claimed herein is:

1. A gas hearth comprising:

at least a main burner;

a controller; and

a pressure sensor in fluid communication with the at least a main burner sensing gas pressure and providing a signal to the controller;

wherein when the controller detects a pressure at the pressure sensor is below a predetermined value, providing a signal directing an output to be displayed related to the low pressure situation.

2. The gas hearth of claim 1 wherein the output is displayed at a display connected to the hearth.

3. The gas hearth of claim 1 wherein the output is displayed remotely from the hearth on one of a computing device and a remote.

4. The gas hearth of claim 1 wherein the pressure sensor is connected to valve of the gas hearth.

5. The gas hearth of claim 4 wherein the pressure sensor is connected to a burner valve.

6. The gas hearth of claim 1 wherein the pressure sensor is connected to one of a pilot assembly and a manifold of the hearth.

7. The gas hearth of claim 1 further comprising an ambient temperature sensor connected to the hearth, said ambient temperature sensor providing a signal to the controller, said controller shutting off gas flow through the at least a main burner if ambient temperature exceeds a predetermined temperature.

8. The gas hearth of claim 1 wherein controller employs zero voltage switching to control at least one of flame height, fan speed and lighting at the hearth.

9. The gas hearth of claim 1 wherein the pressure sensed by the pressure sensor is displayed to a user.

10. A gas hearth comprising:

at least a main burner;

a controller; and

an ambient sensor sensing gas pressure and providing a signal to the controller;

wherein the ambient temperature sensor provides a signal to the controller, said controller shutting off gas flow through the at least a main burner if ambient temperature exceeds a predetermined temperature.

11. The gas hearth of claim 10 further comprising a pressure sensor in fluid communication with the main burner; and

12. The gas hearth of claim 10 wherein the controller employs zero voltage switching to control at least one of flame height, fan speed and lighting at the hearth.

13. The gas hearth of claim 12 wherein the controller initially directs a maximum of one of gas flow through the main burner and fan speed for a predetermined period of time and then lowers the one of gas flow and fan speed at a zero voltage node of an AC input.

14. The gas hearth of claim 12 wherein the controller initially directs a change in lighting intensity at the hearth at a zero voltage node of an AC input.

15. The gas hearth of claim 12 wherein the controller delays the starting and stopping of one of a change in flame height and fan speed for a predetermined period of time as a delay.

16. The gas hearth of claim 15 wherein the delay of the controller ends at a zero voltage node of an AC input.

17. A gas hearth comprising:

at least a main burner; and

a controller;

wherein controller employs zero voltage switching to assist in controlling at least one of BTU output, flame height, fan speed and lighting at the hearth, by adjusting an alternating voltage output as the voltage passes through the zero voltage node.

18. The gas hearth of claim 17 wherein the controller delays the starting and stopping of one of a change in flame height and fan speed for a predetermined period of time as a delay before the zero voltage node.

19. The gas hearth of claim 17 further comprising:

an ambient sensor sensing gas pressure and providing a signal to the controller; and

20. The gas hearth of claim 17 further comprising:

a pressure sensor in fluid communication with the at least a main burner sensing gas pressure and providing a signal to the controller; and