US2296354A - Fireplace - Google Patents

Description

Sept. 22, 1942. us 2,296,354

FIREPLACE Filed Jan. 28, 1941 2 Sheets-Sheet l z'zwardgzz'wa mm ATTORNEY Sept. 22, 1942. E, KRAUs 2,296,354

FIREPLACE Filed Jan. 28, 1941 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 IraZlQImvEN-rorw ATTOR N EY Patented Sept. 22, 1942 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE FIREPLACE Edward'H. Kraus, Oceanport, N. 1.

Application January 28, 1941, Serial No. 376,369

1 Claim.

My invention relates-to new and useful improvements in fireplace constructions.

An important object of my invention is toprovide a fireplace construction having means for retarding and regulating the fiow of burned products of combusion from the fire box and including means for directing a large portion of the wasted heat normally passing up the flue into the room containing the fireplace.

Another object of my invention is to provide a fireplace construction of the above-mentioned character wherein the means for absorbing the surplus heat and for directing the same into the room includes a water pan for humidifying the air.

Still another object of my invention is to pro vide a fireplace construction of the above-mentioned character that includes apparatus for forcing a current of air through the heat absorbing means whereby to increase the heat absorbing capacity of the means and to aid in the dispersion of the heat through the room.

Other objects and advantages of my invention, will be apparent during the course oi the following description.

In the drawings, forming a part of this specification, and wherein like numerals are employed to designate like parts throughout the same,

Figure 1 is a front elevation of a fireplace construction embodying my invention,

Figure 2 is a vertical sectional view taken on the line 2--2 of Figure 1,

i Figure 3 is a transverse sectional view taken on the line 3-3 of Figure 2,

Figure 4 is a view similar to Figure 2, but illustrating a slight modification of the fireplace construction,

Figure 5 is a transverse sectional view taken on the line 5,i of Figure 4, and

Figure 6 is an enlarged vertical sectional view of a cleaning screen embodying a part of my invention. i

In the accompanying drawings. wherein for the purpose of illustration, is shown a preferred embodiment of my invention, the numeral Ill designates a fireplace of. conventional shape and construction. The fireplace may be constructed of bricks. as illustrated in the drawings, or of any other building materials suitable for the purpose. A concrete base it preferably underlies the fireplace and a layer of fire brick I2 is placed on top of the base, whichfire brick comprise the box, which housing separates the fire box from thefiue' thereby making it necessary for all of the burned products of combustion passing from i the fire box to the flue to pass through the housmg. The housing is of essentially box-like formation and extends the full width of the fireplace. The bottom wall 2l extends from the front wall ii of the fireplace to the rear wall 22 of the fire box and the marginal edge abutting the wall 22 is supported by a projecting integral portion 22. The projection 23 is formed with a fiat upper face 24 which receives the wall 2| and an arcuately curved bottom face 25 which curves upwardly and inwardly to direct the heat and fiames in the fire box forwardly through the opening 26 in the bottom wall 2|.

A transverse partition 21 divides the housing into an upper compartment 28 and a lower compartment 29, the rearward portion of which partition curves upwardly to integrally connect with the upper wall 30. As best illustrated in Figure 2, the forward end of the lower compartment is closed by the wall 3| and the rearward end thereof opens directly into the fiue it. Thus, the burned products of combustion from the fire box will enter the forward end of the lower compartment through the opening 26 and will traverse the entire depth of the compartment before discharging into the fiue l9. As the heated air from the fire box rises into the compartment it will impinge against the partition 21. and, by reason of the fact that the opening 26 is located at the front of the lower compartment, the burned products of combustion will be deflected by the partition into the flue it. Thus, the forward positioning of the opening 26 will cause all of the burned products of combustion passing into the fiueto contact the partition 21 to evenly heat the entire surface of the same.

hearth or bottom I: of the fire box u. The fireplace is preferably built into one wall of a room In order to permit the flow of burned products of combustion through the lower compartment 29 to be selectively regulated, I have mountand the structure III is of generally box-like for-, ed a d p 3 therein, which damper extends the full width of the compartment and when in the upright vertical position extends the full depth of the compartment. The damper is mounted for rotation with the shaft 33 and is located directly rearwardly of the opening 26 whereby movement of the damper to the vertical position will entirely separate the fire box from the flue. Obviously, the damper may be positioned at any selected angle from the horizontal to the vertical to open or close communication between the fire box and flue and the selected adjusted positon will determine the rate of flow of the burned products of combustion through the compartment. One end of the shaft 33 extends through the end wall of the housing, which extending portion carries a circular gear 34 which meshes with the worm gear 35 on the actuating shaft 36. The shaft 36 extends into the fireplace in parallel relation with the mentioned end of the housing annd the portion thereof projecting beyond the wall l of the fireplace is provided with a handle 31 by means of whichthe shaft 38 may be manually rotated to effect angular movement of the damper 32 on the shaft 33. The rate of flow of the burned products of combustion traversing the lower compartment 29 may thus be retarded to permit thhe partition 21 to be heated to a maximum degree. Heating of the partition will cause the air in the upper compartment 28to be heated, which compartment opens into the room containing the fireplace through the screen 38 closing the open front end thereof. As best illustrated in Figure 1, a horizontal passage 39 extends transversely of the fireplace and its opposite ends open through the end wall ll of the fireplace and through the adjacent end wall of the compartment 28. A motor 40 is mounted in the passage and the armature shaft 4l extending from the motor housing has a fan 42 mounted thereon. A vertical conduit 43 extends from the passage and through the base ll of the fireplace to receive the electrical conductors 44 which extend from a current source to the motor.

When the fan is in operation, air will be drawn from the room and discharged into the upper compartment 28 and the baffles 45, 46 and 41 will deflect the same through the screen 38 closing the open front end of the compartment. The motor may be manually operated by a switch 48, as illustrated in Figure l, or it may be thermostatically controlled in accordance with the exigencies of any particular situation or with'the wishes of the operator. As illustrated in Figure 3, the baffles 45, 46 and 41 are of gradually increasing length in a direction away from the passage 39. All of the baflles are carried by the screen 38 and each of the baflles curves rearwardly thereof and in the direction of the passage. The baille 45 located in closest proximity to the passage is relatively short and the distal edge thereof projects only slightly across the passage. The next baffle 48 extends further into the compartment and the last bafile 4'! extends yet further into the compartment whereby the current of air from the fan will contact the inner margin of each of the baffles and be directed forwardly through the screen.

A screen 49 closes the end of the passage opening through the end wall 11 and the mesh of the screen sack 50 carried thereby is preferably essentially fine to filter dust, and the like, from the air as it is drawn from the room by the fan. The rate of flow of the air traversing the passage may be selectively regulated by the damper member 5| disposed transversely of the passage and mounted for rotation with the shaft 52'. One

' end of the shaft extends forwardly through the front wall l5 of the fireplace to permit manual rotation thereof and selective adjustment of the damper.

In operation, it will be seen that the burned products of combustion from the fire box must traverse the entire surface of the partition 21 and that the rate of flow of the products may be selectively regulated by the damper 32. The damper should be adjusted to permit a suflicient draft to reach the fire box to maintain a hot fire therein, but in a position to sufilciently retard the flow of the burned products of combustion to effect maximum heating of the partition. The current of air blown through the upper compartment 28 by the fan 42 will absorb the heat from the partition whereby the air blown through the front screen 38 will be essentially warm. Thus, in addition to the heat thrown into the room in the conventional manner by the fire box l4, additional heat will be provided by the current of air traversing the upper compartment 28. This additional heat will be provided by the burned products of combustion that rises from the fire box and which would ordinarily pass up the fiue I9. The housing, therefore, does not lower or in any way reduce the normal heating capacity of the fire box but merely utilizes the heat that is normally wasted. It is obvious that the amount of heat that may be absorbed by the partition 21 will depend upon the volume of air flowing through the upper compartment.

Figures 4 and 5 illustrate a modified form of the invention wherein a second passage 53 extends through the end wall l6 of the fireplace and through the adjacent wall of the compartment 28, Thus, the current of air from the fan may flow through the passage 39 through the upper compartment 28 and back into the room through the passage 53. In this form of the invention, the baflles rise vertically from the partition 21. The upper edges of the bailles are coextensive and terminate in spaced relation with the upper wall 38 to support a water pan 54 and a pipe 55 opens through the wall 30 of the housing and front wall l5 of the fireplace to permit water to be easily introduced into the pan. In this form of the invention, I prefer that the lower edge of the screen 38 be attached to the housing by means of a hinge 58, or the like, and that the upper edge thereof be provided with a suitable keeper 51 adapted to hold the same in a normally closed position. A chain 58 is connected to the inner face of the screen and to the side wall of the housing which chain passes through a suitable catch 59 to permit the screen to be moved to any selectively angular position, in the manner illustrated in Figure 4.

The operation of this form of the invention is so similar to the form hereinabove-described that no further explanation is thought to be necessary.

' The current of air from the fan will be heated and deflected upwardly against the water pan 54 by the baffles in the upper compartment of the housing. The heated air will heat the water within the pan to .humidify the air within the room. The air may have egress from the compartment through either the passage 53 or taken as a preferred example of the same, and that various changes in the size, shape and arrangement of parts may be resorted to without departing from the spirit of my invention, or scope of the appended claim.

Having thus described my invention, I claim: In a fireplace construction including a fire box and a flue, a housing located at the top of the fire box and having a transverse partition for dividing the housing into an upper compartment and a lower compartment, said partition curving upwardly to provide a rear wall of the upper compartment adjacent said flue, said lower compartment communicating with said flue at its rearward end and having an'opening at its forward end communicatingwith said fire box, said upper compartment having an opening in communication with a room, a damper located in the lower compartment rearwardly of said opening for controlling the passage of burned products of combustion into said flue, said damper being located underneath said partition and arranged to deflect the burned products of combustion uniformly thereagainst, said fire box structure being provided with a passage placing said upper compartment in communication with room atmosphere, means for forcibly flowing room air through said passage and through said upper compartment and into the room, a water pan mounted in said upper compartment, and baffle members inside the upper compartment for directing air currents about said water pan.

EDWARD H. KRAUS.

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