WO2009144170A1

WO2009144170A1 - Electric fire

Info

Publication number: WO2009144170A1
Application number: PCT/EP2009/056204
Authority: WO
Inventors: Martin Betz; Noel O'neill
Original assignee: Basic Holdings
Priority date: 2008-05-30
Filing date: 2009-05-21
Publication date: 2009-12-03
Also published as: GB2460453A; GB0809873D0; GB2460453B

Abstract

An electric fire that comprises a steam generator is described. The steam generator operably provides a volume of steam within an interior portion of the fire that can be used to generate flame effects within the fire.

Description

Title

Electric Fire Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to electric fires and particularly to an electric fire that operably uses steam to create fire effects. Background

Electric fires are well known and have been used for many years to generate flame and/or fuel effects which simulate the burning of a real fire. Such fires may be used as a source of heat within the environment where they are provided or indeed may have no actual heat source but are used to generate a focal point.

There is always a need within the context of electric fires to provide improved fire effects.

Summary

These and other needs are addressed by an electric fire which in accordance with the teaching of the invention comprises a steam outlet through which generated steam may exit into the fire for use in generation of fire effects within the fire. The fire may include an integrally provided steam generator or may use steam that is generated externally of the fire housing and transported into the fire.

The fire effects are desirably at least one of flame and/or fuel effects. Smoke effects could also be provided. Desirably the fire includes a light source which may be directed onto the generated steam to colour the steam for simulation of the flame and/or fuel effects. The water droplets within the generated steam can serve as multiple diffraction sources which can serve to enhance the fire effects.

Desirably the fire includes a housing and the steam generator, when provided, is located in a lower portion of the housing. If integrally provided within the housing, the generator may include a first reservoir, typically removable from which liquid, desirably water, may be drawn into a boiler element for generation of the steam. Alternatively, the generator could be coupled directly to an external water supply.

Generated steam will then exit into the fire housing through one or more exits provided as part of the steam outlet. As the steam is heated vapour, typically water vapour, it will naturally move upwardly in the fire, but this movement may be assisted through use of heated air currents- such as those provided by lights- or other heat sources. Alternatively or in addition one or more fan elements may provided for assisted movement within the fire housing to increase the convection currents and assist the movement of the steam within the fire housing. These may be provided in one or both of the upper or lower regions of the fire.

Desirably the fire housing will include one or more vents which may be located in upper or lower regions of the and through which air currents will be induced into the fire housing to assist in movement of the generated steam.

The fire may include a collection reservoir located below the steam outlet and into which condensing steam may be collected so as to obviate the possibility of liquid collecting within the fire. The collection reservoir may be integral with or in fluid communication with the first reservoir to allow for a reuse of the liquid collected. Alternatively the collection reservoir may be provided as a separate container to that of the first reservoir.

The steam exits may be provided as a plurality of exit apertures along an exit manifold that is dimensioned to extend within the housing- desirably along an axis substantially parallel with a front portion of the fire. In this way the exiting steam will be distributed across the front of the fire- mimicking what one might expect from a real fire. By providing distinct apertures within for example a circumferential manifold, the speed of the exiting steam is not reduced by interaction with the surfaces of the manifold. In this way the steam will be inclined to rise further within the fire housing. It will be appreciated that the actual configuration of the exit manifold may be changed depending on the ultimate pattern of the fire effects required. If used for flame effects, the location of specific exits from the manifold may be chosen to coincide with the location of desired flame origins. Desirably this will also be coincided with the position of the light sources which will be used to illuminate the exiting steam to generate the flame effects. It will be appreciated that accidental user interaction with the steam could cause injury. In one arrangement this can be addressed by having the steam being provided behind an at least partially transparent sheet located to the front of the fire. Desirably this sheet would be fabricated from glass or a transparent plastic. By heating a surface of the sheet, condensation effects can be minimised.

It will be understood that interior walls of the fire housing that could be in contact with the steam could also be heated to obviate possibility of the steam condensing on these surfaces. This could be achieved by having a heating element in contact with the surfaces or by directing a heating air flow passed the surfaces.

The light sources desirably provided a coloured light output that will colour the exiting steam accordingly. This can be provided in any one of a number of different fashions.

Accordingly a fire as detailed in claim 1 or 2 is provided. Advantageous embodiments are provided in the dependent claims.

These and other features of the invention will be understood with reference to the Figures that follow.

Brief Description Of The Drawings The present invention will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings in which:

Figure 1 is a section through an electric fire in accordance with the teaching of the present invention.

Figure 2 is a perspective view from the front and side of the fire of Figure 1. Detailed Description Of The Drawings

The teaching of the invention will now be described with reference to an exemplary arrangement which is provided to assist with an understanding of the teaching and not in any way to limit the scope of the invention to the features or integers described.

As shown in Figures 1 and 2 an electric fire 100 in accordance with the teaching of the invention includes a steam generator 105 which operably provides steam 110 for use in generation of fire effects within the fire. The fire effects are desirably at least one of flame and/or fuel effects, and in the arrangement shown are provided as flame effects. The fire includes a light source 115 which may be directed onto the generated steam to colour the steam. The combination of the coloured light and the steam creates the illusions of flames 111 within a housing 120 of the fire.

The fire housing 120 desirably defines an interior volume 121 within which the steam will exit and the generated flames will be visible. The steam generator and light source are typically provided in a lower portion 122 of the housing 120. In this way the steam will exit upwardly into the interior volume 121 through a steam outlet and the light source will also be directed upwardly into that exiting steam. Typically the light source is located to the rear of the housing such that the light path is directed up and to the front of the fire. This has been found by the present inventors to enhance the flame effect generated. In this exemplary arrangement the steam is generated internally within the fire housing 120 and the generator 105 may include a first reservoir which is typically removable from housing and within which liquid, desirably water, may be drawn into contact with a boiler or heating element for generation of the steam. The reservoir is typically provided in a front portion 122 of the fire housing to allow for ease of access to the reservoir for refilling purposes. In this schematic arrangement the reservoir is located below where a fuel bed would be typically be found within an electrical fire, and behind a fret portion of the fire. The boiler element takes the liquid and, through an electrical heating of the liquid, generates steam. In an alternative arrangement the integrally provided generator will be in fluid communication with an external liquid source, such as may be provided by plumbing the fire housing to a water supply.

The generated steam will then exit the steam generator through one or more exits 130 provided as part of the steam outlet. As the steam is heated water vapour it will naturally move upwardly in the fire, but this movement may be assisted through use of heated air currents- such as those provided by lights 115- or other heat sources (which are not shown). Alternatively or in addition one or more fan elements 140 may provided for assisted movement within the fire housing to increase the convection currents and assist the movement of the steam within the fire housing. These may be provided in one or both of the upper or lower regions of the fire- in the arrangement of Figure 1 , a single fan 140 is provided in an upper region 123 of the housing and is provided within the housing such that it takes air upwardly from the interior region 121 and expels it forwardly of the fire housing. The draft created by this assisted movement of the air generates air currents within the fire housing on which the steam may be carried. The fan 140 is located, in this arrangement within a canopy portion 141 of the fire housing.

Desirably the fire housing will also or alternatively include one or more vents which may be located in upper or lower regions of the and through which air currents will be induced into the fire housing to assist in movement of the generated steam. In the exemplary arrangement illustrated these are not shown, but it will be apparent from the description herein that it is necessary where provided that they provide air passage through the housing so as to convey the generated steam into the interior portion 121 of the fire. The fire may include a collection reservoir 106 located below the one or more steam exits and into which condensing liquid from steam may be collected so as to obviate the possibility of water collecting within the fire. The collection reservoir may be integral with or in fluid communication with the first reservoir to allow for a reuse of the liquid collected, and as such may form part of the steam generator. Alternatively the collection reservoir may be provided as a separate container to that of the first reservoir. As shown in Figure 2, the steam exits may be provided as a plurality of exit apertures 130 along an exit manifold 131 that is dimensioned to extend within the housing- desirably along an axis substantially parallel with a front portion of the fire. By introducing the steam from the boiler portion into the manifold 131 and then allowing it to escape from the plurality of apertures 130, in this way the exiting steam will be distributed across the front of the fire- mimicking what one might expect from a real fire. By providing distinct apertures within for example a circumferential manifold, the speed of the exiting steam is not reduced by interaction with the surfaces of the manifold. In this way the steam will be inclined to rise further within the fire housing. The steam may exit the manifold 131 and rise upward to hit a chimney 132 also provided with a plurality of apertures 133. It will be appreciated that generated steam will typically include a variety of liquid droplets of varying size. The larger heavier droplets will have less energy and therefore be less capable of passing far into the interior portion of the fire. By providing the chimney, these heavier droplets may be captured and their condensation within the fire controlled. Desirably where provided the chimney has sloped side walls 134A, 134B, whose separation is less than that of the capture surface of the collection reservoir 106 below. In this way droplets which condense on the side walls of the chimney will be directed back into the reservoir 106. The lighter droplets which are of a smaller dimension will escape through the chimney apertures 132 where they will be illuminated by the light source 115 and used to generate flame effects. It will be appreciated that the chimney is exemplary of the type of discrimination means that may be employed to selectively discriminate between the type of liquid droplet that is eventually used within the fire to generate the flame effects.

It will be appreciated that the actual configuration of the exit manifold 131 which forms part of the steam outlet may be changed depending on the ultimate pattern of the fire effects required. If used for flame effects, the location of specific exits from the manifold may be chosen to coincide with the location of desired flame origins. Desirably this will also be coincided with the position of the light sources 115 which will be used to illuminate the exiting steam to generate the flame effects.

By providing a plurality of light sources, it is possible to selectively illuminate portions of the exiting steam to change the perceived flame effects. The colouring, intensity and area of colouration of just some of the types of controllable aspects that may be engineered. Furthermore, by changing the volume of steam that is allowed to escape into any one region of the fire, the perceived flame effect at that region may be changed. This volume control may be provided in a variety of different fashions such as for example increasing the number of exit apertures at any one region.

It will be appreciated that accidental user interaction with the steam could cause injury. In one arrangement this can be addressed by having the steam being provided behind at least partially transparent sheet 160 located to the front of the fire. Desirably this sheet would be fabricated from glass or a transparent plastic. The provision of the sheet prevents physical contact by a user with the generated steam yet allows a viewing of the flame effects that are created. It will be understood that contact between the heated steam and a cooled surface could provide for generation of condensation within the interior portion of the fire housing. By heating a surface of the sheet, condensation effects can be minimised. This could be achieved by directing the fan heater 140 downwardly over the sheet to achieve a heating of the sheet. In the arrangement shown, the fan heater will direct heat downwardly over the front surface 160a, but by having the outlets from the fan heater on either side of the sheet 160 it could also heat the inner surface 16OB. Other techniques could employ incorporation of a heating element into the sheet 160 to actively heat the sheet.

It will be understood that not only the front sheet but also interior walls or surfaces of the fire housing, such as the rear wall 170, that could be in contact with the steam could also be heated to obviate possibility of the steam condensing on these surfaces. This could be achieved by having a heating element in contact with the surfaces or by directing a heating air flow passed the surfaces.

The light sources desirably provides a coloured light output that will colour the exiting steam accordingly. This can be provided in any one of a number of different fashions such as for example use of filters, multicoloured light sources or indeed a plurality of individually controllable monocoloured light sources of different colours.

It will be appreciated that what has been described herein are exemplary arrangements of an electric fire that incorporates a steam generator to provide steam into an interior portion of the fire. This generated steam, which is a heated liquid, may be combined with a light source to generate flame effects. The movement of the steam within the fire housing will be along convective air currents and as such will mimic the behaviour expected of real flames. The steam is generated desirably by direct contact of a liquid with a heating surface or element- the heating of the heating surface being achieved desirably by an electrical heating of that surface or element. By providing the generator within a lower portion of the fire it is possible to provide for an exit of generated steam at a location within the fire where one would expect flames to originate-such as at a fuel bed. While exemplary arrangements have been described it will be appreciated that changes can be made to that described without departing from the scope of the claimed invention.

The words comprises/comprising when used in this specification are to specify the presence of stated features, integers, steps or components but does not preclude the presence or addition of one or more other features, integers , steps, components or groups thereof.

Claims

1. An electric fire having a steam outlet through which steam is operably provided for use in generation of fire effects within a housing of the fire, the fire comprising a steam generator comprising a first reservoir from which liquid, desirably water, is drawn into contact with a heating element for generation of the steam.

2. An electric fire comprising a housing and a steam generator provided within the housing, the steam generator operably generating steam through contact of a liquid with a heating surface, the steam generator being in fluid communication with a steam outlet through which generated steam is operably provided for use in generation of fire effects within the housing of the fire.

3. The fire of any preceding claim wherein the fire effects are at least one of flame and/or fuel effects and/or smoke effects.

4. The fire of claim 3 wherein the fire further comprises a light source which is operably directed onto the steam to colour the steam for simulation of flame and/or fuel effects.

5. The fire of any preceding claim wherein the steam outlet is located in a lower portion of the housing.

6. The fire of claim 1 or 2 wherein the generator comprises a reservoir for receipt of the liquid to be heated, the heating surface comprising a boiler element provided within the reservoir.

7. The fire of claim 6 wherein the reservoir defines a first reservoir from which liquid, desirably water, is drawn into contact with the boiler element for generation of the steam.

8. The fire of claim 7 wherein the first reservoir is removable from the fire.

9. The fire of claim 6 wherein the generator is configured to be operably coupled to an external fluid source from which liquid, desirably water, is drawn into contact with the boiler element for generation of the steam.

10. The fire of claim 1 wherein the generator is provided external to the housing.

11. The fire of any preceding claim wherein the steam outlet includes one or more exits through which steam exits into the fire.

12. The fire of claim 11 when dependent on claim 6 wherein the outlet includes a manifold having a plurality of exits such that steam operably enters the manifold from the boiler and exits through the exits into the fire.

13. The fire of any preceding claim including means for selectively discriminating the size of liquid droplet within the generated steam that exits into the fire.

14. The fire of claim 13 when dependent on claim 12 wherein the means for discriminating includes a chimney displaced over the manifold and having a plurality of exits, contact with the chimney effecting condensation of selected droplets within the generated steam.

15. The fire of any preceding claim including a collection reservoir for collecting liquid from steam that condenses within the fire.

16. The fire of any preceding claim including means for inducing an air current within the fire to assist in a conveying of generated steam.

17. The fire of claim 16 wherein the means for inducing the air current includes at least one fan element.

18. The fire of claim 16 or 17 wherein the means for inducing the air current includes at least one heating element and/or light source.

19. The fire of claim 17 wherein the fan element includes a fan heater.

20. The fire of claim 15 when dependent on claim 7 wherein the collection reservoir is integral with or in fluid communication with the first reservoir to allow for a reuse of the liquid collected.

21. The fire of claim 12 wherein the manifold is dimensioned to extend within the fire housing, desirably along an axis substantially parallel with a front portion of the fire.

22. The fire of any preceding claim further comprising an at least transparent sheet located to the front of the fire and operably in front of any generated steam.

23. The fire of claim 22 wherein the fire includes means for heating a surface of the sheet so as to minimise condensation effects.

24. The fire of any preceding claim including means for heating surfaces of the fire that are operably in contact with the generated steam.

25. The fire of claim 4 wherein the light source provides a coloured light output that will colour the exiting steam accordingly.

26. A fire substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to the accompanying Figures.