WO2024107072A1

WO2024107072A1 - Flame stimulating device

Info

Publication number: WO2024107072A1
Application number: PCT/PL2023/050062
Authority: WO
Inventors: Jarosław DĄBROWSKI; Dariusz Krywalski
Original assignee: Planika Sp. Z O.O.
Priority date: 2022-11-15
Filing date: 2023-07-31
Publication date: 2024-05-23
Also published as: PL442799A1

Abstract

A flame simulating device characterised in that the mist outlet duct (8) is terminated with a slotted nozzle (9) for mist, tapering at its outlet, and the ambient air duct (11) is terminated with, an air slot nozzle (10) narrowing its width at the outlet, whereby the ambient air duct (11) and the mist outlet duct (8) are separated from each other by a single common wall (13) having, oriented obliquely to the axis of the stream of mist from the slot nozzle (9), a section (14) on which, on the side of the ambient air duct (11), a heater (15) is mounted.

Description

DESCRIPTION

Title of the Invention

FLAME STIMULATING DEVICE

Technical Field

[0001] The object of the invention is a flame stimulating device, in which the flame is imitated by illuminated orange, blue, green or red mist generated in the device's moist generator. This solution, as a decorative element of a room, is intended for use in all kinds of residential and commercial premises.

Background Art

[0002] Many designs of flame simulating devices are known and commonly used. Of these, among the well-known are devices based on flat simulation technology, in which the image of the fire is created on a flat screen on the back of the fireplace by placing a light source and a moving element reproducing the movement of the fire flames in such a way, that the light is partially covered or reflected by it. There are known devices based on spatial simulation, in which the image of the flame is created on the water mist, which is produced through mist generators in separate containers. The mist, which is led out through ducts from the mist generation tank to the upper part of the fireplace, is illuminated by a light with a colour similar to that of the flame. There are also known devices based on holographic simulation, in which the image of the fire is produced by superimposing the reflection of the flame arising on a transparent screen placed at a suitable angle to the direction of view of the observer and the actual image of the fireplace located behind the screen.

[0003] From the above-mentioned, the first two types of devices are the most often used, due to their simple construction and satisfactory visual effect, whereas the devices using the water mist effect offer the greatest possibilities of arrangement due to the fact, that they do not require a flat screen or decorative elements.

[0004] Therefore, from the Chinese patent application CN201810467038 there is known a flame simulating device composed of a cuboidal top-open housing, which is closed at the top with a cover with a longitudinal opening, and in the inside of which there is a water tank and a mist tank stretched over its entire length, in the inside of which at distances, one by one, there are located mist generators and in the wall of which, at distances, one by one, there are built-in mist fans, whereby from the water and mist tank there runs, stretched across the entire width of the housing, a linear mist outlet duct, along the length of which, in a line, there are diagonally upward-facing LEDs illuminating the generated mist stream. At the linear mist outlet, along its entire length, the outlet of the linear ambient air duct is located parallel to it. The ambient air duct, its inlet, is connected to an ambient air box, in the wall of which a fan is built-in.

[0005] From the European patent EP1787063, there is known a device for simulating fuel combustion consisting of a housing, in the lower part of which there is located a simulated fuel bed made of elements imitating logs of wood, in which mist outlet ducts are formed. A fan is installed in the upper wall of the housing, which forces air movement within the housing and LEDs to illuminate the generated mist stream. The fuel bed can comprise fibre optics to imitate flames or log glows.

[0006] From the US patent US9709282, there is known a device for simulating the effect of a flame, which includes a mist generator having a housing with a mist outlet opening; at least one ultrasonic atomizer of mist generating fluid which is positioned in the housing; a mechanism for pulsed feeding of fluid to the ultrasonic atomizer of the mist generator; a mechanism for discharging mist through the outlet opening of the mist generator; at least one light source arranged to illuminate the mist flow emerging from the outlet opening of the mist generator in order to simulate the effect of a flame.

[0007] From the US patent application US2017307223, a device for simulating the visual and sound effects of a wood-burning fireplace is known. The device includes artificial logs in a fireplace area configured to simulate the burning of a log of wood, a fog generator that produces fog surrounding the artificial logs, and a light system that provides light beams to illuminate the fog surrounding the artificial logs and to simulate a flickering fire that burns the artificial logs. The device also includes a loudspeaker to play the crackling sound of wood burning. [0008] From US patent application US2014355970 there is known a multifunctional humidification and heating device with a simulated 3D flame, consisting of a cabinet, a simulated area of charcoal combustion, a water steam generator, source of light, water tank and steam directing device. The steam ducts are located on the unit generating steam: the light source is located just below the steam ducts; the simulated charcoal burning area is located above the steam ducts; the water inlet and steam outlet are located at the upper end of the steam generator; the water tank is separably connected to the water inlet of the steam generator. The steam diverting device is separably connected to the steam outlet of the steam generator.

Summary of Invention

Technical Problem

[0009] The following are the most common disadvantages associated with the above designs: not enough realistic flame simulation, susceptibility of the flame imitation to gusts, complicated construction, including the creation of special chambers for fog generation, and susceptibility to the formation of condensate on cool components of the device, which results in some of the mist being lost.

[0010] The purpose of the solution, according to the invention, is the improvement of the design of the device for producing an imitation of flame with regard to the problems indicated above.

Solution to Problem

[0011] A simulating device composed of a cuboidal top-open housing which is closed at the top with a cover with a longitudinal opening, and in the inside of which there is a water tank and a mist tank stretched over its entire length, in the inside of which at distances, one by one, there are located mist generators, and in the wall of which, at distances, one by one, there are built-in mist fans, whereby from the water and mist tank there runs, stretched across the entire width of the housing, a linear mist outlet duct, along the length of which, in a line, there are diagonally upward-facing LEDs illuminating the generated mist stream and at which, along its entire length, the outlet of the linear ambient air duct is located parallel to it, according to the invention is characterised in that, the mist outlet duct is ended with a mist slot nozzle narrowing its width at the outlet, and the ambient air duct is ended with an air slot nozzle narrowing its width at the outlet, whereby the ambient air duct and the mist outlet duct are separated from each other by one common wall having, oriented obliquely to the axis of the outflow of the mist stream from the mist slot nozzle, a section in which, on the side of the ambient air duct, a heater is mounted.

[0012] Beneficially, a mist vane is positioned above each mist generator.

[0013] Beneficially, the angle of illumination of the LEDs is in the range from 20° to 25°.

[0014] Beneficially, considering from the front of the device, the illumination is positioned in front of the ambient air slot nozzle, behind which the mist slot nozzle is positioned.

[0015] Beneficially, on the cover at its longitudinal opening through which the mist slot nozzle and the ambient air slot nozzle are led from the inside of the housing, in front of the above-mentioned nozzles, viewed from the front of the device and along their entire length, there is positioned, with a height in the range of a few centimetres, a glass wall reducing the susceptibility of the mist stream to lateral movements of the ambient air.

[0016] Beneficially, the mist slot nozzle and the ambient air slot nozzle are open straight upwards, whereby, when viewed from the front side of the device, the front wall, positioned in front of the mist slot nozzle of the ambient air slot nozzle at the end, is bent outwards along its entire length.

Advantageous Effects of Invention

[0017] By using a heater in the solution according to the invention, the phenomenon of mist condensing on the elements of the device is reduced. The heating of the mist is conducted in such a way, that the effect of convection lifts it upwards from the outlet, minimising the volume of mist in contact with the cooler elements of the device. The shape of the mist and air outlet (forming a Venturi), as in the solution according to the invention, makes the air rise with little turbulence and this prevents the mist from falling on the elements of the device. The application of a cover glass integrated into the outer cover minimises the susceptibility of the mist to air movement at the outlet of the device. Integration of the mist generating chamber with the water tank simplifies the design of the device. The narrowing of the outlet reduces the exhaust pressure of the mist and increases the velocity of its stream according to the Venturi phenomenon, which allows for a 'curtain' effect of the mist and brings the visual effect of the fire simulation generated closer to the real one. The shaping of the mist and air outlet as in the solution according to the invention, allows the mist curtain to be divided into parts in a way that resembles tongues of fire. Equipping the mist outlet with heating elements that heat the mixture of mist and air in such a way as to obtain the effect of thermal convection, thanks to which the water mist, which is heavier at ambient temperature, becomes lighter when heated and floats up automatically, creating the effect of a natural flame. Illumination of the mist curtain with narrow-angle light in two colours, i.e. red on the upper part of the flame and orange-yellow on the lower part, enhances the impression of naturalness of the flame.

Brief Description of Drawing

[0018] The object of the invention is shown in the drawing, in which fig. 1 presents the device in axonometric view, fig. 2 the device in axonometric view from the front without the cover, front wall, rear housing and the air vane forming the ambient air duct, fig. 3 the device in axonometric view from the back without cover, front wall and rear housing, fig. 4 the device in axonometric view from the rear without cover, front and rear housing wall and with the rear wall of the water and mist tank removed, fig. 5 the device in axonometric view from the front without cover, front and rear housing wall, the air vane forming the ambient air duct, and the front wall of the water and mist tank, fig. 6 the device in cross- sectional view at the point where the water and mist tank consists of the rear and front parts, fig. 7 the device in cross-sectional view where the water and mist tank consists of the rear part only, fig. 8 the device in axiometric front view without cover, front wall and rear housing, differing from fig. 2 in that it contains an air vane co-forming an ambient air duct, and fig. 9 the device in view as in fig. 4 with the difference that the view is from the bottom.

Description of Embodiments

[0019] The flame stimulating device in the example of the implementation according to the invention is made up of a rectangular housing 1 open from the top, the opening of which is closed by a cover 2 in which, substantially along its entire length, in the middle of its width, an elongated rectangular opening is formed. In the interior of the housing 1 there is a water and mist tank 3, which is formed from a front part 3a, which is positioned in the front part of the housing 1, on one half of this front part, and connected with this front part 3a by an overflow, in principle in full flow, rear part 3b, which is positioned in the rear part of the housing 1, in which it is extended along its entire length. In the rear part 3b of the water and mist tank 3, along its length at distances, one by one, there are located ultrasonic mist generators 4, where above the mist outlet of each mist generator 4 there is located, oriented obliquely to the upward stream of the floating mist, a mist vane 5 in the form of a rectangular plate. On the top wall of the water and mist tank 3, in its rear part 3b, straight (directly) above each mist generator 4, a mist fan 7 is installed. Each mist generator 4, together with its respective mist vane 5, is suspended from a rack 6, which is attached to a mounting plate on which its respective mist fan 7 is located. The mounting plate with the mist fan 7 is fixed in a window formed in the top wall of the water and mist tank 3. From the upper wall of the rear part 3b of the water and mist tank 3, and more precisely from its front upper edge, there runs, extending across the entire width of the rear part 3b of the water and mist tank 3, a linear mist outlet duct 8, which is terminated by a mist slot nozzle 9 decreasing its width, next to which, along its entire length, there is an ambient air slot nozzle 10 parallel to it, which constitutes the outlet of the linear ambient air duct 11 running next to the linear mist outlet duct 8. The ambient air slot nozzle 10 narrows the outlet width of the ambient air duct 11. The ambient air duct 11 is located in the upper part of the housing 1, above the front part 3a of the water and mist tank 3, and is formed between the front wall of the mist outlet duct 8 and the spaced air vane 12 located in front of it. The ambient air duct 11 and the mist outlet duct 8 are separated from each other by a wall 13 having a section 14 oriented obliquely to the axis of outflow of the mist stream from the mist slot nozzle 9 (obliquely to the duct of the mist slot nozzle 9), on which, on the side of the ambient air duct 11, a heater 15 is mounted. The heater 15 is located along the entire length of the aforementioned ducts 8, 11, directly underneath the linear tapers that terminate them, constituting respectively the mist slot nozzle 9 and the ambient air slot nozzle 10. The mist outlet duct 8 in the section in front of the heater 15, from the water and mist tank 3 upwards, runs parallel to the axis of the mist stream outflow (vertically upwards), in the section heated by the heater 15 it runs diagonally to the axis of the mist stream outflow (horizontally oblique), and behind the area with the heater 15 it is terminated by a mist slot nozzle 9. The mist slot nozzle 9 and the ambient air slot nozzle 10 outside the housing 1 are led out through an elongated opening formed in the cover 2. Under the cover 2 in a line, along the entire length of the above-mentioned slotted nozzles 9, 10, a multi-point illumination 16 is arranged, the light beam of which, is directed diagonally upwards. Beneficially, the illumination 16 takes the form of multiple LEDs illuminating a stream of generated mist. The light points of the illumination 16, beneficially in the form of LEDs, are mounted on a support 17 oriented obliquely to the upwardly floating mist stream and attached to the wall of the mist outlet duct 8. LEDs with a narrow angle of illumination, as a principle of the angle of illumination ranging from 20° to 25° and of the RGB colour range, are used to illuminate the mist stream. The LEDs of the illumination 16 are positioned in front of the ambient air slot nozzle 10, behind which the mist slot nozzle 9 is positioned. On the cover 2 by its opening, or more precisely in front of its front edge, along the entire length of the opening formed in it, a glass wall 18 is positioned in it to reduce the susceptibility of the mist stream to gusts/side movements of ambient air. The glass wall 18 is in the height range from 2 to 5 cm, beneficially 4 cm. The mist slot nozzle 9 and the ambient air slot nozzle 10 are directly open to the top, with the front wall, located in front of the mist slot nozzle 9, of the ambient air slot nozzle 10 at the end being bent at an angle of approximately 450 degrees outwards along its entire length ( towards the front of the housing). The function of the heater 15 is to heat the air, thus forcing it to flow into the ambient air duct 11 and to heat the mist pumped in by the mist fans 7 before it is discharged outside. On the upper wall of the front part 3a of the water and mist container 3, there is a manual water inlet closed by a nut 19 and an automatic water inlet in the form of a ferrule 20, onto which a hose is fitted, the other end of which is connected to the pump. In the water and mist tank 3, in its front part 3a, there is a water level sensor 21. A manual water inlet is used to fill the unit for the first time. The automatic water gate is used to refill water while the device is in use. The water level sensor 21 consists of optional sensors indicating the fluid levels, i.e. a sensor for the MAX level, a sensor for the MIN operating level and a protecting MIN level sensor. For the purposes of the solution according to the invention, an ultrasonic mist generator 4 is used, which is fitted with a minimum liquid level sensor. The function of the mist vane 5, apart from guiding the mist towards the mist outlet duct 8, is also to catch water droplets. The task of the electrically powered mist fans 7 is to pump the mist slowly and in small quantities towards its outlet from the water and mist tank 3. The ultrasonic mist generators 4 and the mist fan 7 used constitute solutions that are known from the state of the art, therefore their detailed analysis of operation is not the subject of this solution. LED lighting 16 illuminate at a wide angle to the mist curtain. The LEDs of the narrow-angle lighting 16 are installed on the side visible during use, i.e. between the user and the mist curtain. In the case of devices visible from both sides, the light source can be placed on both sides of the mist outlet. The device according to the invention is equipped with a controller located in the housing 22 for controlling the operation of the device, a low-voltage power supply and a manipulator located on the cover of the device, which makes it possible to start or stop the device with the start/stop button, to adjust the magnitude of the flame effect with the buttons by adjusting the amount of mist to be generated, as well as to start the pump for filling the water and mist tank 3 with water by pressing and holding the button. The device can also be controlled by means of a remote control and an application available on a mobile phone. The flame simulating device according to the invention can be manufactured from identical materials and parts as the devices known from the state of the art. The principle of operation of the solution according to the invention follows directly from its design and in addition is known from the state of the art, however, differently from the known solutions, in the design according to the invention, at the outlet the mist is heated by the heater 15, which causes convective rising and faster discharge. Mist and ambient air are heated to a temperature of 35-50 0C by using a heater 15 as an electric heater, while the temperature of the heating element is maintained at the level of 120- 140 °C. The mist at the outlet mixes with the air flow coming from the ambient air duct 11, the gravitational flow of which forces it to be heated by the heater 15. The narrowing of the mist and air outlet creates a Venturi effect as well as introduces slight turbulence, which makes the image of a simulated fire more realistic.

[0020] In the so far known solutions, the width of the mist discharge duct is in the range from 8 mm to 15 mm, beneficially up to 10 mm, and the mist discharge velocity is maintained in the range from 0.08 to 0.12 m/s, beneficially 0.1 m/s. The above causes the mist curtain to be thicker and its flow more turbulent. This makes the visual effect more similar to that of a humidifier than a fireplace, due to the fact that the mist is less dense which makes an inferior screen for its illumination. At the same time, the turbulence creates the effect of a billowing flame rather than tongues of fire.

[0021] In the solution according to the invention, the narrowing of the width of the mist outlet duct 8 (use of a mist slot nozzle 9) to a width in the range from 3 mm to 6 mm, beneficially about 5 mm, resulted in the fact that, with the same operating parameters of the mist generator, it is possible to reduce the output of the air discharged by the mist fans 7 and to reduce the discharge velocity of the mist to 0.004 - 0.005 m/s ) by about 50%, which is about 30-50 m/s). This translates into the fact, that the mist curtain generated by the method according to the invention has a lower thickness and a higher density, thus being a better screen for reflecting light and behaving more naturally by imitating the behaviour of tongues through the use of a heater 15. At the mist outlet, the discharge velocity of the ambient air heated by heater 15 is similar to, but slightly higher than that of the mist due to its lower density than the air mixed with the mist and is in the range of 0.005 m/s to 0.01 m/s, beneficially 0.007 m/s. The aforementioned stream of air supports the flow of mist and, due to the low turbulence, randomly divides the curtain into tongues, which adds to the realism of the fire image. In the solution according to the invention, the width of the ambient air slot nozzle 10 is in the range of 5mm to 10mm and its specific width is selected after determining the width of the mist slot nozzle 9.

Claims

1. A flame simulating device composed of a cuboidal top-open housing which is closed at the top with a cover with a longitudinal opening, and in the inside of which there is a watertank and a mist tank stretched over its entire length, in the inside of which at distances, one by one, there are located mist generators and in the wall of which, at distances, one by one, there are built-in mist fans, whereby from the water and mist tank there runs, stretched across the entire width of the housing, a linear mist outlet duct, along the length of which, in a line, there are diagonally upward-facing LEDs illuminating the generated mist stream and at which along its entire length, the outlet of the linear ambient air duct is located parallel to it, characterised in that, that the mist outlet duct (8) is ended with a mist slot nozzle (9) narrowing its width at the outlet and the ambient air duct (11) is ended with an air slot nozzle (10) narrowing its width at the outlet, whereby the ambient air duct (11) and the mist outlet duct (8) are separated from each other by one common wall (13) having, oriented obliquely to the axis of the outflow of the mist stream from the mist slot nozzle (9) , a section (14)in which, on the side of the ambient air duct, a heater is mounted (15).

2. The device according to claim 1, characterized in that, that a mist vane (5) is located above each mist generator (4).

3. The device according to claim 1, characterized in that, that the angle of illumination of the LEDs is in the range from 20° to 25°.

4. The device according to claim 1, characterized in that, that, when viewed from the front of the device, the illumination is positioned in front of the ambient air slot nozzle (10), behind which the mist slot nozzle (9) is located.

5. The device according to claim 1, characterized in that, that on the cover (2), at its longitudinal opening through which a mist slot nozzle (9) and an ambient air slot nozzle (10) are led from the inside of the housing (1), in front of the above- mentioned slot nozzles (9, 10) seen from the front of the device, and along their entire length, there is a glass wall (18) several centimetres high, which reduces the susceptibility of the mist stream to lateral movements of the ambient air. The device according to claim 1, characterized in that, that the mist slot nozzle (9) and the ambient air slot nozzle (10) are directly open upwards, whereby, when viewed from the front of the device, the front wall, positioned in front of the mist slot nozzle (9), of the ambient air slot nozzle (10) at the end is bent outwards along its entire length.