Other

Heat-n-glo Fireplace Products, Inc.

Heat-n-glow

Ronald John Shimek

Daniel Curtis Shimek

David Charles Lyons

James F Wolf

Robb Edward Bennett

Gary Lee Butler

Timothy Wayne Johnson

Bradley Dean Determan

Chad T Vogel

A novel dual mode of operation gas fireplace of the type having a combustion chamber box and a heat exchanger is provided with a burner in the bottom of the combustion chamber box which creates exhaust gasses to be passed out of the combustion chamber box and into or through the heat exchanger portion of the fireplace mounted on top of or back of the combustion chamber box. The hot exhaust gasses leaving the combustion chamber box may be directed into an exhaust stack or diverted directly into the room to be heated by a blower motor which diverts hot exhaust gas products from the heat exchanger directly into a room area to be heated in a ventless mode of operation. When the blower motor which diverts the exhaust gasses into the room is deactivated, the novel fireplace may be operated in a vented mode of operation. The feature of the present invention is that the novel fireplace may be operated in both the dual modes of operation simultaneously to achieve greater efficiencies than could be achieved by operating the fireplace in a vented mode of operation alone.

Dual mode of operation fireplaces for operation in vented or unvented

A low cost prefabricated fireplace is provided with an open-ended fireplace box which requires no outer sheet metal shroud or housing as employed in the prior art sheet metal fireplaces. The novel fireplace box has at least five walls which consist substantially of insulating reinforced ceramic fiber (RCF) material and a binder. A modular burner system is removably mounted on the bottom wall of the fireplace box and a floor panel is mounted on the modular burner system forming an air chamber below the floor panel in the fireplace box. A decorative surround trim is attached to the open end of the fireplace box which serves to support fixed or operable glass doors. A log set which may include a log burner is mounted above the floor panel which supports a decorative log set. Apertures are made in the top sides or of the fireplace box to accommodate an air supply and/or an exhaust stack. The fireplace box serves as a base unit to which other fireplace components are attached, connected or supported so that the need for conventional sheet metal is substantially eliminated. The resulting fireplace can be completed in many different configurations using a common fireplace box which needs no additional surrounding insulation for installation in a room.

Simulated electric glowing embers for gas fireplaces

A combined log set and gas burner system comprises a plurality of reinforced ceramic fiber burner elements formed in the shape of artificial logs and or glowing embers or a non-porous bed of coals. The burner elements are formed with a gas passageway in the interior of the element and a plurality of gas jets are made which connect the surface of the burner elements to the gas passageway in the burner elements. A source gaseous fluid is connected to the passageways to complete the combination burner system which eliminates the need for a separate burner apart from the log system.

Hollow ceramic fiber burner-log element

A high efficiency gas fireplace unit having a heat exchanger is located in a room in which the heat from the gas fireplace is not wanted. An air duct is connected to the heat exchanger and has a termination point in a room or area remote from the gas fireplace unit. During a heat dump or heat transfer mode of operation, an induced draft fan in an air duct is activated by a remote switch thrown to cause room air to be sucked through the heat exchanger and passed through the air duct and dumped in a remote area so that the fireplace heating effect is nullified or neutralized allowing the fireplace to be operated with or without an air conditioning system.

Heat removal system for fireplaces

A portable gas burner which is usable in remote areas without electricity is provided for use as a fire place burner, or as a camp fire burner or as a stove burner or as a grill burner. The novel gas burner comprises a base unit onto which is mounted a hollow ceramic fiber top which is connected to the base unit so as to form a gas manifold therebetween for receiving a mixture of gas and air. A manually operable gas valve means in said base unit is connected to a gas supply. The valve when opened allows a mixture of gas and air to flow through a gas line into the gas manifold until such time as a temperature thermocouple sensing element is heated sufficiently to hold manually operable gas valve open.

Indoor-outdoor portable gas burner

A low cost prefabricated fireplace is provided with an open-ended fireplace box which requires no outer sheet metal shroud or housing as employed in the prior art sheet metal fireplaces. The novel fireplace box has at least five walls which consist substantially of insulating reinforced ceramic fiber (RCF) material and a binder. A modular burner system is removably mounted on the bottom wall of the fireplace box and a floor panel is mounted on the modular burner system forming an air chamber below the floor panel in the fireplace box. A decorative surround trim is attached to the open end of the fireplace box which serves to support fixed or operable glass doors. A log set which may include a log burner is mounted above the floor panel which supports a decorative log set. Apertures are made in the sides or top of the fireplace box to accommodate an air supply and/or an exhaust stack. The fireplace box serves as a base unit to which other fireplace components are attached, connected or supported so that the need for conventional sheet metal is substantially eliminated. The resulting fireplace can be completed in many different configurations using a common fireplace box which needs no additional surrounding insulation for installation in a room.

Low cost prefabricated fireplace with fiber insulation firebox

The present invention includes a universal combustion chamber preferably shipped from a factory as a separate unit for field installation into a plurality of different fireplace units and includes a top panel and a floor panel connected to sidewall panel to form a complete ready to use gas tight structure. The combustion chamber is fabricated from flat and/or curved panels which are preferably molded from a thick paste slurry of mixed vitreous alumina silicate fibers combined with an aqueous solution of silica binder and fired to form non-porous gas tight panels which are interconnected to form a gas tight combustion chamber. The connecting joints are preferably reinforced by the addition of a high temperature adhesive added to the mating joints. The joints may be further reinforced and/or sealed by mechanical reinforcing at or in the joints. The joints may be eliminated by forming a one piece combustion chamber on forming molds that are designed to be separated from a formed but uncured combustion chamber.

Universal non-porous fiber reinforced combustion chamber fireplace

A novel control system for altering a fixed pattern of gas flames in a fireplace having artificial logs comprises a log set having a burner system and the burner system having a gas valve control which is coupled to source of gas or air to be regulated. The control system has a valve which controls the air or gas being supplied to the burner and a control sensor is coupled to the control system for activating the time sequence of the cycle of the control system so as to raise or lower the gas flames being regulated and to disturb the pattern of gas flames to produce the effect of dancing flames.

Dancing flame control system for gas fireplaces

An integrated combined heating and cooling unit comprises a known high efficiency gas fireplace unit stacked on top of a known high efficiency window type air conditioning unit. Novel vent adapters are connected to the rear of the units for connecting them to a source of outside combustion and cooling air to effect high efficiency operations. Novel controls comprise a fireplace relay and an air conditioning relay mounted inside of each of the units. The relays control the on-off operation of the respective units and are actuated by a thermostatic control preferably located remote from the combined units.

Integrated gas fireplace and air conditioner system

A versatile surround trim mounting device comprises an extruded metal surround trim piece formed as three separate legs and joined together to form a U-shaped frame structure. The extrusion comprises a pair of parallel trim edges that are separated from each other by a connecting recessed tile support therebetween. The recessed tile support is further provided with two side support structures. A spring bias force is placed against one of the side supports to urge a tile to lock it against the opposite side support so that the versatile surround trim appears to the eye be horizontal and vertical rows of decorative tiles surrounding a prefabricated fireplace.

Versatile surround trim structure

A novel fireplace element is made by a novel process wherein the fireplace element is first molded from a mixture of refractory and ceramic fibers and removed from the mold in a green state. While the fireplace element can be treated in the green state, it is preferred that the fireplace element is cured to provide a rigid fireplace element of the type used in artificial fireplace log sets. The element if not already processed is provided with a surface of loosened fibers so that the loose fibers will reach an incandescent glow set state and give the appearance of the total element being incandescent well before the surface and/or body of the fireplace element can reach an incandescent temperature.

Enhanced glowing logs and method

A novel dual direct vented fireplace includes a combustion chamber having two permanent exhaust outlets including a horizontal exhaust outlet and a vertical exhaust outlet. A fireplace enclosure surrounds at least the top, bottom and back of said combustion chamber forming three hollow plenum walls around the combustion chamber. A fresh air duct in the top and back plenum walls connects to a combustion air passageway under the gas burner system. Two permanent air inlets in said fresh air duct include a horizontal air inlet and a vertical air inlet. A coaxial pipe is provided for connection to at least one of said exhaust outlets and one of said air inlets. The other of said exhaust outlets and air inlets is covered with a closure whereby the dual direct-vented fireplace is assembled at the factory or in the field as either a horizontal or a vertical direct vented fireplace.

Convertible dual direct-vented fireplace

A flat pan gas burner for a gas log fireplace system comprises a U-shaped pan formed in a sheet of metal. The U-shaped pan is provided with attachment flanges and a gas pipe attachment aperture through which is attached a gas pipe adapter. A burner plate is further provided with a plurality of gas flame apertures in a predetermined pattern for creating a desired flame pattern below the gas log system. If desired, there is further provided a layer of porous ceramic material on the burner plate which is impregnated with metallic salts and which produces a desired lengthening and coloring of the gas flames of the gas burner. A rocking or sliding support of the flat pan gas burner imparts movements and/or different length to the colored flames.

Flat pan gas burner for gas fireplaces

A low profile gas burner fireplace is provided for mounting under a low table top or counter. The fireplace system comprises a decorative insulated table top mounted on the top wall of a low profile fireplace. The fireplace is provided with a hot exhaust gas system that connects below the burner system and passes through the bottom wall of the fireplace structure to conduct hot gasses through the bottom wall and outside of the room area in which the fireplace is located by means of an induced draft fan so that no pipes or exhaust system are visible in the room in which the fireplace is located.

Low profile gas burner fireplace table

A novel horizontal-vertical (H-V) direct vented gas heating unit comprises a box-shaped heating unit having seven walls which surround a combustion chamber. One of the seven walls comprises a diagonal wall connected between the back vertical wall and the top wall. An exhaust stack extends through the diagonal wall and is surrounded at its exit by a coaxial fresh air inlet adapter which connects to a fresh air passageway which extends down the back wall. An inner heat exchanger comprise passageways which extend along six of the seven walls outside the combustion chamber. The fresh air passageway on the back wall extends through the heat exchanger passageway in the back wall and enters a plenum having two exits, one of which is positioned opposite the upper level and the other opposite the lower level of a dual level burner.

Growing community of inventors

Prior Lake, MN, United States of America

Ronald John Shimek