U.S. patent application number 15/205259 was filed with the patent office on 2017-01-12 for gas fireplace and flow guide member of the same.
The applicant listed for this patent is BAHUTONG ENTERPRISE LIMITED COMPANY. Invention is credited to Wei-Long CHEN, Kuan-Chou LIN, Yen-Jen YEH.
Application Number | 20170009998 15/205259 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 57730765 |
Filed Date | 2017-01-12 |
United States Patent
Application |
20170009998 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
YEH; Yen-Jen ; et
al. |
January 12, 2017 |
GAS FIREPLACE AND FLOW GUIDE MEMBER OF THE SAME
Abstract
A gas fireplace includes a firebox, a translucent cover provided
on the firebox, and a separate assembly. The separate assembly is
provided in the firebox, and divides the firebox into an air
chamber and a combustion chamber which corresponds to the
translucent cover. An exhaust passage is formed between the
separate assembly and the translucent cover, and communicates the
air chamber and the combustion chamber, wherein an inner width of
the exhaust passage gradually reduces from the air chamber toward
the combustion chamber. During the combustion, the exhaust passage
guides cold air to flow through the semi-enclosed air chamber, and
to evenly blow into the translucent cover, which forms an even air
curtain on a surface of a bottom portion of the translucent cover
to block out the heat. Whereby, the temperature of the translucent
cover and the bottom portion of the combustion chamber could be
lowered.
Inventors: |
YEH; Yen-Jen; (Taichung
City, TW) ; LIN; Kuan-Chou; (Taichung City, TW)
; CHEN; Wei-Long; (Taichung City, TW) |
|
Applicant: |
Name |
City |
State |
Country |
Type |
BAHUTONG ENTERPRISE LIMITED COMPANY |
Taichung City |
|
TW |
|
|
Family ID: |
57730765 |
Appl. No.: |
15/205259 |
Filed: |
July 8, 2016 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
1/1 |
Current CPC
Class: |
F23D 2900/21004
20130101; F23D 14/105 20130101; F24C 3/082 20130101; F23D 14/72
20130101; F24C 3/022 20130101; F24C 3/006 20130101 |
International
Class: |
F24B 1/18 20060101
F24B001/18; F24B 1/189 20060101 F24B001/189; F24B 1/181 20060101
F24B001/181 |
Foreign Application Data
Date |
Code |
Application Number |
Jul 9, 2015 |
TW |
104122332 |
Claims
1. A gas fireplace, comprising: a firebox comprising an intake
port, an exhaust port, and a window, wherein the window is located
between the intake port and the exhaust port; a translucent cover
covering the window; and a separate assembly provided in the
firebox, wherein the separate assembly divides the firebox into an
air chamber and a combustion chamber; the air chamber communicates
with the intake port, while the combustion chamber corresponds to
the translucent cover, and communicates with the exhaust port;
wherein, an end of the separate assembly is connected to the
firebox, while another end thereof extends toward the translucent
cover, and is bent into a flow guide segment; an exhaust passage is
formed between the flow guide segment and the translucent cover,
wherein the exhaust passage communicates the air chamber and the
combustion chamber, and an inner width of the exhaust passage
gradually reduces from the air chamber toward the combustion
chamber.
2. The gas fireplace of claim 1, wherein the separate assembly
comprises a board member and a flow guide member; the board member
is connected to the firebox and the flow guide member; an end of
the flow guide member is detachably connected to the board member,
while another end thereof is bent to be the flow guide segment.
3. The gas fireplace of claim 2, wherein the flow guide member
comprises a top board and a bottom board; the top board is provided
above the bottom board, and an airflow passage is formed between
the top board and the bottom board to communicate with the exhaust
passage; the top board comprises the flow guide segment and an
extension segment, wherein the extension segment is connected to
the board member and the flow guide segment; an air inlet of the
airflow passage is formed between the extension segment and the
bottom board, wherein the air inlet communicates with the air
chamber.
4. The gas fireplace of claim 3, wherein the flow guide member
further comprises a plurality of stop plates, which are provided
between the top board and the bottom board, and are separately
arranged on the bottom board to divide the airflow passage into
multiple sub-passages.
5. The gas fireplace of claim 4, wherein an end of each of the stop
plates opposite to the top board has an inclined edge, which is
inclined from the bottom board toward the top board; the flow guide
segment of the top board abuts against the inclined edges.
6. The gas fireplace of claim 3, wherein an end of the bottom board
corresponding to the flow guide segment is bent toward the top
board to form a vertical segment, and the exhaust passage is formed
between the vertical segment and the flow guide segment.
7. The gas fireplace of claim 1, further comprising two steady flow
plates, wherein the separate assembly is provided with a gas supply
port thereon; the steady flow plates are provided on opposite ends
of the gas supply port; an end of each of the steady flow plates
extends into the combustion chamber; one of the steady flow plates
is located between the exhaust passage and the gas supply port.
8. The gas fireplace of claim 7, further comprising a combustion
device provided in the air chamber, wherein the combustion device
corresponds to the gas supply port; the combustion device
comprises: a combustion supporting module connected to the board
member, wherein the combustion supporting module has at least one
gas supply passage, which communicates the gas supply port and the
air chamber; and a combustor comprising a tube and two protruding
plates, wherein the tube has a plurality of fuel orifices arranged
thereon; the fuel orifices correspond to the gas supply port; the
protruding plates are provided on opposite ends of the fuel
orifices, and are between the steady flow plates; an end of each of
the protruding plates extends into the combustion supporting
module; a burner port formed between the protruding plates, wherein
the burner port communicate the gas supply port and the fuel
orifices.
9. The gas fireplace of claim 8, wherein the combustor further
comprises a sleeve fitting around the tube; the sleeve has a slot
corresponding to the fuel orifices of the tube, wherein the slot
extends in an arranging direction of the fuel orifices; the
protruding plates are respectively connected to one of opposite
sides of the sleeve adjacent to the slot.
10. The gas fireplace of claim 8, wherein the combustion supporting
module comprises a base and a plurality of separators; the base is
connected to the board member; the gas supply passage is located
between the base and the board member; the separators are
separately arranged on a lateral surface of the base opposite to
the board member, and divide the gas supply passage into multiple
guide passages.
11. The gas fireplace of claim 10, wherein the base comprises a
seat body and a frame body; the frame body is provided on the seat
body; the frame body has an assembling opening and a plurality of
cuts, wherein the assembling opening corresponds to the gas supply
port of the board member, the cuts are separately arranged on two
opposite lateral edges of the frame body adjacent to the assembling
opening; the separators are provided in the assembling opening, and
a lateral edge of each of the separators is inserted into one of
the cuts, while another lateral edge thereof is fixed to the seat
body.
12. The gas fireplace of claim 10, wherein the separators are
respectively arranged on a side of one of the protruding plates of
the combustor away from the burner port; each of the separators has
a notch provided thereon; the steady flow plates are respectively
engaged with the notches of the corresponding separators on two
opposite sides of the burner port.
13. The gas fireplace of claim 12, wherein the combustion
supporting module further comprises two bent plates, which are
respectively provided on the opposite sides of the burner port; an
end of each of the bent plates is located between one of the
protruding plates and the separators corresponding to said
protruding plate, while another end of each of the bent plates is
bent toward the corresponding separators, and has a plurality of
perforations provided thereon, wherein the perforations
respectively correspond to the guide passages.
14. The gas fireplace of claim 13, wherein the perforations is
lower than the burner port in a vertical direction.
15. The gas fireplace of claim 1, further comprising an exhaust
device provided in the combustion chamber, wherein the exhaust
device divides the combustion chamber into a first space and a
second space; the exhaust device has an exhaust passage
communicating the first space and the second space, wherein a width
of the exhaust passage gradually reduces from the second space
toward the first space.
16. The gas fireplace of claim 15, wherein the exhaust device
comprises a first guide plate and a second guide plate; an end of
the first guide plate and an end of the second guide plate are
respectively connected to two opposite walls of the combustion
chamber, while another ends thereof are inclined to each other
toward the exhaust port, with a certain distance left therebetween,
forming the exhaust passage between the first guide plate and the
second guide plate.
17. The gas fireplace of claim 16, wherein an end of the first
guide plate inclined toward the exhaust port has a first top edge,
and an end of the second guide plate inclined toward the exhaust
port has a second top edge; the first top edge is higher than the
second top edge in a vertical direction; an exit of the exhaust
passage is formed between the first top edge and the second top
edge.
18. The gas fireplace of claim 17, wherein the exhaust device
further comprises two splitter plates, which are connected to the
first top edge in an axial direction of the exhaust port, and abut
against the second top edge; the splitter plates are separately
arranged to divide the exit into multiple sub-exits.
19. The gas fireplace of claim 18, wherein the exhaust device
further comprises a spoiler, which is provided between the splitter
plates, and is connected to the second top edge in the axial
direction of the exhaust port to partially cover the sub-exit
between the splitter plates.
20. A flow guide member, which is adapted to be provided on a side
of a gas fireplace adjacent to a translucent cover; comprising: a
bottom board; and a top board provided above the bottom board,
wherein an airflow passage is formed between the top board and the
bottom board; the top board comprises a flow guide segment and an
extension segment, wherein an air inlet of the airflow passage is
formed between an end of the extension segment, which is away from
the flow guide segment, and the bottom board; the flow guide
segment is connected to the extension segment in an inclined way,
and is in a horizontal direction of the bottom board; the flow
guide segment is separated from the bottom board by a distance;
wherein, when the flow guide member is provided in the gas
fireplace, an end of the bottom board corresponding to the flow
guide segment abuts against the translucent cover, and an exhaust
passage is formed by the distance between the flow guide segment
and the translucent cover; the exhaust passage communicates with
the airflow passage, and an inner width of the exhaust passage
gradually reduces from the bottom board toward the top board.
21. The flow guide member of claim 20, further comprising a
plurality of stop plates, wherein the stop plates are provided
between the top board and the bottom board, and are separately
arranged on the bottom board to divide the airflow passage into
multiple sub-passages.
22. The flow guide member of claim 21, wherein an end of each of
the stop plates opposite to the top board has an inclined edge,
which is inclined from the bottom board toward the top board; the
flow guide segment of the top board abuts against the inclined
edges.
23. The flow guide member of claim 20, wherein an end of the bottom
board corresponding to the flow guide segment is bent toward the
top board to form a vertical segment, and the exhaust passage is
formed between the vertical segment and the flow guide segment.
Description
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0001] 1. Technical Field
[0002] The present invention relates generally to a gas-burning
appliance, and more particular to a gas fireplace and a flow guide
member thereof.
[0003] 2. Description of Related Art
[0004] A conventional direct-vented gas fireplace intakes and
exhausts air in a naturally balanced way, with the exhaust port and
the intake port horizontally or vertically connected to the
combustion chamber, and communicating with outside. The indoor air
is completely isolated from the combustion chamber, which makes the
direct-vented gas fireplace the safest fireplace for now. As shown
in FIG. 1, a conventional direct-vented gas fireplace F includes a
firebox F1 and a combustor F2, wherein a vent line F3 is provided
on the firebox F1. The firebox F1 has an exhaust port F11 and an
intake port F33 provided at a top thereof, wherein the exhaust port
F11 and the intake port F33 both communicate with outside, and the
vent line F3 is typically designed in a pipe-in-pipe way for easier
installation. In other words, an outer pipe is used as an intake
pipe F31, and an inner pipe surrounded by the outer pipe is used as
an exhaust pipe F32. The intake pipe F31 communicates with an
intake passage F13 provided on a rear side of the firebox F1,
wherein the intake passage F13 could communicate with outside, and
guide fresh air into the combustion chamber through the intake port
F12. The exhaust pipe F32 communicates with the combustion chamber
through the exhaust port F11, and exhausts the high-temperature
waste gas generated by combustion out of the firebox F1. The
combustor F2 is provided in the combustion chamber inside the
firebox F1. The combustor F2 generates heat during combustion,
which makes the heated air in the combustion chamber expand and
rise upward. Due to stack effect, the uprising hot air is then
exhausted out of the combustion chamber through the exhaust pipe
F32. At this time, the lower part of the combustion chamber has
negative pressure, which draws the lower-temperature fresh air into
the vent line F3 from outside through another intake port F33. The
drawn-in air then flows downward from the vent line F3, through the
intake passage F13, and finally enters the combustion chamber
through the intake port F12. The fresh air required for continuous
combustion can be provided in this way. In the conventional
direct-vented gas fireplace F, the waste gas generated by
combusting would form high-temperature airflow in the firebox F1,
and flows toward the exhaust port F11 at the top of the firebox F1.
Since the cross-sectional area of the exhaust port F11 is much less
than that of the upper part of the combustion chamber, only small
part of the high temperature airflow could successfully pass
therethrough, while most of the uprising heated gas would be
stopped by the wall of the top of the firebox F1, and turn downward
to form a circulation. As a result, heat energy would be
accumulated in the firebox F1, and then transferred into the room
through the heat exchange ongoing outside the firebox F1. The
amount of heat energy accumulated in the firebox F1 could affect
the efficiency of using energy. If the high-temperature gas is
exhausted out of the firebox too quickly, the efficiency would be
reduced; on the contrary, if it is exhausted too slowly, the
outside air would be hindered from flowing into the firebox, which
is not conducive to complete combustion.
[0005] In order to make the gas fireplace F show nice flaming
visual effect and provide heat radiation, a transparent glass cover
F4 would be provided at the front side of the firebox F1, so that a
user could see and feel the light and heat of the burning flame
inside the firebox F1 through the glass cover. Except the front
side which is provided with the glass cover, an outer casing is
provided around the firebox F to separate the high temperature of
the firebox F from the building. The high-temperature firebox would
exchange heat with the indoor air. The bottom side of the firebox
and the outer casing could be installed with a valve and a control
module, and sometimes even a fan to enhance convection, which
facilitates heat exchange between the firebox and the indoor air.
In this way, the heating efficiency could be improved, and the
indoor temperature could be increased more quickly. During
combustion, the gas fireplace would generate high temperature on
the glass cover, and therefore, the glass cover should be made of
expensive high-temperature resistant tempered glass. On the other
hand, the space below the firebox used to receive the control valve
and the control module should be sufficient to prevent the control
module from being damaged due to high temperature caused by the
accumulation of heat energy.
[0006] During combustion, the temperature at the glass cover on the
front side of the fireplace could reach, or even exceed,
250.degree. C. To avoid the potential hazard and to meet safety
regulations, it is conventional to have a layer of anti-scald
shield further installed in front of the glass cover. Such
anti-scald shield is usually a metal net or made of glass. However,
a metal net would shield the visual effect of the flame. As for a
glass anti-scald shield, given heat radiation and the high
temperature at the glass cover, the distance between the glass
cover and the anti-scald shield should be long. Otherwise, heat
energy would be still accumulated on the anti-scald shield to
exceed a still hazardous temperature of 172.degree. F.
(77.8.degree. C.) after combusting for an extended period. However,
a long distance between the glass cover and the anti-scald shield
would make the size of the fireplace bigger, which may increase the
cost of manufacturing and the difficulties of installation.
[0007] To solve the above problem, U.S. Pat. No. 5,542,402, titled
"Fireplace Assembly", discloses a specific structure for
fireplaces. Said structure draws in cold air from outside through
the intake port, and directs the cold air into the space between
the glass cover and the glass anti-scald shield from top to bottom,
which could provide a certain effect. Still, the disclosed design
has some drawbacks, including: (1) the large temperature difference
between two sides of a glass anti-scald shield would cause high
thermal stress on the glass; (2) the fireplace intakes air by stack
effect (i.e., air is drawn in by the negative pressure in the lower
part of the combustion chamber), and this negative pressure
difference is actually minor, which could be potentially affected
if the cold air in the space between the glass cover and the
anti-scald shield gets excessively heated and therefore expands or
even rises, causing the air intake to be hindered, which reduces
the amount of oxygen supplied to the combustion chamber, and is not
conducive to complete combustion; (3) the area of a glass
anti-scald shield is quite large, but the flow of the airflow to be
cooled is quite low, which means it is hard to evenly control the
route of the airflow to provide an effective cooling effect.
BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0008] In view of the above, the primary objective of the present
invention is to provide a gas fireplace and a flow guide member
thereof, which could lower the temperature at the glass cover which
is at the front of the firebox, and enhance the performance of the
gas fireplace. By using a separate assembly to divide the internal
space of the firebox into an air chamber and a combustion chamber,
cold air could stably flow inside the air chamber, without being
disturbed by the hot airflow of the high-temperature waste gas in
the combustion chamber. As a result, the oxygen concentration
provided to the combustion chamber could be increased. In addition,
while feeding the cold air into the combustion chamber for
combustion, a flow guide segment of the separate assembly could
evenly guide the cold air to one side of the combustion chamber
which is adjacent to the glass cover, and therefore forms a cooling
air curtain between the glass cover and the combustion chamber,
which would effectively lower the temperature at the glass
cover.
[0009] The present invention provides a fireplace, which includes a
firebox, a translucent cover, and a separate assembly. The firebox
comprises an intake port, an exhaust port, and a window, wherein
the window is located between the intake port and the exhaust port.
The translucent cover covers the window. The separate assembly is
provided in the firebox, wherein the separate assembly divides the
firebox into an air chamber and a combustion chamber. The air
chamber communicates with the intake port, while the combustion
chamber corresponds to the translucent cover, and communicates with
the exhaust port. An end of the separate assembly is connected to
the firebox, while another end thereof extends toward the
translucent cover, and is bent into a flow guide segment. An
exhaust passage is formed between the flow guide segment and the
translucent cover, wherein the exhaust passage communicates the air
chamber and the combustion chamber, and an inner width of the
exhaust passage gradually reduces from the air chamber toward the
combustion chamber.
[0010] In order to control the flow field, and to ensure that the
high-temperature waste gas in the combustion chamber would not
return into the separated air chamber, the present invention
further provides a flow guide member, which is adapted to be
provided on a side of a gas fireplace adjacent to a translucent
cover. The flow guide member includes a bottom board and a top
board. The top board is provided above the bottom board, wherein an
airflow passage is formed between the top board and the bottom
board. The top board includes a flow guide segment and an extension
segment, wherein an air inlet of the airflow passage is formed
between an end of the extension segment, which is away from the
flow guide segment, and the bottom board. The flow guide segment is
connected to the extension segment in an inclined way, and is in a
horizontal direction of the bottom board. The flow guide segment is
separated from the bottom board by a distance. When the flow guide
member is provided in the gas fireplace, an end of the bottom board
corresponding to the flow guide segment abuts against the
translucent cover, and an exhaust passage is formed by the distance
between the flow guide segment and the translucent cover. The
exhaust passage communicates with the airflow passage, and an inner
width of the exhaust passage gradually reduces from the bottom
board toward the top board.
[0011] Compared to the prior art, the present invention has the
following advantage. In addition to using stack effect and the flow
guide member to guide the airflow, the present invention also uses
Coand{hacek over (a)} effect, which means the cold air in the air
chamber would be drawn in the combustion chamber due to negative
pressure caused by stack effect, wherein the drawn cold air is
evenly and approximately linearly directed to an inner wall of the
translucent cover through the exhaust passage formed between the
flow guide member and the translucent cover. Due to the inherent
viscosity of air, the guided airflow would tend to diverge from the
original flow direction and attach to the surface of the object
while flowing, for the viscosity of fluid creates friction between
the fluid and the surface of the object that it is flowing through,
which slows down the flow speed of the airflow near the surface of
the object. As long as the surface of the object does not
excessively change in curvature, the decelerated flow speed would
make the guided air attach to the surface of the object while
flowing. However, once the pressure gradient on the surface of the
object turns zero or negative, the fluid would no longer be
attached to the surface of the object, and would create eddies
while leaving the surface. In the present invention, because cold
air has a greater specific gravity, and due to Coand{hacek over
(a)} effect, the heated guided air could make the cooling airflow
attach to the surface of the translucent cover, and the cooling
airflow air could stay attached to the surface for a longer
distance, which helps to maintain the stable uprising trend of the
flow field. In this way, the thermal convection generated by eddies
would be greatly eased. Therefore, with the aforementioned several
effects of fluid, the present invention could provide a significant
cooling effect during combustion, even if the amount of intake air
is subtle.
[0012] Other advantages include: the half-closed air chamber formed
by the separate assembly could constantly have cooling air, which
is guided from the outside, flowing therein while combusting gas,
which could greatly lower the environment temperature around the
electrical control valve and the control component installed below
the firebox, whereby the system reliability would be improved.
[0013] Secondly, the separate assembly could enhance the structural
strength of the firebox, and therefore would increase the safety of
the structure.
[0014] Thirdly, the thermal stress of the translucent cover could
be lowered since it is cooled on the internal side, which could
also increase the safety.
[0015] At the same time, due to the relatively simpler structure
and the lower temperature at the translucent cover, the outer
casing of the firebox could have an ample space and greater
flexibility to install a translucent cover which is made of glass
and is high-temperature resistant.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWINGS
[0016] The present invention will be best understood by referring
to the following detailed description of some illustrative
embodiments in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in
which
[0017] FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a conventional direct-vented
gas fireplace;
[0018] FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the gas fireplace of an
embodiment of the present invention;
[0019] FIG. 3 is a sectional view of the gas fireplace of the
embodiment of the present invention;
[0020] FIG. 4 is an enlarged partial view of FIG. 3;
[0021] FIG. 5 is a partial sectional view of the gas fireplace of
the embodiment of the present invention;
[0022] FIG. 6 is an exploded view of the combustor of the
embodiment of the present invention;
[0023] FIG. 7 is a perspective view of the combustor of the
embodiment of the present invention;
[0024] FIG. 8 is an enlarged partial view of the combustor of the
embodiment of the present invention;
[0025] FIG. 9 is a sectional view of the combustor of the
embodiment of the present invention;
[0026] FIG. 10 is a perspective view of the exhaust device of the
embodiment of the present invention;
[0027] FIG. 11 and FIG. 12 are schematic views, showing the
condition when the embodiment of the present invention is at
use.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
[0028] As shown in FIG. 2 to FIG. 5, a gas fireplace 1 of an
embodiment of the present invention includes a firebox 10, a
translucent cover 20, and a separate assembly 30. To make the
following explanation more understandable, the firebox 10 is
defined to have a first axial direction X, a second axial direction
Y, and third axial direction Z in a three-dimensional coordinate
system, wherein the first axial direction X and the second axial
direction Y are different directions on a horizontal plane with an
included angle formed therebetween, while the third axial direction
Z points upward in a vertical direction. In the third axial
direction Z, the firebox 10 has a top portion 110 and a bottom
portion 120 opposite to the top portion 501, wherein an exhaust
port 111a is provided on the top portion 110, and an intake port
121 is provided either on the bottom portion 120 or another
location on the firebox 10 near the bottom portion 120. Forward
directions of the intake port 121 and the exhaust port 111 could be
either the same or different. In the current embodiment, the
forward direction of the intake port 121 is in the second axial
direction Y, while the forward direction of the exhaust port 111 is
in the third axial direction Z. However, these are not limitations
of the present invention.
[0029] Furthermore, the firebox 10 further includes a rear plate
130 and two opposite lateral plates 140, which are respectively
provided between the top portion 110 and the bottom portion 120.
The lateral plates 140 are, respectively, provided at two opposite
sides of the rear plate 130 in the first axial direction X to form
an internal space 150 of the firebox 10 along with the rear plate
130. An intake passage 160 is further provided at a side of the
rear plate 130 away from the internal space 150 (i.e., a rear side
of the firebox 10). A window 170 is provided on a side of the
firebox 10 opposite to the rear plate 130 (i.e., a front side of
the firebox 10), wherein the window 170 is located between the
intake port 121 and the exhaust port 111, and communicates with the
internal space 150.
[0030] The translucent cover 20 is provided on the side of firebox
10 provided with the window 170, and covers the window 170. The
translucent cover 20 includes a main body 210 and an outer frame
220, wherein the outer frame 220 is provided on an outer edge of
the main body 210, and is engaged with a surrounding of the firebox
10 near the window 170, so that the main body 210 either exactly
covers the window 170 or at least covers a side of the window 170
near the bottom portion 120. The flame burning in the firebox 10
could be visible through the main body 210. Therefore, the main
body 210 is mainly made of a high-temperature resistant and
translucent material, such as glass or crystal. In other
embodiments, the translucent cover 20 is not necessary to be
completely made of a translucent material, but could be a metal
plate with a hollow structure embedded with translucent
materials.
[0031] The separate assembly 30 is provided in the firebox 10, and
is on a side thereof near the bottom portion 120, wherein the
separate assembly 30 abuts against the rear plate 130 of the
firebox 10 and the lateral plates 140 in the second axial direction
Y, which could enhance the structural strength of the firebox 10
and, therefore, could increase the structural safety. The separate
assembly 30 divides the internal space 150 into an air chamber 151
below the separate assembly 30 and a combustion chamber 152 above
the separate assembly 30. The air chamber 151 is in the firebox 10
on the side thereof near the bottom portion 120, and communicates
with the intake port 121. The air chamber 151 corresponds to the
outer frame 220 of the translucent cover 20. The combustion chamber
152 is located in the firebox 10 on a side thereof near the top
portion 110, and communicates with the exhaust port 111. The
combustion chamber 152 corresponds to the translucent cover 20 or
at least the main body 210 of the translucent cover 20, which
allows the flame in the combustion chamber 152 to be visible
through the translucent cover 20.
[0032] As shown in FIG. 2 and FIG. 4, the separate assembly 30
includes a board member 310 and a flow guide member 40, wherein the
board member 310 is connected to the rear plate 130 of the firebox
10 and the flow guide member 40 in the second axial direction Y,
which makes two opposite sides of the board member 310 respectively
become the air chamber 151 and the combustion chamber 152. Also a
gas supply port 311 for combustion is provided on the board member
310, wherein the gas supply port 311 is a long hollow structure
extending in the first axial direction X in the current embodiment.
However, the shape and the structure of the gas supply port 311 is
not a limitation of the present invention. The gas supply port 310
communicates the air chamber 151 and the combustion chamber 152,
and is corresponded by a burner port 510 of a combustion device 50,
so that the flame generated by combusting gas could extend into the
combustion chamber 152 through the burner port 510.
[0033] The gas fireplace 1 uses an air pipeline T to intake air
from outside and to exhaust waste air of combustion, wherein the
air pipeline T communicates with the intake passage 160 and the
exhaust port 111, so that the fresh air from outside could be sent
to the intake port 121 through the intake passage 160, and
eventually enter the air chamber 151 to be provided to the
combustion device 50 in the air chamber 151. As a result, the fresh
air could be ignited and burned by the combustion device 50 to
generate flame in the combustion chamber 152. On the other hand,
the waste gas of combustion generated along with the flame could
enter the air pipeline T through the exhaust port 111, and then
could be exhausted to the outside or a corresponding waste gas
processing device. Therefore, by using the separate assembly 30,
after the fresh air enters the internal space 150 of the firebox 10
through the intake port 121, the fresh air could be gathered in the
air chamber 151. In this way, the fresh air could be stably
provided to the combustion device 50 to be fully used, the flow
direction of the air and the flow direction of the hot airflow in
the combustion chamber 152 would not interfere with each other.
Whereby, the combustion efficiency of the air would be increased,
and the cost of use of the gas fireplace 1 could be lowered.
[0034] An end of the flow guide member 40 is detachably connected
to the board member 310, while another end thereof extends toward
the translucent cover 20. The flow guide member 40 includes a top
board 410 and a bottom board 420, wherein the top board 410 is
located above the bottom board 420 by a certain distance to form an
airflow passage 430 therebetween. An end of the top board 410 is
connected to the board member 310, while an end of the bottom board
420 abuts against the main body 210 or the outer frame 220 of the
translucent cover 20.
[0035] As shown in FIG. 2 to FIG. 4, the top board 410 includes an
extension segment 411 and a flow guide segment 412, wherein an end
of the extension segment 411 is connected to the flow guide segment
412, while another end thereof is connected to the board member
310, and forms an air inlet 440 of the airflow passage 430 with the
bottom board 420 together. The air inlet 440 communicates with the
air chamber 151, and an axial direction of the air inlet 440 could,
but not must, extend in the first axial direction X, which is in
line with the flow direction of the outside air transmitted into
the air chamber 151. In this way, the fresh air from outside could
naturally enter the airflow passage 430 through the air inlet 440.
The flow guide segment 412 is connected to the extension segment
411 in an inclined way. More specifically, the flow guide segment
412 is inclined from the bottom board 420 toward the top board 410,
and extends toward the translucent cover 20, so that a width
between the flow guide segment 412 and the bottom board 420
gradually narrows in the direction toward the extension segment
411.
[0036] In addition, in a horizontal direction of the bottom board
420, the end of the flow guide segment 412 which extends toward the
translucent cover 20 is separated from the end of the bottom board
420 adjacent to the translucent cover 20 by a distance. Therefore,
when the bottom board 420 abut against the translucent cover 20, an
exhaust passage 450 would be formed by this distance between the
flow guide segment 412 and the translucent cover 20. The exhaust
passage 450 communicates the airflow passage 430 and the combustion
chamber 152, wherein an inner width of the exhaust passage 450
gradually narrows from the bottom board 420 toward the top board
410. An axial direction of the exhaust passage 450 could, but not
must, extend in the third axial direction Z, or be inclined in the
direction toward the translucent cover 20. In this way, the air
could be guided by the airflow passage 430, and transmitted into
the combustion chamber 152 from the air chamber 151 to work on the
translucent cover 20.
[0037] With the aforementioned structure, once the outside fresh
air enters the air chamber 151 through the intake port 121 of the
firebox 10, part of the air would be provided to the combustion
device 50 as fuel, and would be ignited and burned in the
combustion chamber 152, which generates flame and waste gas of
combustion in the combustion chamber 152, and creates negative
pressure at the bottom portion of the combustion chamber 152 to
drive the hot airflow to rise in the direction toward the exhaust
port 111, creating a stack effect. Rest part of the fresh air would
enter the airflow passage 430 through the air inlet 440 of the flow
guide member 40, and then flow to the side of the combustion
chamber 152 adjacent to the translucent cover 20 through the
exhaust passage 450.
[0038] When the fresh air which has a lower temperature relative to
the waste gas of combustion flows in the air chamber, it would flow
toward the air inlet 440 of the flow guide member 40 due to the
negative pressure created by the stack effect, and then would flow
into the airflow passage 430 of the flow guide member 40. With the
structural features of the design that the inner width of the
exhaust passage 450 gradually narrows from the bottom board 420
toward the top board 410, the flow speed of the air in the exhaust
passage 450 would be increased and create a low-pressure suction.
After the air passing through the exhaust passage 450, it would
become a jet stream directly blowing into the main body 210 of the
translucent cover 20, which would lower the temperature of the main
body 210. Furthermore, when the jet stream formed by the air works
on the translucent cover 20, the jet stream would form an air
curtain attaching to the surface of the translucent cover 20 due to
the Coand{hacek over (a)} effect, wherein the air curtain would
separate the translucent cover 20 and the combustion chamber 152,
and would provide a cooling effect to the translucent cover 20. At
the same time, the thermal stress could be lowered since the
translucent cover 20 would be cooled from insight, which increases
the safety.
[0039] It is worth mentioning that, the aforementioned embodiment
has the separate assembly 30 including the board member 310 and the
flow guide member 40, however, in other embodiments, the flow guide
segment 412 of the flow guide member 40 could be integrally formed
on the board member 310. In such case, an end of the board member
310 is connected to the rear plate 130 of the firebox 10, while
another end thereof extends toward the translucent cover 20, and is
bent in a direction from the air chamber 151 toward the combustion
chamber 152, which forms the flow guide segment 412 and the exhaust
passage 450, which has a gradually reduced inner width from the air
chamber 151 toward the combustion chamber 152, and is between the
flow guide segment 412 and the translucent cover 20. Since the flow
guide segment 412 is integrally formed on the board member 310, the
flow guide member 40 could be omitted, which simplifies the
assembling procedure of the gas fireplace 1, and reduces the cost
of manufacturing. Alternatively, in other embodiments, the flow
guide member 40 could only have the top board 410 described in the
aforementioned embodiment, and omit the bottom board 420. In this
way, the flow guide member 40 could be still detachable, as
mentioned above, which would make the procedure of replacing or
cleaning the flow guide segment 412 on the separate assembly 30
easier.
[0040] As shown in FIG. 2 to FIG. 5, the gradually reduced inner
width of the exhaust passage 450 of the flow guide member 40 could
be directly realized by the distance between the translucent cover
20 and the flow guide segment 412 of the top board 410 when the
bottom board 420 of the flow guide member 40 abuts against the
translucent cover 20. Alternatively, the end of the bottom board
420 corresponding to the flow guide segment 412 could be optionally
bent in the direction toward the top board 411 to form an vertical
segment 421, with a gap left between the vertical segment 421 and
the flow guide segment 412, whereby the exhaust passage 450 which
has the gradually reduced inner width from the bottom board 420
toward the top board 410 could be realized by the gap.
[0041] In addition, to make the air flowing through the airflow
passage 430 work on the translucent cover 20 more evenly, a
plurality of stop plates 460 is optionally provided between the top
board 410 and the bottom board 420 of the flow guide member 40,
wherein these stop plates 440 are separately arranged on the bottom
board 420 in the first axial direction X. In this way, the airflow
passage 430 is divided into a plurality of sub-passages 431
extending in the second axial direction Y. Therefore, when air
enters the flow guide member 40, these sub-passages 431 could speed
up the flow speed, while the airflow could be distributed to
different locations on the translucent cover 20 in the first axial
direction X to work sufficiently on the translucent cover 20.
[0042] Furthermore, to make the air flow in each of the
sub-passages 431 in a more concentrated way, an inclined edge 461
is further provided on a side of each of the stop plates 460
corresponding to the top board 410, wherein each of the inclined
edges 461 is inclined from the bottom board 420 toward the top
board 410, and corresponds to the flow guide segment 412 of the top
board 410. The inclined angle of each of the inclined edges 461
matches that of the flow guide segment 412. More specifically, the
inclined angles of each of the inclined edges 461 and the flow
guide segment 412 could be either the same or slightly different,
so that a side of each of the stop plates 460, which is adjacent to
the exhaust passage 432, and the flow guide segment 412 of the top
board 410 could abut against each other through the inclined edge
461, which could increase the tightness between these components,
so that the air could blow into the locations on the translucent
cover 20 corresponding to the sub-passages 431 from the exhaust
passage 450 in a more concentrate way.
[0043] In addition, with the aforementioned flow guide member 40
used as a basis, one or more than one of the following technical
solutions could be further applied to speed up the flow speed of
the hot airflow flowing toward the exhaust port 111 of the firebox
10, whereby the air flowing to the translucent cover 20 could be
drawn by the hot airflow, which could also speed up the flow speed
in the combustion chamber 152 for the air working on the
translucent cover 20, and could increase the height of the air
curtain formed on the translucent cover 20. As a result, the
cooling effect would be further improved.
[0044] As shown in FIG. 2 and FIG. 4, two steady flow plates 60 are
provided in the gas supply port 311 of the separate assembly 30,
wherein the steady flow plates 60 are respectively provided on two
opposite sides in the gas supply port 311 in the second axial
direction Y, and respectively extend in the first axial direction
X. An end of each of the steady flow plates 60 could be either
fixed on the board member 310 of the separate assembly 30 to become
a whole piece with the separate assembly 30, or fixed on the
combustion device 50 below the separate assembly 30. Another end of
each of the steady flow plates 60 extends toward the exhaust port
111, and enters the combustion chamber 152, whereby two stop walls
protruding from a surface of the board member 310 are formed in the
combustion chamber 152.
[0045] The burner port 510 of the combustion device 50 is just
between the steady flow plates 60. Therefore, when the flame comes
out from the burner port 510, the generated hot airflow would be
concentrated between the steady flow plates 60 first, and then
would be guided by the steady flow plates 60 to flow stably toward
the exhaust port 111, which would also bring the flame upward, and
effectively extend the height of the flame.
[0046] Since the hot airflow generated along with the flame would
flow stably toward the exhaust port 111, the exhaust speed of the
waste gas of combustion could be improved. In this way, the amount
of the waste gas of combustion accumulated in the firebox 10 could
be reduced, which prevents the waste gas of combustion from
accumulating heat energy in the firebox 10. Furthermore, due to the
drawing force provided by the hot airflow, the flow speed of the
cooling air on the translucent cover 20 could be improved, and the
height of the air curtain formed thereon could be increased as
well, which would enhance the cooling effect exerted on the
translucent cover 20.
[0047] At the same time, by using the structural features that the
steady flow plates 60 are higher than the exhaust passage 450 of
the flow guide member 40 in the combustion chamber 152, the stop
walls could be further formed between the exhaust passage 450 and
the flame. Also, the flame could be somehow arranged to generate
hot airflow at a higher location (i.e., closer to the exhaust port
111) in the combustion chamber 152, wherein said higher location is
away from the exhaust passage 450. In this way, after passing
through the exhaust passage 450, the air could work on the
translucent cover 20 first before being brought away by the hot
airflow, which helps to maintain the cooling effect provided by the
air and exerted on the translucent cover 20.
[0048] In addition, the combustion device 50 could be arranged in a
way to stabilize the flow direction of the hot airflow, and to
consequently improve the cooling effect. As shown in FIG. 2, FIG.
4, and FIG. 6 to FIG. 9, in the current embodiment, the combustion
device 50 is provided in the air chamber 151 of the firebox 10,
wherein the combustion device 50 includes a combustion supporting
module 520 and a combustor 530. The combustion supporting module
520 is provided on the board member 310 of the separate assembly
30, and corresponds to the gas supply port 311 of the board member
310. The combustion supporting module 520 includes at least one gas
supply passage 521, which could be provided either on a side of the
combustion supporting module 520 adjacent to the gas supply port
311, or on two opposite sides of the gas supply port 311. The at
least one gas supply passage 521 communicates the gas supply port
311, the burner port 510, and the air chamber 151.
[0049] The combustor 530 is provided on the combustion supporting
module 520, wherein the combustor 530 includes a tube 531 and two
protruding plates 532. An end of the tube 531 is provided with an
inlet 5311 for flammable gas, and a plurality of fuel orifices 5312
are provided on the tube 531, wherein the fuel orifices 5312
correspond to the gas supply port 311 of the separate assembly 30,
and are arranged in the first axial direction X. The protruding
plates 532 are respectively provided on two opposite sides of the
fuel orifice 5312 in the second axial direction Y, and correspond
to two opposite sides of the burner port 510. An end of each of the
protruding plates 532 is connected to the tube 531, while another
end thereof extends into the combustion supporting module 520. The
aforementioned burner port 510 is formed between the protruding
plates 532 on the side thereof corresponding to the combustion
supporting module 520, wherein the burner port 510 communicates the
gas supply port 311 of the separate assembly 30 and each of the
fuel orifices 5312 on the tube 531. Therefore, the flammable gas
injected into the tube 24 could flow through the fuel orifices 5312
to be ignited and combusted. In addition, with the guiding of the
gas supply passage 521, when the fresh air in the air chamber 151
is transmitted to the surroundings of the burner port 510, said
fresh air could be used as combustion-supporting gas to increase
the height of the flame.
[0050] It needs to be further explained that, the protruding plates
532 of the combustor 530 could be either directly connected to the
tube 531, e.g., by welding, to become a whole piece with the tube
531, or integrally formed on a sleeve 533 as parts of the sleeve
533, so that, when the sleeve 533 fits around the tube 531, the
protruding plates 532 would be indirectly connected to the tube
531. The sleeve 533 is provided with a slot 5331 thereon, wherein
the slot 5331 extends in the first axial direction X, i.e., in the
arranging direction of the fuel orifices 5312, and corresponds to
each of the fuel orifices 5312, as shown in FIG. 6 and FIG. 9. The
protruding plates 532 are respectively connected to two opposite
sides of the sleeve 533 adjacent to the slot 5331, which forms a
channel between the burner port 510 and the fuel orifices 5312 of
the tube 531. With such design, the flammable gas flowing upward
through the fuel orifices 5312 could be guided and gathered by the
channel, and therefore flow toward the gas supply port 311 of the
separate assembly 30 to enter the combustion chamber 152. In this
way, flammable gas would not spread to the surroundings after
leaving the tube 531, which would facilitate the steady combustion
of the flammable gas, and would generate a hot airflow that could
rise stably.
[0051] As shown in FIG. 2 and FIG. 6 to FIG. 9, the gas supply
passage 521 of the combustion supporting module 520 has similar
design with the airflow passage 430 of the flow guide member 40,
wherein the gas supply passage 521 of the combustion supporting
module 520 is also divided into multiple guide passages 5211 to
distribute the air in the gas supply passage 521 to different
locations of the burner port 510 in the first axial direction X. In
light of this, the combustion supporting module 520 in the current
embodiment includes a base 522 and a plurality of separators 523.
The plurality of separators 523 are separately arranged on the base
522 in the first axial direction X to divide the gas supply passage
521 into a plurality of guide passages 5211 extending in the second
axial direction Y. Furthermore, each of the guide passages 5211
could correspond to the plurality of fuel orifices 5312 on the tube
531 either one-to-one or one-to-many. Also, the plurality of
separators 523 could be fixed on the base 522 through welding or
structural engagement. In the current embodiment, the plurality of
separators 523 are engaged with the base 522. However, this is not
a limitation of the present invention.
[0052] The base 522 could be an integrally formed frame structure,
or could be formed by a seat body 5221 and a frame body 5222 which
are detachably connected to each other. In the latter case, the
base 522 is connected to the board member 310 of the separate
assembly 30 through the frame body 5222. The seat body 5221 of the
base 522 has a receiving slot 5223, wherein the frame body 5222 is
provided on a side of the seat body 5221 which is provided with the
receiving slot 5223. The frame body 5222 includes a primary frame
5224 and a secondary frame 5225, wherein the primary frame 5224 is
provided with an assembling opening 5226 and a plurality of cuts
5227. The assembling opening 5226 corresponds to the receiving slot
5222 of the seat body 5221, and the plurality of separators 523 are
provided in the receiving slot 5222 through the assembling opening
5226.
[0053] The plurality of cuts 5227 are separately arranged on a side
of the primary frame 5224 adjacent to the assembling opening 5226,
or on both sides thereof, in the first axial direction X, wherein
the cuts 5227 is adapted to be inserted by the plurality of the
separators 523. Preferably, the plurality of cuts 5227 are arranged
on the both sides of the assembling opening 5226 in pairs. Given
that, the separators 523 having lengths corresponding to a width of
the assembling opening 5226 could be selected. Whereby, two
opposite ends of each of the separators 523 could be respectively
inserted into one of the paired cuts 5227 on the frame body 5222 to
be engaged with the seat body 5221. Alternatively, the separators
523 having lengths as two-third, one-half, or one-third of the
width of the assembling opening 5226 could be also selected,
wherein one side of each of said separators 523 could be optionally
inserted into one of the plurality of cuts 5227 provided on the
frame body 5222 on one side or both sides of the assembling opening
5226, with another side of each of said separators 523 fixed to the
seat body 5221. In this way, the gas supply passage 521 could be
divided into the plurality of guide passages 5211 on one side or
both sides of the assembling opening 5226.
[0054] The secondary frame 5225 of the frame body 5222 is provided
on another side of the primary frame 5224 opposite to the seat body
5221. The secondary frame 5225 is provided with a positioning
opening 5228, which corresponds to the assembling opening 5226 of
the primary frame 5224. Once the secondary frame 5225 is provided
on the primary frame 5224, the positioning opening 5228 would
simply correspond to the assembling opening 5226, and two opposite
lateral sides of the secondary frame 5225 adjacent to the
positioning opening 5228 would simply cover the plurality of cuts
5227, so that the plurality of separators 523 could be fixed
between the secondary frame 5225 and the seat body 5221. It should
be understood that, in other embodiments, it could be the board
member 310 which covers the plurality of cuts 5227 when the base
522 of the combustion supporting module 520 is engaged with the
board member 310 of the separate assembly 30, for the plurality of
separators 523 could be still fixed between the board member 310
and the seat body 5221 in this way. And the secondary frame 5225
could be omitted in such embodiments.
[0055] In addition, each of the separators 523 is further provided
with a notch 5231 on a side thereof opposite to the separate
assembly 30, wherein a width of each of the notches 5231 matches a
thickness of each of the steady flow plates 60. More specifically,
the width of each of the notches 5231 could be equal to or slightly
less than the thickness of each of the steady flow plates 60. The
notches 5231 of the plurality of separators 523 are arranged in the
first axial direction X, forming a slot on the base 522 which
extends in the first axial direction X, wherein the slot is
inserted by one of the steady flow plates 60 with the end thereof
engaged with the combustion device 50. In other words, the end of
each of the steady flow plates 60 which is away from the combustion
chamber 152 is inserted into the corresponding slot formed by the
notches 5231 of the plurality of separator 523 on one of the
opposite sides of the burner port 510, so that the steady flow
plates 60 stand on the base 522, and extend into the combustion
chamber 152.
[0056] Furthermore, the base 522 of the combustion supporting
module 520 is provided with two bent plates 524 thereon, and an
inclined edge 5232 is provided on each of the separators 523. The
bent plates 524 are respectively provided on two opposite sides of
the burner port 510, and an end of each of the bent plates 524 is
fixed between one of the protruding plates 532 and the separators
523 corresponding to said protruding plate 532. Another end of each
of the bent plates 524 is bent in a direction away from the burner
port 510, and has a plurality of perforations 5241 thereon. The
perforations 5241 are arranged in the first axial direction X. An
angle of bending of each of the bent plates 523 matches the
inclined angles of the corresponding inclined edges 5232, so that
the end of each of the bent plates 523 which is bent in the
direction away from the burner port 510 abuts against the inclined
edges 5232 of the corresponding separators 523. In this way, the
plurality of guide passages 5211 corresponds to the plurality of
perforations 5241 either as one-to-one or one-to-many. In other
words, the plurality of guide passages 5211 could correspond to the
plurality of perforations 5241 one-to-one, or one of the guide
passages 5211 could correspond to more than one of the perforations
5241.
[0057] The perforations 5241 are located lower than the burner port
510 in a vertical direction, and therefore, the negative pressure
caused by the flammable gas leaving from the burner port 510 would
direct part of the air to the space between the bent plates 524
through the perforations 5241 to be mixed with the flammable gas,
leading to the primary combustion. Furthermore, since the
perforations 5241 are located lower than the burner port 510 in the
vertical direction, the air passing through the perforations 5241
would not press down the flammable gas coming out from the burner
port 510, and, therefore, would not affect the height of the flame.
Another part of the air is mixed with the flammable gas at
locations higher than the bent plates 524, leading to the secondary
combustion. In addition, once the flame passes through the steady
flow plates 60, it would be mixed with the air surrounding the
combustion chamber 152, leading to the tertiary combustion.
[0058] During the aforementioned process of combustion, the
flammable gas provided to the combustion device 50 and the flow
guide member 40 would flow below the board member 310 of the
separate assembly 30, and the hot airflow generated by burning the
flammable gas would be guided by the steady flow plates 60 to flow
upward, i.e., toward the exhaust port 111 above the separate
assembly 30. Therefore, the fresh air flowing in the air chamber
151 and the uprising hot airflow in the combustion chamber 152
would not interference each other, which could ensure that the
flammable gas and the fresh air could be stably provided to the
combustion device 50 and the flow guide member 40, and could make
the hot airflow flow upward stably, extending the height of the
flame effectively.
[0059] In this case, since the airflow flows upward in a state of
laminar flow, the shape of the flame could be maintained stable,
and the heat generated by the flame could flow upward more
smoothly, reducing the heat energy accumulated in the combustion
chamber 152, which could not only help the flow guide member 40 to
provide a cooling effect, but also lessen the amount of use of the
flammable gas.
[0060] As shown in FIG. 2, FIG. 3, and FIG. 10, another way to
increase the flow speed of the hot airflow flowing toward the
exhaust port 111 of the firebox 10, which would help the flow guide
member 40 to provide a cooling effect to the translucent cover 20,
is to further provide an exhaust device 70 in the firebox 10.
[0061] The exhaust device 70 is provided on a wall of the
combustion chamber 152 of the firebox 10, and divides the
combustion chamber 152 into a first space 1521 and a second space
1522, wherein the first space 121 is between the exhaust device 70
and the exhaust port 111 of the firebox 10, and communicates with
the exhaust port 111, while the second space 1522 is between the
exhaust device 70 and the separate assembly 30. The exhaust device
70 has an exhaust passage 710, which communicates the first space
1521 and the second space 1522. Furthermore, a width of the exhaust
passage 710 gradually narrows from the second space 1522 toward the
first space 1521, and an exit 711 is provided on a side opposite to
the exhaust port 111.
[0062] Therefore, the exhaust passage 710 could be formed by making
a lateral side of the exhaust device 70 opposite to the separate
assembly 30 a conical surface with an opening, or could be formed
between a first guide plate 720 and a second guide plate 730 of the
exhaust device 70 which are inclined to each other.
[0063] In the current embodiment, the exhaust device 70 has the
first guide plate 720 and the second guide plate 730, which are
inclined to each other. An end of the first guide plate 720 and an
end of the second guide plate 730 are, respectively, connected to
one of two opposite walls of the combustion chamber 152, while
another ends thereof are, respectively, inclined to each other and
toward the exhaust port 111, with a certain distance left
therebetween, forming the exhaust passage 710 between the first
guide plate 720 and the second guide plate 730, wherein the exhaust
passage 710 has the width gradually decreased from the second space
1522 toward the first space 1521. The end of the first guide plate
720 which is inclined toward the exhaust port 111 has a first top
edge 721, while the end of the second guide plate 730 which is
inclined toward the exhaust port 111 has a second top edge 731,
wherein the first top edge 721 is parallel to the second top edge
731, and the first top edge 721 is higher than the second top edge
731 in a vertical direction. The exit 711 of the exhaust passage
710 is formed between the first top edge 721 and the second top
edge 731, wherein the exit 711 extends in the first axial direction
X of the firebox 10, and a length of the exit 711 is greater than
or equal to a length of the gas supply port 311 on the separate
assembly 30. Preferably, the exit 711 corresponds to the gas supply
port 311, and is parallel to the gas supply port 311, wherein the
length of the exit 711 is greater than that of the gas supply port
311.
[0064] With the aforementioned structure, the waste gas of
combustion generated by burning the flammable gas would form a hot
airflow in the second space 1522 of the combustion chamber 152,
wherein the hot airflow would flow from the second space 1522
toward the first space 1521. Once the hot airflow contacts with the
first guide plate 720 and the second guide plate 730 of the exhaust
device 70, its flow direction would be changed due to the block of
the first guide plate 720 and the second guide plate 730, and the
hot airflow would then flows into the first space 1521 through the
exit 711 of the exhaust passage 710. During this process, since the
width of the exhaust passage 710 gets narrower from the second
space 1522 toward the first space 1521, the flow speed of the hot
airflow would be increased at locations near the exit 710 of the
exhaust passage 70 to generate a low-pressure suction, which would
help to draw the waste gas of combustion in the second space 1522
into the first space 1521.
[0065] After the hot airflow passing through the exit 710 of the
exhaust passage 70, its flow speed is decelerated to be less than
or approaching the amount of fluid exhaust of the air pipeline T,
therefore, the waste gas of combustion flowing into the first space
1521 could be more easily exhausted into the air pipeline T from
the exhaust port 111. In this way, the waste gas of combustion
would be prevented from staying in the first space 1521.
Furthermore, with the inclined arrangements of the first guide
plate 720 and the second guide plate 730, and the structural
features of the design that the width of the exhaust passage 710 is
gradually decreased from the second space 1522 toward the first
space 1521, the hot airflow in the first space 1521 which contacts
with the top portion of the firebox 10 would be prevented from
flowing downward and back into the second space 1522, which would
help to reduce the accumulation of the waste gas of combustion in
the firebox 10.
[0066] Therefore, the exhaust device 70 could help the waste gas of
combustion to enter the first space 1521 more smoothly, which could
reduce the possibility of creating turbulence in the second space
1522 by the hot airflow. Also, the second space 1522 would not have
the problem of excessively high temperature which may be caused due
to overstay of the waste gas of combustion, which helps the flow
guide member 40 to provide a cooling effect to the translucent
cover 20.
[0067] As shown in FIG. 3 and FIG. 10 to FIG. 12, in order to
prevent the hot airflow from gathering at some locations in the
exhaust passage 710 while the hot airflow is flowing toward the
exhaust port 111, one or multiple splitter plates 740 could be
optionally provided on the exhaust device 70 to divide the exit 711
of the exhaust passage 710 into several sub-exits 7111, whereby the
hot airflow could flow into the first space 1521 through each of
the sub-exits 7111. In the current embodiment, the exhaust device
70 includes two splitter plates 740, or at least two splitter
plates 740. However, the number of the splitter plates 740 is not a
limitation of the present invention. The splitter plates 740 are
vertically engaged with the first top edge 721 of the first guide
plate 720, wherein an end of each of the splitter plates 740 abuts
against the second top edge 731 of the second guide plate 730. The
splitter plates 740 are arranged separately to divide the exit 711
of the exhaust passage 710 into multiple sub-exits 7111.
[0068] In practice, the splitter plates 740 could be provided
between the first guide plate 720 and the second guide plate 730 in
an either vertical or inclined way. Alternatively, two adjacent
splitter plates 740 could be inclined to each other toward the
exhaust port 111 of the firebox 10, which makes a distance between
said two adjacent splitter plates 740 gradually reduced from the
second top edge 731 toward the first top edge 721. In this way, the
hot airflow could be guided by said two adjacent splitter plates
740 to flow into the first space 1521 through the corresponding
sub-exit 7111 more quickly. Whereby, the possibility of creating
turbulence in the second space 1522 by the hot airflow could be
further reduced. Preferably, the splitter plates 740 could be
provided asymmetrically, whereby the hot airflow could flow toward
the first space 1521 more evenly.
[0069] In order to further spread the hot airflow, a spoiler 750
could be further provided between two of the splitter plates 740 in
a way that the spoiler 750 corresponds to one of the sub-exits
7111. Preferably, the spoiler 750 is provided between two of the
splitter plates 740 which are near a middle location among the
multiple splitter plates 740. The spoiler 750 is engaged with the
second top edge 731 of the second guide plate 730 in an axial
direction of the exhaust port 111 of the firebox 10. The spoiler
750 is parallel to the second top edge 731. An end of the spoiler
750 is connected to the second top edge 731, while another end
thereof extends toward the first top edge 721 of the first guide
plate 720 to partially cover the corresponding sub-exit 7111, which
reduces the width of the relevant sub-exit 7111.
[0070] In this way, when the hot airflow flows to the sub-exit 7111
corresponding to the spoiler 750, its flow speed would suddenly
drop due to the block of the spoiler 750 and the reduced width of
said sub-exit 7111, and the hot airflow would flow toward the two
opposite ends of the spoiler 750 and, eventually, into other
sub-exits 7111. In this way, the hot airflow could be further
spread, and the chances of having turbulence would be reduced.
Furthermore, the waste gas of combustion could be also prevented
from accumulating heat energy in the combustion chamber 152, which
would effectively lower the temperature of the translucent cover
20.
[0071] It must be pointed out that the embodiments described above
are only some embodiments of the present invention. All equivalent
structures which employ the concepts disclosed in this
specification and the appended claims should fall within the scope
of the present invention.
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