IMPROVEMENTS RELATING TO GAS BURNERS FOR GAS FIRES

Abstract: The present specification discloses a gas burner for a solid fuel effect gas fire. Certain such burners comprise a metal trough (3) with a gas/air mix supply pipe (7) extending through a wall of the trough (3), the open top of the trough (3) being closed by a ceramic plaque (17) which is formed with a number of simulated solid fuel elements (19) moulded in its upper surface and with a multiplicity of gas/air mix bores (15) extending therethrough. The ceramic plaque (17) sealed to the rim of the trough (3) by a suitable mastic or filler. However, with heat and age this sealant does deteriorate allowing leakage from the burner chamber via an undesired route. The present invention provides a burner (1) comprising an integrally formed metal casing (3,11) defining a gas/air mix chamber. A gas/air mix supply pipe (7) connects with the chamber and a number of burner bores (15) are provided in a wall (11) of the casing (3,11). Simulated solid fuel elements (19) can then be located above or on the said wall (11) of the casing (3,11) so as to not close said burner bores (15), age etc. not affecting the performance of the burner.

Description: The present invention relates to a gas burner for use in a gas fire. In particular the present invention relates to a gas burner for use in a solid fuel effect gas fire. Certain known gas burners for use in a solid fuel effect gas fire comprise a metal trough or tray which has a gas/primary air mix supply pipe extending through a side wall of the trough and extending to the central region of the trough or tray. The open top of the trough or tray is closed by a metal plate in which burner bores are provided and, to provide realism, a neat gas supply pipe extends from the gas supply to a position above or adjacent to the burner bores, the neat gas providing wispy yellow flames. A gas burner for a solid fuel effect gas fire, comprising a gas/air mix chamber with a gas/air mix supply pipe connecting with said chamber and a number of burner bores extending through a region of a wall of tile chamber is known from GB-A-2160642. Further, a gas/air mix chamber which is integrally formed as a metal casing, for use in other operations, is known from GB-A-2040440. A number of the above described burners are usually located in a solid fuel effet gas fire with the simulated solid fuel elements located thereabove. Whilst this arrangement is perfectly satisfactory, it has a degree of complexity in construction and assembly in a fire. The aim of the present invention is to provide a gas burner for a solid fuel effect gas fire which is relatively simple to construct and easy to install. According to the present invention there is provided a gas burner for a solid fuel effect gas fire comprising a casing defining a number of gas/air mix chambers, said casing comprising a first sheet of material forming a number of troughs and a second sheet forming a plate, said second sheet of material being secured to the first sheet of material to cover said troughs and form said gas/air mix chambers, a number of bores being provided in predetermined areas in said plate adjacent to said troughs and a number of gas/air mix supply pipes connecting with said troughs, a branch pipe for feeding neat gas to regions adjacent to said bores being partly formed in each of said sheets of material and being completely formed when said sheets of material are secured together. In a solid fuel effect gas fire it is usual to provide three gas burners across the width of the fuel bed. Whilst three separate burners may be installed in a fire, the three burners may be advantageously integrally formed together in accordance with the present invention. With this construction the moulded metal sheets are welded or peened together to form the integral three burner assembly, gas/air mix supply pipes feeding each burner chamber through the base of each trough. To add further realism to the solid fuel effect burner of the present invention, the branch pipe leads off from a neat gas supply to open at a position adjacent to the specific bore regions of the said metal plate. This branch pipe supply of neat gas provides for the wispy flames seen in a real solid fuel fire. In the integral three burner assembly described hereinabove half of a branch pipe for each burner can be integrally formed in both sheets of metal whilst pressing the metal sheet regions and said troughs; the respective branch pipes being completely formed when said sheets of metal are secured together. Preferably these branch pipes open on each side of the burners. Preferably the three burner assembly described hereabove is designed so as to lie under approximately only the front half of the usually inclined simulated solid fuel bed. In this way the burner flames are produced in the front half of the fire and are drawn to the rear of the fire by the fire draught, the flames engulfing the simulated solid fuel elements to the rear of the fuel bed in the same manner as a real fire. The simulated fuel bed may lie directly on the metal plates of said burners so as to not block any of said bores. Alternatively the simulated fuel bed may be supported in the fire at a location spaced from, though above, said burners. The present invention will now be further described, by way of example, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: Fig .1 is a perspective view of a part of a known type of burner; Fig.2 is a perspective view of the burner of Fig .1 when completed; Fig .3 is a perspective view of the burner of Fig .2 supporting a ceramic plaque; Fig .4 is an exploded view of a burner assembly constructed according to the present invention; Fig.5 is a front view of a fire incorporating a burner assembly constructed according to the present invention; Fig .6 is a perspective view of part of another known burner; and Fig .7 is a perspective view of the burner of Fig .6 when completed. A known type of burner 1 is illustrated in Figs. 1, 2 and 3 of the accompanying drawings. The burner 1 basically comprises a generally rectangular trough 3 pressed out of a sheet of metal, the trough 3 having a wide rim 5 and a gas/air mix supply pipe 7 projecting sealingly through the base 9 of the trough 3, into the centre region of the trough 3. As seen in Fig.2 a generally rectangular metal sheet 11 is welded sealily to the trough rim 5, four longe-shaped regions 13 being formed in said metal sheet 11, each with a multiplicity of gas/air mix burner bores 15. Alternatively the said metal sheet 11 can be otherwise sealingly secured to the rim 5 and any number of lozenge-shaped burner bore regions, or other burner bore region configurations, can be substituted. A gas burner for a solid fuel effect gas fire, comprising a gas/air mix chamber with a gas/air mix supply pipe connecting with said chamber and a number of burner bores extending through a region of a wall of the chamber is known from GB-A-2l60642. Further, a gas/air mix chamber which is integrally formed as a metal casing, for use in other operations, is known from GB-A-2O4044O. When the burner 1 of Figs. 1 and 2 is installed in a gas fire a ceramic plaque 17 is located on top of the metal sheet 11 as shown in Fig .3 . The ceramic plaque 17 is moulded with a number of simulated solid fuel elements 19 on its upper surface and with a number of lozenge-shaped apertures 21 corresponding to the lozenge-shaped burner bore regions 13 in the metal sheet 11. To easily and accurately locate the ceramic plaque 17 on the metal sheet 11 two depressions 23 are provided on the metal sheet 11 and two depending projections (not shown) formed on the ceramic plaque 17 locate in these depressions 23 to locate the apertures 21 over the burner bore regions 13. To add further realism to the above described burner in an installation, a T-connector 25 is provided on the neat gas supply line 27, the connector feeding gas to the gas/air mix supply pipe 7 and to a branch pipe 29 which opens adjacent to the side of the ceramic plaque 17 to allow neat gas to burn and produce the wispy flames evident in a real solid fuel fire. Whilst individual gas burners 1 as described hereabove can be used side-by-side in a gas fire, an integrally formed gas burner assembly 30 constructed .... according to the advantageous present invention and as illustrated in Fig .4, can be substituted. This gas burner assembly 30, as illustrated, comprises three burners according to the present invention. The burner assembly 30 is simply manufactured in two parts. One part is pressed from a single sheet of metal 31 to form the integrally interconnected troughs 3 and the lower half of the branch pipes 29, whilst the other part also pressed from a single sheet of metal 33, forms the said metal sheet regions for each burner with the upper half of the branch pipes 29. The burner assembly 30 is completed by sealingly welding the two pressed sheets together or otherwise sealing the said sheets together and by sealingly securing a gas/air mix supply pipe 7 in a hole in the base of each trough 3. In use the neat gas is fed to the branch pipes 29 via common ports 35. The burner assembly 30 is easily installed in a solid fuel effect fire as illustrated in Fig.5, so as to lie under the front half of the simulated solid fuel bed 37. In this way the burner flames as well as the neat gas flames from the branch pipe(s) 29, are produced in the front region of the simulated fuel bed 37 and are drawn rearwardly by the draught of the fire to engulf the simulated solid fuel elements to the rear of the bed, in a similar manner to a real solid fuel fire. Another known burner is illustrated in Figs. 6 and 7 of the accompanying drawings, and the reference numerals used in Figs. 1, 2 and 3 will be used in Figs. 6 and 7 to identify equivalent parts. The burner 1 of Figs. 6 and 7 comprises a generally rectangular trough 3 pressed out of sheet metal, the trough 3 having a wide rim 5 and a gas/air mix supply pipe 7 projecting sealingly through the base of the trough. As seen in Fig .6, the main difference from the embodiment of Figs. 1 to 3, lies in the provision of a rectangular baffle plate 39 which rests on the wide rim 5 and has two elongate apertures 41 formed in a generally square recessed central section 43 of the baffle plate 39. In use, gas/air mix issuing from the pipe 7 into the chamber defined by the trough beneath the baffle plate 39, is divided by the baffle plate 39 so that substantially equal portions of the gas/air mix flow passes through such aperture, and is thus fed to a region 13 of gas/air mix bores 15 in a metal sheet 11 which is secured over the baffle plate 39 by the edges 45 of the rim 5 being peened-over. Further, to enhance the mixing of air and gas in the supply pipe 7 by measuring the speed and turbulence of flow, a venturi 47 is formed in the wall of pipe 7. Also to aid realism a Y-shaped outlet adaptor 49 is secured on the outlet of branch pipe 29 so that two wispy flames are thus formed. Whilst simulated solid fuel elements (not shown) can be accurately positioned actually on the metal sheet 11 securing the locating means 23, it is preferred if such fuel elements are supported by suitable means e.g. the sides and rear of the fire itself, spaced above the burner 1 and branch pipe 29 so that the flames lick around said simulated fuel elements. The present invention thus provides a simple gas burner which is relatively simple and cheap to manufacture, and also easy to install in a solid fuel effect gas fire, as compared to prior art burners.

Claims: A gas burner for a solid fuel effect gas fire comprising a casing (31,33) defining a number of gas/air mix chambers , said casing (31,33) comprising a first sheet of material (31) forming a number of troughs (3) and a second sheet (33) forming a plate, said second sheet of material (33) being secured to the first sheet of material (31) to cover said trough (3) and form said gas/air mix chambers (3), a number of bores (13) being provided in predetermined areas in said plate (33) adjacent to said troughs (3) and a number of gas/air mix supply pipes (7) connecting with said troughs (3), a branch pipe (29) for feeding neat gas to regions adjacent to said bores (13) being partly formed in each of said sheets of material (31,33) and being completely formed when said sheets of material (31,33) are secured together. A gas burner as claimed in claim 1, in which simulated solid fuel elements (17,19) are located above said plate (33) of the burner so as to not block any of said bores (13). A gas burner as claimed in claim 2, in which a simulated solid fuel element (17,19) is mounted on said plate (33) with interengaging locating means (23) being provided in the burner and said fuel element (17,19). A gas burner as claimed in claim 2 or 3, in which said simulated solid fuel elements (17,19) are formed as an integral ceramic plaque (17) with cutaway regions (21) provided to expose said bores (13) on the burner (34). A gas burner as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, in which a baffle plate (39) is located within each said chamber to, in use, divide the gas/air mix issuing from the gas/air mix supply pipe (7) into the chamber. A gas fire incorporating a burner as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, in which said burner (30) occupies approximately the front half of a simulated solid fuel bed. A gas fire as claimed in claim 6, in which said fuel bed is inclined with simulated solid fuel elements (37) located to the rear of said burner.

Inventors: CONSTABLE, ALAN, HINTON, ALAN, MORAN, CHARLES, SMITH, MARTIN, WRIGHT, PETER
Applicants: VALOR LIMITED
Application year: 1987
Main classification: F23D14
IPC codes: F24C3