Patent Publication Number: US-9835337-B2

Title: Gas fireplace

Description:
The current application claims a foreign priority to application number 104122334 filed on Jul. 9, 2015 in Taiwan. 
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     1. Technical Field 
     The present invention relates generally to a gas fireplace, and more particularly to a gas fireplace which has an air guiding device in a furnace thereof. 
     2. Description of Related Art 
     As shown in  FIG. 1 , a conventional gas fireplace includes a furnace  1  and a burner  2 . The furnace  1  has an air outlet  1   a , which is located at a top thereof, and an air inlet  1   b , wherein the air outlet  1   a  communicates with the furnace  1  at a top thereof, and the air inlet  1   b  communicates with the furnace  1  at a bottom thereof through an air channel  1   c  located at a rear side of the furnace  1 . The furnace  1  is open at a front side thereof, where a toughened glass  3  is provided. The burner  2  is installed at the bottom of the furnace  1 , and the burner burns gas to produce flames, which can be seen through the toughened glass  3  from outside. 
     While the burner  2  is burning gas, the generated hot air gradually rises to the top of the furnace  1 , and then the hot air is exhausted through the air outlet. However, the air outlet  1   b  only allows part of the hot air to pass therethrough; most of the hot air would bump into an inner wall of the top of the furnace  1 , and then flow downwardly, which generates a turbulent air flow inside the furnace  1 . Such turbulent air flow may further hinder the exhaust of the hot air. As a result, the temperature of an outer surface of the toughened glass  3  may become so high that it may cause scalds. 
     BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     In view of the above, the primary objective of the present invention is to provide a gas fireplace, which can effectively exhaust hot air generated by burning gas out from the inside of the furnace. 
     The present invention provides a gas fireplace, which includes a furnace, a burner, and an air guiding device. The furnace has an air outlet communicating with an inside thereof. The burner is provided in the furnace. The air guiding device is provided in the furnace, and between the air outlet and the burner, wherein the air guiding device divides the inside of the furnace into a first chamber and a second chamber; the air outlet communicates with the first chamber; the burner is provided in the second chamber; the air guiding device has a passageway communicating the first chamber and the second chamber, wherein a width the passageway gradually narrows from the second chamber to the first chamber. 
     In one embodiment, the gas fireplace further includes a dividing member, which is connected to an inner wall of the furnace and in the second chamber, wherein the dividing member has an opening; the burner is located below the dividing member, and corresponds to the opening; the furnace has an air inlet, which communicates with a space below the dividing member. 
     With the aforementioned design, the hot air generated while the burner is burning gas can be effectively guided and exhausted through the air guiding device, which prevents heat from accumulating in the furnace. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWINGS 
       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 
         FIG. 1  is a sectional view of a conventional gas fireplace; 
         FIG. 2  is a perspective view of a first preferred embodiment of the present invention; 
         FIG. 3  is a schematic view, showing the location of the air guiding device relative to the furnace; 
         FIG. 4  is a perspective view of the air guiding device; 
         FIG. 5  is a sectional view, showing the flowing of air while burning gas; and 
         FIG. 6  is a sectional view, showing the flowing of air while burning gas. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
     As shown in  FIG. 2  to  FIG. 6 , a gas fireplace  200  of the preferred embodiment of the present invention includes a furnace  10 , a burner  20 , and an air guiding device  30 . 
     The furnace  10  has a front side  101 , a rear side  102 , a left side  103 , and a right side  104 . An inner width of the furnace  10  gradually narrows from the rear side  102  to the front side  101 . The front side  101  of the furnace  10  is open, which is sealed and covered by a toughened glass  12 . The flames in the furnace  10  can be seen through the toughened glass  12  from outside. 
     The furnace  10  has an air outlet  105  and an air inlet  106  provided on a top thereof, wherein the air outlet  105  communicates with the inside of the furnace  10 . The air inlet  106  communicates with the furnace  10  at a bottom thereof through an air channel  107  located at the rear side  102  of the furnace  10 . The air outlet  105  and the air inlet  106  communicate with a pipe A, which is composed by an inner tube A 1  and an outer tube A 2 , wherein the inner tube A 1  communicates with the air outlet  105 , and the outer tube A 2  communicates with the air inlet  106 . 
     The furnace  10  further has a dividing member  14  provided therein, wherein the dividing member  14  includes a dividing plate  141  and two vertical plates  142 . The dividing plate  141  is connected to an inner wall of the furnace  10 . The dividing plate  141  has an opening  143 , wherein the vertical plates  142  are provided at where the opening  143  is. The air channel  107  communicates with a space below the dividing plate  141 . 
     The burner  20  is provided at the bottom of the furnace  10  below the dividing plate  141 , and corresponds to the opening  143 , wherein the burner  20  is used to burn gas. The burner  20  is a long component, which extends from the left side  103  of the furnace  10  to the right side  104  of the furnace  10 . The flames produced by the burner  20  surpass the dividing plate  141  through a space between the vertical plates  142 . 
     The air guiding device  30  is connected to the inner wall of the furnace  10 , and is located between the air outlet  105  and the burner  20 . The air guiding device  30  divides the furnace  10  into a first chamber S 1  and a second chamber S 2 , wherein the first chamber S 1  communicates with the air outlet  105 , and the dividing member  14  and the burner  20  are located in the second chamber S 2 . The air guiding device  30  includes a first guide plate  32 , a second guide plate  34 , a plurality of spacers  36 , and a baffle  38 . The first guide plate  32  tilts from a center of the furnace  10  toward the front side  101 ; the second guide plate  34  tilts from the center of the furnace  10  as well, but toward the rear side  102 . 
     The first guide plate  32  has a first top edge  321  and a first guide surface  322 , while the second guide plate  34  has a second top edge  341  and a second guide surface  342 . The first and the second top edges  321 ,  341  are separated by a distance, and are parallel to each other. The first and the second top edges  321 ,  341  extends in a direction parallel to the burner  20 , wherein the first top edge  321  is higher than the second top edge  341 . The guide surfaces  322 ,  342  face the second chamber S 2 , and a passageway  40  is formed therebetween, which communicates the first chamber S 1  and the second chamber S 2 . A width of the passageway  40  between the front side  101  and the rear side  102  gradually decreases from bottom to top, wherein a gap  42  is formed between the first and the second top edges  321 ,  341  to communicate the passageway  40  and the first chamber S 1 . The gap  42  is directly above the burner  20 , and has a long-axis direction parallel to an extending direction of the burner  20 , wherein a width of the gap  42  in the long-axis direction thereof is greater than a length of the burner  20  in the extending direction thereof. 
     The spacers  36  are separately arranged at the gap  42 , wherein each of spacers  36  is respectively connected to the first guide plate  32  and the second guide plate  34 , and is perpendicular to the guide surfaces  322 ,  342 . The baffle  38  is fixed at the second top edge  341  of the second guide plate  34 , and is located between two of the spacers  36  which are closest to the air outlet  105 , wherein the baffle  38  corresponds to the air outlet  105 . The distances between each of these two spacers  36 , which are closet to the air outlet  105 , and the baffle  38  are identical, i.e., said two spacers  36  are symmetrically arranged at opposite sides of the baffle  38 . 
     As shown in  FIG. 5  and  FIG. 6 , while the burner  20  is burning gas, the generated hot air current rises from the second chamber S 2 , and flows into the first chamber S 1  along the guide surfaces  322 ,  342  and through the gap  42 ; after that, the hot air current is exhausted through the air outlet  105 . Since the widths of the guide surfaces  322 ,  342  gradually narrow from bottom to top, the flowing speed of the hot air current could be reduced as a result, and therefore the hot air could enter the first chamber S 1  more smoothly, which reduces the chance of generating a turbulent air flow inside the second chamber S 2 , and also prevents the hot air from staying in the second chamber S 2 . In this way, the temperature inside the second chamber S 2  would not become too high. Furthermore, after the hot air enters the first chamber S 1 , it could be exhausted out through the air outlet  105  more easily due to the slow speed of the hot air current inside the first chamber S 1 . 
     The combustion air which enters into the furnace  10  through the air inlet  106  is provided below the dividing plate  141 , and therefore it would not affect the air flow above the dividing plate  141 . In addition, the baffle  38  of the air guiding device  30  is located corresponding to the air outlet  105  to prevent the rising hot air from being too concentrated after passing through the passageway  40 . In other words, with the baffle  38 , the hot air current passes through the spaces between the spacers  36  in a distributed way, and this lowers the chance of generating the turbulent air flow. The spacers  36  are symmetrically arranged with the baffle  38  at the center, which makes the air flow enter the first chamber S 1  evenly through both sides of the baffle  38 . 
     In summary, the air guiding device  30  of the gas fireplace  200  provided in the present invention is capable of guiding the hot air, which helps to smoothly exhaust the hot air in the furnace  10  to outside. As a result, less heat would be accumulated in the second chamber S 2 , and the temperature of the toughened glass  12  could be lowered more effectively than the situation for a conventional gas fireplace. 
     It must be pointed out that the embodiments described above are only some preferred 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.