Patent Abstract:
A front surround or enclosure for overlying the open front of a fireplace box is disclosed. The enclosure has a relatively narrow peripheral frame that carries one or a plurality of glass panels that substantially fill the enclosed area defined by the outer frame. The glass panels may be rigidly secured to the frame or can be configured as operable doors. Patterns configured by silk screening or other application techniques are selectively applied, preferably to the inner surface(s), of the glass panel(s) to enhance visual appeal of the glass and/or to selectively mask the viewer&#39;s vision through the glass. Quick release brackets are provided for detachably securing the enclosure to the front of a fireplace box.

Full Description:
RELATED APPLICATIONS 
     This application claims priority under 35 U.S.C. §119(e) from Provisional Patent Application No. 60/144,293 filed Jul. 16, 2000. 
    
    
     FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
     This invention relates generally to fireplaces and more particularly to a glass enclosure for closing the front of an open fireplace box. 
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     Fireplaces have been used for centuries as a means for providing heat, for cooking and for simply decorative purposes. Modern fireplaces typically have a front enclosure panel that may be sealed to the front of the fireplace box, or which may include operable doors enabling access into the fireplace box. 
     The fireplace box that defines the combustion chamber can assume a number of different configurations. In traditional wood burning fireplaces of brick or mortar construction, the combustion chamber generally extends over the full height of the. fireplace box, and a log holding grate rests on the floor of the combustion chamber. For gas burning fireplaces, the burner assembly and associated gas supply mechanisms are typically located below the floor of the combustion chamber but often still within the open cavity defined by the fireplace box. A number of fireplaces also include a heating plenum that pulls room air into the plenum near the bottom of the. fireplace box, heats the air, and emits the heated air back into the room near the top of the fireplace box. In order to provide an aesthetically pleasing design for the fireplace front enclosure, most such enclosures provide wide metal panels near the top and bottom portions of the open front fireplace box assembly, to cover or mask the unsightly looks of the mechanisms or openings located at those positions. Such molded panels may be typically coated with brass, bronze or anondized metal finishes. The vertical area between the upper and lower decorative metal panels, generally contains one or more panels of glass that can be of a nature that forms a seal with the front of the fireplace box or which includes operable door panels for gaining access to the combustion chamber. 
     It would be desirable from both aesthetic and cost viewpoints to eliminate the upper and lower metal decorative panels of a fireplace front enclosure and to form the entire front fireplace box enclosure from glass, except for the relatively narrow surrounding framework. The present invention addresses this need. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     The present invention provides a glass surround or enclosure for the front of a fireplace box. The surround includes a glass enclosure or panel sized and configured to correspond to a front of the fireplace box, a support for securing the glass enclosure adjacent to the front of the fireplace box, and a pattern arrangement disposed on the glass enclosure for masking at least a portion of the contents of the fireplace box. In one aspect, the glass enclosure is comprised substantially entirely of glass, except for the support arrangement. The enclosure can be in the nature of a sealing panel, for sealing the open front of the fireplace box, or can include operable glass door members for enabling access into the fireplace box. The enclosure member can be configured for attachment to any type of fireplace assembly, whether of masonry or brick construction, of prefabricated modular construction, of retrofit insert construction for existing fireplaces, or the like. 
     The surround enclosure panel includes a support for securing the enclosure adjacent to the front of the fireplace box, for example, a heat resistant adhesive, or conventional mechanical fasteners, such as bolts or the like. In another aspect, the support includes an outer frame of relatively narrow or a thin profile configuration when viewed from the front of the panel, that operatively peripherally supports one or more panels of glass. The glass panels substantially fill or close the area peripherally defined and encircled by the frame. The frame is preferably made from a metal material; however, the construction need not necessarily be of metal. The frame includes fasteners that can be in the form of one or more hanger members for detachably securing the frame and the glass carried thereby to the front of a fireplace box. 
     Silk screened patterns of various shapes and configurations can be applied to the back or inner surfaces of the glass panel(s) at selected positions therealong, to visually mask portions of the fireplace box when viewed from outside of the enclosure. For example, a rectangular surround enclosure panel may include a screened rectangular portion adjacent the top of the glass panel(s) for masking unsightly structures near the top edge of the fireplace box, and might include a similar rectangular silk screened portion near the bottom of the glass panel(s) for masking the burner assembly structure in a gas burning fireplace. Alternatively, or in addition to the use of silk screening for masking out unsightly portions of the fireplace box, the screening may be applied to the glass in various patterns, shapes and/or in graphical manner soas to provide a desired aesthetic look or viewing area through the glass and into the combustion chamber when the glass is illuminated from within the fireplace box, as it might be when there is a flame burning within the combustion chamber. 
     Some embodiments of the invention are particularly well suited for gas burning fireplaces to mask the burner assembly and associated gas supply mechanisms or heating. Other embodiments are particularly well suited for modern wood burning fireplace box inserts that include heating plenums, and are designed to cover or mask the unsightly looks of the mechanisms or openings. 
     These and other features of the invention will become apparent to those skilled in the art upon a more detailed description of preferred embodiments of the invention. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
     Referring to the drawings wherein like numerals represent like parts throughout the several views: 
     FIG. 1 is a front elevation view of a first embodiment of a glass surround enclosure according to the principles of this invention; 
     FIG. 2 is a top elevational view of the glass surround enclosure of FIG. 1; 
     FIG. 3 is a right side elevational view of the glass surround enclosure of FIG. 1; 
     FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional side view of the glass surround enclosure of FIG. 1, generally taken along  4 — 4  in FIG. 1; 
     FIG. 5 is a front elevational view of a second embodiment of a glass surround enclosure of the present invention; 
     FIG. 6 is a top elevational view of the glass surround enclosure of FIG. 5; 
     FIG. 7 is right side elevational view of the glass surround enclosure of FIG. 5; 
     FIG. 8 is a cross-sectional end view of the glass surround enclosure of FIG. 5, generally taken along the Line  8 — 8  of FIG. 5; and 
     FIG. 9 is a diagrammatic schematic cross-sectional side view of the enclosure of this invention illustrated mounted to a fireplace box constructed of molded ceramic material and installed within a wall. 
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT 
     Referring to the figures, a first embodiment of a glass surround enclosure generally constructed according to the principles of this invention is illustrated at  10  in FIGS. 1-4. The enclosure includes a support for securing the enclosure adjacent to the front of the fireplace box, for example, a heat resistant adhesive, or conventional mechanical fasteners, such as bolts or the like. In an alternative embodiment, the support includes an outer frame  11  of relatively narrow or a thin profile configuration when viewed from the front of the panel, that operatively peripherally supports one or more panels of glass. The peripheral, relatively narrow profile frame  11  is sized to cooperatively engage the front surface of a fireplace box soas to cover the surface area defined by the open front of the fireplace box. An upper panel of glass  12  is mounted to the inner surface of the frame  11 , and a pair of hinged door assemblies  13  and  14  are respectively mounted to the frame  11  by vertically spaced hinge pairs  15  and  16  respectively. The left hinged door assembly  13  includes a pair of pivotally connected glass panels  13   a  and  13   b  hinged about upper and lower hinge pairs  15   a  and  15   b  to the left side of the frame  11 . The right door assembly  14  includes a pair of glass door panels  14   a  and  14   b  pivotally connected to one another and supported by the upper and lower hinges  16   a  and  16   b  to the right side portion of frame  11 . Each of the hinged door assemblies  13  and  14  includes a handle  17  and  18  respectively for opening and closing the hinged door assemblies. 
     The upper edges of the door assemblies  13  and  14  include a cap of extruded decorative metal  20 , and their lower edge is also trimmed by a thin strip of decorative metal  21 . In the embodiment illustrated, their is a narrow gap  22  between the lower edge of the upper glass panel  12  and the upper edge of the metal strip  20 . There is also a small gap  23  between the lower edge of the metal strip  21  of the door assemblies and the upper edge of the frame  11 . 
     The back or inside surface of the upper panel  12  contains an applied silk screen pattern, generally indicated at P 1  that, in the preferred embodiment, forms an opaque image through the upper glass panel  12  when viewed from the front of the assembly. Similarly, there is a rectangular silk screen pattern P 2  applied to the inner surface of the glass panel door members  13  and  14  adjacent their respective lower edges that is also visually opaque to an observer looking through the glass doors from the front of the surround enclosure. When there is no light being emitted from the fireplace box cavity that the glass surround is covering, one does not readily perceive the existence of the silk screen coating on the back of the glass surfaces of the enclosure. Therefore, the overall visual effect to an observer looking at the glass enclosure, is that the enclosure is simply a full glass panel that provides a pleasing visual effect that is generally uninterrupted by heavy metal panels as was the case with prior art enclosures. However, when light is emitted from within the fireplace box and through the glass surfaces of the surround  10 , the silk screened portions will prevent the light from passing therethrough and provide a masked visual effect to the outside viewer, as defined by the shape and pattern of the silk screen patterns applied to the glass. It will be appreciated that while simple rectangular silk screen configurations have been illustrated in FIG. 1, other patterns could equally well have been applied to the glass, such as circular or diamond shaped configurations, or the like. 
     FIGS. 3 and 4 illustrate connection of a support bracket  30  to the frame  11 . The bracket  30  has a pair of “J” hooks  30   a  and  30   b  that simply slide within receptor slots (not illustrated) appropriately positioned in the front surface of the fireplace box to which the glass surround enclosure  10  is to be secured. In the preferred embodiment, there are a pair of such support brackets  30 , one each being secured to each of the upright end portions of the frame  11 . It is illustrated in FIG. 3, there is also a toggle switch  32  mounted to the right side portion of the frame  11  which can be used for multiple purposes such as activating a blower, energizing a gas burner system, or the like. 
     A second embodiment of a glass surround enclosure  10 ′ configured according to the principles of this invention is illustrated in FIGS. 5-8. Parts similar in construction and function in the second embodiment as compared to the first embodiment are illustrated by the same numerical designations, followed by a prime designation. The glass surround enclosure  10 ′ is basically the same in construction and function as enclosure  10  of the first embodiment, except that the upper member  11   a  of the frame  11 ′ is arcuately shaped, and the upper glass panel  12 ′ has a curved upper surface to match the arcuate shape of the upper frame member  11   a . As with the first embodiment, the entire back surface of the upper glass panel  12 ′ is coated by silk screening. 
     It will be appreciated by those skilled in the art, that the silk screening applied to the glass can assume many different forms. For example, the consistency of the silk screened pattern could be solid, could be a dotted configuration as for example applied by a laser jet applicator, or like. Further, the patterns applied to the glass need not necessarily be silk screened or even opaque patterns, but could be patterns formed by other application techniques such as by etching of designs or the like into the glass. Further, as stated above, the designs need not be peripheral or specific shape-defining patterns, but could be in the nature of monograms, letters, or other configurations. 
     FIG. 9 illustrates the surround enclosure  10  as it might appear in cross-section as mounted to the front of a fireplace box assembly  40 . The fireplace box assembly  40  is of a type that is molded from a highly insulative ceramic material as disclosed in pending U.S. patent applications Ser. No. 08/538,866 filed on Jan. 19, 1996 entitled Universal Non-Porous Fiber Reinforced Combustion Chamber and U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/024,285 filed on Jul. 6, 1999 entitled Low Cost Prefabricated Fireplace With Fiber Insulation Firebox. The firebox assembly  40  is illustrated as it would appear mounted in a wall of a building. However such fireplace box assemblies are also ideal for insertion within existing fireplaces and enclosures for retrofit applications. As an example only, in such applications it would be desirable to have a front enclosure  10  such as that disclosed in this application, having an upper silk screen masked area P 1  for masking view of the structure in the area illustrated at  42 , and a lower silk screen masked area P 2  for masking the structure in the area illustrated at  44 . While this invention is particularly attractive for use in association with “insert” type fireplaces, its principles are not limited to such application. Other applications for the enclosure will be apparent to those skilled in the art. 
     These and other features of the invention will become apparent to those skilled in the art. The specific examples illustrated are not intended to be limiting to the invention, but are intended only for the purposes of providing specific examples illustrating use of and principles related to the invention. The invention is not to be limited in any manner by the descriptions herein provided. Rather, the invention is to be accorded the full scope and protection of the appended claims.

Technology Classification (CPC): 5