Artificial fireplace
First Claim
1. An artificial fireplace comprising:
- a housing having an interior cavity and a viewing aperture for viewing said interior cavity;
a viewing screen disposed within said interior cavity;
a solid state light source disposed adjacent to said viewing screen, wherein said solid state light source emits a light having a generally constant brightness;
a power source operatively coupled to said solid state light source; and
a flame simulation assembly disposed in a light-receiving relationship with said solid state light source, for receiving the light emitted by the solid state light source and projecting at least a portion of the light onto the viewing screen.
1 Assignment
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
An artificial fireplace for simulating flaming logs has a housing containing a solid state light source, a rotating flame simulation assembly, a viewing screen, and a simulated fuel source. The solid state light source preferably comprises light emitting diodes (LEDs) affixed to a printed circuit board. The light produced by the LEDs reflects off of the rotating flame simulation assembly and an image of a flame is transmitted onto the viewing screen. This design creates a realistic, randomly-flickering flame image above the simulated fuel source. Optional features include a dimmer assembly to adjust the intensity of the image and a second light source to simulate smoldering embers within the simulated fuel source. This design eliminates the problems associated with using a light bulb for a light source by instead using LEDs with a longer life span which emit less undesirable heat and consume less electricity.
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Citations
25 Claims
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1. An artificial fireplace comprising:
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a housing having an interior cavity and a viewing aperture for viewing said interior cavity;
a viewing screen disposed within said interior cavity;
a solid state light source disposed adjacent to said viewing screen, wherein said solid state light source emits a light having a generally constant brightness;
a power source operatively coupled to said solid state light source; and
a flame simulation assembly disposed in a light-receiving relationship with said solid state light source, for receiving the light emitted by the solid state light source and projecting at least a portion of the light onto the viewing screen. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15)
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16. An artificial fireplace comprising:
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a housing having an interior cavity and a viewing aperture for viewing said interior cavity;
a simulated fuel source disposed within said interior cavity of the housing, wherein said simulated fuel source includes a plurality of apertures;
a fuel light source disposed in light-transmitting relationship to said plurality of apertures, wherein said fuel light source emits a light having a generally constant brightness and comprises a solid state light source for projecting said light through the plurality of apertures and creating the appearance of smoldering embers within the simulated fuel source; and
a power source operatively coupled to said fuel light source. - View Dependent Claims (17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23)
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24. A method for simulating one or more flames comprising the steps of:
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providing a housing having an interior cavity and a viewing aperture for viewing said interior cavity;
providing a viewing screen disposed within said interior cavity;
providing a light source which emits a light having a generally constant brightness, wherein said light source is disposed adjacent to said viewing screen and comprises a plurality of red and orange light emitting diodes and a lesser number of green and blue light emitting diodes;
providing a power source operatively coupled to said light source; and
projecting at least a portion of the light onto said viewing screen, wherein said portion of the light simulates one or more flames. - View Dependent Claims (25)
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Specification