Chimney safety and control system

• US 5,555,876 A
• Filed: 10/17/1994
• Issued: 09/17/1996
• Est. Priority Date: 10/17/1994
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Green On Industries Incorporated
• Original Assignee: Green On Industries Incorporated
• Inventors: Farrell, Jack E. III, Francisco, Richard V. Jr.
• Primary Examiner(s): Joyce, Harold
• Application Number:
  US08/324,242
• Time in Patent Office: 701 Days
• Field of Search: 110/162, 110/185, 126/285 B, 126/286, 126/502, 126/504, 454/1, 454/16, 454/27, 454/28, 454/29, 454/30, 454/31, 236/1 G
• US Class Current: 126/504
• CPC Class Codes: A62C 4/04 in flues or chimneys
• CPC Class Codes: F23J 2213/70 Safety arrangements
• CPC Class Codes: F23L 11/00 Arrangements of valves or dampers after the fire
• CPC Class Codes: F23N 2225/10 stack temperature
• CPC Class Codes: F23N 2233/02 in stacks
• CPC Class Codes: F23N 2235/04 in stacks
• CPC Class Codes: F23N 3/042 using electronic means
• CPC Class Codes: F24B 1/187 Condition responsive controls for regulating combustion

Abstract

A chimney safety and control system includes a control panel which indicates the position of the chimney damper and the operational status of a chimney fan unit, and allows the operator to electro-mechanically open and close the damper and set the fan. When the safety control system senses that a predetermined condition (e.g., high temperature) exists in the chimney firebox while the damper is closed, it automatically opens the damper and activates the fan. The system may also be used in conjunction with one or more smoke detectors, in which case the system automatically opens the damper and activates the fan when a smoke detector is activated.

Claims

1. A chimney safety control and alarm apparatus comprising:

a chimney, including a firebox cavity, a damper, and a flue;

a ventilation means, mounted to a top portion of the chimney, for ventilating the chimney;

a damper positioning means for adjusting the position of the damper;

a damper position detecting means for determining the position of the damper, said damper position detecting means producing a damper position signal indicating the position of the damper;

a firebox sensing means for sensing a predetermined condition of the firebox, said firebox sensing means producing a firebox signal indicating the presence of the predetermined condition;

a smoke detector located in proximity to the firebox to detect the presence of smoke, said smoke detector having an internal alarm, said smoke detector providing a single input/output lead, said internal alarm being activated by externally pulling said input/output lead to ground, said input/output lead also pulled to ground internally by said smoke detector when smoke has been detected by said smoke detector; and

a safety controller for activating the smoke detector internal alarm and the damper positioning means to open the damper and for activating the ventilation means to ventilate the chimney when the firebox signal received from the firebox sensing means indicates the presence of the predetermined condition within the firebox and the damper position signal received from the damper position detector means indicates that the damper is closed, said safety controller further activating said damper positioning means to open the damper and activating said ventilation means to ventilate the chimney when said smoke detector detects the presence of smoke in the proximity of said firebox;

said safety controller further comprising a transistor electrically coupled to said smoke detector input/output lead, said transistor for pulling said input/output lead to ground during the period in which the firebox signal is received from the firebox sensing means indicating the presence of the predetermined condition and the damper position signal is received from the damper position detector means indicating that said damper is closed, said safety controller transistor thereby activating said smoke detector internal alarm, for the period that said damper is open and said predetermined condition is detected in said firebox.

2. The chimney safety control and alarm apparatus of claim 1, wherein the safety controller activates the damper positioning means to open the damper and activates the ventilation means to ventilate the chimney when the smoke detector detects smoke.

3. The chimney safety control and alarm apparatus of claim 1, wherein the predetermined condition within the firebox is a temperature above a predetermined threshold.

4. The chimney safety control and alarm apparatus of claim 3, wherein said firebox sensing means comprises a thermistor and circuitry for detecting the presence of temperature above a predetermined threshold.

5. The chimney safety control and alarm apparatus of claim 1, wherein the predetermined condition within the firebox is the presence of smoke above a predetermined threshold.

6. The chimney safety control and alarm apparatus of claim 1, wherein the damper position controller is a solenoid.