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 plurality of light emitting diodes disposed adjacent to said viewing screen, wherein said light emitting diodes emit a non-flickering, non-blinking light having a generally constant brightness, and wherein said light emitting diodes are removably affixed to a printed circuit board for allowing said light emitting diodes to be individually interchanged;
a power source operatively coupled to said plurality of light emitting diodes; and
a flame simulation assembly disposed in a light-receiving relationship with said plurality of light emitting diodes, for receiving the light emitted by the plurality of light emitting diodes 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.
52 Citations
22 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 plurality of light emitting diodes disposed adjacent to said viewing screen, wherein said light emitting diodes emit a non-flickering, non-blinking light having a generally constant brightness, and wherein said light emitting diodes are removably affixed to a printed circuit board for allowing said light emitting diodes to be individually interchanged; a power source operatively coupled to said plurality of light emitting diodes; and a flame simulation assembly disposed in a light-receiving relationship with said plurality of light emitting diodes, for receiving the light emitted by the plurality of light emitting diodes 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)
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14. 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 non-flickering, non-blinking light having a generally constant brightness and comprises a plurality of light emitting diodes for projecting said light through the plurality of apertures and creating the appearance of smoldering embers within the simulated fuel source, and wherein said light emitting diodes are removably affixed to a printed circuit board for allowing said light emitting diodes to be individually interchanged; and a power source operatively coupled to said fuel light source. - View Dependent Claims (15, 16, 17, 18, 19)
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20. A method for simulating one or more flames in an artificial fireplace 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 non-flickering, non-blinking light having a generally constant brightness, wherein said light source is disposed adjacent to said viewing screen and comprises a plurality of light emitting diodes, and wherein said light emitting diodes are removably affixed to a printed circuit board for allowing said light emitting diodes to be individually interchanged; 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 (21, 22)
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Specification