EP0037281A2 — Solid fuel burning stove and catalytic converter

Claim 1

Independent Claim 60 words

A catalytic converter means for use in solid fuel burning stoves, which comprises a plurality of catalytic cells each having a length oriented in the direction of the flow of said exhaust and a volume in cubic inches expressed as function of the density (N) of said cells in a direction perpendicular to said flow, said function being at least:

Claim 2

Dependent Claim 60 words

A catalytic converter means for use in solid fuel burning stoves, which comprises a plurality of catalytic cells each having a length oriented in the direction of the flow of said exhaust and a volume in cubic inches expressed as function of the density (N) of said cells in a direction perpendicular to said flow, said function being at least:

Claim 3

Dependent Claim 31 words

A converter as claimed in claim 1 wherein said volume is equal to about 150 in 3 and said density is equal to about 16 cells per i n 2 .

Claim 4

Dependent Claim 54 words

A converter as claimed in claim 1, which comprises a plurality of catalytic cells each having a length oriented in the direction of the flow of said exhaust and a volume in cubic inches expressed as a function of the density of said cells in a direction perpendicular to said flow being at least:

Claim 5

Dependent Claim 54 words

A converter as claimed in claim 1, which comprises a plurality of catalytic cells each having a length oriented in the direction of the flow of said exhaust and a volume in cubic inches expressed as a function of the density of said cells in a direction perpendicular to said flow being at least:

Claim 8

Dependent Claim 30 words

A converter as claimed in claim 4, wherein said volume is equal to about 150 in 3 and said density is equal to about 9 cells per in 2 .

Claim 9

Dependent Claim 34 words

A converter as claimed in claim 3 or 4, wherein said volume is equal to about 75 in 3 and said density is equal to about 9 or 16 cells per in 2 .

Claim 10

Dependent Claim 30 words

A converter as claimed in claim 4, wherein said volume is equal to about 50 in 3 and said density is equal to about 25 cells per in 2 .

Claim 11

Dependent Claim 51 words

A converter as claimed in any one of claims 1, 3 or 4, wherein the square of the length of said cells divided by the product of the cell density times the converter volume times the fourth power of the inside dimension of one of said cells is less than 5.

Claim 12

Dependent Claim 47 words

A converter as claimed in claims 1 - 3, wherein the square of the length of said cells divided by the product of the cell density times the converter volume times the fourth power of the inside dimension of one of said cells is less than 7.

Claim 13

Dependent Claim 47 words

A converter as claimed in claims 1 - 3, wherein the square of the length of said cells divided by the product of the cell density times the converter volume times the fourth power of the inside dimension of one of said cells is less than 10.

Claim 14

Dependent Claim 29 words

A solid fuel burning stove, which comprises a combustion chamber, a flue for removing exhaust from said chamber, and a catalytic converter for oxidizing oxidizable species in said exhaust.

Claim 15

Dependent Claim 29 words

A solid fuel burning stove, which comprises a combustion chamber, a flue for removing exhaust from said chamber, and a catalytic converter for oxidizing oxidizable species in said exhaust.

Claim 16

Dependent Claim 20 words

A stove as claimed in claim 11, wherein said catalytic converter is situated in said flue immediately adjacent said chamber.

Claim 17

Dependent Claim 34 words

A stove as claimed in claim 11, wherein said flue communicates with said combustion chamber at an exit port and wherein said catalytic converter means is situated in said chamber at said exit port.

Claim 18

Dependent Claim 17 words

A stove as claimed in claim 11, wherein said catalytic converter is situated in said combustion chamber.

Claim 19

Dependent Claim 36 words

A stove as claimed in claim 14, further comprising: a heat exchange chamber in communication with said flue; and an opening interconnecting said combustion and heat exchange chambers, said catalytic converter being situated adjacent said opening.

Claim 20

Dependent Claim 13 words

A stove as claimed in claim 11, wherein said oxidizable species is creosote.

Claim 21

Dependent Claim 52 words

A stove as claimed in claim 11, wherein the catalytic converter means has a porous catalytic structure situated for the exhaust to normally pass through it to the flue and the stove includes an exhaust bypass means for allowing at least a portion of the exhaust to bypass the porous catalytic structure.

Claim 22

Dependent Claim 42 words

A stove as claimed in claim 17, wherein the catalytic converter means is mounted in a moveable structure comprising the exhaust bypass means whereby the converter means is moveable to permit at least some of the exhaust to bypass the converter means.

Claim 23

Dependent Claim 111 words

A stove as claimed in claims 11, 17 or 18, which comprises means for admitting air for combustion to said chamber, including a door on said combustion chamber moveable between open and closed positions relative to a first opening in said chamber and a second opening in said combustion chamber adjacent the bottom thereof, the combustion chamber having therein two further openings for exhausting combustion gases from said chamber to the exterior thereof, and means for selectively closing the other of said two further openings, said converter being positioned so that, when said other opening is closed, all said gases from said combustion chamber are caused to pass through said converter.

Claim 24

Dependent Claim 33 words

A stove as claimed in claim 19, wherein said closing means includes means automatically closing said other opening when said door is closed, and opening said other opening, when said door is opened.

Claim 25

Dependent Claim 59 words

A stove as claimed in claim 19, wherein said door has therein at least one pane of glass secured across an opening in said door, and said means for admitting air to said box further includes means for directing at least a portion of said air across the inside surface of said pane to help keep said surface clean.

Claim 26

Dependent Claim 64 words

A stove as claimed in claim 21, wherein there are two panes of glass secured across said opening in said door in spaced, parallel relation, and at least a portion of the peripheral edge of each of said panes is spaced from the periphery of the opening in said door, thereby to admit additional air to said chamber through said opening in the door.

Claim 27

Dependent Claim 46 words

A stove as claimed in claim 22, wherein said portions of said edges of said panes are located adjacent diametrally opposite edges of the opening in said door, whereby said additional air passes through the space between said panes during passage thereof into said combustion chamber.

Claim 28

Dependent Claim 41 words

A stove as claimed in claim 19, including a heat shield surrounding a portion of said chamber in spaced, confronting relation to said portion, and means for directing air under pressure into the space between the said shield and said chamber.

Claim 29

Dependent Claim 63 words

A stove as claimed in claim 19, including a secondary chamber mounted on said combustion chamber and communicating through said converter with the interior of said combustion chamber, and a transparent sight member mounted in the wall of said secondary chamber and registering with said converter to permit viewing of the converter from the exterior of said combustion chamber and said secondary chamber.

Claim 30

Dependent Claim 81 words

A stove as claimed in claim 19, wherein said other of said two openings is in a portion of a wall of said combustion chamber which is inclined to the vertical, said closing means comprises a damper mounted for movement by gravity from a closed position over said other opening to an open position relative thereto, and said damper is connected to said door to be moved thereby from its open to its closed position each time said door is closed.

Claim 31

Dependent Claim 95 words

A stove as claimed in claim 26, wherein said door is mounted on the front wall of said fire box, and said other of said two openings is formed in an inclined portion of the rear wall of said combustion chamber, a plate projects horizontally from the rear wall of said combustion chamber adjacent the lower edge thereof, and part way into said combustion chamber in spaced, parallel relation to the bottom thereof, and an ash pan is removably mounted on the bottom of combustion chamber and projects adjacent its inner end beneath said plate.

Claim 32

Dependent Claim 21 words

A converter as claimed in any one of claims 1 - 10, which comprises a catalytic coating of palladium or platinum.

Claim 33

Dependent Claim 22 words

A stove as claimed in any one of claims 11 - 27, wherein said converter is coaxially mounted in a metal sleeve.

Claim 34

Dependent Claim 18 words

A stove as claimed in claim 29, wherein said converter comprises a catalytic coating of palladium or platinum.

Solid fuel burning stove and catalytic converter

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