Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
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SOOT COLLECTOR FOP. CLEANING CEILING INSTALLED PREFABRICATED
CHIMNEYS
FIELD OF THE INVENTIO~i
The present invention relates, generally, to an improved soot collectorfor the
cleaning
of chimneys with a ceiling installation. IVlore specifically, the invention
relates to a
receptacle designed to allow for the safe and clean removal of soot and
associated
debris from ceiling installeel prefabricated chimneys.
13A~I~GROUND OF THE INVENTION
The design and use of devices that allow for safe and tidy cleaning of
chimneys and
stove-pipes is well taught and documented in the art. For instance, United
States
Patent No. 4,624,712 descz-ibes a bag that is used for the clean transport of
chimney
brushes to a work site that can also attach to a store-pipe to prevent dust
from
escaping into the room during cleaning.
United States Patents Nos. 91,608 and 1,271,658 both describe apparatuses for
use
in cleaning flues and stove-pipes, wherein the scraper cap- brusCn used for
cleaning the
stove-pipe or flue is inserted through a soot-collecting receptacle, such as a
rubber
or material bag. The bG,g is then attached to the flue or stove-pipe and the
dissociated soot and debris is pulled into the soot-collecting receptacle.
The aforementioned prior art soot collectors typically incorporate a flexible
bag with
an access hole through which a cleaning tool is inserted. These bags are
commonly
attached to the stove-pipe by an elastic cuff. Several disadvantages are
associated
with the use of such flexible bags for cleaning chimneys, including: the
potential for
the bag to become disiodgsd during cleaning; limited uses due to the bag
becoming
damaged and/or too soiled to use ire a clean environment; and storage of the
:oiled
bag.
A variation on these bag soot-collectors is described in United States Patent
No.
5,842,246. The chimney brushing tool described l:herein has a soot-collecting
receptacle attached to the pole of a chimney sweeping brush. The soot-
collecting
receptacle is positioned to collect soot and associated debris of a fixed
distance
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'~
below the chimney brush. This apparatus has limitations since it can only be
used
in a fixed diameter pipe and cannot be used in pipes with elbows or bends.
Accordingly, the use of various receptacles for collecting soot and associated
debris
in the cleaning of chimneys and stove-pipes is known. However, the prior art
does not
describe a soot collector tllat can be stabiy mounted on chimneys having
different
pipe diameters and c:an bc: used repeatedly to neatly remove soot and
associated
debris from a chimney without the potential of damage to the receptacle. Thus,
in
order to overcome the disadvantages of the known soot e;ollectors, the present
1 g inVentlon provides a reusable sturdy receptacle for collecting soot that
will not
become dislodged from the chimney being cleaned and can safely and neatly
collect
soot successively from a plurality of prefabricated chirrrneys a.nd can be
operated by
a single person from within the house or cottage.
~'Uf~IMA~°~ tar= THE IN~J~NI"I~~l
An object of the present in°Jention is to provide a soot collector for
cleaning a ceiling
installed prefabricated chimney in an efficient and repeatable manner.
According to an aspect of the present invention, there is provided a soot
collector for
20 collecting soot and associated debris from a prefabricated chimney with a
ceiling
installation, the soot collector comprising of a hollow rc:ceptac:le with
solid sides and
bottom, wherein an upwardly directed body protrudes from the centre of the
bottom
of the receptacle projecting to an open upper end of the receptacle and having
a
central bore allowing for the passage of a chimney cleaning device; wherein
the
25 receptacle is held in position on the bottom of a far efabricated chimney
by an
attachment means to prevent the receptacle from becoming dislodged frorn the
chimney during operation.
The soot~collecting receptacle is typically a rigid contain men witrr solid
sides and a solid
3g bottom and can be cylindrical, cubical, or conical in shape made from
metal, plastic,
thermoplastic, polycarbonate or fiberglass, although other formats may also be
envisioned. The bottom o~r~ the receptacle between the sides of the receptacle
and
the upwardly directed body protruding from the bottom, can be flat, rounded,
convex
or triangular in shape. optionally, handles can be diisposed on the outside of
the
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receptacle to easily transport the soot collector to and from the worksite.
The optional
handles also facilitate the attachment and the removal of the receptacle to
and from
the chimney.
Typically, the upwardly di~~ected body that protrudes i~s~om the bottom of the
soot-
collecting receptacle can be conical, rectangular, ~:rubic, cylindrical,
spherical,
tr iangular or any other sui!:able shape and has a central bore with first and
second
end openings respec;tiveiy formed at the top and bottom, re:~pectivel~y, of
the body,
the end openings being either equal in diameter or the first end opening being
slightly
less in diameter than the second end opening. The upwardly directed body
should be
of a height typically higher than the level of any debris 1:1 pat may collect
in the bottom,
preferably the upwardly di~~ected body should be of a heighf: of 0"' or
greater. The
central bore allows for the passage of the chimney cleaning device. The first
end
opening is slightly rounded to allov~, for smooth passage of 'the chimney
sweeping
device. In one embodiment, the first end opening can be provided with a gasket
that
forms a loose fit around the handle of the chimney/ ciear~ing device to
prevent
dissociated soot and debris from penetrating the environment. The gasket can
be
made of rubber, felt, plastic, nylon or any other flexible material or
formulated from
inwardly directed bristles arranged in an annular configuration.
The chimney cleanirrg de$rice for use witty the soot collector can be any one
of a
standard brush, scraper or combination thereof, with Either a fixed length
handle or
a handle to which extension sections can be added. The receptacle is
preferably of
slightly smaller diameter than the chimney to which it is to bc~ attached and
this fits
inside the bottom end of the chimney.
The attachment means may be a twist-locking coupler adapted to lock with the
bottom of a prefabricated ~rhimney. Alternatively, holea could be drilled
through the
soot collector and a chimney's outer flange, so that screws aredlor pins hold
the: soot
collector in place during operation. in addition, supports such as wood or
metal
adjustable rods may be employed that allow the soot-collecting receptacle 'to
be
positioned directly beneaths a chimney.
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SF~IEF DESCRIPTIC7f~ t7F THE DF~.~~f~'IN~S
Embodiments of the prese~~t invention will be further described with reference
f:o the
accompanying drawings, in which:
Figure 1 is a perspective view of are embodiment of a soot collector of the
present
invention,
Figure 2 illustrates a side cross-section o~~ the soot ccallector of Figure 1,
with the
collector attached to a pre~'abricated chimney by a twi:~t-locking coupler.
~0
Figure 3 shows a horizontal cross-section taken throuclh sine ~-A of Figure 2,
of the
soot collector of Figures ~ and 2,
Figure 4 depicts a longitudinal cross-sectional view through a soot collector
of the
present invention, with the collector attached to a prefabricated chimney by
vertical
supports.
Figure 5 is a fragmentary cross-sectional view of a se~ot collector of a
further
embodiment of the present invention, a chimney brush inserted through an
upwardly
directed body of the recep~.acle.
DEl-~I~Ei~ DES~F21FTI~N t~F THE I~JiIENTIC~N
According to the present invention, a soot collector made of a durable
material is
used for regularly schedul~:d maintenance of prefabricated chimneys with a
ceiling
installation. The soot collector is designed to allow for a conventional
chimney
sweeping or scraping device to be inserted through the soot collecting
receptacle
which can be attached to the bottom of a chimney by m~=ans of a twist-locking
coupler
or support braces, or other suitable means. Soot and associated debris are
collected
in the receptacle during cleaning and are safely and neatly disposed of once
cleaning
is finished.
Although other applications mayy be envisioned, the use of a soot collector
csf the
present ir'vention is particularly advantageous in cleaning prefabricated
chimneys with
ceiling installations. Accordingly, without intending to limit the t>resent
invention i:o the
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embodiments described herein, t:he invention veil( be described below in
further detail
having regard to the soot collector shown in Figures 1 ~0 5.
Figure 1 shows a soot collector according to an embodiment of the present
inveintion.
The soot collector comprises a soot collecting receptacle 1 with straight
solid sides
9 and a solid annular flat bottom . The soc't collecting receptacle 1 can have
a
diameter slightly less or gr~later tlnarq the diameter of the outer flange 14
of 9:he ceiling
3 installed prefabricated chimney ?.~. The soot collecting receptacle 1 is
designed
to have an upwardly direct~sd conical body protrusion Et extending from the
centre of
the bottom 5 and projecting towards the open end of v~~e soot collecting
receptacle
'i and having a central bore. 1with a first end openinel °~ and a
second end opening
formed at first and second ends of the central bore 'l, with the first end
opening
7 having a diameter less i:han the second end opening ~. 'The upwardly
directed
conica9 body protrusion ~rvith a central bore 16 allows for the passage of
chimney
sweeping devices through first and second end openings ~' and i~ into the
inner' pipe
or liner 2 of the ceiling rr~ounted prefabricated chimney 12. The first end
opening
f being slightly rounded to allow for smooth passage of the chimney sweeping
device
1 ~.
l~ccording to one embodiment of the present invention, which is shown in
Figure 2,
the soot collecting receptacle 1 is attached to the bottom of a prefabricated
chimney
12 by engaging the twist-locking coupler 4~ on the soot collecting receptacle
1, with
the twist locking coupler 15 on the outer flange 1~ ot- a prefabricated
chimn~:y 1~
mounted in a ceiling 3, so that the open end of the soot collecting receptacle
1 is
covered by an annular ring 19 irr the prefabricated chimney 12. Figure 3
she>ws a
horizontal cross-sectional representation of the soot collecting receptacle 1
through
plane A in Figure 2. The soot collecting receptacle 1 i;~ shown to Inave
straight solid
sides 9 and a solid annuls~r flat bofitom 5 from which an upv,ardly directed
ccmical
body protrusion ~ with a central bore 16 projects toward the open end of the
soot
collecting receptacle 1. art alternate embodiment of the present invention
would
dispense of the annular flat bottom ~ aind replace the bottom with an annular
rounded, convex or triangular shaped bottom 5. ~ further embodiment of the
prE~sent
invention would have the upwardly directed conical body proi:rusion 6 with a
cE:ntral
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bore 16 replaced with an u;~wardly directed rectangular.; cubic;, cylindrical,
spherical,
or triangular body protrusi~~n 6 with a centre! bor a 16.
Figure 4 shows a second embodiment of the present invention, wherein the soot
collecting receptacle 1 is held in position below 'the ceiling mounted
prefabricated
chimney 12 by supports 1 ~ mounfied to the botfiom 5 of the soot collecting
receptacle
1.
A further embodiment of the p~'esent invention is shown in Figure 5. The soot
collecting receptacle 1 ha;> a felt, rubber or some other form of flexible
gasket 11
disposed on the first end opening 7 of the upwardly directed body protrusion
with
a central bore 1~. The gav;ket 11 allows for the chimney brush 1to be pushed
and
pulled through the ceiling ~s mounted prefabricated chir°nney '9,
without dissociated
dust and debris entering the room 'hrough the first end opening 7 of the
upv~rardly
directed body protrusion . An alternate embodiment c~f the present invention
would
have handles 17 disposed on the straight solid sides g of the soot collecting
receptacle 1.
I~!~UST~F~IAL AF~P~I~ABILIT~'
2g The soot colPector of the pg'esent invention provides a safe ar7d clean
alternative
for regular maintenance arid cleaning of ceiling mouni:ed prefabricated
chimnE:ys.
Compared to conventional devices used for cleaning <~eilirig ~~nounted pipes,
the
durability, ease of operation and costs are greatly improved with the present
invention.
