Mechanical universal wood pellet suction lifter for individual wood pellet stoves

Abstract

The device features a vacuum-based lifting (suction) of wood pellets and their feeding into the storage container integrated at the top of the wood pellet stove.

Description

[0001] With individual wood pellet stoves, the commercially available 15kg bags of wood pellets must be manually lifted above the height of the stove's own pellet hopper in order to fill it. The hopper is usually positioned high inside the stove to allow the pellets to drain by gravity and be transported, for example, by an auger, into the combustion chamber.

[0002] The devised device is designed to eliminate the need for people with, for example, age-related or general physical weakness, disability, or small stature to lift the wood pellet bags.

[0003] The inventive mechanical and universal wood pellet suction lifter for individual wood pellet stoves serves as a transfer aid for wood pellet bags into the storage container of the wood pellet stove. It can be connected to conventional household vacuum cleaners with a suction hose or ash vacuum cleaners with a suction hose using suitable adapter sleeves.

[0004] This is a manual and mechanical device for vacuum-based suction and intermediate storage of wood pellets in an intermediate container, which is positioned on top of individual wood pellet stoves above the integrated stove container as required.

[0005] This eliminates the need to lift standard 15kg bags of wood pellets above the height of the stove for filling. The device is designed so that after filling the intermediate container, which sits on top of the internal stove hopper, it is manually emptied into the stove hopper via a separate mechanical emptying device.

[0006] Feeding a 15kg bag of wood pellets through the device requires a total suction and feeding time of just a few minutes from the intermediate container to the furnace's own storage container.

[0007] The stability of the intermediate container is ensured by integrated fastening devices (e.g., magnets). The intermediate container is designed with a lightweight construction and transparent sides to allow for easy lifting, even overhead, of this weight.

[0008] The suction is switched on and off manually by the operator. Various vacuum cleaners (household, industrial, ash vacuums, etc., each equipped with a suction hose) can be used for suction. The vacuum cleaner is switched off before emptying the intermediate container when the maximum fill level, visible through the transparent side windows, is reached, as otherwise wood pellets could remain in the suction hose. The inner diameter of the suction hose and its largely smooth internal contour are designed to prevent even very long wood pellets from becoming jammed and clogging the hose.

[0009] The hose of a standard vacuum cleaner is inserted into the intermediate container; suitable adapters allow the connection of various vacuum cleaner nozzles. With the standard vacuum cleaner switched on, the wood pellets are sucked into the intermediate container via a second hose. The operator monitors the fill level through the transparent sides of the intermediate container and switches off the vacuum cleaner when it reaches its maximum capacity.

[0010] After switching off the standard vacuum cleaner, the mechanical and gravitational emptying into the hopper integrated into the wood pellet stove is triggered manually, and the wood pellets fall into this hopper by gravity. This process is repeated until the hopper reaches the desired fill level.

[0011] The intermediate container is designed in such a way that the drain nozzle automatically assumes a closed position by means of spring force after completion of the manual draining process.

[0012] The inner base surface of the intermediate container is designed in such a way that a concave curvature leading to the drain nozzle ensures a residue-free manual draining of the wood pellets from the intermediate container into the storage container on the stove side.

[0013] After completion of the manual draining process, the intermediate container is removed from the wood pellet stove and the lid of the stove's own storage container is closed.

[0014] Since the suction effect only occurs when filling the intermediate container, a negative pressure and suction effect in the oven's storage container are prevented. The vacuum cleaner is switched off when emptying the intermediate container.

[0015] Due to the often considerable height of the stoves and their top-mounted storage hoppers, 15kg bags of wood pellets have to be lifted very high, often overhead, to be emptied into the stove's hopper. This device eliminates the need to lift the heavy bags, allowing the wood pellets to be drawn (suctioned) from the bag at the bottom into the intermediate hopper and finally released by gravity into the stove's storage hopper.

[0016] A rollable container used to hold the wood pellet bag is advantageous, as the wood pellet bag can be slit open with a utility knife and the pellets emptied into it to prevent the vacuum cleaner from sucking up the plastic film.

[0017] The pellet stove accessory requires no electricity. All that is needed is a suitable, commercially available vacuum cleaner or ash vacuum with a hose connection.

[0018] A set consists of 1) Intermediate container 2) Vacuum hose for pellet-side suction of the heating pellets in a suitably large diameter and largely stepless internal design to prevent tilting and jamming of pellets. 3) A set of suitable adapter pieces, as the vacuum cleaner hose is inserted into the intermediate container via these. This allows the connection of various vacuum cleaner nozzles. Reference symbol list:

[0019] Fig. 1 1 External wood pellet stove (not part of the utility model). 2 External commercially available vacuum cleaner (Not part of the utility model). 3 intermediate containers 4 Suction hose from the intermediate container to a standard vacuum cleaner (suction direction). 5 Suction hose from the wood pellet bag or external container to the intermediate container (suction direction). 6 External wood pellet bag or container (not part of the utility model). 7 Vertical drain device with automatic spring-assisted closing position. 8. Internally concave curved inner base plate. 9 Oven-side storage container. 10 adapters for different vacuum cleaner connection nozzles.

[0020] Fig. 2 1 Suction hose from the intermediate container to a standard vacuum cleaner (suction direction) (Not part of the utility model). 2 Suction hose from the wood pellet bag or external container to the intermediate container (suction direction). 3 adapters for different vacuum cleaner connection nozzles. 4 intermediate containers. 5 Vertical drain device with automatic spring-assisted closing position. 6. Internally concave curved inner base plate. 7 connection nozzles for suction hose from wood pellet bag or external container to intermediate container (suction direction). 8 connection nozzles for suction hose from the intermediate container to a standard vacuum cleaner (suction direction). 9 Transparent side walls (front, back and side walls can be made transparent). 10 Return spring of the vertical draining device.

Claims

[1] The device features a vacuum-based lifting (suction) of wood pellets and their feeding into the storage container integrated in the individual wood pellet stove at the top. [2] The otherwise necessary lifting of wood pellet bags (approx. 15 kg) above the stove height for filling is eliminated. The device is characterized by the fact that it is no longer necessary to lift bags of wood pellets, for example, overhead. This is particularly advantageous for people with age-related or general physical weakness, disabilities, or even short stature. [3] The device is also characterized by the fact that the sucked-in wood pellets are stored in an intermediate container. [4] The design of the intermediate container is characterized by its modular and lightweight construction in order not to counteract the desired elimination of lifting work. [5] To prevent the intermediate container from tipping over, the structure characterized by that, for example, magnetic holding devices ensure stable positioning on the opening of the oven-side storage container. [6] Furthermore, the structure of the intermediate container characterized by that it has transparent side surfaces to ensure permanent level control. [7] In particular, the device is characterized by the fact that the suction power is decoupled from the removal of wood pellets from the intermediate container into the furnace's own storage container. The manually activated suction function is decoupled from the furnace. [8] A particularly user-friendly handling is characterized by that a standard household vacuum cleaner or ash vacuum cleaner with a hose connection is sufficient as a vacuum source and that the system can function without any additional electrical supply. [9] The design of the adapter pieces from the intermediate container to the standard vacuum cleaner hose is characterized by that different vacuum cleaner nozzles can be connected. [10] The system for intermediate storage and removal is characterized by its purely mechanical and manual design, which does not require the direct use of electrical power and is supplied with vacuum by a commercially available vacuum or ash vacuum cleaner with a vacuum hose feed. [11] Transferring the pellets from the bag or the external trolley into the stove storage container is characterized by a process length of a few minutes. [12] The intermediate container is designed so that a 15 kg bag of wood pellets can be transferred with just a few filling and emptying operations. This is particularly advantageous because it allows for work even in small spaces and with smaller weights. [13] The manual and multiple filling process of the intermediate container and the manual draining are characterized by that the maximum permitted filling quantity (per oven manufacturer) can be adhered to and thus overfilling is prevented. [14] Furthermore, the design of the inner bottom surface of the intermediate container characterized by a concave curve leading to the discharge nozzle, so that the wood pellets can be manually and residue-free drained from the intermediate container into the storage container on the stove side. [15] The drain connection is characterized by a spring-loaded automatically closing position after the manual draining process has been completed. [16] Furthermore, the suction process characterized bythat after switching off the commercially available vacuum cleaner, the suction nozzle can be pulled back from the wood pellet bag or a wood pellet container to be vacuumed up and that any wood pellets still in the hose fall back into the bag or container by gravity when the vacuum cleaner is switched off. [17] The design of the suction hose is characterized by that the combination of inner diameter and largely smooth inner contour in the connection area prevents blockages caused by wood pellets that are too long. [18] The device is characterized by that their use for filling the oven's own storage container is independent of the oven operation.

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