US3905754A

US3905754A - Alcohol burner construction

Info

Publication number: US3905754A
Application number: US497205A
Authority: US
Inventors: Robert Maddestra; David E Munn
Original assignee: Damon Corp
Current assignee: Damon Corp
Priority date: 1974-08-14
Filing date: 1974-08-14
Publication date: 1975-09-16
Anticipated expiration: 1992-09-16

Abstract

The improvement relates to an alcohol burner of the type fabricated from a pharmaceutical bottle with a heat reflector attached to the cap and with a wick projecting through the cap and heat reflector. Specifically, a pair of shields for the bottle is disclosed to prevent glass from flying in the event of a burner explosion. The pair of shields form a stand for the bottle which adds to the stability of the burner. A square reflector is also disclosed. The square shape of the reflector prevents the burner from rolling, if the burner is accidently tipped over. A gasket which seals the edges of the bottle cap is also disclosed. The gasket provides an effective seal which prevents a condition known as ''''flaming alcohol burner'''' from occurring.

Description

United States Patent Maddestra et al.

[ 11 3,905,754 [4 1 Sept. 16, 1975 ALCOHOL BURNER CONSTRUCTION Inventors: Robert Maddestra, Canton; David E. Munn, Framingham, both of Mass.

Damon Corporation, Needham Heights, Mass.

Filed: Aug. 14, 1974 App]. No.: 497,205

Assignee:

us. c1. 431/324; 431/310; 431/343; 248/154 1m. c1. F23D 3/18 Field of Search 431/146, 310, 320, 324, 431/343; 248/44, 154

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 4/1862 Pinkham 431/324 5/1913 Unser 43l/l46 l()/ 1928 Rawley 248/44 Primary Examiner-Carroll B. Dority, Jr. Attorney, Agent, or Firm-Kenway & Jenney 5 7 ABSTRACT The improvement relates to an alcohol burner of the type fabricated from a pharmaceutical bottle with a heat reflector attached to the cap and with a wick projecting through the cap and heat reflector.

of the reflector prevents the burner from rolling, if the burner is accidently tipped over.

A gasket which seals the edges of the bottle cap is also disclosed. The gasket provides an effective seal which prevents a condition known as flaming alcohol burner from occurring.

11 Claims, 8 Drawing Figures ALCOHOL BURNER CONSTRUCTION BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION During the mid sixtys, a concerted effort was made in an attempt to develop new and inexpensive laboratory devices which would enable a high school science teacher to perform various laboratory experiments from his desk for the benefit of hisclass. Factors that were considered when evaluating these new laboratory devices included cost, life expectancy, safety, simplicity and the ability to be usable outside a conventional laboratory setting.

As a result of the foregoing effort, one type of device which was developed and which was used by high school science departments throughout the country was a new type of alcohol burner. This burner could be usedat a teachers desk and enable the teacher to per form other experiments which required a flame at his desk without the use of gas connections or electric outlets.

As is shown in FIG. 1, this prior art burner was con structed from a standard one ounce pharmaceutical bottle 2. A hole was punched into cap 3 of the bottle to permit a wick 4 to extend upwardly from the bottle.

The cap was inclusive of an eyelet 5 through which the wick was supported. The prior art burner also included a round heat reflector 6 which was secured to the eyelet 5 by a pair of locknuts 7 and 9. The cap included a paper cap gasket 11, which is a standard item for caps used for pharmaceutical bottles.

Unfortunately, the prior art alcohol burner shown in FIG. 1 had many shortcomings. For example, although a pharmaceutical bottle is remarkably durable, when heated (as would occur when the burner is in use) the glass can become stressed and subject to breakage. If a bottle broke while the burner was lit, an explosion was likely to follow which could send pieces of glass flying around the class room.

Another deficiency of the prior art burner shown in FIG. 1 is that they are physically unstable. That is, they are easily tipped over. Because the pharmaceutical bottle is round, when tipped over, it rolls and is likely to fall offa desk or table top. If the foregoing Occurs when the burner is lit, it is obvious that a dangerous situation results.

Another deficiency of the prior art burner is that the paper gasket 11, normally found in caps for pharmaceutical bottles, is not sufficiently resilient to form a hermetic seal. Thus, alcohol vapors can seep around the sides of the cap as shown by arrow 8. If the alcohol vapors seeping around the sides of the bottle ignite, a situation results which has been termed a flaming alcohol bottlei In short, the prior art alcohol burner resulted in a number of serious accidents. In fact, accidents occurred that were so serious that such burners were outlawed in at least one school district. However, an alcohol burner constructed in accordance with the present invention has been considered acceptable in that school district where the prior art burners were once outlawed.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The problem associated with prior art alcohol burners are significantly reduced by the alcohol burner of the present invention which includes a pair of side shields to protect the bottle. The side shields are formed of a shatter proof material such as metal and are arranged to allow visibility of the alcohol level within the bottle. The pair of shields are flared at the bottom to form a base or stand which adds to the stability of the burner. Another significant advantage of the metal shield is that it provides a heat sink for the burner. Another advantage is that the pair of shields enable the bottle to slide up and down within the burner so that the height of the burner can be adjusted in a simple manner.

The burner of the present invention includes a square heat reflector. The square heat reflector prevents the bottle from rolling if it is tipped over. The alcohol burner of the present invention also includes a resilient gasket within the bottle cap. The gasket is resilient enough so that a fluid tight seal results when the cap is tightened onto the bottle. This gasket prevents alcohol vapors from venting between the side walls of the bottle and the bottle cap and eliminates the condition knonw as a flaming alcohol burner.

Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide an alcohol burner which is safer than a similar prior art alcohol burner.

A further object of the present invention is to provide a more stable alcohol burner of the type which includes a pharmaceutical bottle to contain the alcohol. I

A further object of the present invention is to provide a pair of shields for a pharmaceutical bottle used in alcohol burners which contains the glass should an explosion occur and which also function as a stand which enables the height of the bottle to be adjusted and which provides increased stability for the burner.

Another object of the present invention is to provide an alcohol burner with a resilient gasket in the burner cap for the prevention of the condition known as flaming alcohol burner. i

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING FIG. 1 is a perspective view partially in section of a prior art alcohol burner which includes a 1 ounce phar maceutical bottle as a container for the alcohol.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the alcohol burner in accordance with the present invention with the bottle positioned about 1/16 of an inch from the bottle of the burner stand.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view similar to FIG. 2 but with the bottle positioned about mid way in the burner stand.

FIG. 4 is another perspective view of the burner in accordance with the present invention but with the bottle positioned intermediate between the positions shown in FIGS. 2 and 3.

FIG. 5 is a vertical longitudinal view taken along line S--5 of FIG. 4.

FIG. 6 is a horizontal cross sectional view taken along line 6-6 of FIG. 5.

FIG. 7 is a side elevational view of an alcohol burner in accordance with the present invention with the wick cap removed.

FIG. 8 is an exploded perspective view of burner components.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS As is shown in FIGS. 2-8, burner 10 of the present invention includes a pair of shields l2 and 14 for bottle 13 which function as protective members to contain glass in the event of an explosion.

Shields

12 and 14 are each flared on the bottom as is shown, for example, in FIG. 4. The flared bottoms of

shield

12 and 14 form a stand which increases the stability of the burner. As is shown in several of the figures, the shields are arranged so that the level of liquid 15 can be easily ascertained on visual inspection of the burner. Thus,

shield

12 and 14 are arranged in conjunction with bottle 13 so that there is a vertical space between the two shields.

It has been found advantageous to join shields l2 and 14 with

stove bolts

16 and 18.

Nuts

16 and 18 are used in conjunction with

stove bolts

16 and 18. The nuts and stove bolts enable the friction fit between the shields and the bottle to be adjusted so that the bottle is held firmly within the stand, yet at the same time being able to slide up and down to various positions as is shown in FIGS. 2-4. Thus, shields 14 and 16 provide a convenient and safe means for adjusting the height of the alcohol burner. The shields may be advantageously formed of aluminum type 5052-1-132 of 0.032 inch thickness with a mill finish. An advantage of utilizing aluminum is that it conducts heat and serves as a heat sink for the heat generated when the alcohol burner is in use. This heat sink prevents the glass forming bottle 13 from becoming stressed during normal use of the burner. As is shown in the drawing, the alcohol burner also includes a wick cap 20 which can be placed over wick 21 when the burner is not in use. The wick cap, however is conventional and forms no part of the present invention.

The burner of the present invention includes a square heat reflector 22. This reflector is similar to reflector 6 used on the prior art burner; but, its square shape prevents the bottle from rolling if it is accidently tipped on its side. The heat reflector 22 is maintained on the burner wby being sandwiched between a pair of

push nuts

28 and 30 which in turn are secured to eyelet 32.

In accordance with the present invention, cap 24 includes resilient cap gasket 26. Cap gasket 26 is formed from a resilient material such as rubber impregnated with asbestos. A material sold by Johns- Mansville under their designation JM60 has been found to be advantageous for this purpose. Cap gasket formed of this material need only be 1.16 of an inch thick. .IM60 is sufficiently resilient to prevent vapors from passing between the sides of the bottle and the bottle cap when the cap is tightened on to the bottle. A further advantage of this material is that it insulates the inside of the bottle from the heat generated by the burner when it is in use.

The invention may be embodied in other specific forms without departing from the spirit or essential characteristics thereof. The present embodiments are therefore to be considered in all respects illustrative and not restrictive, the scope of the invention being indicated by the appended claims rather than by the foregoing description, and all changes which come within the meaning and range of equivalency of the claims are therefore intended to be embraced therein.

We claim:

1. An alcohol burner of the type fabricated from a pharmaceutical bottle having a cap with a heat reflector attached to the cap and with a wick projecting through the cap and heat reflector wherein the improvement comprises:

' a pair of shields encompassing a major portion of the outer surface of said bottle, each shield being flared at the bottom to provide a base for the burner to increase the stability of the burner, each shield being made of metal to function as a heat sink for heat generated when the bottle is in use and to retard flying glass in the event of a burner explosion said pair of shields being separated from each other and held about said bottle by connecting means to form a stand for the bottle, the separation between said shields enabling the alcohol level to be viewed when the alcohol level in the bottle falls-below the height of the shields, said connecting means enables a friction fit between said shields and the bottle to be maintained, said friction fit holding the bottle firmly in position between said shields while enabling the bottle to be moved up and down in the stand to adjust the height of the burner.

2. The alcohol burner as set forth in claim 1 wherein said connecting means is stove bolts and nuts.

3. The alcohol burner as set forth in claim 2 wherein said shields are formed of aluminum.

4. The alcohol burner as set forth in claim 3 wherein said heat reflector has a configuration which prevents the bottle from rolling if accidentally tipped on its side.

5. The alcohol burner as set forth in claim 4 wherein said heat reflector has a square configuration.

6. The alcohol burner as set forth in claim 1 including a gasket in the bottle cap to provide a hermetic seal between the cap and the top edge of the bottle to prevent the condition known as flaming alcohol burner from occurring.

7. The alcohol burner as set forth in claim 4 including a gasket in the bottle cap to provide a hermetic seal between the cap and the top edge of the bottle to prevent the condition known as flaming alcohol burner from occurring.

8. The alcohol burner as set forth in claim 5 including a gasket in the bottle cap to provide a hermetic seal between the cap and the top edge of the bottle to prevent the condition known as flaming alcohol burner from occurring.

9. The alcohol burner as set forth in claim 6 wherein said gasket is formed of rubber impregnated with asbestos.

10. The alcohol burner as set forth in claim 7 wherein said gasket is formed of rubber impregnated with asbestos.

1 l. The alcohol burner as set forth in claim 8 wherein said gasket is formed of rubber impregnated with asbestos.

Claims

1. An alcohol burner of the type fabricated from a pharmaceutical bottle having a cap with a heat reflector attached to the cap and with a wick projecting through the cap and heat reflector wherein the improvement comprises: a pair of shields encompassing a major portion of the outer surface of said bottle, each shield being flared at the bottom to provide a base for the burner to increase the stability of the burner, each shield being made of metal to function as a heat sink for heat generated when the bottle is in use and to retard flying glass in the event of a burner explosion said pair of shields being separated from each other and held about said bottle by connecting means to form a stand for the bottle, the separation between said shields enabling the alcohol level to be viewed when the alcohol level in the bottle falls below the height of the shields, said connecting means enables a friction fit between said shields and the bottle to be maintained, said friction fit holding the bottle firmly in position between said shields while enabling the bottle to be moved up and down in the stand to adjust the height of the burner.

11. The alcohol burner as set forth in claim 8 wherein said gasket is formed of rubber impregnated with asbestos.