Fireplace forced air heating apparatus

Claim 1

Fireplace forced air heating apparatus, comprising: (a) an upstanding, vertically and laterally elongated heat exchanger contoured and dimensioned for placement adjacent the rear wall of a fireplace and enclosing a plenum, (b) a pair of tubes connected to the heat exchanger adjacent the bottom and lateral sides thereof and communicating at their inner ends with the plenum, the tubes extending horizontally forward from the heat exchanger toward the front of the fireplace, (c) an elongated main duct disposed horizontally across and forwardly of the pair of tubes and extending laterally beyond said tubes, the ends of the main duct being open, (d) a pair of duct segments secured at their forward ends to the rear side and intermediate the ends of the main duct for communication therewith and extending rearwardly for communication of their rearward ends with the forward ends of the pair of tubes, (e) a pair of ports in the front side of the main duct substantially opposite the pair of duct segments, (f) a baffle member comprising a hollow plug receivable interchangeably in either of the pair of ports for communicating the associated duct segment with the adjacent open end of the main duct, whereby to deliver cool air from said open end to the heat exchanger for heating, the baffle member substantially closing the associated port and the main duct inwardly of said baffle member, (g) a fan assembly having an air inlet and an air outlet, the outlet being connectable interchangeably to either open end of the main duct for coupling said air outlet to the open end of the main duct adjacent the baffle member, for delivering cool air to the heat exchanger, and (h) a hot air outlet member comprising a hollow plug receivable interchangeably in either of the pair of ports for communicating the associated duct segment with the atmosphere through said plug and port, whereby to discharge hot air from the heat exchanger through the outlet member into the atmosphere.