Combustion apparatus

A combustion apparatus, comprising:

• a single-type regenerative combustion burner, comprising:
• a fuel expelling mechanism;
• a heat storage member disposed around said fuel expelling mechanism;
• and
• an air supply and gas exhaust switching mechanism which selectively causes air supply and gas exhaust to communicate with said heat storage member;
• and
• a combustion chamber, fuel and air being expelled into said combustion chamber through said regenerative combustion burner and reacting with each other to generate burnt gas which circulates to said regenerative combustion burner and is exhausted through said regenerative combustion burner, and
• wherein said combustion chamber and said regenerative combustion burner are constructed and arranged so that said fuel and supply air are expelled into said combustion chamber in a first direction, substantially tangential to said combustion chamber, and said circulating burnt gas returns to said regenerative combustion burner in a second direction which is not opposed to said first direction, and
• wherein said regenerative combustion burner includes an air supply and gas exhaust surface nonreceded from said combustion chamber, and wherein said configuration of said combustion chamber and said arrangement of said regenerative combustion burner to said combustion chamber are such that said second direction is substantially perpendicular to said first direction and substantially parallel to said air supply and gas exhaust surface.