Portable heater

Claim 2

A heater comprising: an elongated shell having an outlet for heated gas at its front end and an air inlet at its rear end; fan means for forcing air through said inlet and forwardly along the interior of said shell; a combustion chamber disposed within a front end portion of said shell with the exterior of said combustion chamber being spaced from the interior of said shell to permit the passage of air to be heated along the exterior of said combustion chamber and out of said outlet opening in said shell, said combustion chamber being provided with an outlet opening at the front end thereof for exhausting hot gas along with the heated air from the space between the interior of said shell and the exterior of said combustion chamber; a burner tube extending centrally into a rear end portion of said combustion chamber and having an open outlet end in communication with the interior of said combustion chamber, said burner tube being provided with a transversely extending flange member cooperating with said combustion chamber to compel fluid entering the rear end of said combustion chamber to flow through said burner tube; a burner head at the rear end of said burner tube provided with a fuel nozzle coaxial with said burner tube and being shaped to permit the entry of air from the interior of said shell into a zone surrounding the outlet end of said nozzle and in communication with the interior of said burner tube; means for supplying fuel to said nozzle to be projected forwardly from the outlet end thereof; and a flame retention head of thin material disposed between said nozzle and the outlet end of said burner tube and being formed into a generally conical section coaxial with said burner tube, said conical section having a large end the diameter of which corresponds to the diameter of the interior of said burner tube and a small end defining an unobstructed opening facing said nozzle for receiving flow from the outlet end of said nozzle, said conical section also being provided with slots extending longitudinally from the small end thereof and outwardly inclined vane portions adjacent said slots for receiving portions of the air from said burner head zone and guiding such air into a swirling pattern of motion about and along the axis of the flame retention head.

Claim 3

A heater according to claim 1, wherein said conical section of said flame retention head has a concave interior surface unobstructed by radial protrustions therefrom, and wherein said conical section is additionally provided with a ring of holes therethrough near but spaced from its large end with one of said holes being disposed in intersecting relation to the forward end of each of said slots.

Claim 4

A heater according to claim 2, wherein said nozzle is an aspirator nozzle; wherein means are provided for supplying primary air under pressure to said nozzle; and wherein said burner head shape for permitting the entry of air from the interior of said shell into a zone surrounding the outlet end of said nozzle and in communication with the interior of said burner tube includes auxiliary air inlets and interior guide surfaces for swirling the auxiliary air passing through such inlets and moving forwardly from the burner head into the rear of said burner tube.

Claim 5

A heater according to claim 3, wherein said guide surfaces in said burner head and said vane portions of said flame retention head are so arranged that the rotational direction of air swirling motion imparted by each is the same.

Claim 6

A portable oil fired space heater comprising: an oil tank provided with means for contacting the base surface of the area to be heated so as to support the heater on such surface; a support fixed to and extending upwardly from said oil tank; an elongated, generally cylindrical, open ended, shell overlying Said oil tank and being secured to said support, said shell being provided with an opening for receiving an upper portion of said support; a motor generally coaxial with said shell mounted on said upper portion of said support and having a rotary output at each of its front and rear ends; fan means secured to the rotary output at the rear end of said motor for forcing air into the rear end of said shell and forwardly along said shell; primary air pump means connected to the rotary output at the front end of said motor for receiving air from the interior of said shell and delivering such air at an elevated pressure; a generally cylindrical combustion chamber disposed within a front end portion of said shell with the exterior of said combustion chamber being spaced from the interior of said shell to permit the passage of air to be heated along the exterior of said combustion chamber and out of the opening at the front end of said shell, said combustion chamber being provided with an outlet opening at the front end thereof for exhausting hot gas along with the heated air from the space between the interior of said shell and the exterior of said combustion chamber; a burner tube extending centrally into a rear end portion of said combustion chamber and having an open outlet end in communication with the interior of said combustion chamber, said burner tube being provided with a transversely extending flange member secured to the rear end of said combustion chamber for compelling fluid entering the rear end of said combustion chamber to flow through said burner tube and for supporting said burner tube on said combustion chamber; a burner head secured to the rear end of said burner tube and being provided with an aspirator nozzle coaxial with said burner tube, said nozzle having a primary air passage for receiving primary air from said pump and projecting such air from an orifice at the front end of the nozzle at high velocity, said nozzle also having an oil passage for receiving oil from said tank and delivering such oil to said orifice to be projected therefrom as an atomized spray, said burner head being additionally provided with auxiliary air inlets adjacent its periphery and interior guide surfaces for swirling the auxiliary air passing through such inlets and moving forwardly from the burner head into the rear of said burner tube; and a flame retention head of thin material mounted in said burner tube, said material being formed into a generally conical section coaxial with said burner tube and having a large end the diameter of which corresponds to the inner diameter of said cylindrical member and a small end defining an unobstructed opening facing the outlet end of said nozzle, said flame retention head having a ring of regularly spaced holes therethrough at a location close to but spaced from the large end of said conical section and the material of said conical section being slit longitudinally from at least some of said holes to the small end of the conical section, portions of the material of said conical section each bound by an edge of one of said slits and by an inclined bend line converging toward such edge from the small end of the conical section being bent outwardly along said bend lines to form vanes, all of said vanes having inner surfaces inclined in the same direction about the axis of the head for imparting a swirling motion to auxiliary air passing along said surfaces and into the interior of the flame retention head.

Claim 7

A portable oil fired space heater comprising: an oil tank provided with means for contacting the base surface of the area to be heated so as to support the heater on such surface; a support fixed to and extending upwardly from said oil tank; an elongated, generally cylindrical, open ended, shell overlying Said oil tank and being secured to said support, said shell being provided with an opening for receiving an upper portion of said support; a motor generally coaxial with said shell mounted on said upper portion of said support and having a rotary output at each of its front and rear ends; fan means secured to the rotary output at the rear end of said motor for forcing air into the rear end of said shell and forwardly along said shell; primary air pump means connected to the rotary output at the front end of said motor for receiving air from the interior of said shell and delivering such air at an elevated pressure; a generally cylindrical combustion chamber disposed within a front end portion of said shell with the exterior of said combustion chamber being spaced from the interior of said shell to permit the passage of air to be heated along the exterior of said combustion chamber and out of the opening at the front end of said shell, said combustion chamber being provided with an outlet opening at the front end thereof for exhausting hot gas along with the heated air from the space between the interior of said shell and the exterior of said combustion chamber; a burner tube extending centrally into a rear end portion of said combustion chamber and having an open outlet end in communication with the interior of said combustion chamber, said burner tube being provided with a transversely extending flange member secured to the rear end of said combustion chamber for compelling fluid entering the rear end of said combustion chamber to flow through said burner tube and for supporting said burner tube on said combustion chamber; a burner head secured to the rear end of said burner tube and being provided with an aspirator nozzle coaxial with said burner tube, said nozzle having a primary air passage for receiving primary air from said pump and projecting such air from an orifice at the front end of the nozzle at high velocity, said nozzle also having an oil passage for receiving oil from said tank and delivering such oil to said orifice to be projected therefrom as an atomized spray, said burner head being additionally provided with auxiliary air inlets adjacent its periphery and interior guide surfaces for swirling the auxiliary air passing through such inlets and moving forwardly from the burner head into the rear of said burner tube; and a flame retention head of thin material mounted in said burner tube, said material being formed into a generally conical section coaxial with said burner tube and having a large end the diameter of which corresponds to the inner diameter of said cylindrical member and a small end defining an unobstructed opening facing the outlet end of said nozzle, said flame retention head having a ring of regularly spaced holes therethrough at a location close to but spaced from the large end of said conical section and the material of said conical section being slit longitudinally from at least some of said holes to the small end of the conical section, portions of the material of said conical section each bound by an edge of one of said slits and by an inclined bend line converging toward such edge from the small end of the conical section being bent outwardly along said bend lines to form vanes, all of said vanes having inner surfaces inclined in the same direction about the axis of the head for imparting a swirling motion to auxiliary air passing along said surfaces and into the interior of the flame retention head.

Claim 8

A heater according to claim 5 wherein said guide surfaces in said burner head and said vanes of said flame retention head are so arranged that the rotational direction of auxiliary air swirling motion imparted by each is the same.