Heater apparatus with controlled air and fuel intake

Claim 2

A heater for an engine or the like comprising: a fuel pot, a combustion chamber formed above said fuel pot, a closed swirl chamber havIng a side wall spaced from and surrounding said combustion chamber and said fuel pot, forced air inlet means in said swirl chamber and spaced from said combustion chamber and said fuel pot and establishing a predetermined path of air flow to said combustion chamber including a path portion extending away from said fuel pot, and fuel residue removal means in said swirl chamber and spaced from said fuel pot and located in said path portion whereby fuel residue is carried by the air flow along said path portion to said removal means.

Claim 3

The invention as defined in claim 1 and said fuel residue removal means being located closely adjacent said side wall beyond said forced air inlet means opposite said fuel pot and said combustion chamber.

Claim 4

The invention as defined in claim 1 and said swirl chamber being elongated and said fuel pot and said combustion chamber being located at one end of said swirl chamber and said air inlet means being located at the other end of said swirl chamber.

Claim 5

An engine pre-heater comprising: an elongated enclosed burner housing having a bottom wall, a top wall, and a side wall defining an air chamber, a fuel pot at one end of said burner housing, burner means at the one end of said housing defining a combustion chamber above said fuel pot, air inlet passage means connected to said aIr chamber at the other end of said burner housing, fan means connected to said air inlet passage means to force air through the air chamber to the combustion chamber, and said inlet passage means including a first vertically extending portion connected to the atmosphere, a second vertically extending portion spaced from said first vertically extending portion and being of equal length and connected to the air chamber through said top wall of said burner housing, and an intermediate cross-over portion therebetween and defining a generally U-shaped flow path reducing turbulence of the air delivered to the air chamber.

Claim 6

An engine pre-heater comprising: an elongated enclosed burner housing having a bottom wall, a top wall, and a side wall defining an air chamber, a fuel pot at one end of said burner housing, burner means at the one end of said housing defining a combustion chamber above said fuel pot, air inlet passage means connected to said aIr chamber at the other end of said burner housing, fan means connected to said air inlet passage means to force air through the air chamber to the combustion chamber, and said inlet passage means including a first vertically extending portion connected to the atmosphere, a second vertically extending portion spaced from said first vertically extending portion and being of equal length and connected to the air chamber through said top wall of said burner housing, and an intermediate cross-over portion therebetween and defining a generally U-shaped flow path reducing turbulence of the air delivered to the air chamber.

Claim 7

The invention as defined in claim 4 and having a curved elbow connected to said second vertically extending portion and extending into said burner housing and having a discharge opening facing said fuel pot and burner means and directing the air toward the combustion chamber in a path generally transverse to the longitudinal axis of said fuel pot and said combustion chamber.

Claim 8

An engine pre-heater comprising: an elongated burner housing having top, bottom, and side walls and being closed except for an outlet opening for products of combustion in the top wall at one end of the housing and an inlet opening for combustion air in the top wall at the other end of the housing, a perforated outer cylindrical screen mounted in said outlet opening and extending into said burner housing and terminating closely adjacent the bottom of said burner housing, a fuel pot located below said perforated cylindrical screen and connected to a source of fuel, a perforated inner cylindrical screen mounted in said fuel pot and extending upwardly within said perforated outer cylindrical screen and terminating below the top of said burner housing, a combustion chamber defined by said perforated outer cylindrical screen and said perforated inner cylindrical screen, fan means connected to said air inlet opening to cause a flow of combustion air from the atmosphere through the housing, and an elbow type conduit connected to the inlet opening and extending into the housing and directing combustion air from the one end of the housing to the other end of the housing onto and through said perforated outer cylindrical screen and into said combustion chamber and creating a zone of high molecular activity in the combustion chamber.

Claim 9

An engine pre-heater comprising: an elongated burner housing having top, bottom, and side walls and being closed except for an outlet opening for products of combustion in the top wall at one end of the housing and an inlet opening for combustion air in the top wall at the other end of the housing, a perforated outer cylindrical screen mounted in said outlet opening and extending into said burner housing and terminating closely adjacent the bottom of said burner housing, a fuel pot located below said perforated cylindrical screen and connected to a source of fuel, a perforated inner cylindrical screen mounted in said fuel pot and extending upwardly within said perforated outer cylindrical screen and terminating below the top of said burner housing, a combustion chamber defined by said perforated outer cylindrical screen and said perforated inner cylindrical screen, fan means connected to said air inlet opening to cause a flow of combustion air from the atmosphere through the housing, and an elbow type conduit connected to the inlet opening and extending into the housing and directing combustion air from the one end of the housing to the other end of the housing onto and through said perforated outer cylindrical screen and into said combustion chamber and creating a zone of high molecular activity in the combustion chamber.

Claim 10

The invention as defined in claim 6 and the flow of air causing a flow of fuel residue from the fuel pot along the bottom of the burner housing, and residue removal means in said burner housing in the flow path of the fuel residue and located in spacEd relationship to the fuel pot to receive and remove fuel residue from the fuel pot.

Claim 11

A heater adapted to burn a liquid fuel, such as diesel fuel, having a burnable constituent and an unburnable constituent during continuous self-sustaining operation and comprising: pot means to hold a quantity of the liquid fuel with a free upper surface maintained at a predetermined level within the pot means, burner means extending upwardly from the pot means and defining a combustion chamber located above the pot means and the free upper surface of the liquid fuel, heating means to heat and vaporize the burnable constituent of the fuel for delivery of fuel vapor to the combustion chamber, an air chamber surrounding said pot means and said burner means to delivery combustion air to said combustion chamber, and drainage means located in said air chamber beyond said pot means to continuously drain the unburnable constituent during continuous self-sustaining operation.

Claim 12

A heater adapted to burn a liquid fuel, such as diesel fuel, having a burnable constituent and an unburnable constituent during continuous self-sustaining operation and comprising: pot means to hold a quantity of the liquid fuel with a free upper surface maintained at a predetermined level within the pot means, burner means extending upwardly from the pot means and defining a combustion chamber located above the pot means and the free upper surface of the liquid fuel, heating means to heat and vaporize the burnable constituent of the fuel for delivery of fuel vapor to the combustion chamber, an air chamber surrounding said pot means and said burner means to delivery combustion air to said combustion chamber, and drainage means located in said air chamber beyond said pot means to continuously drain the unburnable constituent during continuous self-sustaining operation.

Claim 13

The invention as defined in claim 8 and having air delivery means to establish a flow path of air through said air chamber to said combustion chamber, said drainage means and said pot means being located in said flow path whereby the unburnable constituent is carried by the air from the pot means to the drainage means.

Claim 14

The invention as defined in claim 9 and wherein said air chamber being elongated and comprising: a first side wall portion being located relatively closely adjacent said pot means, a second side wall portion being spaced from said pot means a greater distance than and located opposite said first side wall portion, said air delivery means extending into said chamber between said pot means and said second side wall portion and having a discharge opening facing said pot means and said first side wall portion to establish an air flow extending from said pot means to said first side wall.

Claim 15

The invention as defined in claim 10 and said first side wall portion and said second side wall portion being arcuate and connected by generally tangentially extending side wall portions, said flow path extending from said first side wall portion along said tangentially extending side wall portions.

Claim 16

The invention as defined in claim 11 and said drainage means being located between said air delivery means and said second side wall portion.

Claim 17

The invention as defined in claim 12 and said drainage means comprising an opening in the bottom of said air chamber spaced inwardly from said second wall portion and centrally located on a line extending between the centers of the first wall portion and the second side wall portion.

Claim 18

The invention as defined in claim 13 and said air delivery means being spaced inwardly from said second side wall portion to facilitate flow of air from said first side wall portion along said tangentially extending side wall portions to said second side wall portion.

Claim 19

The invention as defined in claim 14 and the flow path of air in said air chamber being such as to establish a low pressure zone and to hold the unburnable constituent over said drainage means.

Claim 20

A heater adapted for continuous self-sustained burning of a vaporizable liquid fuel comprising: fuel pot means for holding a quantity of the liquid fuel, burner means extending above said fuel pot means and defining a combustion chamber thereabove receiving vaporized fuel therefrom, an elongated air chamber extending laterally from said burner means for supplying air to said combustion chamber, a first side wall portion of said air chamber being spaced closely adjacent said fuel pot means and said burner means, a second side wall portion of said air chamber opposite said first side wall portion being located more remotely from said fuel pot means and said burner means than said first side wall portion, forced air supply means for supplying combustion air to said air chamber, an air inlet conduit connected to said forced air supply means extending into said air chamber between said second side wall portion and said fuel pot means and said burner means and having an air inlet opening facing said first side wall portion and said fuel pot means and said burner means and directing incoming combustion air theretoward.

Claim 21

A heater adapted for continuous self-sustained burning of a vaporizable liquid fuel comprising: fuel pot means for holding a quantity of the liquid fuel, burner means extending above said fuel pot means and defining a combustion chamber thereabove receiving vaporized fuel therefrom, an elongated air chamber extending laterally from said burner means for supplying air to said combustion chamber, a first side wall portion of said air chamber being spaced closely adjacent said fuel pot means and said burner means, a second side wall portion of said air chamber opposite said first side wall portion being located more remotely from said fuel pot means and said burner means than said first side wall portion, forced air supply means for supplying combustion air to said air chamber, an air inlet conduit connected to said forced air supply means extending into said air chamber between said second side wall portion and said fuel pot means and said burner means and having an air inlet opening facing said first side wall portion and said fuel pot means and said burner means and directing incoming combustion air theretoward.

Claim 22

The invention as defined in claim 16 and wherein said fuel pot means and said burner means are generally cylindrical and are concentric, said first side wall portion being arcuate and concentric with said fuel pot means and said burner means.

Claim 23

The invention as defined in claim 17 and wherein said second side wall portion being arcuate and connected to said first side wall portion by tangentially extending side wall portions.

Claim 24

The invention as defined in claim 18 and wherein said air inlet conduit includes a cylindrical tubular portion extending parallel to said burner means and being concentric with said second side wall portion, an elbow portion curving toward said burner means, and an outlet portion extending toward said burner means.

Claim 25

The invention as defined in claim 19 and said air inlet conduit being spaced inwardly from said second side wall portion to provide an air flow passage therebetween.

Claim 26

The invention as defined in claim 20 and having a fuel residue drainage opening connected to said chamber and located between said air inlet conduit and said second side wall portion.