Patent ID: 9702567
Date: 2017-07-11
CPC Classifications: F24B,F24D

Claim:
1. A heater, comprising: a combustion chamber for burning fuel, the combustion chamber having an interior defined by side walls and a top, the combustion chamber including an air inlet at a bottom of the combustion chamber and an exhaust vent at the top of the combustion chamber; a hopper mounted above the combustion chamber, the hopper being sized for holding a preselected amount of fuel and having an outlet at a lower end; a chute extending from the outlet of the hopper to the combustion chamber; a screw having a helical flight extending through the chute and into the hopper; a drive operatively connected to the screw, said drive turning the screw in a direction in which the flight would, but for downward forces, lift the fuel; and a vane connected directly to a helical connector that is separate from the screw and rests directly on the helical flight of the screw, said connector rotating downward relative to the screw along the flight of the screw in absence of upward forces counteracting gravity, said vane being cambered to produce upward forces when turning with the screw beneath an upper surface of the fuel, the helical flight of the screw and the helical connector are configured so that said vane is biased upward by said upward forces generated by the vane interacting with the fuel and said vane is biased downward by gravity acting on the vane and helical connector so that the upward force and gravity balance when the drive turns the screw at a preselected speed and the vane is at the upper surface of the fuel to level the upper surface of the fuel and prevent the fuel from rat holing and arching.