Patent GB-724754-A (GB)
Title: A heater burning liquid fuel particularly for heating motor vehicles and the coolingliquid of vehicle engines
IPC: B60H1/22
Filed: 1951-05-23
Abstract: 724,754. Vapour burners. BERGER, G. J. O., WELIN -. May 23, 1951 [May 24, 1950; Feb. 24, 1951], No. 12109/51. Classes 75 (1) and 75 (3) [Also in Group XIII] A heater burning liquid fuel comprises an electric heating device for the vaporization of fuel in a space which is closed in the cold state of the heater, and which is adapted to heat a riser tube for conveying the fuel from a fuel container in the heater to a vapour burner. Apparatus for heating the cooling water of a vehicle engine to facilitate starting in winter comprises a vapour burner having a head 3, Fig. 2, disposed within a cylindrical casing 1 surrounded by a water jacket 4 communicating with an upper water chamber 5 and connected by pipes 6, 7 to the cooling water system of the engine. The head 3 is carried by a vaporizer tube 15, leading vertically. from a liquid fuel container 2 and surrounded by an electric heating coil 21 which is energized by the closing of a thermostat switch 23 responsive to the temperature of the cooling water in the chamber 5. In the cold condition a needle valve 17 in the discharge outlet nozzle 18 of the vaporizer tube 15 is held closed by a resilient diaphragm 20, so that vapour generated in the tube 15 on energization of the coil 21 cannot escape until a vapour pressure is created sufficient to depress the diaphragm 20 to open the valve 17. Vapour discharged through the nozzle 18 is then ignited by an electric glow igniter 22 in series with the heater coil 21, so that after a short interval the water in the chamber 5 becomes heated sufficiently to open the thermostat switch 23 to de-energize the coil' 21 and the igniter 22, but vaporization continues in the tube 15 by heat conduction from the burner head 3. When burning ceases, as when all the fuel in the container 2 has been consumed, the diaphragm 20 closes the valve 17, and the residual vapour in the container 2 condenses to produce a reduced pressure whereby liquid fuel is admitted through a non-return valve 11 from a conduit 10 leading from the vehicle fuel tank. When the water has cooled sufficiently to close the thermostat switch 23 the burner is re-ignited to repeat the heating cycle. The burner . may be extinguished when desired by.pulling a wire 14 to open a relief valve 12 to allow vapour under pressure to pass through conduits 13, 10 to the vehicle fuel tank. A steatite member positioned to be heated by the burner flame, and which may be incorporated in the igniter 22, may be provided for re-igniting the burner in the event of accidental extinction.. In a modified apparatus the casing 1, Fig. 4, has an inner jacket 100 forming a heating chamber 102 for air, introduced through a conduit 104 and exhausted through a conduit 106, which may conduct heated air to the vehicle interior, the change speed gear box, or the oil sump. The pipes 6, 7 of the cooling water system are connected to a receptacle 118 provided with heat exchange fins 120 extending from the lower side upwardly on two sides in the space through which the combustion gases pass to a chamber 128 having outlet openings 132. The combustion air entering the - apparatus through an inlet 108 and the combustion gases passing into the chamber 128 and discharging through the openings 132 pass through perforated plates, wire netting, or like permeable sheets 110, and 126, 134, respectively, which serve as flame screens in the event of an explosion in the combustion space. A pressure relief safety valve 136 is provided in the cooling water conduit 7. The vapour burner of the apparatus shown in Fig. 4 is a modification of the burner illustrated in Fig. 2 in which the valve 17 is actuated by a bellows which replaces the diaphragm 20, and the vaporizing tube receives fuel in an annular passage supplied by wicks depending into the liquid fuel in the container 2. The latter has connected thereto a tube 138 having three branches, one forming an inlet 10 communicating with the vehicle fuel tank and having a non-return valve 11 (not shown) and a fuel filter therein, a second having an outlet 146 containing a pressure relief valve 12 which may be opened either by a predetermined high pressure in the container 2 or manually by a wire 14, and a third having a filling inlet 142 for additional fuel and a cover 144. An electromagnetic valve may be used in addition to or instead of the non-return valve 11 for controlling thermostatically the fuel supply to the container 2. Specification 665,061 is referred to.