Patent Publication Number: US-2011073095-A1

Title: Patio Heater Side Heat Director

Description:
This application claims priority to Provisional Application Ser. No. 61/131,939, filed Jun. 12, 2008, and is the National Stage filing of subsequent PCT Request Serial Number PCT/US09/46844, filed Jun. 10, 2009 (within one year of said &#39;939 Provisional Application). 
    
    
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     1. Field of the Invention 
     This invention relates generally to outdoor heating devices and, more specifically, to a Patio Heater Side Heat Director. 
     2. Description of Related Art 
     Propane-fueled heaters are prevalent for heating outdoor spaces. Many restaurants and taverns provide the heaters to heat outdoor serving areas in the evenings. The heaters typically used in such hospitality environments are large units that utilize a five gallon propane cylinder for fuel. Residential use of these “patio” heaters has grown over the years, with a smaller, tabletop version being created that is ideal for the home application. Except for scale/size, the elements of the tabletop unit are essentially comparable to the full-size models.  FIG. 1  is a perspective view of a conventional (tabletop) patio heater  10 . 
     The patio heater  10  has a base  12 , within which the propane cylinder is contained. A stem  14  extends upwardly from the base  12  to the burner  16 . The propane flow passes through the stem  14  to supply the burner  16  with fuel. Presumably for safety reasons, the burner  16  is topped by a heat shield  18 , and surrounded by a guard  20 . The heat shield  24  is defined by a circular (typically) perimeter edge  24 , and is removably attached to the burner  16  by a securing nut  22  (or by some other fastening system). 
     While the conventional patio heater  10  is very handy to increase personal comfort while entertaining or otherwise spending time outdoors, it does suffer from a problem related to its limited fuel source. While there are heaters available that use a fixed fuel source (such as natural gas), rather than a self-contained propane tank, most heaters  10  employ a portable source. Table-top units are generally to small to have a piped-in fuel source, and the piping would harm the utility of even having a table-top unit. With large models, the portability of the heater is lost if a permanent piped fuel source is used. 
     For these reasons, an integrated tank is by far the most useful version of the patio heater  10 . The drawback of the tank version is that there is a finite amount of available fuel. As a result, any way to increase efficiency of the heater  10  and/or burner  16  will extend the lifespan of the fuel tank, and therefore reduce the number of tank exchanges. Furthermore, by increasing efficiency and reducing fuel consumption, it is expected that the environmental concerns associated with the increasing numbers of active propane-fueled heaters would be lessened. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     In light of the aforementioned problems associated with the prior devices and attachments, it is an object of the present invention to provide a Patio Heater Side Heat Director. The patio heater side heat director attachment should be attachable to a conventional patio heater so that the dome attachment hangs down from the heater&#39;s heat shield on one side. The side heat director should reflect incident heat/energy on one side of the heater towards the opposing side of the heater. The side heat director should define two or more lobes that assist in focusing the energy reflected by the director. The side heat director should be easily attachable to a conventional patio heater, such as by clipping or crimping the heat director to the edge of the patio heater heat shield. The side heat director attachment should embody a very low thermal mass so that very little energy is retained by the side heat director attachment, such that the greatest amount of heater energy possible is reflected towards the seating area. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       The objects and features of the present invention, which are believed to be novel, are set forth with particularity in the appended claims. The present invention, both as to its organization and manner of operation, together with further objects and advantages, may best be understood by reference to the following description, taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, of which: 
         FIG. 1  is a perspective view of a conventional tabletop patio heater; 
         FIG. 2  is a side perspective view of the heater of  FIG. 1 , having a preferred embodiment of the side heat director of the present invention attached thereto; 
         FIGS. 3A and 3B  are partial cutaway views of the attachment section of the side heat director of  FIG. 2  attached to the heater heat shield of  FIG. 1 ; 
         FIG. 4  is a front perspective view of the heater and side heat director attachment of  FIG. 2 ; 
         FIG. 5  is a front view of the side heat director attachment of  FIGS. 2 and 3 ; and 
         FIG. 6  is a top view of the heater of  FIG. 1  having the side heat director attachment of the present invention attached thereto. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
     The following description is provided to enable any person skilled in the art to make and use the invention and sets forth the best modes contemplated by the inventor of carrying out his invention. Various modifications, however, will remain readily apparent to those skilled in the art, since the generic principles of the present invention have been defined herein specifically to provide a Patio Heater Side Heat Director. 
     The present invention can best be understood by initial consideration of  FIG. 2 .  FIG. 2  is a side perspective view of the heater  10  of  FIG. 1 , having a preferred embodiment of the side heat director  30  of the present invention attached thereto. The side heat director  30  is a lightweight, easily-attachable metallic reflector that reflects infrared energy emitted from a side (presumably a backside) of the burner  16 , so that that energy is directed towards a seating area.  FIG. 4  provides additional detail regarding the attachment  30 . 
     The isolation views provided in  FIGS. 3A and 3B  depict that the attachment  30  has a ridge  31  that forms either a narrow pocket  33 A or an offset pocket  33 B around its upper perimeter. A plurality of the pockets  33 A and  33 B make up the preferred way for the side heat director  30  to attach to the heat shield (see  FIG. 1 ), as is discussed in more detail below in connection with  FIG. 6 . To attach the attachment  30  to the heat shield  18 , you simply position the attachment  30  so that the outer edge of the heat shield  18  is inside the pockets  33 A or  33 B, and then hand-crimp the pocket onto the heat shield  18 . Due to the lightweight and malleable properties of the attachment  30 , this crimping will provide adequate strength to hold the attachment  30  to the heat shield  18 . 
     In certain designs (and as shown), several pleats  35 , or partial crimps, may be formed in various portions of the attachment  30 . These pleats  35  (where included) are configured aid located to create generally spherical “lobes” in the attachment  30 , without the need for sophisticated metal forming procedures in manufacturing of the attachment  30 . The pleats  35  are optional where a lower-cost manufacturing process is desirable. In other versions, for aesthetic or efficiency reasons (or others), the pleats  35  could be eliminated by molding or pressing the curved shape into the attachment  30 . 
       FIG. 4  is a front perspective view of the heater and side heat director attachment  30  of  FIG. 2 . The attachment  30  is designed to provide the maximum heat reflection while also taking care to not damage the structure of the patio heater  10 . The preferred design shape, therefore, is the dual-lobed shaped shown here in  FIG. 3 . 
     The left lobe  32  and right lobe  34  extend from the left and right side of the shield  18 . The lobes  32 ,  34  meet at a central section of the attachment  30  (behind the burner  16 ), that has a bottom edge that is slightly raised (approximately 15 angular degrees) so that heat will not be reflected onto the stem  14 . The result is to reflect the maximum energy into and around the sides of the burner  16 , towards the seating area adjacent to the heater  10 . It is a simple matter of rotating the heater  10  so that the heat is directed towards the desired user location. 
       FIG. 5  shows the attachment  30  detached from the heater. As discussed above, the left lobe  32  and right lobe  34  meet in the central portion of the attachment  30  at the central ridge  38 . The ridge  38  functions to protect the stem (see  FIG. 4 ) from exposure to excess reflected heat, and further directs most of the reflected energy out through one of the two lobes  32 ,  34 . 
     The upper edge  36  of the attachment  30  is configured so that it will cooperate with the perimeter edge of the patio heater heat shield (see  FIG. 1 ). The attachment  30  is designed to be clipped or crimped to the heat shield (see  FIG. 1 ) so that it will be securely attached without too much added thermal mass (i.e. without large metallic devices).  FIG. 6  depicts how the arrangement appears from another angle. 
     As depicted, the lower edges ( 31 A and  31 B, respectively) of the left lobe  32  and right lobe  34  are curved in such a way as to each create a generally spherical reflective surface facing the patio burner (see  FIG. 1 ). 
     The optional seam  27  shown here is intended to depict the potential that the attachment  30  be composed of two individual halves. Making it two-piece may facilitate the packaging and shipping of the attachment  30 . The two halves would be interconnected at the seam  27  and central ridge  38 . 
       FIG. 6  is a top view of the heater  10  of  FIG. 1  having the side heat director attachment  30  of the present invention attached thereto. The upper edge  36  of the heat director attachment  30  actually folds up over the perimeter edge  24  of the heat shield  18  until it is atop the shield  18  as shown here. Simply crimping the attachment  30  to the heat shield  18  will usually be sufficient to hold the attachment  30  in place, but simple all-metal clips (even paper clips) could be added to hold the attachment  30  in place even more securely. 
     Since the perimeter edge is circular in profile, a series of notches alternate with tabs that form either narrow pockets  33 A or offset pockets  33 B. The tabs do not have to form either one or the either type of pocket  33 A and  33 B, as depicted above, but rather could be variations of both. That is to say that the pockets  33 A,  33 B could begin at the center of the heat shield  18  (top of the page here) as strictly narrow pockets  33 A, and then proceed to transition to a more and more offset until reaching the configuration shown above in  FIG. 3B . The purpose of the offset is to cause the attachment  30  to have more curvature at its outer edges than at its center by causing the upper edge  36  of the attachment  30  to be more “pulled up” at its outer edges. 
     In its simplest form, the attachment  30  is made from a very thin sheet of aluminum material (e.g. between approximately 0.006 and 0.050 inches in thickness—or heavy gauge foil). The purpose of using very thin material is to minimize the thermal mass of the attachment  30 . If the thermal mass is very low, then the attachment  30  will reflect radiated energy without retaining heat, thereby creating another radiant heat source and increasing the heat radiating from the element as well. 
     Durability or aesthetic qualities can also be enhanced by utilizing a multi-layered material for the attachment  30 . A multiple layered material will tend to be more rigid than a single thin layer of material, and will provide decorative options, such as the ability to emboss logos and other designs into the attachment  30 . While such options are available in a limited fashion in the single-layer version of attachment  30 , there would be additional options for the multi-layered construction. 
     Tests of example arrangements such as the attachment  30  shown in  FIGS. 2-5  were conducted, with the results displayed below in Table I: 
     
       
         
           
               
             
               
                 TABLE I 
               
             
            
               
                   
               
               
                 Test Results on Tabletop Patio Heater (10,000 BTU Capacity) 
               
            
           
           
               
               
               
            
               
                   
                   
                 Patio Heater with Side 
               
               
                   
                 Patio Heater 
                 Heat Director 
               
               
                   
                 Alone 
                 Attachment 
               
               
                   
                   
               
            
           
           
               
               
               
            
               
                 Element Temperature (degrees F.) 
                 674 
                 782 
               
               
                 Radiant Temperature (degrees F.) 
                 165 
                 190 
               
               
                   
               
            
           
         
       
     
     Virtually all models of heaters demonstrate consistent results. The heater  10  clearly produced a significantly higher temperature after installation of the side heat director attachment  30 . As a result, the user can choose to throttle back the fuel flow to the heater  10  by twenty-five to thirty percent, and still enjoy the same radiant heat output to the area of use as an unmodified heater  10  that is at full flow. Consequently, the fuel tank will be expected to last twenty-five to thirty percent longer than the prior standard heater  10 , and will provide the environmental benefits of less fuel consumed and less carbon emissions. 
     Those skilled in the art will appreciate that various adaptations and modifications of the just-described preferred embodiment can be configured without departing from the scope and spirit of the invention. Therefore, it is to be understood that, within the scope of the appended claims, the invention may be practiced other than as specifically described herein.