Patent Publication Number: US-8542987-B2

Title: Heater

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION 
     This application claims priority of Taiwanese application no. 100206544, filed on Apr. 14, 2011. 
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     1. Field of the Invention 
     This invention relates to a heating apparatus, more particularly to a heater involving fuel burning. 
     2. Description of the Related Art 
     As disclosed in Taiwan Utility Model Nos. M369436 and M302691, many conventional heaters usually utilize electricity to heat the ambient air to provide a warm place. 
     Although the method of heating the ambient air by utilizing electricity is relatively safe and convenient, it has the following disadvantages: 
     1. The environment suitable for application of the heater is limited: utilization of electricity as an energy source is convenient, but use of the heater is contrarily limited by the electricity supply. Thus, the electric heater is not suitable for use in places with no or insufficient electricity supply, such as outdoors. 
     2. Electrical load is relatively heavy: more power is required for the heater that utilizes electricity as the energy source, and thus, a power outage may occur due to an overloaded circuit if a lot of heaters operate at the same time. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide a heater which can be widely used and will not cause electricity overload. 
     According to this invention, there is provided a heater comprising: 
     a base formed with a receiving space for receiving a fuel material that is to be combusted, the base having a top side formed with an opening that is in communication with the receiving space; and 
     a heating unit including
         a flow guide component disposed on the top side of the base and having a through hole axially aligned and in communication with the opening, and at least one air passage communicated with the through hole and permitting air externally of the flow guide component to flow therethrough into the receiving space via the through hole and the opening, the air passage having an inlet end distal from the through hole and a connecting end in communication with the through hole, the air passage further having a width that is gradually reduced from the inlet end to the connecting end, and   a heat-radiating pipe disposed to extend upwardly from the flow guide component and disposed to surround the through hole, the heat-radiating pipe permitting flow of flue gas resulting from combustion of the fuel material in the receiving space therethrough.       

    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       Other features and advantages of the present invention will become apparent in the following detailed description of the preferred embodiments of the invention, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: 
         FIG. 1  is an exploded perspective view of the first preferred embodiment of a heater according to the present invention; 
         FIG. 2  is a cross-sectional view of the first preferred embodiment of  FIG. 1 ; 
         FIG. 3  is a perspective view illustrating a flow guide component of the first preferred embodiment of the heater of the present invention; 
         FIG. 4  is a cross-sectional view of the second preferred embodiment of a heater according to the present invention; and 
         FIGS. 5 and 6  are perspective views illustrating other types of flow guide components suitable for use in the heater of the present invention. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
     Before the present invention is described in greater detail with reference to the accompanying preferred embodiments, it should be noted herein that like elements are denoted by the same reference numerals throughout the disclosure. 
     Referring to  FIG. 1 , the heater  2  according to the first preferred embodiment of the present invention comprises a base  31  and a heating unit  4 . 
     Further referring to  FIGS. 2 and 3 , the base  31  is formed with a receiving space  311  for receiving a fuel material  200  that is to be combusted. The base  31  has a top side  312  formed with an opening  32  that is in communication with the receiving space  311 . 
     The heating unit  4  includes a flow guide component  41  and a heat-radiating pipe  42 . The flow guide component  41  is disposed on the top side  312  of the base  31  and has a through hole  413  and at least one air passage  414 . The through hole  413  is axially aligned and in communication with the opening  32 . The at least one air passage  414  is communicated with the through hole  413  and permits air externally of the flow guide component  41  to flow therethrough into the receiving space  311  via the through hole  413  and the opening  311 . 
     In this preferred embodiment, the air passage  414  has an inlet end  415  distal from the through hole  413  and a connecting end  416  in communication with the through hole  413 . The air passage  414  further has a width that is gradually reduced from the inlet end  415  to the connecting end  416 . 
     The heat-radiating pipe  42  is disposed to extend upwardly from the flow guide component  41  and is disposed to surround the through hole  413 . The heat-radiating pipe  42  permits flow of flue gas resulting from combustion of the fuel material  200  in the receiving space  311  therethrough. Preferably, the heat-radiating pipe  42  is a quartz glass pipe. 
     Preferably, the flow guide component  41  includes a main body part  411  disposed on the top side  312  of the base  31  and a covering part  412  disposed on the main body part  411 . The through hole  413  is formed axially through the main body part  411  and the covering part  412 . The air passage  414  may be defined by at least one of the main body part  411  and the covering part  412 . In this preferred embodiment, the flow guide component  41  includes four air passages  414 , and each of the four air passages  414  is defined by the main body part  411 . 
     Additionally, the covering part  412  has a top side  418  formed with a retainer ring  417  that surrounds the through hole  413 . The heat-radiating pipe  42  has at least one end  421  that is retained at the retainer ring  417 . 
     To use the heater  2 , the fuel material  200 , such as alcohol paste, kerosene, etc. is accommodated in the receiving space  311 . Once the fuel material  200  is combusted, the heat generated from the combustion of the fuel material  200  will diffuse outwardly through the heat-radiating pipe  42  to increase the ambient temperature and to warm up the environment. Since, in the heater  2  of this invention, the heat energy is generated from the combustion of the fuel material  200  instead of electricity, it can be widely used even in places without electricity supply or with tight electricity supply and can reduce electricity consumption. 
     Furthermore, when the heater  2  is in use, the convective flow of hot air passing upwardly along the heat-radiating pipe  42  induces a vacuum effect. Hence, when the fuel material  200  in the receiving space  311  is ignited, the vacuum effect tends to simultaneously cause the ambient air to be introduced to the receiving space  311  through the air passages  414  and the through hole  413 . By means of the geometric design of the air passages  414  that have a width that is gradually reduced from the inlet end  415  to the connecting end  416 , the introduced ambient air is pressurized to form a concentrated flow. When the introduced ambient air flows into the through hole  413  through the connecting ends  416  of the air passages  414 , a turbulent flow of the introduced ambient air is generated so as to facilitate complete combustion of the fuel material  200 , and so as to interact with the convective flow of the hot air passing upwardly along the heat-radiating pipe  42  to enhance a visually aesthetic feeling through formation of spiral flames. 
     Additionally, in the preferred embodiment shown in  FIG. 3 , the main body part  411  of the flow guide component  41  has a substantially rectangular shape and can be conveniently formed through sheet metal processing so as to simplify processing procedures and to reduce production cost. 
     Referring to  FIGS. 5 and 6 , the main body part  411  of the flow guide component  41  may have other configurations, such as a substantially round shape, and is not limited to the rectangular shape shown in  FIG. 3 . The air passages  414  may also have other geometric designs as long as the air passages  414  have a width that is gradually reduced from the inlet end  415  to the connecting end  416  in order to achieve the same effects of concentrating the introduced ambient air and improving visually aesthetic feeling. 
     Referring to  FIG. 4 , the second preferred embodiment of a heater according to the present invention is illustrated. The second embodiment differs from the first embodiment only in that the heater  2  further comprises a heat-dissipating unit  5 . The heat-dissipating unit  5  includes a base member  51 , a support structure  52  and a plurality of heat-dissipating plates  54 . The base member  51  is disposed on top of the covering part  412  and is formed with a pipe hole  511  that permits extension of the heat-radiating pipe  42  therethrough. The support structure  52  extends upwardly from the base member  51 . The plurality of heat-dissipating plates  54  are mounted at intervals on the support structure  52 . Preferably, the support structure  52  includes a plurality of support rods  521  that surround the heat-radiating pipe  42 . Each of the heat-dissipating plates  54  has a plurality of rod connection parts  541  connected to the support rods  521 , respectively. More preferably, the heat-dissipating unit  5  further includes a cowl  53  and a perforated hollow coupler  55 . The cowl  53  is disposed above the heat-radiating pipe  42  and is connected to one end of the support structure  52  opposite to the base member  51 . The perforated hollow coupler  55  interconnects the cowl  53  and the heat-radiating pipe  42 . The cowl  53  can prevent foreign matter from falling into the heat-radiating pipe  42 . 
     Similar to the first preferred embodiment shown in  FIGS. 1-3 , in this embodiment, the heater  2  can be widely used even in places without electricity supply or with tight electricity supply, and the turbulent flow of the introduced ambient air can be generated to facilitate completer combustion of the fuel material  200 , and to enhance a visually aesthetic feeling through formation of spiral flames. Besides, the heat-dissipating plates  54  cooperate with the base member  51  and the cowl  53  to form the heat-dissipating unit  5  with a spherical appearance. However, the heat-dissipating unit  5  is not limited to the disclosure in this embodiment, and can be formed in other configurations, such as by changing arrangement of the heat-dissipating plates  54 . 
     While the present invention has been described in connection with what are considered the most practical and preferred embodiments, it is understood that this invention is not limited to the disclosed embodiments but is intended to cover various arrangements included within the spirit and scope of the broadest interpretations and equivalent arrangements.