Patent ID: 7133604

Claim:
An air-heating apparatus, comprising: an enclosure having an outer surface and an inner surface, said enclosure having an inlet air opening and an outlet air opening, said inner surface substantially forming a volume through which air passes as an air flow from said inlet air opening to said outlet air opening, said enclosure's inner surface being highly reflective; an elongated member that is positioned substantially within said volume; and a plurality of light sources mounted to said elongated member, said light sources being positioned so that they emit radiant energy substantially toward said inner surface of the enclosure and extend radially from said elongated member; wherein: (a) said light sources are spaced-apart from one another along the surface of the elongated member; (b) a spacing between said light sources and said inner surface of the enclosure allows much of the radiant energy to be reflected by said inner surface in a direction that does not directly intersect the light sources; and (c) the air flow is heated by said radiant energy as the air passes through said volume.