IES20050012A2 - Parasol heater - Google Patents

Abstract

A parasol heater having a housing with a fuel connection adapted to be coupled to a gas fuel supply is described. The heater includes a pole extending upwardly from the housing and adapted to support a gas burner arrangement, the burner arrangement being provided below a parasol adapted to deflect heat generated by the burner downwardly about the pole, the parasol being supported at its centre by the heater and at its circumference by two or more upstanding support poles. <Figure 1>

Description

The present invention relates to parasol heaters and particularly to a parasol heater with an enlarged parasol dish which can be used to provide weather protection to persons standing about the heater.

Background Of The Invention io Parasol heaters are well known in the art and are used for outdoor heating. Traditionally, they utilise a gas fuel supply which is provided in a housing in a lower portion of the heater. A pole extends upwardly from the lower portion to a burner arrangement which is above head height. A parasol dish is provided above the burner arrangement and is adapted to deflect heat downwardly about is the pole, thereby providing for a heating or warming of persons around the heater. One example of such a parasol heater is described in EP 0 976 979, of the present inventor, which describes a parasol heater which provides the parasol in multiple sections so as to enable an efficient packing of same. Using such a sectional construction the present inventors have provided a parasol having a diameter of about 900mm.

The traditional parasol heaters were only provided with a heater in an upper region thereof. The present inventor has modified such simple arrangements to incorporate other features such as tables, a light and also a table barbecue.

Such arrangements are described in GB 0125122 and IE S2000/0879. These adaptations are advantageous in that additional benefits are provided to the user. Not only can he extend the sitting out period in the outdoor environment by utilization of the parasol heater but he can also provide lighting in the event that the user wishes to sit out in the evening or at night time. Furthermore, the provision of a table barbecue enables the user(s) to sit around the parasol heater, taking advantage of the heat and light provided, and cook or prepare his ; I -I ' IE 05 00 12 food. This combination of features has prompted the user to extend further the time period in which they wish to sit out.

Heretofore such parasol heaters have been geared towards the domestic market place where people wished to use the heater in their own gardens or the like. Recently there have been legislative developments in countries such as Ireland which has led to commercial purchases of these heaters. The legislation in question relates to the non smoking in the work place which has limited the possibility of a customer at a public house or restaurant being able to smoke indoors. The publicans have addressed these issues by providing “beer10 gardens” or outdoor smoking areas where the customer may smoke a cigarette. In order to increase the comfort to the customer, the publican has provided parasol heaters to provide warmth. Some publicans have gone further by providing awnings within which the parasol heater is situated or have used developed permanent outdoor shelters within which one or more parasol heaters are situated.

Problems with both these arrangements relate to the fact that both awnings and permanent shelters are by their nature permanent features and it is not possible to change their location easily once they have been erected. Further problems arise with awnings in that it is necessary to ensure that the awning fabric is suitably far away from the heater so that is does not ignite. Yet a further problem arises due to the large number of people that tend to congregate around the heater, some of whom could be in an intoxicated state, and the possibility that the heater could be knocked over. Yet a further problem with such heaters is the necessity for them to be turned on by a member of staff and then turned off when there is no-one about.

These and other problems are addressed by a parasol heater of the present invention.

Summary Of The Invention IE 05 0 0 1 2 Accordingly, a first embodiment of the invention provides a parasol heater having a housing with a fuel connection adapted to be coupled to a gas fuel supply, a pole extending upwardly from the housing and adapted to support a gas burner arrangement, the burner arrangement being provided below a parasol adapted to deflect heat generated by the burner downwardly about the pole and wherein the parasol is dimensioned to have an diameter greater than about 1.5m, the parasol being supported at its centre by the heater and at its circumference by two or more upstanding support poles. io Typically the parasol has a diameter of at least 1.5 m, typically about 2 metres, an optionally greater than 2m, for example in the range 2-3 m..

The support poles are desirably configured to be secured to the ground, thereby positively securing the parasol heater to its location. Further modifications to the is poles may include the specific adaptation of the poles to act as windbreakers. Such a modification is typically achieved by providing the poles with a fan or sail shape, serving to deflect wind around the perimeter of the heater, as defined by the parasol. Alternatively, this windbreak feature may be achieved by snap or clip on attachments to the poles, the attachments being formed separately to the pole, but when engaged with the pole provide an integral windbreak.

The heater may include a gas bottle supply which is housable within the housing of the heater or may be coupled via a fuel line which terminates in the housing to a mains gas supply.

The heater may additionally include an ash-tray dimensioned to fit about the pole and being situated above the housing.

The heater may additionally include a table, again dimensioned to fit about the pole and provided under the ash tray and above the housing.

IE 05 00 1 2 In a preferred embodiment the heater may include one or more lights, fuelled from the same gas supply as the burner and located below the burner on the pole.

In yet a further embodiment the invention may provide for an electronic control of the heater, whereby the heater includes a sensing element, configured to detect the presence of a person in the environment and on sensing a person in the environment to effect a turning on of the heater. Equivalently, the sensing element may be configured to effect a turning off of the heater after a predetermined time period of inactivity.

These and other features of the present invention will be better understood with reference to the following drawings.. is Brief Description Of The Drawings Figure 1 is a side view of a parasol heater in accordance with the invention. Figure 2 is a perspective from above and to the side of a portion of the heater of Figure 1 showing an ash tray in more detail.

Figure 3 is a side view of the heater of Figure 1, in use.

Detailed Description Of The Drawings One embodiment of the present invention will now be described with reference to Figures 1 to 3 of the accompanying drawings.

As shown in Figure 1, the present invention provides a parasol heater 100 having a housing portion 105 adapted to house a bottle of gas. A pole 110 extends upwardly from the 10 housing portion 105 and is adapted to support a gas burner arrangement 115. The burner arrangement 115 is provided below a parasol dish 120 which is adapted to deflect heat generated by the burner IE 05 0 0 1 2 downwardly about the pole. In the embodiment of Figure 1 the parasol dish is formed in multiple sections 120a, 120b but it will be appreciated that the dish 120 may be formed in one or more pieces or sections depending on the preference or intended use. The sections can be coupled or engaged with one another in a variety of different ways such as for example overlapping adjacent edge portions of adjacent sections and then securing these overlapping sections using bolts or the like. Alternatively an interlocking folding arrangement may be used. These and other way to secure adjacent sections- which are provided to the user in a disassembled state and are then secured together onio site will be apparent to the person skilled in the art.

The embodiment of Figure 1 also includes a lighting arrangement 125 provided between the burner arrangement 115 and the pole 110, but again it will be understood that the present invention is not intended to be limited to parasol is heaters with or without lights, as they can be included or omitted depending on the application of the invention As is seen in Figure 1, the parasol 120 of Figure 1 is of a larger dimension than heretofore provided in parasol heaters. In this example the parasol has a diameter of 2m, but it will be appreciated that larger diameters could also be utilised within the context of the present invention. As this dish is of a greater size than heretofore provided, the present invention provides for a support of the dish, not only by the pole 110 which supports the centre 130 of the dish, but also by a plurality of support poles 135 located about the circumferential region 140 of the dish. Ideally three poles are provides, located equidistantly about the circumference, so as to spread the weight of the pole equally around its perimeter.

The poles 135 are of length sufficient to extend to the ground on which the heater is located and are preferably provided with bolts with which they can be secured to the ground. Such securing of the support poles to the ground prevents the parasol heater lifting off in high wind conditions and can also serve IE 05 00 1 2 to further stabilise the heater. Optionally the housing 105 may also be provided with one or more securing bolts to additionally secure the centre region of the heater to the ground.

The heater of Figure 1 additionally includes a drinks table 145 which is located above the housing 105 and below an ash tray 150. Both the table and ash tray are circumferentially arranged about the pole 110 so as to be accessible by persons whatsoever there orientation relative to the heater. The table provides support for drinks, as is shown in the example of Figure 3 where two persons io 300 are under the parasol, enjoying a drink 310 and being protected from the elements by the parasol and heated by the burner. The housing diameter without the table is desirably about 440mm, with the table approximately 600mm and the parasol being around 2m in diameter.

The ash tray, further detail of which is shown in Figure 2 is desirably formed of a deep dish 200, made from a non-flammable, typically metallic material, which has on its upper surface a plate 205 with a plurality of apertures 210 located therein. In use, cigarette ash and stubs are placed into the dish through the apertures. Such an arrangement serves to ensure that used butts do not scatter about the heater.

The heater may additionally include a sensing element, for example a PIR detector which is coupled to the ignition mechanism for the burner and/or lights. Such PIR arrangements are well known in the art for use in outdoor lights and the like, and the details of operation will not be specified here as their operation will be apparent to the person skilled in the art. The provision of a sensing automatic control is advantageous in that the heater will only be switched on when there are persons gathered around the heater thereby conserving fuel and also negating the necessity for a staff member to constantly turn on and off the heater. The sensing element may be configured to switch off after a predetermined period of inactivity.

IE 05 0 0 1 2 The burner and the light, when provided, are desirably fuelled from the same supply. Further information on this arrangement can be found in our earlier patent applications such as for example IE20020194 or GB2372429 and will not be elaborated here.

The gas fuel supply is typically a gas bottle supply which is housed within the housing 105. However, in certain circumstances where use of the heater is at a large scale it may be considered more economical to couple the burner to a mains gas supply. This is typically achieved by running a gas fuel line from the io mains to the housing unit of the heater, where it is coupled to the fuel line supplying the burner and/or light. Typically the parasol heater will be initially installed with a gas bottle supply and moved around a variety of locations until the desired final location is selected. At this time, the gas bottle supply will be changed to a mains supply.

It will be appreciated that the parasol dish of the present invention is advantageous in that its depth, in preferred embodiments extending to the base of the burner, and width offer persons located underneath the parasol protection from inclement weather. The provision of a larger dish improves heater efficiency in that the heat generated by the burner is distributed over a wider area before escaping out from under the parasol dish and upwards to the environment. It also serves to protect the burner from wind blow effects which in turn can reduce operational costs. A typical input burner for use in such a parasol heater would be a 13 or 15kW burner which can be run from bottled LPG, piped LPG or Natural Gas. The optionally provided and independently controlled light serves to illuminate the area under the parasol which is especially useful as much of the use of parasol heaters in a commercial environment is after dark. The support poles 135 may in certain embodiments be dimensioned to provide a wind break, such an arrangement being provided by contouring the sides of the poles so that they are not cylindrical in nature.

IE 05 00 1 2 The present invention provides a parasol heater with an enlarged dish. Although it has been described with reference to specific combinations of integers it will be appreciated that the present invention is not intended to be limited to any one set of combinations and individual integers can be included or omitted depending on the specific requirements of the heater. The words comprises/comprising and the words having/including” when used herein with reference to the present invention are used to specify the presence of stated features, integers, steps or components but does not preclude the presence or addition of one or more other features, integers, steps, components or groups thereof. Furthermore the words “upper/lower” and the like are used for ease of explanation only and it is not intended to limit the invention to any one orientation.

Claims (9)

1. A parasol heater having a housing with a fuel connection adapted to be coupled to a gas fuel supply, a pole extending upwardly from the housing and 5 adapted to support a gas burner arrangement, the burner arrangement being provided below a parasol adapted to deflect heat generated by the burner downwardly about the pole, the parasol being supported at its centre by the heater and at its circumference by two or more upstanding support poles. io

2. The heater as claimed in claim 1 wherein the parasol is dimensioned to have an diameter greater than about 1.5m, and preferably about 2 to 3m.

3. The heater as claimed in claim 1 wherein the support poles are configured to be secured to the ground, thereby positively securing the parasol heater to its is location.

4. The heater as claimed in any preceding claim wherein the gas fuel supply is a gas bottle supply which is housable within the housing of the heater or is a fuel line coupled to a mains gas supply which terminates in the housing.

5. The heater as claimed in any preceding claim additionally including at least one of: an ash-tray dimensioned to fit about the pole and being situated above the housing and/or 25 a table, dimensioned to fit about the pole and located above the housing.

6. The heater as claimed in any preceding claim further including one or more lights, fuelled from the same gas supply as the burner and located below the burner on the pole. IE 05 0 0 1 2

7. The heater as claimed in any preceding claim further including a sensing element, configured to detect the presence of a person in the environment and on sensing a person in the environment to effect a turning on of the heater. 5

8. The heater as claimed in any preceding claim wherein the parasol is sectional in construction, is disassembled during transportation and is assembled in use.

9. A heater substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to and or as io described in any one of Figures 1 to 3.