US1072530A - Electric heater. - Google Patents

Description

E. THOMSON. ELECTRIC HEATER.

APPLICATION FILED FEB. 16, 1912,

1,072,530. Patented sept.9,1913.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

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E. THOMSON.

ELECTRIC HEATER.

APPLIGATION FILED PEB. 1e, 1912.

1 ,072,530, l Patented Sept. 9, 1913.

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Inventor:

. 'UNITED sTATEs PATENT oFF-ion.

ELIHU THOMSON, E sWAMPsooczr, MASSACHUSETTS, AssIGNon To GENERAL ELBoTnm COMPANY, A CoRronATIoN I.inraEcTnic HEATER.

To all whom t may ooncem:

Be it known that I, Erano THOMSON, a

i citizen of the United States, residing at Swampscott, county of Essex,` State of Massachusetts, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Electric Heaters, of which the following is a specificati-on.

My invention relates to electricI heating devices, and more particularly to such electric heating devices ss comprise meansV for storing heat therein and for liberating the same when desired.

One of the objectsy of my invent-ion is to provide a device of this character having a simple and inexpensive electric heating means which will 'possess a greater degree of regulability than that possessed by ordinary heating units. I attain this object b the use of an electric arc in connection wit the heat storage mass. I prefer to have the storage mass` constitute one electrode of the arc as by such arrangement the heat is very eiciently and rapidly stored.

Another object of my invention is to provide means for varying the 4amount of energy supplied to an electricheater according to the temperature of the same. I attain this object by the use in connection with4 a movable member, the position of' which deterrnines the energy supplied to the heater, of coils exerting different attractive effects on the said movable member and an arrangement whereby thev relative l'es'istances of the respective coils, and therefore the relative currents passing therethrough, are changed by variations in temperature oi the heating device.

My invention will be better understood by reference to the drawings in which it is shown embodied in several specific forms.

In the` drawings, Fi 1 is' a vertical section of one form o heat storage stove embodying my invention; Fig. 2 is a similar view of a modicatio'n of the-same; Figs. 3, 'lando are partial sections of stoves having means for automatically'rc lating the current supplied to the are; an Figs. 6, 7,

8, 9 and IO are diagrams showing the circuits for the Adevices shownn Figs. 1, 2, 3, 4 and respectively. i The stove chown in the drawing comprises u heating chamber haring inner and outer j sitmn and 'amount `an arc of a certain current strength orxcng walls i and 2, which maybe of metal, and lagging 3 which-may be asbestos or any Specification of Letters Patent.

' Application filed February 16, 1912. Serial No.

0F NEW YORK.-

' ratenteasept. 9, 191s: 678,121.

other good heat insulating material between the said walls. Thev top yof the heating chamber is formed 4 which may be of iron, steel or any material having comparatively high specific heat, high specific gravity and high specific heat conductivity. The heat storage mass l is supported by the walls of the heating chamby the heat storage massberl from which it is separated by insulation 5, which may be of mica, or any other substance having good electrical and heat insu-l lating properties. A cover 6- consisting of a hollow shell of. thin sheet metal filled with insulation 7 which may be similar to lagging 3 is provided tor the'heat storage mass. A Water jacket 8, as shown in Fig. 1, may surround the outer wall of the heating chamA ber so thatany heat which' may be conducted through the insulating walls of the said chamber may be utilized. The pipe connections 8 and S2 are provided for supplying Water to and conducting the same vfrom the Water jacket.' The supply terminal 9 is at! tached to the heat storage mass and projects through the Walls vci the surrounding vessel.

In theflevice shown in Fig. fx1, the ysolenoid 10 is' mounted on the bottom of theheatin'g chamber. The solenoid coil used in this' form'of my invention is preferably a fire-V proof edgewise winding or'other structure capable of withstanding high temperature and having asufcient drop to cause'steadiness in the are. The are is vformed between the storage mass 4 and the electrode 11 whichfin this case also acts as a core for the solenoid 10 and is therefore of iron or other magnetic material as shown in Fig. 1, or the electrode may be of carbon or the like and he supported by a holder 12 which may be the core of the solenoid and therefore be of magnetic material, as shown in Fig. 2. This electrode is counterbalancexl by the Weight 13 mounted upon one end of the lever 14 which is pivoted on the solenoid frame. Tor the other end of this lever is connected the core 11 by means of the rod I5. One end of the solenoid windin is connected to the terminal 16y which projects through the walls of the stove and the other end is attached to the case. l/Vhen a snitlable current is supplied to the apparatus,

the solenoid magnet is adjusted by the poof the weight 13 to draw which involves the delivery of a certain amount of electrical energy. On account of the walls of the heatingchamber being an excellent non-conductor of heat most of the 5 heat finds its Way into the storage-mass 4 and raises its temperature so that after a conipartivelyshort time,- say an hour or two, it is ready to be used. By removing the cover 6, a sauce pan or other cooking vessel or anything which. it is desired to heat may be placed therein and heatl will be communicated very rapidly to it owing tov the high conductivity of the storage mass. After the heating operation is completed *the cover 6 may be again placed upon the st orage'mass and the temperature will again risedue to the heat delivered to the mass by theelectric arc. Owing to the provision of good heat yinsulationl around the'storage mass it will retain its heat for along time after the current is cut oit from it.

In Fig. 2 I have shown a modification in which the coil 10A is located outside of the heating chamber, the core 11 projecting into the same. This, arrangement allows the space between the bottom of the storage mass and the bottom of the heating chamber `to .be lessened,` thus decreasing the radiating surface of theheating chamber. Inthis modification the lcoil owing tofits locationneed not be of heat resisting material but may be wound with ordinary insulated Wire. A regulable spring 17 supported upon the bracket 18 attached to the solenoid may be used to .regulate the length of the arc and thus determine the amount of energy normally supplied thereto. A steadying resistance 19 consisting of a flat coil withits turns open and separated from the bottom of the heating chamber by suitable electrical insulation 20 may be used. vThis resistance may have a drop of from 20 to 30 volts on a 110 volt circuit for steadying the arc. The resistance 19, the regulating coil '10 and the storage mass 4 are preferably in series as shown in Fig. 7 In this modification the action of the apparatus may be observed from the outside vand adjustment' may be made for diiferent current strengths in the heating arc. y

In Figs. 8,4 and 5 I have shownl thermoelectric regulating means for thearc. In Fig. 3 the upper coil 21 is of iron or any metal whose'resistance has a high positive temperature cociicient while the lower coil 22 is of German silver or any metal whose resistance has a comparatively'low temperature coefficient. The magnetizable core 11 is so' located with respect to the coils 2.1 and 22 that a given current exerts a greater pull in the lower-coil 22 than'in the upper coil 21. `Aas-,shown in the diagram constituting Fig. 8, the current divides at terminal 16, part 'of -it going through thel upper coil' and part of it throughthe lower coil. These circuits then unite at the core 11 between which and the mass 4 the arc formed. When a. high temperature 1s reached in the heating chamber, more current is shunted through -theflower coil than .through theuper coil owing to the increased eating the lower coil 22 outside'of the heatving chamber and the upper coil 2 1 within the same, as shown 1n Fig. .4, the same regulation may be secured and 1n such -an arrangement it is not necessary to have the '85 `coils of different metals'. They can both be of iron, for example, or one of iron and the other or'copper. In suchan arrangement the current would' be shunted from the hot-` ter to the'` cooler coil.

In Fig. 5 I have shown an arrangement in'whi'ch the coils 23 and 24 for controlling the length of the arc are located outside of the heating chamber. In this arrangement, the steadying resistance 19 .is also shown. As shown in Fig 10 the current after leav-l ing the terminal 16 divides, one portion passing through the steadying resistance 19 and the other through the outer coil 24.- These circuits then unite and the current then passes through the innercoil-23, the

vcore l1 and the storage mass 4. The resist- .ance 19. 1s of va material such as iron having va high temperature coefficient, and when it reaches a high temperature more current is shunted to the supplemental coil 24 which acts in conjunctionwith the coil 23 toextend the arc, thereby weakening thecurrent and .reducing the delivery of energy.

Various modifications of the structure disclosed will readily suggest themselvesto those skilled in the art, and the same may be made without departing from the-spirit of my invention, the scope of which is set forthv in theannexed claims.

What I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the I InitedStates,l is,-

1. An electric heater comprising a heat stora emas's, means for'producing an electricv arcor heating the same, and means for 12o conning the heat generated by the arc t the storage mass. v v

2. An electric heater comprising a'heatl storage mass having good heat conductivity and constitutinga wall of c heating cham- 125 ber, heat insulating means constituting the remaining walls of the said chamber, and means for producing'an electric arc within the saidchamber 515011,heatingA the said stolz... agemass.

, tric arc for heating thesame, and means for automatically controlling the supply of energy to the arc according to the temperature of the storage mass.

5. A heater comprising a heat storage mass, 'man electrode adjacent thereto, means for producing an electricv arc between the "said electrode and the said heat storage mass, and means controlled by the temperature of the storage mass for regulating the amount of energy supplied to the arc.

6. In a heater, a storage massjforming one Wall lof, a heating chamber, insulation forming the other Walls, an electrode so disposed thatan electric arc may be drawn between it and the storage'mass within the heating chamber, and means controlled by the temperature of the heating chamber for regulating the amount of energy supplied to said arc.

7. In an electric heater, the combination of a heat storage mass, means for producing an electric arc for heating the same including a movable electrode, electro-magnetic means for controlling the position of the said electrode, and means for varying the 1 Copies of this patent may be obtained effect-.of said electro-magnetic means according to the temperature" of the storage mass. 8. An electric heater comprising a heat storage mass connected to one side ofen electric circuit, an electrode associated therewith so as to draw an arc between the mass and the electrode, and means' forl conning y the heat developed by the arc to the storage 9. Ina heating device, means for producing heat by the consumption of electric energy comprising a movable element, and

means for controlling the amount of energy supplied to said heat producing means by varying the positionv of said movable element comprismg a plurality of coils ,exerting diiierent attractive effects thereon and means for controlling the current passing through the respectivecoils according tothe temperature produced by the heating means. 10.In .a heating device, a movable member, the position .of which determines the amount of energy supplied to the device, and -a controlling Adevice for said movable member comprising coils having different attractive effect on the movable member, the resistance of certain of said coils being i'ncreased relative to each other by an increase in temperature of the heating device.

In Witness-whereof, I have hereunto set my hand this thirteenth day of February,

ELIHU THOMSON.

Witnesses:

JOHN A. MCMANUS, Jr., FRANK G. I-IA'rrIE.

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