US1800216A - Electric brooder - Google Patents

Description

April 14, 1931. D, H H L 1,800,216

ELECTRIC BROODER Filed May 28, 1930 i U /Z w U flgggu-ggifi Patented Apr. 14, 1931 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE DEWEY H. HILL, OF MACOMB, ILLINOIS, ASSIGNOR TO GLOBE AMERICAN CORPORATION,

OF KOKOMO, INDIANA, A CORPORATION OF INDIANA ELECTRIC BROODER Application filed. May 28,

My invention relates to electrically heated brooders, and in some of its major objects aims to provide a brooder housing, electric heater air deflector assemblage which will considerably reduce the amount of electrical energy required for a given capacity of the brooder, and which will afford a highly efficient circulation of air within the brooder.

In another major object, my invention aims to provide an electric brooder in which the heating and air deflecting unit can be assembled and packed separately from the housing, either with or without including an automatic control switch as a part of such a unit, and in which this unit can readily be installed as a unitary assemblage under a brooder housing.

Furthermore, my invention aims to provide an inexpensive and easily manufactured electric heater and deflector assemblage which will alford an efficient reflection of direct rays of heat from. the heating element, which will utilize convection currents for cooperating with the said reflection of heat for effectively distributing the heat, and which will effectively cooperate with a common type of brooder housing for affording the needed circulation of air within the brooder.

More particularly, my invention aims to provide a unitary assemblage including an electric heating element, heat reflectors, and air confining means disposed for cooperating in heating a stream of air and in directing the flow of this stream so as to produce a highly efficient circulation of the heated air within the brooder.

Still further and also more detailed objects will appear from the following specification and from the accompanying drawings, in which Fig. 1 is a central and vertical section through an electrical brooder embodying my invention. I

Fig. 2 is an enlargement of a portion of Fig. 1, with a part of the heater base broken away.

Fig. 3 is a fragmentary plan view, taken fromthe line 33 of Fig. 2. i

1930. Serial No. 456,609.

In the illustrated embodiment, the lions ing of the brooder includes a horizontal top 1 of heat-insulating board, faced on its lower side with a metal disk 2 and on its "upper side with a metal top facing 3. The periphery of the top facing is extended downwardly and radially outward of the brooder, and is fastened to the upper end of an upwardly tapering hollow frustroconical housing portion consisting of a frustrated cone of heat-insulating material, lined on its inner face with a metal facing 5. This tapering portion of the housing is supported by the usual legs 6 and has the customary slitted curtain 7 depending from it.

Two air ports 8 in the brooder top afford vents for the hot air from the upper portion of the brooder, the rate of such air escape being controlled by an inverted cupshaped damper 9 which is pivoted on an upright bolt 10 extending through the brooder top. his damper has two similarly disposed ports 11 (Fig. 8) in its top and can be rotated by manually grasping wings 12 on the damper, so as to bring the damper ports 11 into or out of alinement with the air ports 8 in the top of the brooder housing, thereby controlling the rate at which heated air can pass out through the top of the brooder and continuously restricting this exit of air.

Centrally disposed under this brooder housing is a heating and air circulating unit including a hollow base member 12 which may have a radial flange 13 at its lower end to increase the diameter of the base and to permit the base member to be fastened (as by bolts 14) to a horizontal base strip 15 on which the controlling switch 16 is also mounted.

Fastened to and extending upward from the base member 12 is an electric heating member, here shown as including an upright and spirally grooved insulating stem 17 and a coil 18 of high resistance wire seated in the groove of this stem. This heating element 18 is connected to the control switch 16 by wires 19 which extend through a conduit 20 rigidly connecting the base member 12 with the switch, and the switch itselr" is controlled by a thermostatic wafer member 21 which can be regulated by the usual adjusting screw 22.

Extending upwards from the base member 7 12 are riser strips 23 which jointly support uowar entr of air into the heat reflector.

r The up vardly flaring heat reflector '2 laterally houses the he. element 18 and desirably extends to about the same height as this heating element, and a cylindrical tubular air-confining member in the form of a skirt 25 forms an upward continuation of the heat reflector, this shirt bei here shown U as integral with the heat reflector. Fastoned to the heat reflector (and hence supwe 1 T I L a 1-. 1Q" t l poi tee. b y the base member) riser strips 26 which jointly support a conical air de flector 27 coaxialwit'h the heating element and the said heat reflector. This air deflector preferablyis of larger diameter than the heat reflector 24 and the air confining skirt 25 and tapers downwardly so as to present its closed tip at approximately the same 7 height the upper edge of the said skirt, Wllll'f the upper'end of the air reflector is spaced downwardly from the top of; the

housing to permit some of the heated air to reach the vent ports 8. V

With the parts thus arranged, heat rays '28 radiated bythe heating element 18 to- -ward the heat reflector 2a will be reflected upwardly against the air deflector 27, and will then be rerected downwardly away from the axis oft-he two reflectors by the air deflector (as for example along the lines 29 in Fig. 1), or towards the bottom of the brooder near the'curtainin'g of the latter.

At the same time, the heating of air within the reflector 2a and the skirt 25 will cause this air to move upwardly, thereby draw- 1ng'a1r along the bottom oi the brooder (as along the lines 30) toward the lower or 111-.

let end of the heat reflector. 7

Owing to the downward tapering of the air deflector .27, this spreads the rising warmed air-and deflects it in a generally horizontal direction, thereby causing it" to travel radially oi the brooder alongthe top facing 2 and downwardly along the sloping port on of the brooder housing and the curtain 7. p

Theair after entering the bottom opening of the heat deflector through the spaces between the riser strips 23 is free to expand withinthis upwardly flaring heat deflector asv the air is warmed, but this warmed air is laterally confined by the tubular skirt which aids in directing the heat toward the air deflector 25. Owing to the inclusion of this skirt, and also to the drawing of some fresh air. (radially inward of the brooder under the curtaining 7), a considerable portion of the air within the brooder is continually recirculated along paths such as those indicated by the dotted lines in Fig. 1.

Mor over, thereflection of heat rays along the dotted lines 31 and 32 (by the heat reflector 2a and thereafter by the airdeflector 27) prewarms the air which enters under the curtaining, so that this will not have an undesirable chilling effect on the chicks within the-brooder. 1

Since the air (which is moved upwardly within the heat deflector 2e and the air-confining skirt 25 (by convection) will tend to spread out radially as soon as it passes the upper end of thisskirt, I desirably make the air deflector 27 of larger diameter than the saiu skirt. 1 al o desirably make this air deflector of a larger angle of conicity than the heat deflector 24, although the taper of these members and their relativespaci may be varied between ti e height and the diameterof the brooder housing.

In practice,some of the heat from the heating element 18 will also be reflected across the axis ny heating ant air-directing unit to the air deflector, and then redirected by the latter toward the tapering brooder top portion, the dotted lines 33 in Fig. 2. By providing a metal facing 5 for this brooder top portion, 1 cause suchreflected heat rays to be reflected again in the general path indicated by the dotted lines 30 in Fig. 1, so that this top lining also cooperates in securing high efliciency for my brooder.

I am aware that it has heretofore been customary to use a tubular air flue in association with the heating element of electric brooders, so that convection currents will cause the air to rise past a heating element suspended from the top of the brooder. However, the air, when thus heated in the upper oortion of the brooder, banks in this upper portion, since the air flue remains too cool to start an air current of any considerable velocity.

By using two superposed reflectors and disposing the'heating member in the lower reflector, l eflectively start the convectionportion of the brooder. Owing to these pro-.

'isions and to the skirt extension on the lower reflector, I secure a continuous air cir culation and a diffusion of the heat substantially throughout the brooder, instead of having hot air bank in the upper portion,

as for example along {I for diflerent proportions its While leaving relatively cool air in the lower portion which houses the chicks. Consequently, I have been able to obtain the needed warming effects with about half of the current consumption required for the same size and shape of brooder which is not equipped with the twin reflector and air-confining skirt arrangement here presented.

Moreover, since the heating member and the two reflector members (the lower of which includes the heat reflector 24 and the air confining skirt 25 are rigidly connected, these can be packed and shipped separately and inserted as a unit under the brooder housing. This also permits the user to lift the brooder housing bodily off my novel assemblage, for cleaning the floor under this housing, without disconnecting any parts.

However, while I have illustrated and described my invention in an embodiment including many desirable details of construction and arrangement, I do not wish to be iimited in these respects, since many changes might obviously be made without departing either from the spirit of my invention or from the appended claims.

I claim as my invention:

1. In a brooder, an upwardly flaring heat reflectoropen at its lower end, a heating element disposed within and substantially coaxial with the reflector, and a downwardly tapering conical deflector coaxial with the said reflector and above both the reflector and the heating element.

2. In a brooder, an upwardly flaring heat reflector open at its lower end, a heating element disposed within and substantially coaxial with the reflector, and a downwardly tapering conical deflector coaxial with the said reflector and above both the reflector and the heating element, the deflector being of larger diameter than the reflector.

3. In a brooder, an upwardly flaring frustro-conical heat reflector open at its lower end; a heating element disposed within and substantially coaxial with the reflector; a downwardly tapering conical air deflector coaxial with the said reflector and above both the heating element and the reflector, the tip of the deflector being approximately at the same height as the upper edge of the reflector; and a substantially cylindrical air confining skirt extending upward from the said upper edge of the reflector and terminating at a considerable distance below the air deflector.

A heating element, heat reflector and air deflector assembly as per claim 3, in which the air deflector is of greater diameter than the said skirt.

5. A heating element, heat reflector and air deflector assembly as per claim 3, in which the air deflector has a greater angle of conicity than the heat reflector.

6. A heating element, heat reflector and deflector assembly as per claim 1, in which the heat reflector comprises a lower and upwardly flaring conical portion and a substantially cylindrical tubular skirt extending upward from the upper end of aforesaid reflector portion.

7. A heating and air-circulating assemblage for a brooder, comprising a base member, a heating element supported by and extending upwardly from the l see member, an upwardly annuiar flaring heat reflector coaxial with and housing the heating element and having its lower end open, means carried by the member for supporting the heat reflector in substantially freely spaced relation to the base member, a downwardly pointed conical heat deflector disposed above and coaxial with the said reflector, and means for supporting the heat deflector from the said reflector.

8. A heater assembly for a brooder, comprising two vertically spaced reflectors both tapering downward and having a common vertical axis, and a heating element centrally disposed within and in axial alinement with the lower reflector, the lower end of the lower reflector being open, and the upper reflector being larger in diameter than the lower reflector.

9. A heater assembly for a brooder, co1npr sing two vertical spaced reflectors both tapering down ard and having a common vertical axis; a heating element centrally disposed within the lower reflector, the lower end of the lower reflector being open, and the upper reflector having its lower end closed, the upper end of the heating element being downwardly spaced both from the lower *end of the upper reflector and from the upper edge of the lower reflector.

10. A heater assembly for a brooder, comprising two vertical spacedreflect ors both tapering downward and having a common vertical axis, and a heating element centrally disposed within the lower reflector, the lower end of the lower reflector being open, and the upper reflector having its lower end closed and being of larger diameter than the lower reflector.

11. In a heater assembly for a brooder, a base member, a heating element disposed above and supported by the base member, spaced risers fastened to and extending upwardly from the base member, an upwardly flaring reflector surrounding the heating ele ment and supported by the said risers and having its lower end formed for admitting air around the heating element, and a substantially cylindrical tubular skirt supported by the reflector and extending upwardly from the outer edge of the reflector.

12. A heater assembly as per claim 11, including a second reflector coaxial with the said skirt, and means for supporting the second reflector from the skirt, the second reflector being uniformly spaced upwardly from the upper edge of the skirt. Y

13. A heater assembly as per claim 11, including a second reflector coaxial with and 5 spaced upwardly from the said skirt, and means supporting both reflectors and the skirt from the base member.

14. In a heater assembly for a breeder, a base member, a heating element'disposed' 1' above and supported by the base member, an upwa 'dly flaring reflector surrounding the heating element and supported by the base member and having its lower end formedfor admitting air around the heati'ng element, a downwardly ta ering second reflector coaxial with and spaced upwardly from the aforesaid reflector, and means for supporting the second reflector from the first named reflector. cg 15. In a heater assembly for a broader, a base member, a heating element disposed above and supported by the base member, an upwardly flaring reflector surrounding the heating element and supported by the 5 base member and having its'lower end formed for admitting air around the heating element, aidownwardly tapering second reflector coaxial with and spaced upwardly from the aforesaid reflector, and riser strips extending upwardly from the upper edge o'f'thefirst named reflector and spaced circumferentially of that reflect-or for supporting the second reflector. Signed at Macomb, Illinois, May 26th,

as 1930 V I DEWEY H. HILL.

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