US2260595A - Automobile heater and defroster - Google Patents

Description

Oct. 28, 1941. c. H. WILL vET AL A v 2,250,595

UTOMBILE HEATER AND DEFROSTER Original Filed April 19, 193'? Patented Oct. 28., 1941 UN1TED, STATES PATENT OFFICE z,zso,595

AUTOMOBILE HEATER. AND DEIIROSTER.

Carl H. Will, Winnetka, and Henry W. Fink, Chi- Ill., assignors to Tropic-Aire, Incorporated, Chicago, Ill., a corporation ot Delaware Original application April 19',i 1937,. Serial No.

137,842. Divided and this application February 25, 1939, Serial No. 258,412`

c claims. (c1. 257-137) This invention relates to improvements in combined automobile heaters and defrosters, and has l for its general object the production of a device of this character in which the structural elements and their functional relationship are such as t provide a more effective devicethan those heretofore produced for this purpose and which at the same time is cheaper to `make and more easily installed. The application is a division of our copending application Serial No. 137,842, iile'd April' 19, 1937, for Automobile-heater and defroster.

One of the objects of our invention is toprof vide such a combined automobile heater and de' delivered without affecting the eiiiciency or the heater in delivering warm air to the interior of the vehicle. Still another object of the invention is to provide a device of the character described, in which the air impeller for defrosting/ purposes is of greater diameter than the pressure fan and may therefore be operated at a lower R. P. M. without sacrificing volume of air delivered for defrosting, at the same time eliminating objectionable noise common to the types of air impellers, nowused for-this purpose.

A further object of our invention is to provide a device of the character described,v in which a conventional type of motor having a single shaft d may be u'sed and in which the air impellers for .heating and defrosting are mounted upon the same shaft.

A further object ofthe invention is to provide a device of the character described, in which it i is not necessary to construct special conduits or casings connecting the heating element or radiator with the casing for the defrosting air impellei", thus providing a more compact structure.

Other objects of the invention will be more fully brought out and Willmore clearly appear as the description of the invention proceeds.

In order to illustrate our invention in a practical form in which it may be embodied, we have appended hereto -a drawing showing a practical construction. It is to be understood, however, that .this drawing is illustrative merely and that it is not intended to limit our invention t0 the details disclosed therein because it will be ob-A vious to those skilled in the art that the details l bile heater at the present time.

without departing from the scope thereof as deiined in the appended claims.

In the drawing: Figure 1 is a vertical section oi the heater on a plane parallel with,the axis of rotation oi.' the motor shaft; and

Figure 2 is a fragmentary schematic viewshowing our combined heater and deiroster installed in an automobile.

` Generally speaking, the heaterthat'we have, l

chosen to illustrate as embodying our invention is of the so-called hot water type, which is to say,

tically the only commercially availableautomo-l However, it will be clear that the invention may be embodied in other heaters in which the heating medium mayl be derived from other sources. For example, the heater may be of the exhaust gas type when properly constructed to provide for the effective circulation of air: or, the

heater may be a so-called self-contained unit in `hated by the reference character I0 and this shroud has a substantially centrally located opening 'I I controlled by suitable defiectors or shutters I2. It will be understood, of course, that .the

number o f deiiectors or shuttersisimmaterial; it.

is onlynecessary that they be so arranged and mounted that they will substantially close oil the centralI opening II when the delivery of heat is notvdesired, and so that they may be opened and adjusted to varlousangular positions to vary the volume of and'direct the ilow of airto any deof construction may be varied without sacriiic-Y ing any oi the advantagesoi the invention nand to'Y sired part of the vehicle. In this particular embodiment the deectors I2 are also rotatably ad. justable by manipulation of a 'suitable knob or handle I3. The radiator structurels generally indicated by the numeral I5. The rear shroud of the outer casing is indicated at I6 and the heater is suitably supported `on the dash of an automobile, as by bolts I6',

The arrangement of the pressure fan and centrifugal blower are best shown in Figure l. The

tubes-I8 fupon' which are arranged` a. multiplicity oi' iins I9. By this means -air passages are formed. Inlet and; outlet pipes are provided', permitting ingress and egress of the (in this case liquid) .heating medium to and from the head- 1ers I1. .It will thus be seen that the heater it- 1 self is of quite conventional construction. Assuming that the heating medium is hot water from the engine cooling system, such water enters from oneof the'pipes 20 into one of the headers I1, whence it passes into the tubesf I8, into the other header I1 and out through the other pipe l0 20. l Means is provided for producing a forced circulation of air through the spaces or air passages I between the ns I9 and around the tubes I 8, as 'i indicated by the arrows pointing to. the left inl5 'Flgure 1.

In this vdevice there is embodied the principle `oi a relatively large diameter blower operating in a'casing mounted in close proximity to the' radiatorcore so as to draw air therethrough 2'0 'Q without the necessity for special conduits or ducts. The motor 23 is located in the center of the `radiator core, in a 'suitable' 'chamber formed therein, and a pressure fan 4I is mounted on one end of .motor'sha'ft 42, which end projects 25 rearwardly from the core (as seen from the '-driv ers seat). The shaft of the motorprojects forwardly as at 43 and has mounted thereon a cenltrifugal blower designated 44, which is provided 'with spider arms-45. These arms 45 are shaped 30 generally like the fan blades of the pressure fan `4 I, except that they are shown narrower.

There is no intention to be limited to their width, how- "lever, or to theirsupporting function. 'I'hese arms are in a direct path of travel of theair from -the pressure fan 4I. They may perform the double function of offering no impedance to the `fiow of air outwardly from they center o f theradiator core and of' supplementing the forcing action of the fan 44, or both, or may tairey the 40 place of that fan. The preferredconstructiom however, is shown in which the fan 4I is used and the eler'nents '45 are narrow and act rather .to offer no impedance 'to the ow of air ou't- .f wardly, than as means insubstitution of the- `fan 4I, ',It is, however, understood that these 'variousv functions alone and in combination areywclaimed.

A/The centrifugal blower .4 4 is provided with blades or vanes 46, which move the air centrifu- 5 0 jgally. Th centrifugal blower 44 operates in the peripheral chamber of the casing 41, which casling is suitably mounted closely adjac'ent the front ofthe radiator core and preferably by means which makes said casing removable as well as rotatably adjustable.

A rotatable annulus or shroud 48 is carried by and rotates with the centrifugal blower. .In fact, 1the ring supports the blower. This ring cooperates with a stationary ring 49 to confine and guide the ow of air from thepressure fan 4I. land also provides an innervwall for the peripheral l fan chamber of the casing 41 of the'centrifugal blowe'rl 'I'he casing 41 cooperates with-ringl49to form 65 a spirai chamber which communicates with an auxiliary outlet port or pipe 3l. This pipe may .jbe provided with onepor'more branches 32, as shown in Figure 2.- To each branch may be connecteda suitable hose 53 leading to a nozzle V...54yvhich is placed close to the windshield 52 of lthe at'rnobilel, so th at warm air from the blower will pass from saidY nozzles-54 .to beim- Evpelled against the windshield, asshown for example in our copending application Serial No.-

of the radiator.

.101,097,111ed september 1s, 1936. The provision of two branches 32 in Y formation,`as shown in Figure 2, permits the attachment-of two hoses vleading to separate sections of the windshield.`

The casing 41 is preferably removably adjustably supported. as heretofore mentioned. By. this arrangement the said casing may be rotated on the heater so that its chamber delivers to the .out-

let pipe 3|, which should point in the same direcy tion (usually towardv the driver), whether. the heater be mounted vertically or horizontally upon Y the dash. The structure 3| also contains valves or dampers, not'shown', for controlling the passage of air respectively tothe iioor to warm' the feet ofthe driver, and to the branches 32 for the windshield.

For safety we provide a screen or grill 59 suitably supported in front of the spider arms or fan blades 4 5 of .the centrifugal blower.

as to oier as little obstruction as possible to the ow of air from the pressure fan 4I, or from the fan-like. spider arms 45, when they act alone or as supplementary to fan 4I.

In this specific form of the invention we have achieved compactness necessary for convenient and successful installation in automobilesof modern body design. The casing for the centrifugal .blower is close to the radiator core so that the blower is substantially in alignment with that section of the corethrough which air is drawn for defrosting purposes, and this is accomplished without the necessity of specially formed ducts or conduits. The heat losses incident to transfer of heatfrom the heater. to the blower are also. reduced to a minimum.

It is' to be noted that the fan and blower opersure fan 4I and of the fan arms 45. Thus the f blower may operate at a lower R. P. M. for a de sired pressure, with corresponding diminution of noise, an important feature. .The centrifugal blower 44 and its casing -41 may be removed from the front of the radiator core if the defrosting attachment is not desired, thus converting thev heater to oneA of conventional form. This removability is a feature of the invention. It is noted that' the casing 41 is attached to a ring 41', which ring is in turn attached to the front To the ring 41 the shroud 49 is connected by a plurality of narrow elementsv 49' and in a manner not to obstruct'the intake opening for the peripheral blower chamber.

From the foregoing description it will be clear that we have provided a combined automobile heater and defroster of unusual efficiency and compactness. It is understood, of course, that some of the structural details may be changed without sacrificing the advantages pointed out. It is understood that we do not entirely confine ourselves to allof the particular details illustrated and described, although these are claimed. We have illustrated an electric motor but it will be understood that any other type of motor may be u sed, such, for example, as an air motor operated by the vacuum from the intake manifold of the engine. .The motor may be supported 0 by' any suitable means such as brackets 23' and preferably/has some cushioning means such as is indicated at '24'A to reduce transmission of vibration.`

`A casing 25 may be made integral With the rear shroud I6 orseparatetherefromas desired.

This` screen or grill is of sufliciently open construction It sin be noted that the blades 4| ofthe pressurefan are located quite close to the radiator so that'the overall depthpf vthe heater is no greater than that of conventional heaters ,now

45 and the blades 4|. The impeller 46 maybe.

said tosurround the elements 45- The elements 45 are struck from or made in one piece with the ring 48, and the elements 46 are struck from or made in one piece with the element 44, which is secured, in this case, by rivets to the element,

48. It is conceivable that these elements 45, 48, 44, and 46 may be formed in one piece. y

The statipnary ring 49 serves to keep the air stream separate and the ring 48- is substantially of the same diameter as the ring 49. It is noted that the screen 50 is supported, not by a ring, but by separate elements 50', attached to ,the ,casing 41.

It is again noted that in this form of the invention the air all passes in one and the same direction through theiradiator for the two purlposes, respectively, for general delivery to the' automobile, and for delivery for defrosting.

@Thus the two air streams are heated by diierent portions of the same radiator core While passing simultaneously therethrough in the same direction. It is unnecessary in this instance to provide separate sets of ducts within the radiator to direct the ow of air therethrough. Thus no special modiiication of the conventional radiator is necessary.

It is well known that the pressure created by a centrifugal fan or Iblower is proportional to the square of its peripheral speed. Hence, with a blower of relatively large diameter, as has been passages and having air-moving means which supplements the action of said' first air-moving means, and means outside of the radiator for preventing interference between the respective air streams created by said impellers. v

. 3. In a combined heater and defroster, a first casing having main and auxiliary discharge openings, a heating radiator having air passages, air-forcingmeans arranged between the radiator and the main opening and comprising a second casing having a peripheral chamber discharging into said auxiliary opening, air separating means within the second casing dening the inner wall of said peripheral chamber and acting to guide air from the radiator into said peripheral chamber and to the main outlet opening, an annulus rotative within said last mentioned means and having thereon a centrifugal blower operating in the said peripheral chamber to force air tangentially through said auxiliary opening, a hub, and

spider arms connecting the hub with said annulus, said arms being adapted to draw air through said radiator, and means for rotating the hub.

4. In a combined heater and defroster, a first casing having main and auxiliary discharge openings, 'a heating radiator having air passages, air-forcing means arranged between the radiator and the main opening and comprising a second casing removably attached to the radiator, said second casing having a peripheral chamber d ischarging into said auxiliary opening, airseparating means within the second casing defining .the inner wall of said peripheral chamber and hereinprovided, the peripheral speed required for a given pressure can be obtained at a low R. P. M. with corresponding diminution of noise. Maximum quietness with adequate air delivery simultaneously for two purposes is an important feature.

The blower casing and its fan or spider arms may be removed, leaving the fan 44, and thus there is provided a universal construction which may be easily converted from a combined heater and defroster into a simple heater of conventional design.

We claim'as our invention: i

1. In a combined heater and defroster, a heating radiator having air passages, rst air-forcing means at one side of the radiator-for forcing air through certain of said passages, and second air-forcing means at the opposite side of said radiator for drawing air through other of saidl passages, the second air-forcing means having an internal diameter as great as the external diameter of the first air-forcing means and having associated therewith air-moving meanswhich supplements the action of said first air-moving means.

2. In a combined heater and defroster, a heating radiator having air passages, first air-forcing means at one side of the radiator for forcing air through certain of said passages, and second air-forcing means at the opposite side of said radiator for drawing air through other of said acting to guide air from the radiator into said peripheral chamber and from the radiator to the main outlet opening, an annulus rotative within said last'mentioned means and having thereon a centrifugal blower operating in the said peripheral chamber to force air tangentially 'through said auxiliary opening, means rotating said annulus, and a second air-forcing means at the opposite side of the radiatonoperated by said rotating means and adapted to draw air through said radiator and out of said main discharge opening. l

5. In a combined heater and defroster, a heating radiator having air passages, a fan of the axial delivery type arranged at one side of the radiator for forcing air through a relatively large number of radiator openings for general delivery, and a fan ofthe centrifugal delivery l through which said axially forced air travels to the delivery point, said casing having a fan chamber surrounding it, a fan of the centrifugal delivery type operating in said chamber", said chamber having an intake opening receiving heated air from said radiator and having a delivery opening through which said fan centrifugally delivers the heated air for defrosting, and means for driving said fans.

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