US2550478A

US2550478A - Control mechanism for oil-burning space heaters

Info

Publication number: US2550478A
Authority: US
Inventors: Earl D Hillebrand; John R Fulmer
Original assignee: FLORENCE STOVE CO
Current assignee: FLORENCE STOVE Co
Priority date: 1947-06-10
Filing date: 1947-06-10
Publication date: 1951-04-24
Anticipated expiration: 1968-04-24

Description

Y April 24, 1951 E. D. HILLEBRAND ETAL 2,550,478

CONTROL NECHANISN Foa OIL BURNING SPACE HEATERS Filed June l0, 1947 cNVNToFL (flT-rdRNEYJ Patented Apr. 24, 1951 STATES TENT omer;

vCONTROL MECHANISMFOR OIL-BURNING SPACE HEATERS --Earl D. Hllebrand and John R. Fulmer, Kanka- .-kee, Ill., assignors to .Florence Stove Company,

Gardner, Mass., a corporation of Massachusetts Application-JunelO, 1947,lfSe1ial No.' 753,684 2 Claims. (01,.161-7) ."The invention relatestoiconti'ol mechanismfor l fand more particularly .timed control of the .Qladwtedtto)Operatewitha ow control valve of thejtypexcomfmonly `used :in oil burning space i heaters without interfering with the normal'func- Y.ltionllgaofftheValve and which is settable to regstrict thefheater to .,low.` fire operation for a predeterminedrperiod and then-automatically adjust the valvegfortoperating theburner at a preset high ire level.

l eis-'ealsofaniobjectofthe invention to provide `bur er lcontrol .means which is ,simple and inexpensiveinconstruction, which is foolproof in op- .geration fandwhich,permits 4accurately timed con- ;ltrolitof ,theoperation ofjan Loil burning space #heafl's i2 .through ,a pipe ,8. .y he ;tank-6 Lis preferably "mounted at a higher levelthan .thevalve to prou '.videvfor. gravity flow ofthe fuel oil.

The float valve 5 may be ofany suitablechar- 5 acter,. as for examplaavalve .ofthe generahtype :disclosed in U. S. PatentfNo..2.,120,36f iggranted .June.14i-, 1938,.to;Roy W. Johnson. .Spchgvalves areprovidedwith a casing I0 enclosing a metering valve Ii together with float control means 1:10 for maintaining a constant headof oil Within the casingzto insurea uniform., flow; of V:,oil1toatl'ie i burner. 'l -I Y,

In the particular .valve mechanismfillustrated,

the .metering vvalve II comprises :a 4.plunger |22 #'15 -slidable axiallyiina tubular body. I3 to varythe .effective area ofaport I'llthrough whichtheoil .passes on'itsway to theburner. `The plungeris lfyieldably urged-in adirection to..opentheeport Iii by .a spring l5 interposed .between a partition- 20 ing member I within the casing 1li). andamen- ,;-@-ther'obj.ects andadvantages of the invention .becomeiapparentifrom the following detailed `frieseription .ofthepreferred embodiment illusgtratedwinlthe;accompanying drawing, in which:

Figure l `isaperspectiveview'of control mechafnis-mfembodying the` features of the invention and 53,0 --enclosed showing the manner in'swhich themechanism is yinstalled; in an- 4oil` burning space heater.

Fig. 2 is a partly sectioned side view of the control `mechanism showing the .parts set for high .fire operation.

,Figl. `3 is a partly sectioned sideview ,of the con- .,trolmechanism showing theparts set for lowvre operation.

l While the invention is susceptible of various modifications and alternative constructions, weg@ have shown. in thejdrawings .and will herein de- `of:a-pipe landriowsfrom.thevalve.to the burner 55 AYscribe in. detail thepreferred embodiment,'but it :larged head. Il formed on or rigidly securedtonthe upperend of theplunger.

Cooperating with .the plunger I2 is atleveriili Y-pivotally supported at one end A-within .the leasing by a shaft 2| and havinga downwardly offset ALarm .'22 overlying the plunger and engag-ing'a"v pin f; 23 projecting from1 the i upper end thereof. The arni maycbe extendegdbeyond. the valve forgcooperation .with other .control instrumentalities in thecasing Ill with which.the.present inventionzis not concerned.

Forv adjusting the metering valve: II vtonregulate theow of oil to theburner,I a rod 25 is threaded through the'top of the casing lllwith itsinner end. positionedL for `engagement 'with the'lfree iend of the lever 2F). Accordingly;J by screwingtherod into or out oilthe casing, the .valveimember I2 .smay be movednp or dov/n .to progressively inlcrease or decrease the eiective'area .of Ythe'port Iii.

The above described adjustments of the.Y metering Yvalve 'lI are necessarily eiectedfmanually. =.'Ihus theadjustine rod is screwed n.to;alrnost `closevthe valve port I4 when it is desired to opzerate the burner atlowiirelevel. vWhenxmore heatv is required, `the rod is screwed G ut to open the Valve port I@ and thereby increaseiherate Afof. fuel;fioW- to the;;burner, the latter operating-.at

highre,levelf-whenztlfle I.valvegport is substantially 1 fully opened.

.In accord-ance .with athe invention, vtiming eansvisassociated with-*the metering valve l5 vrin a novel manner, wherebythechange from low re to highre operation may be. effected automatically at aselectedand preset. time. Forthis 4purposea suitablegtimingdevice 3D is mounted on the valve casing I and valve actuating means is interposed between the valve member I2 and the timing device to enable the latter to maintain the valve member in substantially closed or low fire position for a selectively variable time interval and to thereafter release the valve member for movement to the open or high nre position. Under those conditions, Vthe adjusting rod 25 serves as an adjustable stop for determining one limit position of the valve member, that is, the high re position. To dene the low re position of the metering valve the arm 22 is provided with a stop screw 3l adapted to engage a fixed abutment 32 in the valve casing and thus limit the movement of the lever 2 toward the valve closing position.

The timer 33 may be of any suitable type, as, for example, a simple, inexpensive spring driven twelve-hour timer of the type in general use. The timer as shown comprises a shaft 33 adapted to be rotated manually to selected set positions and then returned from such set positions to a normal rest position at a predetermined rate by spring driven mechanism. The timer'shaft is journaled in and projects from the under side of a housing 34 which serves to enclose the driving mechanism. A setting member 35 in the form of a rod projects from the upper side of the hous- 111g. e In the exemplary control mechanism, the means through which the timer operates to actua-te the metering valve II comprises a `cam 35 fast on the lower end of the timer shaft 33, a lever 31 adapted to be rocked by the cam and a sliding member or pin 38 for transmitting the movement of the lever to the valve actuating lever 25. As'herein shown, the lever 31 is formed with an offset end section 39 adapted to seat against a at surface 40 formed on the underside of a boss 4I, depending from the timer housing 34. The end section of the lever is apertured to looselyreceive a screw 42 threaded into thev boss 4I and a spring 43 interposed between the head of the screw and the lever yieldably holds it flat against the surface 4a, as shown in Fig. 2.

At its free endv the lever 31 is provided with an adjustable stop screw 44 cooperating with the upper wall of the casing I to limit the movements of the lever toward the operated position in which it is shown in Fig. 3. The pin 38 is retained in an aperture in the top of the valve casing I6 with its lower end resting on the arm 22 of the valve actuating lever 20 and the downward movement of the lever 31 is thus transmitted through the pin and lever 20 to the metering valve member I2. y

For rocking the lever 31 to the operated position and for retaining it in such position for a predetermined timed interval, theV cam 35 is formed to provide a cam track cooperating with a follower pin 45 rigid with the lever. The cam track as shown comprises an annular flat surface 45 perpendicular to the axis of the timer shaft 33.!and an upwardly offset or recessed surface 41 v.connected together by an inclined surface 43.`

The arrangement is such that when the timer is at the Zero or normal rest position, the cam surface '41 is presented for engagement by the follower` 45 and the spring 43 is effective to hold the lever 31 in the retracted position shown in Fig. 2. The metering valve is held in its open or highfire position, as defined by the stop 25, through the action of the'spring I5.

As the rod 35 is `rotated to set the timer, the

vcam 36 is turned (from right to left as viewed in Fig. 2), causing the follower 45 to ride up the cam surface 48 and onto the flat surface 4B, whereby the lever 31 is rocked to the operated position shown in Fig. 3. This movement is transmitted through the member 38 and lever 20 to the metering valve member I 2, which is accordingly shifted to the low fire position defined by the adjustable stop 3I. In practice, the stop screw 3| is set so that the valve is able to pass only suincient oil to keen the burner in operation.

The metering valve is maintained in the low fire position with the follower 45 riding on the cam surface 46 until the cam is turned back almost to its normal rest position by the action of the timer driving mechanism. As the cam approaches its rest position, the follower 45 rides down the cam surface 48 and thus permits the metering valve to open and increase the rate of oil flow to the burner yvery gradually, so as to allow the burner to heat up suiiciently to hanelle a maximum supply of fuel. Delivery of excess fuel to the burner with its resultant smoke and carbon formation is thus eliminated.

The improved control means is adapted to be mounted on the casing 5U of an oil burning heater in the manner shown in Fig. 1. As the oat valve 5 is intended to be located substantially at the same level as the burner, that is, near the base of the heater, the stop rod 25 and the timer setting rod 35 are extending upwardly for convenient access near the top of the heater. As herein shown, the rods are arranged to project through 'a suitable guide 5I on the back of the casing 35 and are provided with

knobs

52 and 53 for manual manipulation. Graduated scales on the guide cooperate with the knobs to visually indicate the setting of the metering valve I I and the setting of the timer 3l).

It will be apparent from the foregoing that the invention provides control mechanism of a novel and advantageous character. Throughthe novel arrangementof a simple timing device with a conventional float valve, the heater may be set for low re operation for a predetermined interval, as, for example, through the night, and is automatically adjusted for high fire operation at the proper time. The advantages of this mode cf operation will be readily appreciated as it permits the heater to be turned up for maximum heat production at a desired time without manual intervention. The mechanism is simple and inexpensive in construction and foolproof in operation.

We claim as our invention:

l. A control mechanism for oil burners comprising, in combination, a metering valve having a member movable between high re and low fire positions for regulating the flow of oil to a burner, spring means yieldably urging said valve member toward the high fire position, means for adjusting the position of said valve member within predetermined limits including a shiftable control element, lever means interposed between said control element and said valve member, stop means coacting with said lever to define one of said limits, a timer adapted to be set for varying time intervals, said timer having a cam shiftable through a range corresponding to the setting of the timer and returned to a rest position at the end of the interval for which the timer is set, and other lever means interposed betweengsaid first-mentioned lever means and said cam operable to move said valve member to the low fire position when said cam is shifted from said rest position, said valve member belto rest posit n.

t interposed between said control element ing released the control of said springmeans and said contilelement upon return o said cam prising, in" ybination, a metering val 'e having a membe ovable between high iirrand low fire positions or regulating the flow offoil to a burner, sprin member toufarih the high re position, adjusting th; position of said valve me ber including a shiy able control element, lev

valve member', 'an adjustable stop mernb E ing movemento said lever toward lovvfiire posidapted to be set for varyng time intervals and `acting through said levey eans in response to sich setting to move said valve memmechanism for oil burners com- 5 spring means and said control element.

v' EARL D. HILLEBRAND. n

JOHN R. FULMER.

10 REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the le of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS 5 Number Name' Date 2,120,364` Johnson June 14, 1938 s Hauser Mar. 27, 1945 ber to the low fire position irrespective of the position of said control element, said timer acting afterthe interval for which it was set to release said valve member to the control of said