US3173353A

US3173353A - Heat retrieving device

Info

Publication number: US3173353A
Application number: US192903A
Authority: US
Inventors: Raymond H Watkins
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1962-05-07
Filing date: 1962-05-07
Publication date: 1965-03-16
Anticipated expiration: 1982-03-16

Description

March 16, 1965 wA s 3,173,353

HEAT RETRIEVING DEVICE Filed May 7. 1962 M INVENTOR.

United States Patent ()fl" 3,173,353 HEAT RETRIEVING DEVICE Raymond H. Watkins, 36 Abbott Road, North Reading, Mass. Filed May 7, 1962, Ser. No. 192,963 2 Claims. (Cl. 98-29) This invention relates to heat circulating apparatus and has for its principal objects to provide a portable device for maintaining a substantial uniform temperature in a heated space by retrieving heat which tends to stagnate at the top of the space and return it to the bottom where it is useful. Further objects are to provide apparatus which is inexpensive to manufacture, easy to move from one place to another, eflicient, and effective.

As herein illustrated, the device comprises a unit adapted to be placed on the floor and contains an air pump having an intake and discharge port, the latter being arranged adjacent the floor. There is means for efiecting operation of the pump and a pipe connected at one end to the intake port and extending upwardly therefrom into the layer of high temperature near the top of the space, through which hot air at the top is drawn downwardly into the unit and discharged through the discharge port at the bottom close to the floor. A thermostat situated on the pipe, adjacent the top, is operable, by a temperature of predetermined high level, to initiate operation of the pump and at a predetermined lower level to terminate operation of the pump. Vanes at the discharge opening, movable relative to the stream discharged therefrom, provide for distributing the retrieved air to any desired part of the room at any desired level.

The invention will now be described in greater detail with reference to the accompanying drawings wherein:

FIG. 1 is an elevation of a base within which the unit is placed for operation, with the base resting on the floor and the upper end of the pipe adjacent the ceiling;

FIG. 2 is a plan view of the unit to very much larger scale with the pipe sections omitted;

FIG. 3 is a vertical section taken on the line 33 of FIG. 2, showing the lower portion of one of the pipe sections fitted to the intake opening;

FIG. 4 is a front elevation of the device; and

FIG. 5 is a wiring diagram of the control.

Referring to the drawings, the device is adapted to be used for the purpose of retrieving heat which rises to the top of a room, returning it to the bottom and maintaining a constant circulation until a substantially uniform temperature from bottom to top is established. Thus, the device may be placed in a space (FIG. 1) having a floor 12 and ceiling 14, with its base 18 resting on the floor 12 and its pipe 16 extending upwardly to near the ceiling. Preferably, so as to be out of the way, the device may be placed close to a wall or perhaps in a corner of the room.

The base 18 (FIG. 3) is a hollow sheet metal box divided intermediate its top and bottom by a horizontal supporting wall 20 into an upper section 21 and a lower section 23. The upper section contains in the top wall an intake opening 22 within which there is fixed an upstanding flange 24 of rectangular cross-section, as shown in FIG. 2. The section 21 also contains a discharge opening 26 in one side adjacent the floor as shown in FIG. 4.

A pump 28 comprising a plurality of vertically disposed, spaced parallel blades 30 is fixed to a hub 32 for rotation about a vertical axis. The blades and hub constitute a rotor which is fixed to the upper end of a shaft 34, the latter extending downwardly through the supporting wall 20 to a driving motor M situated in the section 23. A manifold 36 surrounds the rotor and has an inlet opening 38 concentric with the axis of rotation of the rotor and with the inlet opening 22 in the base and a Patented Mar. 16, 1965 discharge opening 40 substantially tangential to the sides of the rotor which is in registration with the discharge opening 26 in the base.

Rotation of the rotor by means of the motor draws air into the inlet opening 22 into the manifold36 and discharges it in the direction of the arrow through the outlet opening 26.

The hot air which tends to form in a layer at the top of the room is retrieved by this device by a pipe 16 connected at its lower end to the flange 24 surrounding the inlet opening, for example by a slip joint, and extending upwardly therefrom to near the top of the room so as to be situated in the zone Where the hot air is situated. The pipe 16 is comprised of

sections

42, 44, 46 and 48 and preferably the sections are telescopically arranged, one within another, so that the overall height of the pipe may be easily adjusted to bring the open end of the upper section 48 into the zone where the heat is highest and to provide for rooms of different vertical height. The pipe can be easily removed from the base 18 by detaching the lower-most section from the flange 24 and then collapsed so as to take up a minimum of space when not in use or may be left in place and merely collapsed by pushing the sections into each other.

The motor M is driven from any convenient source, for example by a chord 50 which may be plugged into a wall socket and control of the device is afforded by a thermostat 52 attached to the uppermost pipe section 48. The thermostat 52 operates at a predetermined temperature to start the motor M and at a lower temperature to stop the motor. The thermostat, of course, may be adjusted so that it will initiate operation of the motor at any desired heat level and will maintain the circuit in operation until a predetermined lower temperature is reached thus retrieving the heat from the layer at the top of the room and recirculating it so as to obtain maximum uniformity of temperature throughout the room.

In order to direct the discharge at the floor level, vanes or

deflectors

54, 56 and 58 (FIGS. 2 and 4) are mounted adjacent the top and two sides of the discharge opening 26 on

hinges

55, 57 and 59 so that their angular position relative to the stream of air from the opening 26 may be adjusted to direct and distribute the stream at any level and in any direction.

The device, as thus described, is not connected with the heating system for the particular room or space within which it is used and hence is not dependent for its operation upon the heating system. Its primary use is as an adjunct to normal heating apparatus to recirculate hot air which rises to the top of the room by retrieving it from the top of the room and discharging it at the bottom at floor level thus providing for greater efl'iciency in use of the conventional heating equipment by preventing the latter from being turned on more frequently than necessary. The device may be used, for example, in garages or other large spaces where it is difiicult to maintain uniformity of heating because of the high ceilings and because a great deal of cold air is allowed to enter at floor level through doors and other openings which are being constantly opened and closed. By constant-1y recirculating the hot air that rises to the top, the floors may be kept much warmer and the frequency of starting the normal heating system will be greatly decreased.

It should be understood that the present disclosure is for the purpose of illustration only and that this invention includes all modifications and equivalents which fall within the scope of the appended claims.

I claim:

1. An apparatus for equalizing the temperature in a heated space wherein the heat tends to collect in a layer at the top, leaving the floor relatively cold; comprising ing sections being adjustable both to the heightwise dimension of the space and to position the open upper end most efl ectivel'y in the high temperature layer at the top of the space, said pipe providing means through which the hot air at the top of the space is drawn downwardly into the unit and discharged through the discharge port at the bottom close to the floor, said pump comprising a rotor having a plurality of vertical, closely spaced vanes disposed and supported equidistantly from a vertical axis for rotation about said vertical axis in a direction and, by such rotation, to draw air into its upper end and discharge it tangentially from its periphery, :a manifold enclosing the rotor at the bottom and sides, said manifold having an inlet opening at the upper end of the rotor concentric with the axis of the rotor and with the intake port, and a discharge opening tangential to its periphery and in registration with the discharge port, a motor, means connecting the motor to the rotor below the manifold, a

supporting Wall dividing the unit into upper and lower chambers, said supporting wall supporting the pump and manifold in the upper chamber and the motor in the lower chamber, and a thermostat situated on the upper section of the pipe adjacent the top operable, by a temperature of predetermined high level, to initiate operation of the motor and a predetermined lower level to terminate operation of the motor.

2. Apparatus according to claim 1, comprising flat deflector plates and means secured to the unit adjacent the discharge port supporting the deflector plates respectively, at the top and two sides of the discharge port for rotation about horizontal and vertical axes to enable disposing the deflector plate 'at the top at different elevations and the deflector plates at the sides at different lateral positions.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,170,551 2/16 Marty 9829 2,235,642 3/41 Lintern 982.3 2,315,636 4/43 McCollum 982.4 3,026,788 3/62 Spear 98115 ROBERT A. OLEARY, Primary Examiner.

Claims

1. AN APPARATUS FOR EQUALIZING THE TEMPERATURE IN A HEATED SPACE WHEREIN THE HEAT TENDS TO COLLECT IN A LAYER AT THE TOP, LEAVING THE FLOOR RELATIVELY COLD; COMPRISING A PORTABLE UNIT ADAPTED TO BE PLACED ON THE FLOOR, SAID PORTABLE UNIT CONTAINING AN AIR PUMP, AND HAVING INTAKE AND DISCHAGE PORTS, THE LATTER BEING NEAR THE FLOOR, A PIPE COMPRISING A PLURALITY OF TELESCOPING SECTIONS, ONE OF WHICH IS CONNECTED AT ONE END TO THE INTAKE PORT AND THE OTHERS OF WHICH ARE EXTENDED UPWARDLY THEREFROM, SAID TELESCOPING SECTIONS BEING ADJUSTABLE BOTH TO THE HEIGHTWISE DIMENSION OF THE SPACE AND TO POSITION THE OPEN UPPER END MOST EFFECTIVELY IN THE HIGH TEMPERATURE LAYER AT THE TOP OF THE SPACE, SAID PIPE PROVIDING MEANS THROUGH WHICH THE HOT AIR AT THE TOP OF THE SPACE IS DRAWN DOWNWARDLY INTO THE UNIT AND DISCHARGED THROUGH THE DISCHARGE PORT AT THE BOTTOM CLOSE TO THE FLOOR, SAID PUMP COMPRISING A ROTOR HAVING A PLURALITY OF VERTICAL, CLOSELY SPACED VANES DISPOSED AND SUPPORTED EQUIDISTANTLY FROM A VERTICAL AXIS FOR ROTATION ABOUT SAID VERTICAL AXIS IN A DIRECTION AND, BY SUCH ROTATION, TO DRAW AIR INTO ITS UPPER END AND DISCHARGE IT TANGENTIALLY FROM ITS PERIPHERY, A MANIFOLD ENCLOSING THE ROTOR AT THE BOTTOM AND SIDES, SAID MANIFOLD HAVING AN INLET OPENING AT THE UPPR END OF THE ROTOR CONCENTRIC WITH THE AXIS OF THE ROTOR AND WITH THE INTAKE PORT, AND A DISCHARGE OPENING TANGENTIAL TO ITS PERIPHERY AND IN REGISTRATION WITH THE DISCHARGE PORT, A MOTOR, MEANS CONNECTING THE MOTOR TO THE ROTOR BELOW THE MANIFOLD, A SUPPORTING WALL DIVIDING THE UNIT INTO UPPER AND LOWER CHAMBERS, SAID SUPPORTING WALL SUPPORTING THE PUMP AND MANIFOLD IN THE UPPER CHAMBER AND THE MOTOR IN THE LOWER CHAMBER, AND A THERMOSTAT SITUATED ON THE UPPER SECTION OF THE PIPE ADJACENT THE TOP OPERABLE, BY A TEMPERATURE OF PREDETERMINED HIGH LEVEL, TO INITIATE OPERATION OF THE MOTOR AND A PREDETERMINED LOWER LEVEL TO TERMINATE OPERATION OF THE MOTOR.