US3307610A

US3307610A - Heater apparatus

Info

Publication number: US3307610A
Application number: US556528A
Authority: US
Inventors: Payne Natalie
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1966-06-09
Filing date: 1966-06-09
Publication date: 1967-03-07
Anticipated expiration: 1984-03-07

Description

March 7, 1967 U. SUNDAY 3,307,610

HEATER APPARATUS Filed June 9, 1966 2 Sheets-Sheet l mn- R WATER 'ro 6LOWEP I0 FIG.

INVENTOR. JAMES J. 51/11/04), Deceased. Br lg/ 1mm law/v4 JoIf/l'rW'slfdl/VX ATTORNEYS March 7, 1967 J SUNDAY 3,307,610

' HEATER APPARATUS Filed June 9, 1966 2 Sheets-Sheet m A," w M ATTORNEYS United States Patent 3,307,610 HEATER APPARATUS James J. Sunday, deceased, late of 32739 White Oaks Trail, Birmingham, Mich. 48010, by Natalie Payne, administratrix, Birmingham, Mich.

Filed June 9, 1966, Ser. No. 556,528 6 Claims. (Cl. 158--28) This application is a continuation-in-part of applicat-ion Serial No. 360,647, filed April 17, 1964, now abandoned.

This invention relates to heater apparatus and particularly to heater apparatus which utilizes heavier fuel, such as kerosene and diesel oil.

In automotive vehicles and particularly such vehicles which utilize diesel engines, a common problem is the difliculty in starting such vehicles in cold weather.

It is an object of this invention to provide a heater apparatus which utilizes kerosene or diesel fuel and can be provided for heating vehicles and the like in cold weather.

It is a further object of this invention to provide a heater apparatus for heating the liquid coolant of an engine which utilizes kerosene or diesel fuel.

It is a further object of this invention to provide such an apparatus which operates efliciently and quickly.

In the drawings:

FIG. 1 is a part sectional elevational view of a heater apparatus embodying the invention, showing its diagrammatic relationship to certain other parts.

scale of a portion of the apparatus shown in FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is a plan view of a portion of the apparatus shown in FIG. 2.

Referring to FIG. 1, the heater apparatus 10 is adapted to be mounted in substantially vertical position adjacent the vehicle engine, for example, under the hood of an automotive vehicle. The burner apparatus comprises an upper burner section 11 and a lower burner section 12.

Referring to FIG. 2, upper burner section 11 comprises a cylindrical sheet metal housing 13. A head in the form of a casting 19 is mounted on the upper end of the housing 13 and includes a lateral extension 15 through which combustion air enters axially and moves laterally into the housing. Casting 14 also includes an integral centrally located boss 16 in which a nozzle support 17 is mounted. Nozzle support 17 includes an axial opening 18 into the lower end of which a spray nozzle 14 is threaded. A cap 20 is threaded into the upper end of the body 17 to define a chamber 21 to which fuel is provided through an inlet passage 22. As shown in FIG. 1, the fuel is supplied by fuel pump 23 through a filter 24' to inlet passage 22. A solenoid operated plunger 24 controlled by a solenoid 25 normally closes the end of the axial opening 18 by seating against an O-ring 26'. When the solenoid 25 is energized, the plunger 24 is withdrawn, permitting the fuel to flow from inlet passage 22 into chamber 21 and thereafter through opening 18 to the spray nozzle 14 which directs it axially in a spray into the housing 13.

In order to prevent the air entering through passage 15 from deflecting the spray of fuel, a cylindrical baffle 26 is supported by a perforated plate 27 axially in alignment with the nozzle 14. The openings in the plate 27 offer a restrictive action on the air entering through extension 15.

A concave baffle disc 30 is supported within the housing 13 by rod 31 in axial alignment with the nozzle 14 at a point spaced from the baflle 26. Baffle disc 30 has a central small opening 32 to permit fuel that may collect in disc 30 to pass therethrough without collecting thereon.

3 ,3 07,6 10 Patented Mar. 7, 1967 A glow plug 33 extends radially inwardly of the housing 13 and terminates substantially centrally thereof.

A second imperforate baffle 35 is supported beneath the disc 30 by rods 36 extending inwardly from a deflector 37. Deflector 37 includes a conical portion 38 that converges downwardly and is supported by an annular disc 39. The lower end of the baflle portion 38 is turned inwardly as at 40. The upper end of the deflector 37 is generally cylindrical as at 41 and is in contact with the inner surface of the housing 13. The area between the periphery of the batfle 35 and the cylindrical portion 41 is substantially equal to the area of the lower end of the conical baffle 38. Each of these areas is greater than the cross sectional area of the openings in the plate 27.

As further shown in FIG. 2, an annular flange 42 is provided on the lower end of the housing 13 and rests on the disc 39. The lower section 12 includes a generally cylindrical sheet metal casing 43 which has an annular flange 44 on the upper end thereof. A joint is provided between the

flanges

42, 44 and the disc 39 by a split collar 45 which is made of two halves that are hinged at one end and held in assembled relation at the other ends by a nut 46 and bolt 47 (FIG. 1). Alternatively, the joint may be made by welding.

A sinous helical baffle 50 fixed on a rod 51 is mounted within and extends substantially the entire length of the inner casing 43. The lower end of the rod 51 is bent and extends laterally outwardly into contact with the inner surface of the casing 43. A screw 52 is threaded into the lower end of the rod 51 to support the helical baflie 50 within the casing 43. FIG. 2 is a fragmentary sectional view on an enlraged An outer casing 44 surrounds a major portion of the length of the inner casing 43 to define a water jacket having a lower inlet 54 and an upper outlet 55 that are adapted to be connected to the cooling system of an engine, the coolant of which is to be heated. A cap 56 is mounted on the lower end of the inner casing 43 and has a laterally extending opening 57 to which the inlet of a suction blower 58 is connected.

In operation, a switch 60 is closed which energizes the glow plug 33. After a predetermined interval of time, a time delay 61 energizes the suction blower 58, the solenoid 25 and fuel pump 23 to simultaneously draw air through the inlet 15 and supply fuel to the nozzle 14. The fuel and air are mixed and vaporized by direct impingement against the baffle 35. After being initially ig nited by the glow plug 33, the heated vaporized mixture passes between the periphery of the baffle 35 and cylindrical portion 41 and through the conical baffle 38 to the area below the disc 39 where combustion occurs. The burning fuel and air mixture passes along the sinous path of the baffle 50 and combustion is completed before the mixture reaches the end of the baffle 50. A thermostat 62 is positioned on casing 13 and is connected in series with glow plug 33 to de-energize the glow plug when the casing 33 reaches a predetermined temperature. Thereafter, combustion continues until switch 60 is opened.

Since the area between the periphery of the baflie 35 and the cylindrical portion 41 is much greater than the area of the openings in the plate 27, a condition of reduced pressure is created above the baflle 35 so that the air tends to be drawn directly to the periphery of the baflle 35. The atomized fuel from the nozzle 14 is directed downwardly into impinging relation with the baflie 35 which is heated by the combustion that occurs below the baflle so that the baffle 35 functions as a vaporizing baflie for the fuel. The baflie 35 also shields the nozzle and the glow plug from excessive heat during prolonged operations. The incoming cool air passes downwardly around the nozzle and also functions to assist in cooling the nozzle.

Since the incoming cool air is drawn laterally and outwardly due to the reduced pressure conditions above the baflle 3 5, it does not chill or cool the end of the glow plug or the main position of the vaporizing bat-fie.

It has been found that the heater apparatus embodying the invention will readily burn fuel such as kerosene and diesel oil with high efficiencies at extremely low temperatures. The apparatus has been found to start easily at low temperatures and to quickly produce large quantities of heat so that when the apparatus is connected to the cooling system of a vehicle, such as a diesel engine, the coolant is quickly and efiiciently heated to operating temperatures.

Although the heater apparatus has been described in connection with the utilization of the heat for heating the liquid coolant of a vehicle engine, the heater apparatus may also be utilized to heat air by providing one or more inlets and one or more outlets from the casing 44. Thus, air can be supplied individually or collectively to portions of the engine such as the crank case, manifold and to the passenger compartment.

What is claimed is:

1. In a burner apparatus, the combination comprising a casing,

a jacket surrounding portion of said casing and having an inlet and an outlet,

nozzle means mounted at one end of said casing remote from said jacket for directing fuel axially of the casing,

means for supplying fuel under pressure to said nozzle,

a glow plu-g extending transversely in the path of said fuel,

said casing having a combustion air inlet at said one end thereof,

a substantially imperforate baffle in the path of said fuel beyond said glow plug,

said imperforate baffle having its periphery spaced from the inner wall of said casing,

the cross sectional area of said spacing being greater than the cross sectional area of said inlet at said one end of said casing,

a sinuous bafile positioned within said casing in the area of said jacket and extending along said casing to the other end thereof,

suction blower means connected to the other end of said casing,

and means for controlling said glow plug and suction blower means.

2. The combination set forth in claim 1 including a wall surrounding said imperforate baffle and tapering axially inwardly in the direction of the flow of gases toward said suction blower means.

3. In a burner apparatus, the combination comprising a casing,

a nozzle mounted at one end of said casing for directing fuel axially of the casing,

a glow plug extending transversely in the path of said fuel,

said casing having a combustion air inlet at said end thereof,

a substantially imperforate baflle in the path of said fuel beyond said glow plug and located substantially centrally of said casing,

the cross sectional area of said spacing being greater than the cross sectional area of said .inlet at said one end of said casing,

a sinuous baflle positioned within said casing and extending along said casing to the other end thereof,

and suction blower means connected to the other end of said casing.

4. The combination set forth in claim 3 including a wall surrounding said imperforate baffle and tapering axially inwardly in the direction of the flow of gases toward said suction blower means.

5. The combination set forth in claim 3 including means responsive to the temperature of said casing for controlling the glow plug and the suction blower means.

6. The combination set forth in claim 3 including a valve for controlling the flow of fuel to said nozzle.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,356,239 10/ 1920 Thomas 15828 2,286,853 6/1942 Holthouse 15 8-28 2,576,228 11/1951 Kinnard.

2,652,106 9/ 3 Cleveland 15 828 2,722,180 11/ 1955 'McIlvaine l5828 X 2,982,346 5/1961 Andersen 1584 3,072,176 1/1963 Sunday 158--28 3,133,527 5/1964 Mizer 158-28 X JAMES W. WESTHAVER, Primary Examiner.

Claims

1. IN A BURNER APPARATUS, THE COMBINATION COMPRISING A CASING, A JACKET SURROUNDING PORTION OF SID CASING AND HAVING AN INLET AND AN OUTLET, NOZZLE MEANS MOUNTED AT ONE END OF SAID CASING REMOTE FROM SAID JACKET FOR DIRECTING FUEL AXIALLY OF THE CASING, MEANS FOR SUPPLYING FUEL UNDER PRESSURE TO SAID NOZZLE, A GLOW PLUG EXTENDING TRANSVERSELY IN THE PATH OF SAID FUEL, SAID CASING HAVING A COMBUSTION AIR INLET AT SAID ONE END THEREOF, A SUBSTANTIALLY IMPERFORATE BAFFLE IN THE PATH OF SAID FUEL BEYOND SAID GLOW PLUG, SAID IMPERFORATE BAFFLE HAVING ITS PERIPHERY SPACED FROM THE INNER WALL OF SAID CASING, THE CROSS SECTIONAL AREA OF SAID SPACING BEING GREATER THAN THE CROSS SECTIONAL AREA OF SAID INLET AT SAID ONE END OF SAID CASING, A SINUOUS BAFFLE POSITIONED WITHIN SIAD CASING IN THE AREA OF SAID JACKET AND EXTENDING ALONG SAID CASING TO THE OTHER END THEREOF,