US3377465A

US3377465A - Oscillating electric heater

Info

Publication number: US3377465A
Application number: US471167A
Authority: US
Inventors: Richard G Ronk
Original assignee: Westinghouse Electric Corp
Current assignee: CBS Corp
Priority date: 1965-07-12
Filing date: 1965-07-12
Publication date: 1968-04-09
Anticipated expiration: 1985-04-09

Description

R. G. RONK OSCILLATING ELECTRIC HEATER April 9, 1968 I 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed July 12, 1965 FIG. 3. 5

FIG. 5.

April 9, 1968 R. e. RONK I OSCILLATING ELECTRIC HEATER 2 Sheets- Sheet Z Filed July 12, 1965 F l G. 2.

WITNESSES= J45 INVENTOR Richard G. Ronk BY W ATTORNEY United States Patent 3,377,465 ()SCILLATING ELECTRIC HEATER Richard G. Ronk, Bellville, Ohio, assignor to Westinghouse Electric Corporation, Pittsburgh, Pa., 21 corporation of Pennsylvania Filed July 12, 1965, Ser. No. 471,167 3 Claims. (Cl. 219-366) ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A heater including a housing having therein an air heater and a mechanism for causing the housing to oscillate relative to a support base. The mechanism includes first and second relatively slidable members in the housing. The first member is coupled to the base to preclude movement therebetween and is provided with an elongated slot. The other member is rigidly secured to the housing and supports a rotary motor driving a rotatable drive means having a pin received in the slot in the first member.

This invention relates, in general, to heating apparatus and, more particularly, to portable room heaters, commonly referred to as space-heaters.

Heretofore, the effectiveness of portable space-heaters, as such, has been somewhat limited, in that, the heat patterns thereof are substantially unidirectional and consequently spotty. For example, conventional constructions comprise stationary housing structures with heating elements fixedly mounted therein and in a cold wall construction (i.e. forced air), have a unidirectional fan or duct-like arrangement directing the air over the heating elements.

Accordingly, it is the general object of this invention to provide new and improved heating apparatus.

It is a more particular object of this invention to provide in an appliance, such as a portable space-heater, for example, means for varying the orientation of the heating elements thereof with respect to a fixed reference point.

Another object of this invention is to provide a new and improved oscillating space-heater.

Still another object of this invention is to provide mechanism for effecting oscillatory motion.

Further objects and advantages of this invention will become apparent as the following description proceeds and features of novelty which characterize the invention will be pointed out in particularity in the claims annexed to and forming a part of this specification.

For a better understanding of the invention, reference may be had to the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIGURE 1 is a perspective view of a portable spaceheater representing the invention;

FIG. 2 is a side elevational view, of the heater illustrated in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a fragmentary side view of mechanism for producing oscillatory movement of the housing structure of the heater with respect to its supporting base;

FIG. 4 is a fragmentary front view of the mechanism shown in FIG. 3; and

FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view taken on the line VV of FIG. 3.

Referring to the drawings, especially FIGS. 1 and 2, reference character designates generally a portable space-heater comprising a base member 11 supporting a housing structure 12.

The base member 11 comprises a four-legged stand 13 and a collar member 14 having a substantially vertically oriented cylindrical bore 16 therethrough. The collar member is pivotally supported on a roll pin 17 carried by a pair of upstanding spaced apart brackets 18 which partly broken away,

brackets are rigidly secured to the stand 13. One end of a tilt rod 19, supported for axial movement by a pair of spaced apart brackets 21, serves as one element of a ratchet mechanism, which together with a plurality of teeth 22 in the surface of the collar member 14, provide means for locking the collar in a plurality of positions with respect to the vertical axis. A knob 23 is provided at the opposite end of the tilt rod 19 by which axial withdrawal of the end of the tilt rod from the teeth 22 may be accomplished. A helical spring 24 carried by the rod 19 intermediate one of the brackets 21 and a plurality of bosses 26 serves to bias the end of the tilt rod into its locking position between two of the teeth 22 and together with the bosses 26 serves to secure the tilt rod 19 to the brackets 21.

A support shaft 27 rotatably supported in the cylindrical bore 16 is provided with an annular groove, not shown, in its lower end, wherein there is disposed an E ring 28 which along with flange means 29 couples the shaft 27 to the collar member 14. The upper end of the shaft 27 is threaded for receiving a nut 31 which serves to secure the shaft to a hat-shaped bracket 32 (see FIGS. 3 and 4) which is, in turn, secured to the bottom wall 33 of the housing structure 12 by suitable fastening means 34.

The hat-shaped bracket 32 which is one of a pair of relatively sliding members is provided with an elongated slot 36, one in each of its vertical walls, for receiving a substantially fiat rectangular plate member 37 which is the other relatively sliding member. An L-shaped bracket 38 suitably attached to the plate 37 and a link arm 39 secured thereto, rigidly connect the collar member 14 and, therefore, the stand 13 to the plate member 37, consequently, the plate member remains stationary at all times during operation of the heater 10. The plate member 37 is provided with a vertical elongated slot 40',

see particularly FIGS. 24, adapted to receive a pin element 41 carried by a rotating drive wheel 42. The drive wheel is adapted to be selectively driven by transmission means 43 (see FIG. 2), the power for which is supplied by motor means generally indicated 44. As seen in FIG. 2, one end of the rotor shaft of the motor means 44 is coupled to the transmission 43 while the other end thereof carries a fan 46 adapted to induce air flow through a screened inlet, not shown, in the rear wall 47 of the housing structure 12, over the walls of a reflector structure 48 surrounding a heater or air warming assembly 49 and through an outlet grill 51 comprising the front wall of the housing structure. The heater assembly and motor means are supplied with household current via a conventional power cord and electrical conductors which have been omitted from the drawings for simplification thereof.

Supported by the top wall 52 of the housing structure 12 is a multi-purpose switch assembly 53 including push buttons 54 for energizing the heater assembly 49 and the motor means 44, simultaneously, once the power cord, not shown, has been plugged into an electrical outlet. The circuit through the switch assembly 53 to the heater assembly is completed through conventional thermostat control means generally indicated 56, the control point of which may be manually varied by means of a thermostat control knob 57. The switch assembly 53- and the thermostat control 56 are mounted to the top wall 52 and a carrying handle 55 also mounted thereto facilitates moving the heater 10 from one place to another. A cantilevered weight is adapted to break the circuit through the contacts of the thermostat control 56 in the event that the heater 10 is inadvertently tipped over.

The top end of an actuating rod 58 extends from Within the housing structure 12 through the top wall 52 and is adapted to receive a knob 59 by which the rod is manipulated. The rod 58 is rotatably supported intermediate its top and bottom ends by a spring 61, one end of which is supported by the top wall of the hat-shaped bracket 32 and the other end of which abuts one end of a leaf spring 62 which, in turn, abuts a pair of pin members 63 radially protruding from the circumference of the actuating rod 58. The helical spring 61 biases the rod 58 which is free to move axially upward when not locked in its operative position. Locking of the rod in its actuating position is effected through engagement of a pair of posts 64 carried thereby, with the underside of a flange 65 of a supporting bracket 66. The flange 65 is provided with a slot 67 through which the posts 64 pass upon axial displacement of the actuating rods 58.

Downward movement of the rod 58 causes flexure of the leaf spring 62, the other end of which is disposed in an annular groove 68 in the hub 69 of the drive wheel 42. Flexure of the spring 62 effects axial displacement of the drive wheel 42 to the right as viewed in viewed in FIGS. 2 and 3 whereby a pair of opposed pin elements 71, only one shown, carried by a shaft 72 of the transmission 43, are received in recesses 70 in the end of the hub 69 whereupon the drive wheel 42 is coupled to the transmission means 43 for rotation therewith or thereby.

Rotation of the drive wheel 42 through the pin element 41, adjacent the circumference thereof, tends to move the plate member 37, which as was hereinabove pointed out is rigidly fixed to the collar 14 of the stationary base member 11. Since the pinelement 41 cannot move the plate 37, the force transmitted thereto is transmitted to the hat-shaped bracket 32 through the transmission means 43 and a bracket 73 mounting the transmission means to the bracket 32. This transmitted force effects rotation of the hat-shaped bracket, and, consequently, the housing structure which is mounted to the rotatable support shaft 27, the degree of rotation being limited by the size of the drive Wheel 42 and the distance from the center thereof of the pin element 41, which in this case will be capable of producing sixty angular degrees of rot-a tion. It should be clear that the rotation of the drive wheel 42 will produce oscillating motion since once 180 it will reverse the direction of movement of the hatshaped member and, consequently, the housing structure 12.

While there has been shown and described what is present is considered to be the preferred embodiment of the invention, modifications thereto will readily occur to those skilled in the art. It is not, therefore, desired that the invention be limited to the specific arrangements shown and described and it is intended to cover in the j appending claims all such modifications as fall within the true spirit and scope of the invention.

What is claimed is:

1. Heater apparatus comprising:

housing structure having air warming means therein,

a base member supporting said housing structure for rotation,

a pair of relatively slidable members in said housing structure,

a rotary motor having an output shaft,

drive means supported by said shaft for rotation therewith,

one of said relatively slidable members having an elongated slot therein and said drive means having a pin member received in said elongated slot,

the other of said relatively slidable members being rigidly attached to said housing structure and rigidly supporting said rotary motor,

means for coupling said one of said relatively slidable members to said base member for preventing relative movement therebetween, whereby engagement of said pin member in said slot creates a force which is transmitted back through the pin member, drive means, rotary motor, said other of said relatively slidable members and said housing structure, said transmission of said force causing said housing structure to oscillate relative to said base member.

2. Structure as specified in claim 1, wherein said base member comprises a stationary member and a member adjustable relative to said stationary member,

said adjustable member being connected to said housing structure through said other of said relatively slidable members.

3. Structure as specified in claim 1 wherein said drive means is axially slidable on said motor shaft and said motor shaft and said drive means are provided with means for selectively coupling said drive means to said shaft,

and means supported by said other of said slidable members for effecting coupling and uncoupling of siad drive means and said shaft.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,334,501 11/1943 Moeller 219-377 2,391,964 1/1946 Green 219370 2,473,325 6/1949 Aufiero 230-256 X 2,549,523 4/ 1951 Reisch.

ANTHONY BARTIS, Primary Examiner.