U.S. patent application number 10/428205 was filed with the patent office on 2004-11-11 for portable radiator top air circulator.
Invention is credited to Skertich, Robert J..
Application Number | 20040222309 10/428205 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 33415960 |
Filed Date | 2004-11-11 |
United States Patent
Application |
20040222309 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Skertich, Robert J. |
November 11, 2004 |
Portable radiator top air circulator
Abstract
A portable air circulator is disclosed which rests on top of a
radiator having a plurality of fins that are filled with a heated
fluid. The air circulator has a casing and a fan. The casing
includes a tray member which rests on top of the radiator fins and
has a vent section with an opening facing the fins. A cap member of
the casing forms a chamber with the tray member leading to the fan.
The vanes of the fan direct a current of air from the cap member's
vent portion through the vent section in the tray member at the
radiator fins.
Inventors: |
Skertich, Robert J.;
(Chicago, IL) |
Correspondence
Address: |
Gregory B. Beggs
Law Offices of Gregory B. Beggs
5100 Fairview Avenue
Downers Grove
IL
60515
US
|
Family ID: |
33415960 |
Appl. No.: |
10/428205 |
Filed: |
May 5, 2003 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
237/50 |
Current CPC
Class: |
Y02B 30/00 20130101;
F24D 19/06 20130101; F24D 19/0087 20130101; Y02B 30/22 20130101;
F24D 2220/2018 20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
237/050 |
International
Class: |
F24D 005/00 |
Claims
I claim:
1. A portable air circulator arranged to rest upon the top of a
radiator having a plurality of adjacent fluid-filled fin sections
comprising a casing and a fan, the casing including a tray member
arranged to rest upon several top edge portions of the radiator fin
sections and including a vent section having an opening facing and
adjacent to the fin sections, and a cap member over the tray member
forming a chamber intermediate the cap member and the tray member
and including a cap member vent portion leading to the chamber from
room air outside the cap member, the fan including a plurality of
vanes arranged inside the chamber to direct a current of air from
the cap member vent portion through the vent section in the tray
member at the radiator fin sections.
2. The air circulator of claim 1 in which the tray member includes
a horizontally disposed deck portion and vertically disposed side
portions depending from outer edge portions of the deck portion and
arranged to overhang the top edge portions of the radiator fin
sections.
3. The air circulator of claim 1 in which the tray member includes
a horizontally disposed deck portion and vertically disposed end
plates engaged upon and supporting the casing cap member over the
tray member deck portion.
4. The air circulator of claim 2 in which the cap member vent
portion leading to the amber for room air outside the cap member is
formed by an outer end portion of the member and adjacent outer end
portion of the tray member.
5. The air circulator of claim 3 in which the cap member vent
portion leading to the amber for room air outside the cap member is
formed by a plurality of apertures rough the cap member overlying
and spaced apart from the tray member.
6. The air circulator of claim 1 in which the fan is disposed upon
the tray member and aced apart from the cap member.
7. The air circulator of claim 1 in which the opening in the vent
section of the tray member is formed as a single aperture through
the tray member facing the fan and accepting the current of air
from the fan.
8. The air circulator of claim I in which the opening in the vent
section of the tray member is formed as a plurality of closely
spaced apertures through the tray member facing the fan and
accepting the current of air from the fan.
Description
[0001] This invention relates to portable air circulators. More
particularly, it relates to an air circulator which directs room
air downwardly onto the top portions of radiator fins which are
filled with a heated fluid and downwardly along those fins.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0002] Various fan constructions have been proposed for radiators
that have several adjacent tubular fins filled with heated fluids
such as oil. Most of those fans are housed in assemblies
permanently affixed to the radiators. Such combined heating units
with built-in fans cost more to construct than the radiator and fan
units would cost separately, and whenever the combined units
require servicing in one element or another, disassembly of the
entire combination is usually needed.
[0003] The present invention avoids the expense involved in
building a combined radiator and fan package. It also permits a
user to purchase whatever radiator unit he wishes and then add a
separately engineered fan unit at a different time without having
to consider whether any modification of the radiator might be
required.
[0004] A prior art example in point is shown and described in
United States Published Application No. 2002/0076213 A1, published
Jun. 20, 2002. A portable heater having a set of tubular oil-filled
fins fastened to each other side-by-side has a set of controls
vertically arranged on the outside of the tubular fin as the right
end of the set. A cover for the controls is assembled on the
outside of the right end fin too. The cover also supports a hood at
its upper end over the tubular fins, and a companion cover fastened
to the outer face of the tubular fin at the left end of the set
supports the other end of the hood over the fins. Inside the hood a
squirrel cage fan directs air down onto the top portions of the
radiator tubular fin units. The fan, which is controlled by the
controls panel attached to the outside of the right end fin, is
mounted inside the hood. The hood is generally "U"-shaped in cross
section with side panels depending down along the upper sides of
the tubular fin sections of the radiator. There are louvers in the
side panels of the hood so that room air can be drawn into the
hood. As illustrated particularly in FIG. 5 of the '213 A1 patent
application, the radiator, fan and fan compartment are assembled as
a unitary structure.
[0005] A comparable unitary structure is shown and described in
U.S. Pat. No. 4,870,253. A multitubed radiator is mounted on a base
with wheels so that it can be moved from room to room. The lower
portions of the tubes are located in a chamber inside the base.
There are finger portions along the upper side of the base
extending between the radiator tubes which direct heated air from
the tubes into a lower portion of the chamber. Also in the lower
portion of the chamber, below the tubes of the radiator, there is a
fan which can be pivoted to blow heated air through louvers in the
chamber walls into the room in which the radiator is located or
else blow air upwardly against the tubular sections of the
radiator. For a view of the way the radiator and its lower
compartment containing the fan look, one can examine U.S. Design
Pat. No. Des. 314,613.
[0006] Other examples of portable room heaters appear in U.S. Pat.
Nos. 4,493,974 and 6,072,938, although the units shown and
described in these patents do not incorporate any forms of rotating
electric fans.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0007] The present invention approaches the problems of circulating
air heated by the tubular radiator finned sections in a different
manner, emphasizing the simplicity of resting a fan housing and air
channeling configuration conveniently on top of the tubular finned
sections. The air circulator of the present invention utilizes a
separate casing for the fan which can simply be placed on the
radiator assembly without having to attach it, and without any
major current draw to be added to the fluid heating means in the
radiator assembly itself.
[0008] In sum, the present invention is embodied in a portable air
circulator arranged to rest upon the top of a radiator having a
plurality of adjacent fluid-filled fin sections. The air circulator
comprises a casing and a fan. The casing includes a tray member
arranged to rest upon several top edge portions of the radiator fin
sections. The tray member includes a vent section which has an
opening facing and adjacent to the fin sections and a cap member
over the tray member which forms a chamber intermediate the cap
member and the tray member. The cap member includes a vent portion
leading to the chamber from room air outside the cap member. The
fan includes a plurality of vanes arranged inside the chamber to
direct a current of air from the cap member vent portion through
the vent section in the tray member at the radiator fin
sections.
[0009] From the foregoing, and from what follows, it will be
apparent that the present invention solves numerous problems which
portable heaters presented when constructed with integrally
incorporated fan elements.
[0010] It is one of the objects of this invention to provide a
portable casing containing a fan which may be set on top of a
radiator to direct room air onto the top portions of the tubular
elements of the radiator.
[0011] It is another object of this invention to provide a portable
casing containing a fan to draw room air into a chamber above a
radiator and direct the air downwardly onto the upper ends of the
adjacent tubular radiator fin elements.
[0012] It is another object of this invention to provide a portable
casing containing a fan for circulating room air downwardly onto
the adjacent tubular radiator fin elements of a portable radiator
which is a separate construction from the radiator itself and
operable independently of the radiator.
[0013] It is another object of this invention to provide a portable
casing containing a fan which is readily placed on top of a
radiator to circulate room air downwardly onto the tubular elements
of the radiator and which is less expensive to build and maintain
to achieve air flow over the radiator elements than a fan encased
in a housing which is constructed as an integral part of the
radiator itself
[0014] Other objects and features of this invention will be
apparent to those skilled in the art of building radiator heated
air circulation systems from an examination of the following
detailed description of preferred embodiments of the invention and
of the accompanying drawings:
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0015] FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a portable air circulator
embodying the present invention comprising a casing, partially
broken away, and a fan resting on top of a radiator, the latter
being shown in phantom;
[0016] FIG. 2 is an exploded, enlarged view of the portable air
circulator shown in FIG. 1;
[0017] FIG. 3 is an enlarged elevational view of the portable air
circulator shown in FIG. 1;
[0018] FIG. 4 is a sectional view of the portable air circulator
shown in FIG. 3, taken in the direction of the arrows 4-4 in FIG.
3;
[0019] FIG. 5 is a sectional view of the portable air circulator
shown in FIG. 3, taken in the direction of arrows 5-5 in FIG. 3;
and
[0020] FIG. 6 is an exploded view, in perspective, of an alternate
embodiment of a portable air circulator incorporating the present
invention.
DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
[0021] The preferred embodiments of this invention shown in the
accompanying drawings will now be described, it being understood
that the preferred forms are illustrative and that the invention
described herein is embodied in the claims which are appended
hereto.
[0022] The portable air circulator 10 in FIG. 1 rests on top of a
radiator 12. Preferably, the circulator is somewhat elongated in
shape so that it can be easily set on top of a number of adjacent
tubular fin sections 14 of the radiator 12 and extend over those
sections for part of the length of the radiator 12. A tray member
16 supports the upper elements of the air circulator while it
overlies the tops of the fin sections 14 in the radiator. Rails 18
(see FIG. 2) may be affixed to the underside of tray member 16 if
desired in order to facilitate resting the tray member 16 on the to
edge portions of the radiator fin sections 14. The outer edge
portions 20 of the tray member 16 may be turned downwardly from a
horizontally disposed centrally located deck portion 22 of the tray
member 16 in order to deflect any stray air currents from the fan
24 downwardly along the radiator fins 14.
[0023] Fan 24 is attached to the upper face of the tray's deck
portion 22, preferably in a housing 26, by threaded members such as
bolts 28. Power cord 30 transmits household current to fan 24
through an on/off switch 32, or, if the fan 24 is so equipped, a
variable speed switch. A single opening 34, large enough to receive
the entire output of the fan 24, is formed in a vent section 36 of
the deck 22 facing and adjacent to the fin sections 14 of the
radiator 12. The fan 24 includes a plurality of vanes 38 aimed at
the opening 34 to direct a current of air, represented by
directional arrows 40, through the opening 34 in the vent section
of the tray member downwardly at the radiator fin sections 14.
[0024] The casing of air circulator 10 also includes a cap member
42 arranged above and spaced apart from the tray member 16 so as to
form a chamber 44 intermediate the cap member 42 and the tray
member 16. Fan 24 is positioned inside the chamber 44 with its air
input side facing toward the cap member 42 but spaced a small
distance away from a horizontally arranged centrally located deck
portion 46 of the cap member. Side portions 48 of the cap member
depend from deck portion 46 and substantially enclose fan 24 in the
chamber 44. The nuts 50 are located on bolts 28 a short distance
away from the deck portion 46 of the cap member so as to keep an
open space for room air to be pulled into the fan 24 and directed
by the fan vanes against the top portions of the radiator fins.
[0025] The areas of the side portions 48 and the deck portion 46 of
the cap member which are adjacent the outer extremities of the tray
member form cap member incoming vent portions 52. The directional
arrows 54 in FIG. 1 illustrate the paths of room air flow being
pulled into the chamber 44 from a room where the radiator 12 is
located and into fan 24. Arrows 56 and 58 in FIG. 1 illustrate the
paths of warmed air entering the room in which the radiator is
located after the air is passed through the fan and over the top
portions of the radiator fins.
[0026] An alternate embodiment of the present invention is shown in
the air circulator 100 illustrated in FIG. 6. A radiator 102
appears in phantom and includes adjacent tubular fin sections 104.
Preferably the air circulator of this embodiment 100, like the
embodiment 10, is somewhat elongated in shape so that it can be
easily set on the radiator over the tops of a number of the
adjacent tubular fin sections 104. A tray member 106 supports the
upper elements of the air circulator 100. The tray is also adapted
to rest directly on the tops of the tubular fin sections, although
it may also be provided with feet or rails like tray member 16 if
desired. The tray member 106 includes a horizontally disposed
centrally located deck portion 108 and a pair of vertically
disposed end walls 110 facing each other at opposite ends of the
deck portion.
[0027] Fan 112 is attached to the upper side of the tray's deck
portion 108, preferably in a housing 114, with fasteners such as
bolts 116. Directly below the fan a plurality of apertures 118 are
formed in the deck portion 108 of tray member 106 to receive the
entire output of the fan 112. The fan includes vanes aimed at the
apertures 118 which direct a current of air, represented by
directional arrow 122, through the apertures 118 downwardly at the
radiator fin sections 104.
[0028] The casing of air circulator 100 also includes a cap member
124 arranged above and spaced apart from the tray member 106 so as
to form a chamber 126 intermediate the cap member 124 and the tray
member 106. Fan 112 is positioned inside the chamber 126 with its
air input side facing toward the cap member 124 but spaced a small
distance away from a horizontally arranged centrally located deck
portion 128 of the cap member. Side portions 130 of the cap member
depend from deck portion 128 and substantially enclose fan 112 in
the chamber 126. Tabs such as 132 also depend from the ends of deck
portion 128 and are arranged to engage and be supported by the end
walls 110 of the tray member 108. Metal screws, such as those
illustrated at 134, may be used to maintain the engagement.
Preferably, the engagement of tabs 132 and end walls 110 supports
the deck portion 128 a small distance above and spaced apart from
the top of the fan housing 114.
[0029] A plurality of apertures 136 is formed in the deck portion
128 of cap member 124 adjacent the vanes 120 of fan 112 to provide
a cap member incoming vent portion 138. The directional arrow 140
in FIG. 6 illustrates the path of room air flow being pulled into
chamber 126 from a room where the radiator 102 is located and into
fan 112. Arrows 142 in FIG. 6 illustrate the paths of warmed air
currents entering the room after the air has been passed through
the fan 112 and over the top portions of the radiator fins.
[0030] Both of the embodiments described above are independent of
the radiator units on which they are intended to rest. They are
readily portable and safe. They can be carried from one room to
another by almost every member of a household, plugged in and
operated to increase the circulation of warm air in any room where
the user is. For a manufacture, they are easily made, shipped and
stocked, and they enable a radiator manufacturer to supply a lower
priced radiator to purchasers who may want to do without the
expense of a fan, or to perhaps purchase a separate unit at a later
date.
[0031] From all of the foregoing it will be evident that, although
particular forms of the invention have been illustrated and
described, nevertheless various modifications can be made without
departing from the true spirit and scope of the invention.
Accordingly, no limitation on the invention is intended by the
foregoing description, and its full breadth is intended to be
covered by the following claims.
* * * * *