U.S. patent application number 10/709223 was filed with the patent office on 2005-10-27 for windshield liquid wash heater.
Invention is credited to Whittaker, Thomas H..
Application Number | 20050235979 10/709223 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 35135192 |
Filed Date | 2005-10-27 |
United States Patent
Application |
20050235979 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Whittaker, Thomas H. |
October 27, 2005 |
WINDSHIELD LIQUID WASH HEATER
Abstract
For inclusion on the line between the liquid wash supply and the
discharge jets of a vehicle windshield liquid wash pumping system,
a liquid wash heater secured on an engine manifold or exhaust pipe,
comprising a housing with a thin-walled, relatively small diameter,
non-linear liquid wash tube contained therein.
Inventors: |
Whittaker, Thomas H.; (North
Canton, OH) |
Correspondence
Address: |
BUCKINGHAM, DOOLITTLE & BURROUGHS, LLP
50 S. MAIN STREET
AKRON
OH
44308
US
|
Family ID: |
35135192 |
Appl. No.: |
10/709223 |
Filed: |
April 22, 2004 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
126/19.5 ;
122/235.14 |
Current CPC
Class: |
F28D 7/0016 20130101;
F28F 2275/02 20130101; B60S 1/487 20130101; F28F 2275/085
20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
126/019.5 ;
122/235.14 |
International
Class: |
F24B 001/00 |
Claims
1. A liquid wash heater for attachment to an engine exhaust system
to heat liquid wash to clean a windshield, wherein said liquid wash
heater comprises: a housing with a cavity located therein; and a
serpentine liquid wash tube at least partially contained within
said cavity, wherein said serpentine liquid wash tube has an inlet
and an outlet.
2. The liquid wash heater of claim 1 wherein said housing further
comprises a longitudinal transversely concave bottom recess for
saddling an engine exhaust system pipe.
3. The liquid wash heater of claim 1 wherein said liquid wash
heater further comprises a filler material at least partially
encompassing said serpentine liquid wash tube within said
housing.
4. The liquid wash heater of claim 1 wherein said liquid wash
heater further comprises a pair of external connector fittings
wherein one of said pair of external connector fittings is attached
to each of said inlet and said outlet of the serpentine liquid wash
tube.
5. The liquid wash heater of claim 1 wherein said liquid wash
heater is attached to said engine exhaust system pipe by a clamping
means.
6. The liquid wash heater of claim 5 wherein said clamping means is
a band clamp.
7. The liquid wash heater of claim 1 wherein the diameter of said
serpentine liquid wash tube is less than or equal to one inch.
8. A liquid wash heater for attachment to an engine exhaust system
to heat liquid wash to clean a windshield, wherein said liquid wash
heater comprises: a housing with a cavity contained therein; a
curvilinear liquid wash tube at least partially contained within
said cavity, wherein said curvilinear liquid wash tube has an inlet
and an outlet; and a filler material at least partially
encompassing said curvilinear liquid wash tube within said
housing.
9. The liquid wash heater of claim 8 wherein said housing further
comprises a longitudinal transversely concave bottom recess for
saddling an engine exhaust system pipe.
10. The liquid wash heater of claim 8 wherein said liquid wash
heater further comprises a pair of external connector fittings
wherein one of said pair of external connector fittings is attached
to each of said inlet and said outlet of the curvilinear liquid
wash tube.
11. The liquid wash heater of claim 8 wherein said liquid wash
heater is attached to said engine exhaust system pipe by a clamping
means.
12. The liquid wash heater of claim 11 wherein said clamping means
is a band clamp.
13. The liquid wash heater of claim 8 wherein the diameter of said
curvilinear liquid wash tube is less than or equal to one inch.
14. A liquid wash heater for attachment to an engine exhaust system
to heat liquid wash to clean a windshield, wherein said liquid wash
heater comprises: a housing; a nonlinear liquid wash tube at least
partially contained within said housing, wherein said nonlinear
liquid wash tube has an inlet and an outlet; and a filler material
at least partially encompassing said nonlinear liquid wash tube
within said housing.
15. The liquid wash heater of claim 14 wherein said housing further
comprises a longitudinal transversely concave bottom recess for
saddling an engine exhaust system pipe.
16. The liquid wash heater of claim 14 wherein said liquid wash
heater further comprises a pair of external connector fittings
wherein one of said pair of external connector fittings is attached
to each of said inlet and said outlet of the nonlinear liquid wash
tube.
17. The liquid wash heater of claim 14 wherein the diameter of said
nonlinear liquid wash tube is less than or equal to one inch.
18. A liquid wash heater for attachment to an engine exhaust system
to heat liquid wash to clean a windshield, wherein said liquid wash
heater comprises: a housing; and a flexible liquid wash tube at
least partially contained within said housing, wherein said
flexible liquid wash tube has an inlet and an outlet.
19. The liquid wash heater of claim 18 wherein said housing further
comprises a longitudinal transversely concave bottom recess for
saddling an engine exhaust system pipe.
20. The liquid wash heater of claim 18 wherein the diameter of said
flexible liquid wash tube is less than or equal to one inch.
Description
BACKGROUND OF INVENTION
[0001] The invention relates to an improved windshield liquid wash
heater and in particular to a relatively smaller, more efficient,
and less costly to manufacture heater that incorporates a liquid
wash line that is capable of rapidly heating the liquid wash
contained therein.
[0002] By common winter experience of auto drivers much on the
road, especially in the more northernly regions of the United
States and Canada, frosting, icing or the like of the windshield is
often an annoyance and not infrequently a definite driving hazard.
Thus where a vehicle has been parked outside, freezing rain, sleet,
or wet snow which has frozen, or at time heavy frost, may be
deposited on a windshield which is not removable by windshield
wiper action, may in fact have immobilized the blades, but in any
event requiring scraping or chipping or application of chemical
sprays, or a prolonged wait for the defrosters to melt or lessen
the deposit, to clear at least the wiper-swept area, before the
vehicle can be safely driven.
[0003] Even under some warm weather driving conditions, hot wash
water becomes highly desirable. Thus road oil or grime, especially
on a recently wetted road, thrown against the windshield, can be
cleaned in a second or two with heated liquid wash, whereas with
unheated wash there may be several seconds of dangerously obscured
vision. Also, vehicles parked under certain species of trees will
accumulate a sap-like deposit which is not easily washed off by the
usual auto windshield washers.
[0004] At times, even when a vehicle is being driven with the
defrosters on at full heat and wipers operating, severe weather
conditions may lead to some vision-obscuring icing, or there may be
a small localized pad of ice or snow frozen onto a blade and
spacing the rest of the blade from effective glass-wiping contact,
so that vision is interfered with unless the driver stops to clean
the blade. Usually under these circumstances the windshield washer
system is of little help, since its liquid wash supply is itself
comparatively cold and in any event would require undesirably
extended use to be of any value.
[0005] To overcome such conditions, there have been under-the-hood
apparatus or systems proposed to heat a suitable aqueous liquid by
heat exchangers picking up heat either from the exhaust manifold or
exhaust pipe, or from heated engine coolant, with the heated water
then directed onto the windshield as needed.
[0006] The prior proposals have entailed various disadvantages.
Some for example have by-passed or diverted exhaust gases through
the heat exchanger, undesirable since interrupting the integrity of
the poisonous exhaust gas conduits. Others have required
connections into the engine block, the coolant hoses or inside
heater hoses to furnish a heating medium to the wash water heater.
Both types have had a degree of complexity in structure and/or in
mounting which preferably is avoided or minimized.
[0007] One particular prior patent, U.S. Pat. No. 3,785,359,
disclosed an improvement over the prior art by disclosing a heater
for windshield wash water which can be readily clamped and secured
on an exhaust pipe or manifold to pick up waste heat. However, the
device disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,785,359 is bulky, and takes
approximately seven minutes to heat the wash water due to the size,
shape and configuration of the wash water reservoirs contained
therein, which is highly undesirable in today's fast paced
world.
[0008] The present invention improves upon the general nature of
the heater described in U.S. Pat. No. 3,785,359 by providing a
heater for the windshield liquid wash which is readily clamped and
secured on an exhaust pipe or manifold to pick up waste heat, and
which is simply connected into the windshield waster system. The
improved heater comprises a housing, a thin-walled, relatively
smaller diameter liquid wash line or tube contained therein and
preferably at least partially encased in a filler material, and a
pair of simple line connector fittings. Further the structure of
the improved heater itself is quite simple, maintenance-free and of
comparatively low cost involving only the improved heater and a
simple clamping device.
SUMMARY OF INVENTION
[0009] The general objective of the present invention is to provide
a simple, low cost, rugged, improved heater unit for rapidly
heating a liquid by engine exhaust waste heat.
[0010] Another objective is to provide a simple windshield wash
liquid heater readily installed in a vehicle such as an
automobile.
[0011] Another objective is to provide a heater furnishing heated
liquid wash for cleaning a windshield of icing in conjunction with
wiper action over its area in a relatively short time after engine
starting.
[0012] These objectives and advantages are obtained by the improved
windshield liquid wash heater of the present invention, the
improved heater comprising a housing with a cavity contained
therein, a thin-walled, relatively small diameter liquid wash line
or tube contained in said cavity and preferably at least partially
encompassed by a filler material, and a pair of simple line
connector fittings.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS
[0013] The preferred embodiment of the invention, illustrative of
the best mode in which applicant has contemplated applying the
principals is set forth in the following description and is shown
in the drawings and is particularly and distinctly pointed out and
set forth in the appended claims.
[0014] FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of a heater installation in a
windshield wiper wash water system with a portion of the liquid
wash tank broken away to reveal the liquid wash;
[0015] FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the improved heater unit
mounted on a fragmentarily shown engine exhaust pipe and including
a hidden view of the liquid wash tube;
[0016] FIG. 3 is a cross-section view of the improved heater of
FIGS. 1 and 2 and mounted to an exhaust pipe;
[0017] FIG. 4 is an exploded view of the improved heater unit of
FIGS. 1-3 and depicts the housing, the thin-walled, relatively
small diameter liquid wash tube, and a clamp.
[0018] FIG. 5 is a perspective view of the improved heater of FIG.
2 and showing a portion of the housing broken away to reveal the
liquid wash tube and the space not consumed by the liquid wash tube
being filled with a filler material;
[0019] FIG. 6 is a perspective view of an alternative embodiment of
the improved heater unit shown in FIG. 2, with an alternative
orientation of the liquid wash tube and the connector fittings
located on opposite ends of the housing; and
[0020] FIG. 7 is an exploded view of an alternative embodiment of
the improved heater unit shown in FIG. 4, with a double serpentine
liquid wash tube.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
[0021] In the drawings, FIG. 1 schematically represents use of
heater unit 10 of the present invention as hereinafter described in
an automotive vehicle environment, namely in a windshield washer
system, wherein the washer jets 12 are supplied with heated liquid
wash, such as water in combination with other freezing point
depressants or any other commercially available windshield wash
fluid, through pump output lines 14 and 16 by pump 18 with intake
connected by pump intake line 20, the heater 10 and heater inlet
line 22 to the liquid wash supply vessel 24 and liquid wash 25.
Heater 10 is held in thermally conductive contact and heat
transferring proximity with the engine exhaust manifold or the
exhaust pipe 26 to warm the liquid wash passing there through.
[0022] Heater 10, in general form, is symmetrical about a
longitudinal center plane having a longitudinally straight
transversely concave bottom recess 30a and a hemispherical top 30b
connected by sides 30c; providing top and side surfaces well
adapted for band clamping on the cylindrical pipe exterior as shown
in FIG. 2, by even a simple bolt-tightened clamp strap 32 or any
other suitable banding clamp, with the opposed band ends at 34a and
34b bolted on or near one or both of sides 30c. Notwithstanding the
foregoing, it is understood that the use of clamp 32 to attach
heater 10 to the exhaust pipe or manifold is not crucial to achieve
the advantages of the present invention, and that any suitable
means of attaching heater unit 10 to the exhaust pipe or manifold
or anywhere else along the exhaust system can be used without
affecting the overall concept of the present invention.
[0023] Heater 10 further comprises a housing 30 having a cavity
contained therein, a nonlinear, preferably serpentine or
curvilinear liquid wash tube 40 at least partially contained
therein, optional filler material 50 which is preferably
heat-conductive, and connector fittings 61 and 62. Housing 30 is
preferably a steel casting, though it is contemplated that housing
30 could be formed of any type of durable material without
affecting the overall concept of the present invention. Housing 30
functions as both a heat sink, by absorbing waste heat from its
close proximity to the engine exhaust manifold or exhaust pipe 26,
and to house and protect liquid wash tube 40.
[0024] The convexity of the recess 30a may amount to almost a full
semi-cylinder; and where exhaust pipe 26 has the same curvature a
rather extended heater-to-pipe contact surface area is then
obtained. However, even where the pipe radius is say smaller, so
that theoretically a line contact would result, practically a more
than line contact arises and the proximity still offers further
good heat transfer by radiation and air convection to the extent
that one heater size may usefully be applied even to a range of
pipes.
[0025] In accordance with another important feature of the present
invention, liquid wash tube 40 has two ends and is preferably
formed of thin-walled, relatively small diameter copper tubing,
though it is contemplated that any type of tubing, either rigid or
flexible, capable of conducting heat and accommodating the flow of
liquid wash 25 therein can be used without affecting the overall
concept of the present invention. For example, it is also
contemplated that a braided polymer material could be used over a
thermoset tube, or the braiding itself can be a thermoset
plastic.
[0026] The diameter of wash tube 40 is preferably less than one
inch, but it is contemplated that larger diameter lines or tubes
will also achieve the stated advantages of the present invention.
Liquid wash tube 40 is preferably orientated within housing 30 in a
serpentine configuration as illustrated in FIG. 2, though
alternative orientations of liquid wash tube 40 are also
contemplated, and indeed two such alternative orientations are
illustrated in FIGS. 6 and 7, respectively. In fact, FIG. 7
illustrates a double serpentine orientation, which could easily be
applied to the embodiment shown in FIG. 2 without effecting the
overall concept of the present invention. The serpentine or other
non-linear or curvilinear configuration of liquid wash tube 40
allows for increased liquid wash capacity and residence time for
liquid wash 25 within housing 30 and in close proximity to exhaust
pipe 26, which ensures that an adequate supply of heated liquid
wash is available on demand. The thin-walled, relatively
small-diameter construction of liquid wash tube 40 and its close
proximity to exhaust pipe 26 enables heater unit 10 to heat liquid
wash 25 quickly and efficiently, and is an improvement over the two
much larger reservoirs, connected in series, disclosed in U.S. Pat.
No. 3,785,359, which takes much longer to heat due to the thickness
and orientation of the reservoirs.
[0027] Preferably, liquid wash tube 40 is at least partially
encompassed within housing 30 by optional filler material 50. In a
preferred manner of construction of improved heater 10, liquid wash
tube 40 is inserted into the cavity of housing 30 and filler
material 50 is poured into housing 10 to at least partially
encompass liquid wash tube 40, as shown in FIG. 5. Filler material
50 is then permitted to harden, thereby holding liquid wash line
securely within housing 30, and preventing or minimizing any
vibration of the liquid wash tube within housing 30, which is
undesirable if left unabated. Filler material 50 can be any type of
material, such as, without limitation, epoxy cement, liquid
ceramic, sand, clay, or any other material that is capable of
withstanding the heat associated with its close proximity to
exhaust pipe 26.
[0028] In accordance with yet another important feature of the
present invention, one of connector fittings 61 and 62 is fixedly
attached to each end of liquid wash tube 40 and extend outwardly
from housing 30 as illustrated in FIG. 2. Notwithstanding, it is
contemplated that connector fittings 61, 62 could also be
orientated on opposite ends of heater unit 10 as illustrated in
FIG. 6, on top of housing 30 or in any other configuration without
affecting the overall concept of the present invention.
[0029] Preferably, the outer ends of connector fittings 61, 62
afford circumferentially ribbed nipples adapted to accept and hold
thereon the ends of the elastomeric tubing used in the typical auto
windshield washer system for pump intake line 20 and heater inlet
line 22 between liquid supply vessel 24 and pump 18, though it is
contemplated that any other attachment means, such as a band clamp,
could also be used to connect intake line 20 and heater inlet line
22 to the opposite ends of liquid wash tube 40. It is also
contemplated that connector fittings 61, 62 can be of the "quick
connect" variety without affecting the overall concept of the
invention.
[0030] Having described the structure of the improved heater of the
present invention, the operation of heater 10 will now be
described. Upon activation of the vehicle engine (not shown) high
temperature exhaust is forced through exhaust manifold (not shown)
and exhaust pipe 26 thereby transferring heat to housing 30,
optional filler material 50 and to liquid wash tube 40 and the
liquid wash contained therein. The heat conductive nature of
housing 30 and liquid wash tube 40 as previously described, coupled
with the thin-walled, relatively small diameter configuration of
liquid wash tube 40 results in almost instantaneously heated liquid
wash within heater unit 10.
[0031] To supply the heated liquid wash to the windshield, the
operator of the vehicle simply activities the liquid wash component
of the vehicle's windshield system (not shown) from inside the
vehicle which in turn causes pump 18 to draw the heated liquid wash
from heater unit 10 through pump inlet line 20, pump outlet lines
14 and 16 and apply it to the windshield via jets 12. As yet
another important feature of the present invention, as the heated
liquid wash is drawn out of heater unit 10 and applied to the
windshield, additional liquid wash is drawn into liquid wash tube
40 by pump 18 and heated, thereby assuring a continuous supply of
available heated liquid wash.
[0032] The improved heater unit 10 of the present invention can be
used with virtually any windshield washer system whereby hot liquid
wash is desired. Heater unit 10 also is relatively economical to
manufacture, use and maintain.
[0033] Accordingly, the heater unit of the present invention is
simplified, provides an effective, safe, inexpensive and reliable
apparatus for heating liquid wash which achieves all of the
enumerated objectives, provides for eliminating difficulties
encountered with prior liquid wash heaters, and solves problems and
obtains new results in the art.
[0034] In the foregoing description, certain terms have been used
for brevity, clearness and understanding; but no unnecessary
limitations are to be implied therefrom beyond the requirements of
the prior art, because such terms are used for descriptive purposes
and are inferred to be broadly construed.
[0035] Moreover, the description and illustration of the invention
is by way of example, and the scope of the invention is not limited
to the exact details shown or described.
[0036] Having now described the features, discoveries and
principles of the invention, the manner in which the improved
heater unit is constructed, arranged and used, the characteristics
of the construction, arrangement and method steps, and the
advantageous, new and useful results obtained; the new and useful
structures, devices, elements, arrangements, parts and combinations
are set forth in the appended claims.
* * * * *