ELECTRIC FAN HEATER

• US 3,725,640 A
• Filed: 06/21/1971
• Issued: 04/03/1973
• Est. Priority Date: 06/21/1971
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Black & Decker Incorporated (Stanley Black & Decker, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Raymond W. Kunz
• Inventors: Kunz, Raymond W.
• Primary Examiner(s): Bartis, A.
• Application Number:
  US05/154,777
• Time in Patent Office: 652 Days
• Field of Search: 415/208,209,210,219R 219/359,363-364,366-371,374-377,379-382 126/11AA,11B 165/121,122,124,126
• US Class Current: 392/368
• CPC Class Codes: F24H 3/0417 portable or mobile

Abstract

An electric fan heater of the space heating type including a housing having an air inlet opening in the top wall and an air outlet opening in the front wall with a heating element close thereto. A motor driven axial flow fan is utilized to provide a centrifugal air stream path through the fan heater and a shielding member is positioned between the fan propeller and air inlet opening to partially block the air inlet opening. The shielding member covers the area between the edge of the opening and a chord line across a portion of the opening the chord line being located less than half the distance from the edge of the opening to the center and in the half of the inlet opening closest the air outlet opening thereby widening the area of air flow path through the heating element.

Claims

1. An electric fan heater comprising:

a. a housing, having top, side, rear, bottom and front walls, b. a motor driven axial fan propeller within the housing, said fan having a vertical central axis of rotation to thereby provide a centrifugal air stream path within the housing, c. a circular air inlet opening in the top wall of the housing overlying said propeller, said opening being slightly larger than the propeller diameter and having a depending circumferential downwardly directed wall extending below the central horizontal plane of the fan propeller, d. an air outlet opening in the front wall of the housing, e. a heating element in said air stream path and located in close proximity to the air outlet opening, and f. a shielding member between the fan propeller and air inlet opening to partially block the air inlet opening said shielding member covering the area as seen in top plan view between the edge of said opening and a chord line across a portion of said opening, said chord line being located less than half the distance from the edge of the opening to the center thereof and in the half of the inlet opening closest the air outlet opening.

2. The electric fan heater of claim 1 wherein the fan propeller is located to one side of the housing and the centrifugal air stream path is at the other side between the housing and the fan propeller.

3. The electric fan heater of claim 1 wherein the heating element is off center of the heater housing toward the air flow path and below the central horizontal plane of the fan propeller.