Electric warm air mirror defogging device

• US 4,882,467 A
• Filed: 07/16/1987
• Issued: 11/21/1989
• Est. Priority Date: 07/16/1987
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Keene P. Dimick
• Original Assignee: Keene P. Dimick
• Inventors: Dimick, Keene P.
• Primary Examiner(s): Bartis, Anthony
• Application Number:
  US07/074,405
• Time in Patent Office: 859 Days
• Field of Search: 219/366-372, 219/379, 219/380, 219/220, 219/375, 219/219, 219/374, 362/141, 362/140, 34/96-101, 34/243 R
• US Class Current: 219/219
• CPC Class Codes: A47G 1/02 Mirrors used as equipment hand, pocket, or shaving mirrors A45D42/00; optical viewing means for vehicles B60R1/00

Abstract

A bathroom mirror defogger includes a translucent spherical psuedo light bulb-type housing having an electric plug base extending therefrom along the central axis of the housing and adapted to be screwed into a lamp socket in a light bar immediately juxtaposed to a side and/or top edge of a bathroom wall mirror. The housing is provided with an air inlet and an air outlet and encloses an electric heating coil and motor driven fan. The air outlet is positioned laterally of the central axis on a portion of the housing rotatable about the central axis so that the orientation of the outlet can be adjusted relative to the mirror surface. The fan aspirates air through the inlet across the heating coil and pumps the resultant warmed air out through the outlet and against the mirror surface to remove or prevent moisture condensation thereon from a shower or hot water present in the bathroom.

Claims

1. A mirror defogging device comprising:

a globular pseudo light bulb-type housing having a central axis;

an electrical plug base fixedly extending from said housing along said central axis for connection to an electrical lamp socket adjacent a mirror surface; and

wherein

said globular housing includes an air inlet extending through a surface thereof, a resistance heater in said housing, a rotating fan within said housing, a motor in said housing for rotating said fan, said air inlet, heater, fan and motor being axially aligned along said central axis of said housing, and an air outlet laterally offset from said central axis, extending through said housing and in exit flow communication with said fan such that air entering said housing through said inlet is heated and directed by said fan to said outlet for discharge laterally to a mirror surface.

2. The device of claim 1 in which said plug base is a screw threaded Edison-type base.

3. The device of claim 1 in which said air inlet comprises a series of spaced apertures extending through an outer wall of said housing.

4. The device of claim 1 in which said resistance heater comprises a spiral resistance wire coil interposed between said air inlet and said fan.

5. The device of claim 1 including a rotary joint between the portion of said housing provided with said air outlet and the remainder of said housing for orienting said air outlet and directing warmed outlet air to various positions on a mirror.

9. The device of claim 1 in which said heater, said fan and said motor are supported by a mounting plate affixed to said housing.

6. A mirror defogging device comprising:

a globular housing having a central axis;

an electrical plug base fixedly extending from said housing along said central axis for connection to an electrical lamp socket adjacent a mirror surface;

said globular housing including an air inlet extending through a surface thereof, a resistance heater in said housing, a rotating fan within said housing, a motor in said housing for rotating said fan, and an air outlet extending through a portion of said housing and being laterally offset from said central axis, said outlet being in exit flow communication with said fan such that air entering said housing though said inlet is heated and directed by said fan to said outlet for discharge to a mirror surface; and

including

a rotary joint between the portion of said housing provided with an air outlet and the remainder of said housing for laterally orienting said air outlet and directing warmed outlet air to various positions on a mirror; and

in which said joint is a slip joint having an unlimited arc of rotation.

7. The deive of claim 6 in which said globular housing comprises an inner hemispherical translucent section and an outer hemispherical translucent section connected to said inner section by said rotary joint one of said sections defining said portion of the housing provided with said air outlet.

8. The device of claim 7 wherein said rotary joint comprising a circumferential groove in said inner section and a groove-matching ridge on said outer section.

10. In combination, a vertical vanity mirror;

a multi-light light bar having a series of linearly aligned light sockets therein, said light bar being positioned adjacent to a peripheral edge of said mirror; and

a mirror defogger bulb positioned in one of said light sockets and in electrical contact therewith, said defogger bulb comprising;

an electrical plug base and an inner housing section attached thereto;

means including a resistance heater, rotatable fan, and fan-driving motor carried by said inner housing section;

a substantially hemispherical outer bulb section rotatively connected about an axis of rotation relative to said inner section and cooperating with said inner section to enclose said heater, said fan and said motor;

an air inlet extending through said outer bulb section; and

an air outlet in said outer bulb section positioned such that ambient air pulled into said connected sections through said inlet by said fan is heated by said resistance heater and directed by said fan through said air outlet to a surface of said mirror, said air outlet being laterally offset from the axis of rotation of said outer section.

11. The combination of claim 10 in which said air inlet is a series of spaced apertures extending through a wall of said outer bulb section.

12. The combination of claim 10 in which said resistance heater comprises a resistance wire coil positioned between said air inlet and said fan.

13. The combination of claim 10 wherein said defogger bulb is energized in series with light bulbs positioned in other of said light sockets.

14. The combination of claim 10 in which said inner housing section and said outer bulb section are rotatably connected a slip joint having an unlimited arc of rotation.

15. The combination of claim 14 further comprising means for locking said outer bulb section with respect to said inner housing section to fix the direction of heated air exiting said defogger bulb.

16. The combination of claim 10 further comprising an adaptor nozzle connected to and extending from said air outlet to convey heated air to said mirror.