This invention is related to a heating apparatus including a sheathed element.
Portable electric heaters including sheathed elements are known. Typically, such heaters include a fan in a housing which blows air through a coiled sheathed element, which heats the air before the air exits the housing. The housing is usually elongate, with openings at its opposing ends to permit ingress and egress of air.
As is well known in the art, the sheathed element 10 includes a resistive wire 12 positioned inside a sheath 14. Typically, the sheath is usually made of a suitable metal material which is a relatively good conductor of heat, e.g., steel. Also, the wire is electrically insulated from the sheath by an insulator 16. The insulator 16 is any suitable insulating material, e.g., magnesium oxide (MgO).
In the prior art, and as schematically shown in
First, failure can occur when the resistive wire touches the sheath. (This situation is schematically illustrated in
Second, failure can occur due to too much moisture in the insulation inside the sheath. Moisture is conductive, and when heaters sit in humid conditions moisture can be absorbed into the insulation. Too much moisture can also get into the insulation when a sheath is cracked and in contact with moisture. When this happens, current can pass from the resistive wire to the sheath, potentially causing a failure (i.e., if the current leakage is sufficient).
Failure can also occur due to oxidation of the resistive wire. In this case, the resistive wire oxidizes over time, and a scaling build-up occurs. The scales break away from time to time, causing the wire diameter to become smaller, ultimately resulting in mechanical failure of the resistive wire. With each mechanical failure of the resistive wire, the diameter of the resistive wire decreases. Finally, the wire becomes sufficiently small that a hot spot occurs and the sheathed element fails altogether.
As described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,484,243 (Herbst et al.), arcing between an end of the resistive wire and the sheath can result in “zippering” taking place along the sheath (col. 1, at lines 40-64).
Herbst et al. discloses one prior art solution to the problem. In Herbst et al., a protective circuit arrangement to protect sheathed heating elements is disclosed. The protective circuit interrupts ground fault conditions by decoupling the power line from the heating element. Fusible links are used in the protective circuit. However, the protective circuit disclosed in Herbst et al. is not activated until a failure (i.e., a ground fault) has occurred, which means that the sheathed element must first have been damaged, at least to an extent, before the protective circuit decouples the heating element from the power source.
There is therefore a need for an improved heater apparatus which overcomes or mitigates one or more of the disadvantages of the prior art.
In its broad aspect, the invention provides a heating apparatus including a housing defining a volume of air therein and having an inlet aperture and an outlet aperture. The apparatus also includes a heat generator having an elongate tubular metal sheath extending between an inner end and an outer end, a resistive wire within the sheath, and a substantially nonconducting material for electrically isolating the sheath relative to the resistive wire. The heat generator has a terminal portion at the inner end and a heating portion extending between the terminal portion and the outer end of the sheath, and the terminal portion is adapted for connection to a source of electrical power. The heating portion of the heat generator is positioned in the housing to heat the volume of air. The apparatus also includes one or more insulators for electrically isolating the sheath relative to the housing.
In another aspect, the insulator includes a body with at least one aperture therein wherein at least a part of the terminal portion is receivable.
In another aspect, the invention provides one or more support elements for locating the heat generator in a predetermined position relative to the inlet and outlet apertures. Also, the apparatus includes one or more support insulator elements for electrically isolating the support element relative to the housing.
In yet another aspect, the apparatus includes one or more fasteners for securing the support element to the housing, and the support insulator element includes a body with one or more apertures therein wherein the fastener is receivable.
In another aspect, the invention provides an insulator for electrically isolating a sheath in a sheathed element positioned in a housing of a heating apparatus relative to the housing. The insulator includes a body portion which has one or more apertures for receiving a preselected segment of the sheath.
In yet another aspect, the invention provides a support insulator element for electrically isolating a support element adapted for locating at least a portion of a heat generator in a predetermined position in a housing, the support element being attached to said housing by at least one fastener. The support insulator element includes a body portion with one or more apertures in which the fastener is receivable.
In another of its aspects, the invention provides a support insulator element for electrically isolating a sheath in a sheathed element located in a predetermined position in a housing by one or more support elements. The support insulator element includes a body portion adapted to be positioned between the sheath and the support element for electrically isolating the sheath relative to the housing.
The invention will be better understood with reference to the attached drawings, in which:
Reference is first made to
It is preferred that the heat generator 30 has a terminal portion 42 disposed at the inner end 34 and a heating portion 44 extending between the terminal portion 42 and the outer end 36 of the sheath 32. The terminal portion 42 is adapted for connection to a source of electrical power (not shown), and the heating portion 44 is positioned in the housing 22 to heat the volume of air. It is also preferred that the apparatus 20 includes one or more insulators 46 for electrically isolating the sheath 32 relative to the housing 22, as will be described.
The insulator 46 preferably includes a body 50 with one or more apertures 52 therein (
In one embodiment, the heating apparatus 20 preferably includes one or more support elements 56 for locating the heat generator 30 in a predetermined position relative to the inlet and outlet apertures 24, 26 (
Preferably, the support insulator element 58 includes a body 60 (
The insulators 46, 58 preferably are made of any suitable material. Such material would generally be non-conductive to electricity (i.e., have a high resistance to leakage of current). Depending on the locations of the insulator elements vis-à-vis the heat generator, the insulator elements may not necessarily also be heat-resistant. However, insulation material which is heat-resistant is preferable. Preferably, the insulators 46, 58 are made of a high temperature resistant plastic. In particular, a plastic which is approximately 30 percent glass reinforced polybutylene teraphthalate has been found to be suitable. Various other suitable insulation materials will occur to those skilled in the art.
It is preferred that the fasteners 61 are metal screws. The sleeve elements 64 prevent contact between the housing and the screw in each case, so that the sheath is electrically isolated from the housing. Alternatively, screws which are made of an electrically insulating material may be used.
In another alternative embodiment (
Preferably, the heating apparatus 20 also includes a fan 28 for moving the volume of air out of the housing 22 via the outlet aperture 26, and drawing air into the housing 22 via the inlet aperture 24. However, it will be understood that a fan is not required. For instance, a convection heater may include the insulators 46, 58 of the invention herein, i.e., insulators which electrically isolate the sheath relative to the housing. Such arrangement can be used in any heating application where the sheathed element is sufficiently physically shielded (e.g., by a screen) that an operator (not shown) is generally unable to contact inadvertently the sheathed element through such shielding.
It will also be understood that the heating apparatus 20 may include other components (e.g., a thermostat, and/or a fan speed control) which are well known in the art, and therefore do not need to be described herein.
In use, the insulator 46 and the support insulator element 58 are positioned adjacent to pre-drilled holes on a base portion 66 of the housing 22 (
Preferably, the insulator 46 is positioned between the sheath 32 and the housing 22. The insulator 46 separates the sheath 32 and the housing 22 so that the sheath 32 and the housing 22 are electrically isolated from each other. More specifically, the insulator 46 electrically isolates the terminal portion 42 relative to the housing 22. As can be seen in
In addition, the support element 56 (identified as “A” in
Preferably, the body 50 includes additional holes 80 and fastener sleeve elements 82, each fastener sleeve element 82 being coaxial with a hole 80. The fasteners 70 are receivable in the fastener sleeve elements 82 and the holes 80, which electrically isolate the fasteners 70 from the housing 22. Preferably, the fasteners 70 are receivable in the holes 80 and the fastener sleeve elements 82 in an interference fit.
It is preferred that the fasteners 70 are metal screws. The sleeves 82 prevent contact between the housing and the screw in each case, so that the sheath is electrically isolated from the housing. Alternatively, screws which are made of an electrically insulating material may be used.
In another alternative embodiment (
As can be seen in
As shown in
In an alternative embodiment of the heating apparatus 120, a support insulator element 158 is positioned between the distal end 74 of the support element 56 and the sheath 32 (
In another alternative embodiment of the heating apparatus 220, a support element 256 comprises electrical insulation material and locates the heat generator 30 in a predetermined position relative to the inlet and outlet apertures. In this embodiment of the apparatus 220, a separate support insulator element is not included because the support element 256 electrically isolates the sheath relative to the housing 22. The embodiment disclosed in
Testing was conducted to assess the effectiveness of the invention herein. First, an experiment was conducted to determine whether the failure of the sheathed element in the prior art could be replicated in the laboratory. A prior art construction heater was modified to replicate a failure situation as it could occur. This was done by partially cutting the element sheath open with a band saw, up to the resistive wire, but without damaging the resistive wire. Then, a gap between the resistive wire and the sheath was created, and the gap was filled with a solder. Once the heater was powered, catastrophic failure occurred because the wire to sheath contact created the short to ground (i.e., as schematically represented in
In order to test the invention herein, a sheathed element (i.e., the heat generator 30) in which the sheath was not grounded was prepared. The sheathed element of the invention herein was cut open, and the gap between the resistive element and the sheath was filled with a solder. Once the heater was powered, however, the result was observed as being very different from that in the previous example (i.e., involving the prior art arrangement), as no signs of catastrophic failure were present. In these circumstances, the sheath became, in effect, a part of the resistive wire, instead of a path to ground.
Any element in a claim that does not explicitly state “means for” performing a specified function, or “step for” performing a specific function, is not to be interpreted as a “means” or “step” clause as specified in 35 U.S.C. §112, paragraph 6.
It will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that the invention can take many forms, and that such forms are within the scope of the invention as claimed. Therefore, the spirit and scope of the appended claims should not be limited to the descriptions of the preferred versions contained herein.
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1531515 | Simmons | Mar 1925 | A |
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3176117 | Knoll et al. | Mar 1965 | A |
3912907 | Lodi | Oct 1975 | A |
3931495 | Dzaack et al. | Jan 1976 | A |
3934116 | Cunningham et al. | Jan 1976 | A |
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4010350 | Cunningham | Mar 1977 | A |
4044224 | Jenkins et al. | Aug 1977 | A |
4358669 | Bryson, Jr. | Nov 1982 | A |
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Number | Date | Country | |
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20080083745 A1 | Apr 2008 | US |