Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
CA 02551341 2006-06-29
ENGINE PRE-HEATER
This invention relates generally to engine pre-heaters and to a heater
assembly, and more
particularly to an improved engine pre-heater for heating engine coolant to
warm the engine when it
is not running, and to a related heater assembly.
DESCRIPTION OF THE PRIOR ART
It is well known that engines are difficult to start and subject to excessive
wear when operated
in cold, northern areas. Various kinds of engine pre-heaters that heat engine
coolant and/or engine oil
or fuel have been used to alleviate this problem. However, these pre-heaters
have not always been
reliable, or require the use of natural gas, propane, oil or other fuels to
operate. As such, these types
of devices are not environmentally friendly or pollution free.
Other types of engine pre-heaters have attempted to circumvent this problem by
utilizing
electrical elements internally positioned within the pre-heater, whereby
coolant can be heated by the
electrical element. United States Patents Nos. 5,408,960 (Woytowich) and
4,770,134 (Foreman et al)
are examples of such devices. However, these arrangements feature electrical
elements that are
internally positioned within the tank or chamber, and do not allow for easy
removal of the electrical
element from the pre-heater, should maintenance or replacement of the
electrical element be required.
In such maintenance or replacement situations, the entire pre-heater would be
required to be removed
to access the internal electrical element, thereby making maintenance and
replacement of such pre-
heater components difficult and complicated.
Thus, there is a further need for an improved environmentally friendly engine
pre-heater which
has a generally uncomplicated and simple design, which may be installed easily
on an engine and is
durable and reliable, and which possesses easily removable or replaceable
coolant heating elements.
There is also a further need for an improved heater assembly which can be
easily installed in a car,
house, swimming pool or the like. In this regard, the present invention
substantially fulfills this need.
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SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
It is an object of the present invention to provide an improved engine pre-
heater and heater
assembly which is environmentally friendly, which has a generally
uncomplicated and simple
design, and which may be installed easily on an engine.
It is another object of the present invention to provide an improved engine
pre-heater and
heater assembly which is durable and reliable, and which possesses easily
removable or replaceable
coolant heating elements.
According to one aspect of the present invention, there is provided an engine
pre-heater, the
pre-heater being of a type adapted to be connected between an engine and a
radiator by a hose
comprising a housing having a passage extending therethrough for passage of
coolant through the
housing, the housing further comprising at least one opening defined therein
separate from the
passage; and a removable electric heating element inserted into the at least
one opening, the heating
element projecting into the passage of the housing whereby the electric
heating element is in direct
contact with the coolant, the electric heating element being supplied with
electrical power from an
electrical power source for enabling the electric heating element to heat the
coolant.
According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a
heater assembly, the
heater assembly being of a type adapted to be connected between a radiator
providing coolant and a
pump for circulating the coolant, comprising a housing having a passage
extending therethrough for
passage of the coolant through the housing, the housing further comprising at
least one opening
defined therein separate from the passage; an electric heating element
inserted and mounted into the
at least one opening, the heating element projecting into the passage of the
housing whereby the
electric heating element is in direct contact with the coolant; a power source
in communication with
the heater assembly, for supplying the electric heating element and the pump
with power, for enabling
the electric heating element to heat the coolant and the pump to circulate the
coolant; and an air
blower, the air blower including a blower motor and fan blades driven by the
blower motor for
directing heat generated by the heated coolant to an area external to the
heater assembly, the air
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blower being supplied with power from the power source.
According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a
heater assembly
comprising a housing having an air passageway extending therethrough for
passage of air through the
housing, the housing further comprising at least one opening defined therein
separate from the air
passageway; an electric heating element inserted and mounted into the at least
one opening, the
heating element projecting into the the air passageway of the housing whereby
the electric heating
element is in direct contact with air in the air passageway; a power source in
communication with
the heater assembly, for supplying the electric heating element with power,
for enabling the electric
heating element to heat the air in the air passageway; and an air blower, the
air blower including a
blower motor and fan blades driven by the blower motor for directing the
heated air from the air
passageway to an area external to the heater assembly, the air blower being
supplied with power from
the power source.
The advantage of the present invention is that it provides an improved engine
pre-heater which
is environmentally friendly, which has a generally uncomplicated and simple
design, and which may
be installed easily on an engine
Yet another advantage of the present invention is to provide an improved
engine pre-heater
and heater assembly which is durable and reliable, and which possesses easily
removable or
replaceable coolant heating elements
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
A preferred embodiment of the present invention is described below with
reference to the
accompanying drawings, in which:
Figure 1 is a perspective view of an embodiment of the engine pre-heater of
the present
invention;
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Figure 2 is a perspective view of an embodiment of the engine pre-heater of
the present
invention shown in Figure 1, shown with glow plugs inserted in the housing and
in direct
contact with the coolant;
Figure 3 is a schematic diagram of an embodiment of the engine pre-heater of
the present
invention in place within a car engine; and
Figure 4 is a schematic diagram of an alternative embodiment of the present
invention,
utilizing glow plugs to heat radiator water whereby a fan blower can then
direct the heat
created to heat a house or other enclosed structure.
DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT
In the preferred embodiment, and with reference to Figure 1, an engine pre-
heater of the
present invention is designated in its entirety by the reference numeral 1.
The pre-heater is adapted
to be attached to an engine (not shown) and connected to the engine's coolant
system to heat the
coolant and thereby keep the engine warm when the engine is not in operation.
The pre-heater
comprises a housing 3 having a passage 9 extending therethrough for passage of
coolant (not shown)
through the housing. As can be seen in Figure 1, the passage 9 of the housing
3 extends substantially
horizontally throughout a length of the housing. The housing 3 further
comprises at least one opening
on an upper surface of the housing, but more preferably, a plurality of
openings defined thereon,
each of which are separate from the passage 9, and each of which define an
internally defined
chamber 7 within the body of the housing. As can be seen in Figure 1, the
housing is adapted to be
mounted generally horizontally. As can also be readily seen in Figure 1, the
housing 3 possesses an
inlet at one end of the housing, and an outlet at the opposite end of the
housing. Preferably, the
housing 3 is made of metal, though it is conceivable that other materials
could also be utilized, as
would be apparent to one skilled in the art.
As can be seen in Figure 2, an electric heating element 11 is inserted through
the opening 5
on the upper surface of the housing 3, so as to reside within the internally
defined chambers 7 within
the body of the housing. Preferably, the electric heating element is a glow
plug, and, as such, is easily
removable and replaceable if required. A lower end of the heating element 13
projects into the
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passage 9 of the housing 3 whereby the electric heating element 11 is in
direct contact with the
coolant.
Figure 3 represents an electrical schematic diagram of one embodiment of an
arrangement of
the pre-heater of the present invention. The electric heating elements 11 in
the housing 3 are supplied
with electrical power from a power source 15 for enabling the electric heating
elements to heat the
coolant (not shown), the coolant of course being circulated by pump 13. The
pre-heater can be
activated by a remote device 21 by a user, whereby the cell 15, via fuse 17,
activates the electric
heating elements 11 to heat the coolant, and this heat can then be transferred
by way of heat exchanger
19, pre-warming the engine and pre-heating the inside of the vehicle.
In a preferred embodiment, the power source is an electrical battery type
power source,
particularly for the engine pre-heater of the present invention, though it is
conceivable that,
alternatively, solar power cells, a/c power, wind generated power sources or
the like could also be
used, as would be apparent to one skilled in the art, particularly with the
heater assembly of the
present invention for heating enclosed structures. Of course, it would be
readily apparent that such
a power cell could also be re-energized or re-charged also, as is known in the
art.
In an alternative embodiment of the present invention, a heater assembly is
provided, an
arrangement of which could be used in a home or other similar enclosed
structure. With reference to
Figure 4, coolant can be provided by a radiator 25. A pump 13 is used to
circulate the coolant. The
power course (or cell) 15 activates the electric heating elements 11 to heat
the coolant being
circulated, and this heat can then be transferred by way of, for example, an
air blower 21, the air
blower including a blower motor and fan blades driven by the blower motor for
directing heat
generated by the heated coolant to an area external to the heater assembly. Of
course, the air blower
21 is supplied with power from the power source 15. The heater assembly is
shown in Figure 4 as
being designed for placement within, for example, a floor space 23.
In another alternative embodiment of the present invention, coolant can be
omitted, and dry
heat, provided from the electric heating elements 11, can be utilized. In this
embodiment (not
shown) the housing would preferably have an air passageway extending
therethrough for passage
of air through the housing, the housing further comprising openings defined
therein separate from
the air passageway. Electric heating elements would be inserted and mounted
into the openings, the
heating so as to project into the the air passageway of the housing whereby
the electric heating
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elements are in direct contact with air in the air passageway. A power source
in communication with
the heater assembly supplies the electric heating elements with power, for
enabling the electric
heating elements to heat the air in the air passageway. An air blower, for
example, or other such
device, could then direct the heated air from the air passageway to an area
external to the heater
assembly, such as a house or other enclosed structure, the air blower being
supplied with power from
the power source.
In an alternative embodiment, the pre-heater can further comprise a
thermostatic control (not
shown) in association with the electric heating element and the coolant in the
housing, wherein the
thermostatic control is adapted to turn the electric heating element off when
a temperature of the
engine coolant exceeds a pre-determined level. Preferably, the thermostatic
control is positioned
relative to the inlet of the housing. Further, the thermostatic control can
also thus turn the electric
heating element on when a temperature of the engine coolant falls below a pre-
determined level.
The present invention has been described herein with regard to preferred
embodiments.
However, it will be obvious to persons skilled in the art that a number of
variations and
modifications can be made without departing from the scope of the invention as
described herein.
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