Plastic shell heater

Description

PRIORITY CLAIM

This is a continuation application of a currently pending application Serial No. 10/764,103 filed Dec. 26, 2003.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates generally to a portable heater. More specifically, the present invention relates to a portable heater that has a plastic shell.

2. Description of the Prior Art

Portable heaters are often used to heat a home. Generally a portable heater has a metallic shell. The metallic shell may be painted or may have patterns or designs printed on it. Due to the generally irregular shaped surfaces of a heater, the cost to mass-produce the metallic shell is very high. Furthermore, the surface treatments such as painting and printing are often damaged during handling which further increases the cost of manufacturing. Plastic is a desirable material for use as shells for heaters. However, due to the low heat resistance of plastic and the high temperature generated in a heater, this has not been practical.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention is a plastic shell heater that can be mass-produced economically and quickly. The plastic shell heater utilizes multiple deflectors and vents at the top of interior of a portable heater to direct the heat away from the surface of the heater. This dramatically lowers the temperature of the external surfaces of the heater and allows the use of plastic as the material for the shell of the heater and also allows the use of heat sensitive electronic control panel for the heater.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 shows an exploded view of the plastic shell heater.

FIG. 2 shows a side view of a plastic shell heater using an infrared heater as the heat source.

FIG. 3 shows a side view of a plastic shell heater using a blue flame burner as the heat source.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

FIG. 1 shows an exploded view of the preferred embodiment of the plastic shell heater. The plastic shell heater comprises a left and a right panel 1 affixed to the left and right side of a rear panel 2 that has a vertical surface with multiple openings 17 near the top and a substantially horizontal surface at its bottom defining an interior space. A control system 3 is affixed to the bottom of the rear panel 2. A support panel 10 is affixed to each of the left and right panels 1 in the interior space. A left and a right spacer 12 with multiple openings 16 provided near the top edge of the spacers 12 are affixed to the support panel 10. A pair of stands 9 is affixed to the bottom of the plastic shell to allow the heater to stand upright. The heat source 5 is affixed to the rear panel 2 within the interior space. A control panel 4 is affixed near the top of the rear panel 2 and supported by the support panels 10. A grill 7 is affixed to a deflector frame 6 which is affixed to the support panels 10 and positioned around the heat source 5. A bottom panel 8 is affixed to the substantially horizontal surface of the rear panel 2. An operable top cover 13 is provided to cover the control panel 4.

A heat deflector 14 is affixed to the rear panel 2 above the heat source 5 to deflect the heat from the heat source 5 away from the top rear of the control panel 4. An assembly of the heat deflector 11 comprising multiple heat-deflecting fins is affixed above the deflector frame 6 to the support panels 10. In the preferred embodiment, the assembly of heat deflectors 11 comprises three heat-deflecting fins.

The heat deflector 14 and the assembly of heat deflector 11 will direct the heat from the heat source 5 away from the top of the heater, allowing the use of heat sensitive electronic control panels 4 and plastic components such as a plastic top cover. The spacers 12 with the openings 16 allow the use of plastic side panels 1. The bottom panel 8 may also be made of plastic.

FIGS. 2 and 3 show assembled heaters in operation. The hatched arrows indicate the escaping heat.

Although the description above contains many specific details, these should not be construed as limiting the scope of the invention but as merely providing illustrations of some of the presently preferred embodiments of this invention. Thus the scope of the invention should be determined by the appended claims and their legal equivalents, rather than by the examples given.