US20100290765A1

US20100290765A1 - Heater

Info

Publication number: US20100290765A1
Application number: US12/678,962
Authority: US
Inventors: Dong-Chul Lee
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 2008-06-23
Filing date: 2009-06-23
Publication date: 2010-11-18
Also published as: WO2009157694A1; KR20090132674A; KR100994143B1

Abstract

Disclosed is a heater capable of supplying heated air to any desired place. The heater includes a heater housing having an air-inflow part and a first air-discharge port, a heating unit disposed in the heater housing to heat air, and a heated-air supply guide connected to the first air-discharge port and guiding heated air discharged through the first air-discharge port 121. The heated-air supply guide has a variable flow channel to change a heated-air supply zone. The heater can perform rapid local heating for a desired place, reduce energy consumption, and improve use convenience.

Description

PRIORITY CLAIM

The present application is a National Phase entry of PCT Application No. PCT/KR2009/003375, filed Jun. 23, 2009, which claims priority from Korean Application No. 10-2008-0058768, filed Jun. 23, 2008, the disclosures of which are hereby incorporated by reference herein in their entirety.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to heaters and, more particularly, to a heater that includes a heated-air supply guide to perform rapid local heating by facilitating supply of heated air to a desired place.

BACKGROUND

Generally, heaters are used for heating a room by supplying heated air thereto and include a heating unit for heating air and a fan for generating a blowing force to supply heated air to the room.
More specifically, the heater includes a case having an inlet and an outlet, the heating unit, and the fan, wherein the heating unit and the fan are disposed inside the case and driven to draw air from outside of the case and discharge the air heated by the heating unit to the outside, thereby heating an indoor space.
However, since such a conventional heater has the outlet only on the case, the heater has difficulty in local heating of a desired location or space, although it can perform overall heating based on convection in a room. In other words, although the heater can easily supply heated air to a space in front of the outlet, it is difficult to directly supply the heated air to a place far from the outlet, particularly, to a space deviated from a direction in which the heated air is discharged through the outlet, thereby providing difficulty in heating a desired place.
In this case, the heater is typically moved to the desired place or operated for a long time to achieve indirect heating of the desired place. As such, since the conventional heater must be moved to make the outlet of the heater facing the desired place or operated for a long time for indirect heating of the desired place, there are problems such as difficulty in movement and repositioning of the heater, increase in energy consumption, and the like.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Therefore, the present invention is directed to solving the above and other problems of the related art, and an aspect of the invention is to provide a heater that facilitates rapid local heating of a desired place.
Another aspect of the invention is to provide a heater that can perform selective local heating only for a target space or a target place, thereby reducing energy consumption.
A further aspect of the invention is to provide a heater that can be fabricated to a small size and has superior features in terms of mobility, convenience, and maintenance.
Technical Solution
In accordance with an aspect of the invention, a heater comprises: a heater housing having an air-inflow part and a first air-discharge port; a heating unit provided in the heater housing for air heating; and a heated-air supply guide connected to the first air-discharge port and guiding heated air discharged through the first air-discharge port, the heated-air supply guide having a variable flow channel to change a heated-air supply zone.
The heater may further comprise a temperature sensor provided to an outlet of the heated-air supply guide to detect a temperature of the heated air.
Furthermore, the heater may further comprise an alarm electrically connected to the temperature sensor to warn of a danger caused by overheating.
And the heater according to the present invention may further comprises an insulation member for preventing heat from being transferred from the first air-discharge port to the coupling part of the heated-air supply guide, wherein the insulation member is provided between the first air-discharge port and the coupling part of the heated-air supply guide and wherein the coupling part being coupled to the first air-discharge port.
The heated-air supply guide comprises a flexible material for allowing the flow channel to change.
In the present invention, the heated-air supply guide may further comprise an outlet frame provided to an outlet of the heated-air supply guide.
The heated-air supply guide comprises one of a non-woven fabric, a cotton fabric, and a natural fabric made from natural fibers.
It is preferable that the heated-air supply guide is expandable and contractible.
The heater housing may further comprise a second air-discharge port through which the heated air is discharged to heat a space around the heater housing.
The heater may further comprise an opening/closing device provided to each of the first and second air-discharge ports of the heater housing.
In addition, the heater may further comprise a remote controller having a button for manipulation of the heater and display screen that displays an operating state of the heater.
It is preferable that the heater further comprises a heat sink heating air inside the heater housing, wherein the heat sink is provided in the heater housing and transfers heat from the heating unit to air inside the heater housing.
The heating unit may comprise one of a coil heater, a heat pipe, and a thermoelectric semiconductor device generating heat upon an electric current.
The heating unit may comprise a burner that generates heat by combustion of oil or gas.
The heating unit is separable from the heater housing to be drawn out from the heater housing.
The heated-air supply guide is detachably connected to the first air-discharge port.
Advantageous Effects
According to one embodiment, the heater can change the flow channel of the heated-air supply guide, thereby allowing heated air to be rapidly and easily supplied to a desired place therethrough.
According to another embodiment, the heater can perform local heating only for a desired zone to thereby reduce energy consumption, and the heated-air supply guide made of a flexible material is detachably connected to the outlet of the heater to thereby allow convenient attachment and maintenance of the heated-air supply guide while facilitating change of the flow channel.
According to a further embodiment, the heating unit of the heater can be separated from the heater housing to be used as a separate heat source for cooking or the like, and the heater can be disposed outside a particular zone, such as tents, sleeping bags, and the like, such that heated air can be supplied thereto through the heated-air supply guide of the heater.

DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

The above and other aspects, features, and advantages of the invention will be more clearly understood from the detailed description of exemplary embodiments taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a heater according to one embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view of the heater according to the embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 3 is a plan view of a remote controller for the heater according to one embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view of a heater according to another embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 5 is a perspective view of a heater according to a further embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 6 is a perspective view of one exemplary application of the heater according to the embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 7 is a perspective view of another exemplary application of the heater according to the embodiment of the invention; and

FIG. 8 is a perspective view of a further exemplary application of the heater according to the embodiment of the invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Exemplary embodiments of the invention will hereinafter be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. Like components will be denoted by like reference numerals throughout the specification and drawings, and a repetitious description thereof will be omitted herein.
Referring to FIGS. 1 and 2, a heater 10 according to one embodiment of the invention includes a heater housing 100, a heating unit disposed in the heater housing 100, and a heated-air supply guide 600 connected to the heater housing 100.
The heater housing 100 includes at least one air-inflow part 110 through which air is introduced into the heater housing 100 and at least one air-discharge port 121 through which heated air is discharged outside. The heater housing 100 is provided with a fan 200 which drives an air flow and a power supply which supplies electric power for operation of the heating unit. The heated-air supply guide 600 may be detachably connected to the first air-discharge port 121 of the heater housing 100.
More specifically, the heater housing 100 is formed with the at least one air-inflow part 110, the first air-discharge port 121 discharges air heated by the heating unit to the outside, and the heated-air supply guide 600 guides and supplies the heated air discharged through the first air-discharge port 121 to a desired place.
In this embodiment, the air-inflow part 110 is formed on a rear side of the heater housing 100 and the first air-discharge port 121 is formed on an upper side thereof. However, it should be noted that the invention is not limited to this configuration. Herein, an inlet of the heated-air supply guide 600 is coupled to the first air-discharge port 121.
The heater 10 may further include a single or a plurality of second air-discharge ports 122 through which heated air is directly discharged to a space around the heater housing 100. The second air-discharge port 122 may be, but is not limited to, a grill type discharge port formed on one side of the heater housing.
Accordingly, the first air-discharge port 121 connected to the heated-air supply guide 600 discharges heated air to a desired heated-air supply zone, while the second air-discharge port 122 directly discharges the heated air outside the housing 100 to heat a space around the housing 100. It should be understood that the first air-discharge port 121 may also be used to heat the space around the heater housing by separating the heated-air supply guide 600 from the first air-discharge port 121.
In other words, the heater according to the embodiment may perform proper local heating only for a desired place through the heated-air supply guide 600 connected to the first air-discharge port 121 of the heater housing 100 and perform heating of an overall indoor space through the second air-discharge port 122 of the heater housing 100.
On the other hand, the heater housing 100, particularly, the first and second air- discharge ports 121, 122 may be provided with opening/ closing devices 151, 152 to open or close the first and second air- discharge ports 121, 122, respectively. Namely, when heated air is discharged, the opening/ closing devices 151, 152 open the first and second air- discharge ports 121, 122, respectively, and, when operation of the heater is stopped, the opening/ closing devices 151, 152 close the first and second air- discharge ports 121, 122, thereby preventing foreign matter from flowing into the heater housing from the outside.
The opening/ closing devices 151, 152 may be opened or closed in various manners such as a sliding manner or a rotational manner. In this embodiment, the first air-discharge port 121 is provided with a slidable opening/closing device 151 and the second air-discharge port 122 is provided with a rotational opening/closing device 152. However, it should be noted that the invention is not limited thereto. Alternatively, the first air-discharge port 121 may be provided with a rotational opening/closing device and the second air-discharge port 122 is provided with a slidable opening/closing device. Otherwise, both the first and second air- discharge ports 121, 122 may be opened or closed by the same type of opening/closing devices.
When both the first and second air- discharge ports 121, 122 are opened by the opening/ closing devices 151, 152, both heating of a particular zone through the heated-air supply guide 600 and heating of the space around the heater housing through the second air-discharge port 122 may be performed at the same time.
For example, with the heated-air supply guide 600 disposed under a blanket or sheet, the heater 10 may supply heated air into the blanket or sheet covering a user, so that the heated air can be rapidly and efficiently supplied to the user and allow the user to feel warm with a small amount of heated air.
Here, the heated-air supply guide 600 may be positioned to supply the heated air towards the feet of the user, that is, the lower half of the user's body, under the blanket or sheet. In other words, since a person's body has a higher body temperature at the upper half of the body than at the lower half thereof, supplying the heated air towards the lower half of the body allows the user to feel warm in a short time and balances the body temperature of the user to facilitate blood circulation in the whole body and promote metabolism. Furthermore, when the heated air is supplied to the lower half of the body of the user, the sympathetic nerve mainly distributed in the lower half of the body is relaxed, thereby allowing the user to maintain a suitable body temperature and to feel warm more rapidly.
On the other hand, the fan 200 may be provided to the air-inflow part 110 of the heater housing 100 or to the first and second air- discharge ports 121, 122. The second air-discharge port 122 and the air-inflow part 110 may be formed on adjacent sides of the heater housing 100 or may be formed on opposite sides thereof.
In the heater housing 100, a filter 300 may be provided to at least one of the air-inflow part 110, the first air-discharge port 121 and the second air-discharge port 122 to separate foreign matter from air flowing into the heater housing. Advantageously, the filter 300 is provided to the air-inflow part 110 of the heater housing 100.
When the filter 300 is provided to the first air-discharge port 121 or the second air-discharge port 122, there is a problem in that foreign matter contained in air flowing into the heater housing 100 through the air-inflow part 110 of the heater housing 110 can infiltrate components of the heater while floating within the heater housing 100.
Therefore, the filter 300 is provided to the air-inflow part 110 to remove foreign matter from air flowing into the heater housing, thereby supplying more fresh heated air to a user while preventing the foreign matter from entering the heater housing 100. Although not clearly shown in the drawings, various filters, such as a UV lamp or the like, instead of a filter composed of a porous material may be used as the filter 300.
On the other hand, the heating unit may include, but is not limited to, a coil heater 410, which is applicable to an electric heater, as shown in FIG. 2. In other words, the coil heater 410 is disposed inside the heater housing 100 and heats air sucked into the heater housing 100 by the fan 200 when electric power is supplied to the coil heater 410 through the power supply. Then, the air heated by the coil heater 410 is supplied to a particular desired zone through the first air-discharge port 121 and the heated-air supply guide 600 by a blowing force of the fan 200 while being supplied to a space around the heater housing 100 through the second air-discharge port 122.
Here, the coil heater 410 may be adapted to heat air, which is introduced into the heater housing 100, in an indirect manner. In other words, the coil heater 410 heats the air via another heat transfer medium rather than directly contacting the air.
If the coil heater 410 directly heats the air introduced into the heater housing 100, the air can be overheated, possibly causing a fire or a burn accident and can be discharged in an excessively dry state.
To prevent such problems, the heater 10 according to this embodiment may further include a heat sink 450 disposed inside the heater housing 100 to receive heat from the coil heater 410 via heat conduction and emit the heat for heating the air introduced into the heater housing 100.
The heat sink 450 is isolated from the coil heater 410 by a partition plate 440 and heats air using heat transferred from the coil heater 410 thereto via heat conduction. Further, although it is isolated from the coil heater 410, the heat sink 450 is connected to the coil heater 410 via a certain component having high thermal conductivity, such as a heat pipe and the like, thereby improving thermal conductivity and heat dissipation.
In other words, with the partition plate 440 disposed above the coil heater 410, the heat sink 450 made of a material having high thermal conductivity is disposed on an upper side of the partition plate 440, whereby air introduced into the heater housing is heated by the heat sink 450 using heat transferred thereto from the coil heater 450 through the partition plate 440 via heat conduction. Here, the heat sink 450 may be provided with a heat dissipation fin 451 to increase a heat exchange area with air.
Accordingly, air flowing into the heater housing 100 is not directly heated by the coil heater 410, but is indirectly heated by the heat sink 450 isolated from the coil heater 410, so that overheating and drying of the air, a fire, and a burn accident can be prevented.
Alternatively, the heating unit may include an oil or gas burner 420, as shown in FIG. 4. If the heating unit includes the oil or gas burner 420, the heater housing may be provided with a purifier that purifies toxic substances contained in a combustion gas which is generated during combustion of oil or gas.
Further, when the heating unit includes the burner 420, the heat sink 450 made of a material having high thermal conductivity may be disposed above the burner 420 to be isolated therefrom by the partition plate 440 or the like, whereby air flowing into the heater housing 100 can be indirectly heated by the heat sink 450, to which heat is transferred from the burner 420 via the partition plate, instead of being directly heated by the burner 420.
The heating unit, particularly, the burner 420, may be detachably mounted to the heater housing 100 to be drawn out from the heater housing 100. This allows the burner 420 to be used as a separate heat source for various applications.
In other words, when a user heats a room using the heater 10 according to this embodiment, the burner 420 is mounted to the heater housing 100 and used as the heating unit of the heater, and when the user employs the heater 10 for cooking or direct heating, the burner 420 is detached from the heater housing 100 and used for the desired purpose.
Here, the heater housing 100 may be provided at one side thereof with a door 130 (see FIG. 1) to minimize or prevent heat loss of the heating unit and to permit attachment/detachment of the burner 420 with respect to the housing 100.
The door 130 may have a variety of configurations, such as hinge type doors, slidable doors, etc., and may be provided with a gripper to facilitate opening/closing of the door 130.
The power supply may include a power line 510 for connection with an external power source that supplies electric power to components of the heater 10, such as the fan 200 and the heating unit, which require supply of electricity for operating the heater 10. The power line 510 may be integrally or detachably connected at one end thereof to the heater housing 100.
It should be understood that the power supply may include a battery 520 inside the heater housing 100, as shown in FIG. 5, for convenience of use. The battery may be a rechargeable battery detachably inserted into the housing 100.
As the power supply, both the power line 510 and the rechargeable battery 520 may be provided to the housing 100 such that one of them can be used as the power supply or the rechargeable battery 520 can be charged by power supplied through the power line 510 according to use of the heater.
The heated-air supply guide 600 may define a variable flow channel defined to change a heated-air supply zone. The heated-air supply guide 600 includes a coupler 610 disposed at an inlet of the heated-air supply guide 600 and connected to the first air-discharge port 121 of the heater housing 100, and at least one outlet 620 through which heated-air flowing into the heated-air supply guide 600 through the coupler 610 is discharged outside.
For example, the heated-air supply guide 600 may be partially or entirely formed of the flexible material to permit change of the flow channel.
More specifically, the heated-air supply guide 600 may be formed of fibrous materials, for example, non-woven fabrics, cotton fabrics, or other natural fabrics made from natural fiber. Here, the heated-air supply guide may be formed of an environmentally friendly natural fabric. It should be understood that the heated-air supply guide may also be formed of synthetic fibers.
The heated-air supply guide 600 may be expandable and contractible. More specifically, the heated-air supply guide 600 may be a bellows member formed of a heat resistant material. Accordingly, the heated-air supply guide 600 provides various merits, such as easy manipulation and maintenance, freely adjustable length, and the like.
Therefore, the heated-air supply zone may be set by changing the flow channel of the heated-air supply guide 600 as needed, so that heated air can be properly supplied to any desired place through the heated-air supply guide 600.
Further, as shown in FIGS. 1, 2, 4, and 5, the heated-air supply guide 600 may include a plurality of outlets 620 to allow heated air discharged from the first air-discharge port 121 of the heater housing 100 to be simultaneously supplied to various zones therethrough. Therefore, the heater according to this embodiment can supply the heated air to a plurality of desired heated-air supply zones.
The outlet 620 of the heated-air supply guide 600 may be provided with a temperature sensor 750 which detects the temperature of heated air. That is, operation of the fan 200 and the heating unit can be adjusted according to the temperature detected by the temperature sensor 750 to adjust the temperature and an amount of heated air supplied through the heated-air supply guide 600.
Although not shown in the drawings, the heater 10 according to the embodiment may be provided with an alarm connected to the temperature sensor 750 to warn of danger, for example, a fire or the like, which can occur due to excessive heating.
For example, the alarm may warn of an excessively heated state of air using an alarm light, sound or letter when the temperature of the heated air detected by the temperature sensor 750 exceeds a predetermined value.
The coupler 610 of the heated-air supply guide 600 is detachably connected to the first air-discharge port 121 of the heater housing 100. For example, Velcro fasteners are provided to an outer peripheral surface of the first air-discharge port 121 and an inner peripheral surface of the coupler 610 of the heated-air supply guide 600 corresponding the outer peripheral surface such that the heated-air supply guide 600 can be connected to or disconnected from the first air-discharge port 121 of the heater housing 100.
Although not shown in the drawings, any other elements, such as magnets, screws or the like, may be applied instead of the Velcro fasteners in order to allow the coupler 610 of the heated-air supply guide 600 to be detachably connected to the first air-discharge port 121 of the heater housing 100.
Here, the heater may further include an insulation member 710 between the first air-discharge port 121 of the heater housing 100 and the coupler 610 of the heated-air supply guide 600 to prevent or minimize heat transfer therebetween. Namely, the insulation member 71 composed of a material having low thermal conductivity is interposed for insulation between the first air-discharge port 121 of the heater housing 100 and the coupler 610 of the heated-air supply guide 600, thereby preventing heat from being transferred from the first air-discharge port 121 of the heater housing 100 to the coupler 610 of the heated-air supply guide 600.
On the other hand, the outlet 620 of the heated-air supply guide 600 may be provided with an outlet frame 720 that defines the outlet 620. In other words, the outlet frame 720 is provided to the outlet 620 of the heated-air supply guide 600, thereby forming an opening which defines the outlet 620.
The outlet frame 720 ensures an area for discharging heated air and has a predetermined weight so as to prevent the heated-air supply guide 600 from sliding down when the outlet 620 of the heated-air supply guide 600 is positioned higher than the air-discharge port 121 of the heater housing 100.
When the heated-air supply guide 600 is made of a flexible material, the outlet 620 of the heated-air supply guide 600 can be compressed and clogged by an external obstacle. Therefore, the outlet frame 720 such as a wire ring, a metal ring or a plastic ring is provided to the outlet 620 of the heated-air supply guide 600 not only to maintain the outlet 620 of the heated-air supply guide 600 in a predetermined shape, but also to prevent the outlet 620 from being clogged so as to allow heated air to be smoothly supplied therethrough.
On the other hand, as shown in FIGS. 1 and 5, the heater 10 according to this embodiment may further include a remote controller 800. That is, the remote controller 800 is connected to the heater housing 100, particularly, to a controller (not shown) of the heater via wire connection, thereby enabling convenient remote control of the heater 10 or easy monitoring of an operating state of the heater 10.
To this end, the remote controller 800 may include operation buttons for controlling the components of the heater 10, such as the fan 200, the heating unit, and the like, and a display screen for displaying operation and manipulation states of the heater 10.
With this configuration, a user can easily monitor the temperature and intensity of heated air, an operation mode of the heater, and the like on the display screen of the remote controller 800, and can easily manipulate ON/OFF of the heater 10, the temperature and intensity of heated air, the operation mode of the heater, and the like using the operation buttons.
Further, the remote controller 800 may have a program embedded therein to perform temperature control of heated air in various operation manners. For example, when a sleeping operation program is embedded in the remote controller 800, the remote controller 800 may perform the temperature control according to a sleeping cycle of a user. That is, when the user selects the sleeping operation program, the remote controller 800 raises the temperature of heated air during an initial sleeping period of the user to rapidly provide warmth to the user and lowers the temperature of the heated air after a predetermined period of time to maintain the warmth while the user sleeps.
Although not shown in detail, the remote controller 800 may be connected to the heater via wireless connection and may be detachably mounted on an outer surface of the heater housing 100 that defines an appearance of the heater 10. Further, according to one embodiment of the invention, the heater 10 may further include a gripper and a wheel for convenient movement and carrying of the heater 10.
Next, exemplary practical applications of the heater according to the embodiments will be described with reference to FIGS. 6 to 8.
When the heater 10 is used in an indoor space, both the power line 510 and the rechargeable battery 520 may be used as the power supply, and when the heater 10 is used in an outdoor space, the rechargeable battery 520 may be used as the power supply.
More specifically, referring to FIG. 6, when a user wants to supply heated air into a blanket on a bed 910 in a room, the heater 10 is operated via the remote controller 800, with the outlets 620 of the heated-air supply guide 600 positioned near the foot of the bed 910. Then, heated air is discharged through the first air-discharge port 121 of the heater housing 100 and is supplied towards the foot of the bed 910 through the outlets 620 of the heated-air supply guide 600, thereby performing rapid and convenient heating of a target zone.
In this case, when the heater 10 is operated with the outlets 620 of the heated-air supply guide 600 disposed under the blanket covering the user, the user can more rapidly feel warm. Thus, the heater 10 according to this embodiment can perform heating more efficiently while reducing energy consumption, as compared with heating the overall space of the room to a predetermined temperature or more.
For example, the heater 10 can supply heated air into a blanket or sheet covering a user on the bed 910 with the heated-air supply guide 600 of the heater 10 disposed under the blanket or sheet, so that the heated air can be rapidly and efficiently supplied to the user so as to allow the user to feel warm with a small amount of heated air.
Here, although not shown in detail, when a person lies under a blanket or sheet on the bed 910, an air channel is formed to allow heated air to be supplied therethrough towards a zone, on which the feet of the person are placed, thereby supplying the heated air to the lower half of the person's body, particularly, towards the feet of the person. In this case, if a foot board of the bed 910 is formed with a separate connector which can communicate with the air channel of the heater 10, the heated-air supply guide 600 of the heater 10 may be connected to the connector of the foot board to supply the heated air into the connector. Here, the remote controller 800 of the heater 10 may be positioned at a head-side of the bed 910 to allow the person to easily control operation of the heater 10.
According to this embodiment of the invention, desired local heating can be achieved through the heated-air supply guide of the heater, thereby enabling rapid and efficient heating and realizing size reduction of the heater through replacement of conventional large capacity heaters with a low capacity heater.
Further, referring to FIG. 7, when a user desires to receive heated air in a particular zone, for example, within a sleeping bag 920 in an outdoor space, the heater 10 is positioned at a place spaced from the sleeping bag 920 and is operated after a connector 921 of the sleeping bag 920 is connected to the outlet 620 of the heated-air supply guide 600. Then, heated air discharged from the first air-discharge port 121 of the heater housing 100 is supplied into the sleeping bag 920 through the outlet 620 of the heated-air supply guide, thereby performing rapid and efficient heating inside the sleeping bag 920. Here, the connector 921 of the sleeping bag 920 may be connected to the outlet of the heated-air supply guide 600 via the aforementioned Velcro fasteners or the like.
Further, referring to FIG. 8, when a user desires to heat the inside of a tent 930 disposed in an outdoor space, the heater 10 is positioned at a place spaced from the tent 930 and is operated after a connector 931 of the tent 930 is connected to the outlet 620 of the heated-air supply guide 600. Then, heated air discharged from the first air-discharge port 121 of the heater housing 100 is supplied into the tent 930 through the heated-air supply guide 600, thereby providing rapid and efficient heating inside the tent 930.
The heater 10 can also be used for heating inside the tent 930. In this case, however, there is a likelihood of a fire or a burn accident. Thus, it is desirable that the heater 10 be positioned outside a particular zone, for example, outside the tent or the sleeping bag, where heating is demanded, in order to improve utility of an inner space of the tent 930 and prevent a fire.
Although some embodiments have been provided to describe the invention, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various modifications, changes, and substitutions can be made without departing from the scope and spirit of the invention, and that the embodiments are given by way of illustration only and do not limit the scope of the invention. Accordingly, the scope of the invention should be limited only by the accompanying claims and equivalents thereof.
The heater according to the embodiments of the invention has various advantages including the following.
Firstly, the heater can rapidly and easily supply heated air to a desired place through the heated-air supply guide.
Secondly, the heater can perform selective local heating only for a desired space, thereby reducing energy consumption.
Thirdly, the heated-air supply guide of the heater is detachably connected to the outlet of the heater housing and is made of a flexible material to facilitate change of a flow channel, thereby enabling convenient attachment and maintenance of the heated-air supply guide and supply of heated air to various zones in several directions.
Fourthly, the heater has a simple structure and is configured to permit convenient attachment and maintenance of the heated-air supply guide, thereby improving mobility and use convenience of the heater.
Fifthly, the heating unit of the heater is separable from the heater housing to be used as a separate heat source for cooking or the like and to prevent a fire or a burning accident from occurring when the heater is positioned inside a particular zone.

Claims

1. A heater comprising:

a heater housing having an air-inflow part and a first air-discharge port;

a heating unit provided in the heater housing for air heating; and

a heated-air supply guide connected to the first air-discharge port and guiding heated air discharged through the first air-discharge port, the heated-air supply guide having a variable flow channel to change a heated-air supply zone.

2. The heater according to claim 1, further comprising:

a temperature sensor provided to an outlet of the heated-air supply guide to detect a temperature of the heated air.

3. The heater according to claim 2, further comprising:

an alarm electrically connected to the temperature sensor to warn of a danger caused by overheating.

4. The heater according to claim 1, further comprising:

an insulation member for preventing heat from being transferred from the first air-discharge port to the coupling part of the heated-air supply guide, wherein the insulation member is provided between the first air-discharge port and the coupling part of the heated-air supply guide and wherein the coupling part being coupled to the first air-discharge port.

5. The heater according to claim 1, wherein the heated-air supply guide comprises a flexible material for allowing the flow channel to change.

6. The heater according to claim 5, wherein the heated-air supply guide further comprises an outlet frame provided to an outlet of the heated-air supply guide.

7. The heater according to claim 5, wherein the heated-air supply guide comprises one of a non-woven fabric, a cotton fabric, and a natural fabric made from natural fibers.

8. The heater according to claim 1, wherein the heated-air supply guide is expandable and contractible.

9. The heater according to claim 1, wherein the heater housing further comprises a second air-discharge port through which the heated air is discharged to heat a space around the heater housing.

10. The heater according to claim 9, further comprising:

an opening/closing device provided to each of the first and second air-discharge ports of the heater housing.

11. The heater according to claim 1, further comprising a remote controller having a button for manipulation of the heater and display screen that displays an operating state of the heater.

12. The heater according to claim 1, further comprising a heat sink heating air inside the heater housing, wherein the heat sink is provided in the heater housing and transfers heat from the heating unit to air inside the heater housing.

13. The heater according to claim 1, wherein the heating unit comprises one of a coil heater, a heat pipe, and a thermoelectric semiconductor device generating heat upon an electric current.

14. The heater according to claim 1, wherein the heating unit comprises a burner that generates heat by combustion of oil or gas.

15. The heater according to claim 1, wherein the heating unit is separable from the heater housing to be drawn out from the heater housing.

16. The heater according to claim 1, wherein the heated-air supply guide is detachably connected to the first air-discharge port.