Electric Space Heater With Swivel Mount

This invention relates to electric space heaters and, more particularly, to swivel mounted, ceiling mounted electric workshop heaters.

Heaters for use in workshop areas are well known in the art. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,621,846 discloses a ceiling-mounted workshop heater that is pivotably mounted about a horizontal axis to direct heat energy therefrom to a desired area of the workshop. However, known heaters are adjustable only by pivotal movement about a horizontal axis, which limits the areas of the workshop to which heat energy can be directed. Therefore, the need exists for a mounting arrangement in which heat energy from a ceiling-mounted heater can be directed in any direction to thereby heat any desired area of a workshop.

An object of this invention is to provide a ceiling-mounted electric heater that is adjustable to direct heat energy from the heater to any area of a surrounding workspace.

Another object of this invention is to provide a ceiling-mounted electric heater that can be swiveled about a vertical axis to direct heat energy from the heater to a desired area of the surrounding workspace. A related object is provide a heater that can be swiveled about a vertical axis and that is also pivotal about a horizontal axis.

Still another object of this invention is to provide a swivel mounting arrangement for a ceiling-mounted heater that is inexpensive and easily installed.

In accordance with this invention, a ceiling-mounted heater as disclosed in above-mentioned U.S. Pat. No. 5,621,846 comprises a housing having mounted therein a heating element. The housing is connected to mutually-spaced support arms of a U-shaped support bracket, and the support arms are joined by and depend downwardly from a horizontally-extending support member. A wood bolt or other suitable fastener extends through an aperture in the support member intermediate the support arms and into a joist in the ceiling. As a result, the heater can be swiveled about a vertical axis defined by the wood bolt to direct heat energy from the heater to any desired area of the surrounding workspace. The heater housing is preferably pivotal about a horizontal axis relative to the support arms.

Other objects and advantages will become apparent from the following description and the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a fragmentary, exploded perspective view of a swivel mounting arrangement for a heater in accordance with this invention.

FIG. 2 is a fragmentary perspective view showing a heater mounted to a ceiling using the swivel mounting arrangement illustrated in FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is a fragmentary cross-sectional view taken along lines 3--3 of FIG. 2.

FIG. 4 is a fragmentary plan view taken along lines 4--4 of FIG. 2.

FIG. 2 shows a heater 10 comprising a heater housing 14 and a support bracket 20 to which the heater housing 14 is mounted for pivotal movement about a horizontal axis. The heater 10 may be identical to the heater disclosed in the above-mentioned U.S. Pat. No. 5,621,846 except that the support bracket 20 of the present invention has a centrally located aperture 212 which is used with a single wood bolt 218 to secure the mounting bracket 20 to the ceiling for swiveling movement about the axis of the wood bolt 218. The hole 20 is preferably provided in addition to the plural key hole slots 168 of U.S. Pat. No. 5,621,846.

With reference particularly to FIG. 1, the aperture 212 is provided in the support member 210 centrally between the support arms 170. The aperture 212 is aligned with a pilot hole 214 formed as by drilling, in the ceiling 12 and in a joist 216, which joist supports the ceiling 12. A conventional, commercially-available hex-head wood bolt 218 is screwed into the pilot hole 214, as best shown FIG. 3, so that the shaft 220 of the wood bolt 218 extends into the ceiling 12, which may be drywall for example, and further into the ceiling joist 216. The support member 210 is thus trapped between the ceiling 12 and the head 222 of the bolt 218 to secure the mounting bracket 20, and thereby the heater 10, to the ceiling 12. If desired, a suitable washer (not shown) can be provided between the head 222 of the bolt 218 and the underneath side of the support member 210 to provide a bearing surface other than the head 222 of the bolt 218 to support the heater 10.

As indicated by the arrows 224 in FIG. 4, the heater 10 can be swiveled 360 degrees about a vertical axis defined by the wood bolt 218 to direct heat energy from the heater to any desired area of the surrounding workspace. In addition, the heater 14 is pivotal about a horizontal axis, which provides additional adjustment in the direction of heat energy from the heater 10. It will be understood that the swivel mounting arrangement illustrated is FIGS. 1 through 4 is useful not only with radiant electric heaters, but also with convection heaters.

Although the presently preferred embodiments of this invention have been described, it will be understood that within the purview of the invention various changes may be made within the scope of the following claims.