WO1999030077A1

WO1999030077A1 - Ornamental display unit

Info

Publication number: WO1999030077A1
Application number: PCT/GB1998/003660
Authority: WO
Inventors: Francis John Bernard Rowley; Graham William Whatley
Original assignee: Charlton & Jenrick Limited
Priority date: 1997-12-10
Filing date: 1998-12-08
Publication date: 1999-06-17
Also published as: GB9726016D0; GB0013978D0; AU1495199A; GB2346958A

Abstract

An ornamental display unit includes at least two electric light sources (37) adapted or arranged to provide light of respectively different colours, a diffuser (36) for diffusing light emitted by the light sources (37) and control means (54) by which the relative levels of illumination of the light sources (37) can be varied to vary the appearance of the display. The ornamental display unit may be a part of an electrical heater and/or fan unit.

Description

Ornamental Display Unit

The present invention is concerned with an ornamental display unit, and particularly with heaters and/or fan units comprising means for providing an ornamental display.

It is well known to provide electrical heaters with means for producing an ornamental display in the form of a simulated fire. One such heater is described in GB2230335, and utilises an electrical light source to illuminate both a simulated bed of combusting fuel and a row of moving ribbons or similar means for simulating flames. A diffusing screen is positioned in front of the ribbons/flame simulation means to help to simulate the appearance of a real fire.

A heater of this type can be an appealing visual feature of a room, and the light emitted can help to give the room a warm and cosy ambience.

However, not all would-be purchasers of an electrical heater are attracted to simulated fires. Some are put off by the fact that no electric simulation gives the true appearance of a burning fuel, and the light emitted by a simulated fire is not always appropriate for the decor of a particular room.

In accordance with a first aspect of the present invention there is provided an ornamental display unit comprising at least two electrical light sources adapted or arranged to provide light of different respective colours, diffusing means adapted to diffuse light emitted by the light sources, and control means by which the relative levels of illumination of the light sources can be varied to vary the appearance of the display. According to a further aspect of the invention, there is provided a heater and/or fan unit including such an ornamental display unit.

The display provided by such a unit need not have the appearance of a fire, although it may be chosen, for example, to give a "warm" colourful glow. In order to colour light from the sources, they may be associated with respective coloured filters, or may take the form of coloured light bulbs e.g. bulbs whose transparent casing bears a filter layer.

In one embodiment of the invention, light sources are utilised which respectively emit red and blue light, so that the unit can emit "warm" red light for a cosy ambience, blue light for a colder appearance, or a mixture of the two.

Light may be emitted via fibre optic cables.

It is particularly preferred that the control means is adapted to continuously vary the level of illumination of at least one of the light sources. Alternatively, the control means could vary the relative levels of illumination of the light sources simply by allowing them to be independently switched.

Still more preferably, the control means are adapted to vary the level of illumination of one or both of the light sources automatically over time. Thus, a time varying display can be created to provide additional interest for an observer.

Such control means are preferably electronic, although suitable mechanical control means could be utilised. The variation in the levels of illumination may be periodic, e.g. sinusoidal, and the period of the variation need not be the same for both light sources. Alternatively, the variation in the level(s) of illumination may be random.

Preferably, the control means comprise a microprocessor controllingly connected to a plurality of voltage controllers, each of which controls the voltage applied to a respective one of the light sources. The voltage controllers preferably each comprise a transistor.

It is especially preferred that the unit further comprises a reflector positioned to reflect light from one or both of the light sources.

In a preferred embodiment, the unit has a front which is intended to be presented to an observer in use and a rear, the light sources and the diffusing means being positioned in front of a reflective front surface of the reflector. This front surface may be concave.

The reflector thus serves to reflect light forwards, toward the region where an observer is expected to be.

It is especially preferred that the diffuser takes the form of a vessel containing the light sources. Such a vessel may emit a diffuse glow over a wide range of angles.

In yet a further preferred embodiment of the present invention, at least four light sources are provided being spatially arranged in pairs of contrasting colours.

Thus for example, each pair of light sources may comprise a red and a blue source, so that a given region of the unit may either be illuminated in blue, in red, or in a combination of the two.

It is particularly preferred that the unit further comprises an open receptacle which is suitable for receiving aromatic liquid and is positioned to receive heat in use. The chamber may be positioned to be heated by the heater or by one or more of the light sources. It may take the form of an upwardly open tray.

Preferably, the unit comprises an electrical heating element and a fan, the heating element being switchable separately from the fan so that the unit can emit heated air or air at substantially ambient temperature. A cooling effect is thereby produced. Known fan heaters typically have air inlets at their rear or sides, the air circulated by the fan being output through vents in the front of the fan. This increases the clear space required to the rear or sides of the fan, since obstructions (e.g. walls or heaters) at these locations may impair the proper circulation of air. The alleviation of this problem is an objective of a second aspect of the present invention.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, there is a fan heater having a generally forwardly facing air inlet, a fan arranged to draw air in through the inlet, and means for deflecting the air such that it is output from the heater in a generally forward direction.

Such a heater may for example be placed with its rear lying against a wall, perhaps also being between items of furniture, and still freely draw in air and output it.

The means for deflecting the air preferably comprise a partly enclosed chamber which is in flow communication with the inlet and through which air is drawn by the fan, the chamber having an outlet and a baffle or wall adapted to deflect air leaving the outlet in the generally forward direction. The fan may be disposed in the chamber. The wall is preferably formed as a rear wall of the fan heater.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, there is provided a heater provided with an open receptacle for receiving a volatile aromatic liquid, the receptacle being positioned such as to be heated during operation of the heater to warm the liquid

The heater may be a fan heater, domestic heater or wall heater.

In this way, the heater serves not only to warm a room but also to release a pleasant odour. According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a heater having receiving means for receiving a signal from a remote controller and means for controlling the heater in dependence on the received signal.

Thus, a user may use the remote controller to, for example, switch the heater on/off, control the heat level or, where the heater has means for providing a visual display as described herein, to control the display.

The receiving means may be adapted to receive an infra red signal, or alternatively a radio signal. The heater preferably forms part of a system which additionally comprises a remote controller.

A specific embodiment of the present invention will now be described, by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: -

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of a heater constructed in accordance with the present invention;

Fig. 2 is a corresponding exploded view showing the major components of the heater; and

Fig. 3 is a block wiring diagram of the heater.

In the Figs, the front face of the heater, normally presented to an observer, is to the fore.

When viewed in plan, the heater is seen to be an approximately ovoidal shape. It comprises an approximately ovoidal base tray 2 having a shallow upstanding peripheral wall 4 by which it engages with a curved rear casing 6. Supported by the rear casing 6 is a top casing 8, shaped in plan to correspond to the base tray 2. Vertically extending edges of the rear casing 6 are bent inward to form flanges 10 by which the rear casing engages with a reflector 12, having complimentary outwardly directed flanges 14. The reflector lines the entire front face of the rear casing 6. Its reflective front face 16 is concave and according to the present embodiment is generally part cylindrical - i.e. constitutes a sector of a vertical cylinder.

The base tray 2 additionally supports a conventional heater and/or fan unit 18 arranged to draw in air through a filter mesh 20 and a louvered grill 22 disposed at the front edge of the tray 2. This air is expelled from the heater/fan unit 18 through outlets in its rear.

The heater/fan unit is disposed in a space which is partly upwardly enclosed by a shaped platform 24 and, above that, by a shaped decorative coving 26, which may have a reflective upper surface.

As Fig. 2 shows, the platform 24 has a planar horizontal upper portion 27 whose front edge is shaped to conform to the front edge of the tray 2, abutting in the assembled unit against the louvered grill 22 and forming with the tray 2 a large inlet opening through which air passes inwardly to the heater/fan unit 18.

The upper portion 27 of the platform is supported by two integrally formed walls 28 which extend downwardly from portions at the rear edge of the upper portion and are in turn supported on the tray 2. The walls 28 do not extend around all of the rear edge at the upper portion 27 of the platform. Instead, a straight rear edge 30 of the upper portion has no associated upright wall, thus defining with rear edges of the walls 28 and with the tray 2 a rearward opening at 31 forming an outlet for the air circulated by the heater/fan.

The resultant paths taken by air circulated by the heater /fan are shown by arrows 32 in Fig. 1. Air drawn in through the louvered grill 22 passes through the heater/fan then is output in a generally upward direction through the rearward opening 1, and the air is then deflected forwardly by the reflector 16, as the arrows 2 show.

The overall effect is that air drawn in through the front of the unit is output in a generally forward direction.

Supported on the coving 26 is a plinth 34, upon which rests a diffuser 36. The plinth is formed of thermally insulating material, reducing the amount of heat conducted from the heater/fan 18 to the diffuser 36 and its associated components, and so preventing thermal damage of these.

According to the present embodiment, the diffuser 36 is formed as a vertical tube of optically translucent material e.g. frosted glass or translucent plastics. The tube has an oval cross section. Its upper end protrudes through a correspondingly shaped opening in the top casing 8, and is provided with a cover 38, which will be described in more detail below.

Contained by the diffuser 36 are four electric light sources, in this case filament bulbs 37 which are plugged into respective sockets 38 supported by an upright stem 40. A bracket 42 serves to mount the stem, being coupled to the upper portion 27 of the platform.

As can be seen in Fig. 2, the bulbs are arranged in a rectangular or square pattern.

In the illustrated embodiment, the bulbs themselves are tinted: the top pair comprises one red bulb and one blue bulb, as does the bottom pair. In the assembled unit, the bulbs themselves are not discernible through the diffuser, although of course the light they emit is seen as a diffuse coloured glow.

The cover 38 has in its upper surface a dish shaped recess 42. In use, this can receive a volatile aromatic oil. Oils commonly referred to as "essential oils" or "aromatherapy oils" are suitable for this purpose. When the heater and/or the light bulbs are on, heat therefrom warms the cover 38 and causes the oil to gradually vaporise, releasing a pleasant aroma.

The heater is arranged to be remotely controlled, the relevant electronics being illustrated in block diagram form in Fig. 3, wherein 50 denotes a remote control handset having an infra read emitter via which encoded signals are sent to an infra red detector 52 mounted on the heater. This general type of remote control arrangement is well known in connection with televisions, stereos etc.

Signals from the detector 52 are passed to a controlling microprocessor 54 which, operating under a pre-established program, controls a plurality of power switches in block 56. A respective power switch is provided for each light source (i.e. each bulb 7). Further, power switches are provided which, under control by the microprocessor, control power relays (block 58) which in turn handle the relatively large electrical currents needed to drive the fan/heater 18.

Also shown in Fig. 3 is a line filter 58, receiving a mains input and providing the power switches with a filtered driving potential.

The light sources can be controlled by the microprocessor (under the direction of a user via the remote control) to provide a variety of effects.

The user may choose to illuminate some of the light sources and not others. Choosing the red/blue coloured light combination of the embodiment herein described, the user may:-

i. illuminate only red lights, so that the diffuser emits a warm glow;

ii. illuminate only blue lights, providing a colder appearance, or hi. illuminate, say, the upper red light and the lower blue light, so that the diffuser appears red at one extremity, blue at the other and shows a range of tints along its length with varying combinations of red and blue.

The control electronics are arranged not only to switch the bulbs, however, but also to vary the voltage applied thereto over a range, this being achieved under control by the user. Thus, the user may selectively dim any of the light sources to set a particular colour/brightness for the light emitted from a selected region of the diffuser. For example, the upper red bulb may be switched fully on (i.e. illuminated by the maximum available voltage) while the blue bulb is partly dimmed, so that the upper region of the diffuser is brightly illuminated by a chosen mixture of red and blue.

The visual appeal of the heater is still further increased, in the illustrated embodiment, by having the lights vary dynamically - i.e. by having the control electronics vary the voltages applied to the lights over time. In this way, a constantly changing visual display may be provided.

For example, the microprocessor may be programmed to apply to each light a sinusoidally varying voltage, and the variation in voltage applied to each light may be out of place with the others, or of different period, so that the relative levels of illuminations vary constantly, providing an ever changing display.

Various modifications may be made to the above described embodiment, without departing from the scope of the invention. The passage of air flow through the fan heater may be reversed, so that air is drawn into the heater through the rearward opening 31 and expelled through the louvered grill 22.

The fan heater may be omitted altogether, with the unit being primarily used for decorative purposes. In this case, the heat from the bulbs is sufficient to diffuse any aromatherapy oils in the receptacle 42.

Claims

1. An ornamental display unit comprising at least two electrical light sources (37) adapted or arranged to provide light of respectively different colours, diffusing means (36) for diffusing light emitted by the light sources (37) and control means (54) by which the relative levels of illumination of the light sources ( 7) can be varied to vary the appearance of the display.

2. An ornamental display unit according to claim 1 wherein the light sources (37) are associated with respectively different coloured filters.

3. An ornamental display unit according to claim 1 or claim 2 wherein the control means (54) is adapted to continuously vary the level of illumination of at least one of the light sources (37).

4. An ornamental display unit according to claim 3 wherein the control means (54) is adapted to vary the level of illumination of one or more of the light sources (37) automatically over time.

5. An ornamental display unit according to any preceding claim wherein the unit further comprises a reflector (12) positioned to reflect light from one or both of the light sources (37).

6. An ornamental display unit according to any preceding claim wherein the diffusing means (36) takes the form of a vessel containing the light sources.

7. An ornamental display unit according to claim 6 wherein the diffusing means (36) has a substantially smooth outer surface.

8. An ornamental display unit according to any preceding claim further including receiving means (52) for receiving a signal from a remote controller (50) and means (54) for controlling the illumination of the light sources in dependence on the received signal.

9. An ornamental display unit according to any preceding claim, provided with an open receptacle (42) for receiving a volatile aromatic liquid, the receptacle being positioned such as to be heated during operation of the unit to warm the liquid.

10. A heater and/or fan unit including an ornamental display unit according to any preceding claim.

11. A heater and/or fan unit having means for providing an ornamental display which comprises at least two electrical light sources (37) adapted or arranged to provide light of respectively different colours, diffusing means (36) for diffusing light emitted by the light sources (37) and control means (54) by which the relative levels of illumination of the light sources (37) can be varied to vary the appearance of the display.

12. A heater and/or fan unit according to claim 10 or claim 11, having a generally forward facing air inlet, a fan arranged to draw air in through the inlet, and means for deflecting the air such that it is output from the heater in a generally forward facing direction.

13. Any novel subject matter or combination including novel subject matter disclosed herein, whether or not within the scope of or relating to the same invention as any of the preceding claims.