TECHNICAL FIELD

[0001 ] The present generally concerns heaters, and more particularly to a stand-alone, combined cuboid heater and stove operated by candles.

BACKGROUND

[0002] Power outages in utility networks are a nuisance, especially during the winter months when cold and ice are a regular occurrence. For households who may not have access to a generator or a fireplace, heating the dwelling and cooking food becomes a problem. In many new houses, regulations prevent the installation of fireplaces as alternative sources of heat and so the risk of burst water pipes becomes high.

[0003] Conventional camping stoves can be used, if only temporarily, in such circumstances, but they are dangerous if left unattended, and generally have a limited area of heating. Generally speaking, camping stoves are used for heating food and not for heating a large area such as the room of a house. Furthermore, the camping stoves use propane bottles which have a limited lifetime and may topple over if unattended near pets and children.

[0004] Although this problem is still common, the inventors are unaware of a standalone apparatus that can be used to stay warm and on which to prepare food. Thus, there is clearly a need for a compact heating apparatus.

BRIEF SUMMARY

[0005] We have significantly reduced, or essentially eliminated, the problems described above by designing a stand-alone heater that uses a number of candles to heat a cuboid chamber. The heater is easily transportable, inexpensive to manufacture and provides an efficient heat source that can be used for cooking, especially during a power outage. Furthermore, the amount of heat generated is determined by the number of candles located on a platform. The apparatus includes a top surface on which one or more cooking utensils can be placed and a removable shelf which can also be used to re-heat food in oven-safe containers. In addition to the cuboid structure, we have also designed a number of soy-based candles with various wick lengths. The soy-based candles are low soot candles and so the interior of the apparatus is easy to clean. The wick length can be varied to generate sufficient heat energy that is sufficient to heat liquid on the top of the cube. In non-emergency situations, the heating apparatus can also be used as an auxiliary heating apparatus to provide a warm and pleasant environment that is both comfortable and long-lasting. Our design is safe to use, durable, and strong. Since the apparatus is light, it can be used anywhere such as in trailers, camping, cottage, house, apartment, condo, greenhouses, chicken coop, for hunters, and the like.

[0006] Accordingly, in one embodiment there is provided a stand-alone heating apparatus, the apparatus comprising:

[0007] a first sidewall;

[0008] a second sidewall;

[0009] a third sidewall;

[00010] a first platform; and

[00011] a second platform;

[00012] the sidewalls and the platforms being interconnected to define a cuboid chamber, the first platform being sized and shaped for locating thereon an article to be heated, the second platform for locating thereon a heating source, the cuboid chamber having an open front portion.

[00013] In one example, the second platform is located at a lower portion of the cuboid chamber.

[00014] In one example, the apparatus further includes at least one shelf moveably mounted in the cuboid chamber. The second and third sidewalls each include first and second L-shaped guides on which the shelf is moveably mounted. [00015] In another example, the heating source is a plurality of candles. The candles include wicks of varying lengths. The candles are soy wax candles being contained within aluminum containers.

[00016] In another example, the first platform is a top platform and the second platform is a lower platform, the platforms being made from steel of sufficient thickness to permit transfer of heat energy. The top platform includes a front downwardly depending panel. The lower platform includes an upstanding safety barrier extending between the second and third sidewalls.

[00017] In yet another example, the apparatus includes a coating material coating the interior and exterior of the cuboid chamber. The coating material is black paint.

[00018] Accordingly, in another embodiment, there is provided a stand-alone heating apparatus, the apparatus comprising:

[00019] three sidewalls;

[00020] an upper platform;

[00021] a lower platform; and

[00022] a removable shelf,

[00023] the sidewalls and the platforms being interconnected to define a cuboid chamber, the upper platform being sized and shaped for locating thereon an article to be heated, the lower platform for locating thereon a heating source, the cuboid chamber having an open front portion.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS [00024] These and other features of that described herein will become more apparent from the following description in which reference is made to the appended drawings wherein:

[00025] Fig. i is a perspective first side view of an embodiment of a stand-alone heating apparatus;

[00026] Fig. 2 is a perspective second side view of the stand-alone heating apparatus of Fig. 1;

[00027] Fig. 3 is a front view of the stand-alone heating apparatus showing a number of candles located on a lower platform;

[00028] Fig. 4 is a front view of the stand-alone heating apparatus showing a number of candles located on a lower platform and a shelf located in the chamber;

[00029] Fig. 5 is a front view of the stand-alone heating apparatus showing a number of candles located on a shelf located in the chamber;

[00030] Fig. 6 is a front view of the stand-alone heating apparatus showing a number of candles located on a lower platform heating an article located on the top platform; and

[00031] Fig. 7 is a front view of the stand-alone heating apparatus showing a number of candles located on a lower platform, a shelf located in the chamber having an article being heated and another article to be heated located on the top platfom.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Definitions

[00032] Unless otherwise specified, the following definitions apply:

[00033] The singular forms “a”, “an” and “the” include corresponding plural references unless the context clearly dictates otherwise. [00034] As used herein, the term “comprising” is intended to mean that the list of elements following the word “comprising” are required or mandatory but that other elements are optional and may or may not be present.

[00035] As used herein, the term “consisting of’ is intended to mean including and limited to whatever follows the phrase “consisting of’. Thus, the phrase “consisting of’ indicates that the listed elements are required or mandatory and that no other elements may be present.

[00036] Referring now to Figs. 1 through 7, there is shown generally at 10 a cuboid, stand-alone heating apparatus. Broadly speaking, the apparatus 10 includes a cuboid chamber 12, first, second and third sidewalls 14, 16, 18, an upper (top) platform 20 and a lower platform 22. The third sidewall 18 is disposed at the rear of the apparatus 10, whereas the first and second sidewalls 14, 16 are located at the sides of the apparatus 10. The sidewalls 14, 16, 18 and the platforms 20, 22 define an open front portion 24 which provides unhindered access to the interior of the chamber 12. The sidewalls 14, 16, 18 are interconnected. The upper platform 20 is connected to the upper edges of the sidewalls 14, 16, 18. In one example, the upper platform 20 is permanently connected. In another example, the upper platform 20 is temporarily connected to provide access to the interior of the chamber 12. The upper platform 20 is sized and shaped to locate an article for heating thereon. The top platform20 includes a front downwardly depending panel 21. The lower platform 22 is connected to the lower edges of the sidewalls 14, 16, 18. The lower platform 22 is sized and shaped for location thereon a heating source 24. The heating source 24 is one or more candles 26. The candles 26 include wicks of varying lengths. In the examples shown, the candles 26 are soy wax candles which are low soot and are contained within aluminum containers. A person of ordinary skill in the art will recognize that glass containers would be unsafe to use given the high temperatures reached during operation.

[00037] As best seen in Figs 1 and 5, the chamber 12 includes a shelf 30 that is removable. The shelf 30 is slidably mounted on first and second guides 32, 34 that are mounted on the inward facing surfaces of the second and third sidewalls 16, 18. The guides 32, 34 are L-shaped to permit easy slidable movement of the shelf into and out of the chamber 12. The shelf 30 is located directly above the heating source 24. In one example, the heating source 24 can be mounted on the shelf 30 so that the heating source can be located directly underneath the upper platform 20. A person of ordinary skill in the art will recognize that additional shelves can be included in the chamber 12. With additional shelves, additional candles can provide more heating source 24 to the apparatus 10.

[00038] As best seen in Fig. 1, the lower platform 22 includes an upstanding safety barrier 36 that extends between the second and third sidewalls 16, 18. The safety barrier 36 is located to prevent the heating source 24 from accidently fall out of the chamber 12. The lower platform 22 also includes four supporting legs 38 which provide stability to the apparatus 10.

[00039] Generally speaking, the sidewalls 14, 16, 18, the top platform 20 and the lower platform 22 are made from steel of sufficient thickness to permit transfer of heat energy. In the examples shown, the steel thickness is about 1/8-inch. A person of ordinary skill in the art will readily recognize that other materials can be used in constructing the apparatus 10. Moreover, the thickness of the materials can also be varied depending on the amount of heat to be generated

[00040] The apparatus 10 illustrated is a medium-sized steel cube in which the open front portion 24 is 8 3/4 cubic inches.

[00041] In the design illustrated, we have coated the sidewalls and the platforms with black fireplace coating paint. This is non-flammable and provides a reflective surface to permit transfer of heat energy efficiently to the article to be heated or the room to be heated.

[00042] We carried out tests on several varieties and sizes of wicks and candles. As an example, with 5 medium-sized wicks we obtained according to the height up to 225 degrees on the top platform 20, the external dimensions generated up to 140 degrees. According to the heat requirements, we increased the number of candles and wicks. If too much heat is generated, we lower merely extinguish one or more wicks. We tested our apparatus 10 in a commercial building and a private house with large rooms and were able to achieve an 80 percent reduction in use for space heating and lighting. The tests were carried out using a laser thermometer.

Other Embodiments

[00043] From the foregoing description, it will be apparent to one of ordinary skill in the art that variations and modifications may be made to the embodiments described herein to adapt it to various usages and conditions.