Personal space heater

Abstract

A heater having a housing including a bottom wall with a peripheral wall extending upwardly and outwardly away therefrom. A cavity is bounded and defined by the bottom and peripheral walls and a temperature control mechanism is disposed within the cavity. A footrest is engaged with the peripheral wall and closes off access to the cavity. The footrest is inclined at an angle relative to the bottom wall and slopes upwardly from a front region of the housing toward the back region thereof. The footrest includes a grid with a plurality of slats disposed thereon. The grid defines a plurality of apertures therein and the slats are spaced a distance apart from each other. When the temperature control mechanism is activated, air within the cavity is heated or cooled and is driven by a fan out of the aligned apertures and gaps. The slats are warmed or cooled by the driven air. The fan may be activated independently of the temperature control mechanism.

1 . A heater comprising:
 a housing having a bottom wall with a peripheral wall extending upwardly and outwardly away therefrom;   a cavity bounded and defined by the bottom and peripheral walls;   a temperature control mechanism disposed within the cavity, said temperature control mechanism being activatable to alter the temperature of air within the cavity;   a footrest engaged with the peripheral wall and extending across a top opening to the cavity; and wherein the temperature of said footrest is changed when the temperature control mechanism is activated; and wherein the footrest is adapted to support one or both of a user's feet thereon.   
     
     
         2 . The heater as defined in  claim 1 , wherein the footrest is disposed at an inclined angle relative to the bottom wall. 
     
     
         3 . The heater as defined in  claim 2 , wherein the angle is between 10 and 30 degrees relative to the bottom wall. 
     
     
         4 . The heater as defined in  claim 3 , wherein the angle is 20 degrees relative to the bottom wall. 
     
     
         5 . The heater as defined in  claim 2 , wherein the peripheral wall includes a front wall and a back wall, and wherein the footrest slopes upwardly at the angle away from the front wall and toward the back wall. 
     
     
         6 . The heater as defined in  claim 1 , wherein the footrest includes:
 a grid having an upper surface, a lower surface and side edges; and   a plurality of apertures defined in the grid, said apertures being spaced at intervals from each other and extending between the upper and lower surfaces;   and wherein said apertures provide fluid communication between the interior cavity of the housing and the air surrounding the heater.   
     
     
         7 . The heater as defined in  claim 6 , wherein the grid is manufactured from a temperature conductive material. 
     
     
         8 . The heater as defined in  claim 6 , further comprising:
 a plurality of slats disposed adjacent an exterior surface of the grid,   a plurality of gaps, each gap being defined between adjacent slats, whereby at least some of the plurality of apertures in the grid are at least partially aligned with some of the gaps between the slats.   
     
     
         9 . The heater as defined in  claim 8 , wherein the slats are made from a thermally conductive material. 
     
     
         10 . The heater as defined in  claim 8 , wherein the slats are elongate members that are positioned in substantially parallel relationship to each other. 
     
     
         11 . The heater as defined in  claim 8 , wherein the slats have an upper surface, a lower surface and sides extending therebetween, and wherein the lower surface is placed in abutting contact with the exterior surface of the grid and are fixedly secured thereto. 
     
     
         12 . The heater as defined in  claim 9 , wherein the slats are made of one of wood, synthetic materials or ceramic. 
     
     
         13 . The heater as defined in  claim 8 , wherein the slats have an upper surface, a lower surface and sides extending therebetween, and a space is defined between the lower surfaces of the slats and the exterior surface of the grid. 
     
     
         14 . The heater as defined in  claim 1 , wherein the temperature control mechanism includes:
 a temperature control member; and   a fan adapted to drive air through the cavity in the housing and, when activated, the temperature control member is adapted to one of heat the air or cool the air driven toward it by the fan.   
     
     
         15 . The heater as defined in  claim 14 , further comprising:
 an airduct disposed within the cavity and between the fan and the temperature control member;   a plenum disposed within the cavity and between the temperature control member and the footrest;   a chamber defined in the plenum, said chamber being in fluid communication with the airduct; and   a diffuser positioned between the plenum and the footrest.   
     
     
         16 . The heater as defined in  claim 15 , wherein the diffuser is positioned generally at right angles to the direction of air flowing out of an opening to the chamber in the plenum; and wherein the diffuser includes a plurality of angled faces oriented so as to direct air flowing out of the opening outwardly and upwardly away therefrom. 
     
     
         17 . The heater as defined in  claim 15 , wherein the fan is selectively operable either when the temperature control member is activated or when the temperature control member is deactivated. 
     
     
         18 . The heater as defined in  claim 1 , further comprising control members provided on the housing and being engageable to activate or deactivate the temperature control mechanism. 
     
     
         19 . The heater as defined in  claim 1 , further comprising electrical circuitry adapted to connect a power source to the temperature control mechanism. 
     
     
         20 . The heater as defined in  claim 1 , wherein the bottom wall includes an interior and an exterior surface; and wherein the heater further includes:
 one or more pads secured to the bottom wall and extending outwardly from the exterior surface thereof; said pads being adapted to rest upon a surface upon which the heater is disposed.