SK50312004A3 - Heat convector with an electrically adjustable deflector element - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention concerns a heat convector for heating air in a closed environment comprising an air intake opening (2) equipped with an air filter (3), a heat exchanger (5) for heating the air (4), an air outlet opening (6) equipped with at least one adjustable deflector element (7), said at least one adjustable deflector element (7) being adjustable in a plurality of angular positions between a closed position and a fully open position and being actuated by an electric motor (8) through drive means (10), characterised in that said electric motor (8) is supplied by a battery (19) and is connected to switching means (11, 11a) suitable for switching the operating status of said electric motor (8).

Description

Technical field

An object of the present invention is a convector heater with an electrically adjustable deflector, and in particular a convector heater with a deflector that can be adjusted by a direct current electric motor.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Convector heaters equipped with systems for opening and closing one or more deflectors, blinds or cylinders are generally known and widespread. These opening and / or closing systems are provided with means to enable their movement to be controlled by means of electric motors powered by mains voltage and current.

Opening and / or closing systems are also known which are provided with means for manually controlling their movement depending on the temperature detected by suitable measuring devices. US Patent Nos. 5,505,379 (Wagner), US 2,698,570 (Feinberg), US 4,497,241 (Ohkata) and US 4,541,326 (Fukuda et al.) Disclose opening and / or closing systems of the aforementioned type and indeed represent opening systems and / or closures equipped with one or more cylinders with means for manually controlling their movement or controlling them according to the temperature measured, or even a combination of the two types of operation.

In particular, U.S. Patent No. 5,505,379 (Wagner) discloses an air damper whose construction allows connection to commercially available dampers equipped with movable shutters. The blinds are moved either manually or by means of a temperature sensor using a bimetallic strip.

In the latter case, the movement of the blinds is realized by thermo-mechanical deformation of the bimetallic strip, i. due to the deformation of the metal of which the web of material is formed, depending on the temperature of the flowing air.

U.S. Patent No. 2,698,570 (Feinberg) discloses a flow direction control and air distribution device equipped with louvers rotating due to a moss filled with a temperature sensitive gas.

Such systems have certain disadvantages, such as inaccuracy: adjusting the movement of the blinds according to the temperature detected, or the impossibility of changing the temperature range in which the blinds move.

On the other hand, U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,497,241 (Ohkata) and U.S. Pat. No. 4,541,326 (Fukuda et al.) Disclose a flow direction control device equipped with a plurality of louvers deflected by the presence of springs and / or sheets of a shaped alloy. memory. In these applications, the sheet controls the opening and / or closing of the blinds depending on the temperature of the flowing air.

These latter two patents also have the disadvantages presented in connection with the previous patents, i. inaccuracy of setting the movement of the blinds in dependence on the detected temperature and impossibility to change the temperature range in which the blinds move.

In addition, another disadvantage of U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,497,241 (Ohkata) and U.S. Pat. No. 4,541,326 (Fukuda et al.) Is that the opening and closing of the rollers is not proportional to the temperature detected but only has an open and closed position.

In patent application EP 837288 filed on behalf of AERMEC

S.P.A. a convector heater with a fan is provided comprising a deflector element which is adjustable about an axis to a plurality of positions, i. between the closed position and the fully open position. This is done by means of a special drive mechanism operated by an electric motor. The motor is powered by mains voltage and is controlled according to the temperature detected by the thermostat.

The disadvantage of such a solution is that it requires construction work to provide power to the electric motor, which of course increases installation costs and also requires more complicated control of the electric motor control.

Therefore, although the solutions presented in Wagner, U.S. Patent No. 5,505,379, Feinberg, U.S. Patent No. 2,698,570, Ohkata, U.S. Patent No. 4,491,326, and Fukuda, et al., U.S. Patent No. 4,541,326, have no electrical connection, and thus they can be better utilized, none of the known solutions provides the functions that are currently important on the market, such as the possibility of changing the temperature range in which the deflector element is moving or simply and quickly installing the convector heater or universality use in conditions where mains power is not available.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

In view of the prior art described, it is an object of the present invention to provide a convector heater with an electrically adjustable deflector capable of overcoming the drawbacks of the known convector heater.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a convector heater with an adjustable deflector that could exist alone.

According to the invention, this is achieved by means of a convector heater for heating the air in enclosed spaces in accordance with claim 1.

Thanks to the present invention, it is possible to construct a convector heater for air heating which can operate without connection to the mains.

In addition, it is possible with the present invention to vary the temperature interval at which the deflector is opened and / or closed.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The features and advantages of the present invention will become more apparent from the following detailed descriptions of several practical embodiments of the present invention, which are illustrated by non-limiting examples in the accompanying drawings, where:

Figure 1 is a perspective sectional view of a convector heater according to the present invention;

Figure 2 shows a first embodiment of a circuit diagram of a convector heater according to the present invention;

Figure 3 shows a second embodiment of another electrical circuit diagram of a convector heater according to the present invention;

Figure 4 is a perspective view of a first operating position of a first embodiment of a convector heater according to the present invention;

Figure 5 is a perspective view of a second operating position of a first embodiment of a convector heater according to the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

Referring to Figure 1, the convector heater, usually designated 1, consists of an air intake opening 2 equipped with an air filter 3. The air stream 4 comes from the environment through the opening 2 to the heat exchanger 5 due to the natural flow effect.

This effect is due to the temperature difference between the room temperature outside the convector heater 1 and the temperature inside the convector heater itself.

The heat exchanger 5 consists of a cooling coil (not shown in the figures) through which the hot fluid flows. The fluid is, but not necessarily, water.

The air stream 4 taken from the vicinity of the convector heater 7 is thus heated and flows towards the air outlet opening 6 via at least one adjustable deflector element 7.

Such an adjustable deflector element sa ^is directed and adjusted to angular positions between the closed position and the fully open position by the electric motor EL

The electric motor 8 is able to control the deflector element 7 via a speed reduction device connected to the drive mechanism 10.

In addition, the electric motor 8 is also connected to the switching devices 11 and 11a which are capable of switching the operating state of the electric motor itself.

In the example shown in Figures 1, 2, 4 and 5, the drive mechanism 10 is a hinge square mechanism comprising the following parts:

of the disc crank 12 pressed onto the rotation axis XX of the electric motor 8, swing arm 13, the end is pressed onto the rotation axis YY of the adjustable deflector element 7_ to the axis of rotation C of the rocker arm 13 coincides with the axis of rotation YY of the adjustable deflector element 2 ^{and the} connecting link 15 suitable for connecting the free end of the rocker arm 13 to the point 12a of the crank crank 12 eccentric with respect to the axis of rotation XX of the electric motor 8 by a predetermined distance E.

It should be noted that the dimensions of the swing arm 13 are designed such that the distance D between the center of rotation C and the point of connection 13a to the connecting rod 15 is greater than the eccentricity E.

The above dimensions allow the swing arm 13 to be rotated about its rotational axis C by a predetermined angle and at each full revolution of the crank arm 12 about the X-X axis.

The rotation of the disk crank 12 by 180 [deg.] Preferably corresponds to an angular displacement equal to 90 [deg.] And consequently to the rotation of the deflector element. Therefore, at each complete revolution of the disk crank 12, the deflector element 7 first performs a rotation in one direction and then in the opposite direction by a total of 180 °, i.e. a total of 180 °. 90 ° in one direction and 90 ° in the other direction.

Preferably, the switching device 11a is controlled by an actuator comprising a cam and a cam follower.

The cam, or rather the cam track, is preferably defined by the outer contour 12b of the disc crank 12, which is suitably shaped to form a plurality of separate radially connected portions of the periphery with different eccentricity relative to the axis of rotation X-X.

The cam pulley includes a gripper 18 which is held in contact with the circumference 12b of the disc crank 12 by means of a spring means known per se, not shown in these figures.

For the sake of clarity in the remainder of the description, the circumference of the disc crank 12 consists of two different parts, each having a different eccentricity and forming a circumferential arc of approximately 180 °.

Essentially, the cam contour 12b defined by the contour of the disc crank 12 has two points of discontinuity, whereby the respective displacement of the gripper 18 determines the switching state of the switching device 11a.

Preferably, the contact 18 is positioned relative to the disc crank 12 such that the contact 18 detects the discontinuous profile of the cam 12b when the deflector element 7 is ^{in the} closed or fully open position, as shown in Figures 4 and 5.

Referring to Figure 2, it is also noted that said switching device 11 also includes a first single-pole deviator 16 capable of switching between the first position 16a and the second position 16b depending on the air temperature, and that the switching device 11a also comprises, a second single-pole deviator 17 capable of switching between the shaking position 17a and the fourth position 17b depending on the angular position in which the deflector element nachádza is located.

In particular, the first single-pole deviator 16 may be, for example, a thermostat with a horn, with a temperature range defined by an adjusting knob (not shown in the figures) based on the needs of the user. Such a thermostat with a bulb 16 operates in a completely classical manner.

In particular, the angular position of the deflector element 7 depends on the position of the contact 18, which position, as described above, predetermines the outer contour of the cam crank 12b.

In the present invention, the electric motor is preferably powered by a battery 19 at a rated voltage, for example, nine or twelve volts.

In the following, the convector heater will be described in terms of construction explained body 1, the mode of operation which has been

Referring back to Figures 1, 2, 4 and 5, provided that the configuration of the first deviator 16, which is a thermostat with a pumkin, and the second deviator 17 corresponds to the representation in Figure 2, i. without closing the electrical circuit, and that the deflector element 7 is in the closed position, which is the position shown in Figure 4, when the room temperature falls below a predetermined value T1, the knob 16 switches from position 16a to position 16b to close the electrical circuit.

Thus, the battery 19 is connected to the electric motor 8 and the motor opens the deflector element 7 to the fully open position as shown in Figure 5.

When this happens, the air stream 4 is heated in the heat exchanger 15 and the hot air due to natural convection starts to flow out and spread around.

As soon as the tang 18 encounters discontinuity of the outer contour of the cam crank 12b, the second deviator switches from position 17a to position 17b. This causes the electric circuit to open, causing the electric motor 8 to shut down.

As soon as the room temperature reaches the second preset value T2, the thermostat with knob 16 switches from position 16b and returns to position 16a. Since the deviator 17 is in position 17b, the electrical circuit between the electric motor 8 and the battery 19 will be closed again, allowing further rotation of the electric motor 8 and consequently the deflector element 7.

In such a situation, the toucher 18 follows the contour of the cam 12b, which has less eccentricity until it reaches the discontinuity point.

When this occurs, the second deviator 17 switches from position 17b to position 17a, thereby interrupting the power supply to the electric motor 8.

As a result of this movement, the deflector element 7 returns to the closed position as shown in Figure 4.

The above-described mode of operation is repeated when the room temperature falls below T1 and / or rises above T2, i.e., when the room temperature falls outside the temperature range ΔΤ = T2 - T1.

For example, the temperature range ΔΤ can be set: between ten: and thirty: degrees Celsius, with a mean, optimal temperature of twenty: degrees Celsius.

Thanks to the present invention, the user can advantageously use: a rotary knob (not shown in the figures) which allows the desired temperature range ΔΤ to be set, since such a rotary knob directly controls the thermostat with a stick in a manner known per se.

The electric motor 8 is, for example, a DC motor capable of operating at a low voltage (battery voltage 19) with a low current draw, of the order of a few tens of milliamperes.

In addition, for example, the speed reduction device 9 makes it possible to change the rotational frequency from about one thousand rpm per minute of the electric motor itself to about sixteen rpm.

Referring to the second embodiment shown in Figure 3, in which the individual elements described above are also numbered, it should be noted that, on the one hand, the electric motor 8 is connected directly to the deflector element 7 via the speed reduction device 9 and on the other. page to the electronic board 20.

In other words, the electric motor 8 is coupled to the adjustable deflector element 7 without inserting the drive mechanism 10 described in the first embodiment so that the X-X axis of the electric motor coincides with the Y-Y axis of the deflector element 7.

The electronic board 20 is powered by a battery 19 and includes a temperature sensor 21.

Specifically, the electronic board 20 allows, in a manner known per se, for example by means of an open-loop control comprising an amplifier and a complete bipolar bridge, to control the electric motor 8 with current pulses such that the motor 8 is shifted by a certain angle depending on the temperature detected by the sensor 21.

In other words, in this second embodiment, there is the possibility of opening and / or closing the deflector element 7 and also bringing it to an intermediate position between the open and closed positions, i. adjustments to the open / closed position are possible, as is the case for the open / closed type, and also to multiple angular positions falling within the range between the closed and fully open positions.

It is therefore an electric motor commonly known as a stepper motor.

Due to the present invention, it is advantageous to adjust the opening / closing movement of the deflector element 7 so that it is proportional to the temperature detected by the temperature sensor 21.

Claims (11)

PATENT CLAIMS A convector heater for heating an air in enclosed spaces, comprising an air intake opening (2) equipped with an air filter (3), a heat exchanger (5) for heating the air (4), an air outlet (6) with at least one element a deflector (7) adjustable in multiple angular positions between the closed position and the fully open position, which is driven by an electric motor (8) via a drive mechanism (10), characterized in that the electric motor (8) is powered by a battery (19) and is connected to switching devices (11, 11a) suitable for switching the operating state of the electric motor (8). Convector heater according to claim 1, characterized in that the switching devices (11, 11a) comprise a first single-pole deviator (16) suitable for switching between the first position (16a) and the second position (16b) depending on a predetermined temperature a second deviator (17) suitable for switching between the third position (17a) and the fourth position (17b) depending on the actuator of the group formed by the cam (12b) and the cam follower (18). Convector heater according to claim 2, characterized in that the battery (19) powers the electric motor (8) when the first position (16a) with the third position (17a) or the second position (16b) with the fourth position (17b) forms together a closed electrical circuit. A convector heater according to claim 2, characterized in that said first single-pole deviator (16) is a thermostat with a pumice. Convector heater according to claim 2, characterized in that the drive mechanism (10) is a hinged square mechanism comprising a disk crank (12) pressed on the axis of rotation (XX) of said electric motor (8), a rocking arm (13) with one end crimped on the pivot axis (YY) of said adjustable deflector element (7) and a tie rod (15) suitable to connect the free end of said rocker arm (13) to a point (12a) of said disc crank (12) the axis of rotation (XX) of the electric motor (8) by a predetermined distance (E). Convector heater according to claims 2 and 5, characterized in that the cam actuator (12b) is defined by the contour (12) and is shaped to form a plurality of separate radially connected portions of the periphery with different eccentricity from the axis of rotation (XX). said electric motor (8). A convector heater according to claims 2, 5 and 6, characterized in that the cam roller (18) is held in contact with the contour (12b) of said disc crank (12) by means of resilient means. A convector heater according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that said plurality of positions of said at least one adjustable deflector element (7) represent a closed position and a fully open position. Convector heater according to claim 1, characterized in that the switching devices (11, 11a) are provided with a temperature sensor (21) and an electronic board (20), the temperature sensor (21) being connected to said electronic board (20). Convector heater according to claims 9 and 5, characterized in that the electronic board (20) controls said electric motor (8) in proportion to the temperature detected by said temperature sensor (21) by varying the setting angle (a) of said at least one deflector element (7). Convector heater according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the battery (19) has a rated voltage of nine or twelve volts.