EP0482494B1

EP0482494B1 - Radiating convection heating apparatus

Info

Publication number: EP0482494B1
Application number: EP91117644A
Authority: EP
Inventors: Giorgio Daolio
Original assignee: OMAS Srl
Current assignee: OMAS Srl
Priority date: 1990-10-23
Filing date: 1991-10-16
Publication date: 1994-05-25
Anticipated expiration: 2011-10-16
Also published as: TR25719A; IT9021844A0; DE69102119T2; IT1244838B; ES2054421T3; KR920008430A; EP0482494A1; DE69102119D1; AU644907B2; JPH04281157A; AU8671091A; IT9021844A1

Description

The present invention relates to a radiating convection heating apparatus.
As is known, so-called heater fans are already commercially available and are substantially constituted by an electric resistor arranged in a flow of air generated by a fan which thereby facilitates the rate of heat exchange from the resistor toward the environment, as see for example DE-U-6 906 398.
These solutions have the disadvantage of not allowing a good heating of the environment, since the presence of an electric resistor exposed to the air does not allow to provide uniform heating effects and the heating element, by having no heat inertia, in practice ceases its effect immediately as soon as the power supply is disconnected.
So-called oil radiators are also known; said radiators are substantially constituted by a body which is composed of a plurality of columns which in practice define a chamber for containing diathermic oil which is heated by a resistor which is generally arranged in a lower part of the chamber (for example, EP-A-0 292 441).
This solution creates the advantage whereby a considerable mass is heated which acts as a thermal buffer which maintains a production of heat toward the environment even when the electric resistor is switched off.
However, in these embodiments it is not possible to increase heat exchange by means of forced ventilation, due to the difficulty encountered in having a good distribution of the air flow when said air flow is directed against the columns of the radiator which in practice constitute the heating element.
The aim of the invention is indeed to solve the above described problem by providing a radiating convection heating apparatus which, despite having a mass of diathermic oil which is heated by a resistor, allows to also use a forced ventilation which facilitates heat exchange without thereby creating non-uniformities in heating.
Within the scope of the above aim, a particular object of the invention is to provide a heating apparatus which allows to optimize heat exchange by using forced ventilation, achieving a significant increase in the outward production of heat.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a heating apparatus which allows to humidify the environment, thus restoring the natural equilibrium in said environment.
Not least object of the present invention is to provide a heating apparatus which can be easily obtained starting from commonly commercially available elements and materials and is furthermore competitive from a merely economical point of view.
This aim, these objects and others which will become apparent hereinafter are achieved by a radiating convection heating apparatus, according to the invention, which comprises two side wall compartments between which a plurality of column-like elements is arranged, said elements extending between a lower manifold and an upper manifold so as to define a containment chamber for diathermic oil which can be heated by means of an electric resistor, characterized in that it comprises a fan the delivery whereof is connected to a heat exchange duct which extends inside said upper manifold and exits at one of said side wall compartment.
Further characteristics and advantages will become apparent from the description of a preferred but not exclusive embodiment of a radiating convection heating apparatus, according to the present invention, illustrated only by way of non-limitative example in the accompanying drawings, wherein:

figure 1 is a schematic front elevation view of the heating apparatus according to the invention;
figure 2 is a lateral elevation view of the heating apparatus;
figure 3 is a partially cutout view of the heating apparatus, illustrating the upper manifold and the heat exchange duct;
figure 4 is a sectional view of the fan;
figure 5 is a sectional view, taken along the line V-V of figure 4.

With reference to the above figures, the radiating convection heating apparatus according to the invention, which is generally indicated by the reference numeral 1, comprises two side wall compartments, respectively indicated by 2 and 3, which are advantageously but not necessarily mounted on castors 4. Between the side wall compartments 2 and 3 there is a plurality of column-like elements 5 which extend between a lower manifold 6 and an upper manifold 7, so as to define a chamber for diathermic oil which can be heated by means of an electric resistor which is generally arranged at the lower manifold 6.
An important peculiarity of the invention is constituted by the fact that in one of the side wall compartment, for example in the side wall compartment 2, there is a fan 10, the intake whereof is arranged at an opening 11 which allows to draw air at the interspace defined in the side wall compartment, so that the air is drawn in from below and is preheated by striking the face of the side wall compartment which is directed toward the heating elements.
The fan 10 is provided with an impeller 12, of a per se known type, advantageously with radial vanes, which feeds the flow of drawn air into a delivery duct 15 which is accommodated inside the side wall compartment 2 and is connected, in an upward position, to a heat exchange duct 20 which extends inside the upper manifold 7, so that in practice the air strikes the heating body from the inside, so that it undergoes an easy heating without dispersions or non-uniformities of flow toward the outside.
The heat exchange duct 20 exits at a grille 21 which is directed outward and is advantageously provided on the other side wall compartment 3.
Another important aspect of the invention is furthermore constituted by the fact that the heating apparatus, according to the invention, comprises a humidification unit, generally indicated by the reference numeral 30, which is constituted by a storage tank 31 and by a humidification tank 32 which are mutually connected by means of a lower duct 33 so as to obtain in practice two communicating vessels.
Inside the tank 32 there is a heating resistor 34 for humidification, which can be independently powered and allows to create steam in a limited region of water, since in practice only the humidification tank is heated, allowing a good delivery of humidification steam, which escapes by means of an upper grille, generally indicated by 40.
By means of the described arrangement, it is thus possible to provide a radiating convection heating apparatus which contains diathermic oil and offers the possibility of performing forced-ventilation heating, using the flow of the ventilation air inside the heating body, i.e. inside the heat exchange duct which is arranged coaxially inside the upper manifold.
In practice, the materials employed, as well as the dimensions and the contingent shapes, may be any according to the requirements.
Where technical features mentioned in any claim are followed by reference signs, those reference signs have been included for the sole purpose of increasing the intelligibility of the claims and accordingly such reference signs do not have any limiting effect on the scope of each element identified by way of example by such reference signs.

Claims

Radiating convection heating apparatus, comprising two side wall compartments (2,3) between which a plurality of column-like elements (5) is arranged, said elements (5) extending between a lower manifold (6) and an upper manifold (7) so as to define a containment chamber for diathermic oil which can be heated by means of an electric resistor, characterized in that it comprises a fan (10) the air delivery whereof is connected to a heat exchange duct (20) which extends inside said upper manifold (7) and exits at one (3) of said side wall compartments.
Heating apparatus according to claim 1, characterized in that said fan (10) is arranged inside one (2) of said side wall compartments.
Heating apparatus according to one or more of the preceding claims, characterized in that said fan (10) has an intake (11) defined in the interspace directed toward said heating elements in order to preheat the drawn air, taken from the lower part.
Heating apparatus according to one or more of the preceding claims, characterized in that said fan (10) is connected to a delivery duct (15) which is connected to said heat exchange duct (20).
Heating apparatus according to one or more of the preceding claims, characterized in that said heat exchange duct (20) extends coaxially inside said upper manifold (7).
Heating apparatus according to one or more of the preceding claims, characterized in that it comprises a humidification unit (30) which is provided with a heating resistor (34) for the humidifier which can be actuated independently of the electric heating resistor of the apparatus.
Heating apparatus, according to claim 6, characterized in that said humidification unit (30) has a storage tank (31) and a humidification tank (32) which are mutually connected by means of a lower duct (33) so as to define a communicating-vessel coupling, said electric resistor (34) for the humidifier being provided in said humidification tank (32).