GB1563709A

GB1563709A - Heat-transducing apparatus

Info

Publication number: GB1563709A
Application number: GB3185/76A
Authority: GB
Original assignee: FRANKLIN N; MASINI L
Current assignee: FRANKLIN N; MASINI L
Priority date: 1977-01-27
Filing date: 1977-01-27
Publication date: 1980-03-26

Description

(54) IMPROVEMENTS IN OR RELATING TO HEAT-TRANSDUCING APPARATUS (71) We, LORENZO MASINI, and NORMAN LEONARD FRANKLIN, both British subjects, trading as Masini/Franklin Partnership, of 18 Barclay Road, Croydon, Surrey, do hereby declare the invention, for which we pray that a patent may be granted to us, and the method by which it is to be performed, to be particularly described in and by the following statement:: According to the present invention, there is provided in a roof of a building, a combination comprising a heat-transducing unit of slab-like shape extending in a plane inclined to the horizontal and comprising casing means, and heattransducing means in said casing means, and another part of said roof including sealing means which, as viewed perpendicularly to said plane, overlaps from above the uppermost edge of said unit in order to weatherproof between said unit and said other part.

In order that the invention may be clearly understood and readily carried into effect, reference will now be made, by way of example, to the drawings accompanying the Provisional Specification, in which: Figure 1 shows a top plan view of a solar heating unit for the roof of a building, the unit being shown in the right-hand half with a cover and a gasket removed, Figure 2 shows a fragmentary vertical section through the roof of the building and parallel to trusses of the roof, and Figure 3 shows a fragmentary section taken on the line III-III in Figure 2, and to the accompanying drawings, in which:: Figure 4 shows a fragmentary vertical section through a first modified version of the unit and parallel to the trusses of the roof, Figure 5 shows a fragmentary vertical section through a second modified version of the unit and parallel to the roof trusses, Figure 6 shows a view similar to Figure 5 but of a third modified version of the unit, Figure 7 shows a view similar to Figure 5, but of a fourth modified version of the unit, Figure 8 shows a view similar to Figure 4, but of a fifth modified version of the unit, Figure 9 shows a view similar to Figure 5 but of a sixth modified version of the unit, Figure 10 shows a view similar to Figure 4 of that sixth modified version, Figure 11 shows a cross-section through a junction between two units each according to the sixth modified version and taken at right angles to the roof trusses, and Figure 12 is a view similar to Figure 11 but through a junction between a unit according to the sixth modified version and a roof tile.

Referring to Figures 2 and 3, the roof includes a series of roof trusses, of which one is seen and referenced 1. On the trusses is an untearable felt 2, and fixed battens 3 spaced apart up the trusses. The felt 2 extends down to a gutter 4. Arranged over part of the area of the roof are a number of flattish solar heating units 5 which are identical to each other and of which one is shown in plan view in Figure 1.

The units 5 are arranged in rows parallel to the battens and parallel to the trusses.

Each unit 5 includes a glass-reinforced plastics, dish-shaped casing 6 which contains a copper solar panel 7 including tubes 8 which carry a heat-receiving medium. At the ends of the tubes 8 are headers 9 which extend partly in and partly out of the casing 6. The panel 7 is backed by foamed plastics thermal insulation 10. Extending round the rim of the casing 6 is an elastomeric gasket 11 receiving a transparent protective cover 12. Formed integrally with the casing 6 and extending round the entire periphery thereof is a sealing skirt 13. At its roof ridge-side, the skirt 13 is relatively long and has an end flange 14 for engaging behind one of the battens 3. At its gutter-side, the skirt 13 is again relatively long and has a hump 15 for extending over a flange 14 and a batten 3, or for extending over a fascia 16 into the gutter 4.At its other two sides, the skirt 13 is relatively short and extends into respective gutters 17. Each gutter 17 between two adjacent rows of units 5 receives facing sides of the skirts 13 of these two rows of units, with the interposition of a sealing substance 18. However, the or each outermost gutter 17 receives the relevant sides of the skirts of only the single adjacent row of units 5, with the interposition of the substance 18, whilst also receiving the edges of conventional roof tiles, of which one is indicated at 19, with the interposition of a sealing substance 20.

The roof-ridge sides of the skirts 13 of the uppermost row of units 5 are overlapped by the lowest edges of adjacent conventional tiles 19, as can be seen from Figure 2.

The hump 15 is provided with a location groove 21 therealong, in case it should be desired to screw the unit 5 down to the batten 3 as diagrammatically indicated at 22 in Figure 2.

The units 5 described have the advantages that they require no alteration in the standard spacings of the roof trusses and that they can be brought to the building site and immediately laid in position on the roof supports in the same manner and at the same time as the conventional tiles, it being simply necessary to interconnect the headers 9 subsequently. Thus, the units 5 effectively act as tiles which automatically weatherproof the roof in relation to each other and/or to the conventional tiles (or other conventional weatherproof roof material) bounding them. Another advantage is that the header ends project from the casings 6 at locations behind the sealing skirts 13 and thus these ends and their associated plumbing interconnections are rendered invisible from outside the roof.Furthermore, the units 5 contain everything necessary at the roof for installing a solar heating system, except for the interconnecting plumbing, and thus the need for skilled installation work at the roof is minimised.

In the version shown in Figure 4, the cover 12 is mounted in an annular gasket 30 of resin-bonded fibreglass and the gasket 30 is sealed in a water-tight manner to the cover 12 and to the casing 6 by means of resin adhesive 31.

Referring to Figure 5, the version shown therein has its encircling skirt 13 made as a part separate from its casing 6. The skirt has an annular inner peripheral flange 40 by way of which the skirt 13 is firmly fixed to the casing 6 by means of self-tapping screws 41.

The cover 12, which is of glass, is sealed relative to the rim 42 of the casing 6, and this rim 42 is sealed relative to the skirt 13, by means of an annular rubber gasket 43.

The gasket 43 has inner and outer endless ribs 44 and 45, respectively, which bear against the top surface of the cover 12 in order to prevent penetration of rain water into the casing 6. The rim 42 of the casing 6 is in the form of an annular channel. Thus, any water which penetrates past the ribs 44 and 45 is received in this channel and flows under gravity to the lowest portion of this channel. This lowest portion is formed with drainage holes 46 through which water may fall onto the skirt 13 at the outside of the flange 40. The skirt 13 is here formed with drainage notches 47 via which the water may escape past the gasket 43 otherwise sealing the gap between the rim 42 and the skirt 13.

In order to improve the rigidity of the unit 5, timber blocks 48 fitting between the casing 6 and the skirt 13 are glued in place therebetween. As the thermal insulation backing the solar panel 7 there is utilised fibreglass 49. The panel 7 is maintained spaced at the desired distance from the base of the casing 6 by legs 50 fixed thereto. A drainage tube 51 extending from the lowest portion of the casing 6 serves to drain therefrom any water which, in spite of the precautions taken, penetrates to within the casing 6. The gasket 43 is designed in such a way that, if the glass cover 12 is broken, the ribs 44 and 45 can readily be pulled outwards to allow ready replacement of the broken cover. An adhesive 52 is used to attach the glass cover 12 to the inner edge of the channel-form rim 42.

The version shown in Figure 6 is similar to that shown in Figure 5, but the rubber gasket 43 is omitted; the skirt 13 continues over the rim 42 to above the peripheral edge of the cover 12, where it is adhered thereto by a suitable adhesive 60; the flange 40 and the screws 41 are eliminated and the onus for holding together the casing 6 and the skirt 13 is placed on the timber blocks 48 glued thereto and abutting on an external shoulder 61 of the casing 6; the legs 50 are omitted and instead the solar panel 7 bears on an internal shoulder 62 of the casing 6, complementary to the external shoulder 61; and tubes 63 are employed to lead water from the channel-form rim 42 to outside the skirt 13.

In the version shown in Figure 7, the solar panel is in the form of a shallow dish 70 which is externally encased in sprayed-on, thermally insulating foam plastics 71 which not only performs the function of the insulation 10 or 49, but also performs the function of the casing 6. The foam plastics 71 also extends onto the inside of the skirt 13. An annular spacer 72 spaces the cover 12 from the base of the panel 70. At its lowest part, the spacer 72 is formed with through holes 73 by way of which not only may water flow to the lowest part of the panel 70, but also air may flow through during expansion and contraction of the mass of air between the cover 12 and the panel 70. Drainage tubes 74 for water lead from the lowest part of the panel 70.

In the version illustrated in Figure 8, a unitary member 80 made by injection moulding of foam plastics serves as thermal insulation backing the panel 7, as a casing receiving the panel 7, and as a sealing skirt at the external periphery of the unit 5. The member 80 is formed with an annular shoulder 81 on which is adhesively mounted the cover 12.

In the version shown in Figures 9 to 12, the solar panel is again encased by the sprayed-on foam plastics 71. The foam plastics 71 is fast with an annular channel 90 which mounts the glass cover 12. The endless channel 90 has formed integrally therewith upper and lower sealing skirt parts 91 and 92 respectively, but the lateral sealing skirt parts are omitted in this version. Instead, a lateral rubber seal 93 is provided. This seal 93 consists of two profiled, parallel, strip-form parts 94 integrally joined together by an easily flexible web 95. Each strip-form part 94 is profiled to embrace an upward extension 96 of the outer side wall of the endless channel 90 and is formed with sealing ribs 97 and 98 for bearing against the cover 12. The junction between two units 5 which are laterally adjacent to each other is illustrated in Figure 11.The junction between a tile 99 and a unit 5 which are laterally adjacent to each other is shown in Figure 12. This Figure shows that the part 94 nearest the tile 99 receives a flange 100 of a suitably profiled strip 101 of glass reinforced plastics which extends to beneath the tiles 99 and is there hooked over a wooden batten 102 extending parallel to the roof trusses 2.

WHAT WE CLAIM IS: 1. In a roof of a building, a combination comprising a heat-transducing unit of slab-like shape extending in a plane inclined to the horizontal and comprising casing means, and heattransducing means in said casing means, and another part of said roof including sealing means which, as viewed perpendicularly to said plane, overlaps from above the uppermost edge of said unit in order to weatherproof between said unit and said other part.

2. A combination as claimed in claim 1, wherein said unit further comprises other sealing means carried externally of said casing means and extending along said uppermost edge and overlapped as aforesaid.

3. A combination as claimed in claim 1 or 2, wherein said other part comprises a roof tile or the like.

4. A combination as claimed in claim 1 or 2, wherein said other part comprises another, like unit.

5. A combination as claimed in claim 4, and further comprising a further, like unit arranged side-by-side with the firstmentioned unit, and further sealing means extending along a gap between the sealing means of the first-mentioned unit and the sealing means of said further unit to weatherproof said gap.

6. A combination as claimed in claim 2, or claim 4 or 5 as appended to claim 2, wherein the sealing means of the or each unit comprises a sealing skirt encircling the casing means of the unit.

7. A combination as claimed in claim 2 or 6, or claim 4 or 5 as appended to claim 2, wherein the sealing means of the or each unit carries hook means hooking the unit onto a supporting member.

8. A combination as claimed in claim 7, wherein the or each supporting member is a substantially horizontal batten.

9. A combination as claimed in claim 2, 6, 7 or 8, or claim 4 or 5 as appended to claim 2, wherein the or each unit further comprises draining duct means extending from inside its casing means to outside its sealing means for leading to outside its sealing means rainwater which penetrates into its casing means.

10. A combination as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein the heattransducing means of the or each unit comprises a solar panel, and the casing means of the or each unit comprises a light-transmitting cover extending over said panel and thermally insulating means over which said panel extends.

11. A combination as claimed in claim 10 as appended to claim 9, wherein the or each casing means includes a ring-form channel which opens in a direction away from said thermally insulating means and the inner side wall of which is overlapped by said cover and which serves to receive any rainwater which penetrates past the periphery of said cover, said draining duct means extending from said channel.

12. A combination as claimed in claim 10 or 11, wherein the or each casing means includes a dish-shaped casing receiving said thermally insulating means.

13. A combination as claimed in claim 12 as appended to claim 6, wherein the casing and the skirt of the or each unit are integral with each other.

14. A combination as claimed in claim 10, as appended to claim 6, wherein the sealing skirt and the thermally insulating means of the or each unit are integral with each other.

15. A combination as claimed in claim 12, or claim 13 as appended to claim 10, wherein the panel of the or each unit has

**WARNING** end of DESC field may overlap start of CLMS **.

Claims

**WARNING** start of CLMS field may overlap end of DESC **. and contraction of the mass of air between the cover 12 and the panel 70. Drainage tubes 74 for water lead from the lowest part of the panel 70. In the version illustrated in Figure 8, a unitary member 80 made by injection moulding of foam plastics serves as thermal insulation backing the panel 7, as a casing receiving the panel 7, and as a sealing skirt at the external periphery of the unit 5. The member 80 is formed with an annular shoulder 81 on which is adhesively mounted the cover 12. In the version shown in Figures 9 to 12, the solar panel is again encased by the sprayed-on foam plastics 71. The foam plastics 71 is fast with an annular channel 90 which mounts the glass cover 12. The endless channel 90 has formed integrally therewith upper and lower sealing skirt parts 91 and 92 respectively, but the lateral sealing skirt parts are omitted in this version. Instead, a lateral rubber seal 93 is provided. This seal 93 consists of two profiled, parallel, strip-form parts 94 integrally joined together by an easily flexible web 95. Each strip-form part 94 is profiled to embrace an upward extension 96 of the outer side wall of the endless channel 90 and is formed with sealing ribs 97 and 98 for bearing against the cover 12. The junction between two units 5 which are laterally adjacent to each other is illustrated in Figure 11.The junction between a tile 99 and a unit 5 which are laterally adjacent to each other is shown in Figure 12. This Figure shows that the part 94 nearest the tile 99 receives a flange 100 of a suitably profiled strip 101 of glass reinforced plastics which extends to beneath the tiles 99 and is there hooked over a wooden batten 102 extending parallel to the roof trusses 2. WHAT WE CLAIM IS:

1. In a roof of a building, a combination comprising a heat-transducing unit of slab-like shape extending in a plane inclined to the horizontal and comprising casing means, and heattransducing means in said casing means, and another part of said roof including sealing means which, as viewed perpendicularly to said plane, overlaps from above the uppermost edge of said unit in order to weatherproof between said unit and said other part.

legs depending therefrom and supporting the panel from the base of the casing.

16. A combination as claimed in claim 12, or claim 13 as appended to claim 10, wherein the casing of the or each unit includes an internal shoulder on which said panel is borne.

17. A combination as claimed in claim 10 as appended to claim 6, wherein the thermally insulating means of the or each unit comprises foam plastics which has been applied to the panel and the skirt at that side of the panel further from the cover.

18. A unit as claimed in claim 10, 11, 12, 14, 15, 16 or 17, or claim 13 as appended to claim 10, wherein the casing means of the or each unit includes an elastic seal extending along the periphery of the cover, the seal being readily deformable elastically to permit ready removal and replacement of the cover.

19. In a roof of a building, a heattransducing unit, substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to the drawings accompanying the Provisional Specification, or any one of Figures 4 to 8, or Figures 9 to 12, of the accompanying draw ings.