US1663301A - Radiator - Google Patents

Description

March 20, 1928. 1,663,301

M. s. HART. ET AL RADIATOR Filed Sept. 5, 1926 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 mvENToRS Narwpl! ,Slffarf, .Mamrzce 6.554291%.

AWQRN y Patented Mar. 20, 1928.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

MAXWELL S. HART, OF NEW BRITAIN, AND MAURICE GAYLORD STEELE, OF HART- FORD, CONNECTICUT, ASSIGNORS TO THE HART 8c HUTCHINSON COMPANY, OF- NEW BRITAIN, CONNECTICUT, A CORPORATION OF CONNECTICUT.

RADIATOR.

Application filed September 3, 1926. Serial No.- 133,320.

This invention relates to heating and ventilating systems, and more particularly to an improved hollow radiator, utilizin a fluid heating medium such as steam or hot water for heating the 'air of dwelling houses,

buildings, boats, or other structures.

One object of this invention is to provide a radiator of the above nature comprising a pair of upper and lower headers connected by a plurality of vertical tubes adapted to contain the heating medium.

A further object of the invention is to provide a radiator ofthe above nature in which the heat transmitting tubes are provided with inclined radiatin fins, and in which the tubes are arranged in twoparallel rows. a

A further object is to provide a radiator of the above nature in which the casing is adapted to be installed'within the wall or floor of a building.

'A further object is to provide a radiator of the above nature which will be relatively simple in construction, inexpensive to manufacture, easy to install, and very efficient and durable in use.

With these and other objectsin view there have been illustrated on the accompanying drawings several forms in which the invention may be conveniently embodied in practice.

Fig. 1 represents a front elevation, with parts broken away, of one form of radiator embodying the principles of the invention.

Fig. 2 is a side sectional view of the same.

Fig. 3 is atop view of one form of heat radiating fin, shown mounted upon a single heat-transmitting tube, the latter being indicated in section.

Fig. 4. is a top view of another form-of radiating fin shown mounted upon a pair of hcat-transmitting tubes.

Figs. 5 and 6 are-perspective views respectively of two other modified forms of radiating fins, the former being corrugated in adirection parallel to the air flow, while.

the latter is corrugated in a direction transverse to the air flow.

Fig. 7 is a diagrammatic View showing a modified form of radiator in which the arrangement of the casing, fins, and headers has been reversed from that shown in Figs. 1 andv 2.

Fig. 8 is a diagrammatic view of another modified form of radiator in which the radiator stack is of uniform width and the fins decrease in width from top to bottom.

Fig.9 is a top view of a further modified form of radiating fin, having a plurality of star shaped holes punched therein.

Fig. 10 is a top view of a still further modified form of radiating fin, saidfin being perforated throughout its surface.

Referring now to the drawings in which like reference numerals denote correspond mg parts throughout the several views, the radiator proper comprises an upper angle header 10 and a lower angle header 11, said headers preferably having a stepped angular construction and being in vertical alinement, but it will be understood that such alinement is. not .a rigid requirement as the headers might be in an inclined position or otherwise arranged withinthe spirit and scope of the invention. The headers 10 and 11. are connected by a plurality of tubes 12 and 13, said tubes being preferably arranged vertically in two parallel stepped rows one behind the other. The joints between the tubes 12 and 13 and headers 10 and 11 are made tight in any suitable manner, as by soldering. The upper header 10 has a depending enlarged rear end section 13, while the lower header 11 has an enlarged upstanding, forwardendv section 13", so that the front row of tubes 12 will be located in a slightly higher position from the rear row of tubes 13, in order to permit the radiating fins to beinclined.

In order to increase the radiation of heat from'the tubes to the surrounding air, provision is made of a plurality of upwardly and forwardly inclined radiating fins 14, said fins surrounding both rows of heating tubes 12 and 13 and extending throughout the width of the radiator, as clearly shown in Fig. 1. The fins 14 are preferably mechanically bonded tothe tubes by solder or its equivalent, but if desired, they may be held in position merely by friction.

The steam, hot water, or other heating 1 medium is adapted to enter the radiator through an inlet pipe 15 located behind the tubes 12 and 13, said pipe 15 leading to the upper header 10, while the s ent heating medium after passing down is rough both which supports the flanged top 25 of the rows of tubes 12 and 13 is adapted to leave the radiator at the bottom through an exit pipe 16. Both the inlet and outlet'pipes 15 and 16 are preferably led away from an enclosing casin 24 through the floor or wall, and said ra iator is preferably supported in proper position within said casing 24, as by brackets. not shown.

In order to direct the column of air, provision is made of a deflector 17 having curved upper and lower portions 18 and 18 between which is a flat inclined surface 19 to deflect the rising air current forwardly. The upper portion of said casin 24 is provided with an upwardly bent front flange deflector 17. WVhile the radiator will work satisfactorily under the natural circulation induced by the chimney effect of the heated air, an electric fan 28 may be employed in the base of the casing if desired in order to produce a forced draft. The front of the casing is closed by an ornamental sheetmetal plate 20, said plate having three perforated sections 21, 22, and 23. The air to be heated is adapted to pass into the radiator through the section 23 and the heated air is adapted to flow out of the radiator through the sections 21 and 22. If desired, the sections 21, 22, and 23 may be left open.

The plate 20 has a rearwardly extending edge 27 ada ted to engage the wall of the room aroun the radiator cavity 28, said edge forming a beveled molding trim for the front of the radiator casing 24.

As will be clearly understood from Figs. 2 and 4, the vertical tubes 12 and 13 are not located centrally within the fins, but the front tube 12 is nearer the edge of the fin than is the rear tube 13, which construction causes the upper portion of the fin to be hotter than the lower edge thereof.

In operation it will be understood that the cool air when approaching the fins will first come in contact with the portion ofthe fins that is most remote from the source of heat; i. e. the vertical tubes, and hence the coolest portion of the fins. As the air passes along the fins in an upward oblique path, it comes in contact with the fin surface that grows successively. hotter as it approaches the point where the tubes intersect the fins. This condition is similar to that existing in other forms of heat transfer devices where a cool medium is introduced at one end of a lineal heat transfer path and a warm medium at the opposite end. The cool medium thus first encounters the warm medium at the end of its heat transfer travel when it is in its coolest condition, and conversely the-warm medium first encounters the cool medium at the end of its travel when it is in its warmest condition. By opposing the direction of flow in this manner nown as counter current heat transfer), the temperature difierence between the two mediums will be as nearly uniform as possible at all points of the path, and under this condition, it has been found that a greater heat transfer is obtained than where the cooland warm mediums travel in the same direction. Under the latter condition, a wider temperature difference is obtained at the start and a smaller difference at the end of the path than under the former counter current flow condition.

It is a well known principle in heat engineering that the greatest efliciency in heat transfer occurs when the path of the air over the heated surface is such that the air most nearly approaches the temperature of the heated surface just as it leaves the latter. In the present invention the radiator fin has been so designed as to form an air path that is of just the correct length to secure this condition, the width of the fin being relatively short. This design makes for lateral compactnessof the radiator. This construc tion enables'a high degree of efficiency of heat transfer to be obtained with a minimum amount of radiator material. Moreover, as the path of the air while it is receiving the major portion of its heat is roughly the width of the fins, the radiator will be laterally extremely compact.

While the radiator tubes are herein shown as being, circular in section, it will be understood that the invention is not to be limited to tubes of such a shape, but that said tubes may be constructed in any other desirable shape without departing from its scope. The same is also true as regards the shape of the headers, it being understood that other shapes than that shown may be used if desired.

In assembling the radiator in the wall of a room, the rectangular casing 24 with its onclosed deflector 17 will preferably be introduced into the space between two vertical studs 29 and 30 of said wall and may be fastened in position quickly and inexpensively by means of a few nails driven laterally into said studs. In some cases, it may be found more convenient to locate the radiator horizontally under the floor surface. in the space between a pair of floor joists, and such a construction falls within the purview of this invention.

In Figs. 3 and 4 two modified forms of radiating fins 31 and 32 are illustrated. in which the fin 31 is made only wide enough to embrace a single tube as shown in Fig. 3, and the fin 32 embraces only a pair of front and rear tubes, as shown in Fig. 4. The direction of air flow is indicated in each of these figures by an arrow.

Figs. 5 and 6 two further modified forms of the radiator fins 33 and 34 are disclosed. In both forms the radiating fins are corrugated. In the form of fin 33 shown in Fig. 5, the corrugations run parallel to the lULl direction of air flow, while in the fin 34 shown in Fig. 6, the corrugations are transverse thereto. One advantage of the corrugated construction of radiating fin is that the radiating surface is materially increased without increasing the overall dimensions of the fin. The transverse corrugations shown in Fig. 6 have the further advantage that they tend to agitate the air passing over them, and thereby increase the rate of heat transfer from the fin to the air. Arrows indicate the direction of air flow.

In Fig. 7 a modified form of radiator construction is shown in which the deflector 35 has a fiat rear surface 36 which is inclined rearwardly and upwardly, whereby a diverging vertical air column is provided. In this form of radiator the same stepped angle shape headers 10 and 11 are employed as used in the form shown in Figs. 1 and 2,1

but the arran ement of said headers is reversed from he position shown in Fig. 2,

-whereby the radiating fins 14 will slope upwardly and inwardly from the front to the rear, causing the air to circulate in the direction of the arrows, shown in Fig. 7.

As clearly shown on the drawing, the radiating unit is positioned in the deflector 35 in such a manner that onl a narrow air passage 37 is left by the ange 38 at the bottom of the front of the casing. A bafiie 39 is provided in front of the top header 11 to restrict the size of the air outlet at the top of the radiator. If desired, the height of the bafile 39, the casing 24, and the deflector 35 may be increased to augment the stack effect and increase the rate of heat transfer. A still further modified form of the radi ator is illustrated in Fig. 8. In this form the deflector has a vertical rear surface 41 and a diverging air column is produced by providing a series of spaced inclined radiating fins 42 which are successively longer from the bottom to the top, as clearly shown in the drawing. By means of this construction substantially the same even distribution of the air being heated is produced as in the form of radiator previously illustrated.

The. modified form of radiating fin 43 shown in Fig. 9 is provided with fourrircular tube holes 44, 45, 46, and 47 so that the fin 43 may embrace four of the vertical heating tubes of the radiator. Three starshaped apertures 48 and 49 and 50 are punched through the metal of the fin 43 in such a. manner that no metal is removed, but a plurality of burrs or projecting protuberances are left which tend to agitate the passing air and thereby increase the heat transfer. One of the star-shaped. apertures will preferably be pushed up through the bottom of the fin while the other two are pushed downthrough the top of the fin so that projections will be provided for agitating the air on both sides thereof.

The modified form of radiating fin 51 shown in Fig. 10 is similar to that shown in Fig. 9 in that it has the same exterior size and the same number of tube holes, but instead of having only three projecting punchings, the 'entire surface of the fin 51 is provided with perforations 52, said perforations being made with a piercing punch which leaves projections. As in the previous modification, some of the projections extend from one side of the radiating fin while the other projections extend from the other side thereof.

While there have been disclosed in this specification several forms in which the invention may be embodied, it is to be understood that these forms are shown for the purpose of, illustration only, and that the invention is not to be limited to the specific disclosures but may be modifiedand embodied in various other forms without departing from its spirit. In short, the invention includes all the modifications and embodiments coming within the scope of the following claims. 4

Having thus fully described the invention, what is claimed as new and for which it is desired to secure Letters Patent is:

1. In an air-heating radiator, a plurality of tubes for containing a fluid heating medium, 95 a pair of angle-shaped headers connecting the ends of said tubes, means connected to one of said headers for introducing said heating medium to the tubes, and means con nected to the other of said headers-for withdrawin the spent medium from the tubes, said tu es being arranged in parallel rows.

2. In an air-heating'radiaton'a plurality of tubes for containing a fluid heating medium, apair of angle-shaped headers con- 10? necting the ends of said tubes, means connected to one of said headers for introducing said heating medium to "the tubes, means connected to the other of said headers for withdrawing the spent medium from the 11" rows, and a casing enclosing said tubes and headers, said casing having bafiies for controlling the flow of air being heated.

3. In an air-heating radiator, a plurality of upwardly extending tubes for containing a heating medium, a pair of angle-shaped headers at the upper and lower ends of said tubes, means for introducing a heating medium to the upper header, means for with- 1 drawing the spent heating medium from the lower header, 4. In an air-heating radiator, a pluralityof upwardly extending tubes for containing a heating medium, a pair of angle shapcd 12 headers at the upper and lower ends of said tubes, means for introducing a heating medium to the upper header, means for withdrawing the spent heating medium from the lower header, said tubes being arranged in two parallel rows in stepped relationship, and deflecting means for directing the inflowing current of air diagonally around said tubes.

5. In an air-heating radiator, a plurality of tubes for containing a fluid beating medium, a pair of opposed stepped headers at the ends of said tubes for introducing a heating medium into said tubes and with drawing it therefrom, a deflector enclosing said headers and tubes, and an exterior casing for said deflector adapted to be received in a recess in the floor or wall of the room. 6. In an air-heating radiator, a plurality of tubes for containing a fluid heating medium, a pair of an le-shaped headers at the ends of said tubes or introducing and withdrawing a heating medium from said tubes, a casing enclosing said headers and tubes, the front of said casing having openings to permit the circulation of air.

7. In an air heating radiator, a plurality of tubes for containing a fluid heating me-. dium, a pair of angle-shaped headers at the ends of said tubes for introducing and with drawing a heating medium from said tubes, a casing enclosing said headers and tubes, the front of said casing having an opening at the bottom for the entrance of air and an opening at the top for the exit of air.

8. In an air-heating radiator, a plurality of upwardly extending tubes for containing a heating medium, a pair of angle-shaped headers at the upper and lower ends of said tubes, means for introducing a heating medium to the upper header, means for With drawing the spent heating medium from the lower header, said tubes being arranged in two parallel rows in stepped relationship, deflecting means for directing the inflowing current of air diagonally around said tubes, and a plurality of inclined radiating fins suripunding said tubes andcontacting therewit 9. In a radiator for heating the air in a room, a heating element comprising a plurality of tubes for containing the heating medium, a plurality of inclined radiating fins mounted in heat-conducting relation upon said tubes, said fins being eccentrically mounted with respect to the entire group of tubes, and means for causing the cool incomingair to strike the cooler portion of said fins first in order that said. air will be heated by said fins upon the counter-current principle. j

10. In a radiator for heating the air in a room, a heating element comprising a plurallty of tubes. for containing the heating medium, and a plurality of inclined radiatmg fins mounted in heat-conducting relation upon said tubes, the air intake sides of said fins extending further from said tubes than the air outlet'sides thereof fllhereb the mcommg a1r W111 be caused-. to-Jstrike the cooler portion of said fins first in order to be heated upon the counter-current principle.

11. In a radiator for heating the air in a room, a heatin element comprising a plurality of tubes or containing the heating medium, a plurality of inclined radiating fins mounted eccentrically in heat-conducting relation upon said tubes with respect to the entire group thereof, and means for causing the incoming air to strike the outer cooler portion-of said fins and tubes first in order that the air will be heated upon the countercurrent principle.

12. In an air-heating radiator, a heating element comprising a plurality of tubes for containing a heating medium, a plurality of fins eccentrically mounted on said tubes and inclined with respect to the entire group thereof, a casing enclosing said fins and tubes to produce a chimney draft effect, and means for. causing the incoming air to strike the outer cooler portion of said tubes and fins in order that the heat diflerential between said fins and the air being heated should be as nearly constant as possible at all points along said fins.

13. In a radiator for heating the air in a room, a heating element comprising a group of tubes for containing a heating medium, a radiating fin mounted in heat conducting relation upon said group of tubes, said fin bein'g eccentrically positioned with respect to said group.

14. In a radiator for heating the air in a room, a heating element comprising a group of tubes for containing a heating medium, a radiating fin mounted in heat conducting relation upon said group of tubes, one side of said fin extending further from the center line of said group than the other side thereof.

15. In a radiator for heating the air in a room, a heating element comprising a group of tubes for containing a heating medium, a radiating fin mounted eccentrically upon 'said group of tubes in contact therewith,

whereby the more remote extremities of said fin will be cooler than the extremities thereof which are closer to the center line of said group, whereby the air to be heated will strike said more remote cooler extremities and be heated on the counter-current principle.

16. In a radiator for heating the air in a room, a plurality of tubes for containing a heating medium, a heating element comprising a group of radiating fins eccentrically mounted in heat conducting relation upon said tubes with respect to the center lineof said group of said tubes.

17. In a radiator for heating the air in a room, a plurality of tubes for containing a heating medium, a heating element coma group of radiating fins eccentri- 1,ees,so1

pally mounted in heat conducting relation tudinal ed es more remote from the group uponv saidgroup of tubes, each of said fins of tubes than the other longitudinal edge 10 enclosing a plurality of said tubes. I thereof.

18. In a radiator for heating the air in a In testimony whereof, We have affixed our room, a heating element comprising a group signatures to this specification. of tubes for containing a heating medium, a. rectangular radiating fin embracing all MAXWELL TS. HART. of said tubes, said fin having one of its longi- MAURICE GAYLORD STEELE.

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