US2005226A - Concealed radiator - Google Patents

Description

June 18, 1935. -L.-P. DWYER CONCEALED RADIATOR Filed June 12, 1931 Patented June 18, 1935' PATENT] I OFFICE 2,005,226 CONCEALED RADIATOR Lawrence P. Dwyer, Winnetka, Ill., assignor to O. A. Dunham Company, Marshalltown, low

a corporation of Iowa Application June 12, 1931, Serial No. 543,871

, g 4 Claims.

This invention relates to certain new and useful improvements in concealed radiators for heating systems, particularly steam or vapor heating systems, and relates to an improved assembly 5 adapted to be installed as a unit within the building wall and comprising a casing having an inlet and an outlet for the air to be heated, a radiator to be positioned within the casing, and the necessary appurtenances for controlling the heat output.

' The importance of keeping all of the space in a building available for use, as well as the desire to avoid having heating equipment spoil the interior decorative eifect or design, has made concealed radiation very desirable. To accomplish this result the radiator is installed in a recess in the wall and delivers its heat principally by means of convection air currents, the air flowing into and through the recess and in contact with the radiator and being again discharged into the room after being heated. In view of the limited space available within the wall, it is desirable to provide a heating unit having the greatest possible heating capacity in proportion to the space occupied thereby.

The present invention relates particularly to the casing in which the radiator is mounted and enclosed, and the inlet and outlet grilles for controllingthe flow of air in contact with the radiator. The radiating apparatus .isadapted to be assembled at the factory and shipped and installed as a unit, provisions being made for adjusting the height of the casing to Ithewall space available and for mounting and securing the casing within the wall, and for readily attaching the pipes of the heating system to the radiator.

The general object of this invention is to provide an improved concealed radiator assembly such as briefly described hereinabove and disclosed more in detail in the specifications which follow.

Another object is to provide an improved casing or housing for the radiator which is adjustable for use in wall recesses of different heights.

Another object isto. provide an improved casing adapted to completely house the radiator and the traps and valves associated therewith, and adapted to permit the ready attachment of the necessary piping.

Another object is to provide an improved concealed radiator and housing therefor. adapted to be assembledand shipped as a unit and protected against plaster, dirt and other building, material after the radiator unit is installed and during the (Cl. 237-79) y a time the building construction is being completed."

Another object is to provide improved means for mounting the inlet and outlet grilles on the housing after the radiator assembly has been installed in the wall.

Another object is to provide improved panels for enclosing the inlet and outlet openings during the shipment of the assembly and while the building construction is being completed (particularly the plastering operation), including means for protecting the bolt-holes whereby the grilles are attached to prevent these holes from being filled with plaster. p

Other objects and advantages of this invention will be. more apparent from the following detailed description of certain approved forms of mechanism constructed according to the princir Fig. 2 is a similar perspective view showing-h the radiating units installed before the wall has. been completed by adding the lathing and plaster.

Fig. 3 is a sectional perspective view of the upper half of the casing.

Fig. 4 is a sectional perspective ,view, of the lower half of the casing.

The principal elements of'this assembly in-- clude, the casing or housing consisting of the upper casing section A and the lower casing section B,v the upper outlet grille C and the lower inlet grille D, and the heating mechanism housed within the casing. The assembly is fitted with the panels J and K while-the assembly is being shipped and installed, and the grilles lC'and D are substituted for these panels after the assembly is installed and the building construction has been completed.

The casing members A and B are built up of suitable rather heavy sheet metal, the upper section A comprising a rear wall I, end walls 2, and a front wall 3, this casing section being'open at the bottom but closed at the top by an. upper wall 4. Thewidth of'the casing between the end walls 2 is sufficient to enclose all of the radiator parts, but is nottoo wide to be received within the recess between two of the upright studs 6 of the building frame- The depth of the casing between the rear wall I and front wall 3 is such that the casing can be completely received within'the recess between the inner and outer sheathings of the wall, and preferably the dimensions of the entire housing are such that the rear and end walls thereof do not contact with the building members so that there will be an insulating cushion of air surrounding all except the front side of the radiator assembly. If

desired, a layer of heat insulating material may ter) and enclose the outlet passage. The collar has vertically extending flanges 9 along its upper and lower edges which are removably attached to the casing member by means of screw bolts. Similar flanges ID at the ends of the collar are attached to outwardly projecting bracket plates llw'hich in 'turn are .adapted to be secured by meansor nails or other suitable fastening means to the upright studs 6 of the building frame. By making the collar 1 removable, it is possible to replace the collar with one of proper size in case an error is made in the dimensions of the grille to be attached thereto, without having to remove and replace the entire casing. A plurality of separate wires l3 are spot welded or otherwise secured at their central portions M to the front face of wall 3, thefree end portions I5 of these wires" being twisted about portions of the lathing and subsequently embedded in the plaster ll whereby the casing section A is securely anchored in place with respect to' the wall.

,The} lower casing section B has an upper portion of generally rectangular form but of slightly smaller dimensions than the lower portion of the upper section A'whereby the sections A and B may be telescoped over one another. The upper end of easing B is open as indicated at 18, the edges of this open end being surrounded by small inturned flanges l9 adapted to facilitate the telescoping of section B within section A. The lower end of section B is closed by a bottom plate having downturned flanges 2| adapted to be suitably attached to the side and end walls of the casing whereby bottom plate 20 will be elevated above the supporting beams of the frame struc ture so as to provide an insulating air space beneaththe casing. The lower portion of the front wall 24 of casing B is cut away so as to provide an inlet opening extending across the entire width of the chamber, and a collar'25 (generally similar to the collar I on section A) is secured about this inlet opening. This collar 25 has upper and lower vertically extending flanges 26 and 21 adapted to be removably secured to the section B, and end flanges 28 adapted to be secured to the bracket plates 29 which in turn are nailed or otherwise anchored at 30 to the studs 6. The outwardly extending flange 31 of collar 25 which surrounds the inlet air opening is somewhat longer than the flange 8 of the upper collar 1 since this lower collar not only extends through the lathing l6 and plaster I 1 but also through the molding or baseboard 32. Openings 33 are cut through the end walls of the collar 25 and casing B topermit the insertion of the inlet pipe 34 and the'outlet pipe 35 whereby connections are made between the heating system and the radiator within the casing. The bottom wall 20 may be provided with openings in case the inlet and outlet pipes 34 and 35 are to be led in through the bottom of the casing instead of through the end walls.

After the heating unit is assembled for shipment, and while the unit is being installed and the building wall completed, the outlet and inlet openings for the air are closed by the removable panels J and K (see Fig. 2). These wooden panels are adapted to fit within the respective openings and are held in place by means of metal straps 31 secured at 38 to the outer faces of the panels and having projecting ends 39 through which are passed rather long screw bolts 40 engaged at their inner ends in threaded openings formed through the flanges 9, 2G, and 27 of the collar and in reinforcing strips ll secured against the opposite faces of the casing walls. After the plastering I! of the wall has been completed, the bolts 40 are withdrawn and the panels J and K removed.

The grilles C and D are each provided with an inwardly extending collar portion or flange adapted to fit within the respective collars 'l and 25 which enclose the outlet and inlet passages respectively, and each grille has an outwardly extending Vertical flange portion 44 adapted to overlap the edges of the opening in the wall. The grilles are secured in position by means of screw bolts 45 passed through suitable countersunk openings formed in the flanges 44 and engaged at their inner ends in the threaded holes formerly occupied by the bolts 40 which held the panels J and K in position. It will be noted that these holes are occupied by the bolts 40 during the plastering operation whereby they will be kept open and clear for the reception of the grille bolts 45. The grilles C and D may be given any suitable ornamental configuration on their outer surfaces and are provided with the slits or openings 46 to permit the free flow of air therethrough.

Suitable felt stripping is provided between the flanges of grille C and the grille collar 7 to insure a tight joint and prevent injury to the adjacent portions of the building wall due to the possible leakage of heated air. If desired similar felt packing may be used around the lower grille D. A suitable damper mounted behind the grille C is operated by knob 59.

It will now be apparent that this radiating apparatus can be assembled for the most part and shipped as a unit. The casing sections are installed in the wall recess, and by suitably adjusting the telescoping casing sections, the vertical distance between the air inlet and outlet openings can be adjusted within reasonable limits to fit the particular installation. Each casing section is independently attached to the frame studding, the lower section being supported from the floor members, and the upper section being additionally supported by means of the inner wall sheathing. Insulating air spaces or spaces for other heat insulation are left around all of the walls of the casing except the front wall whereby heat losses are minimized. By making the grille-receiving collars I and 25 removable, these collars may be replaced in case the desired grilles do not flt properly without necessitating the entire reconstruction of' the casing member. When installed, the grille openings are temporarily closed by the panels J and K whereby the interior of the casing and the grille-receiving collars are completely protected during the plastering and wall finishing operations, and also the screw holes whereby the grilles are eventually attached are protected against being filled with plaster by the temporary screw bolts 40 which attach the removable panels in place. After the wall is completed these panels J and K are easily removed and the grilles C and D positioned over the openings. All parts of the apparatus are entirely concealed except the grilles which may be given any desired ornamental configuration to conform to the decorative scheme of the. room. The radiator is easily removed and replaced when necessary by merely taking out the grille D. The pipe connections which connect the radiator with the heating system may be led in through either the end or bottom walls of the casing as may be most convenient.

I claim:

1. A metallic casing for enclosing a concealed radiator, said casing being adapted to be positioned within a building wall and provided in its front face wth a lower inlet opening and an upper outlet opening, the casing comprising a plurality of telescoping sections, and wires secured to the front wall of the casing and adapted to be engaged with the lathing of the building structure and embedded within the plaster wall.

2. A metallic casing for enclosing a concealed radiator, said casing being adapted to be mounted within a building wall and provided in its front face with a lower air inlet opening and an upper outlet opening, and collars surrounding the open ings and comprising a flange portion adapted to project through the inner sheathing of the building wall and inner laterally projecting flanges removably attached to the casing.

3. A metallic casing for enclosing a concealed radiator, said casing being adapted to be mounted .within a. building wall and provided in its front face with a lower air inlet opening and an upper outlet opening, collars surrounding the openings and comprising a flange portion adapted to project through the inner sheathing of the building wall and inner laterally projecting flanges removably attached to the casing, and grilles adapted to be removably attached over the openings and having portions adapted to fit within the collars.

4. In combination with a concealedradiator, a metallic casing in which the radiator is mounted, said casing adapted to be positioned within a building wall and provided in its front face with a lower inlet opening and an upper outlet opening, there being outstanding flanges at the sides of the openings, said flanges being formed with threaded holes for receiving screw bolts by means of which grilles are secured to the casing when the casing is installed within the wall, panels for temporarily covering the inleti and outlet openings while the assembly is being.

shipped or installed, metal straps secured across the panels, and screw bolts extending through the straps and engaged in the threaded holes in the flanges.

LAWRENCE P. DWYER.

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