WO2002006734A1

WO2002006734A1 - Radiating element for heating and/or cooling ceilings

Info

Publication number: WO2002006734A1
Application number: PCT/EP2001/008045
Authority: WO
Inventors: Luca Giacomini
Original assignee: Giacomini S.P.A.
Priority date: 2000-07-13
Filing date: 2001-07-12
Publication date: 2002-01-24
Also published as: ITMI20001580A0; ITMI20001580A1; IT1318154B1

Abstract

Radiating elements (10) having coplanar wings (11, 12) and a middle tubular fitting portion (13) fir directly conveying the heating/cooling fluid, the wings (11, 12) being arranged in a plane crossing, tangent-wise, the bottom portion of the middle tubular portion (13). The wings (11, 12) comprise stiffening ribs (16, 17). Quick fitting elements (18), engaged in the end portions of the middle tubular portion (13), allow adjoining radiating elements (10) to be coupled by using, for example, flexible plastics material tubular elements (20).

Description

RADIATING ELEMENT FOR MAKING HEATING AND/OR COOLING CEILINGS AND CEILINGS MADE THEREBY

Background of the invention

The present invention relates to a radiating element for malting heating and/or cooling ceilings according to the preamble of claim 1, as well as modular elements, or "square plates" for heating/cooling ceilings made by said radiating element square panels, according to the preambles of claims 1, 6 and 9, respectively. In the present disclosure, the term "ceilings" will be used for indicating both "ceilings" proper and "false ceilings", as well as radiating and/or cooling surfaces having a comparatively large size, such as wall and/or floor panels.

Several embodiments of heating and/or cooling ceilings are already known. In general, prior ceilings comprise a bearing framework including longitudinal members or girders and cross-members, which framework is anchored to the masonry construction, for example a ceiling or floor slab, in turn supported by a plurality of boards or "square panels" which are preferably pivotably connected for inspection and maintenance purposes. Prior square panels generally have a square or rectangular configuration, with a metal sheet surface, usually perforated, to aid air circulation therethrough, and improve the thermal efficiency of the ceiling in its heating or cooling operation. More specifically, the heating or cooling fluid is caused to circulate through plastics or metal material pipes, for example of copper, coupled to the bearing framework or square panels by clips or other clamping means. The heating/cooling fluid conveying circuit comprises a plurality of coil circuits connected, for example, to each said square panel and coupled to one another in a series or parallel relationship depending on the overall heating/cooling circuit design.

In order to improve the conveying efficiency of the heating/cooling power to the individual radiating square panels, it is likewise known to connect to the rectilinear portions of the coil elements fitted to the square panels, or to the ceiling bearing framework, contoured strip diffusing elements arranged in a back to back relationship against the pipe and clamped by clips, in a case of plastics material pipes, or by soldering, in a case of copper pipes. A further solution provides to make said diffuser element with a substantially omega shape, the semicircular middle portion of which is fitted to the pipe, with the wing sides bearing on the square panel sheet metal.

The above mentioned constructions have improved, on a hand, the thermal efficiency with respect to heating/cooling circuits devoid of radiating elements; however, said solution, on another hand, are also affected by drawbacks and disadvantages. In fact, in a case of radiating elements applied to the pipes by clips or other clamping elements, it has been found that, on a hand, the adhesion of the radiating elements to the coil pipes is uneven through the overall length thereof and, on the other hand, the radiating at a distance from the square panel sheet metal greatly reduces the heating/cooling efficiency of the square panels. The radiating elements soldered to the copper pipes, in turn, cause a comparatively high increase of the making cost and time. Thus, it has been moreover alternately provided to glue the radiating elements on the copper pipes. In addition to requiring an additional processing step, is herein disadvantageous the fact that the glueing materials have an insulating effect, decreasing the convection heat transmission.

Yet another drawback is that prior radiating elements constitute per se additional elements which in turn require clamping means such as clips, soldering and glueing operations or the like.

Yet another disadvantage of conventionally size prior solutions is that of a comparatively high loss.

Summary of the invention Accordingly, the aim of the present invention is to provide such a radiating element for heating and/or cooling ceilings, specifically designed for obviating the above mentioned disadvantages of the prior art and providing a high operating efficiency. Within the scope of the above mentioned aim, a main object of the present invention is to provide radiating elements allowing a substantially complete preassembling of the individual ceiling modular elements or square panels, in the making shop, as well as a quick assembling in situ of the ceiling. According to one aspect of the present invention, the above mentioned aim and objects are achieved by radiating elements having the features of claim 1, by square panels having the features of claim 6 and by ceilings having the features of claim 9, respectively. The radiating element according to the present invention provides a lot of important advantages. At first, a large contact surface and an effectively safe contact through the overall surface of the section member wings are achieved. This, consequently, provide a greatly increased thermal efficiency. Such an increased thermal efficiency, moreover, is also due to the fact that the heating/cooling fluid is directly conveyed through the radiating elements, made of a good thermal conductivity material, for example aluminium or alloys thereof. A further advantage is that it is possible to use quick fittings, thereby the related circuit, formed in part by said radiating elements, or their tubular middle pipe and, in part, by fitting tubular elements, preferably made of a plastics material, can be quickly and safely constructed. Thus, the finished square panels including the radiating elements according to the present invention can freely swing through opening and closing movements on the ceiling supporting framework without any problems, thereby facilitating and shortening the inspection and maintenance operations. A further advantage is that the radiating elements according to the invention can be made by extrusion, without any further machining operations. In actual practice, it would be advantageous to burnish the wing surface facing the square panel, to conceal said radiating elements from the view of an observer looking at the ceiling.

Advantageously, said square panels are substantially fully assembled in the making shop, thereby allowing the ceiling assembling time to be greatly reduced. The low height of the thus made radiating element allows, moreover, to use square panels having a smaller height, with a consequent saving of the square panel materials.

An embodiment allowing a direct assembling by simply bearing the radiating elements according to the invention on the square panels, is defined in claim 2. According to claim 3, any deformations or warpings of the wings are safely prevented, thereby providing a reliable surface bearing through the overall extension of the radiating element wing surfaces.

A good thermal efficiency, while advantageously using a reduced number of radiating elements, is achieved by sizing the radiating elements as defined in claim 4. In operation, a very good thermal efficiency has been achieved from an accurate designing of the preassembled square panels, by using aluminium radiating elements, respectively aluminium alloy radiating elements, with a radiating element size as defined in claim 5.

Claim 6 defines a configuration of heating and cooling ceiling square panels according to the invention.

Claims 7 and 8 defines simple and reliable clamping means for clamping the radiating elements on the square panels. Claim 9 relates to a ceiling construction made by radiating elements and square panels according to the invention.

Brief description of the drawings

Further characteristics, advantages and details of the radiating elements, square panels and ceilings according to the present invention will become more apparent hereinafter from the following disclosure with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which is shown a preferred inventive embodiment of the radiating elements, prefabricated square panels and of a ceiling made thereby.

In the drawings:

Figure 1 is a perspective view of a prior art radiating element for making false ceilings;

Figure 2 is a cross-sectional view illustrating the use of the radiating element shown in figure 1 on a false-ceiling square panel;

Figure 3 is a top perspective view showing a radiating element according to the invention;

Figure 4 is a front elevation view, on an enlarged scale, of the radiating element shown in figure 3 ;

Figures 5 and 6 show respectively the details A and B of figure 4; Figure 7 is a principle partial view showing a ceiling made by square panels according to the invention;

Figure 8 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line IX-IX of figure 9; and

Figure 9 is a top plan view of a square panel according to the invention.

It should be pointed out that the above mentioned figures have been drawn in part on different scales and in part off- scale, to provide a clear showing of the inventive subject matter.

Description of the preferred embodiments

The prior art radiating element shown in figures 1 and 2 has two coplanar strip wings 2, 3 and a middle fitting portion 4 of substantially semicircular cross-section, fitted to the wings 2 and 3 by parallel strip portions 5.

In applying on a sheet metal 6 a ceiling modular element or square panel, partially shown in figure 2, the semicircular fitting portion 4 is fitted on the pipe 7 of the coil heating/cooling circuit. Thus, it should be apparent that the strip portion 8 of the square panel sheet metal 6 is not affected by the wings 2, 3 and that, moreover, the strip regions 5 constitute thermal efficiency lowering regions which, fiirthermore, require a comparatively high amount of material. Also the semicircular fitting portion 4 contributes to increase the needed material amount and to reduce the thermal efficiency.

Reference is now made to figures 3 and 6, showing the radiating element 10 according to the invention. As clearly shown in figures 3 and 4, the radiating element 10 has two coplanar strip wings 11, 12 and a middle fitting portion 13, said middle fitting portion 13, according to a feature of the invention, having a tubular shape, of for example circular cross-section in the shown embodiment for directly conveying the heating/cooling fluid. According to the invention, moreover, the two coplanar wings 11, 12 are arranged in a plane crossing, tangent-wise, the bottom part of the tubular fitting portion 13. Thus, as is shown in figure 4, the bottom surface of the wings 11, 12 continuously extends, i.e. without any interruptions, at the mentioned middle fitting portion 13. In the meanwhile, a material saving is achieved, since the two strip parallel vertical regions 5 and the semicircular fitting portion 4 of the prior art radiating element 1 are herein omitted. While on the side of the wings facing the underlying square panel 14 (see figure 8), the surface of the radiating element 10 is smooth, on the side thereof facing said tubular fitting portion 13, the surface of the wings 11, 12 is provided with stiffening elements. In the shown embodiment, said stiffening elements comprise end 16 and middle 17 ribs, the wing thickness preferably slightly decreasing from the central tubular region 13 to the outside. Figure 4 shows moreover that the wings 11, 12 have a wing width defined by a multiple of the diameter, or width, of the tubular middle portion 13, said multiple varying from 2 to 8, preferably being of 4, in particular for radiating elements 10 made either of an aluminium alloy or of aluminium.

The radiating element 10 is advantageously made by extrusion and being cut to its designed modular length L, for example of 700 mm. In actual practice, a high thermal efficiency has been achieved with the following size of the radiating element shown in figures 3-6:

Radiating element width A = 220 mm Wing width B - 110 mm Spacing C from the outer rib 16 to the middle rib 17 = 55 mm Inner diameter Dl of the tubular fitting portion 13 = 21 mm Outer diameter DE of the middle tubular portion 13 = 25 mm Wing thickness S at the fitting region with the tubular middle portion = 2.5 mm

Wing thickness SI at the wing end regions = 2 mm

Height h of the outer rib 16 = 5 mm Width 1 of the end ribs 16 = 3 mm

Thus radiating elements 10, having the above indicated size parameters are highly indefoπnable and provide a very good surface bearing against the underlying sheet metal of the square panel 14. To make the desired cooling/heating fluid conveying circuit, the ends of the tubular portion 13 of each radiating element 10 are applied with pipe quick fittings 18, see figure 9, made, for example, of a plastics material, and of a type disclosed in the Italian patent application No. CO2000A000001 in the name of the Applicant. The radiating element 10 can be clamped on the square panels 14 by any suitable methods. In the embodiment shown in figures 8 and 9 two anchoring section members 19, for example having a U-shape cross-section, are provided which are mechanically clamped at their end portions to the square panel, for example by upturned latching tongues, not specifically shown, formed on the square panel 14 and the anchoring cross-members 19, thereby pressing said radiating elements 10 against the underlying radiating sheet metal 14 of the square panels. Thus, the four radiating elements 10 herein shown are simultaneously locked, with a full surface engagement, to the square panel.

In a modified embodiment, not specifically shown, the radiating elements 10 can be clamped to the usually perforated square panel sheet metal by small screws, rivets or the like. Thus, due to the stiffness of the radiating elements 10, a small number of rivets are sufficient for a very good engagement between the radiating elements and related square panel. Consequently, the radiating elements 10 can be assembled on the square panels in the making shop in which the connection of the individual radiating elements 10 can be performed by using tubular elements, advantageously of a synthetic plastics material, 20, to be simply coupled to the quick fittings 18 or directly to the radiating elements 10. The circuit will be then completed, at the ceiling place, by merely coupling to one another end tubular elements 21 with adjoining radiating elements of adjoining square panels, either directly or by using further double quick fittings 22, as shown in figure 9. Further constructional details of the square panels have been herein omitted, since said square panels can have any desired configurations, without affecting the application of the radiating elements according to the invention. This provides the i-urther advantage that the radiating elements according to the invention can also be applied to akeady existing ceiling square panels, since they are not affected by engagement problems. Moreover, to prevent, in a ceiling according to the present invention, the radiating element having a characteristic aluminium clear color from being seen under the ceiling, it is herein proposed, according to the present invention, to anodize the radiating element 10 by a dark color, for example black. The reference number 23 shows a channel for receiving electric wires, which channel can be practically formed at any desired positions of the square panel. From an operation standpoint, it should be pointed out that the heating/cooling fluid directly flows through the radiating elements 10, the overall length of which substantially corresponds to the overall length of the heating/cooling circuit, thereby a direct contact of said heating/cooling fluid and radiating elements 10 will provide a high thermal efficiency contrarily to prior solutions. Moreover, the plastics material and the thermally insulating tubular fittings, will reduce to a minimum any thermal loss. In addition, since no vertical strip regions 5 and semicircular fitting portion 4 are herein provided (see figure 1), a great saving in the material for making the radiating elements 10 according to the invention will be obtained. From the above constructional and operating disclosure, it should be apparent that the radiating elements, ceiling square panels 14 and ceiling made according to the invention efficiently achieve the mentioned aim objects and advantages.

In practicing the invention, one skilled in the art can design fiirther modifications and variations, for example additional radial ribs, with different cross-section or longitudinal extension shapes, without departing from the scope of the invention.

In particular, the provision of radiating elements having a small thickness and including stiffening panels, not shown, made for example of a plastics material and applied on the opposite side of the square panel radiating sheet metal, would come within the scope of the invention.

Claims

1. A radiating element for heating and/or cooling ceilings, comprising a contoured body having at least two coplanar strip wings and a middle fitting portion, characterized in that said middle fitting portion (13) is of tubular shape for directly conveying a heating/cooling fluid therethrough.

2. A radiating element according to Claim 1, characterized in that said two coplanar wings (11, 12) are arranged in a single plane crossing tangent-wise a bottom part of said tubular fitting portion (13).

3. A radiating element according to Claim 1, characterized in that on a side thereof facing a square panel, said wings (11, 12) have a smooth surface, while on a side thereof facing said tubular fitting portion (13), said wings (11, 12) have stiffening elements, such as longitudinal stiffening ribs (16, 17).

4. A radiating element according to one or more of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that said coplanar wings (11, 12) have a length which is a multiple of a diameter or width of said tubular fitting portion (13) said multiple varying from 2 to 8, being preferably 4.

5. A radiating element according to one or more of the preceding claims, characterized in that said radiating element has preferably the following size parameters, with reference to the drawings:

- length L = 700 mm

- width A = 220 mm - wing width B = 110 mm

- inner diameter Dl of the tubular middle portion (13) = 21 mm

- outer diameter DE of the tubular middle portion (13) = 25 mm - thickness S of the wings (11, 12) near the tubular middle portion (13) = 2.5 mm

- thickness SI of the wings (11, 12) at the end region = 2 mm

- height h of the end rib = 5 mm - thickness 1 of the end rib = 3 mm

6. A heating and/or cooling ceiling square panel, comprising a ceiling modular sheet metal square panel, characterized in that said square panel comprises, clamped on an inner surface thereof, a plurality of radiating elements (10) according to one or more of claims 1 to 5, said radiating elements having, at end portions thereof, quick fittings, or the like (18), for coupling fitting pipes, to provide preassembled square panels.

7. A heating/cooling ceiling square panel according to

Claim 6, characterized in that said radiating elements (10) are clamped to said square panel by two cross members mechanical clamped to said square panel and pressing on said square panels said radiating elements (10) near the end portions thereof.

8. A square panel according to any claims 6 and 7, characterized in that said radiating elements (10) are clamped on an underlying square panel by spot clamping means, screws, rivets or the like.

9. A heating and/or cooling ceiling including a plurality of square panels comprising radiating elements coupled to a heating/cooling fluid conveying circuit, characterized in that said ceiling is made of square panels according to one or more of claims

6 to 8.