WO2004085932A1

WO2004085932A1 - Mobile radiator

Info

Publication number: WO2004085932A1
Application number: PCT/TR2003/000027
Authority: WO
Inventors: Siyami Aydin
Original assignee: Zass Ev Aletleri Sanayi Ve Ticaret A.S.
Priority date: 2003-03-25
Filing date: 2003-03-25
Publication date: 2004-10-07
Also published as: AU2003225466A1

Abstract

The present invention relates to an independently operating mobile radiator having additional heating means for rapid heating of spaces with a decreased number of radiating members while outputting an increased heat power and maintaining an acceptable surface temperature in accordance with regulatory requirements. Independently operating mobile radiator of the invention comprises a plurality of radiating members as in the case of conventional oil radiators and an additional heating means, which is located inside a front structure comprising a reflector and a perforated front cover and which transfers heat substantially through radiation, thereby outputting more heat to the environment while keeping the surface temperature of the radiating members within prescribed allowable limits and carrying heat directionally to distant regions of the environment. Proposed mobile radiator further allows rapid heating of the environment at the beginning of operation to prevent the user from suffering a start-up warming delay.

Description

MOBILE RADIATOR

Technical Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to an independently operating mobile radiator having additional heating means for rapid heating of rooms, halls etc. with a decreased number of radiating sections while outputting an increased heat power and maintaining an acceptable surface temperature in accordance with regulatory requirements.

Background of the Invention / Prior Art Several types of independently operating mobile radiators including those which circulate a diathermai oil mass heated by an electric resistance arranged inside the radiator casing have been proposed and used so far. Diathermai oil radiators usually have a number of radiating sections generally connected by means of an upper and a lower chamber. Heated diathermai oil circulates through the channels provided within generally two metal plates constituting the radiating sections. The channels typically feature surrounding fins in order to reduce the surface temperature of the radiating sections and to better transfer the heat produced in the lower chamber of the radiator.

As these types of independently operating mobile radiators are used inside the living environment (e.g. home use), regulations were defined for safe operation of such devices. One of the most restrictive requirements is apparently the upper limit for the surface temperature of the radiator, which aims to avoid hazardous burns which may occur in result of physical contact of the human skin with the radiating sections.

Due to the operating nature of oil radiators and the additional regulatory requirements defined for safe operation, these types of heating apparatus fail to heat its surrounding environment rapidly at the very beginning of their start-up. Moreover, manufacturers need to mount a large number of radiating sections and heaters on the apparatus which are aimed to heat a considerably large volume, which consequently results in quite a heavy product occupying a larger space inside the environment.

Since the heating style in classical mobile oil radiators is solely based on convective heat transfer, it may take upto ten minutes for a mobile radiator to effectively radiate heat into its surrounding due to the fact that the unit itself (heater, chamber, oil, fins) shall first be heated to some certain extent for effective heat transfer. A typical radiator of this kind is disclosed in EP 1 030 129, filed in the name of Delonghi S.p.A. The mobile oil radiator disclosed in this application typically comprises a plurality of radiating sections with built-in channels in their central portion for circulation of a diathermai oil. Claimed invention further comprises an additional heater located in a central region of radiating sections for providing additional heat to its surrounding. The mobile radiator disclosed therein, however, differs in many ways from the mobile radiator of the present invention. Firstly, the additional heater proposed in EP 1 030 129 is located in a central region of the radiating elements, providing heat directly to the radiating elements and to its close vicinity. This fact accompanies the risk of over-temperature on the surface of radiating elements, especially when it remains in continuous operation following the start-up warming of the radiator, thus does not allow for high heat output to the environment in view of regulatory requirements relating to upper surface temperature. The present invention does not have this disadvantage, as the additional heater does not heat the radiating sections. Secondly, additional heater of the mobile radiator proposed by EP 1 030 129 delivers heat by way of convection only whereas the present invention proposes a much effective means which outputs heat by way of both radiation and convection, thus allowing a much faster initial warming and also featuring directional heating with the ability of carrying heat to distant regions for long durations in the heated environment.

Objects of the Invention

One of the objects of the present invention is to provide an independently operating mobile radiator with an additional heating means, which radiates more heat to its surrounding while conforming with the regulatory requirements relating to the surface temperature of the radiating sections, and which requires, when compared to classical mobile radiators, a decreased number of radiating sections for providing the same amount of heat into the environment, thereby lowering the cost of the apparatus while simultaneously decreasing total weight of the apparatus as well as the volume it occupies,

Another object of the present invention is to provide an independently operating mobile radiator with an additional heating means, which operates based on convective principles as in the case of prior art mobile radiators, as well as based on radiative principles, thereby allowing rapid heating of spaces eliminating the start-up time delay required for proceeding into the effective heating stage, Yet another object of the present invention is to provide an independently operating mobile radiator, which is capable of warming regions in an open environment, that are far from the convective radiator blocks and thus can not be effectively heated by the convective operation, thereby carrying heat to the more distant areas by way of radiation,

Still a further object of the present invention is to provide an independently operating mobile radiator, which enables easy handling and more mobility due a to reduced weight and volume while allowing a more effective and multi-optional operation, and which optionally enables a silent operation by way of eliminating the means for forced convection, e.g. a fan in the fan-type radiators while outputting the same power into the surrounding environment

Summary of the Invention

The objects of the invention are achieved through use of an additional heating means provided in the front side of an independently operating mobile oil radiator. The additional heating means, which comprise at least a radiant heating means and a reflector, are located behind the cover on the front side of the radiator. The product proposed by the invention thus features a multi-optional operation with a heating capacity more than conventional oil radiators having the same volume & weight. The additional radiant heater, when initiated at the very beginning of the operation, apparently eliminates the start-up heating delay of prior art convective oil radiators, When the heating blocks of the convective heater approaches sufficient temperature to the outermost fins for effective convective heating, the additional radiative heater proposed by the invention may then function as an additional heat source, eg. as a second or third stage of heating. More importantly, the additional heater proposed by the invention may function to warm regions which are far from the convective heating blocks by way of carrying the heat via radiation. The user may intentionally use this source as a directional heating source, i.e. direct the front face of t ie mobile radiator towards a distant region to intensify radiation in that direction, thereby allowing to speed up warming in that region. Brief Description of the Figures

Accompanying drawings are given solely for the purpose of exemplifying an independently operating mobile radiator whose advantages over prior art were outiined above;

Fig. 1 is a schematic perspective view of the mobile radiator illustrating the front cover removed from the body to show the radiative heating means, in accordance to the invention,

Fig. 2 is a schematic perspective view of the mobile radiator with the cover mounted on the front side of the mobile radiator,

Fig. 3 is the schematic side view of the mobile radiator illustrated in Rg. 2, Fig. 4 is the schematic front view of the mobile radiator illustrated in Fig. 2; showing the additional radiative heating means and reflector behind the perforations of the front cover, Fig. 5 is the schematic top view of the mobile radiator illustrated in Fig. 2, showing the cross-sectional view of the front side structure of the mobile radiator in accordance with the invention,

Detailed Description of the Invention Referring now to the figures outlined above, the independently operating mobile radiator comprises a main body part (Fig. 1) consisting of a plurality of radiating sections (17) and a front structure, in which the controlling members (10, 11, 14, 15) and the additional heating means (6, ) is located.

Various geometries for the geometry and the structure for the radiating sections (17) were proposed so far. These typically comprise a lower chamber(2), an upper chamber (16) and oil conduits (3) (blocks, channels etc.) connecting the lower and upper chambers for circulation of a diathermai oil. The oil is heated by a main heater (1) located inside the lower chamber (2). Heated oil then proceeds towards the upper chamber (16) through the conduits (3) and loses its temperature while transferring its heat to the surrounding metal. The fins (5) are used to extend the total heat transfer surface in order to better radiate the heat power to the environment. The oil returns to the lower chamber (2) as its temperature decreases in result of the heat transfer. The main heater (1) is controlled by means of an on/off switch (14) and a thermostat (15). When the radiator is first switched on in a cold environment, it is generally true that the temperature of the radiator is equal to that of the environment. Since the heat transferred to the environment in a convective heat transfer process is directly related to the temperature difference between the heated environment and the heating surfaces, al! conventional radiators provide poor heating until their heat transfer surfaces are heated to a certain temperature level. The duration until effective heating can take place may typically be called ^wstart-up delay", a common drawback of all conventional independently operating mobile radiators.

Since the nature and general embodiments of a conventional mobile oil radiator is quite well-known for those skilled in the art, no more details relating to the structure of conventional parts of the radiator of the invention will be given here. Although the example shown in the figures does not comprises means for forced flow around the heating elements, those skilled in the art can easily appreciate use of such devices for establishing forced convection.

The independently operating mobile radiator of the present invention comprises additional heating means (7) for providing sufficient heat to the environment during the start-up delay. The additional heating means is advantageously a heater which transfers heat through not only convection, but also radiation. A reflector (6) located right behind the heater (7) helps the produced heat be transferred to the outside of the perforated panel (9) of the front cover. The reflector is preferably surface treated to have a shiny surface to better radiate the heat produced by the additional heater (7) inside the front cover. The front cover further comprises perforations (9) in order to allow the transfer of the heat via both convection and infrared radiation.

The reflector (6) of the additional heating (7) means advantageously enables the end- user to realize directional heating. The user, if he so desires, may locate front face of the mobile radiator in such a way that a certain region of the heated environment can be heated more than the rest of the environment. Furthermore, the reflector (6) will help the heat be transferred to more distant regions of the same environment by means of radiation. A quartz/infrared heater may also be utilized as the additional heater in order to better radiate heat produced inside the front cover. The main body of the independently operating mobile radiator operates much like in the way conventional heaters do. The main heating element (1), generally in the form of an electric resistance, heats in the lower chamber (2) a diathermai oil, which then circulates inside the upper chamber (16) and the blocks (3) of a plurality of radiating sections. The fins (5) around the blocks (3) help to better transfer the heat to the environment by way of increasing the heat transfer surface. As per mentioned previously, the geometry of the radiating sections (17) is of minor importance with regard to the core of the invention and thus, various types of structures may be proposed for utilization with the mobile radiator of the invention.

The independently operating mobile radiator of the invention is also provided with a front support (12), a pair of castors (4) and a front handle (8) for providing easy-use and mobility. Control of the operation of the radiator is maintained through use of an on-off switch (14) and of a thermostat (15), which are controlled by rotary knobs (11, 10) respectively and which are located on a lower front panel (13).

The additional heater (7) and the reflector (6) of the embodiment shown in the figures, advantageously provide a better look to the mobile radiator. When the additional heater (6), which is selected from a group of infra-red type heaters is operated, the perforated front panel shows quite an esthetic look with the incandescent reflector in its back.

The independently operating mobile radiator of the present invention also eliminates one of most important drawbacks of the conventional radiators, in view of the fact that conventional radiators have to include a large number of radiating elements when high heat output capacity is required. This consequently leads to a considerably high weight and volume occupied by the radiator, which are undesired as the mobility of the radiator is inadvertently affected. Additionally, the cost of the product increases considerably due to increased use of source material. The additional heating means (6,7) adopted to the radiator of the invention clearly eliminates this drawback as the additional heater outputs a high heat capacity and does not require use of heavily radiating sections (17) unlike his counterparts. The nature of the additional heating means not only prevents the user to suffer from the start-up delay of the mobile radiator, but also enables him to heat a larger room with the same volume of radiating sections.

Claims

Ctøt s :

1) An independently operating mobile radiator comprising a plurality of radiating sections (17) which are constituted by a lower chamber (2), an upper chamber (16) and conduits (3) connecting said lower and upper chambers for circulation of a diathermai oil which is heated by a main heater located inside said lower chamber, fra^gacβB-iBSgS aiτ atea the mobile radiator further comprises an additional heating means (7), which is located inside a front structure comprising at least a reflector (6) and a perforated front cover (9) on the front face and which transfers heat substantially through radiation, whereby more heat can be output to the environment while surface temperature of the radiating sections (17) remains in prescribed allowable limits and whereby heat can directionally be carried to distant regions of the environment which can further be, at the beginning of operation, rapidly heated by means of said additional heater (7) to prevent the user from suffering a start-up warming delay.

2) An independently operating mobile radiator as set forth in Claim 1 wherein the additional heating means (7) comprises at least one quartz heater located in front of said reflector (6).

3) An independently operating mobile radiator as set forth in Claim 1 wherein the additional heating means (7) comprises at least one electrical resistance having a shiny surface.

4 An independently operating mobile radiator as set forth in any of the Claims 1 to 3, wherein the radiator further comprises at least a thermostat and an on/off switch to control selective operation of said additional heating means (7).

5. An independently operating mobile radiator as set forth in any of the Claims 1 to 4, wherein the perforated front cover is adapted to show an infra-red type additional heater (7) and the reflector (6) located behind it in order to present an esthetic figure emitting light towards its front.

6. An independently operating mobile radiator as set forth in Claim 3, wherein the radiator further comprises means for maintaining forced convection.

7. An independently operating mobile radiator as set forth in any of the preceding claims, wherein the radiator further comprises around at least one radiating section (17) a liquid storage means for humidifying surrounding air.

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8. An independently operating mobile radiator as set forth in any of the preceding claims, wherein the mobile radiator further comprises a pair of castor (4) and a front support (12) adapted to easily move the radiator body for facilitating directional heating,