WO2020183432A1

WO2020183432A1 - Heating device for frost-sensitive plants such as grapevines or fruit trees

Info

Publication number: WO2020183432A1
Application number: PCT/IB2020/052316
Authority: WO
Inventors: Hans SCHÄREN
Original assignee: Pelliheat Ag
Priority date: 2019-03-14
Filing date: 2020-03-13
Publication date: 2020-09-17
Also published as: EP3937613A1

Abstract

The invention relates to a new kind of heating device (21) for frost-sensitive plants, the device having a container which is made of sheet metal, is open at the top, has a base designed as a perforated plate and a side wall (22) which extends upward from the circumferential edge of the base. The top opening of the container is larger at the top edge of the side wall (22) than the area of the base, and the heating device (22) has at least one ventilation pipe (32a), wherein: the ventilation pipe (32a) is fastened to the base and extends vertically upward from an opening in the base; the diameter of the opening corresponds to the diameter of the ventilation pipe (32a); and the ventilation pipe (32a) has a plurality of openings (33) each arranged in the wall of the ventilation pipe (32a).

Description

Heating device for frost-sensitive plants such as grapevines or fruit trees

TECHNICAL AREA

The invention relates to a heating device for frost-sensitive plants such as vines and orchards, in particular for use when frost occurs in spring while the plants are sprouting.

STATE OF THE ART

With favorable weather conditions in spring, when vines and fruit trees and other fruit plants sprout, the air near the ground is warmer than in the higher air so that the plants and their shoots can thrive and no frostbite occurs. On cold, clear nights, however, this air stratification can reverse and lead to so-called radiation frost. Radiation frost is used when the temperature falls below 0 ° C due to a negative thermal radiation balance during the night. Late radiation frosts occur above all when an inversion weather situation develops under the influence of high pressure and when the wind is calm. Without a protective cloud cover, the warm air rising from the ground can escape upwards. At the same time, cold air flows from the high altitude into the valley. This creates an inversion stratification of the air in which the temperatures near the ground are very cold, but significantly warmer air masses a few meters above the ground. In this situation, there is no air exchange by wind because the cold and heavier air masses lie under the lighter and warmer air layers. This leads to the dreaded late frost damage in depressions or reservoirs. Experience has shown that sub-zero temperatures occur in the early morning hours until just before sunrise, between 3 and 7 a.m.

Favorable factors for the occurrence of radiation frost are long nights, a low heat capacity of the ground, dry air, little wind or even calm and a corresponding lack of mixing of the air layers. Radiant frosts occur more frequently than wind frosts.

In order to prevent or reduce frost damage to the shoots, the plants are now covered or frost-sprinkled or the air is fogged or smoked, artificially mixed or even heated.

In the case of heating, anti-freeze candles are used, for example, which consist of largely smoke-free stearin from renewable raw materials, so-called stopgels, which are filled in tubs. Experience has shown that one bucket is sufficient for 2-3 nights of frost, whereby 200-300 frost protection candles per hectare have to be lit if frost is expected to be -2 to -3 ° C. This results in costs between around € 1,400 and € 2,000 per hectare and night. If several frosty nights come on top of each other, the costs are reduced, since the candles do not burn down completely in one frosty night. Frost protection candles offer protection even when there is wind frost. Shortly after lighting the fire, the temperature is increased by 1.5 ° C. If the air temperature reaches a critical level, the flames are suffocated with a sealing lid.

The disadvantage of frost protection candles is that a significant increase in temperature can now be achieved in the immediate vicinity and the lateral radiation is relatively low. This is why a very large number of frost protection candles are needed to protect larger vines. If there is a longer period of frost, the stocks of frost protection candles will run out very soon. Furthermore, the effectiveness of frost protection candles is very limited and only major damage can be reduced.

OBJECT OF THE INVENTION

The present invention has the object to provide a Heizungsvorrich device for frost-sensitive plants such as vines and fruit trees, which In comparison to the methods used today, it causes a more even heat radiation and a higher temperature increase in the air.

This object is achieved by a heating device with the features of claim 1 patent.

The heating device according to the invention for frost-sensitive plants has an upwardly open container made of sheet metal with a bottom formed as a perforated plate and a side wall which extends upwards from the circumferential edge of the bottom. The upper opening of the container is larger at the upper edge of the side wall than the area of the bottom. In addition, the heating device has at least one ventilation pipe, the ventilation pipe extending vertically upwards from an opening in the floor, the diameter of the opening corresponding to the diameter of the ventilation pipe. The ventilation pipe furthermore has a plurality of openings each arranged in the pipe wall.

When frost threatens, the heating device is filled with fuel, for example pressed wood pellets, placed near the plants to be protected and lit. The heating device according to the invention has the advantage that, compared to the antifreeze candles used hitherto, it generates a significantly larger and more uniform radiation of heat. This is based on the one hand on the widening shape of the side wall and on the placement of the at least one ventilation pipe, which introduces air into the fuel and enables complete combustion of fuel. In addition, evenly distributed air enters the fuel in the container through the bottom of the container, which is designed as a perforated plate. As a result, the heating device is environmentally friendly in that it hardly emits any harmful substances or fine dust. The heating device can generate sufficient heat for several hours, whereby plantations such as vineyards or orchards can be protected from night frost. In one embodiment of the invention, the side wall is upwardly widening, in a special embodiment it is realized conically. Such a shape optimizes the uniform radiation in all directions.

In one embodiment of the invention, the heating device has a centrally arranged ventilation pipe. This ensures a more even and, in particular, complete combustion of the fuel.

In a further embodiment of the invention, the heating device has, in addition to the centrally arranged ventilation pipe, one or more further ventilation pipes, which are arranged parallel to the centrally arranged ventilation pipe and also have several openings each arranged in the pipe wall of the ventilation pipes. The ventilation pipes open at their lower end into openings in the floor, these openings corresponding to the diameter of the ventilation pipes. In addition to the several openings in the perforated plate, the floor thus also has larger openings over which the ventilation pipes are placed.

In a further embodiment, the several ventilation pipes are of different lengths.

In a further embodiment, the ventilation pipes are closed at their upper end. This increases the lateral air supply into the fuel and favors the lateral heat radiation of the heating device.

In a further embodiment, the heating device has a plurality of openings distributed over its circumference in the side wall in its lower region.

Furthermore, the openings are preferably arranged above the floor.

In another embodiment of the invention, the heating device in the unte Ren area of the container has several recesses which start from the lower edge of the side wall and extend to a level of the floor. In a further embodiment of the invention, the Fleizungsvorrichtung has a transverse strip which extends over the open end of the container and is attached to the Obe Ren end of the centrally arranged ventilation pipe. In order to further optimize the distribution of the hot air that is radiated by the heating devices in a plantation such as a vineyard or a fruit or berry plantation, several heating devices can be set up in a row and air distribution pipes are arranged vertically above the heating devices. to distribute the hot air generated by the heating devices in a horizontal direction over the vineyard or over the orchard.

DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION Further advantages of the invention follow from the dependent patent claims and from the following description, in which the invention is explained in more detail with reference to an exemplary embodiment shown in the schematic drawings. It shows:

Fig. 1 is a side view of a first embodiment of the invention

Heating device,

Fig. 2 shows a partial section through the heating device along the line A-A in

Figure 1, in perspective,

3 shows a ventilation pipe in a side view,

FIG. 4 shows a plan view of a second base of the heating device, FIG. 5 shows a plan view of the first base formed as a perforated plate of FIG

Heating device,

6 is a perspective view of a second embodiment of the heating device according to the invention,

FIG. 7 shows the heating device from FIG. 6 in a side view, 8 shows the heating device from FIG. 6 with a transverse strip above the opening above,

9 shows a side view of the heating device from FIG. 8,

FIG. 10 is a perspective view from above of the plurality of ventilation pipes of FIG

Heating device from Figure 6 with the side wall removed,

11 shows a side view of the ventilation pipes from FIG. 10.

12 shows a plan view of the bottom of the second, designed as a perforated plate

Execution of the heating device.

In the figures, the same reference numerals have been used for the same elements and initial explanations relate to all figures, unless expressly stated otherwise.

In Figure 1, a first embodiment of the heating device 1 is shown in a side view, which consists of a side wall 2 designed as a funnel made of metal sheet and together with a bottom forms an upwardly widening and open top container. In the lower region 3 of the side wall 2, first openings 5 are arranged at regular intervals on a first circle 4 and second openings 7 are arranged on a second circle 6. The first circle 4 and the second circle 6 run horizontally and parallel to one another. In Figure 2, the Heizungsvor device 1 is shown in a partial section along the line AA- in Figure 1 and in a perspective view. Above the first openings 5, a circular perforated plate 10 is attached in parallel as the first, upper bottom 8 on the side wall 2, which has a central opening 11. Between the openings 5 and 7, a circular metal disk 8 is welded as a second, lower base to the side wall 2, which has a central circular opening 9. The central opening 9 in the lower floor 8 has a larger diameter than the central opening 1 1 in the upper floor 10. On the circular opening 1 1 in the upper floor 10, a zen tral ventilation pipe 12 is welded vertically. The ventilation pipe 12 has several ventilation openings 13 which are arranged, for example, in two diametrically opposed vertical rows on the pipe 12. The ventilation pipe 12 is in a side view shown in Figure 3. Alternatively, the ventilation openings 13 are also distributed evenly over the surface of the ventilation pipe 12.

Figure 4 shows the lower, second floor 8 as a metal disc with the central circular opening 9. Figure 5 shows the upper, first floor as a perforated plate 10 with the central circular opening 11. The perforated plate 10 has, for example, rows radiating out from the circular opening 11 seen from openings 15, the perforated plate 10 serves as a grate. Alternatively, the openings 15 are also distributed uniformly over the circular area of the base 10 in a different manner.

The side wall 2 is made, for example, from sheet metal and welded together at the longitudinal edges. In Figure 1, the weld 16 is shown. The side wall 2 is designed as a funnel slightly conical towards the top with an angle of 3 ° to 10 °, preferably 5 °, with respect to the longitudinal axis.

FIGS. 6 to 11 show a second embodiment of the heating device 21. In FIGS. 6 and 7, the container of the heating device 21 is shown with a side wall 22 which extends upwards, widening slightly from a base. It forms a slightly conical, funnel-shaped shape. It extends from the circumferential edge of the floor, which is at a height H (shown in Figure 9).

In the lower region 23 of the side wall 22 several evenly distributed openings 25 are arranged for the purpose of air supply, these openings 25 in the longitudinal direction provided in rows and the rows are evenly distributed over the circumference of the tenwand 22 Be. These openings are located above the level H of the bottom 30. Below the level H, the side wall 22 extends further down and has a plurality of recesses 34 divided over its circumference in this lower region. Instead of the vertically arranged openings 25, small longitudinal slots can also be provided.

Figures 8 and 9 show the heating device 21 with an insert 29, which is from a floor 30 with several ventilation pipes 32 and a transverse strip 35 on central ventilation pipe 32a (see FIG. 10) is formed. The cross bar 35 is suspended at diametrically opposite points on the upper edge of the side wall 22 and corresponds to the diameter of the upper opening of the device 21 Heizungsvorrich. In the middle of the transverse strip 35, the central ventilation pipe 32a is attached or welded, which is closed in particular at its upper end.

FIGS. 10 and 11 show the insert 29 of the heating device 21 with an arrangement of several vertical ventilation pipes 32 of different lengths made of metal. The centrally arranged ventilation pipe 32a is the longest and is fastened in the middle to the transverse strip 35. The ventilation pipes 32a and 32 are each closed at their upper end with a closure 32 ', which is formed by pressing the upper region of the ventilation pipe 32, 32a together. The termination 32 'is thus designed to taper to a point with two curved sides. The curved sides of the termination 32 'can, in particular on the shorter ventilation pipes 32, each have a small opening 32 ″ on the side. All ventilation pipes 32, 32a have evenly distributed openings 33, which are preferably arranged in vertical rows, but can also be arranged differently.

FIG. 12 shows the bottom 30 of the second heating device 21, which is designed as a perforated plate with small openings 30 'and additionally has several large openings 31 over which the ventilation pipes 32 are arranged. The ventilation pipes 32, 32a are welded to the floor 30 made of metal. The diameter of the large openings 32 each correspond to the inner diameter of the assigned ventilation pipe 32, 32a. In the center of the bottom 30, the opening 31 a is provided, which is enclosed by the central ventilation pipe 32 a that is welded to the bottom 30.

The disclosed heating device 1, 21 is filled in use, for example with wood pellets, up to the upper edge of the ventilation pipe 12, 32 and then ignited with ignition paste or ignition cubes. As soon as the wood pellets burn sufficiently, which happens within a quarter of an hour, hardly any smoke is produced and the amount of wood pellets filled in burns down completely, so that only a small amount of ash remains. With a volume of around 0.025 m ^{3 of} wood pellets, the amount of wood pellets filled in burns for around four to six hours and gives off enough heat within a radius of two meters to achieve a temperature of + 2 to 3 ° at an ambient temperature of -10 ° C C to protect budding plants from freezing.

Although the heating device 1 is specifically designed for wood pellets, it can also be used for normal firewood. However, since the wood pellets are tightly pressed into small sticks, the burning time is much longer than with normal firewood.

Several heating devices 1, 21 can now be set up at a distance from one another in a vineyard or in an orchard, with several air distribution pipes being arranged perpendicular to the heating devices 1, 21 above the heating devices 1, 21. This means that the hot air is directed very efficiently in a horizontal direction over the vineyard or over the orchard.

Claims

1. Heating device (1, 21) for frost-sensitive plants, which has an upwardly open container made of sheet metal with a bottom (10, 30) designed as a perforated plate and a side wall (2, 22) which extend from the edge of the bottom ( 10, 30) extends upwards, characterized in that the upper opening of the container at the upper edge of the side wall (2, 22) is larger than the area of the base (10, 21) and the heating device (2, 22) is at least one ventilation pipe (12, 32), the ventilation pipe (2, 32) being attached to the floor (10, 21) and extending vertically upwards from an opening (11, 31) in the floor (10, 30) and the diameter of the opening tion (11, 31) corresponds to the diameter of the ventilation pipe (12, 32), and the ventilation pipe (12, 32) has a plurality of openings (13, 33) each arranged in the pipe wall of the ventilation pipe (12, 32).

2. Heating device (1, 21) according to claim 1, characterized in that the side wall (2, 22) is conical upwards.

3. Heating device (1, 21) according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the heating device (1, 21) has a ventilation pipe (12, 32a) arranged centrally on the floor (10, 30).

4. Heating device (1, 21) according to claim 3, characterized in that the heating device (1, 21) in addition to the centrally arranged ventilation pipe (12, 32a) has one or more further ventilation pipes (12, 32) which are parallel to the centrally arranged Ventilation pipe are arranged and also have several openings (13, 33) each arranged in the pipe wall and open at their lower end into an opening in the bottom (10, 30).

5. Heating device (1, 21) according to claim 4, characterized in that the plurality of ventilation pipes (12, 32) are of different lengths.

6. Heating device (1, 21) according to claim 5, characterized in that the ventilation pipes (12, 32) are closed at their upper end.

7. Heating device (1, 21) according to one of claims 1 to 6, characterized in that the heating device (1, 21) in the side wall (2, 22) in its lower region (3) several openings distributed over its circumference ( 5, 7; 25).

8. Heating device (21) according to claim 7, characterized in that the openings (25) are arranged above the bottom (30).

9. Heating device (1, 21) according to one of claims 1 to 8, characterized in that the heating device has a plurality of recesses (34) in the lower region which extend from the lower edge of the side wall (2, 22) and extend to a level ( H) of the bottom (30) extend towards.

10. Heating device (1, 21) according to one of claims 1 to 9, characterized in that the heating device (1, 21) has a transverse strip (35) which extends over the open end of the container and is arranged at the upper end of the centrally Ventilation pipe (12, 32a) is attached to hang an insert (29) with the ventilation pipe (12, 32a) and the bottom (10, 30) on the Obe Ren edge of the open container.

11. Heating device (1, 21) according to one of claims 1 to 10, characterized in that the openings (13, 33) in the ventilation pipes (12, 32, 32a) evenly over the respective pipe wall of the ventilation pipes (12, 32, 32a ) are distributed.

12. Heating device (1, 21) according to one of claims 1 to 11, characterized in that the side wall (2, 22) extends upwards at an angle to the longitudinal axis of the container of 3-10 °.

13. Heating device (1, 21) according to one of claims 1 to 12, characterized in that the ventilation pipe (32, 32a) at its upper end has a closure (32 ') in which a lateral opening (32 ") is arranged .

14. Use of the heating device (1, 21) according to one of the preceding claims 1 to 13 in a vineyard or in an orchard, with several heating devices (1, 21) being set up in a row and vertically above the heating devices (1, 21) Air distribution pipes are arranged around the heat generated by the heating devices (1, 21)

To distribute air in a horizontal direction over the vineyard or over the orchard.