Abstract:
Portable or temporary heating is provided by locating a container adjacent an area to be heated in which the container comprises a portable building including a coal storage compartment and a heating compartment therein. A heating apparatus, for example a boiler, is provided in the heating compartment which consumes coal. The coal storage compartment includes a transfer mechanism for transferring the coal stored therein to the heating apparatus responsive to fuel demands of the apparatus. Ambient heat from the heating apparatus is used to maintain coal in the coat storage compartment above freezing to prevent bridging thereof.

Description:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION  
       [0001]     The present invention relates to a coal fired heating system, and more particularly relates to a heating system including an integrated coal storage and a coal combustion appliance to provide heat to a given building or area to be heated.  
       BACKGROUND  
       [0002]     Various coal consuming devices including furnaces and boilers are known for producing heat in which coal is the primary fuel for combustion. Coal is a bulky fuel typically requiring a large storage area and thus the coal consuming devices require the additional task of transferring coil from the storage to the device. It is common place to provide coal storage in a shed or storage area which is separate from the building to be heated. A common problem which arises in colder climates is that the coal begins to clump together and the resulting bridging makes it difficult to feed the fuel into the coal consuming device. Because of the requirements of a large storage area for coal, coal burning devices generally are not portable and thus are not suitable for use on temporary construction areas and the like.  
         [0003]     Some examples of heating units in the prior art include U.S. Pat. No. 4,785,792 to Saint Laurent, U.S. Pat. No. 4,593,628 to Henry, U.S. Pat. No. 4,497,262 to Nordine and U.S. Pat. No. 4,359,951 to Dauvergne. By the teaching of the prior art, in order for coal combustion units to be provided in a portable configuration, a large wheeled structure is required with separate storage of the fuel to be combusted. When smaller heating units are provided for portability, use of oil or gas is required. Accordingly none of the prior art discloses a manner in which a coal consuming device can be provided in a portable configuration.  
       SUMMARY  
       [0004]     According to one aspect of the present invention there is provided a heating system comprising: 
        an enclosed container including a heating compartment and a coal storage compartment for storing coal therein;     a heating apparatus supported in the heating compartment which consumes the coal for producing heat; and     a coal transfer mechanism connected between the coal storage compartment and the heating compartment for transferring coal from the coal storage compartment to the heating compartment.        
 
         [0008]     According to a second aspect of the present invention there is provided a method of heating a building site, the method comprising: 
        locating a heating system adjacent the building, the system comprising an enclosed container including a coal storage compartment and a heating compartment;     storing coal in the coal storage compartment;     periodically transferring coal from the coal storage compartment to the heating compartment;     combusting the transferred coal in the heating compartment to produce heat; and     transferring the heat of combustion externally from the container to the building site.        
 
         [0014]     By providing a coal storage compartment and a transfer mechanism between the coal storage and the coal consuming heating apparatus, both the apparatus and the coal storage can be provided within a single container which is readily portable on flat bed trucks and the like. An additional benefit of providing coal storage adjacent the heating apparatus, is that the coal is prevented from freezing in colder climates and thus bridging problems of the prior art relating to coal combustion equipment is resolved.  
         [0015]     The coal transfer mechanism is preferably automatically operated responsive to fuel demands of the heating apparatus.  
         [0016]     When the heating appliance includes a stoker, the coal transfer mechanism preferably includes a transfer auger extending from the coal storage compartment to the stoker. The transfer auger of the coal transfer mechanism may be operated responsive to level of coal within the stoker falling below a prescribed lower limit. The stoker preferably automatically feeds coal to the heating apparatus responsive to temperature of the heating apparatus falling below a prescribed lower limit.  
         [0017]     The coal storage compartment preferably includes a hopper bottom formed therein in communication with the transfer mechanism. The hopper may be heated from below by the heating apparatus.  
         [0018]     The heating apparatus may include an automated ash removal mechanism.  
         [0019]     The partition between the heating compartment and the coal storage compartment is preferably not insulated for optimum transfer of heat to the coal storage compartment.  
         [0020]     The container may comprise a rectangular metal construction which is portable and configured for transporting on a flat deck truck.  
         [0021]     When the heating apparatus comprises a boiler, the container is provided with selectively separable electrical and water connectors for connection to a building to be heated.  
         [0022]     Temperature in the coal storage area is preferably maintained above freezing. 
     
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       [0023]     In the accompanying drawings, which illustrate an exemplary embodiment of the present invention:  
         [0024]      FIG. 1  is a perspective view of the container of the heating system showing some of the side panels removed.  
         [0025]      FIG. 2  is a partly sectional side elevational view of the container.  
         [0026]      FIG. 3  is a sectional view along the line  3 - 3  of the  FIG. 2 . 
     
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION  
       [0027]     Referring to the accompanying figures, there is illustrated a heating system generally indicated by reference numeral  10 . The system  10  includes a portable container  12  for both storage and combustion of coal therein. The container  12  of the heating system  10  is particularly suited for providing temporary heating to construction sites or auxiliary heating to existing buildings and the like.  
         [0028]     The container  12  is elongate and rectangular including a flat rectangular floor  14  suitable for supporting on a flat bed truck. The container is similar in size to conventional box-type railway containers. In the illustrated embodiment the container is approximately twenty-seven feet and eight inches long, eight feet wide and eight feet high with a peaked roof extending upwardly to nine feet and 1½ inches at a center. The walls  16  of the container are rectangular and vertical and service to fully enclose an interior of the container along with the roof  18 . All of the sides of the container are formed of metal or other durable and fireproof constructions.  
         [0029]     A partition  20  is provided in the container for dividing the container into a coal storage compartment  22  and a heating compartment  24 . The coal storage compartment  22  is near in size to the heating compartment but is slightly smaller to provide room for the heating apparatus  26  in the heating compartment. The partition  20  is only a partial vertical partition to allow some convection of heat from the heating compartment to the coal storage compartment thereby preventing the coal from bridging in colder climates. The walls of the container are insulated, but the partition may not be to provide additional heat transfer to the coal storage compartment.  
         [0030]     The coal storage compartment  22  includes a hopper bottom  28  which substantially spans laterally and longitudinally the full cross sectional area of the compartment. The hopper tapers downwardly and inwardly from an outer periphery  30  of the hopper which is spaced above the floor of the container. The hopper bottom  28  tapers inwardly to a central bottom  32  at the floor of the container. The partition  20  extends from the outer periphery  30  of the hopper upwardly to a top end of the container while a surrounding area of the cold storage compartment below the hopper bottom  28  remains open to the heating compartment for circulation of heat by convection therethrough.  
         [0031]     A transfer auger  34  extends from the central bottom  32  of the hopper at an upward incline towards the heating compartment to terminate at a discharge end  36  spaced above the floor within the heating compartment. The transfer auger  34  includes a surrounding tube and serves to transfer the coal from the coal storage compartment to the heating apparatus  26 .  
         [0032]     When it is desired to replenish the coal supply within the coal storage compartment a hatch  38  provided in the roof of the container above the coal storage compartment is opened for loading coal therethrough onto the hopper bottom  28  therebelow. Access to the heating compartment is provided by a door panel selectively spanning an opening in an end wall of the container.  
         [0033]     The heating compartment centrally locates the heating apparatus  26  therein so it is spaced from the interior walls of the container. In the illustrated embodiment, the heating apparatus comprises a boiler including its own stoker  40 .  
         [0034]     The stoker  40  includes a small hopper  42  located directly below the discharge end  36  of the transfer auger  34 . The small hopper  42  receives coal periodically from the coal storage compartment when the auger is activated. A stoker auger  44  extends from the small hopper  42  to the burner within the boiler to feed the coal to the boiler as required for producing sufficient heat to maintain the water in the boiler above a prescribed temperature. The boiler also includes an ash removal mechanism  46  situated below the burner for removal of ash from the boiler. The mechanism  46  includes an auger therein which is automatically operated periodically while the boiler is operating to remove accumulated ash.  
         [0035]     The water circulated through the boiler is connected to the building or area to be temporarily heated by selectively separable connectors for temporary use and portability. Similar selectively separable electrical connections to the electrical supply of the area to be heated is also provided.  
         [0036]     In operation the boiler is fully automated by a suitable controller. The stoker automatically augers coal from the small hopper  42  to the internal burner of the boiler and the combustion air fan of the boiler is also automatically activated both in response to water temperature of the boiler falling below a prescribed lower limit. The ash removal mechanism  46  continues to operate periodically to prevent any excessive accumulation of ash. When the small hopper  42  of the stoker is measured to be below a prescribed lower limit, the transfer auger is activated to refill the small hopper  42  with coal transferred from the coal storage compartment. Ambient heat in the heating compartment surrounding the boiler automatically circulates through the area below the hopper to maintain the coal, especially at a bottom end near the transfer auger, above freezing. If the heating system is no longer needed, the water and electrical connections are disconnected and the entire container is loaded onto a flat bed truck for transferring to another location.  
         [0037]     As described above the heating system comprises a portable self-contained building. The system is automated for less maintenance resulting in a simple efficient system to operate. The system incorporates a building that can be hauled to any site on a flat deck truck. The fuel storage is housed in one end of the building and the water heater or boiler is housed in a separate room at an opposite end of the building. The whole system, from heating of coal to removing of ash is all automated. The stove or burner of the boiler has a feed system incorporating a stoker with a small hopper which is fed coal using the transfer auger from the large bin defining the hopper bottom of the coil storage compartment. The stoker auger turns on when the water temperature drops and at the same time the combustion fan will feed air into the burner head. The system also has an ash auger built in which automatically turns on at preset intervals to remove the ashes. The main concept of the present invention is to permit one to drop a single unit on a yard and connect the electrical and the water connections to different buildings on the yard. A key benefit is to have storage for coal that is kept at a temperature above freezing which in turn keeps the coal from bridging. The different buildings to be heated would have their own heat exchanger where hot water would be pumped through from the system buildings.  
         [0038]     While one embodiment of the present invention has been described in the foregoing, it is to be understood that other embodiments are possible within the scope of the invention. The invention is to be considered limited solely by the scope of the appended claims.