Modular sauna heater and method for constructing a sauna

Modular infrared heater units for a sauna and methods for constructing a sauna. The infrared heater units include one or more heating elements disposed in a housing. The housing is configured for direct mounting on walls of a structure and includes a pigtail for coupling to a controller. The housing is dimensioned to accommodate a paneling or other cladding on the walls and includes a trim frame that obscures edges of the cladding adjacent to the heater unit. Construction of a sauna unit includes mounting of a plurality of the heater units on walls of the structure; electrically communicably coupling the heater units to a controller; and providing any desired cladding to the interior of the structure.

BACKGROUND

The popularity of saunas for treatment of a myriad of conditions is ever increasing. With that comes increased interest in incorporating sauna units into residential dwellings and commercial spaces. One available option is a stand-alone, pre-manufactured sauna unit that can be disposed in an existing location. Another option is an integrated sauna unit that is constructed in and potentially as part of the structure at a location. Yet another option is a stand-alone heating unit that can be disposed in a room or other location to provide sauna-like qualities and/or infrared heating to the room.

Construction of such integrated sauna units can be complex and much more expensive than simply disposing a stand-alone unit in an available space. For example, construction may require access to the internal structures at the location, i.e. access to studs or support members in walls, ceilings, etc. Additionally, certain design characteristics like clearance between insulation in the walls of the structure and heating elements of the sauna must be adhered to for safety. A licensed electrician is also likely required to design and provide connections between the heating units and a controller for the sauna unit as well as between the sauna unit and a power grid of the structure.

SUMMARY

Exemplary embodiments are defined by the claims below, not this summary. A high-level overview of various aspects thereof is provided here to introduce a selection of concepts that are further described in the Detailed-Description section below. This summary is not intended to identify key features or essential features of the claimed subject matter, nor is it intended to be used in isolation to determine the scope of the claimed subject matter. In brief, this disclosure describes infrared heaters for a sauna unit and methods for installing a sauna in a structure.

In one embodiment, infrared heaters for a sauna unit are described. The heaters are configured to generate infrared radiation in one or more of near, mid, and far infrared radiation spectrums using one or more forms of electrical heating element such as planar carbon resistance heaters, LEDs, polyimide heaters, halogen bulbs, or the like. The heating elements are disposed within a housing having a back wall, a perimeter wall extending about the perimeter thereof and an open front face. The housing may be dimensioned and/or provided with features configured for coupling the housing to walls of a structure. For example, the housing may be dimensioned to span between and couple to studs of a structure or may include fastener holes therethrough that align with the studs.

The heating elements are preferably enclosed within the housing by a fabric, metallic, composite, or similar material that is substantially transparent to infrared emissions and that is disposed to extend across and between distal edges of the perimeter wall. For example, the material may comprise a carbonized bamboo fabric that enables infrared radiation produced by the heating elements to pass through while also providing an aesthetically pleasing appearance. The material may also aid to protect a user against contact with the heating elements. A trim piece is coupled to the perimeter wall to cover an edge of the housing and a junction between the material and the housing.

The infrared heater is configured for direct mounting on a wall of a structure, such as on a drywall sheathing commonly used in residential structures. It is common practice to line an interior of a sauna unit with a wood paneling or planks. Accordingly, the perimeter wall of the housing is dimensioned to accommodate a thickness of such a paneling between the wall surface and a backside of the trim piece. The trim piece thus overlaps a gap between the wood paneling and the perimeter wall of the heater unit to provide an aesthetic appearance.

The heater is provided with a communicative coupling means such as a cable or pigtail that that can be directly or indirectly coupled to a controller for the sauna unit. The pigtail is configured to carry all power and data communications necessary to operate the heater and includes a terminal coupler. The terminal coupler is configured to couple to an extension line to provide additional length to the pigtail or to couple directly to a communications bus. The communications bus may be coupled to a plurality of heater units. The communications bus may be integrated with a controller or the controller may be communicably coupled to the bus.

In another embodiment, a method for constructing a sauna unit is provided. A plurality of heater units are mounted at desired locations on a structure. The heater units may be mounted on existing surfaces of a structure, such as for example, on exiting drywall covered walls of an existing room. Or a structure may be newly purpose-built for the sauna unit, in which case the heater units may be mounted directly to studs or other support members of the newly built structure. Pigtails from each of the heater units are coupled to a communications bus to provide electrical communications with a controller. The communications bus and/or the controller is coupled with an electrical grid of the structure using an existing plug and socket like that commonly found in residential and commercial structures for connection to, for example, a source of 120 volt or 240 volt alternating current. Alternatively, a direct wire connection may be employed. A paneling, such as wood paneling or planks may be installed on walls of the structure. The paneling is preferably disposed to abut or to extend into close proximity to the heater units such that the trim piece of the heater units overlies edges of the paneling adjacent to the heater units.

In another embodiment, one or more standalone heaters are provided. The standalone heaters may be self-supporting on a floor surface or may be mounted on a wall or ceiling. The standalone heaters can be employed to provide a sauna-like experience in a room without full construction of an integrated sauna unit. The standalone heaters may also be employed to provide infrared treatments and/or heating of the room.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The subject matter of select exemplary embodiments is described with specificity herein to meet statutory requirements. But the description itself is not intended to necessarily limit the scope of claims. Rather, the claimed subject matter might be embodied in other ways to include different components, steps, or combinations thereof similar to the ones described in this document, in conjunction with other present or future technologies. Terms should not be interpreted as implying any particular order among or between various steps herein disclosed unless and except when the order of individual steps is explicitly described. The terms “about” or “approximately” or “substantially” as used herein denote deviations from the exact value by +/−0%, preferably by +/−5% and/or deviations in the form of changes that are insignificant to the function.

Exemplary embodiments are described herein with respect to the drawings in which reference numerals are employed to identify particular components or features. Similar elements in the various embodiments depicted are provided with reference numerals having matching second and third digits but with differing first digits, e.g. element10is similar to elements110,210, etc. Such is provided to avoid redundant description of similar features of the elements but is not intended to indicate the features or elements are necessarily the same.

With initial reference toFIGS.1-21, a modular infrared (IR) heater100is described in accordance with an exemplary embodiment. The heater100includes a housing102, a trim piece104, and one or more heating elements105disposed therein. The heater100may be configured with a variety of dimensions and/or shapes to aid various sauna configurations, heating element configurations, and design requirements, as depicted inFIGS.1-10,15-16, and17-18. For example, the heater100might be configured to support two, side-by-side rows of heating elements105(FIGS.1-10). Or the heater100might be configured to support a single heating element105or single row of heating elements105, like the heater100′ inFIGS.15-16or the heater100″ inFIGS.17-18, among other configurations.

The heating elements105preferably comprise a planar infrared heating element, such as for example and not limitation, a polyimide, carbon, or ceramic sheet, but may also include one or more LED arrays or halogen bulbs, among other available heating element configurations. The heating element105is configured to emit infrared radiation in one or more of the near-, mid-, and far-infrared spectrums.

The boundaries defining the near-, mid-, and far-infrared ranges are not precisely defined in the scientific community. Generally, near-infrared ranges from about 750-1500 nanometers (nm), mid-infrared ranges from about 1500-7000 nm, and the far-infrared range is greater than about 7000 nm up to about 1 millimeter. In some embodiments, the near infrared range is defined to include all or at least a portion of the spectrum of visible light, especially the portion including red light, and thus includes wavelengths from about 400 nm to about 1500 nm or from about 480 nm to about 960 nm or from about 580 nm to about 960 nm.

Returning now toFIGS.9-12, the housing102includes a planar back wall106with a perimeter wall108disposed about its perimeter and extending forwardly therefrom to form a generally hollow enclosure with an open front face109. One or more ribs110may be provided on the housing102to extend across the length, width, and/or other dimension thereof. The ribs110may aid to stiffen or reinforce the housing102and/or to provide mounting locations for the heating elements105therein. The ribs110may be raised or protrude from the back wall106and may aid to space the heating elements105away from the back wall106to enable airflow therebetween and/or avoid excessive heating of the back wall106. The ribs110may be integrally formed with the back wall106or may be coupled thereto via fasteners, adhesives, welding, mechanical engagements or the like. An insulative layer111may also be disposed between the back wall106and the heating elements105to resist heating of the back wall106. The insulative layer111may comprise a reflective material, such as a metal foil, that reflects heat away from the back wall106or a non-thermally transmissive material such as an insulative foam, fabric, or the like or a combination thereof.

The back wall106may include one or more knock-out panels112, diaphragm panels, apertures or other openings that enable passage of a cable or a pigtail113or other electrical and/or communication wires and cables through the back wall106. The pigtail113(shown schematically inFIGS.19and21) comprises one or more wires or other conductors that are in electrical communication with heating elements105in the heater100as well as thermocouples, sensors, lighting elements, controllers, or the like disposed in the housing102. The pigtail113also preferably includes a coupler115at a distal end thereof that is configured to couple to a mating coupler of a controller114, a bus116, or to an extension cable118that couples to the controller114and/or the bus116. The coupler may take any desired form including available or proprietary configurations. In one embodiment, the heater, pigtail, and controller are configured to provide plug-and-play functionality such that additional connections and/or configuration steps are not required of a user or installer before operation of the heater.

The perimeter wall108extends forwardly from and along the perimeter edges of the back wall106to provide the housing102with an open-faced, cuboidal form. In one embodiment, the perimeter wall108preferably extends generally orthogonally from the plane of the back wall106. It is understood that other forms may be used without departing from the scope of exemplary embodiments described herein. The perimeter wall108may include a mounting flange120at a distal end thereof that extends generally inwardly and parallel to the back wall106and that provides a mounting location for the trim piece104. The mounting flange120may include features121configured to aid coupling with the trim piece104, such as, for example and not limitation, threaded bores, magnetic components, latches, hooks, and the like.

In some embodiments, the perimeter wall108is configured to enable passage of the pigtail113therethrough. One or more knockouts or existing apertures may be provided to allow the pigtail113to be routed through the perimeter wall108or a socket or similar connector may be installed in the perimeter wall108(or in the back wall106) to enable coupling with the extension cable118or similar component.

As depicted inFIGS.11,13a, and13b, the height of the perimeter wall108is configured to provide sufficient space or depth between the back wall106and the mounting flange120for mounting the heating elements105within the housing102. The heating elements105are preferably coupled to one or more of the ribs110which space the heating elements105away from the back wall106and align a front face of the heating elements105with the mounting flange120or just interior to the housing102beneath a plane formed by the mounting flanges120. The height of the perimeter wall108is also dimensioned to be substantially equal to or just greater than a thickness of a wall cladding122to be applied to a wall surface around the heater100.

As shown inFIGS.6-8, the trim piece104comprises a generally planar frame assembly configured to outline a front face of the housing102and to overlie and couple to the mounting flange120. The trim piece104extends inwardly over the front face of the housing102into alignment with or just beyond an inwardly facing edge of the mounting flange120and extends outwardly beyond the perimeter wall108to overlie and obscure the distal edge or distal portion of the perimeter wall108from view. An inwardly facing edge of the trim piece104may provide an engagement flange124that extends toward and at least partially into an interior of the housing102to engage the inwardly facing edge of the mounting flange120. Engagement between the mounting flange120and the engagement flange124thus operates to position and maintain the position of the trim piece104relative to the housing102.

The trim piece104may include one or more cross-members126extending across its length and/or width. The cross-members126may provide stiffness to the trim piece104and may aid to resist or prevent contact between a user and the heating elements105disposed within the housing102. The cross-members126might also obscure joints or spaces between separate heating elements105disposed within the heater100.

A protective and/or aesthetic fabric128may be provided on a backside of the trim piece104to obscure a user's view of the contents of the housing102. The fabric128may alternatively be coupled to the housing102to extend between the mounting flanges120or may be provided on a front face of the heating elements105. The fabric128preferably comprises a material that is substantially permeable or transparent to infrared radiation, and, in one embodiment, may comprise a fabric formed at least in part from carbonized bamboo filaments. In another embodiment, the fabric128comprises a perforated plastic, metallic, ceramic, composite, wood, or similar sheet material which may be at least semi-rigid to resist deflection into contact with the underlying heating element105.

With continued reference toFIGS.1-21, a method for constructing a sauna using the modular infrared heaters100is described in accordance with an exemplary embodiment. Initially, a structure forming the sauna is constructed or a preexisting structure is chosen. The structure may provide a stud wall in which a plurality of vertically aligned support studs130are provided at a predetermined spacing. Preferably, the spacing of the studs130compliments dimensions of the heaters100such that mounting features provided on the heaters100align with the studs130. For example, the studs130may be spaced such that each heater100spans between a pair of studs130and/or overlaps the studs130, e.g. overlaps about half of a width of the stud130. In one embodiment, the heater100is disposed and mounted at least partially recessed into a space between a pair of studs130such that side faces formed by the perimeter wall108face or abut side faces of the studs130. In another embodiment, one or more brackets or other support members are provided to support the heater100at a location between the studs130.

In some embodiments, the studs130are covered with a drywall, gypsum board, or other common wall sheathing131and the heaters100may be abutted against the wall sheathing131, as depicted inFIG.13b. In such embodiments, the heaters100may be coupled to the studs130via fasteners inserted through the wall sheathing131and into the underlying stud130.

The structure includes any desired insulation, vapor barriers, or the like. Components, like seating, storage, lighting, or the like may be added to the structure and may provide additional mounting locations for the heaters100. The structure is also prepared with any needed plumbing and electrical wiring, including the extension cables118which may be installed within the walls of the structure or along a surface of the walls. The controller114may be mounted in the structure and coupled with the extension cables118as well as with a local power grid. One or more sensors may also be installed in the structure to provide data and/or signals to the controller114to aid operation of the sauna. The controller may include a display unit132that is mounted within the structure and that enables a user to control one or more functions and operations of the sauna and/or displays one or more characteristics of the sauna. For example, the display132may include an LCD display that indicates a temperature in the sauna and/or a treatment time, among other characteristics or data elements associated with the operation of the sauna. In another embodiment, the display132and/or the controller114may comprise a computing device, such as a tablet computer, mobile device, or the like.

The controller114may further be communicably and/or operably coupled with a communications network, such as the internet, a wide area network, or a local area network, among others, and thus with one or more disparate controllers, data sources, and sensors, among other components. Such other controllers and components may be configured to remotely control or instruct operations of the controller114and thus the heaters100and any other components coupled thereto. For example, a user might start a preheat cycle for the sauna using a network connected device like a mobile smart phone from a location that is disparate from that of the sauna. Or the user might employ operational cycles or a training schedule that is provided to the controller114via a communications network from a disparate computing device, among a variety of other features. Operation of the sauna might also be tracked remotely for maintenance, hardware/software updates, billing, and the like. Further detail of such a distributed control and/or data network is provided in U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2020/0069516 to Zack, filed Aug. 23, 2019, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein in its entirety by reference.

One or more modular infrared heaters100of equal or differing dimensions are selected and mounted to the walls of the structure in a desired arrangement. The heaters100may be coupled directly to the studs130via fasteners installed therebetween. In embodiments in which a wall sheathing131is present on the stud wall, the heaters100may be disposed on the sheathing131and coupled to the studs130or other support members via fasteners that extend through the sheathing131and into the studs130. In some embodiments, a vapor barrier, insulation, or other materials might be disposed on the wall structure, coupled directly to the studs130or to the wall sheathing131, prior to installation of the heaters100thereon. The heaters100may be installed on the wall structure in direct contact with such materials.

In one embodiment, the heaters100are configured to mount directly on the wall structure without need for clearance or open space or additional insulation therebetween. The heating elements105are configured to direct very little infrared radiation or heat toward the back wall106of the housing102and thus reduce or eliminate risks or concerns of overheating the underlying wall structure. Additionally, any insulative layers111applied to the back wall106and/or spacing between the heating elements105and the back wall106provided by the ribs110further decreases any heating of the back wall106and thus the underlying wall structure.

The heaters100are preferably spaced apart from one another at least a distance sufficient to enable installation of their respective trim pieces104without the trim pieces104overlapping. Preferably, the trim pieces104of adjacent heaters100abut along one edge or are spaced sufficiently apart to enable installation of the wall cladding122between their adjacent perimeter walls108. In one embodiment, the trim piece104is configured to couple to more than one heater100mounted side-by-side.

The pigtails113of each of the heaters100are routed through their back walls106or perimeter walls108and coupled to the controller114, the bus116, or to one or more extension cables118. The pigtails113and/or the extension cables118may be routed within the interior of the stud wall, behind any wall sheathing, and/or behind wall cladding122disposed on the walls as desired.

The wall cladding122is disposed on the walls, ceilings, and other desired surfaces of the structure. The wall cladding122has a thickness sized to compliment the height of the perimeter walls108such that the wall cladding122fits between the surface of the stud130or wall sheathing131and a backside surface of the trim piece104. In one embodiment, the housing102may be at least partially recessed into the wall of the structure such that the wall sheathing131may be employed in place of the wall cladding122. As such, edges of the wall cladding122around each of the heaters100are obscured from view by the trim pieces104of each of the heaters100.

The trim pieces104are preferably installed on the heaters following mounting of the heaters100on the structure and installation of the wall cladding122but may be installed at any time. The trim pieces104may couple to the housings102via one or more magnetic couplings, hanging of the trim pieces104on hooks or similar features on the housings102, releasable engagement or friction-fit couplings, or by installation of fasteners between the trim pieces104and the housings102, among other methods.

As such, the heaters100can be installed in the sauna by simple mounting and simple plug-and-play coupling with the controller. In contrast, construction of saunas using previously available components requires much more complex and painstaking steps. For example, individual heating elements must be hardwired with a control circuit, the sauna structure must be constructed in a manner that accommodates required clearances around and between the heating elements, accommodates particular mounting configurations of the heating elements, and skilled craftsman must be employed to apply wall cladding and construct framing around each of the heating elements. Further, care must be taken to avoid damage to the heating elements during handling and installation, because prior art heating elements are not provided with a protective enclosure.

Referring now toFIGS.22-27, standalone modular infrared heaters200are described in accordance with exemplary embodiments. Like the heater100, the heaters200include a housing202in which one or more infrared emitting heating elements205(not shown) are disposed. A trim piece204is provided that couples on or over a front face of the housing202and includes a fabric228or similar material that substantially encloses the front face of the housing202while also allowing passage of emitted infrared radiation therethrough. In one embodiment, the fabric228comprises a plate formed from a metallic, carbon, or other emissive material.

The heaters200are configured to enable simple transformation of an existing room or location into a sauna-style enclosure and/or to provide infrared heating to an existing room or location. As such, the heaters200may be provided with a leg or a base assembly234to provide a free-standing configuration, as depicted inFIGS.22-23. The base assembly234may enable tilting or swiveling of the heater200to effectively aim the infrared radiation output therefrom.

The heaters200can also be configured for wall or ceiling mounting as depicted inFIGS.24-27. A mounting arm236may be provided on the housing202extending from a rear side thereof which useable to couple the heater200to a wall or ceiling surface. Alternatively, the housing202may be configured for direct mounting to a wall or ceiling in a manner similar to that described above for the housing102. The mounting arm236may be provided in a variety of configurations to aid coupling and/or supporting the heater200on the wall/ceiling. Although only a single mounting arm is depicted in the figures, a plurality of mounting arms may be provided.

The heaters200are preferably configured with an internal controller configured to control operation of heating elements205, sensors, lighting element, or the like that may be disposed in the housing202. A pigtail213(not shown) is provided extending from the housing202which may be direct wired or plugged into an existing power supply in the room or location. Alternatively, the heaters200may be coupled with an electrical communications and control circuitry like that discussed above for the heaters100and operated in a similar manner.

A control panel or display232(not shown) may be provided on the housing202or within a portion of the trim piece204to enable a user to control operation of the heater200. The controller214may also be configured for wireless communication and control by a wireless device, such as a mobile device executing an application or other computing device.

As described previously, the heating elements105,205of the heaters100,200respectively preferably comprise planar heating elements. Such heating elements105,205may have a generally continuous or monolithic configuration in which substantially the full heating surface of the heater105/205produces infrared radiation within a single wavelength range, e.g. near-, mid-, or far-infrared range. The heating elements105/205may alternatively be configured with one or more portions configured to produce or emit infrared radiation in different wavelength ranges.

FIGS.28-30depict three different configurations of multi-wavelength-range heating elements305,305′,305″ that can emit infrared radiation in multiple different wavelength ranges. Each of the heating elements305,305′,305″ are configured to emit infrared radiation in near-, mid-, and far-infrared wavelength ranges, however such is not intended to limit embodiments to any particular number or ranges of radiation that might be emitted thereby.

Each of the heating elements305,305′,305″ includes a near-infrared emitting portion338, a mid-infrared emitting portion340, and far-infrared emitting portion342. Each of these portions338,340,342may be a separate heating element component or they may be integrated into a single unit. Further, each of the portions may utilize the same or different heating or infrared generating technologies, i.e. the far-infrared portions342may use a polyimide planar heating element while the near-infrared portions338may employ an array of LEDs disposed within a cutout in the planar heating element of the far-infrared portion342. Additionally, although the portions338,340,342are depicted in particular locations within the heating element305,305′,305″ their locations may be interchangeable.

Each of the portions338,340,342may be controlled together or independently by the controller to enable a user to selectively choose which of the portions338,340,342emit infrared radiation at any given time. In one embodiment, the portions338,340,342are tuneable by the controller to adjust the wavelengths of infrared radiation emitted thereby, such as by adjusting a current or voltage applied to the particular portion338,340,342. For example, a current applied to the mid-infrared portion340might be adjusted by the controller to cause the mid-infrared portion to emit infrared radiation in the far-infrared wavelength range. In one embodiment, one or more of the portions338,340,342may be configured to emit radiation in a non-infrared wavelength, such as in wavelength in the visible light or ultraviolet light spectrums.

Many different arrangements of the various components depicted, as well as components not shown, are possible without departing from the scope of the claims below. Embodiments of the technology have been described with the intent to be illustrative rather than restrictive. Alternative embodiments will become apparent to readers of this disclosure after and because of reading it. Alternative means of implementing the aforementioned can be completed without departing from the scope of the claims below. Identification of structures as being configured to perform a particular function in this disclosure and in the claims below is intended to be inclusive of structures and arrangements or designs thereof that are within the scope of this disclosure and readily identifiable by one of skill in the art and that can perform the particular function in a similar way. Certain features and sub-combinations are of utility and may be employed without reference to other features and sub-combinations and are contemplated within the scope of the claims.