MOBILE APPARATUS FOR HEATING ROOMS

Abstract: The apparatus has a radiator (2) comprising a set of radiating elements (3), inside which there flows a superior diathermal fluid, rigidly associated with a supporting body (5) having at least one thermoventilation unit (6) for the delivery of warm air from said body in a direction substantially orthogonal to the radiator.

Description: The present invention relates to a mobile apparatus for heating rooms. As is known, several easily transportable apparatus are currently available on the market, suitable for heating domestic rooms when the main heating thereof is insufficient or even absent. These known apparatus generally operate electrically and either employ, to produce heat, a set of radiating elements, inside which there flows a superior diathermal fluid, or are provided with incandescent resistors or again with incandescent resistors associated with a fan which allows the delivery of a flow of air, heated by said resistors, within the room. The disadvantages of each of the known mobile heating apparatus are essentially, for radiators operating with a superior diathermal fluid, considerably long times to reach the operating temperature suitable to heat the room in which heat transfer occurs only by natural convection and therefore with low yields of the apparatus; while thermoventilators have a considerable consumption of electric power with respect to the yield which they provide, though the time required to reach operating conditions is practically immediate. They are furthermore usually noisy and not free from vibrations. Patent document CH-A-237748 describes a mobile apparatus for heating rooms, as defined in the pre-characterizing part of claim 1, comprising a radiator having a set of radiating elements, inside which there flows a diathermal fluid, rigidly associated with a supporting body and DE-A-2610977 describes an apparatus for heating rooms which has at least one thermoventilation unit for the delivery of warm air from the body. The aim proposed by the present invention is to eliminate the above described disadvantages of known devices by providing a mobile apparatus for heating rooms which has a high yield together with the fact that it can supply heat to said room immediately after its activation. Within this aim, an important object of the invention is to provide a mobile apparatus for heating rooms which has an extremely limited electric power consumption with respect to the fact of having a yield approximately 30% higher than a normal radiator. Another object of the present invention is to provide a mobile apparatus for heating rooms which allows to produce, in the room in which it is placed, a uniform air circulation so as to eliminate the difference in temperature between the lower region proximate to the floor of the room and the region proximate to the ceiling thereof even when only using air heated by a radiator containing diathermal fluid. These aims, are achieved by a mobile apparatus for heating rooms as defined in the characterizing part of claim 1. Further characteristics and advantages of the invention will become apparent from the description of a preferred but not exclusive embodiment of the mobile apparatus for heating rooms according to the invention, illustrated only by way of non-limitative example in the accompanying drawings, wherein: figure 1 is a lateral elevation view, in partial cross section, illustrating the association of the radiator with the supporting body according to the invention; and figure 2 is a view taken along the sectional line II-II of figure 1 illustrating the accommodation of the thermoventilation unit inside the radiator's supporting body. With particular reference to the above described figures, the mobile apparatus for heating rooms according to the invention, generally indicated by the reference numeral 1, comprises a radiator, generally indicated at 2, defined by a set of radiating elements, each indicated at 3, inside which there flows a superior diathermal fluid which is heated for example by means of an electric resistor 4. The radiator 2 is rigidly supported by a supporting body, generally indicated at 5, which has in its interior, as is visible in figure 2, a thermoventilation unit (6) having a fan 7 and a set of resistors 8 so as to be able to deliver warm air, through one or more flow grids 9, present on the supporting body 5, in a direction substantially orthogonal to the radiator 2. The radiating elements 3 extend with one of their portions, indicated at 10, inside the supporting body 5 so as to be proximate to the thermoventilation unit 6. Conveniently, the supporting body 5 has a plurality of fingers, each indicated at 12, which extend inside the radiating elements 3, on both sides of the supporting body 5, and so as to determine an opening 13 between two counterposed fingers 12 so as to define a plurality of preferential channels for the flow of air which is aspirated by the thermoventilation unit 6. In this manner, when the radiator has reached its optimum operating temperature, the thermoventilation unit 6 aspirates preheated air arriving from the set of radiating elements 3 which, if required, is also made to flow through the resistors 8 so as to increase its temperature. Taking into account that in a room the temperature variation between the floor and the ceiling is approximately 4 degrees, by providing a uniform air circulation it is possible to obtain with the mobile apparatus according to the invention a yield approximately 30% higher than the yield of a normal radiator since the decrease of natural convection and the increase of forced convection are determined. The thermoventilation unit 6 can furthermore perform a partial rotation about its own axis of pivoting to the supporting body so as to direct the resistors 8 either proximate to the grid 9 or partially against the portion 10 of the radiating elements cooperating to heat the diathermal oil contained therein so as to accelerate the attainment of the optimum operating temperature of the heater for the heating of the room. The operation of the mobile apparatus for heating rooms according to the invention is evident from what has been described and illustrated. In particular, since as is known a radiator operating with diathermal oil requires a rather long time to reach operating conditions from when the resistor 4 is activated to when it starts emitting heat by natural convection, it is possible to activate, simultaneously with the radiator, also the thermoventilation unit which will instead heat the air to be introduced in the room to be heated practically immediately In this manner it is possible to obtain the advantage of instantly having an initial heating of the room without waiting for the diathermal-fluid radiator to reach operating temperature. Then, when the radiator has reached its normal operating conditions, it is possible, by means of activation means such as known switches, to bypass the thermoventilation unit or to leave it operating with or without the resistors 8 activated. If the resistors 8 are deactivated, the thermoventilation unit aspirates from the preferential channels, defined by the openings 13 comprised between the fingers 12 of the supporting body, an amount of heated air which is circulated in the room. In this manner it is possible to decrease natural convection and increase forced convection obtaining, due to what has already been mentioned, a yield higher by 30% with respect to a normal radiator. If the room is particularly cold, it is furthermore possible to keep the resistors 8 activated so as to considerably increase the temperature of the air arriving preheated from the radiator to reintroduce it, through the grid 9, in the room to be heated. Evidently, when the radiator and the thermoventilation unit simultaneously heat the air the heating times of the room are considerably lower. In practice it has been observed that the mobile apparatus for heating rooms according to the invention is particularly advantageous in that it has enormous flexibility in use and has a high yield together with the fact that it can supply heat to the room immediately after its activation. Furthermore the apparatus according the invention allows to produce, in the room in which it is placed, a uniform air circulation.

Claims: 1. Mobile apparatus for heating rooms, comprising a radiator (2) having a set of radiating elements (3), inside which there flows a diathermal fluid, rigidly associated with a supporting body (5), characterized in that it comprises at least one thermoventilation unit (6) for the delivery of warm air from said supporting body in a direction substantially orthogonal to said radiator, said supporting body (5) having a plurality of fingers (12) extending substantially perpendicular between said radiating elements (3) to define therewith preferential channels (13) for the flow of air, inside said supporting body (5), to said thermoventilation unit. 2. Mobile apparatus according to claim 1, characterized in that said radiating elements (3) extend with one of their portions (10) inside said supporting body (5) proximate to said thermoventilation unit (6). 3. Mobile apparatus according to claim 1, characterized in that it comprises means for the selective activation of said radiator (2) and of said thermoventilation unit (6). 4. Mobile apparatus according to claim 1, characterized in that it comprises means for the simultaneous activation of said radiator (2) and of said thermoventilation unit (6). 5. Mobile apparatus according to claim 1, characterized in that said thermoventilation unit (6) can pivot about an axis parallel to said supporting body for the orientation of a plurality of electric resistors (8) in a direction towards said radiating elements (3) or in a direction towards a grid (9) for the flow of air outside said supporting body (5). 6. Process for the heating of rooms by a mobile apparatus according to one of claims 1 to 5, characterized in that it consists of: the activation of a radiator (2) comprising a set of radiating elements (3) inside which there flows a diathermal fluid, the activation, simultaneously with said radiator (2), of a thermoventilation unit (6) accommodated in a supporting body (5) of said radiator (2), the aspiration of air from preferential flow channels (13) of said supporting body comprised between said radiating elements (3) by means of said thermoventilation unit (6) when said radiator (2) has reached its operating temperature, the emission from said supporting body (5) of said heated air arriving from said radiating elements (3) after reheating it through a plurality of electric resistors (8) with direction substantially orthogonal to said radiator.

Inventors: DE'LONGHI, GIUSEPPE
Applicants: DE' LONGHI S.P.A.
Application year: 1988
Main classification: F24H3
IPC codes: F24H3