Improvements in Heat Radiators.
Year: 1898

page_text: Date of Application, 28th June, 1898-Accepted, 30th July, 1898
Improvements in Heat Radiators.
I, MICHAEL MARY BROPHY, of the Firm of James Slater & Co., 251, High
Holborn, in the County of London, Engineers, do hereby declare the nature of
this invention and in what manner the same is to be performed to be particularly
described and ascertained in and by the following statement: —
My invention relates to heat radiators of the kind described in the Specification
of former Letters Patent granted to me No. 5146 of 1894 wherein hinged leaves
or coils are employed for facilitating cleaning, the object of the present invention
being to simplify the construction of such apparatus and increase the facility with
which the access to the various parts can be obtained.
According to my present invention instead of hinging the leaves upon a post
or upright which formed no part of the heating system, I now hinge them upon
a post which forms a part of the return pipe through which the water or steam
flows after having passed through the heating coil or coils. I also provide novel
arrangements for forming the joints at the hinges of the several leaves and for
preventing steam, or water from entering a leaf or leaves from the return pipe.
To enable my invention to be fully understood I will describe the same by
reference to the accompanying drawing in which:-
Figure 1 is a sectional side elevation of an apparatus provided with a single
movable leaf or coil; and
Figure 2 is a section on the line 2-2 Figure 1:
Figure 3 is a plan view illustrating the arrangement of a radiator having a
series of leaves or coils.
a is the hanging post or pillar which is adapted to be securely fixed to the floor
of the building or apartment in which the radiator is to be fixed and which in the
case of hospitals or other buildings having concrete, stone or like floors is advan-
tageously formed at the lower end, as shewn in Figure 1, so that it may be
embedded in the floor but which may be otherwise formed and fixed. This pillar
is made hollow and adapted to have connected to it either at the lower or upper
end or at both ends the return pipe a¹ for the water or steam.
When the return pipe serves also for a coil upon a floor above I advantageously
arrange that the pipe shall be connected with the pillar at the upper end by an
expansion joint. The form of expansion joint which I advantageously make use
of is shewn at b in Figure 1. This joint comprises the spigot end c adapted to slide
in a socket d in the upper end of the pillar a and a packing glande which serves
to compress a ring f of packing in a groove formed partly in the gland itself and
partly in a screw cap 9 (hereinafter described) on the upper end of the pillar.
h, i are two brackets which are bored out to fit correspondingly turned portions
on the pillar a, the said brackets having in the portions which project from the
pillar sockets for receiving the hinge terminals of the leaf.
In the turned portion of the pillar upon which the bracket h is fitted a hole j is
formed and the bracket his formed with a channel and with the inlet passage
1.

page_text: By thus arranging a channel k in the said bracket through communication
between the passage and the interior of the pillar through the opening or
openings always exists no matter what may be the relative positions of the bracket
and the said pillar. In cases where the return pipe instead of extending through
the floor as shewn in Figure 1 is to be carried above the floor I form the said
bracket with a socket h¹, (as shewn in Figure 1) to which the return pipe can
be connected. If desired the channel k shewn in Figure 1 can be dispensed with
if the passage and the holes in the pillar are made to correspond.
m, m are packing rings and n is a nut screwed on to the pillar, the said nut
serving for retaining the bracket in its proper position upon the pillar and also for
compressing the packing rings to form a tight joint for preventing the escape of
water or steam. The upper bracket i is held in position by the screw cap g here-
inbefore referred to, a packing ring gl being arranged between the said ring and
the top of the bracket for preventing leakage.
o is a hinged leaf provided with a series of heating pipes p, p fixed at their ends
to the castings q, r, which for convenience of description I will term junction pipes.
The junction pipe q has a series of apertures into which the pipes p, pare fixed by
means of a tube expander inserted through holes in the back of the said junction
pipe, which holes are ultimately closed by plugs s, s; and the junction piper is
provided with a series of nozzles upon which the tubes are fitted as will be clearly
understood by reference to Figure 1. The junction pipe g at its lower end is
fitted into a bush t inserted into the upper end of the projecting portion of the
bracket and is provided with a collar having a groove which is adapted to fit
over the upper end of the bush and to contain a ring of packing material for
preventing leakage between the bush and the said junction tube. The upper end of
the junction tube is constructed in a similar manner to the lower end and is provided
with a collar u having a groove a similar to the collar and groove t¹, t, the exterior
of the collar u fitting in the lower end of the socket in the upper bracket i.
Over the upper end of the junction pipe q is fitted a cap the lower end of
which rests upon packing material in the groove u whilst the upper end of the said
cap is formed with an aperture to which the flow pipe wo for the steam or water
is fitted; as shewn in the drawing, this pipe w is provided with an expansion
joint similar to the expansion joint b hereinbefore described. Around the
cap is a screw collar which is inserted into the upper end of the socket of
the bracket and presses against a spring which at its lower end bears against
a shoulder on the cap and serves to press the lower end of the said cap against
the packing in the groove u¹ to form a tight joint around the upper end of the
junction tube q. This arrangement for hinging the leaf o permits of the latter
being turned in any direction in order to afford access to all the parts for cleaning
the same.
In practice the packing material in the grooves 2, 1, has placed upon it a thin
metallic washer for the purpose of preventing the packing being unnecessarily
worn when the leaf is moved.
With the apparatus herein before described the steam or hot water enters the coil
through the pipe w whence it flows from the upper part of the junction pipe q
(the said pipe having in it a partition as indicated at r in Figure 1) and the
pipes p, p connected therewith into the junction piper and thence through the
lower tubes p back to the junction pipe q whence it flows through the passage 1,
channel k and openings j, jį to the interior of the pillar a and to the return pipe.
A suitable valve is provided in connection with the flow pipe w for shutting off
the supply of heating fluid when required.
In order that when the fluid is so shut off the steam or hot water from the return
pipe shall not flow back into the coil through the passage I arrange in connection
with the lower end of the junction pipe 9 a valve y which is normally pressed
against its seat by a spring y¹, the said spring being sufficiently light to allow the
valve to open under the action of the fluid entering through the flow pipe w. The

page_text: valve y as shewn is carried upon a study on a plug y³ which is inserted into
the lower end of the socket of the bracket h.
z is a supporting wheel which, when my invention is applied to heavy coils, serves
to facilitate the movement of the same and to relieve the joints of any unnecessary
strain; and z¹ is a cock for allowing the escape of air from the pipes.
When two or more leaves or coils are to be arranged to form a radiator the
brackets h and i are each provided with a number of sockets corresponding with
the number of coils to be employed. In fixing these brackets they are preferably
arranged at such an angle, for instance as shewn in Figure 3, that each leaf can be
turned back to a position say at right angles to the wall against which the radiator
is placed, that is to say, from the position shewn in full lines in the said figure to
the position indicated by the dotted lines. The arrangement of the channel k
within the lower bracket h readily permits of this adjustment of the bracket without
interfering with the water passages.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said
invention and in what manner the same is to be performed I declare that what
I claim is:-
1. In a heat radiator having the coil or coils hinged, mounting the said coils
upon a pillar which forms part of the circulating system, substantially as described.
2. In a heat radiator having one or more leaves or coils hinged in connection
with a pillar which forms part of the circulating system, the arrangement of an
expansion joint in connection with the said pillar, substantially as described.
3. In a heat radiator having one or more leaves or coils hinged upon a pillar
which forms part of the circulating system, the arrangement of the brackets pro-
vided with sockets for receiving the hinge portions of the leaves, substantially as
described.
4. In a heat radiator having one or more leaves or coils hinged upon a pillar
which forms part of the circulating system, means substantially as hereinbefore
described for forming the joints around the hinge portions of the said leaves,
substantially as described.
5. In a heat radiator having one or more hinged leaves or coils constructing the
said coils, substantially in the manner hereinbefore described.
6. In a heat radiator having one or more hinged leaves or coils carried by a pillar
which forms part of the circulating system, the arrangement of a back pressure
valve for preventing the entrance of the heating fluid into the said coil or coils
from the return pipe, substantially as described.
7. The manufacture and use of heat radiators, constructed substantially in the
manner hereinbefore described and illustrated in the accompanying drawings.
Dated the 28th day of June 1898.
G. F. REDFERN & Co.,
4, South Street, Finsbury, London, Agents for the Applicant.