Convector heater with transparent combustion and air intake chambers

Abstract

 A combustion-type convector heater (1), comprising a burner for producing a flame (11) and first walls (3). These first walls (3) comprise at least one first portion transparent to visible light and form a combustion chamber (10) configured for containing the flame (11) and provided with at least one opening (12) for discharging the combustion products. The device also comprises second walls (4a) which enclose the first walls (3), protecting them from direct contact, and which comprise at least one second portion, transparent to visible light and located relative to the first transparent portion so as to allow the visible light coming from the flame (11) to be perceived from outside the convector heater (1). The first walls (3) and the second walls (4a) form between them a transit chamber (13) which constitutes at least part of a duct for the entry of combustion air to the burner (2).

Description

[0001] The present invention refers to a combustion-type convector heater, and in particular to a convector heating apparatus which radiates heat with a visible flame.

[0002] Convector heaters are devices, normally used in heating plants, which give up heat to the surrounding environment principally by way of convection. In particular, combustion-type convector heaters include inside them a burner, generally fed with combustible gas, configured for developing a flame inside a housing. The flame is thus responsible for heating the housing, which in its turn transmits the heat received to the surrounding environment principally by way of convection.

[0003] A particular embodiment of the convector heaters defined above, described in Italian patent application M02005A000262, provides for the transparency to visible light of the tubular element designed to contain the flame. As a result of the transparency of the screening element which is interposed, the flame can transmit heat by direct radiation to the external environment, serving the purpose of optimising the device's thermal output. Furthermore, the constructional solution in question confers on the heating device the illuminotechnical characteristics of a light source, an aspect which can in many cases prove to be applicationally advantageous. Finally, the visibility of the flame gives the convector heater a pleasant aesthetic aspect.

[0004] On the other hand, the convector heater described in the patent application mentioned above, when operating, draws the air for combustion directly from the room in which it is located. The device is therefore poorly suited for being installed in closed rooms because, if used there, in a short time while it creates a depression in the rooms themselves, which consequently must be ventilated.

[0005] A second problem relating to the convector heater described in the patent application concerns the need to provide a casing around the above-mentioned transparent tube for the purpose of preventing contact with the scorching-hot outer walls of the tube. This casing, made up of a grille or other similar element, obstructs the transmission of heat by direct radiation, thus reducing the thermal efficiency of the device.

[0006] An object of the present invention is to provide a combustion-type convector heater which has the advantages described with relation to the device with the transparent tube, and which can furthermore be used for heating and/or ornamenting rooms without causing a depression inside them.

[0007] One advantage of the convector heater according to the present invention derives from the fact of not requiring the presence of a casing having a specific protective function; the external wall of the tube containing the flame is in fact rendered inaccessible by the presence of other functional elements of the device.

[0008] Another advantage of the device according to the present invention derives from the fact that it resolves the described disadvantages of the known art without prejudicing the extreme compactness and simplicity, as well as the pleasant appearance, of the previous device.

[0009] Further characteristics and advantages of the device according to the present invention will appear more clearly from the detailed description which follows of a preferred embodiment of the device, made with reference to the attached drawings, provided by way of non-limiting example, in which:

• figure 1 shows a perspective view of a first embodiment of the device according to the present invention while it is in operation;
• figure 2 shows a perspective view of a second embodiment of the device according to the present invention while it is in operation;
• figure 3 shows an exploded view of the device shown in figure 1.

[0010] With reference to the above-mentioned drawings, we identify by no. 1 a combustion-type convector heater according to the invention. The device is represented in its normal operating configuration, i.e. with the tubular element within which the flame is confined vertically oriented. The positional relations between sub-elements described below in terms of relative height (for example by the use of the words 'upper' and 'lower') are to be interpreted always with reference to this operating configuration.

[0011] The convector heater 1 includes a burner 2 for producing a flame 11 and first walls 3, including in their turn at least one first portion transparent to visible light. These first walls 3 form a combustion chamber 10 configured for containing the flame 11 and provided with at least one opening 12 for discharging the combustion products. The first walls 3 can be entirely transparent to visible light; in this case the first portion corresponds to the entire extension of the said walls themselves. The characteristics described above are known from the prior patent previously cited. The device according to the present invention furthermore includes second walls 4a; 4b which enclose the first walls 3, protecting them from direct contact. The second walls 4a; 4b include at least one second portion, transparent to visible light and located relative to the first transparent portion so as to allow the visible light coming from the flame 11 to be perceived from outside the convector heater 1. The second walls 4a; 4b, too, can be entirely transparent to visible light; the second portion in this case corresponds to their entire surface. The first and second walls 3, 4a; 4b between them form a transit chamber 13 which constitutes at least part of a duct for the entry of combustion air to the burner 2.

[0012] The presence of the second walls 4a; 4b allows the elimination of both the disadvantages identified in the above analysis of the known art. In the first place, they form a duct for the entry of the combustion air to the burner 2. The duct, extending vertically towards an air intake 14, can advantageously be located in fluid communication with an external environment, ensuring a perfect draw for the convector heater 1 without prejudicing the atmospheric conditions of the room in which it is located. In relation to this aspect, it should be noted that in the preferred embodiments of the invention the duct for the entry of combustion air to the burner 2 has an air intake 14 located coaxially around the opening 12 for discharging the combustion products; as a result of this expedient, both openings can be put into communication with an external environment by performing a single connection operation.

[0013] Furthermore, the second walls 4a; 4b also perform a necessary function of protecting the first walls 3. As previously discussed, these first walls 3, having as their primary function the confinement of the flame 11, reach a particularly high temperature, even in the area of their external face; it therefore becomes necessary to prevent any direct contact with them on the part of users. The second walls 4a; 4b, surrounding the first walls 3, advantageously shield the latter from accidental contact.

[0014] In addition to the objectives achieved by the described innovative technical characteristics, the apparatus according to the invention retains unchanged its functional and aesthetic merits. As a result of the transparency of at least part of the second walls 4a; 4b, in fact the direct radiation of the flame 11 is absorbed only in minimal part; in addition, the luminosity of the flame can be easily perceived by an external observer and contributes to the purposes of the illumination of the room in which the device is located. The appearance of convector heater 1, moreover, remains substantially unchanged compared with its previous embodiment.

[0015] In the embodiments illustrated in the attached drawings, the first walls 3 have a tubular configuration, the discharge opening 12 being located in the vicinity of their upper extremity. The tubular configuration of the first walls 3 advantageously allows the formation of an inner volume which, besides functioning as a combustion chamber 10, serves also as a discharge duct for the products of this combustion as far as the discharge opening 12.

[0016] The combustion-type convector heater 1 includes in the embodiments illustrated a lower box-like structure 5, preferably made of steel, containing the burner 2, above which the first walls 3 and the second walls 4a; 4b extend vertically. The burner 2 is fixed by flange to a sheet-material upper cover 6 to the box-like structure 5 in the vicinity of a first hole 6a in the cover 6 itself. Between the two elements a plate 9 can be introduced with mounting points for fixing the lower ends of the first and second walls 3, 4a. During the operation of the device, the flame 11 generated by the burner 2 extends predominantly above the plane defined by the cover 6, and therefore outside the box-like structure 5 described above. On one lateral face of the box-like structure 5 there is a control panel 5a connected to the burner 2. The device includes furthermore a support structure for the second walls 4a; 4b, constituted by uprights 7 and a horizontal plate 8 coupled to the second walls 4a; 4b and supported by the uprights 7.

[0017] In the embodiment of the invention represented in figure 1, the second walls 4a have a tubular configuration and surround the first walls 3; between the first walls 3 and the second walls 4a an airspace is thus formed which constitutes the transit chamber 13 mentioned above. The first walls 3 and the second walls 4a have concentric cylindrical configurations with a vertical longitudinal axis. The second walls 4a are introduced so as to fit inside a second hole 8a in the horizontal plate 8; the external circumference of an upper section of the second walls 4a is therefore coupled in contact with the internal circumference of the second hole 8a.

[0018] In the embodiment specifically illustrated, the first and second walls 3, 4a, are internally transparent, in other words the first part coincides with the entire extension of the first walls 3, and the second portion coincides, similarly, with the entire extension of the second walls 4a. Alternatively, in variant embodiments not illustrated, these walls can also be only partially transparent. In any event, the first portion of the first walls 3 and the second portion of the second walls 4a are preferably adjacent tubular stretches of these walls, made out of transparent material; in the limiting case these stretches can correspond to the entire extension of the walls, as in the case illustrated in figure 1.

[0019] The first and second portions of walls 3, 4a are preferably made of perfectly transparent glass, the flame 11 thus being visible through them from outside the convector heater 1. On the other hand, the portions can also be made in translucent glass or in coloured transparent glass, so that an observer perceives the luminosity of the flame from outside, without, however, being able to clearly distinguish its shape or its colour.

[0020] In the embodiment of the invention represented in figure 2, the second walls 4b have a paralleliped conformation, being thus at a distance from the first walls 3. In the illustration, the second walls 4b coincide in part with the cover 6, with the two lateral uprights 7 and with the horizontal plate 8 of the support structure. The second walls 4b also include a second portion made up of glazed front and rear extensions which complete the parallelepiped conformation. All the walls identified therefore form the parallelepiped transit chamber 13; obviously this chamber must be airtight in order to satisfy the functional requirements of the device described. Above the horizontal plate 8 there protrude, through a second hole 8a in the plate, two concentric tubes: the inner tube is the continuation of the first walls 3 below; the outer tube has the air intake 14 in the vicinity of its upper end, and is in direct fluid communication with the transit chamber 13 below.

Claims

1. A combustion-type convector heater (1), comprising: a burner (2) for producing a flame(11); first walls (3), comprising at least one first portion transparent to visible light, forming a combustion chamber (10) configured for containing the flame (11) and provided with at least one opening (12) for discharging the combustion products; characterised by comprising also second walls (4a; 4b) which enclose the said first walls (3), protecting them from direct contact, said second walls (4a; 4b) comprising at least one second portion, transparent to visible light and located relative to the first transparent portion so as to allow the visible light coming from the flame (11) to be perceived from outside the convector heater (1); said first walls (3) and second walls (4a; 4b) forming between them a transit chamber (13) which constitutes at least part of a duct for the entry of combustion air to the burner (2).

2. A combustion-type convector heater (1) according to claim 1, characterised in that the first walls (3) have a tubular configuration, the discharge opening (12) being located in the vicinity of their upper extremity.

3. A combustion-type convector heater (1) according to claim 2, characterised in that the second walls (4b) have a paralleliped conformation, being thus at a distance from the first walls (3).

4. A combustion-type convector heater (1) according to claim 2, characterised in that the second walls (4a) have a tubular configuration and surround the first walls (3), an airspace being formed between first walls (4a) and second walls (3) which constitutes the transit chamber (13).

5. A combustion-type convector heater (1) according to claim 4, characterised in that the first walls (4a) and the second walls (3) have concentric cylindrical configurations with vertical longitudinal axis.

6. A combustion-type convector heater (1) according to claim 5, characterised in that the first portion of the first walls (3) and the second portion of the second walls (4a) are adjacent tubular stretches of said walls made of transparent material;

7. A combustion-type convector heater (1) according to claim 6, characterised in that said first and second portions are made of perfectly transparent glass, the flame (11) being visible through them from outside the convector heater (1).

8. A combustion-type convector heater (1) according to one of the preceding claims, characterised in that it comprises a box-like lower structure (5) containing the burner (2), above which the first walls (3) and the second walls (4a; 4b) extend vertically.

9. A combustion-type convector heater (1) according to claim 8, characterised in that it comprises a support structure for the second walls (4a; 4b), constituted by uprights (7) and a horizontal plate (8) coupled to the second walls (4a; 4b) and supported by said uprights (7).

10. A combustion-type convector heater (1) according to one of the preceding claims, characterised in that the duct for the entry of combustion air to the burner (2) has an air intake (14) located coaxially around the opening (12) for discharging the combustion products.

Drawing