The present invention relates to a heating system comprised by a plurality of heating units.
Modular heating systems are known in the art. Example of such modular system is disclosed in U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2015/0253037.
According to one aspect of the presently disclosed subject matter, there is provided a heating system, which when assembled, comprises at least two heating devices, each having side, front and rear walls extending between upper and lower walls of the device all defining therebetween an interior of the heating device, and each comprising an air inlet configured to allow air flow into said interior and an exhaust outlet in gas communication with said interior to carry exhaust away therefrom during operation of the device.
The above system can have a partition constituting at least a part of one wall of each of the devices, which separates between the interiors thereof, the partition having upper, lower, rear and front edges, which are disposed adjacent the respective upper, lower, rear and front walls of the two devices.
The above system can further have a sealing arrangement mounted at least along the upper, lower and rear edges of the partition to at least reduce a heat transfer between the interiors of the two devices at said edges so as to allow individual heating operation of each of the heating devices.
The above system can further have connection elements, by virtue of which said two heating devices are fixedly attached to each other so as to have a common front wall constituted by the front walls of the two devices, the common front wall being seen from an exterior of the system as a single front face of the system.
Each of the heating devices can have a longitudinal axis extending within the interior of the heating device along the front, rear, upper and lower walls thereof so as to cross the side walls of the device.
The heating devices can be so attached to each other that their longitudinal axes are aligned, the partition being oriented perpendicularly to these axes and constituting a common side wall of the devices.
The heating devices can be so attached to each other that their longitudinal axes form an angle with each other, the partition being oriented so as to form corresponding angles with the longitudinal axes of the devices, and constituting a side wall of a first one of the two devices and an extension of the front wall of a second one of the devices.
The partition can be perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of the first device and parallel to the longitudinal axis of the second device.
According to another aspect of the presently disclosed subject matter, there is provided a kit for assembling the above heating system.
The kit can comprise at least two units each configured to be assembled in the system so as to independently function as one of the heating devices having its own interior, each unit having an air inlet configured to allow air flow into the interior and an exhaust outlet in gas communication with said interior to carry exhaust away therefrom, in operation of the device, the units each being free of a front wall and a wall which can be used for separating between the interiors of the devices, these walls being other than upper, lower and rear walls of the units; complementary walls configured to be mounted to the units during assembly of the system to convert them into the heating devices each having its own interior, the complementary walls including at least a partition configured to be mounted between the units so as to separate between the interiors of the two devices; the partition having an upper, lower, rear and front edge and having such shape and dimension as to allow these edges to be disposed adjacent the respective upper, lower, rear and front walls of the two units.
The kit can further include a sealing arrangement mounted, or configured to be mounted, along the upper, lower and rear edges of the partition to at least reduce heat transfer between the interiors of the two devices at said edges, when the two units are fixedly attached to each other, so as to allow each of the devices to operate individually within said system.
The complementary walls can further include at least one wall configured to provide each of the two devices with its front wall and to constitute a common front wall of the system seen from an exterior of the system as a single front face thereof;
The kit can further include connecting elements configured to fixedly attach said units to each other at their upper, lower and rear walls; and
Each unit has a longitudinal axis extending along the rear, upper and lower walls thereof.
The units can be configured to be so attached to each other that their longitudinal axes are aligned, the partition being configured for mounting between the two units perpendicularly to these axes and so as to constitute a common side wall of the devices.
The units can be configured to be so attached to each other that their longitudinal axes form an angle with each other, the partition being configured for mounting in such orientation as to form corresponding angles with the longitudinal axes of the devices, and as so as to constitute a side wall of a first one of the two devices and an extension of the front wall of a second one of the devices.
The partition can be configured for mounting so as to be perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of the first unit and be parallel to the longitudinal axis of the second unit.
In order to better understand the subject matter that is disclosed herein and to exemplify how it may be carried out in practice, embodiments will now be described, by way of non-limiting example only, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:
As best seen in
The front flanges 2R and 2L of the heating devices 10 are each defined by a respective front flange top edge 2R′, 2L′, front flange bottom edge 2R″, 2L″, and front flange side edge 2R′″, 2L′″ extending therebetween and spaced from the attachment flange 3R, 3L of the heating device.
The attachment flanges 3R and 3L of the heating devices 10 are each defined by a respective attachment flange top edge 3R′, 3L′, attachment flange bottom edge 3R″, 3L″, and attachment flange rear edge 3R′″, 3L′″ extending therebetween.
More particularly, as seen in
top walls 12R and 12L whose front edges constitute the front flange top edges 2R′ and 2L′ and whose associated side edges constitute the attachment flange top edges 3R′ and 3L′,
bottom walls 13R and 13L whose front edges constitute the front flange bottom edges 2R″ and 2L″ and whose associated side edges constitute the attachment flange bottom edges 3R″ and 3L″,
rear walls 15R and 15L, whose associated side edges constitute the attachment flange rear edges 3R′″ and 3L′″; and
side walls 11R and 11L, whose front edges spaced from the attachment flanges 3R and 3L constitute the front flange side edges 2R′″ and 2L′″.
The system 1 can further comprises top, bottom and rear connection and sealing elements (not shown in
The system 1 further comprises a transparent partition 11 having a partition upper edge 11U sealingly received within or connected to the top attachment area 62, a partition lower edge 11L sealingly received within or connected to the bottom 63 attachment area, a partition rear edge 11R sealingly received within or connected to the rear attachment area 65, and a partition front edge 11F.
The system 1 further comprises transparent front walls 14R and 14L connected to the front flanges 2R and 2L of the heating devices 10 and glued to each other at a seam area 66 by a transparent glue to form a single transparent front wall 14 of the system 1. As seen in
As shown in
The front wall 14, whether seamless or constituted by the front walls 14R and 14L as described above, and the partition 11, can be made of glass or transparent thermo-resistant plastic, so that the partition can be invisible from an exterior of the system though the front walls, and the two interiors 18R and 18L can be seen as a single continuous interior 18 of the system. The glue, by which the two front walls 14R and 14L, and optionally also the partition 11, can be connected to each other along their associated edges can be any transparent glue such as a silicone glue.
With reference to
With the above arrangement, each of the heating devices 10R and 10L can be individually operated and controlled, and can thus include a separate gas line, burner assembly and control unit (not shown).
Due to the use of the sealing elements at the attachment areas 62, 63, 65, the heat loss thereat from the interiors of the two devices during operation of the heating system 1 is avoided or at least reduced, allowing each of the heating devices 10R and 10L to maintain their planned heat regime, and the operation of one heating device does not affect the heat regime of the other heating device. In a specific example in which the heating devices are operated by a remote control, a single remote controller can control both heating devices.
Prior to being assembled to become the heating device 10 in the system 1 as shown in
Thus, to produce the heating system 1 shown in
the connecting and sealing elements;
the partition 11; and
the front walls 14.
One example of connecting and sealing elements, which can be used in the system 1 to connect to each other the units 100 described above will now be described in detail with reference to
In the specific example shown in
More particularly, the members 21 and 23 are configured to be fixed with their first portions to the corresponding top walls of the units 100 on two sides of the outer portion of the top attachment area 62 and with their second portions to each other by any suitable mechanical means such as bolts and nuts, screws, rivet and/or by welding, and the members 22 and 24 are fixed with their first portions to the corresponding outer portion of the bottom attachment area 63 and with their second portions to each other by any suitable mechanical means, such as bolts and nuts, screws, rivet and/or by welding. In the described example, the right and left top and bottom connecting members have an elongated L-shaped profile defined by two ribs, of which one rib constitutes the above first portion and the other—the above second portion.
In general, the top and bottom connecting members may be different from or identical to each other. In the present example, there is a pair of two identical connecting members for each of the heating devices 10R and 10L.
In the example shown in
In the example shown in
All the gaskets can be in the form of strips of a flexible material durable to the heat produced by the heating devices 10. To facilitate their staying in place during the assembly and use of the system 1, the gaskets can have an adhesive coating along at least a part of their surfaces.
In the example of
The heating system 200 comprises two heating devices 210 having the same structure of the heating devices 10, but having their longitudinal axes perpendicular to each other. In the described example, the number of the heating devices is two, and they will further be referred to either as ‘the heating devices 210’ or as ‘a right heating device 210R’ and ‘a left device 210L’, however a system according to the presently disclosed subject matter can have three or more such devices, at least two of which can be as described herein with reference to the heating devices 210.
Similarly to the heating devices 10, the heating devices 210R and 210L have respective front flanges 202R and 202L and attachment flanges 203R and 203L, at which the heating devices are fixedly and sealingly attached to each other, so that their front flanges are perpendicular to each other to constitute a single front flange 202 of the system 200.
The front flange 202R, 202L of each of the heating devices is defined by a front flange top edge 202R′, 202L′, a front flange bottom edge 202R″, 202L″, and a front flange side edge 202R′″, 202L′″ extending therebetween and spaced from the attachment flange 203R, 203L of the heating device.
The attachment flange 203R, 203L of each of the heating devices 210 is defined by respective attachment flange top edge 203R′, 203L′, an attachment flange bottom edge 203R″, 203L″, and an attachment flange rear edge 203R′″, 203L′″ extending therebetween.
More particularly, similarly to both heating devices 10, the left heating device 210L comprises:
a top wall 212L whose front edge constitutes the front flange top edge 202L′ and whose side edge disposed adjacent right heating device constitutes the attachment flange top edge 203L′,
a bottom wall 213L whose front edge constitutes the front flange bottom edge 202L″ and whose side edge disposed adjacent the right heating device constitutes the attachment flange bottom edge 203L″, and
a rear wall 215L whose side edge disposed adjacent the right heating device constitutes the attachment flange rear edge 203L′″, and
a side wall 211L, whose front edge spaced from the attachment flange 203R constitutes the front flange side edge 202L′″.
The right heating device 210R, however, is different from the left heating device 210L as follows:
though it has a top wall 212R similar to that of the left heating device, a part of its front edge constitutes the front flange top edge 202R′ and the remainder of its front edge constitutes the attachment flange top edge 203R′;
though it has a bottom wall 213R similar to that of the left heating device, a part of its front edge constitutes the front flange bottom edge 202R″ and the remainder of its front edge constitutes the attachment flange bottom edge 203R″; and
it has two side walls 211R and 221, between which a rear wall 215R extends and of which the side wall 221 that is disposed adjacent the rear wall of the left heating device has a front edge constituting the attachment flange rear edge 203R″.
The system 200 has top, bottom and rear connection and sealing elements (not seen) used to provide a fixed connection between the respective top and bottom walls of the heating devices 210, as well as connection between the side wall 221 of the right heating device and the rear wall 215L of the left heating, at their respective attachment flanges, and forming top, bottom and rear attachment areas therebetween generally designated as 262, 263, 265 and similar to the respective attachment areas 62, 63 and 65 of the system 1.
The system 200 further comprises a transparent partition 211 having a partition upper edge 211U sealingly connected to the top attachment area 262, a partition lower edge 211L sealingly connected to the bottom attachment area 263 and a partition rear edge 211R sealingly connected to the rear attachment area 265; the transparent partition 211 further include a front edge 211F.
The system 200 further comprises transparent front walls 214R and 214L connected to the front flanges 202R and 202L of the heating devices and oriented perpendicularly to each other, the front walls being connected to each other so as to form a common front wall 214 of the system.
Reverting to
The front wall 214 can be produced as a single unitary body, and in any case this wall or the front walls 214R and 214L constituting it as described above, as well as the partition 211, can be made of glass or transparent thermo-resistant plastic, so that the partition can be invisible from an exterior of the system though the front wall, and the two interiors 218R and 218L can be seen as a single continuous interior 218 of the system. The glue, by which the two front walls 214R and 214L and, optionally, the partition 211, can be connected to each other at the area 266 can be any transparent glue such as a silicone glue.
The front wall 214, i.e. its portions 214R and 214L, and the partition 211 can be made of glass or transparent thermo-resistant plastic, so that the two interiors 218R and 218L can be seen from an exterior of the system as a single L-shaped interior 218 of the system. The glue, by which the two front walls 214R and 214L and the partition 211 can be connected to each other along their associated edges can be any transparent glue such as a silicone glue.
Further features of the heating devices 210 such as those connected with their capability of functioning as individually operable and controllable heating devices, can be fully identical to those described above with respect to the heating devices 10.
The connecting and sealing components of the system 200 and the method of assembling the system 200 using them can also be similar to those described above with respect to the system 10. Moreover, the heating devices 210 can be assembled from units designated as 210′ and 210″ in
In all the above embodiments, side walls of the heating devices not participating in the attachment thereof to each other can be made of the same material as the front wall, if it is desired for them to be transparent, or made of the same material as the other non-transparent walls of the heating devices.
A skilled person in the art will understand that above description is mostly directed to features of the heating devices that are relevant to their use as modules for producing modular systems similar to the systems 10 and 200, and that the heating devices can have any other features known in the art whose description herein was not deemed to be relevant.
Number | Name | Date | Kind |
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4485797 | D'Alessandro | Dec 1984 | A |
20140083309 | Reese | Mar 2014 | A1 |
20150253037 | Rumens et al. | Sep 2015 | A1 |
Number | Date | Country |
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2015134803 | Sep 2015 | WO |
Entry |
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Davinci Custom Fireplaces, “Category I, II, III, & IV Fireplaces—3Ft to 21 Ft”, Mar. 2017, 24 pages. |
Davinci Custome Fireplaces, “Category 2 & 3 Owner's Manual”, 2016, 98 pages. |
Number | Date | Country | |
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20190242619 A1 | Aug 2019 | US |
Number | Date | Country | |
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62626938 | Feb 2018 | US |