WO1999028184A1

WO1999028184A1 - System of heating by electricity for diffused warmth in boats

Info

Publication number: WO1999028184A1
Application number: PCT/IT1997/000313
Authority: WO
Inventors: Aldo Stabile
Original assignee: Cadif SRL
Current assignee: Cadif SRL
Priority date: 1997-11-27
Filing date: 1997-12-17
Publication date: 1999-06-10
Anticipated expiration: 2000-05-27
Also published as: AU3587299A; IT1296591B1; ITMI972634A1

Abstract

System for electric heating of boats (110) in general by direct transformation of electric energy between 12 and 24 Volts into diffused warmth at 70°-80° by means of a continuous copper band (135) having an extremely high ratio between width of the section and thickness measurable in microns, laid flat on the thin sheet (134) of a modular transportable panel (120, 125, 130, 131), that can also be supported on a stand, made in units for association even to mirrors (80) and to a clothes drier, adaptable by size, power and shape to the flat or curved surfaces in the boat and therefore also to the mast (111) of a sailing boat, utilizable both for environmental heating and for most of such other needs in boats (110).

Description

System of heating by electricity for diffused warmth in boats

The invention concerns environmental heating in boats.

Some of the specific features of boats are the extremely limited space, a high risk of fire, a great deal of humidity both on deck and below, for the very fact that it is surrounded by water, limited autonomy of energy resources.

For all these reasons heating presents considerable problems: on account of the risk of fire, of the need to avoid sudden differences between environmental temperature close to heating bodies and that away from them, of structural complexity and therefore of the volumes to warm, as well as the difficulty of devotng the limited resources of available energy to this purpose. The above invention helps to solve these problems to the great advantage of users as will now be explained.

Subject of the invention is a system of heating boats in general by electricity whereby low-voltage electric energy is directly transformed into diffused warmth, using a low-temperature electric element formed of a highly conductive continuous band, whose thickness is measurable in microns, of constant width having an extremely high ratio between width of the section and thickness, said band being placed flat in lengths laid side by side and electrically insulated, on a thin sheet. Said sheet matches at the front, with electrical insulation with a protective and decorative lamina and at the rear with a heat insulating plate and forms a flat or curved transportable panel, made in units so that its dimensions, and therefore its power and shape, can be adapted to the^" various flat or curved areas in the boat. During transformation of electric energy into thermal energy, temperature of the electric heating element is advantageously of about 70-80°C Voltage of current applied to the panel is preferably from 12 to 24 Volt. Electric power of the panel is preferably between 50 and 220 Watt. The group formed by the panel's components is held together by a quadrangular frame consisting of four lengths of a metal U-shaped channel joined at the four corners by a corner piece, to form a substantially quadrangular channel open towards the inside of the frame. In this way the frame can be adapted to a group of components of practically any size, using lengths of U-shaped channel corresponding to the sides of said group.

The panel made for sailing boats with one or more masts is semi- cylindrical in shape having an internal radius corresponding to the external radius of the masts. A pair of such semi-cylindrical panels can be applied to fit round a mast and be joined by hooks or similar means placed either on the panels or on the mast.

The panel is fitted where required in the boat, matching with the walls or placed against the bodies in general present in the different rooms, held in position by hooks or equivalent means for maximum use of space. This is made possible by the absence of high temperatures to cause over heating.

Advantageously the panel can be provided with a supporting stand. The stand is formed of a quadrangular plate associated to two flat triangular lateral parts by hinges between the two lateral edges of said plate and the inclined edges of said lateral parts.

The bases of said lateral parts, in contact with the floor, extend beyond the geometrical axes of said hinges to form a hook open uppermost. When out of use the stand can be made compact for easy storage turning the square plate in line with the lateral parts on the same plane while, when in use, said parts can be turned on their hinges at substantially 90° to said plate to lie behind the quadrangular plate where they are fixed by suitable locking means. The panel is placed on said stand by fitting its lower edge inside U- shaped recesses in the sides and resting it on the quadrangular plate so that it can be used at any point in the boat where warmth is needed to offset adverse climatic conditions. The means for locking the sides of the stand when in use consist of a pair of elastic tongues fixed to the quadrangular plate close to the axis of the hinges and facing towards them, and provided with a U-shaped end hook within which a short rod placed in a recess in the sides near to said hinges can be fitted. In one type of execution the panel is associated to a clothes drier by means of a horizontal oblong box-shaped body applicable to any flat wall. Said oblong body comprises two end downward-facing tabs onto which the panel is articulated, and have at the top an oblong aperture within which a quadrangular frame can freely slide inside which top the end of a grill, on which wet clothing can be hung, is articulated. With the grill inside the frame, said frame can be slid inside the aperture in the oblong body and remain lodged between the wall, carrying said oblong body, and the rotated panel which thus remains parallel to said wall for use as a heater. To dry the clothes the frame must be raised till the grill is fully extracted and then turned at 90° to a horizontal position, simultaneously turning the panel up till its position too is horizontal and its heat radiating surface is facing the grill.

Automatic means are provided to keep the grill and the panel in said horizontal positions. By heat radiation from the panel the clothes can be dried, and when dry the frame, grill and panel can be returned to their non-operative positions. In another type of execution the front radiating surface of the panel is matched, after interposition of an electrically insulating layer, with the rear surface of a mirror.

It is thus possible to install said panel in bathrooms on boats using heat radiation inwards through the front transparent surface of the mirror to ^" warm both the room and the mirror itself which therefore does not become steamed up when humidity exceeds certain levels.

The panel is best made in various sizes and electric powers to suit it to all the available spaces and specific structures of the boat. The ratio between dimensions of the panel and its electric power are preferably as follows: - panel cm 30 x 30, power 50 Watt,

- panel cm 40 x 40, power 120 Watt,

- panel cm 20 x 60, power 100 Watt,

- panel cm 20 x 95, power 120 Watt.

- panel cm 30 x 95, power 200 Watt The invention offers evident advantages.

The temperature, which may even not exceed 80°C, of the panels subject of the present invention, avoids any risk of fire and makes the boat more habitable as, close to the panels, there are practically no areas that are too hot for ordinary use, or other areas, away from the panels, where temperatures are too low. The low temperatures of the panels and diffusion of heat by radiation ensures in practice that there are no inhabitable areas within the environment warmed in this way. The fact that the panels can be set up in any size makes them adaptable to the dimensions of different parts of the boat where they fit in well with the structural characteristics of said parts.

The ease with which the panels can be given any useful shape means that they can be placed where there are flat walls as well as in more complex cases where the walls may even be cylindrical such as round the masts in sailing boats. The possibility of using a single panel both for warmth and for drying clothes solves an ever present problem of drying the laundry in boats where it is almost impossible to do this quickly and easily without creating extra humidity in bathrooms as at present designed. The low temperatures, avoiding all risk of fire, at which these panels operate, their low voltages avoiding all risk of accidents, their construction in units, adaptability to various shapes and their high levels of efficiency, ^" make possible creation of maximum comfort for users at a minimum cost even in those parts of boats where problems of position, level and dimensions would normally arise.

The extreme versatility and specific advantages are evident where a heating system is obtainable by modular unit panels for transformation of electric energy into thermal energy already diffused and therefore at low temperatures and voltages.

Any part of the boat, living and sleeping quarters, toilets, passages and galley can all be warmed without any danger of fire from over-heating, with no problems of high voltage, with no unwarmed areas, with specific action against damp, not only in keeping people warm but even for drying wet clothing, and this in any type of boat not only engine-driven but also in sailing boats.

Characteristics and purposes of the disclosure will be made still clearer by the following examples of its execution illustrated by diagrammatically drawn figures. Fig. 1 An ordinary type of engine-driven boat warmed by electric heat diffusion panels subject of the invention, plan view. Fig. 2 Detail of a flat panel with frame in units, exploded view. Fig. 3 Perspective of a detail of a corner of the unit frame. Fig. 4 Panel set up on a floor stand, perspective. Fig. 5 The stand made flat with lateral parts turned forward . Fig. 6 Perspective of the stand in its operative position. Fig. 7 Panel with grill for laundry, closed, mounted on a door, perspective Fig. 8 Panel as above with the laundry grill extracted. Fig. 9 Panel as above with the grill ready for laundry. Fig.10 Ordinary type of sailing boat, showing panels for electric heat diffusion subject of the invention, plan view.

The boat 10 presents a hull 11 , engine room 12 with engines 13, cabins 14 and 16, bathrooms 17 and 18, with a door 21 , a cabin 19 in the bows, a central passage 20.

The panel 25 is placed in the engine room, panels 30 and 60 are placed respectively in the cabins 14 and 16, panels 27 are placed on the two walls of the cabin in the bows, panels 80 are placed on the walls of the bathrooms adjacent to the toilets, the clothes-drier panel 90 is placed on the door 21 of the bathroom 18.

The structure of said panels is substantially similar to that of panel 30 shown exploded in Figure 2. Said panel 30 comprises the plastic lamina 36 with a decoration on the front face 37, the lamina 38 of fiberglass, the slab 39 of foam plastic, the rear lamina 40 and a frame 50.

On the face 42 of the fiber glass lamina 38 is a copper serpentine 43 of constant section obtained by a galvanic process, of a thickness measurable in microns, connected at the two ends by flat terminals 44, 45, in turn connected by wires 48 to an electric wire 46 with plug 47 for plugging into the main electric system of the boat.

The frame 50 is formed of four equal pieces of inward-facing U-shaped channeling 51. These channels are joined at their ends by corner pieces 53 that comprise the pairs of tongues 54 and 55 of a size able to penetrate inside the U-shaped channel and so placed that their outer surfaces match with the inner walls of said channel.

The corner pieces 53 are joined to the channels 51 by screws 56 that, penetrating through the cylindrical grooves at each end of said corner piece, screw into the longitudinal groove 58 made centrally in the base of said channels.

The wires 48 connected to the terminals 44 and 45 of the serpentine 43 pass inside one of the corner pieces 53. The wire 46 with plug 47 departs from one side of said corner piece. On inserting all the above listed parts, namely the decorative lamina 36, the fiber glass lamina 38, the slab of insulating plastic material 39 and the rear lamina 40 inside the four opposing channels, forming a frame 50 by joining up the corner pieces 53 with the channels 51 , the whole panel is then fitted together in a stable manner.

As seen in Figure 4, the panel 60 substantially the same as panel 30, is supported by the stand 65 formed of a front plate 66 joined by lateral hinges 67 to two triangular side parts 68 whose lower ends extend at the front and there become two upward-facing hooks 69.

For purposes of storage the stand 65 assumes the form seen in Figure 5 with the front plate 66 on the same plane as the lateral parts 68. In its operating position the stand presents the form in Figure 6. The side parts 68 are fixed orthogonally to the front plate 66, by means of the tongues 70 connected by the hinge 71 to the bottom of a recess made about halfway up the side of the plate 66.

At the end 75 of said tongue 70 is a U-shaped fork 76 with tabs 77 having internal opposing ridges at their ends. The space between said ridges is less than the diameter of the rods 78 placed inside the recesses 72 made centrally in the side, of the triangular lateral parts of the stand, joined to the front plate 66 by the hinges 67. To fix the two lateral parts 68 in their working position, seen in Figure 6, both orthogonal to the front plate 66, the pair of tongues 77 have only to be pressed against the pair of rods 78 and to snap said rods 78 inside the U-shaped forks 76.

In this working position the panel 60 can be easily and conveniently inserted in the pair of hooks 69 as seen in Figure 4. This is useful in all cases where extra heating is required, such as the example shown in Figure 1 where the panel 60 is placed beween the two beds 33 and 34 to augment the warmth generated by the panel 30 placed at the head end of the beds.

For the bathrooms 17 and 18, heating is assured, without taking up space, by associating the structure of the described panels to the mirror 81 in said bathrooms. The resulting panel 80 generates heat by means of the copper serpentine 82 supported by the fiber glass lamina 83 in turn matching with the slab of heat-insulating plastic foam 84, by plugging in the electric terminals of the serpentine to the boat's main electricity supply. This not only warms the bathroom but also stops the mirror from steaming up as generally happens in such an environment due to damp.

Figures 7-9 illustrate the panel 90 placed on the door that separates the cabin 16 from the bathroom 18. Said panel is associated to a clothes drier 91 formed of a quadrangular frame 92 that can slide down vertically inside the oblong head 93 fixed to the door and that includes a pair of tabs 94 onto which the panel 90 is articulated by pins 95.

Said head 92 can be made to slide vertically through the aperture 96 in said head 93, This aperture permits free vertical movement of the frame

92 so that it remains enclosed within the cavity between the panel 90 and the door 21 (Figure 7).

Figure 8 shows the position of the frame 92 when fully drawn upward. In that position the grill 97 is visible with the bars 98 on which to hang laundry 102 to be dried.

Said clothes drier can turn on pins 99 in the sides of the frame 92.

The clothes drier 91 can thus assume its horizontal working position as illustrated in Figure 9.

The same Figure 9 shows the panel 90 this too given a horiizontal position by turning it round the hinges 95.

By its electrical connections 100 that bring current to the serpentine 101 , in its vertical position seen in Figure 7, the panel 90 can radiate warmth into the environment while in the position seen in Figure 9 it sends heat up to the laundry 102 hung to dry on the clothes drier. Said panel 90 is substantially similar to the panel already described in

Figure 2 and therefore consists of a front lamina 103, a fiber glass lamina

104 to carry the band resistance 101 and the insulating slab 105.

By its electrical connections 107, the panel is plugged into the wall plug

108 and so to the boat's main electricity supply. Figure 10 shows the sailing boat 110.

The sails are carried by the mast 11 1.

As seen in Figure 10, a panel 120, placed in the sitting room 112, is similar to panel 30, the only difference being in the great length of the horizontal sides 121 in relation to the vertical sides 122. In the space 113 in the bows, a panel 125 is placed, this being similar to those already described except that length and width are different. Power of panel 120 is 200 Watt while that of panel 125 is 100 Watt. Above the basin 115 in the bathroom 114 is a panel 80 with mirror, identical to that described and installed in the engine-driven boat 10. The dinette 116 associated to the galley area 1 17 is advantageously heated by the pair of panels 130, 131 , substantially the same as those already described, except that they are semi-cylindrical in shape with an internal radius corresponding to the external radius of the mast 111. The two panels 130, 131 are held together by the hook 132. In addition to the external lamina 133, the fiber glass lamina 134, the electric serpentine 135, the slabs of insulating material 139, 140, are also visible as well as the electric terminals 136 and the external wires 137 connecting to the plug 138 mounted onto the mast 1 11.

Claims

1. System for electric heating of boats (10, 110) in general, characterized in that low-voltage electric energy is directly transformed into diffused warmth by a low-temperature electric resistance formed of a continuous band (43, 82, 101 , 135) of high electric conductivity, of a thickness measurable in microns, of constant width with an extremely high ratio between width of the section and thickness, placed flat in lengths laid side by side and with electrical insulation, on a thin sheet (38, 83, 104, 134) matching at the front, and electrically insulated, with a protective and decorative lamina (36, 103, 133) and, at the back, with a heat insulating slab (39, 84, 105, 139, 140) forming a flat or curved panel (25, 27, 30, 60, 80, 90, 120, 125, 130, 131) with a stand (65), with mirrors (81) with a clothes drier (91), transportable and made in units so that its dimensions, and therefore its power and shapes, are adaptable to the different flat or curved areas in boats (10, 1 10).

2. System for electric heating of boats (10, 110) in general as in claim 1 , characterized in that the temperature of the electric band resistance (43, 82, 101 , 135) during transformation of electric energy into thermal energy is in the region of 70-80°C.

3. System for electric heating of boats (10, 1 10) in general as in claim 1 , characterized in that voltage of the electric current applied to the panels (25, 27, 30, 60, 80, 90, 120, 125, 130, 131 ) is of 12 or 24 volts

4. System for electric heating of boats (10, 1 10) in general as in claim 1 , characterized in that electric power of the panels (25, 27, 30, 60, 80, 90, 120, 125, 130, 131 ) is comprised bvetween 50 and 220 Watt..

5. System for electric heating of boats (10, 110) in general as in claim 1 , characterized in that the group formed by the components (36, 38, 39, 40, 103, 104, 105) of the panels (25, 27, 30, 60, 90, 120, 125) is held together by a quadrangular frame (50) formed of four lengths of a U- shaped channel (51) joined at the four corners by an angular piece (53), substantially forming a quadrangular inwardly-opening channel of the frame (50), it being thus possible to adapt said frame (50) to a group of components of practically any useful dimensions, using lengths of the U- shaped channel (51) of a length corresponding to the sides of said group.

6. System for electric heating of boats (110) in general as in claim 1 , characterized in that the panel (130, 131) for use in sailing boats (110) with one or more masts (111) to carry the sails, is of a semi-cylindrical shape having an internal radius corresponding to the external radius of said masts (1 1 1), thus permitting application of a pair of said semi- cylindrical panels (130, 131) round one side and the other side of a mast (111), rendering the installation stable by hooks (132) or similar means placed on said panels (130, 131) or on the mast (111).

7. System for electric heating of boats (10, 110) in general as in claim 1 , characterized in that the panel (25, 27, 30, 60, 80 , 90, 120, 125, 130, 131) is mounted in the various areas of the boat (10, 110) preferably against the walls of the rooms (12, 14, 16-19, 112-1 14, 116. 1 17) or against bodies (1 1 1) in general present in said rooms, rendering them stable by hooks (132) or equivalent means obtaining the maximum exploitation of space, this being made possible by the absence of high temperatures to avoid the risk of over-heating.

8. System for electric heating of boats (10, 110) in general as in claim 1 , characterized in that the panel (60) is fitted with a stand (65) formed of a quadraangular plate (66) associated to two flat lateral parts (68) by hinges (67) on the two lateral edges of said plate (66) and on the inclined edges of said lateral parts (68), these latter extending at their lower edges in contact with the floor, beyond the geometrical axis of said hinges (67) to form an upward-facing U-shaped hook (69), it being thus possible, when the stand (65) is out of use, to store it easily with minimum bulk by maintaining both the quadrangular plate (66) and the lateral parts (68) on the same plane while, when required for use, it is possible by turning said lateral parts (68) round their hinges (67) to set them rearward of the quadrangular plate (66) at substantially 90° to it, stabilizing said position by special locking means (76) , so that the panel (60) can be set on said stand (65) by placing its lower edge inside said U- shaped hooks (69) in the lateral parts (68) and resting it against the quadrangular plate (66), making it utilizable in any part of the boat where extra heating may be needed in adverse weather conditions

9. System for electric heating of boats (10) in general as in claim 8, characterized in that the locking means (76) for the lateral parts (68) of the stand (65) when in use consist of a pair of elastic tongues (70) fixed to the quadrangular plate (66) close to the axis of the hinges (67) on said lateral parts (68), facing towards said hinges and provided with an end U- shaped hook (76) into which may be fitted a short rod (78) placed in a recess (72) in the lateral parts (68), present at a short distance from the axis of said hinges.

10. System for electric heating of boats (10) in general as in claim 1 , characterized in that the panel (90) is associated to a clothes drier (91) by an oblong box-shaped body (93) horizontally applicable to any flat wall (21), comprising two downward-facing end tabs (94) onto which the panel (90) is articulated and having at its top an oblong aperture (96) through which a quadrangular frame (92) can freely slide and that on the inside of whose upper end a grill (97) is articulated suitable for hanging wet clothes (102), it being thus possible to keep the grill (97) inside the frame (92), to slide this latter into the aperture (96) in the oblong body (93) so that it remains loedged between the wall (21), on to which the oblong body (93) is applied, and the panel (90) turned parallel to said wall (21) so that the panel can be used for environmental heating or else, by raising the frame (92) sufficiently to pull the grill (97) fully out, turning said grill 90° upward to a horizontal position bringing its heat-radiating face (103) opposite the grill (97), there being means for automatically locking the grill (97) and the panel (90) in said horizontal positions, so that by heat radiated from the panel (90) the clothes (102) can be dried and afterwards the frame (92), grill (97) and panel (90) can be returned to their idle positions.

11. System for electric heating of boats (10, 110) in general as in claim 1 , characterized in that the front radiating surface of the panel (90) is placed, with interposition of an electrically insulating layer (83), against the rear surface of a mirror (81), it being thus possible to install said panel (80) in the bathrooms (17, 18, 1 14) of the boat (10, 110), heat being radiated towards the environment through the front transparent surface of the mirror (81) to warm both the environment (17, 18, 114) and the mirror (81) which will therefore not steam up when environmental humidity exceeds certain levels.

12. System for electric heating of boats (10,110) in general as in claim 1 , characterized in that the panel (25, 27, 30, 60, 80, 90, 120, 125, 130,

131) is made in various sizes and for various degrees of electric power to adapt it to all available areas in the boat (10, 110) and to said boat's specific structural shapes.

13. System for electric heating of boats (10,1 10) in general as in claim 1 , characterized in that the ratio between dimensions of the panel (25, 27,

30, 60, 80, 90, 120, 125, 120, 121) and its electric power is preferably as indicated below:

- panel cm 30 x 30, power 50 Watt,

- panel cm 40 x 40, power 120 Watt, - panel cm 20 x 60, power 100 Watt,

- panel cm 20 x 95, power 120 Watt,

- panel cm 30 x 95, power 200 Watt.