US2681796A - Radiant floor heating panel - Google Patents

Description

M n -tr June 22 1954 RAPP 2,681,796

RADIANT FLOOR HEATING PANEL Filed Jan. 5, 1951 g Q I [Hr/E 171. 7.2

Geoz gefl B02010 Patented June 22, 1954 UNITE D STATES PATENT OFFICE RADIANT FLOOR HEATING PANEL George M. Rapp, Hamden, Conn., assignor to .Houdaille Hershey Corporation, Detroit, Mich.,

a corporation of .Michigan Application January 5, 1951, Serial No. 204,605

1 Claim.

This inventionrelates to a radiant floor heating panel and more particularly to a radiant fioor heating panel in the form of a plate and tubetype heat exchanger incorporated in a floor structure to-define a sub-floor surface.

Radiant floor heating for residential and similar structures has'been proposed in the prior art. Such heating is provided by iluidconduits embedded in a concrete or similar floor structure. Generally, sinuous metallic or ceramic conduits are utilized for the conveying of a heat exchange fluid, usually Water or air, in heat transfer relation with the floor.

These prior art structures have been disadvantageous in that extensivesite-labor is necessary to "custom fit each installation to the structure, resulting in relatively-high installation cost. Further, a slow heating response is obtained due to the actual embedding of the conduits within the floor structure with the resultant'heating timelag causing poor control of interiortemperatures In addition to these disadvantages, the finished radiant'floor heating structure typically provides a relatively uneven surface whichrequires special leveling in preparation for the application of conventional floor coverings, such as linoleum, asphalt, tile, or thelike.

The present invention provides an improved radiant floor heating panel which utilizes plate and tube-type heat exchangers with the backing plates of the exchangers being superimposed upon theconcrete or similar floor structure to provide top surface whichis actually composed of the heat exchanger heat radiating surface. The tubes of the heat exchanger are secured to the backing plate by deformation of the plate to provide grooves within whichthe tubes are bottomed, with the plate being deformed about the tubes into greater than semi-peripheral contact therewith to insure effective heat transfer from the tube to the plate and also to provide a substantially levelupper plate surface. changers are provided in standardized, prefabricated form so that they may be easily installed by merely coupling a plurality of standardized units together.

It will thus be seen that the present invention constitutes an improvement 'over the prior art radiant floor heating panel in that the use of standardized, pie-fabricated units provides a flexible, easily installed, readily erected heating system. "The heat exchangers are installed on the surface of the sub-floor structure so that useful heat output is increased, 'heat losses to the ground are decreased, and the 'time la'g re- The heat exsponse to temperature demand is improved and the heat exchangers simultaneously provide not only the heating system but also a level ba'se surface for a superimposed floor covering.

It is, therefore, an important object of the present invention to provide a radiant floor heating panel composed of a plurality of standardized plate and tube-type units carried by a floor'base structure.

Another important object of the present invention is to provide a radiant fioor heating panel including a sub-floor structure and a plate and tube-type heat exchanger superimposed on the floor structure, with the heat exchanger backing plate forming an upper floor surface.

A further important object of the present invention is to provide a floor heating panel including a solidified fioor base structure and a tube and plate-type heat exchanger superimposed on said base structure and partially embedded therein with the heat exchanger backing plate forming a level floor surface overlying the base structure.

Yet another important object of the present invention is to provide a radiant floor heating panel comprising a concrete floor base, a grooved heat exchanger backing plate superimposed on said base to form a level upper surface therefor with the plate grooves being embedded in said base structure, and a sinuous heat exchanger tube bottomed in the grooves for circulating a heat exchange fluid in effective heat exchange relation with the plate.

Other and further important objects of this invention will be apparent from the disclosures in the specification and the accompanying drawings.

On the drawings:

Figure 1 is a plan view, partly in section, illustrating a radiant floor heating panel of the present invention;

Figure 2 is a greatly enlarged view similar to Figure 1; and

Figure 3 is a greatly enlarged sectional view taken along the plane III-III of Figure 1.

As shown on the drawings:

In Figure 1, the reference numeral it! refers to a building, such as a dwelling or the like, having upstanding side walls ll formed of suitable material, such as poured concrete or thelike. The building I!) is provided witha concrete floor slab (Figure 3) preferably poured in two courses, including a base course I2 and a superimposed fine course IS. The base course may desirably be about fourinches thick and formed of ordithree inches thick and is cast directly upon the base course, and it will be appreciated that other light-weight aggregates, such as Perlite or the like, may also be utilized in the finish course.

The finish course is preferably laid out in panels which are defined by wooden screed boards [4 which are set on end and retained in upright position by the subsequently solidified finish course l3. It will be noted that the upper level of the finish course l3 corresponds in height to the height of the screed boards It, so that a substantially constant level sub-fioor surface is provided.

The radiant heating panel of the present invention is defined by a plurality of tube and plate-type heat exchangers which are positioned upon and extend transversely between the screed boards 14. More particularly, it will be seen in Figure 1 that a plurality of longitudinally extending screed boards l4 are provided for transverse alignment, the screed boards being longitudinally aligned in pairs so as to leave a central transverse space therebetween. This space is defined by form boards it which contact corresponding ends of each set of screed boards, so that the foundation of the building I l is divided in two longitudinally spaced sets of panels divided by the space [5 which defines a pipe chase.

Plate and tube-type exchangers are positioned within each panel defined by the sets of screed boards and the associated form boards IS. The heat'exchangers H are best illustrated in Figures 2 and 3 and consist of a backing plate l8 having grooves l9 formed therein to extend in parallel spaced relation across the width of each plate. The plate [8 is deformed, as at 20, in the upper portions of each of the grooves It to overlie an intermediate diameter of a tube 2i associated with the plate and bottomed in the grooves IS. The tube 2| has straight portions lying within the grooves l9 and curved joining portions 2m projecting beyond the plate to joint adjacent straight portions, thereby defining a continuous sinuous tube length. It will thus be seen that the deformed portions 2b of the plate [9 overlie the tubes so as to securely clamp the tubes to the plate in intimate, elongated surface contact and in effective heat transfer relation. The groove deformed portions define undercuts 2| which extend along the entire length of each straight tube length, while the upper surface of the plate 18 is substantially plain with the exception of the space between the plate deformed portions 20 directly overlying the tube.

Informing the radiant heating panel of the present invention, the plate E8 of each exchanger I7 is positioned to overlie the sub-floor structure with its lateral margins bearing upon adjacent screed boards M to support the plate along the length. It will be seen that the grooves l9 and tubes 2| carried thereby project downwardly into upper course I3 of the sub-floor and the heat exchangers are so positioned while the upper course is still fluid, or at least capable of flowing. Following the positioning of the heat exchanger IT, as hereinbefore described, the heat exchangers are lightly tamped and pressed to form a level surface with the plate grooves and tubes becoming embedded within the upper regions of the upper course [3. The fluid material of the upper course will enter the undercut area 22 so that, when the whole assembly is permitted to stand until the concrete is hard, the heat exchanger willbe firmly bonded in the position illustrated in Figure 3.

To complete the assembly of the radiant heating panel, adjacent heat exchange panels are joined by suitable piping as particularly illustrated in Figure 2, wherein it will be seen that the straight terminal ends 2lb of adjacent heat exchangers I1 are joined by means of elbows 24 and transverse joining piping 25. The straight ends 2lb of the tubes 2| project outwardly to overlie the form boards [6, or alternatively, the form boards It may be recessed to accommodate the tubing ends. Inasmuch as a complete panel is provided on each side of the pipe chase IS, a header pipe 26 connected to a source of heated fluid, such as a steam boiler, or the like, is connected to lead piping 25a for each panel through suitable plumbing which need not be described in detail. A return line 21 to the source of heated fluid is connected with the outlet ends 28 of the heat exchangers in each' panel, so that re-, turn flow of heat exchange fluid to the primary heat exchanger may be accomplished. Preferably, the point where the terminal ends 28 join the return line 2'! is the low point of the installation, so that at least some measure of gravity flow of heat exchange fluid is obtained.

It will be seen that the present invention thus provides an improved radiant fioor heating panel having the advantages hereinbefore set forth. First, the heating panel is composed of standardized, pre-fabricated elements which are capable of fiexible utilization and cheap installation. Secondly, the heat exchangers are installed upon the surface of the sub-floor or concrete slab rather than being completely embedded in or buried under the slab so as to increase the useful heat output, to decrease reverse heat losses to the ground, and to reduce the time lag response to temperature demands of the building. Thirdly, the heat exchanger not only provides a heat exchange surface overlying the sub-floor. but also actually provides the finished sub-floor surface to which suitable floor covering, such as linoleum, asphalt tile, or the like, may be directly applied. In addition, the heat exchanger plate It provides an extended radiation surface which underlies the complete floor covering area, giving an even heat without temperature variation to any material extent across the complete'dimensions of the panel. The resulting even temperatures, which may be obtained, the improved heat output, and quick response to heating demands will be readily appreciated by those skilled in the art. 7 7

It will be understood that modifications and. variations may be effected without departing from the scope of the novel concepts of the present invention. a

I claim as my invention:

A radiant floor heating structure comprising a two-course concrete floor slab including a base course of coarse aggregate and a finish course of a light-weight aggregate concrete, a plurality of rectilinearly arranged partition members defining generally rectangular fioor sections embedded in said top course, plate and tube type heat exchangers each including a backing plate having plane edge portions in contact with and supported by said partition members and extending in flush surface relationship with the adjacent heat exchangers to provide a level upper surface for said floor structure, said backing plates having spaced, parallel grooves formed therein, and heat exchanger tubing seated in said grooves and adapted for the flow of heat exchange fluid therethrough, the Walls defining said plate grooves overlying the tubing disposed therein to engage more than a semi-periphery of said tubing and to provide re-entrant groove portions on the under surface of said plate into which the material of said upper course extends to anchor said heat exchangers thereto.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,746,231 Barker Feb. 11, 1930 1,800,150 Musgrave et a1 Apr. 7, 1931 10 2,281,299 Steenstrup Apr. 28, 1942 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 274,664 Great Britain July 28, 1927 321,450 Great Britain Nov. 11, 1929

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