GB2128314A - Reflector - Google Patents

Abstract

To prevent heat loss from the rear face (12) of a radiator (10) heat reflecting means are provided and comprise attachment means such as hooks (14) from which depend sheets (15). Hooks (14) are welded or bonded to header tube (13) of radiator (10), but clips (16, 17) or magnets (19) may be used instead of hooks (14). The face of sheet (15) facing radiator (10) has heat reflecting properties and sheet (15) may be polished metal sheet or foil or metalised fabric. <IMAGE>

Description

SPECIFICATION Reflector This invention relates to reflectors, and in particular to reflectors for the purpose of reflecting the heat issuing from the rear of a radiator back towards the radiator instead of passing into a wall or like structure on or adjacent which the radiator is mounted.

It has been realised that in conventional industrial and domestic central heating systems that much of the heat from the rear of the radiators generally passes into the walls of the building and is lost to the outside atmosphere. To prevent or reduce such loss it is known to apply to the wall behind a radiator a reflective coating in the form of a paint, a wallpaper or fabric covering or a metal sheet.

Such heat reflecting means are not easy to apply to the wall after the installation of the central heating system and in any event are not easy or convenient to clean when installed. If they are not securely affixed to the wall they can readily become dislodged, except in the case of paint, but if they are securely affixed they cannot readily be removed if redecoration of the premises is undertaken.

It is an object of the present invention to provide heat reflective means which overcomes, at least to a considerable extent, the abovementioned disadvantages.

The invention provides heat reflecting means comprising a sheet having at least one face thereof having heat reflecting properties and attachment means adapted to support said sheet and removably mount said sheet in an upright disposition substantially parallel with and spaced from a rear face of a radiator.

The sheet may be of metal, for example polished aluminium, metalised fabric or card, or a metallic foil.

Particularly in the case of a flexible material the sheet may depend from the attachment means in use, and may have stiffening means attached thereto.

The attachment means may comprise hooks or clips for the sheet. The hooks or clips may be permanently secured to a wall or to a radiator.

Alternatively such hooks or clips may be adapted to hook or clip onto the top of a radiator or comprise magnets which may be attached to a radiator. As a further alternative the sheet may be secured to an elongate member to depend therefrom in use, said elongate member comprising a plurality of hooks or clips adapted to hook or clip onto the top of a radiator or a plurality of magnets for attachment to a radiator. In this case the hook, clips or magnets may be disposed in spaced relation along said elongate member.

Particularly in the case of a flexible sheet spacing means and/or further attachment means may be provided at the lower part of said sheet and in the latter case be adapted to be removably attached to a wall or radiator.

Embodiments of reflecting means in accordance with the invention will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings in which: Fig. 1 is a perspective view from the rear of a radiator with one embodiment of reflecting means attached thereto, Fig. 2 is a sectional end view of a radiator and second embodiment of reflecting means attached thereto, Fig. 3 is a view corresponding with Fig. 2 incorporating a third embodiment, Figs. 4 and 4a are perspective views of variations of a fourth embodiment, Fig. 5 is a perspective view of a fifth embodiment, Fig. 6 is a sectional end view of a radiator and a sixth embodiment, and, Fig. 7 is a scrap perspective view of the bottom of an embodiment of reflecting means.

Referring now to Fig. 1 there is shown a radiator 10 of conventional form as is used in many domestic and industrial central heating systems.

The radiator 10 has attached to its rear face 1 2 two brackets 11 which are received by wall mounted brackets (not shown) to support the radiator 10 in position adjacent a wall of the premises to be heated. Attached to the header tube 13 of the radiator 10 are hooks 14, these being attached by welding or by means of a heat resistive adhesive. In the latter case the hooks may be of polypropylene or anodised aluminium.

Received on the hooks 14 are three panels 15, only two being shown for reasons of clarity.

Instead of the rod-like hooks shown in Fig. 1 being used, sheet material formed into a channel section of up to 2.5 cm in length may be used, and the panels 1 5 hung therefrom by means of a channel shaped edging strip as shown in Fig. 5. The panels 1 5 depend from the hooks 14 so as to be substantially parallel with, but spaced from, the rear face 12 of the radiator 10. One central panel 1 5 extends between the brackets 11 whilst in the case of the two end panels 15, each extends between a bracket 11 and an end of the radiator 10. Each panel 1 5 is of substantially the same height as the radiator 1 0. The surface of each panel 15 facing the rear face 12 of radiator 10 is adapted to reflect heat radiated thereto from radiator 10.For this purpose the panels 1 5 may be of polished aluminium, metalised card or fabric or metallic foil, although metalised card or fabric are preferred since they are less expensive than aluminium and more robust than metallic foil. In this way a considerable proportion of the heat radiated from the rear face 1 2 of radiator 10 is reflected by panels 1 5 so as to contribute to the heating of the premises and the air therein, instead of passing into the wall and subsequently to the outside atmosphere.

In the embodiment of Fig. 2, the panels 1 5 are held by clip part 1 6a of clips 1 6 which also clip by means of clip part 1 6b onto the header tube 13 of radiator 10. Several clips 1 6 are disposed in spaced relation along the radiator 10 in correspondence with hooks 14 in the Fig. 1 embodiment.

In the embodiment of Fig. 3, the panels 1 5 are retained on hooks 1 7 which clip onto the header tube 1 3 of radiator 10.

In the embodiment of Fig. 4 each panel 1 5 is attached for example by means of double sided adhesive tape 28, at its upper edge to an elongate rod or edging strip 18 which may be of any suitable material, for example wood or a plastics material. Inset into rod 1 8 at spaced locations therealong are magnets 1 9 by means of which the rod 18, and panel 1 5 depending therefrom, may be attached to the rear face 12 of radiator 10.

Alternatively as shown in Fig. 4a the magnets 1 9 could be provided in individual blocks 26 into slot 27 of which the edging strip 18, and panel 1 5 clipped therein, can slide. By this means the magnet blocks 26 can be positioned where required on the radiator.

In the embodiment of Fig. 5 each panel 1 5 is attached at its upper end to an elongate rod or edging strip 1 8 of downwardly facing channel cross-section. The rod 1 8, which may be of white polypropylene, is mounted on brackets 20 each having a corresponding upwardly facing channel form so as to interengage with rod 1 8. Brackets 20 are secured to the wall at the rear of the radiator so that the front face 21 of panel 1 5 reflects heat from the radiator.

In the embodiment of Fig. 6 the radiator 10 is supported by means of brackets 11 which are retained on wall mounted brackets 22. The panels 1 5, which in this case are of a rigid material, e.g.

aluminium or metalised card, are secured to an elongate rod 23 so as to extend above and below the rod 23. The rod 23 is supported by the brackets 22 so that the front face 21 of each panel 1 5 extends substantially parallel with, and facing but spaced from, the rear face 12 of radiator 10.

As in the previous embodiments the height of panels 1 5 is substantially equal to the height of radiator 10.

Particularly in the case of panels 1 5 of any one of the above-described embodiments being of a flexible material, for example metalised fabric or metallic foil, the lower edge of a panel 1 5 may be attached to a reinforcing and weight providing elongate bar 24. Such a bar 24, which may also be of polypropylene, will tend to restrain the panel 1 5 to hang vertically, and spacers 25 as shown in Fig. 7 may be provided on bar 24 to prevent air currents or other disturbing influences from bringing the bottom of the panel into contact with the radiator 10 and thus restricting the airflow adjacent the rear face 12 of the radiator 1 0.

Various modifications to the embodiments shown and described will be readily apparent to persons skilled in the art. For example in the case of the Fig. 1 embodiment clips instead of hooks could be welded or bonded to the header tube 1 3.

Alternatively an elongate bar may be incorporated at the top edge of each panel 1 5, such bar having apertures therein to receive hooks 14 or being received in the aforementioned clips.

Instead of a plurality of clips 1 6 or hooks 1 7 being spaced along the top of the radiator a continuous extruded clip member having a crosssection as shown in Fig. 2 or with a continuous clip part and spaced hooks as shown in Fig. 3 could be provided.

In the embodiment of Fig. 5 the hooks 20 could be secured, for example by an adhesive, or clipped to the top of the radiator in which case the surface opposite face 21 would be the surface having the heat reflecting properties. In either case the rod or edging strip 1 8 may clip the panel 1 5 and hooks 20 together, as clip part 1 6a of the Fig. 2 embodiment or edging strip 1 8 of the Fig. 4a embodiment clips to panel 1 5. Alternatively the rod or edging strip 1 8 may be secured to panel 1 5 by adhesive or by means of double sided adhesive tape 28 as shown in Fig. 4. The hooks 20 may of any suitabie material such as polypropylene or anodised aluminium.

In the embodiment shown in Fig. 7 the spacers 25 could incorporate magnets as in the Fig. 4 embodiment or could comprise clips, as in the Figs. 2 and 3 embodiments, for the bottom of the radiator 1 0.

By means of the invention reflector panels are provided which may be readily removed for cleaning, replacement if damaged or for the purpose of decorating the wall behind the radiator.

Instead of separate panels 1 5 being provided, a single panel having apertures through which brackets 11 extend could be provided.

Claims (17)

1. Heat reflecting means comprising a sheet having at least one face thereof having heat reflecting properties and attachment means adapted to support said sheet and removably mount said sheet in an upright disposition substantially parallel with and spaced from a rear face of a radiator.

2. Heat reflecting means according to claim 1, wherein said sheet is of polished metal.

3, Heat reflecting means according to claim 1, wherein said sheet is a sheet of material having a metalised surface thereto.

4. Heat reflecting means according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein said sheet depends from said attachment means.

5. Heat reflecting means according to claim 4, wherein said sheet is flexible.

6. Heat reflecting means according to claim 5, wherein said sheet has stiffening means attached thereto.

7. Heat reflecting means according to any one of claims 4 to 6, wherein said attachment means comprises hooks.

8. Heat reflecting means according to any one of claims 4 to 6, wherein said attachment means comprises clips.

9. Heat reflecting means according to claim 7, wherein said hooks are adapted to hook over said radiator.

10. Heat reflecting means according to claim 8, wherein said clips are adapted to clip into said radiator.

11. Heat reflecting means according to claim 7 or claim 8, wherein said attachment means are secured to said radiator.

12. Heat reflecting means according to claim 7 or claim 8, wherein said attachment means are secured to a wall to which said radiator is secured.

13. Heat reflecting means according to claim 11 or claim 12, wherein said attachment means comprise magnet means.

14. Heat reflecting means according to any one of claims 4 to 13, wherein said attachment means comprises an elongate member to which said sheet is secured to depend therefrom.

1 5. Heat reflecting means according to claim 14, wherein said sheet is clipped to said elongate member.

1 6. Heat reflecting means according to claim 14, wherein said sheet is secured to said elongate member by a heat resistive adhesive.

17. Heat reflecting means according to claim 16, wherein said sheet is secured to said elongate member by means of a double sided adhesive tape.

1 8. Heat reflecting means according to claim 3 or any claim dependent thereon comprising spacing means secured to the lowermost part of said sheet.

1 9. Heat reflecting means substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to and as illustrated in any one of the Figures of the accompanying drawings.