GB2202040A

GB2202040A - Pivotal radiator assembly

Info

Publication number: GB2202040A
Application number: GB08805260A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Raymond William Mackrell
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1987-03-10
Filing date: 1988-03-04
Publication date: 1988-09-14
Anticipated expiration: 2008-03-04
Also published as: GB8705536D0; GB8805260D0; GB2202040B

Abstract

An assembly for enabling a radiator (2) to pivot comprises, for each end of the radiator (2), a hollow sleeve (6) one end of which is screwed into the lower regions of the associated end of the radiator (2) and a hollow insert (14) sealingly mounted in said sleeve (6) and axially fixed relative thereto, one end of the insert (14) projecting from the other end of the sleeve (6) and being sealingly connected to an associated control valve 4. Support brackets are secured to the wall against which the radiator (2) is to be mounted one adjacent each end of the radiator (2) to receive thereon, and to support, the associated sleeve (6), and releasable catch means between the upper regions of the radiator (2) and the wall to locate the radiator (2) in an upright position, release of the catch means enabling the radiator (2) and sleeves (6) to pivot on the support brackets and relative to the inserts (14). <IMAGE>

Description

PIVOTAL RADIATOR ASSEMBLY This invention relates to assemblies enabling radiators to pivot, and more particularly to such assemblies for mounting to, for example, domestic central heating radiators to enable said radiators to be pivoted about a horizontal axis from the normal upright position adjacent a wall to a displaced position away from said wall.

Central heating radiators are commonly suspended on two or more support brackets secured to the wall and co-operating with mounting straps provided on the rear of the radiator. A pair of control valves themselves mounted to the floor of the room are secured one to each lower end region of the radiator by means of brass sleeves projecting from the radiator and attached to the valves by associated nuts co-operating with the sleeves and the valves to effect fluid tight connections therebetween.

Thus it will be appreciated that the radiators, once located in position, are substantially permanent fixtures that can only be removed with great difficulty. Such removal requires the radiator to be drained (which can itself be a messy process), disconnection of the radiator from the inlet and outlet valves, and bodily lifting of the radiator upwardly from the support brackets.

It is often necessary to decorate behind radiators whether by painting, wall-papering or tiling, and this can prove extremely awkward with the radiators in position because of the limited space between the wall and the radiator - this space is often not even sufficiently wide to enable a decorator to insert his hand between the wall and the radiator.

Further, it is difficult to clean behind radiators, again because of the confined space between the radiator and the wall, with the result that dust, dirt, fluff and other undesirable health hazards can accumulate in said space.

It would be desirable to provide an assembly which enabled ready access to the wall behind the radiator without having to remove the radiator bodily as detailed above.

According to the present invention there is provided an assembly for enabling a radiator to pivot, the assembly comprising, for each end of the radiator, a hollow sleeve one end of which is adapted to screw into a correspondingly threaded bore in the associated end of the radiator, a hollow insert of substantially annular cross-section mounted in said sleeve to be axially fixed relative thereto and making sealing contact with the inner wall of the sleeve, one end of said insert projecting from the other end of said sleeve, and means on said one end of the insert for effecting connection of said insert with an associated control valve whereby a sealed fluid flow path between the valve and the radiator is provided through said insert and said sleeve, the assembly further comprising, for each end of the radiator, a support bracket adapted to be secured to the wall against which the radiator is to be mounted to receive thereon, and to support, the associated sleeve, and releasable catch means reacting between the wall and the upper regions of the radiator to locate said radiator in an upright position, the arrangement being such that, on release of said catch means, the radiator and sleeves can be pivoted on the support brackets and relative to the inserts about an axis extending longitudinally and centrally of the inserts and the sleeves.

Thus it will be appreciated that the radiator can be pivoted forwards of the wall to a substantially horizontal position with its normally upper edge resting on the floor to provide ready access to said wall, the pivoting movement being supported by the brackets to each end of the radiator and taking place about the fixed inserts within the sleeves.

Conveniently the inserts are each of a plastics material and are each provided with one or more sealing rings thereon reacting between the outer wall of the insert and the inner wall of the sleeve to effect a fluid tight seal therebetween.

Preferably each hollow sleeve comprises a body portion one end of which is adapted to be screwed into the radiator, and an adjustable gland nut screwed into the other end of said body portion, axially compressible sealing means reacting between the body portion and the gland nut to effect an adjustable sealing connection therebetween.

Conveniently the outer wall of each sleeve is provided with an arcuate seating thereon with which a correspondingly shaped receiving portion of the associated bracket co operates to support the radiator thereon.

The one end of each insert may include an increased diameter head portion thereon adapted to seal against a correspondingly-shaped surface within the associated valve, connection of the insert to the valve being effected by means of an internally-threaded nut mounted on the insert to react against a rear surface of said head portion and screwed onto a correpondingly externally-threaded portion of the valve.

In an alternative embodiment of the invention, the one end of each insert has a deformable olive-shaped sealing member mounted thereon, connection of said one end of the insert to the valve being effected by means of an internally threaded nut mounted on the insert and screwed onto a correspondingly externally-threaded portion of the valve with the olive-shaped member being deformed by the nut to effect a fluid-tight seal between the valve and the insert.

By way of example only, embodiments of the invention will now be described in greater detail with reference to the accompanying drawings of which: Fig. 1 is a longitudinal vertical section through part Sof an assembly according to the invention, Fig. 2 is a longitudinal vertical section through an alternative assembly according to the invention; Fig. 3 is a front view of a radiator fitted with an assembly according to the invention, the radiator being in its normal upright position; Fig. 4 is a side view in the direction of arrow 'A' in Fig. 3; Fig. 5 is a front view of the radiator and assembly of Fig. 3 with the radiator in a displaced position in which its normally upper edge rests on the floor, and Fig. 6 is a side view in the direction of arrow 'B' in Fig. 5 with part only of the radiator shown.

Referring to Fig. 1 there is shown part of a conventional domestic central heating radiator 2 and a standard control valve 4 which would normally-be connected directly to the radiator by a fixed brass sleeve whereby a sealed fluid flow path between the radiator and the control valve was established.

The invention resides primarily in the provision of alternative means between the fixed control valve 4 and the radiator 2 whereby the radiator 2 can be pivoted relative to the control valve 4.

More particularly there is provided an assembly comprising a brass sleeve 6 one end of which is externally threaded whereby it can be screwed into the correspondingly-threaded bore in the lower regions of the radiator 2. The brass sleeve 6 includes a bore provided with a shoulder 8 therein defining the boundary between an increased-diameter portion 10 to the bore the outer extent of which is internally threaded, and a reduced diameter extent 12 communicating into the radiator 2. The outer wall of the sleeve 6 is provided with a pair of circular grooves 13a, 13b therein for reasons which will become apparent.

Housed within the sleeve 6 is a tubular plastics insert 14 one end extent 16 of which carries a pair of O-ring seals 18,20 and is a sealing fit in the reduced diameter portion 10 of the bore inthesleeve 6. The insert 14 includes an increased-diameter abutment portion 22 which engages the shoulder 8 of the sleeve 6 to determine the axial position of the insert 14 relative to the sleeve 6, and an other end extent 24 which projects from the sleeve 6.

An externally-threaded brass gland nut 26 is a screwfit into the portion 10 of the bore of the sleeve 6, said nut 26 being mounted on the extent 24 of the insert 14, a gland packing 28 on said extent 24 being located between the gland nut 26 and the abutment portion 22 of the insert 14 to effect an adjustable seal between said components.

The outer end of the extent 24 of the insert 14 carries a conventional compressible metal sealing member 30 or olive against which reacts the internal face of an internally threaded brass nut 32 also carried on said extent 24.

The described assembly is secured to the valve 4 by screwing the nut 32 onto a correspondingly-threaded arm portion 34 of the valve whereby the olive 30 is compressed onto the extent 24 of the insert 14 between the nut 32 and the mouth of the arm portion 34 of the valve to effect a sealed connection between the insert 14 and the valve 4.

Thus it will be appreciated that the arrangement so far described provides a sealed fluid flow path from the valve 4 to the radiator 2 through the bore of the insert 14, the radiator and attached sleeve 6 and gland nut 26 being pivotal on the insert 14 and relative to the valve 4 about an axis extending centrally and longitudinally of the insert 14 with the O-ring seals and gland packing 28 serving to maintain a fluid-tight seal to said flow path at all times.

Referring to Figs. 3 to 6, there is shown a radiator 2 provided with the above-described arrangement at each end thereof and whereby said radiator 2 can be pivoted about the opposed inserts 14 from the normal upright position shown in Fig. 3 and 4 to the displaced position shown in Figs. 5 and 6 in which the normal upper edge of the radiator 2 engages the floor and whereby the wall 36 behind the radiator 2 is exposed.

This pivoting movement of the radiator is supported by a pair of brackets 38,40 secured to the wall 36 one adjacent each end of the radiator 2 and each positioned whereby a part-circular seating thereon receives therein a grooved portion of the associated sleeve 6. Thus the brackets 38,40 support the radiator 2 relative to the valves 4, the sleeves 6 rotating in said seatings on the brackets during pivoting movement of the radiator 2 between the position shown in Figs. 3 and 5.

Conventional radiators are provided, on the rear surfaces thereof, with pairs of straps 42 which co-operate with brackets secured to associated walls to support the radiators in fixed positions on said walls. An upper one of these straps 42 is used to retain the radiator 2 in its normal upright position as follows.

Secured to the wall 36 behind the radiator 2 at a position adjacent an upper one of the straps 42 is a catch indicated generally at 44. The catch 44 comprises a body portion 46 secured to the wall 36 and provided with a pair of rectangular apertures there through, one in front of the other and separated by a transverse wall within the body portion 46. A locking member of resilient material such as plastics is indicated at 48 and includes a rear leg portion 50 adapted to be received in one or other of said apertures, a front leg portion 52 adapted to be received between the strap 42 and the radiator 2, and an upstanding handle portion 54.

Fig. 4 shows the catch 44 in a position holding the radiator 2 in its upright position. In order to release the catch from the radiator, a user gets hold of the handle portion 54, which is readily accessible behind the upper regions of the radiator 2, and urges the handle portion 54 rearwards towards the wall 36 whereby the handle portion 54 and front leg portion 52 are pivoted about the rear leg portion 50 to withdraw the front leg portion 52 from its position between the strap 42 and the radiator 2.

The radiator can then be pivoted downwardly into the position shown in Figs. 5 and 6.

Fig. 2 shows an alternative arrangement for the sleeve 6/insert 14/nut 26 combination in which the insert 14 is retained axially relative to the sleeve 6 by means of a circlip 56 surrounding the end of the extent 16 of the insert 14 and in which the gland packing 28 reacts between the nut 26 and a shoulder in the sleeve 6. Further, the outer end of the extent 24 of the insert 14 comprises an increased diameter head portion 58 the shape of which conforms with that of the mouth of the arm portion 34 of the valve 4 whereby said head portion 58 is compressed between the nut 32 and the mouth of the arm portion 34 to effect a sealed connection between the insert 14 and the valve 4.

Thus there is provided an assembly which enables a radiator to pivot forwardly from an associated wall merely on release of a manually-operated catch to provide total access to the portion of the wall normally behind the radiator. As well as permitting decoration of this portion of the wall, such an arrangement facilitates draining of the radiator which can be carried out with the radiator in a substantially horizontal position whereby water from the bleeder valve or blanking plug can be more readily collected without spillage.

Such a radiator, when located in a displaced position just above the horizontal, will still retain its heat and a clothes dryer could be located thereon to effect drying of clothes and the like.

The invention is applicable to single or double width radiators. In the latter case, the brackets 38, are positioned to co-operate with the outermost of the two grooves 13b in the sleeves 6 to allow for the slightly inward central location of said sleeves between the two radiators, and the rear leg portion 50 of the locking member 48 is positioned in the aperture in the body portion 46 nearest the wall 36 to allow for the greater width of the double radiator and the the associated strap 42 being located nearer to the wall than would be the case with a single radiator.

Thus the invention enables a conventional fixed radiator controlled by conventional fixed control valves to be converted to a pivoting radiator by substituting one or other of the. assemblies of Figs. 1 and 2 for the conventional couplings between the radiator and its associated valves, and by providing the support brackets and releasable locking catch in place of the conventional brackets that normally co-operate with the straps on the rear of the radiator.

Clearly, modifications and variations from the illustrated examples can be made without departing from the scope of the invention. In particular, the brackets 38,40 and catch 44 could vary in construction and position from those shown, while the gland nut 26 is included as a preferred but optional feature as a back-up to allow for any leaks which might develop in the system.

Claims

1. An assembly for enabling a radiator to pivot, the assembly comprising, for each end of the radiator, a hollow sleeve one end of which is adapted to screw into a correspondingly threaded bore in the associated end of the radiator, a hollow insert of substantially annular crosssection mounted in said sleeve to be axially fixed relative thereto and making sealing contact with the inner wall of the sleeve, one end of said insert projecting from the other end of said sleeve, and means on said one end of the insert for effecting connection of said insert with an associated control valve whereby a sealed fluid flow path between the valve and the radiator is provided through said insert and said sleeve, the assembly further comprising, for each end of the radiator, a support bracket adapted to be secured to the wall against which the radiator is to be mounted to receive thereon, and to support, the associated sleeve, and releasable catch means reacting between the wall and the upper regions of the radiator to locate said radiator in an upright position, the arrangement being such that, on release of said catch means, the radiator and sleeves can be pivoted on the support brackets and relative to the inserts about an axis extending longitudinally and centrally of the inserts and the sleeves.

2. An assembly as claimed in claim 1 in which the inserts are each of a plastics material and are each provided with one or more sealing rings thereon reacting between the outer wall of the insert and the inner wall of the sleeve to effect a fluid tight seal therebetween.

3. An assembly as claimed in claim 1 or claim 2 in which each hollow sleeve comprises a body portion one end of which is adapted to be screwed into the radiator, and an adjustable gland nut screwed into the other endofsaid body portion, axially compressible sealing means reacting between the body portion and the gland nut to effect an adjustable sealing connection therebetween.

4. An assembly as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 3 in which the outer wall of each sleeve is provided with an arcuate seating thereon with which a correspondingly-shaped receiving portion of the associated bracket co-operates to support the radiator thereon.

5. An assembly as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 4 in which the one end of each insert includes an increased diameter head portion thereon adapted to seal against a correspondingly-shaped surface within the associated valve, connection of the insert to the valve being effected by means of an internally-threaded nut mounted on the insert to react against a rear surface of said head portion and screwed onto a correspondingly externally-threaded portion of the valve.

6. tn assembly as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 4 in which the one end of each insert has a deformable oliveshaped sealing member mounted thereon, connection of said one end of the insert to the valve being effected by means of an internally-threaded nut mounted on the insert and screwed onto a correspondingly externally-threaded portion of the valve with the olive-shaped member being deformed by the nut to effect a fluid-tight seal between the valve and the insert.

7. An assembly as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 6 in which the releasable catch means comprises a locking member adapted to be mounted to the wall and manually pivotal between a locking position co-operating with a strap on the rear of the radiator to retain the radiator in an upright position, and a release position disengaged from said strap to permit pivoting of the radiator on the support brackets.

8. An assembly for enabling a radiator to pivot substantially as described with reference to and as illustrated by the accompanying drawings.