Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
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BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
This invention relates to electrical heat strip or
film assemblies utilizing, for example, film illustrated and de-
scribed in United States patent 3,865,626.
Basically, it is a laminated synthetic plastic film
which is flexible and between which is incorporated electrical
conductive resistive material. By varying the quantity of
material sandwiched between the flexible plastic film, varying
wattages can be produced. A copper or other conducting strip
is situated on each side edge of the film which enables connec-
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tion to be made to a source of electrical power.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
In the present invention a construction is shown and
described which incorporates a facing material, the electrical
heat strip or film, insulating material, a reflective film and
a support substrate or combinations thereof.
In accordance with the invention, there is provided a
heating assembly for use with a source of electrical power and
comprising in combination a panel construction including a heat
film panel and a facing material panel on at least one side
thereof, means to secure said panels together in laiminated re-
lationship, means to operatively connect said heat film panel
with the source of electrical power, and means to form said heat
film panel in a corrugated configuration, said means including
a plurality of guides situated in spaced and parallel relation-
ship with one another, said heat film panel following said guides
and being routed thereover in a serpentine formation.
Another aspect of the invention incorporates the heat
strip or film between two facing materials which may be flexi-
ble or rigid, thus giving two warm sides to the structure ratherthan one warm side and one cold side.
Another embodiment contemplates a wall or ceiling panel
consisting of a sheet of the heat strip or film having a panel on
one side which becomes the warm side, and a wall panel and reflec-
tive panel on the other which becomes the cold side, all of thepanels being secured together by adhesive or the like to form a
sandwiched wall panel which incorporates a source of heat
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in the form of the heat strip or film and which can be
used in many locations for not only as a decorative wall
or ceiling panel, but also as a heating panel. Alterna-
tively, it can be utilized as a floor heating panel if
desired.
With the foregoing objects in view, and other
such objects and advantages as will become apparent to
those skilled in the art to which this invention relates
as this specification proceeds, my invention consists
essentially in the arrangement and construction of parts
all as hereinafter more particularly described, reference
being had to the accompanying drawings in which:-
DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
Figure 1 shows a schematic cross sectional view
of one embodiment having one warm side and one cool side~
.
Figure 2 is a view similar to Figure 1, but show-
ing an embodiment with two warm sides~
Figure 3 is a schematic cross sectional view of
an alternative embodiment having one cool side and one
warm side~ :
Figure 4 is a view similar to Figure 3, but having
two warm sides~
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Figure 5 is a schematic cross sectional view of an
alternative embodiment, particularly suited for use with an
enclosure such as a hair dryer or the like.
Figure 6 is a fragmentary side elevation of a heat-
ing fixture incorporating the heat strip or film.
Figure 7 is a schematic end view of Figure 6.
Figure 8 is an isometric exploded view of a wallpanel incorporating the heat strip or film.
Figure 9 is a plan view of the embodiment of Figure
8 assembled and reduced in scale.
In the drawings like characters of reference indicate
corresponding parts in the different figures.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
Proceeding therefore to describe the invention in de-
tail, reference should first be made to Figure 1 which includes
a construction having a facing material 10, a layer or panel of
heat strip or film 11 on one side thereof, insulating material
12 which may take the form of a panel, a reflector film or panel
13 and any substrate, support or facing panel 14.
The high strength polyester film of low surface resis-
tance is produced by treating one or both surfaces of a stretch-
ed polyester film of high mechanical strength
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with a solvent or swelling agent capable of swelling
or superficially dissolving the polyester film surface,
applying electroconductive particles, preferably carbon
black, to the surface in a concentration corresponding
to the desired surface resistance, and then subjecting the
film to a heat treatment. In the case of pigments which
are inert to the solvents or swelling agents employed,
such as carbon black, the procedure is advantageously
such that the electroconductive particles are dispersed
in the solvents or swelling agents used for superficially
dissolving or swelling the surface of the polyester film,
the concentration of the dispersion~ relative to the pro-
portion of pigment, ranging from 0.1 to 12.0% by weight,
preferably from 0.5 to 5.0%. The quantity of carbon
black to be employed per square me~er of film surface
ranges from 0~1 g/m2 to 5.0 g/m~ preferably from 0.3
g/m to 3.0 g/m~ The dispersion is applied to the film
surface and the film is then subjected to a heat treatment.
Preferably, the electroconductive particles are sandwiched
between two layers of polyester film laminated together
and incorporating electrical conductors shown schematic-
ally by reference character llA, adjacent each side edge
in the form of metallic ribbons or strips or the like,
connectable to a source of electrical energy.
The facing material can be any material that is
rigid, semi-rigid or flexible and in any thickness re- ^-
quired and due to the heat generated by the heat s~rip
or rilm~ it is recommended that this facing material be
manufactured from a substance approved by government re-
gulations ~or the intended purpose and that the material
be rated for the applicable surface temperatures generated by
the heat strip or film incorporated therein.
The material may be sandwiched together with the other
components 11, 12, 13 and 14, and secured adhesively or by any
other conventional means, or can be laid up with an air space
therebetween, if desired. Examples offacing materials 10 in-
clude plastic, metal or wood panelling or film, or plasterboard
panels and the like.
The heat generated by the heat strip or film 11 is
radiated in general towards the warm sides 15 firstly because
of the insulation layer 12 and secondly and more importantly,
because of the reflector film 13 thus giving the warm side 15
and the cool side 16 as shown.
The insulating material can be any material that is
rigid, semi-rigid or flexible and includes air spaces, in any
thickness designed to give the proper separation between the
heat strip 11 and the reflector film 13 or other substrate used.
The relfector film or panel may be any material that
can be efficiently utilized for the purpose intended. It has
been demonstrated that the most efficient reflector film is made
of aluminium or glass and the choice of the material depends
upon design parameters.
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: The substrate or other facing panel can be
any material or medium approved by the governing
authorities for its intended purposes such as wood,
metal, plastic, plaster board and the like.
The construction shown in Figure 1, if flexible,
can be wrapped around any container or vessel that it is
required to heat and, of course, the heat is controlled
by the design of the heat strip or ilm 11 incorporated
therein~ it being understood that it is connected to a
source of electrical energy and controlled thermostatically
by conventional means (not illustrated).
Figure 2 shows an alternative construction in
which the facing material 10 is on both sides of the heat
strip or film 11 thus giving two warm sides 15 as illus-
trated. Once again this construction can be flexible or
rigid depending upon its intended use~
If it is desired to increase the intensity of
the heat over a specified area, the construction shown
in Figures 3 and 4 can be utilized~ r
~0 Figure 3 shows facing material 10, insulating
material 1~ and substrate 14 with reflector film 13 be-
ing situated between the insulation and the substrate
as hereinbefore describedO
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However, in this embodiment, the heat strip or
film 11 is corrugated by passing same around alternately
staggered dowels 17 as illustrated schematically in
Figures 3 and 4. The corrugation dimensions for these
applications shown in Figures 3 and 4 can be dimensions
that are designed for the intended purpose and can vary
according to design parameters. Once again this parti-
cular application gives a warm side 15 and a cool side
16.
Figure 4 shows a similar construction in which
facing materials 10 are situated on both sides of the
corrugated heat strip or film 11 thus giving two warm
side~ 15 as illustrated.
The application shown schematically in Figure
5 includes a protective backing or facing material 10A,
reflector film 13, insulating material 12V heat strip
or film 11 and inner facing material 10B all of which
are adhesively secured together, it being understood
that the protective backing or facing material 10A is
the outer side of the construction thus giving the cool
side 15 on the outer side and the warm side 16 on the
inner side.
The radius shown can be infinite providing it
does not interfere with the safe and proper usage of
the flexible heat strip or film 11 and although a curved
surface i5 shown which is hemispherical~ nevertheless it
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will be appreciated that the construction is applicable
to any configuration and dimension desired.
This type of construction, which is preferably
rigid, i~ ideally ~uited to such application~ a~ hair
dryers and the like, and can be formed in a dome or
hemispherical shaped helmet type configuration~
Figures 6 and 7 show the heat strip or film 11
utilized in a ceiling or wall heating fixture which in-
cludes an elongated casing 18 in the form of a lamp fix-
ture or the like and having rigid insulation in the form
of urethane or the like 19 adjacent the inner wall with
a reflec~or film or plate 20 on one side of the insula-
tion l9o
The heat strip or film ll is preferably formed
in the configuration shown to give maximum effect and is
situated below the insulation 19 with a plastic egg crat-
ing type panel 21 being situated on the warm side of the
heat strip or film ll~ it being understood that the side
22 of the fitting is the cool side.
A cable 23 extends from one end and may be con-
nected to a source of electrical energy on one side and
~o the heat strip or film ll on the other.
This enables heating units to be suspended or
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fastened to walls wherever desired and they are parti-
cularly adapted for use with recessed ceilings with the
egg crating 21 conforming with the conventional egg
crating used with recessed lighting associated in the
S same ceiling~
Finally, reference should be made to Figures 8
and 9 which shows the construction of rigid wall panels.
In this embodiment, a quarter inch sheet of ply-
wood 24 has a sheet of heat strip or film stapled there-
to by means of staples 24'~ A further sheet of plywood
25 is then placed on the other side of the heat strip~ a
sheet of aluminium reflector material 13 is placed agairst
the other side of the plywood 25 and finally a further
sheet of plywood 26 is placed against the other side of
the reflector film 13~ These are sandwiched together
and held by means of adhesive or any other conventional
means with the edges taped by means of a plastic tape 27
extending around three sides of the sandwich as shown in
Figure 9.
It will be observed that one end 28 of the heat
strip or rilm 11 extends beyond the wall panel construc-
tion and is utilized for connecting the heat strip or
film to a source of electrical energy as shown schematic-
ally in Figure g which shows two panels in side by side
relationship~ This provides a wall panel having a warm
side 15 and a cool side 16~
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The various constructions can be utilized un-
der a variety of conditions and for a considerable
variety of uses.
Given below is a partial list of the useC to
which the various constructions can be placed, in order
to supply controlled heat to the item with which it is
used~ but it is to be understood that this list is not
means to be limited:
RAILWAYS
Marshalling yard oil stands
Switches
oi 1 Storage Tanks
Tar Storage Tanks
Oil transportation tank cars
Sulphur transportation tank cars
Chemical transportation tank cars
Aircraft - snowmobiles and tractor heating
Wood chip transportation Gondola cars
Coal transportation Gondola cars
Gravel transportation Gondola cars
ore transportation Gondola cars
Heated cars for provisions9 fruit, canned goods and
vegetable transportation
Plenums
COMMERCIAL
Buses
Perishable food transport trucks
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Oil tank trucks
Warehouse heating
Office heating
Automobile and truck heating
Market gardener greenhouses and cold frames
Piggy barns
Dairy barns
Poultry barns
Beehives
Mining - underground tunnels, eating rooms, water-lines
(all types)
Surface - water-lines
Trenching and excavations
Heating for shops, garages, stores, stadiums and arenas
Northern installations (N.O.R.A.D.)
Grain elevators
Grain dryers
Airport runways
Use in Cooking equipment
Ovens
Grills
Fryers
Dishwasher heaters
Plate and food warmers
Steam cooking equipment
Coffee making equipment
Food processing of all types
All industries requiring heating and/or drying processing
Water heating
Auto batteries
Engines
Seats
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DOMESTIC
Blankets for all types of heat
Home heating
Mobile trailer homes
Travel trailers
Campers
Heat rixtures
Baseboard heat
Hair dryers
Motel and hotel rooms '~
Ceiling heat
Wallboard heat
Under floor heating
Wall picture heaters
Solarium heating
Crib heating for premature babies
Stadium heating
All types of space heating including furnaces and boilers.
MEDICAL
Bed warmers
Body warmers
Therapeutic equipment
Although the flexible and rigid embodiments have
be2n mentioned as being used for different purposes as
specified above, nevertheless it will be appreciated
that the constructions described can be interchanged so
far as usage is concerned, depending upon design para-
metersO
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SUPPLEMENTARY DISCLOSURE
Figure 9 is a fragmentary top plan ~iew of a panel
assembly separated substantially along the line 8-8 of Figure 10.
Figure 10 is a fragmentary side view of one of the
guide members with a portion of the flexible heating film secur-
ed within the corrugations.
Figure 11 is a partially broken away fragmentary cross
sectional view of the preferred embodiment of the invention.
Figure 12 is a fragmentary plan view of one embodiment
of a grid which may be used as a facing panel.
Figure 13 is a fragmentary isometric view of one of
the corrugated guide members.
In this embodiment, a substantially rectangular fac-
ing panel 29 is illustrated which may be made from any desired
material such as plywood, plasterboard or the like and is pre-
ferably rigid.
A reflective sheet 30 is secured to the inner face of
panel 29 by adhesive or some similar means, said reflective
sheet being similar to the reflective sheet hereinbefore describ-
ed.
Next an insulating panel 31 is secured as by adhesive
or the like to the reflective sheet 30, said insulated panel
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preferably being rigid and being formed from an insulating
material as hereinbefore described.
A pair of spaced and parallel situated support and
guide members are next provided, said members being collective~
ly designated 32.
These may be formed from wood or plastic and are
elongated strips 33 having a substantially planar one edge 34
and a corrugated or alternately curved upper edge 35 as clear-
ly shown in Figures 9 and 12.
The aforementioned plastic heat film panel 11 is laid
between the spaced and parallel guides 33 and ~ngaged with the
matching corrugations 35 and it may be stapled in position as
illustrated by staples 36 so that it follows the corrugations
as shown in Figure 9. These guide members 32 are situated ad-
jacent each of two spaced and parallel edges of the assembly
and, if necessary, spacer strips 37 may be secured to opposite
edges of the glass fiber blanket panel 31 perpendicular to the
guide strips or members 32.
Finally a further facing panel 38 may be secured as
by adhesive or the like, to the surfaces 24 of the guide strips
32 and to the spacer strips 37.
If desired, edge strips 39 may be secured as by ad-
hesive or the like around all four edges of the assembled panel
and contacts 39A extending from the heat strip or film 11, ex-
tend through the spacers 37 for connection to a source of elec-
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trical energy.
This assembled wall panel component, as illustrated
in Figure 10, includes a cool side at facing panel 29 and a warm
side at facing panel 38. They may be used as wall panels or
ceiling panels and, if desired, amy be formed with an open grid
facing panel 40 in place of panel 38 so that they can be formed
similar to light fixtures and placed in the ceiling to direct
heat downwardly through the open grid 40.
The forming of the heat panel or strip 11 in a corru-
gated configuration, sealed within the panel assembly, gives a
greater area of heating medium for a specified planar area.
The corrugation dimensions for the guide members 32
can vary accordiny to design parameters and the radius of cur-
vature of the heating film or strip 11 depends upon the con-
struction of the film but should ensure the safe and proper
usage of the film is not interrupted.
It will of course be appreciated that, if desired,
the reflective sheet 30 and the glass fiber blanketmay be elim-
inated if two warm sides are required for the finished panel.
Since various modifications can be made in my inven-
tion as hereinbefore described, and many apparently widely dif-
ferent embodiments of same made within the spirit and scope of
the claims without departing from such spirit and scope, it is
intended that all matter contained in the accompanying specifi-
cation shall be interpreted as illustrative only and not in a
limiting sense.
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