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US 4,285,331 AGranted
Solar heater
AssigneeNone recorded
InventorDan E. Bloxsom
Life of this patent
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AssigneeNone recorded
InventorDan E. Bloxsom
Estimating the term…
A solar heater for heating room air or home hot water includes a transparent plastics material arched panel set over an opening in a roof with air inlet passages between the roof and panel around the periphery of the panel, a sheet metal pan under the roof opening having an inlet and outlet for water and filled with lava rock and water, a ceiling opening just beyond one end of the tray, a register controlling the flow of air through the opening, and a plurality of solar powered electric motor driven fans under the panel over the ceiling just beyond the other end of the tray adapted to draw air in from outside the panel and blow it over the rock, which has been heated by the sun, and down through the ceiling opening into the room below. If there is no need for heating, register is closed and valve in water line is opened to heat water flowing through the pan and rocks.
Solar heater for a structure having a roof and a ceiling extending beneath such roof, comprising an arched panel mounted in an opening in such roof, said panel being transparent to solar radiation and including an air inlet means, a heat exchanger disposed on and supported by such ceiling, said heat exchanger including means for absorbing heat from such solar radiation and being adjacent and spaced from the panel, solar powered means disposed on and supported by such ceiling under said panel in a location to receive some of such solar radiation for moving air over the heat exchanger in the space between said panel and said heat exchanger to absorb heat from said heat exchanger, and a register disposed in an opening in such ceiling movable between an open position in which air is allowed to pass from said solar heater through such ceiling and a closed position in which air is prevented from passing from said solar heater through such ceiling.
Solar heater for a structure having a roof and a ceiling extending beneath such roof, such ceiling having an opening therein, such roof having an opening therein over such opening in such ceiling, such opening in such roof having sheet metal flashing disposed around its inner periphery, such flashing having an upwardly extending flange and an outwardly, downwardly extending lip on such flange, comprising:
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.
Drawings are temporarily unavailable. Open the PDF at USPTO
Characterised by the absorbing material: made of ceramic; made of concrete; made of natural stone
Solar heat collectors using working fluids: having circuits for two or more working fluids
Solar heat collectors using working fluids: comprising porous material or permeable masses directly contacting the working fluids
Integration of renewable energy sources in buildings: solar thermal
Term ended 13 Nov 1998 (estimated)
USPTO file history isn’t available for this patent, so only indexed dates are shown.
This invention relates to a combination room air and home hot water heater employing solar energy both for fluid heating and to power a fan motor for forced draft.
Various elements employed in the invention have previously been known. For example, the transparent vented roof panel has been used as a skylight and is described in a leaflet entitled "Low Silhouette Posi Lock Self Flashing SPACELITE" published by Southwestern Plastics, Inc. of Houston, Tex. Applicant's patented lock is used to secure the panel to the roof. The solar powered electric motor driven fans are described in a brochure entitled "Solar-Prop Electricity From The Sun" published by P & S Engineered Plastics, Inc. of Knoxville, Tenn. Ceiling registers are known in conventional central hot air heating systems. Lava rock is a well known light aggregate.
A variety of solar water heaters are known as described in my contemporaneous United States patent application entitled "Solar Energy Collector".
For a detailed description of the invention reference will now be made to the accompanying drawings wherein
FIG. 1 is a pictorial view of apparatus embodying the invention,
FIG. 2 is a pictorial view of the heat exchanger unit employed in the invention;
Referring to FIGS. 1-3, there is shown wood frame 11 around the inner periphery of an opening in a roof. Sheet metal flashing 13 has a lateral flange 15 overlying the frame 11 and is secured thereto, e.g. by nails. Roof shingles 16 extend over flange 15. The flashing has a vertical flange 17 extending upwardly from the lateral flange adjacent the inner periphery of the frame. A lip 19 extends outwardly from flange 17. Transparent, plastics material panel 21 supports a peripheral channel 23 thereabout which snaps over lip 19 to hold the panel in place over the dome. The channel is not sealed to the lip and does not make a tight fit therewith so that a passage for the inflow of air is left around the periphery of the panel.
Ceiling 25 extending beneath the roof opening supports a sheet metal pan 27 having an impervious bottom, side walls, and ends, so as to hold water. A water inlet pipe 29 is provided at one end and a water outlet 31 at the other. Inlet 29 is controlled by valve 33. Pipe 29 may, for example, be connected to the bottom of a hot water tank and pipe 31 connected to the top of the tank, to provide supplemental heat to water in the tank.
The tank will ordinarily have its own regular heating system, the pipes 29, 31 merely being mere parts of an auxiliary heating system.