Technical Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to heating apparatus. In particular, the present invention relates to heating apparatus mountable to a conventional domestic central heating radiator for circulating liquid through the radiator.

Background to the Invention

Conventional wet central heating systems comprise a single boiler, typically fuelled by gas, oil, coal or wood. The boiler heats water which is circulated by a pump through multiple radiators installed around a building to be heated. Such systems are relatively costly to install owing to the cost of a boiler and the need to install pipework connecting the boiler to the radiators. They are also inefficient. Boilers are not 100% efficient as a significant proportion of the heat energy generated by burning the fuel is not transferred to the water, but instead escapes via the boiler's flue. Heat is also lost from the pipework carrying hot water from the boiler to the radiators. Controlling such a system is also difficult or complex, it being necessary to control both the boiler and the flow of water to individual radiators if it is desired to control the heat output of individual radiators.

Embodiments of the present invention seek to address the above problems.

Summary of the Invention According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided heating apparatus comprising flow and return fluid connections for connecting to a central heating radiator, a pump for circulating liquid between the fluid connections, a heater for heating liquid circulating between the fluid connections, the heating apparatus being mountable to the central heating radiator so that the heating apparatus is substantially supported by the central heating radiator.

In this way, the present invention provides for a compact, self-contained heating apparatus that can be fitted onto a conventional central heating radiator in order to circulate heated liquid within the radiator and thus heat a room in which the radiator is located. The present invention has several advantages over a conventional centrally heated radiator. For example, since the heating apparatus acts as the heat source to heat the liquid in a radiator, there is no requirement to purchase and install a large and expensive boiler. Consequently, heat is not lost from pipework carrying heated liquid from the boiler to the radiator since the heater is adjacent the radiator. Furthermore, the present invention allows for the heat output of a single radiator to be easily controlled and adjusted. Moreover, the heating apparatus is 100% efficient in delivering heat to a room in which it is installed. The heating apparatus may be mountable to the central heating radiator so that the heating apparatus is entirely supported by the central heating radiator.

The heating apparatus may further comprise a support on which the pump and heater are disposed. The support may be mountable on a central heating radiator. The heating apparatus may comprise a plurality of supports. In particular, the heating apparatus may comprise a first support and a second support. The pump and heater may be disposed on the first support.

The first support may be substantially L-shaped and thus may comprise an elongate body and a base plate. The first support may comprise one or more apertures. In particular, the first support may comprise a first aperture and a second aperture. The apertures may be formed in the elongate body of the first support. The first aperture may be sized and positioned to correspond to an inlet of a radiator. The second aperture may be sized and positioned to correspond to an outlet of a radiator. The first and second apertures may thus be engageable with an inlet and an outlet, respectively, of a radiator. The first and/or second aperture may be keyhole shaped. The first and/or second aperture may be substantially circular. The first and/or second aperture may be an open ended slot. In particular, the first aperture may be shaped to hook over a part of an inlet of a radiator, such as a shoulder portion, and the second aperture may be shaped to hook over a part of an outlet of a radiator, such as a shoulder portion. In this way, the heating apparatus may be mountable to a radiator by engaging the one or more apertures with an inlet and/or outlet of the radiator.

The first support may comprise a substantially rectangular aperture for receiving the pump. The pump may be mounted to the first support by use of a suitable fastening means such as rivets or screws.

The first support may comprise a bracket for holding the heater. The heater may comprise a chamber. The heater may further comprise an electric heating element. The electric heating element may provide around 500W to 700W of heating power. In particular, the electric heating element may provide around 600W of heating power. The first support and the second support may be releasably fastenable to each other by using a fastening means such as screws or rivets. The first support and/or the second support may be manufactured from a metal. Alternatively, the first support and/or the second support may be manufactured from a heat insulating material. In particular, the second support may be manufactured from a heat insulating material. Alternatively, a layer of heat insulating material may be applied to the second support.

The second support may comprise a portion that acts as a shield to protect one or more components of the heating apparatus from heat generated by the heater. The portion may be shaped to extend at least partially around one or more components of the heating apparatus. In particular, the portion may be shaped to extend over the heater and/or the pump. In this way, the second support may separate the more delicate components of the heating apparatus from the heater and protect them from heat damage.

The flow fluid connection may comprise a first pipe portion for connecting an outlet of the heater with an inlet of a radiator. The first pipe portion may be curved. The first pipe portion may comprise a first connector for engaging with an inlet of the radiator to fluidly connect the first pipe portion to a radiator. In this way, a flow fluid connection is provided from the heating apparatus to a radiator.

The return fluid connection may comprise a second pipe portion for connecting an outlet of a radiator with an inlet of the pump. The second pipe portion may be curved. The second pipe portion may comprise a second connector for engaging with an outlet of a radiator to fluidly connect the second pipe portion to a radiator. In this way, a return fluid connection is provided from a radiator to the heating apparatus.

The heating apparatus may further comprise a third pipe portion for connecting an outlet of the pump with an inlet of the heater. Or, the pump and heater may be directly connected to one another.

The heating apparatus may further comprise a temperature regulator for controlling the temperature of the liquid flowing between the fluid connections. The temperature regulator may comprise, be connected to, or be operable to receive information from, a room temperature sensor for measuring the temperature of a room in which the heating apparatus is located. The temperature regulator may be operable to activate and/or deactivate the heater in response to the room temperature sensed by the room temperature sensor. The temperature regulator may be operable to activate and/or deactivate the pump in response to the room temperature sensed by the room temperature sensor. The temperature regulator may be operable to receive a target room temperature inputted by a user; the target room temperature being a user's desired temperature of a room in which the heating apparatus is installed. The temperature regulator may therefore be operable to activate the heater and/or the pump if the target room temperature inputted by a user is higher than the room temperature measured by the room temperature sensor. Similarly, the temperature regulator may be operable to deactivate the heater and/or the pump if the room temperature measured by the room temperature sensor is at or higher than the target temperature. The temperature regulator may further comprise a display for displaying information such as the room temperature and the target room temperature. The display may be a touch-screen display. The temperature regulator may further comprise one or more user input devices for enabling the user to input a target temperature into the temperature regulator. The user input device may comprise one or more buttons or controls.

The temperature regulator may comprise a heater temperature sensor for measuring the temperature within the heater. The temperature regulator may be operable to deactivate the heater if the temperature within the heater, detected by the heater temperature sensor, exceeds a threshold value. The heating apparatus may further comprise one or more relays to allow the temperature regulator to activate and deactivate the heater.

The heating apparatus may further comprise a communication unit. The communication unit may be operable to send and/or receive data to and from a remote system or remote device. The communication unit may be operable to send and/or receive data over any suitable wired or wireless link. The communication unit may be connected to the temperature regulator. The communication unit may be operable to transmit a target temperature inputted by a user to the temperature regulator. In this way, the heating apparatus may be operated and controlled remotely, for example over a wireless connection such as Wi-Fi.

The heating apparatus may further comprise a cover to house the components of the heating apparatus. The cover may be elongate. The cover may have a substantially U- shaped cross section. The cover may be releasably fastenable to the first support and/or the second support by using an fastening means such as screws or rivets. The cover may be visually similar to a central heating radiator. For example, the cover may be formed from a similar material as a central heating radiator, the cover may have a similar finish or colour as a central heating radiator. The cover may be sized to have the same or similar height and/or depth as a central heating radiator. Thus, the cover may be sized to match a central heating radiator so that its edges do not protrude beyond the edges of the radiator. In this way, the cover is shaped and sized so that when a user views the heating apparatus whilst it is mounted to a central heating radiator, the cover causes the heating apparatus to appear as an integral or inbuilt part of the radiator. Accordingly, this provides for the heating apparatus to be fitted unobtrusively onto a conventional central heating radiator. The heating apparatus may further comprise a tamper evident sealing element such as a sticker for fastening between the heating apparatus and the radiator after the heating apparatus has been mounted to a radiator. Alternatively, or additionally, the heating apparatus may comprise a tamper evident sealing element such as a sticker for fastening between the heating apparatus and the cover. In this way, in order to dismount the heating apparatus from the radiator or remove the cover from the heating apparatus, the sealing element must be broken, which would allow the manufacturer to determine whether the heating apparatus has been tampered with.

According to a second aspect of the invention, there is provided an assembly comprising a radiator and heating apparatus according to the first aspect of the invention mounted to the radiator.

Detailed Description of the Invention

In order that the invention may be more clearly understood an embodiment thereof will now be described, by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying drawings, of which:

Figure 1 is a perspective part-exploded view of an embodiment of the present invention;

Figure 2 is a side part-exploded view of the embodiment of the present invention shown in Figure 1 ; and Figure 3 is a perspective view of the embodiment of the present invention shown in Figure 1 when assembled and mounted to a radiator. Figures 1-3 illustrate a conventional domestic central heating radiator 1 having a plurality of fluid connections. In this case, liquid may be introduced into the radiator 1 through an inlet 2 and liquid may be discharged from the radiator 1 through an outlet 23. The inlet 2 and the outlet 23 protrude from the radiator 1 and form a shoulder having larger diameter than the diameter of the inlet 2 and outlet 23. The radiator 1 further comprises an air outlet at its top, opposing the inlet 2, for bleeding air from the radiator 1.

Figures 1-3 also illustrate a heating apparatus 11. The heating apparatus 11 comprises a first support 3 for holding its components.

The first support 3 is substantially L-shaped and comprises an elongate body 5 with a base plate 21 connected to its bottom edge so that the base plate 21 extends perpendicularly to the body 5. A lip 20 is connected to the base plate 21 and extends upwards, perpendicular to the base plate 21, to face the body 5. The width of the first support 3 is substantially the same as the depth of the radiator 1.

The first support 3 comprises integrally formed mounting formations in the form of a first aperture 4 and a second aperture 22. The first aperture 4 is formed at the top of the body 5 of the first support 3 and is keyhole shaped so that the bottom of the first aperture 4 is wider than the top. The second aperture 22 is formed where the body 5 of the first support 3 meets the base plate 21. The second aperture 22 is an open ended slot with substantially parallel side portions, a straight base portion perpendicular to both side portions, and a curved top portion.

The first and second apertures 4, 22 enable the heating apparatus 11 to hook onto the protruding inlet 2 and outlet 23 behind the shoulder formed on the inlet 2 or the outlet 23 and therefore mount to the radiator 1. The first support 3 is provided with a substantially rectangular aperture to receive a pump 16 for circulating liquid through the radiator 1 , into its inlet 2 and out of its outlet 23. The pump 16 is fastened to the first support 3 by use of a suitable fastening means such as rivets or screws. A bracket 24 is provided to secure a heater 8 to the first support 3. The inlet of the heater 8 is fluidly connected to the outlet of the pump 16. The heater 8 contains an electric heating element for heating liquid flowing through the heater 8. In this embodiment, the heating element is rated at 600W. A heater temperature sensor (not shown) is provided to monitor the temperature inside the heater 8 as a safety measure. If the temperature within the heater 8 gets too high then the heater 8 shuts down.

The heating apparatus 11 further comprises piping and connectors for fluidly connecting the pump 16 and the heater 8 to the inlet 2 and the outlet 23 of the radiator 1, as will now be described.

A first curved pipe portion 7 is provided with a first connector 6 to connect to the inlet 2 of the radiator 1 to provide a flow fluid connection from the outlet of the heater 8 to the inlet 2 of the radiator 1. A second curved pipe portion 18 is provided with a second connector 19 to connect to the outlet 23 of the radiator 1 to provide a return fluid connection from the outlet of 23 of the radiator 1 to the inlet of the pump 16. The second curved pipe portion 18 comprises a filling port 17 and a filling valve. The second curved pipe portion 12 bends in a U shape so that the filling port 17 and the filling valve can be accommodated in the housing. A small slot is provided in the cover 14 to allow access to the filling port 17 and the filling valve. A breakable sealing element such as a sticker (not shown) is provided on the heating apparatus 11. The sticker can be fastened between the heating apparatus 11 and the radiator 1 when the heating apparatus 11 is mounted to the radiator 1 so that it breaks if the heating apparatus 11 is dismounted and removed from the radiator 1. The sticker therefore provides a way for the manufacturer of the heating apparatus 11 to know if a user has tampered with the installed heating apparatus 11.

The heating apparatus 11 further comprise a second support 9 that fastens to the top and bottom of the first support 3 by use of a suitable fastening means such as rivets or screws. The piping, the pump 16 and the heater 8 are all contained between the first support 3 and the second support 9 when they are connected together. The width of the second support 3 is substantially the same as the first support 3 and thus the depth of the radiator 1.

The second support 9 is shaped to conform to, and fit over, the pump 16 and the heater 8. A temperature regulator 10, a relay 12, a wireless communication unit 13 and a cable entry point 15 are mounted to the outside the second support 9. The second support 9 thus sits between these components and the heater 8 in order to act as a shield to protect these delicate components from being damaged by the heater 8. The relay 12, the wireless communication unit 13 and the cable entry point 15 are mounted to the second support 9.

The temperature regulator 10 comprises a room temperature sensor, a display 25 and a plurality of buttons that allow a user to set a target room temperature. The temperature regulator 10 controls the operation of the heater 8 so that the room the heating apparatus 11 is placed in reaches and maintains a target room temperature, and to ensure safe operation of the heating apparatus 11.

The wireless communication unit 13 allows for a user to control the temperature regulator wirelessly, from a remote location. The cable entry point 15 is for receiving a cable connected to a 13Aplug to allow the heating apparatus 11 to be plugged into a mains socket to receive power.

The heating apparatus 11 further comprises a cover 14 that houses the various components. The cover 14 releasably fastens to the first support 3 and the second support 9 by use of a suitable fastening means such as rivets or screws. The cover 14 is elongate in shape and has a substantially U-shaped cross section. The cover 14 contains a slot through which the temperature regulator 10 can be seen.

In use, after the components have been assembled, the heating apparatus 11 is mounted on to the radiator 1 by hooking the first aperture 4 over the shoulder of the inlet 2 and hooking the second aperture 22 over the should of the outlet 23. The weight of the heating apparatus 11 is thus entirely supported by the radiator 1. The first connector 6 is then connected to the inlet 2 and the second connector 19 is connected to the outlet 23. The heating apparatus 11 is now fluidly connected to the radiator 1 so that liquid may circulate in a loop through the radiator 1 and the heating apparatus 11.

In order to fill the heating apparatus 11 and radiator 1 with water, the filling port 17 is connected to a water supply by a hose and the filling valve is opened. At the same time, the air outlet at the top of the radiator 1 is opened to allow air to escape. The radiator 1 and mounted heating apparatus 11 are tilted at an angle of 45°, so that the air valve is at the highest point, and water is piped into the filling port 17. When the radiator 1 and heating apparatus 11 are full of water, or mostly full to allow for thermal expansion, both the filling valve and air outlet are closed, and the hose is disconnected from the filling port 17.

The heating apparatus 11 is switched on by the user either pressing a switch, or, optionally, by remote access using the wireless communication unit 13. The user then sets a target room temperature using the temperature regulator 10, which controls activation of the heater 8 in response to the temperature of the room in which the heating apparatus 11 is situated in.

If the room temperature, measured by the room temperature sensor, is lower than the target room temperature then the temperature regulator 10 will send a control signal to the relay 12 to activate the pump 16 to circulate water around the heating apparatus 11 and the radiator 1, and to activate the heating element to heat the water that is now flowing through the heater 8, between the flow and return fluid connections. The heater 8 and the pump 16 remain active until the room temperature reaches the target temperature. The heating apparatus 11 consequently has "flat-line" power consumption.

When the room temperature has reached or exceeds the target temperature the temperature regulator 10 will send a control signal to the relay 12 to deactivate the pump 16 and the heater 8.

If the temperature inside the heater 8 exceeds a threshold temperature, such as 70°C, the temperature regulator 10 will send a signal to the relay 12 to deactivate the heater as a safety measure to ensure that the heating apparatus 11 does not overheat.

Figure 3 illustrates the heating apparatus 11 mounted to the radiator 1. As can be seen, the cover 14 is shaped and sized so as to not extend substantially beyond the dimensions of the radiator 1. In this embodiment, the width of the cover 14 is the same as the depth as the radiator 1 and a portion of the cover 14 has the same height as the height of the radiator 1. Thus, the cover 14 is designed to be visually the same or similar to the radiator 1. The above embodiment is described by way of example only. Many variations are possible without departing from the scope of the invention as defined in the appended claims.