COMPRISING SUCH A HEATING PANEL

DESCRIPTION

The present invention relates to a heating panel (or module), particularly suitable to be installed on furniture elements or structures (or furniture) for the inside of worship places frequented by people (typically churches, cathedrals, chapels and so on): for example, desks, benches, lecterns, portals, pulpits, confessionals, seats, chairs and/or other additions or accessories for furnishing worship places accessible, exploitable or usable by people fall within the furniture elements mentioned above.

The present invention also relates to a furniture element of worship places frequented by people comprising or using such a heating panel.

STATE OF THE ART

As known, inside worship places such as churches, cathedrals, chapels, sacristies, rectories and so on furniture elements are provided such as at least desks, confessionals, benches, lecterns, seats in which believers or priests can sit, for instance during holy masses, prayer moments or repentance acts (confessions).

In particular, the benches on which the faithful sit during religious ceremonies or personal prayer moments are able to accommodate more people each, typically four/five, and are orderly arranged in a plurality of rows parallel and spaced apart each other and a plurality of columns parallel each other and spaced apart in such a way as to form a geometric matrix of various composition.

The other furniture elements of a worship place are responsible to accommodate a very limited number of persons, also only one in case of seats and lecterns, and for periods of time more reduced compared to those ones in which people generally remain on the desks. Inside worship places the problem of how to heat the environments frequented by people is notoriously important and not so easy and always effective to be solved, especially during winter time in cathedrals and oldest churches where interventions on the heating system in order to improve it and make it more efficient are often hampered by construction constraints or presence of artistic works, such as historic paintings, of high value.

The product at the base of the present invention is born from specific critical issues still existing analyzed inside worship places.

Firstly, floor heating system which are installed within churches and similar fail to provide adequate climatic comfort to the faithful or the persons present, due to the shape of the furniture elements, in particular the benches (or desks) which almost completely cover the surface of the floor in which the radiant system is installed.

Furthermore, due to the shadow generated by the benches (or desks) and by the other furniture elements, the radiant system is brought to high temperatures, resulting in priming of the convection phenomenon: the steam thus created negatively rises upwardly till to dent and almost inevitably damage the artistic structures, such as paintings, statues, paintings and so on present inside the worship place, with the often extremely serious and expensive to be solved drawbacks that this determines.

The hot air movement in the worship places brings, indeed, upwardly the steam that damages stucco, pictures, paintings and statues. Furthermore, with the triggering of air movement the persons that are in the benches or in the generic furniture elements even feel colder than the situation in which the floor radiant system does not work.

This is not enough, there is to report the further problem linked to the fact that the floor radiant system installation is particularly burdensome in respect of the intrusiveness level: often, due to ancient floors, it is impossible to make definitive installations, with all the risks and inconveniences that result both in operative and technical terms and aesthetic for the worship place.

A last but not least problem which is found with the floor radiant systems installed in worship places frequented by people is due to the fact that energy consumption are high, since, in addition to the high operating temperatures, the operating surfaces and the exercise hours are relevant. Secondly, gas (which occur especially in the form of heating mushrooms, each to be considered as a patio-heater, infrared heat generators able to produce heat by irradiation for small or large environments) or electrical stoves and lamps installed inside worship places in order to warm the people are not exempt from limitations and problems of some importance. Beyond to the aesthetic awkward presence of the so-called heating "mushroom" or lamps at the top and decorated part of the worship places, they are unsafe systems for people and not very effective.

Indeed, the heating mushroom tends to heat the exposed (non-shaded) portions and, mostly, the upper parts of the body of a person, already widely protected by jackets and coats, excluding the environmental areas which cannot be directly irradiated for the presence of structures which act as a barrier and leaving cool the body parts of a person less protected and more in need, such as feet and legs.

Even these high temperature systems produce steam and the air movement is more than evident, with the disadvantages that this entails just highlighted above.

In addition, the costs of purchase and operation of such gas or electric stoves and lamps are relevant.

PURPOSES OF THE INVENTION

The present invention seeks to overcome the drawbacks of the known technique just highlighted.

In particular, main purpose of the present invention to provide a radiant panel which is able to heat the people (not only the faithful but also the celebrant, ministers, attendants, security personnel and so on) who attend worship places and in general there make use of furniture elements such as benches or desks, confessionals, lecterns, seats and even more in a more effective than what allowed by the current heating systems installed on them.

As part of such a purpose, it is therefore task of the invention to devise a heating panel which enables people to enjoy prayer moments inside worship places during the colder year weather seasons in more comfortable conditions than those ones which can be currently found. It is a second purpose of the invention to create a heating panel which preserves the integrity of artistic works present inside a worship place, especially frescoes, paintings, fine stucco and paintings, at a greater extent than at the current state of the art.

With respect to this second purpose, it is task of the invention to make available a heating panel which reduces compared to the prior art maintenance and/or restoration interventions to be implemented on the artistic works present inside a worship place.

It is a further purpose of the invention to provide a heating system of worship places which can be installed and operate at lower costs than systems of known type, cost of manpower employed being equal.

It is a last but not least purpose of the invention to provide a heating panel for furniture elements of worship places frequented by persons that is reliable in operation and minimally invasive of the environment in which it is mounted both constructively and aesthetically.

The foregoing purposes are achieved by means of a heating panel according to claim 1 attached hereto, as hereinafter referred for the sake of exposure brevity.

Additional technical features of detail of the heating panel of the invention are contained in the corresponding dependent claims.

A furniture element of worship places frequented by people including such a heating panel and incorporating the technical features set out in the attached claim 10, as again hereinafter referred for the sake of exposure brevity, helps to achieve the aforesaid purposes too.

ADVANTAGES

Advantageously, the system of the invention involves the installation of a heating panel, preferably made with the same essence of furniture element (bench or desk, for example) in which it is incorporated, able in preferred but not binding way of heating in bidirectional manner using, still preferably, an infrared heating system.

This allows to get, even advantageously:

• location of the climate (more specifically, heat), only where it is needed and where most insists the presence of the users, therefore at benches, desks, seats, confessionals and similar; • neither structurally nor aesthetically non-invasive installation of the heating system for the worship place, unlike what happens with the systems of the known art: externally, indeed, the heating panel looks exactly like a normal furniture component with its own aesthetic connotations, since the electrical means producing heat are hidden inside of it;

• reduction of energy consumption due to the possibility of adjusting the operation of the heating panel in such a way that it acts only at specific furniture elements and, at the same furniture elements, precise and confined places, typically sitting ones, frequented by people: essentially the heating panel allows to design and heat only those well- defined areas frequented by people which are expected to serve at a given occasion, avoiding to intervene in dispersive and wasteful way on disproportionate environmental areas and volumes, as it typically occurs in the prior art;

• greater safety for people and users in general than any heating stove of known type, thanks to the low operating voltage, which does not exceed 30 volts, of the electrical means installed inside the laminar finishing and support body;

• ordinary replacement, repair and/or maintenance interventions or in case of faults which can be easily performed;

• customization possibilities of the heating panel in such a way as to integrate it aesthetically with the environment, existing dyes and furnishings.

BRIED DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES

Said purposes and advantages, as well as other ones which will emerge later on, will appear more evident from the following description, relating to a preferred embodiment of the heating panel and furniture element of the invention, given by way of indicative and illustrative, but not limiting, example, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

• figure 1 is a partly sectioned (or broken) assonometric view of the heating panel of the invention;

• figure 2 is a partly sectioned (or broken) assonometric view of a first possible embodiment of the heating panel of figure 1 ; • figure 3 is a schematic and partly sectioned assonometric view of the furniture element of the invention comprising the heating panel of figure 1 ;

• figure 4 is the side view of figure 3;

• figure 5 is a schematic and partly sectioned assonometric view of a first possible embodiment of the furniture element of figure 3;

• figure 6 is a partial and truncated front view of figure 5;

• figure 7 is another assonometric view of the furniture element of figure 5;

• figure 8 is a schematic and truncated side view of a plurality of furniture elements of the invention, each of which comprising a plurality of heating panels of the invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF A PREFERRED EMBODIMENT OF THE INVETION

The heating panel of the invention is illustrated in figure 1 , where it is globally indicated with 1 , in a first possible constructive base embodiment, that one which provides the essential components.

According to the invention, the heating panel comprises:

· a laminar finishing and support body 2 defining an inner chamber 3;

• operative low-voltage electrical means, generically indicated with 4, firmly housed inside the inner chamber 3 and provided with connection means, generically numbered with 5, for their connection to an electrical power source communicating with the outside through an output channel 6 made in the laminar body 2.

It should be noted that the electrical power source which the electrical means 4 are electrically connected with is not represented for the sake of simplicity and is constituted for example by the public network of electrical energy; moreover, the output channel 6 is constituted in this case, purely by way of example, by a through hole made in a side shoulder 7 of the laminar body 2.

In particular, the laminar finishing and support body 2 is made of any of materials selected from the group consisting of wood, transparent and/or colored plastic material (such as PMMA, also known under the registered trademark plexiglas®), glass, metal, fabric, their combinations and/or similar, in any case able to self-adapt to the furniture element of the worship place which it is coupled with, contributing (and not affecting) to its aesthetical effect. Preferably but not necessarily, the laminar finishing and support body 2 comprises a first plate 8 and a second plate 9 facing each other and stably coupled each other in such a way as to define the inner chamber 3 through junction means, not visible and comprising for example fastening screws of removable type in order to allow quick and practical inspection of the inside of the heating panel 1.

Each of these plates 8 and 9 is composed of a flat portion 10 whose outer face 10a presents aesthetic connotation in order to remain in sight and by a peripheral edge 1 1 projecting from the inner face 10b of the flat portion 10 and at which the junction means before mentioned are applied.

More in detail, in this specific case the peripheral edge 11 is a separate piece from the two plates 8 and 9 and belongs to a C-shaped frame 12 which in the perimetrical recess 13 houses a perimetrical portion of each of the plates 8 and 9.

It should be understood that in other embodiments of the heating panel of the invention, not shown in the attached drawings, the peripheral edge could be made in single body with the flat portion both for the first plate and for the second plate.

As far as the operative low-voltage electrical means 4 are concerned, they include, in preferred but non-binding title, a membrane resistance 14, as it can be well obtained by observing figure 1.

In addition, the operative low-voltage electrical means 4 are arranged close to the inner wall 1 1a of the peripheral edge 11 of the first plate 8 and/or of the second plate 9.

More in detail, the operative low-voltage electrical means 4 are provided with one or more support legs, not visible, which allow their support to the inner base of the laminar finishing and support body 2 which is clearly hollow inside.

In other embodiments of the heating panel of the invention, not accompanied in the following by reference drawings, the operative low-voltage electrical means could be hung by means of suitable fastening means to the upper inner wall and/or to the inner side wall of the hollow laminar finishing and support body, or even more to the inner face of at least one of the two plates belonging to the laminar finishing and support body itself.

According to the preferred embodiment described herein of the invention, the operative low- voltage electrical means 4 emit short infrared radiations, useful for heating confined areas frequented by the person, when the latter is located at minimum distances from the electrical means 4.

In the case in which the heating panel 1 of the invention is mounted on desks of worship places suitable to accommodate several faithful (generally in number of four or five), the persons that are near one of them for example during prayer moments or religious ceremonies are affected by the heat emitted by the heating panel 1 installed on the desk directly placed in front of them (assuming to be facing the altar of the worship place) and/or by the heating panel 1 installed on the desk on which they sit and lean the back, depending on the operating choices set at a given occasion by the pastor or worship place manager. Figure 1 also shows that the electrical connection means 5 comprise power connections suitably applied on the side of lower length 14a of the membrane resistance 14.

Figure 2 shows a first embodiment of the invention in which the heating panel, globally indicated with 50, differs from that one just described and numbered with 1 in that it also comprises heat modulation means emitted by the electrical means, as a whole indicated with 53.

The heat modulation means, indicated as a whole with 56, are contained into the inner chamber 52 and interfere with the electrical means 53 in order to at least in part, if not almost totally, prevent the propagation of heat in a direction (front in this case, assuming as reference that the person occupies a furniture element being turned towards the altar of the worship place) substantially orthogonal to the plane defined by the side faces 51a, 51 b opposite each other of the laminar finishing and support body 51 and favor the propagation of the heat itself predominantly in the opposite direction Z ₂ (rear always assuming as reference that the person occupies a furniture element being turned towards the altar of the worship place). More specifically, the heat modulation means 56, preferably, comprise an auxiliary thermally insulating plate 57 interposed between the electrical means 53 and an inner wall 51c of the laminar finishing and support body 51 in order to at least partly thermally insulate it.

In particular, the auxiliary thermally insulating plate 57 has a greater thickness than the membrane resistance 55.

This auxiliary plate 57 is also made in any of the insulating materials selected from the group consisting of wood, rubber, cork, thermoplastic polymer (such as polystyrene), combinations thereof and/or similar.

It should be understood that other embodiments of the heating panel of the invention, yet not illustrated in the attached drawings, could provide that the heat modulation means include a number of auxiliary thermally insulating plates greater than one.

It has been already mentioned before that the invention also relates to a furnishing element of worship places, depicted in a first embodiment in figure 3 where it is generally indicated with 100 and is in the form of a bench or desk where the faithful stop for prayer moments or to follow religious ceremonies.

As it can be observed, the furnishing element 100 comprises a support structure 101 suitable to insist on a reference surface, such as the floor V of the worship place, and to receive at least one person (generally in number of four or five), in sitting and/or upright position and provided with an at least partial support surface 102 which the person interferes with.

In accordance with the invention, the support surface 102 includes a heating panel 1 of the type described above and which in its essential constructive aspects includes:

• the laminar finishing and support body 2 which defines the inner chamber 3;

• the operative low-voltage electrical means 4, firmly housed inside the inner chamber 3 and provided with the connection means 5 for their connection to an electrical power source communicating with the outside through an outlet channel 6 made in the laminar body 2.

More particularly, the support surface 102 is in this case arranged along a substantially vertical plane, in such a way as to be positioned behind the person using the furnishing element 100 (in such a case provided with seat 103 and backrest 104) that includes the heating panel 1 concerned, or along an actually and significantly inclined plan in such a way as to be positioned frontally to the person using the furniture element (in such a case devoid of seat and backrest but provided with a shelf which supports a book of scripture and belongs for example to a lectern).

The laminar finishing and support body 2 is, preferably, made of the same material, for example the same essence of wood, with which the entire support structure 101 is made. Figures 3 and 4 also show that the connection means 5 that come out from the heating panel 1 through the output channel 6 also pass through the through hole 105 made in the lateral side 106 of the furniture element 100 to then be connected with the electricity source (such as for example the public network of electrical energy).

It should be noted that the heating panel 1 of figure 1 installed on the furniture element 100 could be replaced without any technical contraindication by the heating panel 50 of figure 2, in case it is desired to distribute the heat emitted by electrical means 53 mainly in the single direction Z ₂ .

The following figures 5-7 represent an additional embodiment of the furniture element of the invention: in this case, furniture element, always consisting of a desk for the rest of persons in worship places, is numbered with 150 and differs from that one previously described and indicated with 100 for the fact that the support surface 152 includes a plurality of heating panels 1 (or 50) distinct and spaced apart each other, rather than a single heating panel 1 which develops for the entire width of the furniture element 100 as in the case of figures 3 and 4.

In particular, the heating panels 1 (or 50) mounted on the furniture element 150 of the invention are spaced apart each other by a distance substantially equivalent to the distance that allows people to occupy completely, in comfortable manner, the furnishing element 100 itself.

It should be also noted as the connection means 5 (or 54) are conveyed to the side of the furniture element 150, remaining appropriately protected by the insulating longitudinal channel 158 having minimum overall dimensions, minimum aesthetic impact and shaped with a convex outer surface 158a in such a way as to ease the smooth transit to disabled people in wheelchairs and not still create stumbling points for people.

Figure 8 shows, finally, in a schematic way operation of the invention on furniture elements 100 (or 150), typically desks, occupied by persons P in worship places during personal or community prayer moments: in this case, the heat emitted by the electrical infrared means 4 (or 53) comes out in bidirectional way from the heating panel 1 (or 50) mounted on a given furniture element 100 (or 150), affecting the person P sitting on the furniture element 100 (or 150) itself and even the person P sitting on the back furniture element 100 (or 150).

If the end user wants to obtain from the invention a mono-directional operation by the electrical means, then it will be sufficient to install in the furniture element 100 (or 150) one or more heating panels of the type previously numbered with 50, by placing the auxiliary thermally insulating plate 57 of the heat modulation means 56 facing towards the front or the back part which it is desired to thermally insulate of the furniture element 100 (or 150), preventing most of the heat emitted by the electrical infrared means 53 reaches the person occupying the furniture element 100 (or 150) concerned or that one immediately back to it. The description provided thus allows to highlight that the heating panel and the furniture element of worship places comprising such a heating panel of the present invention achieve the purposes and advantages listed above.

It is, therefore, achieved by the invention the purpose to get in a given environment, such as a worship place or a house room, an additional heating (defined as auxiliary heating optionally operating in support of the primary heating), of the infrared, located and at a short distance type.

The heating panel of the present invention could also be installed at a home, hospital, nursing home, a hotel and the like bed, as well as at baby cribs in order to achieve, during sleep, a localized infrared rays heating (e.g. of the lower limbs) which are able of inducing benefits of a certain importance on the human body. It is, finally, clear that several other changes could be made to the heating panel and furniture element of worship places concerned, without departing from the principle of novelty intrinsic in the inventive idea expressed herein, as it is clear that, in the practical implementation of the invention, materials, shapes and sizes of the illustrated details could be changed, as needed, and replaced with others technically equivalent.

Where the constructive features and techniques mentioned in the following claims are followed by reference numbers or signs, those reference signs have been introduced with the sole objective of increasing the intelligibility of the claims themselves and therefore they have no limiting effect on the interpretation of each element identified, by way of example only, by these reference signs.