The present invention concerns a modular plate for thermic systems.

In the field of the heating systems, the floor systems are well known in which the heating takes place through ducts placed below the floor and through which a heated/heating fluid, u- sually water, flows.

In the praxis, such systems provide the disposition of an in¬ sulating material layer above the carrying floor, then a duct in the shape of a coil drowned in the concrete, which is the base on which the floor is resting.

Actually said ducts are realized of flexible thermoconductor material, like propylene, and with a circular or oval or el¬ liptical section as described in Italian patent application no. 49 236 A/79. This kind of systems have revealed a lot of problems, starting from the one of the time needed for the di¬ sposition of the insulating material, of the ducts and most of all of the concrete, which must "rest" for a well determined period of time so as to harden.

Further problems are met while working, because with said sy¬ stems the heat is not uniformly distributed, but is localized along the ducts in which the warm fluid flows.

The worst problem met in these kind of systems is surely the one of the rupture of the duct in one or more parts. In such

a case, infact, it is necessary to breake the floor as well as the concrete in which the duct is drowned, which in turn is very difficult to repair. Therefore it is the aim of the pre¬ sent invention to eliminate above mentioned inconveniencies. The object of the present invention, as it is characterized in the attached claims, solves the problem by means of a modular plate consisting of a metal blade provided with longitudinal seats for the housing of the ducts with the thermoconductor fluid, and of a closing blade defining, together with the first one, a -chamber filled up with thermo - and/or acoustic insu¬ lating material, in which eventually reinforcing beams may be drowned, and providing the longitudinal edges of the blade be¬ ing folded and forming opposed contours .on the two longitudi¬ nal edges, and which may be coupled with the corresponding ed- ges of adjacent plates so as to prevent a reciprocal movement of said plates in the position plane thereof.

One of the advantages of the object of the present invention mainly consists in the simplicity thereof which makes it ex- tre ely ^" practical and allows to reach the ducts without the need of deeply breaking the floor.

A further advantage of the object of the present invention is the versatility thereof as it may be f-ixed on any kind of floor as well as to a vertical wall, and it may also be used ^" as a solar panel or like a panel for the recovering of heat.

A further advantage of the object of the present invention

consists in the strength thereof, just providing iron or re¬ inforced concrete beams drowned in the insulating material so that the same may be directly used for the reinforcement of the floor or like an autosupporting structure.

A further advantage of the object of the present invention consists in the uniformity of the heat emission that may be obtained due to the metal plate receiving the heat rom the ducts and emitting the same through the whole surface thereof.

The object of the present invention will be described more in detail hereinbelow relating to the enclosed drawings show¬ ing a preferred embodiment thereof.

Figures 1 and 2, show a front and respectively plant view of the modular plate according to the present invention.

Figure 3, shows a front view of a detail of a connec- tion of two adjacent modular plates.

Figures 4 and 5, show a cross section of two -possible ways of fixing a modular plate to two different kinds of carrying structure.

Relating to figures 1, 4 and 5, the modular plate according to the present invention, shown with 12, mainly consists in a e- tale blade 1 and in a closing blade 2 of any material, also pa¬ per, defining a chamber filled up with thermo- and/or acoustic

insulating material 3.

The metal blade 1 is shaped in such a way as to show at least one longitudinal seat 4 for the housing of the ducts 5 through wich a thermoconductor fluid 17 flows. The number of the longi- ύudinal seats 4 varies according to the width of plate 12 and thereof e may also be four - as shown in figure 2 - or more so as to assure a greater heating uniformity of metal blade 1.

The bottom of longitudinal seats 4 is shaped mainly according to the shape of the cross section of ducts 5 that will be plac¬ ed inside said seats (see figures 4 and 5).

The cross section thereof is furthermore slightly outwardly tapered so that the corresponding duct 5 may be joint insert¬ ed and may not get out alone, e.g. due to its own weight once the vertical plate 12 is coupled to a vertical wall.

Furthermore, the shape of the cross sections of the loπgitudl- nal seats is such as to allow the recover of the blade 1 de¬ formation following to the heating operated by fluid 17 flow¬ ing inside said ducts 5.

The tapered shape of longitudinal seats 4 is also provided for the connection to the same of a joint 16 for covering duct 5 as well as for covering said seat 4 so as to make plate 12 com¬ pletely plane.

The longitudinal edges 6 of metal blade 1 are folded and shap- ed so as to realize contours 7 mainly in "L"-shape, being fold opposite on the two edges of the same plate so as to be joint-

overlapping with the corresponding contours 7 of adjacent plates so as to prevent reciprocal movements on the position plane thereof (figure 1).

According to a different embodiment, longitudinal edges 6 of metal blade 1 are "U"-folded towards the insulating material 3 so as to be perpendicular to the position plane of said blade 1, and to realize at the free end thereof a contour 7' turned towards the insulating material so as to form with the first portion an acute angle. The free end of contour 7 ¹ is used for reciprocally link two adjacent plates 12 by the coupling on the same of a joint element 8. Said element 8 (see figure 3), is mainly shaped like an "0", open and fold¬ ed according to the angle formed by the free ends 7 ¹ of the ^• two adjacent plates 12.

Metal blade 1 may shaped so as to have at least another lon¬ gitudinal seat 9 for the housing of electric or telephone ca¬ bles or of the head 10 of elements 11 for fixing to the carry- ing structure, be it the wooden floor 18 (figure 4) or by the stone floor (figure 5) or a vertical or oblique.

The fixing elements 11 may be screws passing through the lon¬ gitudinal edge 6 of metal blade 1 ed screwed in wood wall 19 (figure 4), or.also stay wires drowned in a concrete seam 20 being out of one piece with the floor 18 on which plates 12 are resting. In this case it will be necessary to previously per¬ form a hole laterlaly in said blade 1 and upperly so as to al- low the screw or the stay wire* to pass.

During the realization of plate 12, and more precisely during the filling up of the chamber defined by metal blade 1 and by closing blade 2, it may be provided to drown into the insulat¬ ing material 3 one or more iron or reinforced concrete beams 14 and one or more ducts 15 for the housing of electric or te¬ lephone or similar cables (see figure 1).

Looking at figure 1, it can be noted that the modular plate 12 according to the present invention may be obtained using a me- tal blade 1 and a closing blade 2 being continuous and shaped according to the specification and to the following claims. The metal blades 1 and the closing blades 2 will then be cut to a determined standard seize and therefore coupled, eventual¬ ly with the interposition of one or more beams 14 and of one ore more ducts 15, being also continuous as shown in figure 1, and then an insulating material-3,will be injected between the same. The modular plates 12 thus obtained are then cut to a determined seize according to the dimensions of the surfaces to be covered.

After the laying of the same it is necessary to cut the metal blades 1 for connecting the adjacent longitudinal seats 4 for allowing the passage of duct 5 for the feeding of the thermo¬ conductor fluid 17 from a seat 4 to the adjacent one as shown in figure 2.

The plate 12 thus structured, the ducts 5 whereof may be conve¬ niently fed with a thermoconductor fluid with a temperature

of 45 ÷ 50°, may be used for many purposes and for many utili¬ zations all connected to thermic systems; e.g. said plate may be used as:

- a simple radiant panel placed above a floor 18 or against a wall 19;

- a warming and carrying and reinforcing panel placed above a series of carrying beams (if the insertion of beams 14 into insulating material 3 is provided); ^• - a receiving solar panel placed above the floor of the roof;

- a acoustic insulating panel (if the material 3 is also acou¬ stic insulating);

- a carrying and/or separating warming panel for prefabricated living buildings; - - a warming panel for railway coaches using a part of the heat coming from the electric motors of the locomotive.

The panel according to the present invention may be also used as a heat expeller outside the buildings in the summer periods.

As shown in figure 5, onto the modular plates 12 already con¬ nected to floor 18, a floor 13 may be realized connected to said plates 12 by means of interposition of glueing material 21. On modular plates 12 connected to vertical walls 19 a wall- paper may be applied, or said walls may be painted after the longitudinal seats 4 and 9 thereof have been closed by means of joints 16.

Should the modular plates 12 mounted in rooms which do not re-

quire a particular aesthetical finishing, e.g. in a gymna¬ sium or similar, the metal baldes 1 may be pre-painted with a colour eventual different from the one of joints 16.