PORTABLE HEATING APPARATUS

Abstract

A portable heating apparatus to supply a predetermined amount of heat and hot water, is disclosed. The portable heating apparatus comprises a condensing boiler comprising an inlet port to receive the water from any external supply unit wherein a central heating system is configured to heat the water to a predefined temperature. A storage container is configured to receive the predetermined amount of hot water from the condensing boiler via a connecting pipe raised by a central pump, wherein the storage container is configured to constantly heat the hot water and routes the hot water to a radiator section via a distribution line for heating a surrounding space. The condensing boiler and the storage container are mounted on a frame and maneuvered on a plane surface using a handle and a wheel assembly.

Description

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application claims priority to Danish Patent Application PA201700623, titled “PORTABLE HEATING APPARATUS” and filed in the Denmark Patent and Trademark Office on Nov. 7, 2017. The specification of the above referenced patent application is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

A. Technical field

The invention disclosed herein generally relates to a portable heating apparatus. More particularly, the invention disclosed herein relates to the portable heating apparatus with a boiler to supply heat and hot water especially in outdoor applications.

B. Description of related art

Hot water is an indispensable requirement for most of the people nowadays. Due to drastic climate changes, people are adapting to the conditions with the extreme need for hot water and heating systems to make themselves in their comfortable zone. There have been numerous apparatus and methods to provide hot water and heat for domestic applications such as home and public buildings. Boilers are most commonly used for this purpose to heat the water using the combustion of natural gas or oil as fuels.

Conventional boilers and hot water heaters, have been used widely for these applications. However, they have their own set of problems and limitations. Generation of heat by an electrical resistive element is very expensive and at the same time, it is very slow and inefficient. Electrical resistive elements used to heat water are subject to fouling with mineral deposits that further limits the efficiency and their useful life and leads to excessive maintenance costs.

A prior art, U.S. Pat. No. 8,490,582 of Wingen, discloses a fluid heating apparatus or system. Said apparatus has a fluid inlet, a fluid outlet, and a fluid path, and comprises a fluid pumping assembly configured to increase the pressure of the fluid on the fluid path. A heating assembly is configured to heat the fluid between the fluid inlet and outlet and forms a portion of the fluid path. A heat recovery assembly is configured to recover heat from the exhaust gases and forms a portion of the fluid path to transfer recovered heat to fluid moving through the fluid path. A collection assembly may be employed to collect condensation from exhaust gases passing through the recovery assembly.

Most of the boilers use a plurality of tanks and a combustion unit in a complex design to supply hot water and heat. However, the systems are not energy efficient and not user-friendly. When it comes to outdoor applications, these systems are extremely important to supply hot water or heat. Because, at festival pitches, camping and mobile bathing units, the requirement for hot water is challenging. Along with that, the need for providing radiant heat transfer for a surrounding space near the camping areas is another factor which determines the degree of comfort for the people.

Hence, there is a long-felt need for an energy efficient portable heating apparatus with a boiler that is easily maneuverable to supply both heat and hot water in outdoor applications such as festival pitches, camping and so on.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention generally discloses a portable heating apparatus. The present invention directed to the portable heating apparatus with a boiler to supply heat and hot water especially in outdoor applications.

In an embodiment, the portable heating apparatus comprises a condensing boiler comprising an inlet port to receive the water from any external supply unit, wherein a central heating system is configured to heat the water to a predefined temperature. A storage container is configured to receive the predetermined amount of hot water from the condensing boiler via a connecting pipe raised by a central pump, wherein the storage container is configured to constantly heat the hot water and routes the hot water to a radiator section via a distribution line for heating a surrounding space.

In another embodiment, the central pump and the central heating system in the portable heating apparatus are powered by a solar module. The condensing boiler and the storage container are mounted on a frame and maneuvered on a plane surface using a handle and a wheel assembly.

Other objects, features and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from the following detailed description. It should be understood, however, that the detailed description and the specific examples, while indicating specific embodiments of the invention, are given by way of illustration only, since various changes and modifications within the spirit and scope of the invention will become apparent to those skilled in the art from this detailed description.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

The embodiments herein will be better understood from the following detailed description with reference to the drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 exemplary shows a perspective view of a portable heating apparatus to supply heat and hot water, incorporating the aspects of the present invention.

FIG. 2 exemplary shows a rear view of a portable heating apparatus to supply heat and hot water, incorporating the aspects of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS

A description of embodiments of the present invention will now be given with reference to the Figures. It is expected that the present invention may be embodied in other specific forms without departing from its spirit or essential characteristics. The described embodiments are to be considered in all respects only as illustrative and not restrictive. The scope of the invention is, therefore, indicated by the appended claims rather than by the foregoing description. All changes that come within the meaning and range of equivalency of the claims are to be embraced within their scope.

FIG. 1 exemplarily illustrates the perspective view of the portable heating apparatus 100. The portable heating apparatus 100 comprises a condensing boiler 102 comprising an inlet port 104 to receive the water from any external supply unit, wherein a central heating system 106 is configured to heat the water to a predefined temperature. A storage container 108 is configured to receive the predetermined amount of hot water from the condensing boiler 102 via a connecting pipe 110 raised by a central pump 112. The storage container 108 is a tank configured to constantly heat the hot water and routes the hot water to a radiator section via a distribution line 114a for heating a surrounding space. The condensing boiler 102 and the storage container 108 are mounted on a frame 118 and maneuvered on a plane surface using a handle 120 and a wheel assembly 122 so that the portable heating apparatus 100 could be easily get into all doorways and easy to move with less effort as shown in FIG. 2.

In an embodiment, according to FIG. 1, the portable heating apparatus 100 comprises two distribution lines (114a, 114b). A first distribution line 114a is configured to send the hot water from the storage container 108 to the radiator section for heating the surrounding space and a second distribution line 114b is configured to route the cold water from the radiator section back to the condensing boiler 102 for heating once the radiative heat transfer to the surrounding space is completed. The use of condensing boilers 102 allows the portable heating apparatus 100 to operate at maximum efficiency as they condense the water vapor in the exhausting gases and recover the latent heat of vaporization.

In additional embodiments, according to FIG. 1, the central pump 112 is a key component in the storage container 108 to lift the hot water from the condensing boiler 102. It is also used as hot water circulating pump to discharge hot water through the first distribution line 114a to the radiator section for heating the surrounding space. The storage container 108 further comprises one or more spiral heating elements 124 to constantly heat the hot water received from the condensing boiler 102. The spiral heating elements 124 are coils powered by the solar module 116 to heat the hot water from the condensing boiler 102 at optimal temperature. The connecting pipe 110 is attached between the condensing boiler 102 and the storage container 108 to allow the movement of hot water.

In an embodiment, according to FIG. 1, the central pump 112 and the central heating system 106 are powered by the solar module 116. The solar module 116 comprises a deployable panel containing one or more solar panels that are removably attached side to side. These solar panels get charged during the day time and uses an electrical configuration to store the energy in a battery positioned in the central heating system 106. In different embodiments, the portable heating apparatus 100 is connected to a generator to power at least one of the central pump 112, an electric lighter 130 and a display unit 136 in any emergency situations. A hot water exit pipe 126 is also provided in the condensing boiler 102 to allow the discharge of hot water if desired by the user.

In another embodiment as shown in FIG. 1, the portable heating apparatus 100 is supplied with an energy source such as propane gas. Propane gas in bottled cylinders containing about 11 kg could be used with full consumption. In case, if the requirement of the portable heating apparatus 100 is minimal, the bottled gas would come for 3 to 4 days of consumption. The central heating system 106 comprises a thermal burner 128 in the condensing boiler 102 configured to heat the water using the electric lighter 130. The thermal burner 128 is configured to burn the gas supplied from the cylinders and combustion happens inside the central heating system 106 to heat the cold water coming via the inlet port 104. The central heating system 106 also uses a heat exchanger which is a helical coil disposed in the annular space of the condensing boiler 102. This heat exchanger transfers the combustion heat to the water as a result of which the water gets heated up to the desired temperature. A smoke exhaust port 132 is mounted on the portable heating apparatus 100 to direct the exhaust emissions outside.

As shown in FIG. 1, the central heating system 106 of the portable heating apparatus 100 uses the electric lighter 130 to provide ignition for the combustion of the gas to heat the water in the condensing boiler 102. The electric lighter 130 is controlled using a three-way valve 134 to selectively choose the supply of the heat and the hot water. Further, the display unit 136 is provided in the condensing boiler 102 to indicate the status of the temperature at which the water is heated. One or more push buttons 138 are installed in the condensing boiler 102 to allow the user to select functionalities such as increasing and decreasing the temperature to heat the water, adjusting the three-way valve 134 to selectively choose the supply of the heat and the hot water from the portable heating apparatus 100 and selecting the power supply from either the solar module 116 or the generator.

As shown in FIG. 2, the frame 118 is configured to carry the condensing boiler 102 and the storage container 108, and it is made from a steel material. The storage container 108 is made configured to receive and store up to 70 liters. However, the size of the storage container 108 could be made in different configuration to suit the requirements of the portable heating apparatus 100. The handle 120 is provided in the frame 118 to allow the user to conveniently move the portable heating apparatus 100 into doorways. The wheel assembly 122 having a set of wheels is configured at a rear end of the frame 118 so that with the help of the handle 120, anyone could easily pull or push the portable heating apparatus 100 carrying the condensing boiler 102 and the storage container 108. The inlet and exit ports are easy to mount either vertically or horizontally. When the condensing boiler 102 and the storage container 108 are put into operation together, it could provide 300 liters of hot water per hour and it could produce hot water to any set radiators to provide heat to the surrounding area.

The portable heating apparatus 100, according to the present invention, is convenient and easy to use at festival pitches, camping, and other outdoor applications or anywhere with the need for mobile bathing units with hot water facilities. It could be used in houses with damages where it can supply heat and hot water to the entire premises where damage has occurred. The apparatus 100 is also configured to benefit the construction sites, where there is no electricity or any other source of energy. The solar module 116 in the apparatus 100 is configured to supply power from the energy stored during daylight time and this makes the apparatus energy efficient. The three-way valve 134 in the condensing boiler 102 allows the user to selectively choose the heat or hot water from the apparatus 100 based on the requirements. This is easy to use and does not require any skilled person to operate the apparatus 100.

Although a single embodiment of the invention has been illustrated in the accompanying drawings and described in the above detailed description, it will be understood that the invention is not limited to the embodiment developed herein, but is capable of numerous rearrangements, modifications, substitutions of parts and elements without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention.

The foregoing description comprises illustrative embodiments of the present invention. Having thus described exemplary embodiments of the present invention, it should be noted by those skilled in the art that the within disclosures are exemplary only, and that various other alternatives, adaptations, and modifications may be made within the scope of the present invention. Merely listing or numbering the steps of a method in a certain order does not constitute any limitation on the order of the steps of that method. Many modifications and other embodiments of the invention will come to mind to one skilled in the art to which this invention pertains having the benefit of the teachings presented in the foregoing descriptions. Although specific terms may be employed herein, they are used only in generic and descriptive sense and not for purposes of limitation. Accordingly, the present invention is not limited to the specific embodiments illustrated herein.

Claims

1. A portable heating apparatus adapted to supply a predetermined amount of heat and hot water, the portable heating apparatus comprising:

a condensing boiler comprising an inlet port configured to receive water from an external supply unit, wherein the condensing boiler comprises a central heating system configured to heat the received water to a predefined temperature;

a central pump connected to a connecting pipe; and

a frame onto which frame the condensing boiler is mounted, wherein said frame comprises a handle and a wheel assembly for maneuvering the frame on a planar surface, wherein the portable heating apparatus further comprises:

a storage container mounted on the frame and configured to receive a predetermined amount of hot water from the condensing boiler via the connecting pipe, wherein the hot water is circulated by the central pump, and wherein the storage container is configured to constantly heat the hot water and to route the hot water to an external radiator section via an external distribution line for heating a surrounding space, and

a solar module powering the central heating system and the central pump.

2. The portable heating apparatus of claim 1, wherein the central heating system comprises a thermal burner in the condensing boiler configured to heat the water using an electric lighter.

3. The portable heating apparatus of claim 2, wherein the thermal burner in the condensing boiler is configured to heat the water using a source of propane gas combusted with the electric lighter.

4. The portable heating apparatus of claim 2, wherein the electric lighter is controlled using a three-way valve to selectively choose the supply of the heat and the hot water.

5. The portable heating apparatus of claim 1, wherein the condensing boiler comprises a display unit to indicate the status of the temperature at which the water is heated in the condensing boiler.

6. The portable heating apparatus of claim 1, wherein the condensing boiler is configured to receive the cooled water returning from the distribution line once the radiative heat transfer to the surrounding space is completed.

7. The portable heating apparatus of claim 1, wherein the storage container is configured to have one or more spiral heating elements to constantly heat the hot water received from the condensing boiler.

8. The portable heating apparatus of claim 1, wherein the condensing boiler and the storage container are connected to a generator to power at least one of the central pumps, the electric lighter and the display unit.

9. The portable heating apparatus of claim 1, wherein the frame is made of steel material.

10. The portable heating apparatus of claim 1, further comprising a smoke exhaust port to direct the exhaust emissions outside.