Packaging of a heating device and use of a tube

Abstract

The invention relates to packaging (2) for a heating device (1) for transporting the heating device (1) to the installation site. This packaging comprises at least load-bearing elements and / or filling elements, wherein the load-bearing elements and / or the filling elements are formed from consumables for the installation of the heating device (1), and wherein at least one tube (8) of the packaging (2) is configured as consumable material to support at least one edge of the packaging (2). Furthermore, a heating device (1) and the use of consumables are proposed.

Description

[0001] The invention relates to a packaging for a heater, a heater and a use of a pipe.

[0002] Heating appliances require complex packaging for transport, particularly from the manufacturer to the installation site. The packaging must be sufficiently stable to ensure stackability of the packaged appliances and also offer other protection against damage. Load-bearing elements made of wood are often used in combination with support or filling elements, frequently made of plastic (such as Styrofoam) and / or outer packaging made of cardboard. The disadvantage of this type of packaging is that it requires a lot of effort for material procurement, for the packaging process itself, and for the disposal of the various packaging materials. Disposal can also incur additional costs. In addition to costs, sustainability aspects are also increasingly becoming more important with regard to packaging.

[0003] A solution to the aforementioned problems is described in WO 95 / 08483, which proposes the use of reusable plastic parts for packaging large-volume devices that do not require additional filler elements. The disadvantage is that such packaging must be specifically adapted and manufactured for each large device, which, combined with the necessary logistics and additional transport routes for the reusable packaging, results in a very high overall cost.

[0004] DE 42 08 639 A1 and DE 42 37 208 A1 describe a mounting base for a boiler or hot water tank that can also be used as transport packaging. However, such a mounting base is often not provided for modern heating appliances, and the invention therein is therefore of limited use.

[0005] DE 10 2015 120 043 A1 describes the packaging of a radiator in which packaged accessories are arranged in a container and positioned in a recess in the radiator. This solution is not suitable for space heaters, as these generally do not have a corresponding recess.

[0006] DE 93 04 956 U1 describes a water heater with a transport packaging that serves as the outer casing of the water heater during transport to protect it from damage. It is designed as a reversible protective casing with an insulating layer and a cover foil, with the cover foil facing outward when the water heater is in its use position. This solution significantly limits the design freedom of the water heater.

[0007] The object of the present invention is to at least partially alleviate the problems described with reference to the prior art and, in particular, to propose a packaging for a heating device which can be manufactured, assembled and disposed of with little effort and is also sustainable.

[0008] These objects are achieved by the features of the independent patent claims. Further advantageous embodiments of the solution proposed here are specified in the independent patent claims. It is pointed out that the features listed in the dependent patent claims can be combined with one another in any technologically expedient manner and define further embodiments of the invention. Furthermore, the features specified in the patent claims are further specified and explained in the description, with further preferred embodiments of the invention being presented.

[0009] Packaging for a heater contributes to this by transporting the heater to the installation site. This packaging comprises at least one supporting element and / or one filling element, wherein the supporting element and / or the filling element is / are formed from a consumable material for installing the heater. At least one tube of the packaging, as a consumable material, is configured to support at least one edge of the packaging.

[0010] The heater can in particular be a parking heater or a wall-mounted heater. The heater can be designed to burn a fuel such as gas (natural gas, hydrogen), oil or wood and to utilize the heat generated in the process. The heater can in particular be used or be predetermined and / or designed to supply heat to a building and / or hot water. The heater can also be a heat pump that can extract heat from an ambient medium (ambient air, geothermal energy or groundwater) and use it for heating or hot water. In particular, the heater has a weight and / or dimensions that no longer allow simple repackaging with cardboard for transport. This particularly affects heaters that weigh more than approximately 100 kg [kilograms] and / or have a volume of more than approximately 1.0 m3 [cubic meter].

[0011] The packaging is designed or intended to receive or enclose a heating device specified here and comprises at least one supporting element and / or one filling element.

[0012] A supporting element can be designed or configured to absorb supporting forces and thus, in particular, ensure the dimensional stability of the packaging. It is possible for the packaging to comprise several supporting elements, which are positioned in alignment with one another, for example.

[0013] A filler element can be designed or configured to cushion an area within the heater's packaging and / or protect it from potential local or punctual (internal and / or external) forces. Filler elements can be configured to prevent movement of the heater or parts thereof within the packaging. It is possible for the packaging to encompass several supporting elements, which are positioned, for example, in alignment with one another.

[0014] In addition, the packaging may include other elements, in particular at least one outer packaging, usually made of cardboard, connecting elements, protective elements such as films or inserts, spacers, etc.

[0015] It is now proposed to use consumables intended and / or pre-designed for the installation of the heater as load-bearing elements and / or filler elements of the packaging. This can advantageously reduce the overall transport volume and weight required for a heater and its installation. Various consumables exhibit properties that allow for their effective use in the packaging of the heater.

[0016] It is possible that the consumables in the packaging are not directly required for the installation of the heater packaged therein, but are provided additionally. These can then be stored as spare parts and / or for the repair of another (similar) heater and used as needed. It is therefore also possible that at least one consumable in the packaging is not, or not exclusively, intended for the installation of the specific model of the packaged heater. In the above cases, therefore, there may be a kind of "overdetermination" of parts or components of the heater and / or its peripherals in the packaging.

[0017] The consumables are integrated into the packaging in such a way that they improve or increase the packaging's suitability for higher loads and / or the structural integrity / rigidity of the packaging itself. To this end, it is specifically intended that multiple consumables of one type are not stored locally in a (single) storage space, but are positioned decentrally or distributed within / on the packaging.

[0018] Consumables for installation can be components or construction materials that are intended for or necessary during the installation of a heater (or its peripheral devices). One or more consumables can in particular be selected from the following group of components (of a heater): (in any case) at least one pipe (e.g. made of a metallic material such as copper or plastic); a (thermal) insulating element (e.g. for pipes); a housing part of the heater; a component of a water circuit to be connected (such as a manifold, a branch and / or a pump assembly); a holding element (e.g. for fastening / installing the heater or parts thereof, a manifold, an expansion tank, a storage tank).

[0019] The packaging elements can be connected to one another by means of a form-fitting or material connection, for example, by means of clips, wires, cable ties, tensioning straps, and / or screw connections. This connection is particularly designed to maintain a (decentralized or differently) aligned arrangement of the connecting elements within the packaging.

[0020] According to one embodiment, at least one pipe (of the heater and / or of a water circuit to be connected) can be configured to vertically support two horizontally arranged protective devices of the packaging. This depends in particular on the storage and / or transport condition of the heater's packaging. The two horizontally arranged protective devices can be at least one horizontally oriented carrying device (e.g. a pallet) arranged at the bottom and / or an approximately centrally circumferential device (e.g. a frame-like structure) arranged at the top and likewise horizontally oriented protective device (e.g. a cover). In particular, the pipe can be a copper pipe, which is frequently required during the installation and / or assembly of a (packaged and / or similar) heater or heating system.In particular, four tubes can be configured to support four vertical edges of the heater packaging (flush). For this purpose, a tube (copper tube) can be provided for the heater packaging in the required length and integrated into the packaging.

[0021] According to one embodiment, at least one insulation element can be configured as edge protection for at least one edge of the heater. The (thermal) insulation element can, for example, be a pipe sheath for a heating water circuit pipe or a roll / winding of a flat insulation material. Insulation material is generally sufficiently flexible and / or compressible and can therefore be used excellently as edge protection. A pipe sheath also often has an axial opening (or an elongated gap) that can be placed over the edge to be protected.

[0022] According to a further embodiment, four parallel main edges of the heater can have a (consumable material) insulation element as edge protection. A main edge can be understood as the outer edge of a heater that is largely cuboid-shaped. In particular, the main edges can be the vertical edges when the heater is in a standing position. In addition to outer packaging, the packaging, in a simple embodiment, can essentially only have an upper and / or lower cover or an upper and / or lower filler element.

[0023] In this context, it should be noted that the described options and designs for packaging a heater can also be very well combined with each other.

[0024] According to a further aspect, a heating device is proposed, comprising the packaging presented here. The heating device can be, in particular, a gas heater or a heat pump, which can be designed as a freestanding or wall-mounted heater.

[0025] According to a further aspect, the use of a pipe as a consumable for the installation of a heater as a supporting element of a heater packaging is proposed.

[0026] The explanations on the packaging can also be used to further characterise the heater or its use, and vice versa.

[0027] This invention thus provides packaging for a heater, a heater, and a pipe that at least partially solves the problems described with reference to the prior art. In particular, the invention makes it possible to reduce the use of packaging materials and also the amount of packaging waste to be disposed of. Furthermore, the transport and procurement of consumables for installation can be reduced. Thus, the packaging for a heater proposed here offers significant advantages in terms of sustainability.

[0028] A significant advantage is the reduced workload for installers and heating companies, who receive consumables included with the heater. This can also have a positive impact on customer loyalty.

[0029] In addition, the invention does not require the purchase of new machines or complex changes to the packaging process.

[0030] The invention and the technical environment are explained in more detail below with reference to the accompanying figures. It should be noted that the invention is not intended to be limited by the exemplary embodiments cited. In particular, unless explicitly stated otherwise, it is also possible to extract partial aspects of the facts explained in the figures and combine them with other components and findings from the present description. In particular, it should be noted that the figures, and in particular the proportions shown, are only schematic. They show: Fig. 1: a heating device proposed here with a packaging proposed here, and Fig. 2: another embodiment of a packaging proposed here.

[0031] Fig. 1 shows, by way of example and schematically, a heater 1 proposed here with a packaging 2. The heater 1 can be a wall-mounted gas heater. According to the present invention, insulating elements 5 can serve as edge protection for the main edges 4 of the heater 1 in the packaging 2. The insulating elements 5 can be pipe sheaths for heating pipes. These can have an axial opening (slot) for fastening to a heating pipe, with which they can be plugged onto the corresponding main edge 4 of the heater 1, whereby the insulating elements 5 are advantageously protected against slipping. The insulating elements 5 can be enclosed together with the heater 1 in an outer packaging 3, which can in particular be made of cardboard.

[0032] The insulation elements 5 can be longer than the main edges 4 of the heater 1, so that a lower cavity 10 and an upper cavity 11 are formed (in the Fig. 1 The heater 1 is shown lying on its back; the designations below and above refer to a standing heater 1 and packaging 2, respectively. The lower cavity 10 and the upper cavity 11 can be filled with a suitable filling element, at least one accessory, or a supporting element of the packaging 2.

[0033] Fig. 2also shows, by way of example, a packaging 2 of a parking heater (not shown). The packaging 2 can comprise a carrying device 6 arranged at the bottom, for example in the form of a wooden pallet, as well as protective devices 7 arranged at the top. Vertical support of the protective elements 7 on the carrying device 6 can be ensured by the pipes 8 as support elements. The pipes 8 can, in particular, be copper pipes as lines of a heating circuit of a heating system to be installed. In addition, tensioning elements 9 can be provided, which can be tensioned around a parking heater with the carrying device 6 and protective elements 7. List of reference symbols

[0034] 1Heater 2Packaging 3Outer packaging 4Main edge 5Insulating element 6Supporting device 7Protective device 8Pipe 9Clamping element 10Lower cavity 11Upper cavity

Claims

1. Packaging (2) of a heater (1) for transporting the heater (1), comprising at least one supporting element and / or a filling element, wherein said packaging is formed from a consumable material for installing the heater (1), and at least one tube (8) of the packaging (2) is configured as a consumable material to support at least one edge of the packaging (2).

2. Packaging (2) according to claim 1, wherein the consumable material comprises at least one of the following components: tube, insulation element, support element.

3. Packaging (2) according to one of the preceding claims, wherein at least one tube (8) is designed to be a vertical support between a horizontally oriented carrying device (6) and a horizontally oriented protective device (7) of the packaging (2).

4. Packaging (2) according to claim 2 or 3, wherein at least one insulating element (5) of the packaging (2) is designed to form an edge protection of the heating device (1).

5. Packaging (2) according to claim 4, wherein at least four insulating elements (5) are designed to form an edge protection for four parallel aligned main edges (4) of the heating device (1).

6. Heating device (1) comprising a packaging (2) according to one of the preceding claims.

7. Use of a pipe (8) as consumables for the installation of a heater (1) as a supporting element of a packaging (2) of a heater (1).

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