Sauna building

Abstract

A sauna building comprising a foundation (10) and a structure whose shape is essentially a spherical segment (20) placed on top of the foundation (10). The height of the structure (20) is at least 80% of the maximum width of the structure, and the shape of the inner surface of the structure (20) does not deviate from the shape of an ideal spherical segment by more than 3% of the maximum width of the structure.

Description

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

[0001] The invention is related to the sauna and particularly to a sauna building.PRIOR ART

[0002] The sauna is an important facility for Finnish people, which is why various kinds of saunas have been built in virtually all imaginable places. The concept of a traditional sauna often conjures up an idea of a wood-heated sauna built of logs, but in actuality, saunas have been implemented in a great variety of ways over time, beginning with the tent sauna. In practice, however, all the well-known types of saunas have been built within the constraints placed by their existing environment or the materials that have been readily available. In each sauna, there are places where the heat feels good and pleasant and other places where it feels less so; the sauna bathers will find some places cooler and others hotter. Some of the places in the sauna are too far from the sauna stove for the bather to cast water onto the sauna stove stones, whereas others are unpleasantly near the sauna stove. These differences inside the sauna mostly owe themselves to the constraints that have placed limitations on how the sauna is built.OBJECT OF THE INVENTION

[0003] The object of the invention is a sauna building where problems of saunas of the prior art have been eliminated or mitigated.SHORT DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0004] The object of the invention is achieved with a sauna building that has a structure essentially the shape of a spherical segment, at least on its inside surface, built on top of a foundation, whereby the sauna room is delimited by the top surface of the foundation and the inside surface of the structure. "Essentially the shape of a spherical segment" deviates from the shape of an ideal spherical segment by no more than 3% in relation to the maximum width of the structure, whereby heat and humidity spread very evenly in the sauna room.SHORT DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0005] The invention is now described in more detail in connection with preferred embodiments, with reference to the accompanying drawing, of which: Figure 1 shows a section view of a sauna building according to an embodiment.DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0006] Figure 1 shows a sauna building according to an embodiment as a cross section along the vertical center line. Figure 1 immediately indicates the characteristically spherical shape of the sauna building. The sauna building according to an embodiment of the invention comprises a foundation 10 and a structure essentially the shape of a spherical segment 20 which rests on top of the foundation 10 or is anchored to the foundation 10.

[0007] The foundation 10 is preferably made of concrete, and its surface that is against the structure 20 is preferably spherical in shape. Preferably, the diameter of the foundation at its surface that is against the structure 20 is equal or essentially equal to the diameter of the plane section of the spherical segment shape of the structure 20, whereby the foundation 10 and the structure 20 conjoin into a uniform whole, as shown in Figure 1. The foundation can be cast, e.g., using a material that contains wood-based cellulose in a 3D-printed mold, whereby the mold will withstand the pressure of casting and it will be easy to manufacture identical molds. The cast foundation is preferably provided with an opening for a floor drain 16 and its drainpipe, allowing placement of the gray water tank 12 outside the sauna building. The water flowing into the floor drain 16 can also be led directly into a sewer or a small sewage treatment plant. When cast, the foundation can also be provided with a make-up air duct 14 which can bring in make-up air optimally to the middle of the floor formed by the foundation, to where the sauna stove 30 is also installed. Preferably, the make-up air duct 14 extends from the center of the top surface of the foundation 10 to the lateral surface of the foundation, whereby it enables air flow from outside the sauna room to inside the sauna room. A wood-burning sauna stove gets the air needed for combustion from underneath it, and a sensation of draft will not be generated. In an embodiment, the foundation 10 can be made of two parts so that the top part and the bottom part are separate and have a bearing arrangement between them. The top part can then be rotated slowly in relation to the bottom part, whereby the entire sauna will revolve slowly around its center axis.

[0008] In principle, the foundation can be constructed of wood, such as a prefabricated foundation element, but in this case its surfaces lying against the ground must be protected against moisture stress, and the same goes for the top surface of the foundation serving as the floor of the sauna room. Furthermore, in this case, the foundation must also be protected from the heat radiating from the sauna stove 30.

[0009] The essentially spherical segment shaped structure 20 on top of the foundation constitutes the actual sauna room, which has a spherical shape on the inside as well, apart from the floor surface formed by the foundation. The height of the spherical segment, as measured from the outer surface, is at least 80% of the maximum width of the sphere, i.e. of the maximum width of the structure, preferably at least 85% of the maximum width of the sphere, and very preferably at least 90% of the maximum width of the sphere. The larger the share of the spherical shape built into the structure 20 is, the better it functions as a sauna room. However, for practical considerations, the height of the structure can never considerably exceed 90% of the sphere diameter, because otherwise there will not be enough level floor space around the sauna stove 30 for the bathers to move about safely in the sauna. Then again, if the height of the structure 20 is clearly less than 80% of the sphere diameter, the sauna stove 30 will then be positioned relatively higher and therefore nearer the center point of the spherical segment, which in turn will render it more difficult to position the top bench 26 higher than the top plane of the sauna stove. By applying a large-diameter spherical segment in the structure 20, it is also feasible to apply a greater height of the spherical segment in relation to the diameter compared with applying a smaller diameter. Preferably, the outer diameter in the plane section of the spherical segment in the structure 20 is 40-60% of the maximum outer diameter of the spherical segment.

[0010] The structure 20 has an essentially spherical segment shape, at least on its inner surface and preferably also on its outer surface. "Essentially spherical segment shape" means that any deviations from an ideal spherical segment shape on the inside surface and / or outside surface of the structure are preferably less than 3% of the maximum diameter, i.e. the maximum width, of the spherical segment, more preferably less than 2% of the maximum diameter of the spherical segment and very preferably less than 1% of the maximum diameter of the spherical segment. In an embodiment, the deviations of the essentially spherical segment shape from an ideal spherical segment shape are less than 60 mm, preferably less than 40 mm and very preferably less than 20 mm. Surfaces that follow the shape of the spherical segment as closely as possible not only create a visually pleasing structure but also facilitate even spreading of heat and humidity in the sauna room. In an embodiment, the maximum diameter of the structure 20 is 2.5-4 meters, preferably 3-3.5 meters.

[0011] The spherical segment shape of the structure 20 can be achieved, e.g., by CNC milling massive wood one piece at a time and joining the pieces to create the spherical segment shaped structure 20. The structure can also be created, for example, affordably by 3D-printing, making use of wood-based materials. The shape of the structure 20 can also be created, e.g., by bending plywood and applying steam treatment as necessary. When using any other building materials than massive wood, it is essential to ensure that the materials do not release harmful substances into the sauna room when subjected to the heat of the sauna. In an embodiment, the structure 20 is made of two or more joinable parts that can be conjoined in situ. The joint of the parts of the structure 20 can be, for example, horizontal in direction and be situated at the widest point of the structure 20. In an embodiment, the structure 20 is divided into two parts so that one part is the middle part, having the shape of a spherical frustum, and the other part is the top part of the structure 20, i.e. having the shape of a spherical dome with a through hole for the chimney 34.

[0012] Preferably, the external surface of the structure 20 is provided with rainscreen using, e.g., small bitumen felt roof shingles, whereby these closely follow the contours of the spherical segment. The rainscreen can also be realized by way of surface treatment, e.g., by varnishing, tarring, or epoxying. The inside surface is left permeable, so that the wood or wood-based material can efficiently bind and release moisture. A supply water pipe 24, for example, can be led into or through the structure 20 to supply the sauna building with running water from the outside.

[0013] Inside the structure 20, i.e. in the sauna room, there are preferably at least two sauna benches, the bottom bench 24 and the top bench 26, the latter being intended for the bathers to sit on. In large-diameter structures, a three-bench set-up can also be applied. The sauna stove 30 is preferably on top of the foundation 10, centered on the foundation and situated on the vertical center line of the spherical segment shape of the structure 20. When utilizing a wood-burning stove 30, the chimney 34 passes through the roof at the highest point of the structure 20. A water heater 32 can be used in connection with the chimney 34, whereby the hot flue gases flowing in the chimney heat the water in the water heater 32. An electric sauna stove can also be used in place of a wood-heated sauna stove, in which case a chimney is not required, but adequate ventilation must be ensured when utilizing one.

[0014] The spherical segment of the structure 20 can incorporate one or more windows 22. Preferably, the windows 22 applied in the structure 20 are round-shaped and follow the shape of the spherical segment by being convex on their outer surface and / or concave on their inner surface. Therefore, the visible surfaces of the window 22 have a shape identical to the spherical dome of such a spherical surface that has the same diameter as the diameter of the spherical segment of structure 20. In an embodiment, the structure 20 has one large window, which is a hemisphere, whereby the window forms the top part of the structure 20 above the equator. The windows 22 can be manufactured from glass or heat-resistant plastic.

[0015] The structure 20 also has an access opening with a hinged door, for example. The door can be hinged on either lateral side, on the top edge, or on the bottom edge. The door can also be detachable or made to slide along a sliding track. The spherical shape of the structure shall be considered when designing the hinge mechanism or the sliding track.

[0016] To a skilled person in the art, it is obvious that the basic idea of the invention can be implemented in various ways, as technology and materials develop. The invention and its embodiments are therefore not limited to only the examples presented above; rather they may vary within the scope of the claims.

Claims

1. The sauna building, comprising the foundation (10) and which sauna building is characterized in that it also comprises a structure essentially the shape of a spherical segment (20) on top of the foundation (10), the height of said structure (20) is no less than 80% of the maximum width of the structure, and the shape of the inner surface of the structure (20) does not deviate from the shape of an ideal spherical segment by more than 3% of the maximum width of the structure.

2. The sauna building of claim 1, wherein the shape of the outer surface of the structure (20) does not deviate from the shape of an ideal spherical segment by more than 3% of the maximum width of the structure.

3. The sauna building of claim 1 or 2, wherein the foundation (10) comprises a floor drain (16) for leading water from the top surface of the foundation (10) to outside the foundation.

4. The sauna building of any one of claims 1-3, comprising one or more windows (22), wherein the outer surface of the window(s) (22) is convex.

5. The sauna building of any one of claims 1-4, comprising one or more windows (22), wherein the inner surface of the window(s) (22) is concave.

6. The sauna building of any one of claims 1-5, wherein the foundation (10) comprises a top part and a bottom part that are separate from each other and have a bearing arrangement between them.

7. The sauna building of claim 6, wherein the top part of the foundation (10) has been made to rotate in relation to the bottom part of said foundation.

8. The sauna building of any one of claims 1-7, wherein the structure (20) comprises form-bent plywood.

9. The sauna building of any one of claims 1-8, wherein the foundation (10) comprises the make-up air duct (14) for the floor drain, extending from the center of the top surface of the foundation (10) to the lateral surface of the foundation to bring air into the structure (20) from outside the structure.

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