Abstract
A construction panel contains at least one insulation layer, at least one active thermal layer containing at least an electrical heating and/or an electrical cooling element, and a connector for connecting the at least one active thermal layer to a source of electrical current. The active thermal layer is preferably an active heating or cooling layer.
Claims
1-15. (canceled)
16: A construction panel, comprising: at least one insulation layer, said at least one insulation layer comprising an electrically insulating sheet, an electrically insulating web, or an electrically insulating paper; at least one active thermal layer manufactured using printing techniques, said at least one active thermal layer comprising at least an electrical heating element and/or an electrical cooling element, wherein said electrical heating element and/or electrical cooling element comprises one or more electrically conductive layers; and a connector means for connecting said at least one active thermal layer to a source of electrical current.
17: The construction panel according to claim 16, wherein said at least one insulation layer comprises a foam made from a foaming first siliceous-based polyurea composition obtained by reacting ingredients comprising a polyisocyanate and an aqueous silicate, and wherein said at least one insulation layer comprises a stabilizing material.
18: The construction panel according to claim 17, wherein said stabilizing material comprises a resin obtained from a non-foaming second siliceous-based polyurea composition, obtained by reacting ingredients comprising a polyisocyanate and an aqueous silicate, wherein said non-foaming second siliceous-based polyurea composition has a higher concentration of said aqueous silicate than a concentration of aqueous silicate in said foaming first siliceous-based polyurea composition.
19: The construction panel according to claim 16, wherein said at least one insulation layer comprises a rigid foam made from a polystyrene composition and a stabilizing material.
20: The construction panel according to claim 19, wherein said stabilizing material comprises two-dimensional or three-dimensional fabrics made of at least one of glass, carbon, basalt, and aramid fibers.
21: The construction panel according to claim 16, wherein said at least one insulation layer comprises an inorganic filler material.
22: The construction panel according to claim 21, wherein said inorganic filler material comprises one or more of silicon-dioxide microspheres, granules, or fibers.
23: The construction panel according to claim 16, wherein said electrically conductive layers comprise one or more layers made from a metal sheet or metal mesh.
24: The construction panel according to claim 16, wherein said electrically conductive layers comprise one or more layers made from a two-dimensional semi-conductor.
25: The construction panel according to claim 16, wherein said electrically conductive layers comprise one or more layers of graphite dispersed in a binder, wherein the electrically conductive layers comprise from 30 to 96% by weight of graphite, from 4 to 30% by weight of the binder, and from 0 to 40% by weight of functional additives.
26: The construction panel according to claim 16, wherein said electrically conductive layers comprise printed patterns.
27: The construction panel according to claim 16, wherein said at least one insulation layer and/or said at least one active thermal layer comprises bonding enhancers.
28: The construction panel according to claim 16, wherein said electrical heating element and/or electrical cooling element comprises a peltier element layer.
29: The construction panel according to claim 16, wherein said at least one active thermal layer comprises tubes for a cooling fluid, arranged in grooves provided on a surface of said at least one insulation layer, and a thermally conductive plate arranged on said grooves, wherein the thermally conductive plate is in thermal contact with said tubes.
30: The construction panel according to claim 25, wherein the binder is an acrylate binder.
Description
[0068] The invention will now be described in more detail making reference to certain preferred embodiments described in the accompanying drawings.
[0069] In the drawings:
[0070] FIG. 1 shows a schematic first embodiment of the construction panel of the present invention, comprising a heating layer;
[0071] FIG. 2 shows various embodiments of the edge geometry of the construction panels of the present invention allowing to join several construction panels together to large arrangements;
[0072] FIG. 3 shows an alternative embodiment for joining construction panels of the present invention;
[0073] FIG. 4 shows a further embodiment of the construction panel of the present invention;
[0074] FIG. 5 shows a cross-sectional view of an construction panel of the present invention, where the active heating layer is configured as a Peltier-element;
[0075] FIG. 6 shows a schematic manufacturing process of a heating cell of an active thermal layer; and
[0076] FIG. 7 shows various embodiments of geometries of heating cells of active thermal layers.
[0077] The construction panel 10 shown in FIG. 1 comprises an insulation layer 11 made from forming a silicious-based polyurea composition by reacting polyisocyanide components with aqueous silicate components. In the present example, the insulation layer is approximately 2 cm thick. In order to obtain a heatable panel, the insulation layer 11 is coated with an active thermal layer 12, which in the present case is obtained by coating a 2 mm thick layer of a particulate graphite material dispersed in an acrylate binder onto the insulation layer. A heating effect is generated by passing electrical current through the active thermal layer. To this effect, a control element 13 is provided, which receives current via a power line 14 from a (non-depicted) power source and is electrically connected to the active thermal layer 12 via cable 15 attached to connector means such as an electrical contact 16 to deliver a pre-selected amount of current to the active thermal layer 12. The resistance of the active thermal layer is governed by the concentration of the electrically conductive ingredient, in this the particulate graphite material. The resulting resistance determines the amount of electrical energy injected, which is converted into thermal heat. In order to complete the electrical circuit, a (non-depicted) return line to the ground or to the power source has also to be provided. In other embodiments, the construction panel comprises electrical contacts arranged on one or more of its edges to pass a current to neighboring construction panels.
[0078] Usually, several construction panels will be combined into a larger arrangement. FIG. 2 shows in FIGS. 2a, 2b and 2c various embodiments of suitable edge geometry allowing neighboring panels to be assembled together. In FIG. 2a, two adjacent construction panels 20, 30 are provided with convexly rounded edges 21 and concavely rounded edges 31, respectively. FIG. 2b shows a similar arrangement as FIG. 2a, wherein the neighboring panels 40, 50 are provided with convexly rounded edges 41 and concavely rounded edges 51, but are further provided with tapering edges regions 42, 52, so that recesses 43, 53 are formed at the abutting area of neighboring construction panels 40, 50. These recesses 43, 53 can be filled with a suitable plaster or filler material, which will usually be applied to level with the external planar surfaces of the panels 40, 50. FIG. 2c shows a typical tongue-end groove arrangement, where one edge of an construction panel 60 is provided with a groove 61 and the other construction panel 70 with a tongue 71. Upon assembly, the tongue 71 fits into the groove 61 provided at the edge of the neighboring construction panels 60, 70. Similar to the embodiments of FIGS. 2a and 2b, the embodiment of FIG. 2c can be provided with tapering edges 62, 72 to form a recess 63, 73 (as shown) or with non-tapering edges (not shown).
[0079] FIG. 3 shows an alternative embodiment for joining construction panels of the present invention. In this embodiment, two construction panels 10, 10′ are joint using a plastic T-shaped connector 17 having two spikes 18, 19 which can be inserted into the respective panels 10, 10′. As a matter of course, other connectors can easily be envisioned. For instance, connectors can be employed which comprise metallic elements for establishing an electrical connection between adjacent panels.
[0080] FIG. 4 shows a further alternative embodiment of the construction panel 10 depicted in FIG. 1. In the embodiment of FIG. 4, the construction panel 80 also provided with a an insulation layer 81, one side of which is coated with a thermally active layer 82. Further, on the opposite side of the insulation layer 81, a backing layer 83 is arranged which does not only provide additional structural stability to panel 10 can also be used to mounting purposes and the like. The backing layer can be made from any suitably rigid plastic, metal or ceramic material and can assume any configuration such as plates, grids, etc. The front surface of the construction panel 80 is covered with a finish 84 such as a rendering base/plaster base on which, for instance, suitable mineral plasters or fillers can be applied. The surface finish can comprise ornamental elements such as thin wood panels, which can be attached to the construction panel, e.g., by means of a thermally conductive adhesive or a suitable clipping system.
[0081] FIG. 5 depicts an embodiment of the present invention, in which the insolation panel 90 is provided with a thermoelectric cooler/heater layer 92 which is applied onto the insulation layer 91. It is known that electrical cooling/heating effects can be obtained by arranging p- and n-type semiconductors between two metal plates, using the Peltier-effect to create a heat flux between the junctions of the two different types of semiconductor materials. When passing current through a thermoelectric cooler, heat is transferred from one side of the sandwich-structure to the other, depending on the polarity of the applied electrical current. In the context of the present invention, the thermoelectric cooler/heater (i.e. Peltier-element) consists of a metallic internal layer 93, arranged directly or via intermediate layers on the insulation layer 91, a graphite-/graphene-based interlayer layer 94, which exhibits semiconductor properties, and an external metallic layer 95, which provides the external, thermally active surface of the heating/cooling element.
[0082] The graphite-/graphene-based interlayer layer 94 is structured into alternating regions 96, 97 exhibiting n-type and p-type semiconductor characteristics, respectively. This can be achieved by suitably selecting the conductive particulate material, the binder material and optionally included dopants. In FIG. 5, n-type regions 96 are symbolized by closed-circle particulates and p-type regions 97 are symbolized by open-circle particulates.
[0083] When acting as a cooling element, heat transferred to the inner metallic layer 93 must be removed, so that it is preferred that a suitable cooling circuit is provided. To this effect, grooves 98 are provided on the upper surface of the insulation layer 91, in which cooling tubes 99 in which a suitable cooling medium, such as water, can be circulated. The cooling tubes are in thermal contact with the inner surface of the inner metallic layer 93. Alternatively, passive or forced air cooling can be employed.
[0084] Likewise, under opposite different electrical polarity, heat may be supplied to via tubes 99 the inner metallic layer 93 which is cooled when the outer metallic layer 95 acts as a heating element.
[0085] Construction panels according to the invention can also be made from combinations of Betol K 42 T (inorganic binder based on an aqueous solution of potassium silicate commercialized by Wöllner GmbH, Ludwigshafen, Germany) and Master Roc 367 Foam Part B (BASF). Other suitable compositions include Betol K 5020 T (Woellner) and Master Roc 367 Foam Part B.
[0086] However other compositions than Master Roc compositions can also be used. For instance, panels have been made from a mixture of Betol K5020T, water glass as binder, with the addition of Fabutit 748 (Chemische Fabrik Budenheim KG, Buddenheim, Germany) as hardener and Warofoam 720 (Wöllner) as defoamer. Hollow spheres (Poraver) were used as filling material. In all variants 3-D-fabric (Fraas) was used. In order to further stiffen this fabric, bars of basalt were additionally inserted into the fabric. These allow a higher stiffness of easily manageable panels having a length of 2.7 m.
[0087] Moreover, a mixture of hollow spheres, cement, water and Contopp foaming agent SFS 3 could also be used to produce a construction panels comprising a 3-D fabric and basalt rods.
[0088] Fabric having for instance a power consumption as low as 5 W to yield a temperature of 40° C. can be used.
[0089] Additional applications of the construction panels can be contemplated: For instance, as free-hanging panels, spheres, cubes, oval tubes or in other forms, free-hanging “radiators” can also be used to significantly improve room acoustics thanks to their outstanding acoustic properties. The heating surface can be applied on all sides, including the interior of the tubes or other hollow forms. Through the additional use of ionization modules, such hollow forms can also achieve health benefits. Illumination means can also be incorporated.
[0090] The construction panels of the invention can be employed as office partition walls. They have excellent acoustic properties and are able to heat the working areas more directly, thus saving energy. Shielding properties against electromagnetic radiation can also be incorporated.
[0091] In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, an active thermal layer of the construction panel of the invention comprises a multiplicity of heating cells which may be operated jointly, in sub-groups or even individually depending on the complexity of the wiring and control circuitry involved. FIG. 6 shows a schematic manufacturing process of such heating cells 100 by printing an electrically conductive structure made from a material which exhibits a certain resistivity to convert electrical current into heat. In printing step 1 shown in FIG. 6a, a positive pole 101 and its supply wiring 102 are printed on an electrically insulating substrate. Also, a connection wire 103 for connecting cell 100 with neighboring cells is shown. In the second step, an electrical isolation (not shown) is printed over the supply and connection wiring not covering the positive pole itself. Onto the insulating layer supplied in step 2, a negative pole 104 (having a rectangular configuration in the example of FIG. 6) and heating filaments 105 connecting the positive pole 101 and the negative pole 104 are printed resulting in the configuration shown in FIG. 6b. The negative poles 104 are connected via a a negative supply line 106 to the current source. FIG. 6c shows how a plurality of individual cells 100 are arranged within an active thermal layer. In this example, the cells within one column are operated jointly but individual columns could be operated separately if desired. The heating cells themselves can have any configuration, such as round, or polygonal. The number of printing steps can exceed three if more complex arrangements and more granular control is desired.
[0092] FIG. 7 shows a variety of active thermal layers made up of different heating cell designs. In FIG. 7a, the active thermal layer consists of a plurality of square-type heating cells 100, each heating cell comprising a plurality of linear heating filaments 105. FIG. 7b shows an active thermal layer comprising a plurality of linear heating stripes/filaments 105 while FIG. 7c shows a plurality of zic-zac heating stripes/filaments 105. FIGS. 7d, e and f show polygonal (specifically hexagonal), circular and elliptical heating filaments 105, respectively. FIGS. 7g and 7h show a simple rectangular grid structure and a triangular grid structure of heating filaments 105 without heating knots (FIG. 7g) and with heating nodes 107 (FIG. 7h), respectively. The heating nodes 107 are thickened crossings of heating filaments 105 allowing to generate more heat at specific locations. FIG. 7i shows a rhombic pattern of the heating filaments 105. In this example, heating nodes 107 are not provides at every crossing of filaments but at specific location intended to obtain a pre-designed heating pattern. FIG. 7j shows a fishbone pattern of heating filaments. In this example, the heating filaments are divided into heating filaments 105a connected to the positive pole and heating filaments 105b connected to the negative pole. Electrical continuity between the filaments is established via patches of conductive layer material 108, for instance layer material based on conductive carbon compounds such as graphite, graphene and combinations thereof. Finally, FIG. 7k shows a chaotic pattern of the heating filaments 105.
[0093] It is noted that the geometry of the filaments can be adapted such that there is a denser packing of the filaments near the border of the active thermal layer to provide an improved current flow. Moreover, any of the depicted patterns can be arranged in a monolayer or multilayer configuration.
