Adjustable baseboard and molding system

Abstract

A baseboard system includes baseboard units through which conduits extend carrying heated fluids, and moldings about the free ends of the baseboards, to provide a generally uniform external surface configuration. The moldings are in the nature of conventional moldings made of wood, pressed wood, plastic or the like. The use of the moldings with the baseboards provides an efficient, cost-effective system that produces a uniform appearance and facilitates cleaning.

1 . A baseboard system comprising a convection baseboard unit to be arranged along a wall proximate to a floor of an enclosure to be heated; heating means within said baseboard unit, said baseboard unit defining a predetermined external surface configuration including vertically spaced openings to allow ambient air to flow into and heated air to flow out of said baseboard unit and having a predetermined width defined by two opposing lateral ends; and said baseboard unit being formed of three vertically spaced members, a first opening of said spaced openings between a lower member and an intermediate member forming an inlet opening for admitting ambient air into said baseboard unit and a second opening of said spaced openings between said intermediate member and an upper member forming an outlet opening for discharging heated air, wherein at least one of said members being formed as an extruded member.  
   
   
       2 . A baseboard system comprising a convection baseboard unit to be arranged along a wall proximate to a floor of an enclosure to be heated; heating means within said baseboard unit, said baseboard unit defining a predetermined external surface configuration including vertically spaced openings to allow ambient air to flow into and heated air to flow out of said baseboard unit and having a predetermined width defined by two opposing lateral ends; and said baseboard unit being formed of three vertically spaced members, a first opening of said spaced openings between a lower member and an intermediate member forming an inlet opening for admitting ambient air into said baseboard unit and a second opening of said spaced openings between said intermediated member and an upper member forming an outlet opening for discharging heated air, wherein said lower member is detachably connected to the wall and selectively detached from the wall to provide access to a region between said intermediate member and the floor, whereby that portion of the floor below said intermediate member normally covered by said lower member can be finished or cleaned without damage to the baseboard or equipment used to finish or clean the normally covered portion of the floor.  
   
   
       3 . A baseboard system according to  claim 2 , wherein said lower member is detachably connected to the wall by a snap-lock arrangement.  
   
   
       4 . A baseboard system comprising a convection baseboard unit to be arranged along a wall proximate to a floor of an enclosure to be heated; heating means within said baseboard unit, said baseboard unit defining a predetermined external surface configuration including vertically spaced openings to allow ambient air to flow into and heated air to flow out of said baseboard unit and having a predetermined width defined by two opposing lateral ends; said baseboard unit being formed of three vertically spaced members, a first opening of said spaced openings between a lower member and an intermediate member forming an inlet opening for admitting ambient air into said baseboard unit and a second opening of said spaced openings between said intermediated member and an upper member forming an outlet opening for discharging heated air, at least one conduit supported between the wall and said intermediate member; and a plurality of fins substantially equally spaced from each other along said at least one conduit and serving as a heat exchanger to heat ambient air entering through a lower of said vertically spaced openings, the spacing between said fins being selected to provide a desired BTU output per unit length of the baseboard unit.  
   
   
       5 . A baseboard system according to  claim 4 , wherein a plurality of conduits are provided each with one of “n” substantially uniform spacings between adjacent fins, and the baseboard is provided with one of said conduits having one of said “n” spacing to provide a desired BTU per unit length of the baseboard.  
   
   
       6 . A baseboard system according to  claim 4 , wherein two conduits are supported between the wall and said intermediate member, said conduits being vertically spaced from each other in a plane substantially parallel to said intermediate members, said fins being in contact with both said conduits.  
   
   
       7 . A baseboard system according to  claim 6 , wherein each of said conduits is formed with a plurality of fins substantially equally spaced a distance “d”, and said conduits are axially offset from each other along the length directions of said conduits a distance substantially equal to “d/2” to interleave the fins on said conduits to space adjacent fins of said interleaved fins a distance substantially equal to “d/2”, wherein said distance “d/2” is selected to provide a desired BTU per unit length of the baseboard.  
   
   
       8 . A baseboard system according to  claim 6 , wherein each of said conduits is similarly formed with a plurality of fins adjacent ones of which are substantially equally spaced a predetermined distance from each other each fin being similarly configured as a generally elongate sheet of planer thermally conductive material having a predetermined length along a fin axis and having an open cutout at one end configured to conform to a mating surface of a cooperating spaced conduit and having an intermediate opening between said open cutout and another opposing end configured to receive an associated conduit to conform and receive an associated conduit to conform and contact with said associated conduit, said fin axes of all fins on an associated conduit being substantially aligned in parallel to dispose all open cutouts on each conduit generally aligned along a direction parallel to said conduit, whereby arranging a pair of conduits to position each conduit within said open cutouts formed with said fins associated with the other of said conduits fixed the spacing between said conduits and provides thermal contact between each of the fins and both conduits to maximize heat transfer from said conduits to the ambient air through said fins.  
   
   
       9 . A baseboard system according to  claim 8 , wherein said fins are each rectangular having a length along said fin axis greater than a width normal to said fin axis.  
   
   
       10 . A baseboard system according to  claim 9 , wherein said conduits are tubes having circular cross-sections, and said intermediate openings are circular openings dimensioned to correspond to the outside diameter of associated conduit to receive the conduit with little clearance.  
   
   
       11 . A baseboard system according to  claim 10 , wherein said fins are thermally attached to associated conduit.  
   
   
       12 . A baseboard system according to  claim 11 , wherein said fins are welded to associated conduit in the region of said intermediate openings.  
   
   
       13 . A baseboard system according to  claim 12 , wherein said fins are welded to associated conduit substantially along the entire periphery of said intermediate openings.  
   
   
       14 . A baseboard system according to  claim 10 , wherein said open cutouts are formed as semi-circular contours.  
   
   
       15 . A baseboard system according to  claim 14 , wherein said circular openings and said semi-circular contours define center points that are substantially co-exlasive with the centers or axes of said conduits when mated together and define the spacing between said conduits when assembled in the baseboard.  
   
   
       16 . A baseboard system according to  claim 6 , wherein said two conduits are connected one end to feed and return lines and connected to each other at the other end.  
   
   
       17 . A baseboard system according to  claim 6 , wherein a T-splitter is used at each end to connect both conduits at one end to a feed line and to connect both conduits to a return line at the other end.  
   
   
       18 . A baseboard system according to  claim 6 , wherein conduit is arranged to carry heated water from a supply line and the other conduit is arranged to carry cooled water to a return line, whereby the BTU per unit length provided by the baseboard is substantially on average of the BTUs provided by each of said conduits and associated fins.  
   
   
       19 . A baseboard system comprising a convection baseboard unit to be arranged along a wall proximate to a floor of an enclosure to be heated; heating means within said baseboard unit, said baseboard unit defining a predetermined external surface configuration including vertically spaced openings to allow ambient air to flow into and heated air to flow out of said baseboard unit and having a predetermined width defined by two opposing lateral ends; moldings abutting at least one lateral end of said baseboard unit and having an external surface configuration substantially corresponding to said external surface configuration of said baseboard unit, whereby abutment of said moldings against at least one lateral end of said baseboard unit beyond the lateral end thereof to effectively provide a continuous member having a substantially continuous external surface configuration having the appearance of said baseboard and molding extending along at least a portion of a wall of the enclosure; and adjustable heat exchange means far adjusting the amount of BTUs per unit length of selected lengths of baseboard, whereby different lengths of baseboard can be selected to produce different BTUs per unit length to provide desired heat distribution without changing the size or shape of said external surface configuration, whereby a uniform appearance can be provided despite disparate BTU per unit length generated at different locations of the baseboard unit.  
   
   
       20 . A baseboard system according to  claim 19 , wherein said adjustable heat exchanger means comprises a pair of spaced conduits and substantially uniformly spaced fins along said conduits, wherein said spacing between adjacent fins being selectable during assembly of the baseboard to provide desired inter-fin spacing with corresponding BTU per unit length generation.  
   
   
       21 . A baseboard system according to  claim 7 , wherein one conduit is for carrying heated fluid and the other is for carrying fluid that returns in a closed loop system.  
   
   
       22 . A baseboard system according to  claim 7 , wherein both conduits are for carrying heated fluid from a common feeder conduit feeding heated fluid to said baseboard, and a T-shaped coupling for diverting a portion of the heated fluid from the common feeder conduit to each of said conduit with said baseboard.  
   
   
       23 . A baseboard system according to  claim 22 , further comprising deflecting means within said coupling for directing substantially equal amounts of heated fluid to both said conduits.