Solar heat collecting apparatus

Claim 1

A solar heat collecting apparatus comprising: an insulating frame means including a back, sides, a top and a bottom, said back having slot means therein for providing an air inlet and outlet; collecting means including a front plate and a back plate disposed within said frame means; an aggregate material disposed between the front and back collector plates; conduit means constructed of a highly heat conductive material, said conduit means being disposed between the front and back plates of said collecting means for providing a path for fluid flow therethrough; cover means sealingly attached to a front portion of said frame means for allowing rays of sunlight to pass therethrough; air passageway means being formed between said front plate and said cover means, said air passageway means being in communication with said air inlet and air outlet; wherein a screen is disposed across each of the ends of said front and back collector plates and attached thereto wherein said aggregate material is held between said front and back collector plates and heated air is allowed to move through said screen; wherein said aggregate material completely fills said collecting means; wherein said aggregate material is gravel; wherein said front and back collector plates are constructed of galvanized steel; wherein said front plate is corrugated and said back plate is flat; wherein said front plate includes an epoxy primer on top of the galvanized steel, a coat of dark bronze colored fluorocarbon based enamel containing polyvinylidene fluoride on top of the epoxy primer, a coat of chalkboard slating on top of the fluorocarbon based enamel and a coat of 3M brand nextel-black velvet 101 - C10 on top of the chalkboard slating; wherein said conduit means is formed into a series of partial loops; wherein one end of said frame means is disposed at a higher elevation than the other end thereof whereby air heated in said air passageway means rises into said air outlet including valve means attached to a bottom portion of said conduit means for draining fluid from said conduit means, including pump means attached to said conduit means for circulating fluid through said conduit means, including means for connecting said air inlet to an enclosure to be heated and means for connecting said air outlet to said enclosure, including fan means disposed in one of said inlet or outlet connecting means for circulating air through said air passageway means and said enclosure, including a plurality of spacer means disposed within said aggregate and between said front plate and said back plate for holding said front and back plates a predetermined distance apart; wherein each of said spacer means comprises a tube, bolt means extending through said tube and through the front plate and back plate and having nut means threadably disposed on one end of said bolt means, including means for attaching said conduit means to said spacer means for fixing the position of said conduit means with respect to said front and back plates of said collecting means.