Patent Application
20190014622
The present invention relates to substantially thin and flat spiral-shaped heater cells comprising one or more closed spiral channels in a system in which water or other fluid or media is heated in the channel substantially immediately adjacent to discharge from the system thereby providing heated water, fluid, solution or other media on demand as needed by the user. The heating can be accomplished using electromagnetic or radio frequency induction or microwave heaters and other known heater exchangers. In particular, the present invention relates to apparatuses, systems and methods for fabricating compact heaters used to heat fluids, solids, gases or other media.
Using different types of induction to heat materials and media such as fluids is well known. However, different embodiments have provided different advantages. For example, United States Patent Publication No. US 2011/0165299 A1 published Jul. 7, 2011 discloses wrapping a induction coil in a helical arrangement around an object to be heated and heating the object by electromagnetic induction. Induction heating coils have been used to induce heat in adjacent objects and their contents, see United States Patent Publication No. US 2005/0115957 A1 published Jun. 2, 2005.
Helical tubing configurations have been used in other heating devices. A steam-producing boiler is disclosed in United States Patent Publication No. US 2006/0213457 A1 published Sep. 28, 2006 disclosing wrapping tubes carrying water around a boiler in a spiral/helix arrangement to capture the heat of the boiler. United States Patent Publication No. US 2010/0031899 A1 published Feb. 11, 2010 discloses a water-conducting helical coil suspended inside a water heating tank heated by exterior bands and a heating element inside the tank. These designs do not meet the needs of the present invention.
Thus, while techniques currently exist that are used to create heat and/or heat water, challenges still exist and the best practice has not been utilized including efficiently heating water or other fluids in critically confined spaces. Accordingly, it would be an improvement in the art to provide means for placing tank-less, low profile, energy efficient flow through heaters in confined spaces dictated by the environment of use.
The present invention relates to apparatuses for heating water or other media, including air, in critically confined spaces. The present invention is directed to tank-less, low profile, energy efficient flow through heaters which due to their configuration can be effectively placed in confined spaces dictated by the particular environment of use.
Implementation of the present invention takes place in association with the need to heat water or other fluids or media on demand. In particular, the present invention is directed to substantially flat and thin induction heaters capable of being placed in either horizontal or vertical positions. The present invention comprises low profile, closed channels arranged in arrangements such as a spiral configuration. A spiral channel can be formed in a number ways including but not limited to tubing, channels within a body or one or more channels formed in bodies positioned adjacent each other so as to form the desired conduit. The spiral configuration has the advantage of minimizing flow head losses and turbulent flow inherent in other configurations such as serpentine or reverse-flow arrangements.
The low profile nature of the present invention permits more than one heater cell of the present invention, if desired, to be placed in series or parallel, in stacked or adjacent proximity to each other to create boiler cells depending physical constraints of the environment of use thereby facilitating low pressure or gravity flow systems utilizing the present invention.
While the methods and processes of the present invention have proven to be particularly useful in the area of heating various media, those skilled in the art can appreciate that the methods and processes can be used in a variety of configurations for different applications and in a variety of different areas of manufacture to yield efficient means for heating other fluids for on demand use.
These and other features and advantages of the present invention will be set forth or will become more fully apparent in the description that follows and in the appended claims. The features and advantages may be realized and obtained by means of the outlined methods and processing of the instruments and combinations particularly pointed out in the appended claims. Furthermore, the features and advantages of the invention may be learned by the practice of the invention or will be obvious from the description, as set forth hereinafter.
In order that the manner in which the above recited and other features and advantages of the present invention are obtained, a more particular description of the invention will be rendered by reference to specific embodiments thereof, which are illustrated in the appended drawings. Understanding that the drawings depict only typical embodiments of the present invention and are not, therefore, to be considered as limiting the scope of the invention, the present invention will be described and explained with additional specificity and detail through the use of the accompanying drawings in which:
FIGS. IC and 1D illustrate alternative coil configurations accommodating a plurality of spiral having different diameters;
The present invention relates to substantially thin and flat spiral-shaped heater cells comprising one or more closed spiral channels in a system in which water or other fluid or media is heated within the channel substantially immediately adjacent to discharge from the system thereby providing heated water, fluid, solution or other media on demand as needed by the user.
In the disclosure and in the claims of this patent the term “on demand” or “instant” shall mean, but not be limited to, substantially immediately at the desired place of use or so substantially close to the place of use that the heated fluid retains its heated temperature without any material decrease of temperature from the time it is heated until the time the fluid exits the systems and is accessed by the user outside the heating system. In other words, instead of batch heating a tank or reservoir of media and maintaining the temperature of the tank, the media is heated substantially near the point of intended use without the need for a heating a tank of media and maintaining the temperature of the media in the tank.
The present invention utilizes known electromagnetic or radio frequency induction or microwave principles, but does so in a novel channel or cell configuration allowing novel arrangements. In the alternative, conventional heating sources such as electrical or flame may be utilized. As known by those skilled in the art, induction heating can be used electromagnetically or by radio frequency to create heat in conductive materials. The present invention improves upon the use of induction heating in the field of on demand use in physically confined or limited spaces or at locations remote from traditional heater or boiler systems and can be used in an open or closed loop system. The present invention also improves upon the use of microwave heating in the field of on demand use.
From a practical standpoint for safety reasons, any heater should be provided adequate venting. For example, a restaurant work space may comprise a countertop only a few inches thick and/or be located far from the restaurant water heater or boiler yet a sink or other source of hot water is needed at the work space. With only a few inches of host countertop, many conventional on demand systems cannot reside in the available space.
As shown in
As shown in
The channel 12 of tubing 11 comprises a length with openings 13 and 14 along channel 12 of tubing 11. For example, one opening may be at or near the center of the spiral and the other opening may be at or near the periphery of the spiral. Depending on the environment of use and the available physical location of the substantially thin and flat spiral-shaped heating element in relation to the desired location of the output stream from the channel 12 of tubing 11, opening 13 may be either the inlet opening or the outlet opening for coursing media. Similarly, opening 14 may be a corresponding outlet opening or inlet opening, respectively. As needed or desired to provide media at different temperature gradients, additional openings or branches off of the channel 12 of tubing 11 can be disposed along the length of channel 12 between openings 13 and 14. This in one means for controlling a temperature gradient between the inlet of the spiral channel and the outlet of the spiral channel.
The walls defining channel 12 of the present invention may comprise a conductive material which will be heated under the influence of electro-magnetic induction forces. Those skilled in the art will recognize the variability of suitable electromagnetically conductive materials which can be used in the construction of channel 12 in an inductive heating system. For example, channel 12 may be constructed from electrically conductive steel, metal or carbon composite, alloy, chrome, aluminum, copper or any other desirable substance having the desirable heat conductive properties selected by one skilled in the art. Also, electrodeposition, electrogalvanizing or electroplating processes may be used to coat the walls of channel 12, tubing 11 or any surrounding material with compounds which heat when subjected to means for generating heat and which transfers heat to the media within channel 12 or tubing 11. In the alternative the substantially flat spiral channel 12 or tubing 11 may itself not be conductive but may be wrapped or coated with a conductive material. Still further, in the alternative the spiral channel 12 and/or its tubing 11 can be disposed adjacent or against an electrically conductive material subject which is heated under electro-magnetic forces such as a plate or other member on one or both sides of the spiral such that inductive heat is transferred from the plate to the walls defining channel 12 along all or part of the length of channel 12 of the spiral. One of skill in the art can select the conductive material and shape suitable for the desired inductive heating effect. One of skill in the art will also be able to control the temperature differential between openings 13 and 14 by varying the strength of the electro-magnetic induction forces acting on spiral 11 by using conventional mechanisms thereby providing another means for controlling a temperature gradient between the inlet of the spiral channel and the outlet of the spiral channel.
In still another alternative embodiment, the spiral of
The diameter of the spiral tubing configuration is a design or engineering choice left to those of skill in the art for the particular application. For example, depending upon the desired fluid flow rate and temperature differential between inlet and outlet, the length of channel 12 between inlet and outlet is a function of the cross-sectional area of the channel 12 and the overall diameter of the substantially thin and flat spiral configuration. The advantage of the substantially thin and flat spiral configuration is that a variety of flow rates and temperature differentials can be achieved as desired. For example, one half inch wide channel, with width measured radially outward from the center of the channel, in a one foot overall diameter spiral configuration with one half inch spacing between walls of channel 12 would provide approximately eight and one half linear feet of channel 12 through which a flowing media may be heated inside channel 12. On the other hand, with no spacing between walls of channel 12 the linear feet of channel 12 would be approximately seventeen feet. A one quarter inch wide channel in a one foot overall diameter spiral without spacing between the walls of the radially adjacent portions of channels would provide approximately thirty-five lineal feet of channel through which flowing media may be heated inside channel 12. While the illustrated configuration of the spiral is circular, it may be desired to have the spiral be of a different geometric configuration such as an oval or multiple sided such as triangular, square, rectangle, pentagon, hexagon, etc.
In one embodiment, a suitable electric coil or antennae for generating the electro-magnetic forces needed to generate the desired heat in the conductive material about or adjacent channel 12 may be positioned under, over, round-about or sufficiently adjacent to channel 12 so that the spiral configuration lies within the zone of effective electro-magnetic forces produced by the chosen electromagnet coil as discussed later in connection with
For example, spiral member 21 defining a channel may be disposed between two electrically conductive metal plates 26 and 27 as shown in
In an alternative configuration shown in
In another alternative configuration 20, the channel through which water/media passes is defined by a groove or recess 22 formed in a solid host member 21 as shown in
In the alternative, member 28 can comprise a solid member and be configured with a matching channel 22′ (not shown) defined by a groove or recess on the side of member 28 adjacent channel 22 by removing material from solid member 28 to form all or part of a channel 22′. Solid member 28 is thus configured to define a mirror open channel 22′. The solid member 28 depicted in
In a further alternative embodiment solid host members 21 and 28 of
In the various embodiments of
In all embodiments of
As shown in
As illustrated with the embodiment of
For the present invention, in order to induce heating of the selected conductive material about the enclosed channel 12, 22 or 22-22′, heating element 10 or 20 may be disposed near or within a suitable induction coil or antennae chosen to generate the electro-magnetic forces needed to generate heat in the conductive material. That is, a suitable induction coil for generating the electro-magnetic forces needed to generate the desired heat in the conductive material about the enclosed channel is positioned under, over, round-about or sufficiently adjacent to heating element 10 or 20 so that the components of heating element 10 or 20 lie within the zone of effective electro-magnetic forces produced by the chosen induction coil or antennae.
For example, tubing 11 may be wrapped about and along the length of tubing 11 (not shown) or channel 12 such that channel is encircled about with a suitable induction coil or antennae 19 chosen to generate the electro-magnetic or radio frequency forces needed to generate heat in the conductive material comprising tubing 11. Another example would be the use of elliptical or hexagonal coils which permit more than one spiral cells to be disposed within the coil and allows element 10/20 having different diameters to be positioned in a stacked configuration near each other in a pancake stack fashion while keeping the peripheries of the spirals the appropriate distance from the induction coil 19 as shown in
As a result, depending upon the required flow rate and temperature gradient of the media coursing through channel 12, 22 or 22-22′ a substantially flat and thin spiral-shaped embodiment 10 or 20 of the present invention can reside in a horizontal countertop, vertical wall space or other structure wherein the diameter of the channel of the spiral is as small as ⅛ inch up to 4 inches, preferably about ¼ to ½ inch in dimension. Or, as needed and as determined by one of skill in the art, the diameter of the channel of the spiral could be much larger if adapted for commercial or industrial use applications.
As illustrated in
As illustrated in
Fluid source 61 could be water or any other desired media such as media at ambient temperature or be the cold water/fluid source. Source 61 is split into source line 62 and input line 63. Input 63 is joined to the inlet 43 of spiral 41 comprising tubing 12 or spiral 21 of heating elements 10 and 20, respectively. A conduit line is joined to outlet 44 of spiral 41 to conduct hot water/fluid to the desired point of use such as a hot faucet 46 of a work station 40. Representative cold water spout 55 with valve 45, hot water spout 56 with valve 46, sink 77 and drain 78 are also illustrated.
As shown in
As used herein the term “means for generating heating” comprises the combination of electrically conductive materials with a induction coil for generating electromagnetic forces which induce heat in the electrically conductive materials; the combination of electrically conductive materials with an induction antennae generating radio frequencies which induce heat in the host materials; the combination of ceramic host materials defining a channel heated with microwave energy for heating media conducted in the channel; configurations of channels which can be heated with conventional flame or electrical heating sources; and equivalents thereof.
While the descriptions above highlight the advantages of heat generated by electrically induced principles, heating of spiral shaped conduits described above may be achieved using flame, infrared or other conventional heating methods although likely with a decrease in efficiency. The ready and apparent advantages of inductive heating over other heating mechanisms is the savings of plumbing for fuel and no flue or exhaust conduit for gases of combustion is required. Those skilled in the art may apply inductive, flame, infrared or other conventional heating mechanism with known conventional sensors and related hardware, software, dials switches, valves, etc. thereby allowing the user of the system to have additional means for controlling the temperature gradient between the inlet of the spiral conduit and the outlet of the spiral conduit.
Thus, as discussed herein, the embodiments of the present invention embrace
The present invention may be embodied in other specific forms without departing from its spirit or essential characteristics. The described embodiments are to be considered in all respects only as illustrative and not restrictive. The scope of the invention is, therefore, indicated by the appended claims rather than by the foregoing description. All changes that come within the meaning and range of equivalency of the claims are to be embraced within their scope.
