FUEL MIXING APPARATUS AND BOILER INCLUDING THE SAME

Abstract

Disclosed is a fuel mixing apparatus including a case defining a passage, in which air and a fuel flow, an opening/closing device that opens and closes the passage as at least a portion thereof is rotated, and a rotation guide that supports the opening/closing device to prevent a rotation axis of the opening/closing device from being inclined while the opening/closing device is rotated.

Description

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application claims the benefit of priority to Korean Patent Application No. 10-2023-0197397, filed in the Korean Intellectual Property Office on Dec. 29, 2023, the entire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present disclosure relates to a fuel mixing apparatus. More particularly, the present disclosure relates to a fuel mixing apparatus for mixing and providing air and a fuel.

BACKGROUND

Air is required to burn a fuel. More specifically, because a combustion reaction requires oxygen, air including oxygen is required to burn a fuel. A fuel mixing apparatus may be provided to a device that requires combustion of a fuel.

For example, a boiler may heat water through the burner to provide heating or hot water. In this case, a fuel mixing apparatus may be provided to the boiler to mix the fuel and the air to provide them to the burner.

The fuel mixing apparatus may be provided with an opening/closing device to control the flow rates of air and/or a fuel. The opening/closing device may open or close the passage as at least a portion thereof is rotated. In this case, while at least a portion of the opening/closing device is rotated, the rotation axis of the opening/closing device may be distorted.

SUMMARY

The present disclosure has been made to solve the above-mentioned problems occurring in the prior art while advantages achieved by the prior art are maintained intact.

As aspect of the present disclosure provides a fuel mixing device and a boiler that prevent a rotation axis of an opening/closing device from being inclined while the opening/closing device opens or closes a passage.

Another aspect of the present disclosure provides a fuel mixing device and a boiler that prevent a rotation axis of an adapter from being inclined while the adapter that connects a motor and a blade that opens or closes a passage presses a switch that controls a motor.

The technical problems to be solved by the present disclosure are not limited to the aforementioned problems, and any other technical problems not mentioned herein will be clearly understood from the following description by those skilled in the art to which the present disclosure pertains.

According to an aspect of the present disclosure, a fuel mixing apparatus includes a case defining a passage, in which air and a fuel flow, an opening/closing device that opens and closes the passage as at least a portion thereof is rotated, and a rotation guide that supports the opening/closing device to prevent a rotation axis of the opening/closing device from being inclined while the opening/closing device is rotated.

The fuel mixing apparatus may further include a motor that provides power to the opening/closing device, the opening/closing device may include a blade located on the passage, and that is rotated to be moved to an opening position, in which the passage is opened, and a closing position, in which the passage is closed, and an adapter connecting the motor and the blade to transmit power generated by the motor to the blade, and the rotation guide may support the adapter.

The adapter may be coupled to the blade in a direction of a rotation axis of the blade, and is coupled to a rotary shaft of the motor, and the rotation guide may prevent a rotation axis of the adapter from being inclined.

The adapter may include an adapter body, and a pressing boss protruding from the adapter body in a radial direction to be supported by the rotation guide.

The fuel mixing apparatus may further include a switch including a switch button located within a radius of rotation of the pressing boss, and configured such that current flowing to the motor is blocked by pressing the switch button with the pressing boss so that the blade is located in one of the opening position and the closing position.

The pressing boss may include a first pressing boss and a second pressing boss located on opposite sides with respect to a rotation axis of the adapter, and the rotation guide may be located on an opposite side of the switch button with respect to the rotation axis of the adapter.

The switch may include a first switch including a first switch button, and a second switch including a second switch button corresponding to the first switch button, and located such that an imaginary line extending from the rotation axis of the adapter toward the first switch button and an imaginary line extending from the rotation axis toward the second switch button are perpendicular to each other, and the rotation guide may include a first rotation guide corresponding to the first switch button, and a second rotation guide corresponding to the second switch button.

The rotation guide may further include a third rotation guide located between the first switch and the second switch.

The rotation guide may be symmetrical leftward and rightward.

The rotation guide may include a guide part extending in a circumferential direction with respect to a rotation axis of the adapter, and a support rib extending from the guide part in a radial direction with respect to the rotation axis of the adapter.

A plurality of support ribs may be spaced apart in a circumferential direction with respect to the rotation axis of the adapter.

The fuel mixing apparatus may further include a switch including a switch button located within a radius of rotation of the adapter, and including a first switch and a second switch configured such that current flowing to the motor is blocked by pressing the switch button with the adapter so that the blade is located in one of the opening position or the closing position, and the support rib may include a first support rib including a first rotation guide corresponding to the first switch, and a second support rib including a second rotation guide corresponding to the second switch.

A cross-sectional area of the case gradually may decrease to a portion as it goes from an upstream side to a downstream side of the air, and gradually increases at the portion, and the fuel mixing apparatus may further include a fuel supply pipe communicated with the portion of the case.

The case may define a first passage and a second passage separated from each other, the fuel supply pipe may include a first fuel supply pipe communicated with the first passage, and a second fuel supply pipe communicated with the second passage, the blade may be located in the second passage, and is that opens the second passage in the opening position and closes the second passage in the closing position, and the second fuel supply pipe may be opened when the blade is in the opening position, and is closed when the blade is in the closing position.

The fuel mixing apparatus may further include a cam unit located to correspond to an opening of the second supply pipe, and being movable between a first cam position spaced apart from the opening and a second cam position contacting the opening, and an elastic member that elastically biases the cam unit from the second cam position to the first cam position, and the blade may include a cam part that presses the cam such that the cam unit is in the first cam position when the blade is in the opening position and the cam unit is in the second cam position when the blade is in the closing position.

According to an aspect of the present disclosure, a boiler includes a fuel mixing apparatus that mixes and provide air and a fuel, a blower connected to the fuel mixing apparatus, and a burner that heats the air and the fuel delivered from the blower, the fuel mixing apparatus includes a case defining a passage, in which the air flows, a blade that is rotated to be moved to an opening position, in which the passage is opened, and a closing position, in which the passage is closed, an adapter coupled to the blade in a direction of a rotation axis of the blade, and including an adapter body, and a pressing boss protruding from the adapter body in a radial direction, a motor that rotates the blade by rotating the adapter, a switch including a switch button located within a radius of rotation of the pressing boss, and configured such that current flowing to the motor is blocked by pressing the switch button so that the blade is located in one of the opening position and the closing position, and a rotation guide that supports the pressing boss to prevent a rotation axis of the adapter from being inclined while the adapter is rotated.

The rotation guide may include a guide part extending in a radial direction with respect to the rotation axis of the adapter.

The guide part may be spaced apart from the adapter body to correspond to a protrusion degree of the pressing boss.

The pressing boss may include a first pressing boss and a second pressing boss located on opposite sides with respect to a rotation axis of the adapter.

According to an aspect of the present disclosure, a fuel mixing apparatus that mix and provide air and a fuel includes a case defining a passage, in which air and a fuel flow, a blade that is rotated to be moved to an opening position, in which the passage is opened, and a closing position, in which the passage is closed, an adapter coupled to the blade in a direction of a rotation axis of the blade, and including an adapter body, and a pressing boss protruding from the adapter body in a radial direction, a motor that rotates the blade by rotating the adapter, a switch including a switch button located within a radius of rotation of the pressing boss, and configured such that current flowing to the motor is blocked by pressing the switch button so that the blade is located in one of the opening position and the closing position, and a rotation guide that supports the pressing boss to prevent a rotation axis of the adapter from being inclined while the adapter is rotated.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The above and other objects, features and advantages of the present disclosure will be more apparent from the following detailed description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings:

FIG. 1 is a conceptual view of a boiler according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 2 is a perspective view illustrating a fuel mixing apparatus illustrated in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view illustrating a case, in which the fuel mixing apparatus illustrated in FIG. 2 is cut along III-III′ and a blade is in a closing position;

FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view illustrating a case, in which the blade of the fuel mixing apparatus illustrated in FIG. 3 is in an opening position;

FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view of a case where, the fuel mixing apparatus illustrated in FIG. 2 is cut along V-V′ and the blade is in a closing position;

FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view illustrating a case, in which the blade of the fuel mixing apparatus illustrated in FIG. 5 is in the opening position;

FIG. 7 is an exploded view of the fuel mixing apparatus illustrated in FIG. 2 so that the adapter is illustrated;

FIG. 8 is a plan view of components that are adjacent to the adapter illustrated in FIG. 7, viewed from a top;

FIG. 9 is a plan view illustrating that the adapter illustrated in FIG. 8 is rotated; and

FIG. 10 is a plan view of a fuel mixing apparatus according to another embodiment of the present disclosure, focusing on components that are adjacent to an adapter.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present disclosure will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings so that those skilled in the art may easily carry out the present disclosure. However, the present disclosure may be implemented in several different forms, and is neither limited nor limited by the following embodiments.

To clearly explain the present disclosure, a detailed description of parts that are not related to the description or related known technologies that may unnecessarily obscure the gist of the present disclosure will be omitted, and when adding reference numerals to components of each drawing in the specification, the same or similar reference numerals are attached throughout the specification

In addition, terms or words used in the specification and claims should not be interpreted as being limited to ordinary or dictionary meanings, and should be interpreted as meanings and concepts that are consistent with the technical idea of this present disclosure based on the principle that the inventor may properly define the concepts of the terms to explain his or her invention in the best way.

Various embodiments of the present disclosure and terms used herein are not intended to limit the technical features described in the present disclosure to specific embodiments, and it should be understood that the embodiments and the terms include modification, equivalent, or alternative on the corresponding embodiments described herein.

With regard to description of drawings, similar or related components may be marked by similar reference marks/numerals.

The singular form of the noun corresponding to an item may include one or more of items, unless interpreted otherwise in context.

In the disclosure, the expressions “A or B”, “at least one of A and B”, “at least one of A or B”, “A, B, or C”, “at least one of A, B, and C”, and “at least one of A, B, or C” may include any and all combinations of one or more of the associated listed items.

The term “and/or” includes a combination of a plurality of related described components or any one of a plurality of related described components.

The terms, such as “first” or “second” may be used to simply distinguish the corresponding component from the other component, but do not limit the corresponding components in other aspects (e.g., importance or order).

When a component (e.g., a first component) is referred to as being “coupled with/to” or “connected to” another component (e.g., a second component) with or without the term of “operatively” or “communicatively”, it may mean that a component is connectable to the other component, directly (e.g., by wire), wirelessly, or through the third component.

It will be understood that the terms “include”, “comprise”, “have”, etc. specify the presence of features, numbers, steps, operations, elements, or components, described in the specification, or a combination thereof, not precluding the presence or additional possibility of one or more other features, numbers, steps, operations, elements, or components or a combination thereof.

When a component is “connected,” “combined,” “support” or “in contact” with another component, this includes not only when the components are directly connected, combined, supported, or in contact, but also the components are indirectly connected, combined, supported, or in contact, through a third component.

When a component is located “on” another component, this includes not only when one component is in contact with another component, but also when another component exists between the two components.

On the other hand, the terms an “upward/downward direction”, a “lower side”, and a “forward/rearward direction” used in the following description are defined based on the drawing, and the shape and position of each component are not limited by the terms.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present disclosure will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

FIG. 1 is a conceptual view of a boiler “B” according to a first embodiment of the present disclosure.

A boiler “B” according to a first embodiment of the present disclosure will be schematically described with reference to FIG. 1.

Prior to a description, a fuel mixing apparatus MA of the present disclosure will be described below as being provided to the boiler “B”. However, the present disclosure is not limited thereto, and the spirit of the present disclosure is also applied to the fuel mixing apparatus MA provided to a device, in which fuel and air need to be mixed and provided. However, for convenience of description, it is assumed and described below that the fuel mixing apparatus MA is provided to the boiler “B”.

The boiler “B” may be provided to provide heating or hot water.

The boiler “B” may be divided into a portion, through which water flows, and a portion, through which air and/or fuel flows. In this case, the idea of the present disclosure may also be applied to that a portion, through which water flows, is substituted with a fluid for transferring heat. However, for convenience of description, water is assumed as an example. Furthermore, the fuel may be provided in a liquid state, but in the present disclosure, for convenience of description, it is assumed in the description that the fuel is provided in a gaseous state.

With reference to the illustration of FIG. 1, a circuit that is located on an upper side may be a portion, through which water flows, and a circuit that is located on a lower side may be a portion, through which air and/or fuel flows. The portion, through which water flows, may be provided as a closed circuit. However, in some cases, a portion, through which water is supplied to the closed circuit, and a portion, through which water is discharged, may be included. For convenience of description, as an example, it is assumed that a portion, through which water flows, is provided as a closed circuit. A portion, through which air flows, may be provided as an open circuit. This is because, once air is burned in a burner 900, combustion products remain and the combustion products need to be discharged to an outside.

A portion, through which the water flows, will be described first. The portion, through which the water flows, may include a heat exchanger 950, a pipeline 960 that is configured to allow water from the heat exchanger 950 to flow to discharge heat at a desired site, and a pump 980 that provides power to allow the water from the pipeline 960 to be introduced back into the heat exchanger 950. The portion, through which the water flows, may additionally include a tank 970 for relieving a pressure that is increased in the pipeline 960 when the water evaporates due to a high temperature while the water flows. Heat may be applied to water in the heat exchanger 950 by the burner 900. The water in the heat exchanger 950 may flow toward the pipeline 960 at a site, at which heat is required, while a temperature thereof is increased. In this case, the flow of the water may be performed by the power provided by the pump 980 described above. The water that discharges heat at a site, at which the pipeline 960 is required, may flow toward the pump 980. When water evaporates to become water vapor in a gaseous state, the water vapor may be discharged to the outside through the tank 970. The water that passes through the tank 970 may flow toward the pump 980. In the pump 980, the water may obtain power and flow back to the heat exchanger 950. The water may circulate along a circulation circuit.

A portion, at which the air and/or fuel flows, will be described. A portion, at which air is introduced, and a portion, at which fuel is introduced, may be distinguished from each other. The air may be introduced into the fuel mixing apparatus MA from the outside through an intake pipe 930. The gas may be introduced into the fuel mixing apparatus MA through a gas pipe 920. In this case, although not illustrated in FIG. 1, a gas valve (not illustrated) may be installed in the gas pipe 920 to adjust an amount of the fuel introduced into the fuel fixing apparatus MA. The air and the fuel may be mixed in the fuel mixing apparatus MA and be provided to a burner 900 through a blower 910. Although it is illustrated in FIG. 1 that the blower 910 is located between the fuel fixing apparatus MA and the burner 900, the blower 910 may be located on an upstream side of the fuel fixing apparatus MA with respect to the flow of the air. A mixture of the air and the fuel is burned in the burner 900, and the air and the like after combustion may be discharged to the outside through the exhaust pipe 940.

In this case, by controlling an amount of air and/or the fuel through the control of the fuel mixing apparatus MA, an amount of heat in the burner 900 may be controlled. Because the amount of heat that may be obtained by the water in the heat exchanger 950 may be controlled by the controlled heat, the amount of the heat provided to a site, at which heat is required, may be controlled through the control of the fuel mixing apparatus MA.

The fuel mixing apparatus MA will be described in more detail below.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view illustrating a fuel mixing apparatus MA illustrated in FIG. 1. FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view illustrating a case, in which the fuel mixing apparatus MA illustrated in FIG. 2 is cut along III-III′ and a blade 200 is in a closing position. FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view illustrating a case, in which the blade 200 of the fuel mixing apparatus MA illustrated in FIG. 3 is in an opening position. FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view illustrating a case, in which the fuel mixing apparatus MA illustrated in FIG. 2 is cut along V-V′ and a blade 200 is in a closing position. FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view illustrating a case, in which the blade 200 of the fuel mixing apparatus MA illustrated in FIG. 4 is in an opening position.

Referring to FIGS. 2 to 6, the fuel mixing apparatus MA according to an embodiment of the present disclosure will be described.

As illustrated in FIG. 2, the fuel mixing apparatus MA may include a case 100 that defines a passage 100S, through which air and fuel flow. Referring to FIG. 2, it is assumed that a flow occurs from a right side to a left side, and will be described below. Furthermore, as will be described later, because the opening/closing device of the case 100 is moved to open or close the passage 100S, a motor 400 that provides power for this may be included in an opening/closing device OCA. Furthermore, a sub case 700 may be provided on one side of the case 100 to accommodate a component for controlling the motor 400.

As illustrated in FIG. 4, the cross-sectional area of the case 100 gradually decreases until a portion and gradually increases from the portion as it goes from an upstream side to a downstream side of the air. It may be seen that the case 100 has a shape of a kind of venturi tube. From FIG. 4, it may be seen that the cross-sectional area of the portion, through which the air is introduced, does not increase even when it goes along the flow of the air, but from FIG. 5 that is the cross-sectional view at another angle, the cross-sectional area decreases as it goes toward a portion. As the cross-sectional area of the passage 100S becomes smaller, the speed increases, and as the speed increases, the pressure decreases. The fuel may be introduced from the fuel supply pipe that is located adjacent to the passage 100S by the reduced pressure and is communicated with a portion of the case 100. The fuel supply device may include an opening/closing device OCA that is configured to open or close the passage 100S by rotating at least a portion of the passage 100S. The flow in the passage 100S may be controlled by the opening/closing device OCA, so that a firepower in the burner 900 may be controlled.

As illustrated in FIG. 5, the passage 100S formed in the case 100 may include a first passage 100Sa and a second passage 100Sb, which are separated from each other. Referring to FIG. 5, the first passage 100Sa may be the passage 100S that is located on a lower side, and the second passage 100Sb may be the passage 100S located on an upper side. The divided passages 100S may be formed by opening or closing any one of the first passage 100Sa and the second passage 100Sb to adjust an amount or ratio of the air and the fuel provided to the burner 900 (see FIG. 1). Although the second passage 100Sb is configured to be opened or closed in the present disclosure, the idea of the present disclosure may still be applied to the fact that the first passage 100Sa may be opened or closed, or the first passage 100Sa and the second passage 100Sb may be opened or closed. In this case, it may be considered that the first passage 100Sa is always open, and the second passage 100Sb is configured to be opened or closed by the opening/closing device OCA.

In this case, a fuel supply pipe 110 may include a first fuel supply pipe 110a that is communicated with the first passage 100Sa. The fuel supply pipe 110 may include a second fuel supply pipe 110b that is communicated with the second passage 100Sb. Although the amount of the fuel provided to the first fuel supply pipe 110a (not illustrated) may be adjusted by adjusting the gas valve (not illustrated) mounted on a gas valve 920 (see FIG. 1) and the first fuel supply pipe 110a, the fuel may be continuously provided to the first passage 100Sa through the first fuel supply pipe 110a when the supply of the fuel by the gas valve is not adjusted.

As illustrated in FIGS. 3 to 4, the opening/closing device OCA may include a blade 200 that is located on the passage 100S. More specifically, the blade 200 may be located on the second passage 100Sb. The blade 200 may be configured to be moved to an opening position, in which the passage 100S is opened, and a closing position, in which the passage 100S is closed, as it is rotated. That is, the blade 200 may be configured to open the second passage 100Sb in the opening position and close the second passage 100Sb in the closing position. For example, the position of the blade 200 illustrated in FIG. 3 may be the closing position, and the position of the blade 200 illustrated in FIG. 4 may be the opening position. When the blade 200 is in the closing position, the passage 100S may be blocked to prevent the air from passing through the case 100. In the opening position and the closing position, the positions of the wings of the blade 200 may be substantially perpendicular to each other.

It may be preferable that the fuel supply device is configured such that the fuel also is provided to be mixed with the air while the blade 200 is in the opening position such that the air flows. To this end, the fuel supply pipe 110 may be configured to be opened when the blade 200 is in the opening position so that the fuel flows. That is, the second fuel supply pipe 110b may be opened when the blade 200 is in the opening position, and may be closed when the blade 200 is in the closing position. When the blade 200 is in the opening position, the fuel may be provided into the passage 100S, as illustrated in FIG. 4. A structure, in which opening of the second fuel supply pipe 110b may be changed based on the change in the position of the blade 200 will be described in detail below.

A space may be formed in the blade 200 adjacent to a rotation axis. As illustrated in FIG. 6, when the blade 200 is located in the opening position, the spaces formed in the second fuel supply pipe 110b and the blade 200 may be communicated with each other. To this end, the second fuel supply pipe 110b may extend up to the space formed in the blade 200. Referring to FIG. 6, the second fuel supply pipe 110b may extend upward toward the blade 200 located on an upper side.

As illustrated in FIG. 5, the fuel supply device may include a cam unit that is located to cover the opening of the second fuel supply pipe 110b when the blade 200 is in the closing position. The cam unit may be located in the space formed in the blade 200, and may be located on an upper side of the second fuel supply pipe 110b. The cam unit may be guided by a component that is adjacent to the rotation axis of the blade 200, and may be moved only in the upward/downward direction, and a rotation thereof may be limited. The cam unit may be located to correspond to the opening of the second fuel supply pipe 110b, and may be moved between the position of a first cam 310 spaced apart from the opening and the position of a second cam 310 that contacts the opening. For example, the position of the first cam 310 may be a position of the cam unit illustrated in FIG. 6, and the position of the second cam 310 may be a position of the cam unit illustrated in FIG. 5. The cam unit may be moved downward while being moved from the position of the first cam 310 to the position of the second cam 310.

The fuel supply device may include an elastic member 330 that elastically biases the cam unit from the position of the second cam 310 to the position of the first cam 310. The elastic member 330 may be supported by a lower side of the blade 200, and may be located between a portion of the blade 200, which supports the cam unit and the cam unit.

The cam unit may include a sealer 320 that is configured to contact the second fuel supply pipe 110b. The sealer 320 may have a material, such as rubber, which has an elasticity. The cam unit may include a cam 310 that is coupled to the sealer 320 and extends in an opposite direction that faces the second fuel supply pipe 110b.

The blade 200 may include a cam part 210 that presses the cam 310 so that the cam unit is in the position of the first cam 310 when the blade 200 is in the opening position, and the cam unit is in the position of the second cam 310 when the blade is in the closing position.

The cam 310 may include a portion that protrudes toward the cam part 210 and a portion that is concave to be more distant from the cam part 210. As illustrated in FIG. 5, when the protruding portion of the cam 310 contacts the cam part 210 of the blade 200, the cam unit may be located in the position of the second cam 310 to close the opening of the second fuel supply pipe 110b. Accordingly, the fuel may be prevented from flowing from the second fuel supply pipe 110b to the second passage 100Sb. In this case, the elastic member 330 may be compressed. As illustrated in FIG. 6, when the concave portion of the cam 310 contacts the cam part 210 of the blade 200 by the elastic force of the elastic member 330, the cam unit may be located in the position of the first cam 310 to open the opening of the second fuel supply pipe 110b. Accordingly, the fuel is allowed to flow from the second fuel supply pipe 110b to the second passage 100Sb, so that the fuel may be moved to the second passage 100Sb through a fuel opening 100A as illustrated in FIG. 4.

As described above, flow of the fuel and flow of air to the passage 100S may be controlled as the blade 200 is rotated. The blade 200 may receive the power of the motor 400 to be rotated.

The motor 400 may include a rotary shaft that is configured to be rotated. The opening/closing device OCA may include an adapter 500 that connects the motor 400 and the blade 200 to transmit the power generated by the motor 400 to the blade 200. More specifically, the adapter 500 may be coupled to a rotary shaft. The adapter 500 may have a D-cut hole, into which the rotary shaft is inserted (see FIG. 7). Accordingly, the adapter 500 may be rotated as the rotary shaft is rotated. The adapter 500 may be coupled to the blade 200 in a direction of the rotation axis of the blade 200. The adapter 500 and the blade 200 may be coupled to each other by a coupling member, such as a bolt or the like. In summary, the adapter 500 may be rotated as the rotary shaft of the motor 400 is rotated, and the blade 200 may be rotated as the adapter 500 is rotated.

The adapter 500 may include a configuration for controlling the motor 400 in addition to connecting the motor 400 and the blade 200. This will be described in detail below.

FIG. 7 is an exploded view of the fuel mixing apparatus MA illustrated in FIG. 2 so that the adapter 500 is illustrated. FIG. 8 is a plan view of components that are adjacent to the adapter 500 illustrated in FIG. 7, viewed from a top. FIG. 9 is a plan view illustrating that the adapter 500 illustrated in FIG. 8 is rotated.

Referring to FIGS. 7 to 9, a configuration of controlling the motor 400 by the adapter 500 and preventing the rotation axis of the adapter 500 from being inclined according to an embodiment of the present disclosure will be described.

As illustrated in FIG. 7, a sub case 700 may be located on one side of the motor 400 of the case 100. The sub case 700 may include a sub case body 710, in which a space is formed, and/or a sub case cover 720 that covers the space formed in the sub case body 710. The adapter 500 may be accommodated in the sub case 700. The fuel mixing apparatus MA may include a switch 600 that is configured to control the motor 400, is accommodated in the sub case 700, and includes a switch button 610. In this case, the switch 600 may be, as an example, a micro switch 600. The switch 600 may be located adjacent to the adapter 500 so that the switch button 610 is pressed by the adapter 500.

More specifically, as illustrated in FIG. 8, the adapter 500 may include an adapter body 510 and/or a pressing boss 520 that protrudes from the adapter body 510 in the radial direction. The switch button 610 may be located within a radius of rotation of the pressing boss 520, and as the pressing boss 520 is rotated, the switch button 610 may be pressed by the pressing boss 520. When the pressing boss 520 presses the switch button 610, the current that is directed to the motor 400 may be blocked, and thus, the rotation of the rotary shaft of the motor 400 may be stopped. As the rotation of the rotary shaft is stopped, the blade 200 may be located in one of the opening position and the closing position. In other words, the motor 400 may be controlled to stop the blade 200 at a desired position through a relationship with the switch 600, even when a processor for controlling the current that flows in the motor 400 is not included. For example, even when the motor 400 is an inexpensive motor 400 other than the step motor 400 or the like, the blade 200 may be located at a desired position.

In this case, the pressing boss 520 may include a first pressing boss 520a that protrudes from one side of the adapter body 510 and a second pressing boss 520b that protrudes from an opposite side. The first pressing boss 520a and the second pressing boss 520b may be located at a position of 180° with respect to the rotation axis of the adapter 500. Accordingly, even when the motor 400 is rotated in any one of the clockwise direction or the counterclockwise direction, the pressing boss 520 may be configured to press the switch button 610 when being rotated by only a specific angle.

In this case, the switch 600 may include a first switch 600a including a first switch button 610a and/or a second switch button 610b including a second switch button 610b corresponding to the first switch button 610a. When one of the first switch button 610a and the second switch button 610b is pressed, the current that flows in the motor 400 may be cut off. When the current of the motor 400 is cut off, the blade 200 connected to the motor 400 may stop rotating. In this case, the position of the blade 200 may be one of an opening position and a closing position. Because the other one of the first switch button 610a and the second switch button 610b, which is not pressed, is not pressed, an electrical connection with the processor for giving a signal to the motor 400 may be maintained. Accordingly, when the signal for changing the position of the blade 200 to another position is given to the processor, the processor may rotate the motor 400 again. When a specific angle is rotated and the pressing boss 520 presses one switch button 610 that is not previously pressed, among the first switch button 610a and the second switch button 610b, the current of the motor 400 is cut off again, and the blade 200 connected to the motor 400 may be located in one of the opening position and the closing position, in which it has not been located before.

In this case, as illustrated in FIG. 8, the second switch button 610b may be located such that an imaginary line that extends from the rotation axis of the adapter 500 toward the first switch button 610a and an imaginary line that extends from the rotation axis of the adapter 500 toward the second switch button 610b may be located to be perpendicular to each other. This may be to press the desired switch button 610 even when the motor 400 is rotated at a specific angle in any one of the clockwise direction or the counterclockwise direction. Referring to FIG. 8, the first pressing boss 520a that is pressing the first switch button 610a may be rotated in the clockwise direction to press the second switch button 610b. Alternatively, the second pressing boss 520b may be rotated in the counterclockwise direction to press the second switch button 610b. In this case, to make the amounts of rotation of the first pressing boss 520a and the second pressing boss 520b the same, the second switch button 610b may be located in the middle of a movement path between the first pressing boss 520a and the second pressing boss 520b. Because the first pressing boss 520a and the second pressing boss 520b may be in a position of 180° with respect to the rotation axis of the adapter 500, the second switch button 610b may be in a position of 90° with respect to the first pressing boss 520a and the second pressing boss 520b. Accordingly, the first switch button 610a and the second switch button 610b may be in a position of 90° with respect to the rotation axis of the adapter 500.

Another reason why the first switch button 610a and the second switch button 610b are located at 90° may be that the blade 200 is rotated at 90° during switching of the blade 200 between the opening position and the closing position. The blade 200 may be rotated together with the rotation of the adapter 500. Accordingly, the adapter 500 may be rotated at 90° for the blade 200 to be rotated at 90°. Because the position, at which the adapter 500 is stopped, is a time point, at which the switch button 610 is pressed by the pressing boss 520, the pressing boss 520 of the adapter 500 may be configured to press the first switch button 610a and the second switch button 610b at positions corresponding to the opening position and the closing position of the blade 200, and because an angle of rotation from the opening position to the closing position is 90°, the first switch button 610a and the second switch button 610b may be located at 90° in a circumferential direction. Additionally, in the document of the present disclosure, because the term 90° or a perpendicular direction is an expression in an ideal situation, it may be provided with a slight error with 90° or a perpendicular directional when the present disclosure is actually implemented.

In this case, the opening/closing device OCA (in particular, the rotation of the blade 200 and the adapter 500) may be rotated while being inclined with respect to a preset rotation axis. In particular, as described above, the blade 200 includes a cam part 210 (see FIG. 5), and vibration may occur during rotation. In fact, when the fuel mixing apparatus MA is produced, tolerance may occur when the cam part 210 of the blade 200 is engaged with the cam 310, and the opening/closing device OCA may be rotated with the rotation axis being a slightly distorted from the preset rotation axis due to the tolerance. Moreover, due to the tolerance that may occur between the blade 200 and the case 100, the blade 200 may be rotated while being shaken, and in the process, the rotation axis itself may be rotated while being inclined with respect to the rotation axis set in advance, or the rotation axis itself may be rotated like a top. As the rotation axis of the blade 200 is distorted, the rotation axis of the adapter 500 may be distorted.

When the rotation axis of the adapter 500 is distorted, it may mean that the pressing boss 520 is separated from the switch button 610 and fails to press the switch button 610 at the time point, at which the pressing boss 520 contacts the switch button 610. A failure to press the switch button 610 may mean that the blade 200 cannot be located in the desired opening position or closing position. When the blade 200 is in the closing position although a signal is given to locate the blade 200 in the opening position, the burner 900 (see FIG. 1) may not produce the necessary firepower, and thus, the desired pipeline 960 (see FIG. 1) may not dissipate adequate heat. Alternatively, when a signal is given to locate the blade 200 in the closing position but the blade 200 is in the opening position, unnecessary fuel and air may be injected into the burner 900, so that the targeted pipeline 960 may emit too much heat. To solve this problem, it is necessary to prevent the rotation axis of the adapter 500 from being distorted in the preset rotation axis.

The fuel mixing apparatus MA may include a rotation guide 730 that is configured to support the opening/closing device OCA to prevent the rotation axis of the opening/closing device OCA from being inclined while the opening/closing device OCA is being rotated. Here, the rotation guide 730 is not limited to supporting only the adapter 500 as will be described later, but may also be configured to support a rotating configuration of an opening/closing device OCA, such as the blade 200 or the like. Furthermore, it is assumed that the rotation guide 730 is included in the sub case 700 and protrudes from the sub case body 710 as illustrated in FIG. 8, but is not limited thereto and may be recognized as a separate configuration from the sub case 700.

In particular, the rotation guide 730 may be configured to support the adapter 500. When the rotation guide 730 directly supports the adapter 500, it is possible to directly prevent the rotation axis of the adapter 500 from being distorted. The rotation guide 730 supports the adapter 500 to guide the rotation of the adapter 500 so that the adapter 500 presses the switch button 610 at a desired timing. Because the switch button 610 is pressed by the pressing boss 520, it may be considered that the rotation guide 730 guides the rotation of the pressing boss 520.

That is, the rotation guide 730 may be configured to prevent the rotation axis of the adapter 500 from being inclined. The adapter 500 may be rotated by using a rotation axis preset by the rotation guide 730 as the rotation axis thereof.

As illustrated in FIG. 8, the rotation guide 730 may be located in the radial direction of the adapter 500. The rotation guide 730 may support the adapter 500 on a radially outer side. Because the pressing boss 520 of the adapter 500 may further protrude in the radial direction than the adapter body 510, the rotation guide 730 may be configured to support the pressing boss 520. In other words, the pressing boss 520 may protrude from the adapter body 510 in the radial direction to be supported by the rotation guide 730.

The rotation axis of the adapter 500 may be distorted while the pressing boss 520 presses the switch button 610. This is because the pressing boss 520 may receive a force in response to a force applied to the switch button 610 to press the switch button 610. To prevent this, the rotation guide 730 may be located on an opposite side to the switch button 610 with respect to the rotation axis of the adapter 500. In this case, as illustrated in FIG. 8, when the first pressing boss 520a presses the switch button 610, the second pressing boss 520b on the opposite side may be supported by the rotation guide 730.

Because the switch button 610 is provided with a first switch button 610a and a second switch button 610b, the rotation guide 730 may include a first rotation guide 730a corresponding to the first switch button 610a and/or a second rotation guide 730b corresponding to the second switch button 610b.

Furthermore, the rotation guide 730 may further include a third rotation guide 730c that is located between the first switch 600a and the second switch 600b. In other words, the rotation guide 730 may be provided in the remaining portions of the lines connecting an imaginary circumference that may support the pressing boss 520, except that the switch button 610 is located. Accordingly, the adapter 500 may be supported by the rotation guide 730 as much as possible while being rotated. However, as illustrated in FIG. 8, due to the spatial limitation, the rotation guide 730 may extend along only a portion of the imaginary circumference that may support the switch button 610.

In this case, considering that relative angular position of the first pressing boss 520a and the second pressing boss 520b is 180° and the relative angular position of the first switch button 610a and the second switch button 610b is 90°, it may be preferable that the rotation guide 730 is symmetrical leftwards and rightwards.

The rotation guide 730 may include a guide part 731 that extends in the circumferential direction with respect to the rotation axis of the adapter 500. The guide part 731 may be configured to contact the pressing boss 520 as the adapter 500 is rotated. The rotation guide 730 may further include a support rib 732 that extends in the radial direction with respect to the rotation axis of the adapter 500 in the guide part 731. The support rib 732 may extend along the radial direction, or may extend at a specific angle with the radial direction while including the radial direction vector. The guide part 731 may receive a force outward in the radial direction by the pressing boss 520 while supporting the pressing boss 520. The support rib 732 supports the guide part 731 on an outer side in the radial direction of the guide part 731 to prevent deformation or damage of the guide part 731.

The guide part 731 may include a first guide part 731a included in the first rotation guide 730a. The guide part 731 may include a second guide part 731b included in the second rotation guide 730b. The second guide part 731b may be symmetrical to the first guide part 731a leftward and rightward. The guide part 731 may include a third guide part 731c included in the third rotation guide 730c.

A plurality of support ribs 732 may be provided to be spaced apart each other in a circumferential direction with respect to the rotation axis of the adapter 500. Accordingly, the plurality of support ribs 732 may further support the guide part 731.

As mentioned above, the rotation guide 730 may include a first rotation guide 730a and a second rotation guide 730b. Accordingly, the support rib 732 may include a first support rib 732a included in the first rotation guide 730a corresponding to the first switch 600a, and the support rib 732 may include a second support rib 732b included in the second rotation guide 730b corresponding to the second switch 600b.

The third rotation guide 730c may include only the third guide part 731c and may not include the support rib 732, as illustrated in FIG. 8. This may be due to the lack of a space, in which the third rotation guide 730c is located between the first switch 600a and the second switch 600b, and thus the support rib 732 is formed.

Hereinafter, embodiments that are different from the above embodiments will be described. Contents that are common to the above embodiments will be omitted as much as possible, and other embodiments will be described, focusing on differences. That is, it is obvious that contents that are not described in other embodiments may be supplemented through the contents of the above embodiments when necessary.

FIG. 10 is a plan view of a fuel mixing apparatus MA according to another embodiment of the present disclosure, focusing on components that are adjacent to an adapter 500.

Referring to FIG. 10, a rotation guide 730 according to another embodiment will be described.

Another embodiment is different from the above embodiment in that it further includes a fourth rotation guide 730d-1 that connects the first rotation guide 730a and the second rotation guide 730b.

As a section, in which the rotation guide 730 supports the pressing boss 520, increases, the rotation of the adapter 500 may be stably guided. Because the pressing boss 520 is supported in a longer section with the rotation guide 730 by the fourth rotation guide 730d-1, a possibility that the rotation axis of the adapter 500 is misaligned may be further reduced.

Because the fuel mixing apparatus and the boiler according to the present disclosure includes the rotation guide that is configured to support the opening/closing device, it may prevent the rotation axis of the opening/closing device from being inclined while the opening/closing device opens or closes the passage.

Furthermore, because the fuel mixing apparatus and the boiler according to the present disclosure include the rotation guide that is configured to support the pressing boss of the adapter, which is configured to press the switch button, it may prevent the rotation axis of the adapter from being inclined while the adapter presses the switch that controls the motor.

Effects obtained in the present disclosure are not limited to the above-mentioned effects, and other effects that are not mentioned will be clearly understood by those skilled in the art, to which the present disclosure belongs, from the following description.

Unless explicitly stated, the embodiments described above may be combined with other embodiments. Alternatively, it may be considered that combinations of the embodiments are possible, unless one embodiment is explicitly limited in combination with another embodiment. It is considered that any combination of any of the embodiments herein is disclosed in this document.

Although the present disclosure has been described above by means of limited embodiments and drawings, the present disclosure is not limited thereto, and various embodiments are possible within the scope that is equivalent to the technical idea of the present disclosure and the scope of the patent claims to be described below by a person skilled in the art, to which the present disclosure pertains.

Claims

1. A fuel mixing apparatus comprising: a case defining a passage, in which air and a fuel flow;an opening/closing device configured to open and close the passage as at least a portion thereof is rotated; anda rotation guide configured to support the opening/closing device to prevent a rotation axis of the opening/closing device from being inclined while the opening/closing device is rotated.

2. The fuel mixing apparatus of claim 1, further comprising: a motor configured to provide power to the opening/closing device,wherein the opening/closing device includes:a blade located on the passage, and configured to be rotated to be moved to an opening position, in which the passage is opened, and a closing position, in which the passage is closed; andan adapter connecting the motor and the blade to transmit power generated by the motor to the blade, andwherein the rotation guide is configured to support the adapter.

3. The fuel mixing apparatus of claim 2, wherein the adapter is coupled to the blade in a direction of a rotation axis of the blade, and is coupled to a rotary shaft of the motor, and wherein the rotation guide is configured to prevent a rotation axis of the adapter from being inclined.

4. The fuel mixing apparatus of claim 2, wherein the adapter includes: an adapter body; anda pressing boss protruding from the adapter body in a radial direction to be supported by the rotation guide.

5. The fuel mixing apparatus of claim 4, further comprising: a switch including a switch button located within a radius of rotation of the pressing boss, and configured such that current flowing to the motor is blocked by pressing the switch button with the pressing boss so that the blade is located in one of the opening position and the closing position.

6. The fuel mixing apparatus of claim 5, wherein the pressing boss includes a first pressing boss and a second pressing boss located on opposite sides with respect to a rotation axis of the adapter, and wherein the rotation guide is located on an opposite side of the switch button with respect to the rotation axis of the adapter.

7. The fuel mixing apparatus of claim 5, wherein the switch includes: a first switch including a first switch button; anda second switch including a second switch button corresponding to the first switch button, and located such that an imaginary line extending from the rotation axis of the adapter toward the first switch button and an imaginary line extending from the rotation axis toward the second switch button are perpendicular to each other, andwherein the rotation guide includes:a first rotation guide corresponding to the first switch button; anda second rotation guide corresponding to the second switch button.

8. The fuel mixing apparatus of claim 7, wherein the rotation guide further includes a third rotation guide located between the first switch and the second switch.

9. The fuel mixing apparatus of claim 1, wherein the rotation guide is symmetrical leftward and rightward.

10. The fuel mixing apparatus of claim 2, wherein the rotation guide includes: a guide part extending in a circumferential direction with respect to a rotation axis of the adapter; anda support rib extending from the guide part in a radial direction with respect to the rotation axis of the adapter.

11. The fuel mixing apparatus of claim 10, wherein a plurality of support ribs are configured to be spaced apart in a circumferential direction with respect to the rotation axis of the adapter.

12. The fuel mixing apparatus of claim 10, further comprising: a switch including a switch button located within a radius of rotation of the adapter, and including a first switch and a second switch configured such that current flowing to the motor is blocked by pressing the switch button with the adapter so that the blade is located in one of the opening position or the closing position,wherein the support rib includes:a first support rib including a first rotation guide corresponding to the first switch; anda second support rib including a second rotation guide corresponding to the second switch.

13. The fuel mixing apparatus of claim 2, wherein a cross-sectional area of the case gradually decreases to a portion as it goes from an upstream side to a downstream side of the air, and gradually increases at the portion, and wherein the fuel mixing apparatus further includes:a fuel supply pipe communicated with the portion of the case.

14. The fuel mixing apparatus of claim 13, wherein the case defines a first passage and a second passage separated from each other, wherein the fuel supply pipe includes:a first fuel supply pipe communicated with the first passage; anda second fuel supply pipe communicated with the second passage,wherein the blade is located in the second passage, and is configured to open the second passage in the opening position and close the second passage in the closing position, andwherein the second fuel supply pipe is opened when the blade is in the opening position, and is closed when the blade is in the closing position.

15. The fuel mixing apparatus of claim 14, further comprising: a cam unit located to correspond to an opening of the second supply pipe, and being movable between a first cam position spaced apart from the opening and a second cam position contacting the opening; andan elastic member configured to elastically bias the cam unit from the second cam position to the first cam position,wherein the blade includes a cam part configured to press the cam such that the cam unit is in the first cam position when the blade is in the opening position and the cam unit is in the second cam position when the blade is in the closing position.

16. A boiler comprising: a fuel mixing apparatus configured to mix and provide air and a fuel;a blower connected to the fuel mixing apparatus; anda burner configured to heat the air and the fuel delivered from the blower,wherein the fuel mixing apparatus includes:a case defining a passage, in which the air flows;a blade configured to be rotated to be moved to an opening position, in which the passage is opened, and a closing position, in which the passage is closed;an adapter coupled to the blade in a direction of a rotation axis of the blade, and including an adapter body, and a pressing boss protruding from the adapter body in a radial direction;a motor configured to rotate the blade by rotating the adapter;a switch including a switch button located within a radius of rotation of the pressing boss, and configured such that current flowing to the motor is blocked by pressing the switch button so that the blade is located in one of the opening position and the closing position; anda rotation guide configured to support the pressing boss to prevent a rotation axis of the adapter from being inclined while the adapter is rotated.

17. The boiler of claim 16, wherein the rotation guide includes a guide part extending in a radial direction with respect to the rotation axis of the adapter.

18. The boiler of claim 17, wherein the guide part is spaced apart from the adapter body to correspond to a protrusion degree of the pressing boss.

19. The boiler of claim 16, wherein the pressing boss includes a first pressing boss and a second pressing boss located on opposite sides with respect to the rotation axis of the adapter.

20. A fuel mixing apparatus configured to mix and provide air and a fuel, the fuel mixing apparatus comprising: a case defining a passage, in which air and a fuel flow;a blade configured to be rotated to be moved to an opening position, in which the passage is opened, and a closing position, in which the passage is closed;an adapter coupled to the blade in a direction of a rotation axis of the blade, and including an adapter body, and a pressing boss protruding from the adapter body in a radial direction;a motor configured to rotate the blade by rotating the adapter;a switch including a switch button located within a radius of rotation of the pressing boss, and configured such that current flowing to the motor is blocked by pressing the switch button so that the blade is located in one of the opening position and the closing position; anda rotation guide configured to support the pressing boss to prevent a rotation axis of the adapter from being inclined while the adapter is rotated.