Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a heat exchanger to be used as a constitutional element of a water heater.
Description of the Related Art
One embodiment of a heat exchanger is disclosed in Patent Literature 1.
The disclosed heat exchanger has a pair of header portions for water inflow and water outflow on a side plate member of a case housing a plurality of heat transfer tubes. Each header portion is constituted in such a manner that a bulging portion bulging out of the case is formed on the side plate member of the case and that a wall portion for header constituted with an auxiliary member is fitted onto and welded to the bulging portion. End portions of the heat transfer tubes are welded to a tip end wall portion of the bulging portion. Thus, a chamber communicating with the heat transfer tubes is formed by the side plate member of the case and the wall portion for header of the auxiliary member.
In such a configuration, water is able to appropriately flow into or from the heat transfer tubes using the pair of header portions. The header portions are formed utilizing the side plate member of the case, thereby reducing the number of members and the size of installation, and in addition, reducing the production cost.
However, the above conventional art has the following disadvantages.
The pair of header portions provided for the side plate member of the case are constituted in such a manner that two wall portions for headers which are separately formed using the auxiliary members are welded to the side plate member of the case. Therefore, for producing the header portions, two wall portions for headers are respectively manufactured in advance and are positioned relative to the side plate member of the case, and welding is respectively executed. Such a production procedure of the header portions is rather complicated.
On the other hand, as to a heat exchanger other than the above, Patent Literature 2 discloses another heat exchanger. In Patent Literature 2, the heat exchanger uses a helical heat transfer tube as a plurality of heat transfer tubes. Some heat transfer tubes are not helical tubes, and have smaller entire length and smaller flow path resistance than the helical heat transfer tube. Such a configuration reduces the pressure loss generated at the time of flowing water into the heat transfer tubes. When the non-helical heat transfer tube is provided in addition to the helical heat transfer tube in order to reduce the pressure loss, the configuration of the heat exchanger is complicated.
Patent Literature 1: Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2014-70844
Patent Literature 2: Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2008-121959
An object of the present invention is to provide a heat exchanger capable of appropriately inhibiting or preventing the above-mentioned disadvantages.
The present invention proposes the following technical measures for solving the above-mentioned problems.
A heat exchanger proposed in the present invention has a plurality of heat transfer tubes, a case having at least one side plate member and housing the plurality of heat transfer tubes, a pair of header portions for water inflow and for water outflow, the pair of header portions connecting with both ends of the plurality of heat transfer tubes and including a pair of chambers communicating with insides of the heat transfer tubes, and a pair of wall portions for headers respectively constituted with an auxiliary member formed separately from the side plate member, the pair of wall portions for headers constituting the pair of header portions by being assembled with the side plate member. The pair of wall portions for headers are configured to integrally connect with each other.
Preferably, the pair of wall portions for headers are respectively configured to bulge away from the side plate member and to have piping joint members communicated with insides of the respective chambers.
Preferably, the auxiliary member has an extending plate portion connected with the pair of wall portions for headers and extending so as to expand around the pair of wall portions for headers, and the auxiliary member is assembled with the side plate member in such a manner that the extending plate portion and the side plate member come into contact so as to face each other and are welded or blazed.
Preferably, the side plate member of the case has a pair of bulging portions bulging into an outward side or into an inward side of the case, and the pair of wall portions for headers are configured so as to fit to the pair of bulging portions.
Preferably, the heat exchanger in the present invention further has a bypass flow path constituted by the side plate member and the auxiliary member, the bypass flow path connecting the pair of chambers.
Preferably, the side plate member and the auxiliary member form an area between the pair of wall portions for headers facing each other, and at least one of the side plate member and the auxiliary member has a concave portion depressed in a direction departing from the other of the members in the area, an inside of the concave portion constituting the bypass flow path.
Preferably, the other of the side plate member and the auxiliary member has a convex portion so as to fit into the concave portion, and contact surfaces of the convex portion and the concave portion are joined.
Preferably, the auxiliary member and the side plate member are overlapped and joined, the pair of wall portions for headers are configured to bulge away from the side plate member, and the auxiliary member has a wall portion for bypass flow path of which both end portions connect with the pair of wall portions for headers, the wall portion for bypass flow path depressing in the direction departing from the side plate member and constituting the concave portion.
Preferably, the auxiliary member has an extending plate portion connected with the pair of wall portions for headers and the wall portion for bypass flow path, and extending so as to expand around the wall portions for headers and the wall portion for bypass flow path, and the extending plate portion and the side plate member come into contact so as to face each other and are welded or blazed.
Preferably, the auxiliary member is substantially the same in size as the side plate member.
Preferably, the auxiliary member is shaped along the outline of the pair of wall portions for headers and the wall portion for bypass flow path and is smaller than the side plate member.
Preferably, the pair of chambers are located so as to have height difference in a vertical height direction, and one end portion of the bypass flow path connects with a part lower than a center part of the chamber located at a higher position in a vertical height direction.
Preferably, the case includes a case body of which open portion to be closed by the side plate member is formed at an end in a width direction, and a peripheral portion of the opening portion, an outer peripheral portion of the side plate member and an outer peripheral portion of the auxiliary member are overlapped with each other, and the case body, the side plate member and the auxiliary member are joined at thus overlapped part.
Preferably, the outer peripheral portions of the side plate member and the auxiliary member are respectively provided with a first bent portion and a second bent portion bending in an outward direction of the case, and on the overlapped part of the peripheral portion of the opening portion and the outer peripheral portions of the side plate member and the auxiliary member, the side plate member is fitted into the opening portion and the second bent portion of the auxiliary member is fitted into the first bent portion of the side plate member.
Other characteristics and advantages of the present invention will be apparent in the following detailed description of the preferred embodiment referring to the attached drawings.
Preferred embodiments of the present invention are explained below with reference to the accompanying drawings.
A heat exchanger A1 in this embodiment is, for example, a heat exchanger for recovering latent heat for use in a water heater and is used for heating water by recovering heat from combustion gas generated by a burner, not shown in the figure, such as a gas burner.
As shown in
As apparently shown in
The case 2, like a cuboid, is constituted by the combination of a case body 20, in the shape of a rectangular tube, constituting a stem body and a pair of side plate members 21, 21a closing opening portions 27, 27a at both ends of the case body 20 in the width direction. The case body 20 and the side plate members 21, 21a are respectively constituted with metal plates such as stainless steel. A rear wall portion 20c of the case 2 has an air supply port 25. Combustion gas flown into the case 2 from the air supply port 25 passes through gaps between the heat transfer tubes 1 and reaches an exhaust port 26 provided for a front wall portion 20d. In such a procedure, heat of combustion gas is recovered in each heat transfer tube 1 and water in each heat transfer tube 1 is heated.
The side plate member 21 of the case 2 has a pair of bulging portions 22 formed by press-working, the bulging portions 22 bulging out of the case 2 and being substantially in the shape of an ellipse in side view A plurality of aperture portions 23 are provided for tip end wall portions 22b of the bulging portions 22 and both end portions of the heat transfer tubes 1 are inserted into the aperture portions 23 and are welded to the tip end wall portions 22b, respectively.
The auxiliary member 3 is a member constituting the header portions H, the auxiliary member 3 being overlapped and joined with the outer face side of the side plate member 21. The auxiliary member 3 is manufactured by pressing a metal sheet made of similar material to the side plate member 21 and the outline shape and the size of the auxiliary member 3 correspond to those of the side plate member 21.
In
In
The header portion Hb is located higher than the header portion Ha. One end of the bypass flow path 6 is connected with a lower part of the header portion Hb than the center part in the vertical height direction. Preferably, the end connects with a lower end portion of the header portion Hb or with the vicinity of the lower end portion. Such a configuration exerts an advantageous effect for removing water from the header portion Hb, to be mentioned below.
As apparently shown in
Preferably, as shown in
Such a configuration is preferable to surely prevent water in the chamber 5 and the bypass flow path 6 from leaking into the area between the side plate member 21 and the auxiliary member 3. When the second bent portion 34 of the auxiliary member 3 is only welded to the first bent portion 24 of the side plate member 21, a gap is formed between facing surfaces of the extending plate portion 32 of the auxiliary member 3 and the side plate member 21 in case that the pressure of water supplied to the header portion for water inflow Ha is comparatively high, thereby there is a worry that water in the chamber 5 and the bypass flow path 6 leaks into the gap. On the other hand, in the configurations shown in
Operational effects of the above-mentioned heat exchanger A1 are explained hereinafter.
The pair of header portions H are configured in such a manner that the auxiliary member 3, a single member, and the side plate member 21 of the case 2 are overlapped and joined. For constituting the pair of header portions H, there is no need for two members to be respectively joined with the side plate member 21. Therefore, the pair of header portions H are easily constituted and the production cost of the heat exchanger A1 is reduced.
Especially in this embodiment, as explained referring to
The chambers 5 of the pair of header portions H are connected via the bypass flow path 6 and a part of water flown into the header portion for water inflow Ha is able to flow into the header portion for water outflow Hb, as explained referring to
Non-heated water at comparatively low temperature, which is not supplied to the heat transfer tubes 1, flows into the bypass flow path 6. Therefore, an advantageous effect is obtained such that the side plate member 21 is cooled down by the above water and is prevented from being heated to a high temperature by combustion gas. Such an advantageous effect is preferable when the heat exchanger A1 is provided close to a burner in order to recover heat from combustion gas at high temperature.
For antifreeze of the heat exchanger A1 in winter and maintenance of the heat exchanger A1, water is sometimes removed from the heat transfer tubes 1 and the header portions H. The bypass flow path 6 has a role of flowing water in the header portion Hb to the the header portion Ha at the time of the above-mentioned water removal operation. When one end portion of the bypass flow path 6 connects with a lower part of the header portion Hb, there is such an advantageous effect that much water is flown into the bypass flow path 6 from the header portion Hb so as not to remain much water in the header portion Hb.
A heat exchanger A2 shown in
When the plane faces of the side plate member 21 and the auxiliary member 3 are only come into contact so as to face each other and are blazed, there is a worry in view of improving the joint strength of blazing relative to the forces in the directions Da, Db shown in
A heat exchanger A3 shown in
In a heat exchanger A4 shown in
In this embodiment, the heat exchanger A4 is able to be reduced in weight and in production cost by downsizing the auxiliary member 3. The bypass flow path 6 can be omitted in the present invention as mentioned above. In such a case, a region integrally connecting the wall portions for headers 30 can be formed like a simple plane plate.
In a heat exchanger A5 shown in
As understood from this embodiment, the meandering heat transfer tubes 1 is used or the bulging portions 22 provided for the side plate member 21 bulges in the inward direction of the case 2 in the present invention. In
The shape of the auxiliary member 3 of a heat exchanger A6 shown in
As understood from this embodiment, the wall portion for header of the auxiliary member in the present invention is not necessarily configured to be bulged. In addition, the bypass flow path 6 can be formed in such a manner that the concave portion 60 is provided for the side plate member 21, the auxiliary member 3, or both of the side plate member 21 and the auxiliary member 3.
In a heat exchanger A7 shown in
The present invention is not limited to the above-mentioned preferred embodiments. The concrete configuration of the members of the heat exchanger of the present invention is freely designed within the intended scope of the present invention.
As understood from the above embodiments, the auxiliary member in the present invention is only required to be formed separately from the side plate member of the case and to be configured in such a manner that at least a pair of wall portions for headers, namely wall portions constituting the header portions by being assembled with the side plate member, are integrally formed. The side plate member of the case cannot be formed separately from the case body and can be formed by bending the area thereof integrally connecting with the member constituting the case body. The heat exchanger in the above-mentioned embodiments is a one water path in one case system, namely a system in which a heat transfer tube constituting one water path is housed in one case. Alternatively, a multi water paths in one case system, namely a system in which heat transfer tubes constituting a plurality of water paths are housed in one case, can be used. In such a case, a plural pairs of a header portion for water inflow and a header portion for water outflow are provided. When at least one pair of header portions are constituted according to the present invention, such an auxiliary member is included in the technical scope of the present invention.
The heat transfer tube is not limited to be a helical tube body or a meandering tube body. Other heat transfer tubes, such as a U-shaped tube or a straight tube, can be used. The heat exchanger in the present invention is not limited to be used for a water heater for recovering latent heat, but is also used for a water heater for recovering sensible heat. In addition, the heat exchanger can be used for several purposes in addition to heating water.
Number | Date | Country | Kind |
---|---|---|---|
2015-127313 | Jun 2015 | JP | national |
Number | Name | Date | Kind |
---|---|---|---|
3207215 | Whittell, Jr. | Sep 1965 | A |
3292598 | Miller | Dec 1966 | A |
4023618 | Kun | May 1977 | A |
6026804 | Schardt | Feb 2000 | A |
6334484 | Kandel | Jan 2002 | B1 |
8794299 | Barfknecht | Aug 2014 | B2 |
20100221675 | Rowe | Sep 2010 | A1 |
20120193080 | Rasmussen | Aug 2012 | A1 |
20140090827 | Iguchi et al. | Apr 2014 | A1 |
Number | Date | Country |
---|---|---|
102009015467 | Sep 2010 | DE |
63197893 | Aug 1988 | JP |
2008-121959 | May 2008 | JP |
2014-070844 | Apr 2014 | JP |
Number | Date | Country | |
---|---|---|---|
20160377348 A1 | Dec 2016 | US |