FIELD OF THE INVENTION
This invention relates generally to an apparatus that improves the overall efficiency of a furnace. More specifically, the present invention captures and separates heat energy from the carbon monoxide bi-product of the furnaces to preheat the return air, and then the preheated return air can be recycled back into the furnace to improve the efficiency of the furnace.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Modern high-efficiency furnaces can be 98% efficient and operate with or without a chimney. However, small amount of waste gas and heat energy are ventilated through a flue piping system of the furnace. The flue pipe system normally vents through the side or roof of the house so that the waste gas and the heat energy can be effective discharged from the structure. In other words, the furnace is not able to improve upon the standard 98% efficiency due to the heat energy that is lost as a wasted bi-product from the furnace. Due to the rising electricity cost and natural gas cost, the operating cost of a furnace also tends to increase every year. As a result, consumers often have to spend extra money to operate the furnace.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a heat extractor that can capture and recycle heat energy that is discharged as waste from a furnace in order to improve the efficiency of the furnace. More specifically, wasted heat energy that discharges though the flue pipe system is extracted through the present invention and recycled back into the furnace to preheat the return air. By doing so, the furnace requires less energy to heat up the air that has been preheated through the present invention. As a result, the efficiency of the furnace can be easily improved through the present invention as the consumption of less energy results into lower energy cost for the consumers.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
FIG. 1 is a front perspective view of the present invention.
FIG. 2 is a rear perspective view of the present invention.
FIG. 3 is a side view of the present invention.
FIG. 4 is a front view of the present invention that illustrates the cooling fins, the first set of circulating tubes, and the second set of circulating tubes, wherein the plane upon which a cross sectional view is taken shown in FIG. 5.
FIG. 5 is a cross section view of the present invention taken along line A-A of FIG. 4.
FIG. 6 is a detail section view of the present invention showing the inlet openings of the series of circulating tube assemblies, wherein the detail view is taken shown in FIG. 5.
FIG. 7 is a detail section view of the present invention showing the outlet openings of the series of circulating tube assemblies, wherein the detail view is taken shown in FIG. 5.
FIG. 8 is a cross section view of the series of circulating tube assemblies showing the first set of circulating tubes and the second set of circulating tubes.
FIG. 9 is a basic schematic diagram showing the connection between the present invention and the flue pipe system.
DETAIL DESCRIPTIONS OF THE INVENTION
All illustrations of the drawings are for the purpose of describing selected versions of the present invention and are not intended to limit the scope of the present invention.
The present invention is a heat extractor which captures heat energy from a discharged flue gas of a furnace as the discharged flue gas releases thought a flue pipe system of the furnace. More specifically, the present invention captures the heat energy of the discharged flue gas and recycles the heat energy back into the furnace though a return air duct of the furnace thereby pre-heating the cool air before it reaches the furnace. Since only the heat energy is isolated away from the discharged flue gas, the present invention still allows the carbon monoxide bi-product of the discharged flue gas to release into the atmosphere through the flue pipe system. As a result, the present invention is able to improve the efficiency of the furnace without requiring an outside energy source while maintaining the safety standards of the furnace.
In reference to FIGS. 1 and 2, the present invention is a portable and standalone apparatus that comprises a core assembly 1, a furnace flue pipe inlet 2, and a furnace flue pipe outlet 3. The core assembly 1 is in fluid communication with the furnace flue pipe inlet 2 and the furnace flue pipe outlet 3 so that the present invention can be integrated onto the furnace. In order to utilize the present invention with the furnace, the present invention is first secured within the returned air duct. Then the furnace flue pipe inlet 2 and the furnace flue pipe outlet 3 are connected to the flue pipe system of the furnace. More specifically, the furnace flue pipe inlet 2 is in fluid communication with a furnace outlet 4 of the flue pipe system, and the furnace flue pipe outlet 3 is in fluid communication with a chimney outlet 5 of the flue pipe system as shown in FIG. 9. Due to the configuration and placement of the present invention, the discharged flue gas first enters into the furnace outlet 4 and then travel through the furnace flue pipe inlet 2, the core assembly 1, and the furnace flue pipe outlet 3 of the present invention. As the discharged flue gas travels through the aforementioned path, the present invention extracts the heat energy from the discharged flue gas while allowing the remaining bi-products of the discharged flue gas to emit through the chimney outlet 5.
In reference to FIG. 3-5, the core assembly 1 that absorbs the heat energy from the discharged flue gas comprises a series of circulating tube assemblies 11, a series of cooling fin assemblies 14, an inlet housing 15, and an outlet housing 16. The core assembly 1 is primarily made of heat absorbing material so that the present invention is able to effectively capture heat energy from the discharged flue gas. More specifically, each series of circulating tube assembly 11 and each series of cooling fin assembly 14 are staggerly arranged relative to each other so that the series of cooling fin assemblies 14 are able to increase the surface area for the series of circulating tube assemblies 11 through the series of cooling fin assemblies 14. As a result, the series of circulating tube assemblies 11 and the series of cooling fin assemblies 14 increase the heat transfer rate from the discharged flue gas to return duct in which heats up the cool air within the return air duct.
The inlet housing 15 and the outlet housing 16 are oppositely positioned of each other along the series of cooling fin assemblies 14 and the series of circulating tube assemblies 11 in order to functions as a supporting structure. More specifically, the inlet housing 15 and the outlet housing 16 are adjacently connected around the series of cooling fin assemblies 14 and the series of circulating tube assemblies 11 to complete the general shape of the core assembly 1. In the preferred embodiment, the core assembly 1 is formed into a rectangular shape to better accommodate the standard shapes of the return air duct; however, the core assembly 1 can be formed into any other geometric shapes as long as the core assembly 1 is able to match the internal shape of the return air duct.
In reference to FIG. 5, the inlet housing 15 and the outlet housing 16 function as the intermediate components between the core assembly 1 and the furnace flue pipe inlet 2 and the furnace flue pipe outlet 3. The inlet housing 15 is perimetrically and outwardly offset from the series of cooling fin assemblies 14 and the series of circulating tube assemblies 11 to structurally strengthen the series of cooling fin assemblies 14 and the series of circulating tube assemblies 11 from one end while allowing the furnace flue pipe inlet 2 to traverse into the inlet housing 15 from the opposite end. As a result, the furnace flue pipe inlet 2 is in fluid communication with the series of circulating tube assemblies 11 through the inlet housing 15 so that the discharged flue gas can be released into the core assembly 1. Similar to the inlet housing 15, the outlet housing 16 is perimetrically and outwardly offset from the series of cooling fin assemblies 14 and the series of circulating tube assemblies 11. The outlet housing 16 structurally strengthens the series of cooling fin assemblies 14 and the series of circulating tube assemblies 11 from one end while allowing the furnace flue pipe outlet 3 to traverse into the outlet housing 16 from the opposite end. As a result, the furnace flue pipe outlet 3 is in fluid communication with the series of circulating tube assemblies 11 through the outlet housing 16 in order to release the discharged flue gas from the core assembly 1 to the furnace flue pipe outlet 3. The furnace flue pipe inlet 2 and the furnace flue pipe outlet 3 are preferably formed into a circular shape so that the furnace flue pipe inlet 2 and the furnace flue pipe outlet 3 are able to easily connect with the existing flue pipe systems.
In reference to the preferred embodiment of the present invention, the series of circulating tube assemblies 11 comprises a first set of circulating tubes 12 and a second set of circulating tubes 13 as shown in FIG. 8. The first set of circulating tubes 12 and the second set of circulating tubes 13 are extended in between the inlet housing 15 and the outlet housing 16. Additionally, the first set of circulating tubes 12 is positioned offset from the second set of circulating tubes 13 in order to maximize the exposed surface area for the cool air as the exposed surface area increases the heat transfer rate from the heat energy to the cool air.
In reference to FIGS. 3 and 5, the inlet housing 15 and the outlet housing 16 each comprises a first base surface 17, a second base surface 18, and a lateral surface 19. More specifically, the first base surface 17 of the inlet housing 15 is adjacently positioned with inlet openings 21 of the series of circulating tube assemblies 11 and is in fluid communication with the series of circulating tube assemblies 11 through the inlet openings 21 as shown in FIG. 6. As a result, the inlet housing 15 is able to be connected with the series of cooling fin assemblies 14 and the series of circulating tube assemblies 11 through the first base surface 17 of the inlet housing 15. The second base surface 18 of the inlet housing 15 is oppositely positioned of the first base surface 17 of the inlet housing 15 along the lateral surface 19 of the inlet housing 15. In order to complete the configuration of the present invention, the second base surface 18 of the inlet housing 15 is in fluid communication with the furnace flue pipe inlet 2 as the furnace flue pipe inlet 2 is positioned adjacent to the second base surface 18 of the inlet housing 15. As a result, the furnace outlet 4 is able to pump the discharged flue gas into the core assembly 1 from the furnace. In order to maximize the collection and distribution of the discharged flue gas, the lateral surface 19 of the inlet housing 15 is tapered from the first base surface 17 of the inlet housing 15 to the second base surface 18 of the inlet housing 15 as shown in FIG. 5.
In reference to FIGS. 3 and 5, the first base surface 17 of the outlet housing 16 is adjacently positioned with outlet openings 22 of the series of circulating tube assemblies 11 and is in fluid communication with the series of circulating tube assemblies 11 through the outlet openings 22 as shown in FIG. 7. As a result, the outlet housing 16 is able to be connected with the series of cooling fin assemblies 14 and the series of circulating tube assemblies 11 through the first base surface 17 of the outlet housing 16. The second base surface 18 of the outlet housing 16 is oppositely positioned of the first base surface 17 of the outlet housing 16 along the lateral surface 19 of the outlet housing 16. In order to complete the configuration of the present invention, the second base surface 18 of the outlet housing 16 is in fluid communication with the furnace flue pipe as the furnace flue pipe outlet 3 is positioned adjacent to the second base surface 18 of the outlet housing 16. As a result, the chimney outlet 5 is able to release the discharged flue gas from the core assembly 1 to the atmosphere. In order to maximize the emission of the discharged flue gas, the lateral surface 19 of the outlet housing 16 is positioned perpendicular to the first base surface 17 of the outlet housing 16 and the second base surface 18 of the outlet housing 16 as shown in FIG. 5.
In reference to FIGS. 2 and 5, the outlet housing 16 further comprises a drain hole 20. More specifically, the drain hole 20 is traversed through the lateral surface 19 of the outlet housing 16 so that a barb fitting can be fitted into the drain hole 20. Since the removal of heat energy from the discharged flue gas generates condensation within the outlet housing 16, the barb fitting allows proper drainage for the generated condensation in which increases the reliability factor of the present invention.
The present invention may further comprise a control switch and a heat sensor. The control switch operates the run time of the furnace and functions as a secondary thermostat for the furnace. The heat sensor is integrated onto the present invention and provides a series electrical connection with a heat box sensor of the furnace and a carbon monoxide detector as the carbon monoxide detector is inserted into the plenum space and provides a series electrical connection with a furnace limit switch. Even though the present invention is preferred to utilized within residential furnace systems, the present invention can also be utilized within commercial and industrial furnaces systems.
Although the invention has been explained in relation to its preferred embodiment, it is to be understood that many other possible modifications and variations can be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as hereinafter claimed.
Patent Application
20170219246
