The present disclosure relates generally to furnaces and more particularly, but not by way of limitation to gas furnaces having vents located adjacent to a rollout switch.
This section provides background information to facilitate a better understanding of the various aspects of the disclosure. It should be understood that the statements in this section of this document are to be read in this light, and not as admissions of prior art.
Gas furnaces operate by generating a gas flame, which is drawn into a heat-exchange tube by an inducer. During operation of the gas furnace, the heat exchange tube may become cracked or occluded with debris thereby preventing the inducer from drawing the gas flame into the heat-exchange tube. Such conditions result in the gas flame extending rearwardly outside of the heat-exchange tube (commonly referred to as a “rollout” or a “lazy flame”).
Various aspects of the disclosure relate to a furnace. The furnace includes a gas burner exposed to a heat-exchange tube. An inducer is fluidly coupled to the heat-exchange tube and configured to induce draft air through the heat-exchange tube. A regulator is fluidly coupled to the gas burner. A rollout shield is disposed adjacent to the gas burner. A rollout switch is disposed in the rollout shield. The rollout switch is electrically coupled to the regulator. At least one vent is formed through the rollout shield adjacent to the rollout switch. The vent provides a path for a rollout flame to the rollout switch. The at least one vent is disposed on at least two sides of the rollout switch.
Various aspects of the disclosure relate to a rollout shield for use with a gas furnace. The rollout shield includes a switch aperture formed through the rollout shield and sized to receive a rollout switch. A first plurality of vents are formed on a first side of the switch aperture. A second plurality of vents are formed on a second side of the switch aperture. The first plurality of vents and the second plurality of vents provide a path for a rollout flame to the rollout switch.
This summary is provided to introduce a selection of concepts that are further described below in the detailed description. This summary is not intended to identify key or essential features of the claimed subject matter, nor is it intended to be used as an aid in limiting the scope of claimed subject matter.
The disclosure is best understood from the following detailed description when read with the accompanying figures. It is emphasized that, in accordance with standard practice in the industry, various features are not drawn to scale. In fact, the dimensions of various features may be arbitrarily increased or reduced for clarity of discussion.
Various embodiments will now be described more fully with reference to the accompanying drawings. The disclosure may, however, be embodied in many different forms and should not be construed as limited to the embodiments set forth herein.
Gas furnaces operate by generating a gas flame, which is drawn into a heat-exchange tube by an inducer. During operation of the gas furnace, the heat exchange tube may become cracked or occluded with debris thereby preventing the inducer from drawing the gas flame into the heat-exchange tube. Such conditions result in the gas flame extending rearwardly outside of the heat-exchange tube (commonly referred to as a “rollout” or a “lazy flame”). If rollout conditions are permitted to persist, severe damage to the gas furnace can result. In an effort to prevent furnace damage resulting from rollout conditions, a temperature-sensitive switch (commonly referred to as a “rollout switch”) is installed in a furnace housing near the heat-exchange tubes. However, space constraints can make proper positioning of the rollout switch difficult. Additionally, a rollout flame will move in a direction of airflow and, thus, may not be drawn to the rollout switch. Also, during normal operation of the gas furnace, temperature within the furnace housing may increase beyond the threshold temperature of the rollout switch causing the rollout switch to trip. Such an event is commonly referred to as a “nuisance trip” and interrupts proper operation of the gas furnace.
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The term “substantially” is defined as largely but not necessarily wholly what is specified (and includes what is specified; e.g., substantially 90 degrees includes 90 degrees and substantially parallel includes parallel), as understood by a person of ordinary skill in the art. In any disclosed embodiment, the terms “substantially,” “approximately,” “generally,” and “about” may be substituted with “within 10% of” what is specified.
Conditional language used herein, such as, among others, “can,” “might,” “may,” “e.g.,” and the like, unless specifically stated otherwise, or otherwise understood within the context as used, is generally intended to convey that certain embodiments include, while other embodiments do not include, certain features, elements and/or states. Thus, such conditional language is not generally intended to imply that features, elements and/or states are in any way required for one or more embodiments or that one or more embodiments necessarily include logic for deciding, with or without author input or prompting, whether these features, elements and/or states are included or are to be performed in any particular embodiment.
While the above detailed description has shown, described, and pointed out novel features as applied to various embodiments, it will be understood that various omissions, substitutions, and changes in the form and details of the devices or algorithms illustrated can be made without departing from the spirit of the disclosure. As will be recognized, the processes described herein can be embodied within a form that does not provide all of the features and benefits set forth herein, as some features can be used or practiced separately from others. The scope of protection is defined by the appended claims rather than by the foregoing description. All changes which come within the meaning and range of equivalency of the claims are to be embraced within their scope.
This application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 16/389,017, filed on Apr. 19, 2019. U.S. patent application Ser. No. 16/389,017 is incorporated herein by reference.
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Number | Date | Country | |
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Number | Date | Country | |
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Parent | 16389017 | Apr 2019 | US |
Child | 17408663 | US |