Patent Application
20240255137
This application is based on and claims priority under 35 U.S.C. § 119 to Korean Patent Application No. 10-2023-0010931, filed on Jan. 27, 2023, in the Korean Intellectual Property Office, the disclosure of which is herein incorporated by reference in its entirety.
The disclosure relates to a steam generating apparatus, and more particularly, to a steam generating apparatus which generates steam by heating water.
A steam generating apparatus refers to an apparatus that generates steam by heating water supplied from the outside of the steam generating apparatus by using a heater, and is widely used in various fields for household use or industrial use, for example, a washing machine, a drier, a clothing management device, a cleaner, a cleaning device, a cooking tool, etc.
A related-art steam generating apparatus has a configuration having a tank to store water and a heater provided inside the tank to heat water in direct contact with the stored water. In such a related-art steam generating apparatus, only a part of the inner space of the tank is filled with water to be heated and the other space of the tank is used to contain steam. However, the heater should heat the whole space of the tank, and accordingly, the related-art steam generating apparatus may not have an efficient and compact device structure.
The disclosure has been developed to solve the above-described problems, and an object of the disclosure is to provide a steam generating apparatus which is configured to generate steam by gently heating low-temperature water flowing through an inner space of the steam generating apparatus, and to prevent the steam from condensing into water due to the low-temperature water, thereby preventing an unnecessary energy loss and achieving compactness of the apparatus.
According to an embodiment of the disclosure, a steam generating apparatus may include: a heater including a lower linear section and an upper linear section which are spaced apart from each other and have a predetermined length, and a curved section connecting the lower linear section and the upper linear section; a heating module including: a heater accommodation pipe which has a same shape as the heater and encloses an outside of the heater; a cover plate which is attached to both open ends of the heater accommodation pipe; a horizontal partition which is disposed between a lower linear section and an upper linear section of the heater accommodation pipe; and a heat dissipation pin which protrudes from at least part of the heater accommodation pipe; and a case which is configured to enclose the heating module and is secured to the cover plate, and a first penetrating hole and a second penetrating hole may be formed on the cover plate, and the steam generating apparatus may be configured to allow water to be injected into an inner space of the case through the first penetrating hole, and to discharge steam to an outside through the second penetrating hole.
According to the invention, low-temperature water is gently heated while flowing through an inner space of the steam generating apparatus, thereby generating steam, and the steam is prevented from condensing into water due to the low-temperature water, so that an unnecessary energy loss is prevented and compactness of the apparatus is achieved.
In addition, according to an embodiment of the disclosure, heat dissipation pins are configured to have their lengths gradually reduced toward a downstream area in the steam generating apparatus, and accordingly, a volume of the inner space increases toward the downstream area, so that pressure of the steam is prevented from excessively increasing in the steam generating apparatus and durability and safety of the apparatus are enhanced.
The above and/or other aspects of the disclosure will be more apparent by describing certain exemplary embodiments of the disclosure with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:
Exemplary embodiments will now be described more fully with reference to the accompanying drawings to clarify objects, other objects, features and advantages of the disclosure. The exemplary embodiments may however, be embodied in many different forms and should not be construed as limited to the exemplary embodiments set forth herein. Rather, the exemplary embodiments are provided so that this disclosure will be thorough and complete, and will fully convey the scope of the application to those of ordinary skill in the art.
In the drawings, lengths, thicknesses, or widths of elements may be exaggerated for easy understanding of technical features. In the detailed descriptions of the disclosure, the singular forms “a,” “an” and “the” are intended to include the plural forms as well, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. It will be further understood that the terms “include,” “configured with” and/or “comprise,” when used in this specification, do not preclude the presence or addition of one or more other components.
Hereinafter, exemplary embodiments will be described in greater detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. The matters defined in the description, such as detailed construction and elements, are provided to assist in a comprehensive understanding of the exemplary embodiments. However, it is apparent that the exemplary embodiments can be carried out by those of ordinary skill in the art without those specifically defined matters. In the description of the exemplary embodiment, certain detailed explanations of related art are omitted when it is deemed that they may unnecessarily obscure the essence of the inventive concept.
Referring to
The case 20 may enclose the heating module 10 and may be secured with a cover plate 11 of the heating module 10, and accordingly, an inner space of the case 20 may be sealed from the outside. In order to enhance a sealing force of the case 20, a gasket 50 may be interposed between the case 20 and the cover plate 11.
The case 20 may have a shape having an empty space formed therein to accommodate the heating module 10, and may be configured to have one end 21 opened to allow the heating module 10 to be inserted thereinto, and the other end 22 opposite thereto and closed. The closed end 22 may be formed to have a curved surface to correspond to a shape of the heating module 10.
An outlet 24 may be formed on the closed end 22 to discharge internal water to the outside. For example, as shown in
The heater 30 is a member that operates as a heat source and has a substantially “U” shape. In the drawing, the U-shaped heater 30 is rotated by 90 degrees and lies in a “⊂” shape. In the following descriptions, the configuration of the steam generating apparatus will be described on the assumption that the heater 30 is disposed in the“⊂” shape.
As shown in
The heating module 10 is a member that accommodates the heater 30 and includes a plurality of heat dissipation pins. In an embodiment, the heating module 10 may include the cover plate 11, a heater accommodation pipe 12, a horizontal partition 13, an auxiliary partition 14, heat dissipation pins 15, 16, 17, 18, and a guide partition 125. In an embodiment, the heating module 10 may be manufactured to incorporate the above-described components by casting, or the components may be individually manufactured and then may be assembled, thereby forming the heating module 10.
The heater accommodation pipe 12 is a member that accommodates the heater 30 by enclosing an outside of the heater 30. In an embodiment, the heater accommodation pipe 12 may have an empty space formed therein and may be formed in the same “U” shape as the heater 30. That is, the heater accommodation pipe 12 may include a lower linear section and an upper linear section which are spaced apart from each other in the vertical direction and have a predetermined length, and a curved section connecting the lower linear section and the upper linear section.
The heater accommodation pipe 12 is formed with a thermal conductive material such as metal or an alloy, and is thermally coupled with the heater 30. In the following descriptions, “thermally coupled” means that a first member and a second member are physically coupled with each other directly or indirectly such that heat of the first member is transmitted to the second member.
The cover plate 11 is a member that is disposed on one side of the heating module 10 to connect both open ends of the heater accommodation pipe 12 that are oriented in the same direction. That is, as shown in
In an embodiment, the cover plate 11 may further include a first penetrating hole 111 and a second penetrating hole 112. A water injection pipe 41 may be attached to the first penetrating hole 111, and water may be injected into the steam generating apparatus from the outside through the water injection pipe 41. A steam discharge pipe 42 may be attached to the second penetrating hole 112, and steam in the steam generating apparatus may be discharged to the outside through the steam discharge pipe 42.
In an embodiment, the cover plate 11 may further include a sensor accommodation part 117 to accommodate one or more sensors. For example, a temperature sensor or an overheat prevention sensor may be installed in the sensor accommodation part 117, and a water temperature or a stem temperature in the steam generating apparatus may be measured through such a sensor.
In a preferred embodiment, the heating module 10 may further include the horizontal partition 13 to divide the inside of the steam generating apparatus into a lower space S1 and an upper space S2. The horizontal partition 13 may be disposed between the lower linear section and the upper linear section of the heater accommodation pipe 12. One end (the left end on the drawing) of the horizontal partition 13 may be integrally connected to the curved section of the heater accommodation pipe 12 or the guide partition 125 protruding on the periphery of the curved section, and the other end (the right end on the drawing) of the horizontal partition 13 may be integrally connected with the cover plate 11.
Since the horizontal partition 13 does not penetrate through the curved section of the heater accommodation pipe 12, the lower space S1 and the upper space S2 may fluidly communicate with each other through a space (hereinafter, referred to as a ‘connection space’ S3) that encloses the curved section of the heater accommodation pipe 12. That is, a fluid of the lower space S1 may flow into the upper space S2 via the connection space S3.
A protrusion 131 of a predetermined protrusion height may be formed on a side surface of the horizontal partition 13 along a longitudinal direction of the horizontal partition 13. The protrusion 113 may form a sealed structure by engaging with a groove 25 formed inside the case 20 as shown in
In an embodiment, the auxiliary partition 14 may be additionally formed along at least a part of the horizontal partition 13 in parallel with the horizontal partition 13, spaced apart from the horizontal partition 13 by a predetermined distance in the vertical direction. The auxiliary partition 14 may be disposed below or above the horizontal partition 13, spaced apart therefrom by a predetermined distance. One end of the auxiliary partition 14 may be integrally connected to a heat dissipation pin (any one of the heat dissipation pins 15 to 18) extended upward or downward from the horizontal partition 13, and the other end of the auxiliary partition 14 may be integrally connected to the cover plate 11.
In the illustrated embodiment, the auxiliary partition 14 is formed below the horizontal partition 13, and one end of the auxiliary partition 14 is connected to a heat dissipation pin 15 or 16 protruding downward from the horizontal partition 13 and the other end is connected to the cover plate 11. Preferably, the auxiliary partition 14 may be configured to have a length between about ⅓ and ½ of the horizontal partition 13 from the cover plate 11.
Due to the presence of the auxiliary partition 14, a spacing space 135 may be formed between the horizontal partition 13 and the auxiliary partition 14, and the spacing space 135 may provide a buffering area so as to prevent the lower space S1 and the upper space S2 from directly contacting each other in the steam generating apparatus. That is, the auxiliary partition 14 and the spacing space 135 formed due to the presence of the auxiliary partition 14 may function as a thermal conduction prevention partition to prevent high-temperature steam of the upper space S2 from condensing into water due to low-temperature water of the lower space S1.
In a preferred embodiment, in order to enhance thermal conductivity, the heating module 10 may include the plurality of heat dissipation pins 15 to 18 protruding upward and downward from at least part of the lower linear section and the upper linear section of the heater accommodation pipe 12, and one or more guide partitions 125 protruding from the curved section of the heater accommodation pipe 12. Water injected into the steam generating apparatus through the water injection pipe 41 flows while coming into contact and colliding with the plurality of heat dissipation pins 15 to 18 and the guide partition 125, and is heated by heat emitted from the heater 30 and is converted into steam.
More specifically, a plurality of first heat dissipation pins 15 and a plurality of second heat dissipation pins 16 alternately protrude from surfaces of the heater accommodation pipe 12 over the lower linear section of the heater accommodation pipe 12. The first heat dissipation pin 15 may protrude upward and downward from a surface of the heater accommodation pipe 12 by a predetermined length, and may have an upper end 15a spaced apart from the horizontal partition 13 (or from the auxiliary partition 14 when the auxiliary partition 14 is formed) by a predetermined distance, and a lower end in close contact with an inner surface of the case 20.
The second heat dissipation pin 16 may protrude upward and downward from a surface of the heater accommodation pipe 12 by a predetermined length, and may have a lower end 16a spaced apart from the inner surface of the case 20 by a predetermined distance and an upper end in close contact with or integrally connected with the horizontal partition 13 (or the auxiliary partition 14 when the auxiliary partition 14 is formed).
A plurality of first heat dissipation pins 17 and a plurality of second heat dissipation pins 18 alternately protrude from surfaces of the heater accommodation pipe 12 over the upper linear section of the heater accommodation pipe 12. The first heat dissipation pin 17 may protrude upward and downward from a surface of the heater accommodation pipe 12 by a predetermined length, and may have a lower end 17a spaced apart from the horizontal partition 13 by a predetermined distance, and an upper end in close contact with an inner surface of the case 20.
The second heat dissipation pin 18 may protrude upward and downward from a surface of the heater accommodation pipe 12 by a predetermined length, and may have an upper end 18a spaced apart from the inner surface of the case 20 by a predetermined distance and a lower end in close contact with or integrally connected with the horizontal partition 13.
The heating module 10 may further include one or more guide partitions 125 protruding from the curved section of the heater accommodation pipe 12. The guide partition 125 may protrude from a surface of the heater accommodation pipe 12 without interfering with a flow of a fluid. That is, in the illustrated embodiment, a plurality of guide partitions 125 may protrude lengthways in a direction from an upstream area to a downstream area of a passage in the curved section of the heater accommodation pipe 12, respectively. In this case, the terms “upstream” and “downstream” refers to a flow direction of a fluid. For example, when water injected into the lower space S1 of the steam generating apparatus through the water injection pipe 41 flows into the upper space S2 through the connection space S3, it is understood that the lower space S1 is the upstream area and the upper space S2 is the downstream area.
In addition, in a preferred embodiment of the disclosure, the heat dissipation pin 17, 18 may be configured, such that a protruding height of the open end of the heat dissipation pin 17, 18 formed in the upper space S2 from the surfaces of the heater accommodation pipe 12 is gradually reduced toward the downstream area. In this case, the “open end” of the heat dissipation pin 17, 18 may be an end that is spaced apart from the horizontal partition 13 or the inner surface of the case 20 by a predetermined distance without contacting, and the open end of the first heat dissipation pin 17 may 17 may be the lower end 17a, and the open end of the second dissipation pin 18 may 18 may be the upper end 18a. As shown in
Water injected into the steam generating apparatus converts into steam by being gently heated as the water flows downstream, and a volume of the water abruptly expands as water is vaporized. However, when the heat dissipation pins 17, 18 are configured to have their lengths gradually reduced from the upstream area toward the downstream area in the steam generating apparatus, a volume of the inner space increases toward the downstream area, and accordingly, pressure of the steam is prevented from excessively increasing in the steam generating apparatus, so that durability and safety of the apparatus can be enhanced.
While the disclosure has been shown and described with reference to certain preferred embodiments thereof, it will be understood by those skilled in the art that various changes in form and details may be made therein without departing from the spirit and scope of the disclosure as defined by the appended claims. Therefore, the scope of the disclosure is defined not by the detailed descriptions of the disclosure but by the appended claims, and all differences within the scope will be construed as being included in the disclosure.
| Number | Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 10-2023-0010931 | Jan 2023 | KR | national |
