VALVE AND METHOD OF OPERATING BOILER USING THE SAME

Abstract

Disclosed is a valve including a valve housing having an empty space therein, an opening/closing part provided in the valve housing and configured to be movable in an upward/downward direction H, a shaft part fixedly coupled to the opening/closing part and configured to be movable in the upward/downward direction H together with the opening/closing part, a drive part configured to move the shaft part in the upward/downward direction H, and a seating part protruding inward from an inner surface of the valve housing and configured to interfere with the opening/closing part when the opening/closing part moves in the upward/downward direction H by a predetermined distance.

Description

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application claims priority to and the benefit of Korean Patent Application No. 10-2023-0197332 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 valve and a method of operating a boiler using the same, and more particularly, to a valve, which is capable of being used as a three-way valve, and a method of operating a boiler using the same.

BACKGROUND ART

A boiler, which serves to supply hot water to a region required to be heated and a region that requires the hot water, uses a valve component, such as a three-way valve, to control a flow rate and a flow direction of the hot water. In order to implement a smooth function of the boiler, it is necessary to always maintain a constant flow rate of hot water supplied through the valve when the condition remains the same. In particular, in case that a flow rate of hot water, such as bathing hot water or kitchen hot water, used directly by a user, varies even when the hot water is supplied under the same operating condition, the user's satisfaction may significantly deteriorate inevitably.

Meanwhile, there sometimes occurs a difference between pressure in a pipe connected to the region, which is required to be heated, and pressure in a pipe connected to the region, which requires hot water, during a process in which the boiler is used. This pressure difference causes a change in flow rate of the hot water supplied under the same operating condition, and the change in flow rate of the hot water degrades the user's satisfaction. In particular, in the related art, the above-mentioned pressure difference greatly changes a flow rate of the hot water used directly by the user, which causes a problem of great dissatisfaction of the user of the boiler.

SUMMARY

The present disclosure has been made in an effort to improve a user's satisfaction by minimizing a change in flow rate of hot water caused by a pressure difference between regions of a boiler.

In order to achieve the above-mentioned object, one aspect of the present disclosure provides a valve including: a valve housing having an empty space therein; an opening/closing part provided in the valve housing and configured to be movable in an upward/downward direction H; a shaft part fixedly coupled to the opening/closing part and configured to be movable in the upward/downward direction H together with the opening/closing part; a drive part configured to move the shaft part in the upward/downward direction H; and a seating part protruding inward from an inner surface of the valve housing and configured to interfere with the opening/closing part when the opening/closing part moves in the upward/downward direction H by a predetermined distance, in which the seating part includes: an upper seating part provided above the opening/closing part; and a lower seating part provided below the opening/closing part, in which the opening/closing part includes: an opening/closing part body configured to define a body of the opening/closing part; an upper protruding disc protruding upward from an upper surface of the opening/closing part body; and a lower protruding disc protruding downward from a lower surface of the opening/closing part body, and in which a width of the upper protruding disc in the upward/downward direction H and a width of the lower protruding disc in the upward/downward direction H are different from each other.

An outer diameter of the upper protruding disc may be smaller than an inner diameter of the upper seating part, and an outer diameter of the lower protruding disc may be smaller than an inner diameter of the lower seating part.

The opening/closing part body may include: a central region; an upper region having a lower end connected to an upper end of the central region, and an upper end connected to the upper protruding disc; and a lower region having an upper end connected to a lower end of the central region, and a lower end connected to the lower protruding disc, an outer diameter of an upper surface of the upper region may be larger than the inner diameter of the upper seating part, and an outer diameter of a lower surface of the lower region may be larger than the inner diameter of the lower seating part.

The width of the upper protruding disc in the upward/downward direction H may be larger than the width of the lower protruding disc in the upward/downward direction H.

i) A difference between the inner diameter of the upper seating part and the outer diameter of the upper protruding disc may be more than 0 mm and equal to or less than 0.1 mm, or ii) a difference between the inner diameter of the lower seating part and the outer diameter of the lower protruding disc may be more than 0 mm and equal to or less than 0.1 mm.

A distance in a horizontal direction W between a radially outer peripheral surface of the upper surface of the upper region and a radially outer peripheral surface of the upper protruding disc may be larger than the width of the upper protruding disc in the upward/downward direction H.

Assuming that a position of the opening/closing part when the upper surface of the upper region comes into contact with the upper seating part as the opening/closing part is moved in the upward/downward direction H by the drive part is a top dead center and a position of the opening/closing part when the lower surface of the lower region comes into contact with the lower seating part as the opening/closing part is moved in the upward/downward direction H by the drive part is a bottom dead center, the width of the upper protruding disc in the upward/downward direction H may be 0.25 times or more and 0.50 times or less an interval in the upward/downward direction H between the top dead center and the bottom dead center.

The opening/closing part body may have a rotationally symmetrical shape about a central axis of the shaft part and have a symmetric shape in the upward/downward direction H.

The upper region may include: an upper inclined section having a lower end connected to the central region, the upper inclined section having an outer diameter increasing upward; and an upper cylindrical section extending upward from an upper end of the upper inclined section and having a cylindrical shape, and the lower region may include: a lower inclined section having an upper end connected to the central region, the lower inclined section having an outer diameter increasing downward; and a lower cylindrical section extending downward from a lower end of the lower inclined section and having a cylindrical shape.

An outer diameter of the central region may be smaller than the outer diameter of the upper protruding disc and the outer diameter of the lower protruding disc.

In order to achieve the above-mentioned object, another aspect of the present disclosure provides a method of operating a boiler using the valve in which the width of the upper protruding disc in the upward/downward direction H is larger than the width of the lower protruding disc in the upward/downward direction H, the method including: a first hot water supply step of supplying hot water through a space between the lower protruding disc and the lower seating part by tightly attaching the upper protruding disc to the upper seating part; and a second hot water supply step of supplying hot water through a space between the upper protruding disc and the upper seating part by tightly attaching the lower protruding disc to the lower seating part.

The hot water in the first hot water supply step may be supplied to a pipe connected to a region intended to be heated, and the hot water in the second hot water supply step may be supplied to a heat exchanger so as to exchange heat with water to be discharged to the outside.

The method may further include: a third hot water supply step of supplying hot water through the space between the upper protruding disc and the upper seating part and the space between the lower protruding disc and the lower seating part by spacing the upper protruding disc apart from the upper seating part and spacing the lower protruding disc apart from the lower seating part.

According to the present disclosure, it is possible to improve the user's satisfaction by minimizing a change in flow rate of hot water caused by a pressure difference between the regions of the boiler.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a valve according to the present disclosure.

FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view made by cutting the valve according to the present disclosure in an upward/downward direction, i.e., a view illustrating a state in which an opening/closing part is tightly attached to an upper seating part.

FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view made by cutting the valve according to the present disclosure in the upward/downward direction, i.e., a view illustrating a state in which the opening/closing part is tightly attached to a lower seating part.

FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view made by cutting the valve according to the present disclosure in the upward/downward direction, i.e., a view illustrating a state in which the opening/closing part is spaced apart from the upper seating part and the lower seating part.

FIG. 5 is an enlarged cross-sectional view illustrating the opening/closing part, the upper seating part, the lower seating part, and peripheral components thereof of the valve according to the present disclosure.

FIG. 6 is a graph illustrating flow rates in regions of hot water with respect to positions of the opening/closing part in case that a width of an upper protruding disc in the upward/downward direction and a width of a lower protruding disc in the upward/downward direction are equal to each other in a comparative example of the present disclosure.

FIG. 7 is a graph illustrating flow rates in regions of hot water with respect to positions of the opening/closing part in case that the width of the upper protruding disc in the upward/downward direction and the width of the lower protruding disc in the upward/downward direction are different from each other in an example of the present disclosure.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Hereinafter, a valve and a method of operating a boiler using the same according to the present disclosure will be described with reference to the drawings.

Valve

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a valve according to the present disclosure, and FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view made by cutting the valve according to the present disclosure in an upward/downward direction, i.e., a view illustrating a state in which an opening/closing part is tightly attached to an upper seating part. FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view made by cutting the valve according to the present disclosure in the upward/downward direction, i.e., a view illustrating a state in which the opening/closing part is tightly attached to a lower seating part, and FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view made by cutting the valve according to the present disclosure in the upward/downward direction, i.e., a view illustrating a state in which the opening/closing part is spaced apart from the upper seating part and the lower seating part.

A valve 10 according to the present disclosure may be configured to control a flow direction of a fluid such as hot water. More specifically, the valve 10 may have a structure capable of selectively supplying the fluid, which is supplied from one side, to a first region or a second region. The valve 10 according to the present disclosure may be understood as a kind of three-way valve. However, as described below, the valve 10 according to the present disclosure may have features different from those of a three-way valve in the related art.

With reference to FIGS. 1 to 4, the valve 10 according to the present disclosure may include a valve housing 100 having an empty space therein, and an opening/closing part 200 provided in the valve housing 100 and configured to be movable in an upward/downward direction H. The opening/closing part 200 may be configured to adjust the flow direction of the fluid by controlling communication with an internal space of the valve housing 100 while moving in the upward/downward direction H.

Meanwhile, in the present specification, the upward/downward direction H is defined as a direction in which the opening/closing part 200 moves. However, it is noted that the opening/closing part 200 of the valve 10 according to the present disclosure is not necessarily installed in a configuration, such as a boiler, so as to move in the upward/downward direction H. That is, for example, in an actual operating state of the valve 10 according to the present disclosure, the opening/closing part 200 may move in a horizontal direction or an inclined direction instead of the upward/downward direction. However, in the present specification, for convenience of description, the valve 10 according to the present disclosure will be described with reference to the configuration in which the valve 10 is disposed such that the opening/closing part 200 moves in the upward/downward direction H.

Meanwhile, the valve 10 according to the present disclosure may further include a shaft part 300 fixedly coupled to the opening/closing part 200 and configured to be movable in the upward/downward direction H together with the opening/closing part 200, and a drive part 400 having one side connected to the shaft part 300, and the drive part 400 being configured to move the shaft part 300 in the upward/downward direction H. That is, the shaft part 300 may be moved in the upward/downward direction H by power of the drive part 400 according to the present disclosure, such that the opening/closing part 200 fixedly coupled to the shaft part 300 may also be moved in the upward/downward direction H. The drive part 400 may be an electric motor. For example, the drive part 400 may be a stepping motor. The description of the operational principle and general structure of the stepping motor may be replaced with the contents publicly known in the related art. In case that the drive part 400 of the valve 10 according to the present disclosure is the stepping motor, the shaft part 300 may be moved in the upward/downward direction H by controlling the number of steps of the stepping motor.

With continued reference to FIGS. 1 to 4, the valve 10 according to the present disclosure may further include a seating part 500 protruding inward from an inner surface of the valve housing 100 and configured to control the communication with the internal space of the valve housing 100 in accordance with the movement of the opening/closing part 200. More specifically, the seating part 500 may be configured to interfere with the opening/closing part 200 when the opening/closing part 200 moves in the upward/downward direction H by a predetermined distance. In this case, the opening/closing part 200 may be tightly attached to the seating part 500 or spaced apart from the seating part 500 by the movement of the opening/closing part 200, thereby controlling the communication with the internal space of the valve housing 100.

The seating part 500 may include an upper seating part 510 provided above the opening/closing part 200, and a lower seating part 520 provided below the opening/closing part 200. Both the upper seating part 510 and the lower seating part 520 may protrude from the inner surface of the valve housing 100 toward the internal space. For example, the upper seating part 510 may be a component provided separately from the valve housing 100. The upper seating part 510 may be configured to be accommodated in the internal space of the valve housing 100, and the lower seating part 520 may be configured integrally with the valve housing 100. In this case, a sealing member 610 may be provided between the upper seating part 510 and the inner surface of the valve housing 100. The sealing member 610 may have an approximately ring shape.

FIG. 5 is an enlarged cross-sectional view illustrating the opening/closing part, the upper seating part, the lower seating part, and peripheral components thereof of the valve according to the present disclosure.

With reference to FIGS. 2 to 5, the opening/closing part 200 of the valve 10 according to the present disclosure may be divided into a plurality of regions depending on a shape thereof. More specifically, the opening/closing part 200 may include an opening/closing part body 210 configured to define a body of the opening/closing part 200, an upper protruding disc 220 protruding upward from an upper surface of the opening/closing part body 210, and a lower protruding disc 230 protruding downward from a lower surface of the opening/closing part body 210. The upper protruding disc 220 and the lower protruding disc 230 may each have an approximately circular plate shape.

Meanwhile, according to the present disclosure, a width by which the upper protruding disc 220 protrudes from the opening/closing part body 210 and a width by which the lower protruding disc 230 protrudes from the opening/closing part body 210 may be different from each other. That is, according to the present disclosure, a width of the upper protruding disc 220 in the upward/downward direction H and a width of the lower protruding disc 230 in the upward/downward direction H may be different from each other.

As described below, the valve 10 according to the present disclosure may be mounted in a boiler. In this case, in case that a fluid introduced into the valve housing 100 from the outside passes through a space between the upper protruding disc 220 and the upper seating part 510, the fluid may be supplied to a heat exchanger to exchange heat with water, which is discharged to the outside such as a bathroom or sink, to heat the water. In case that a fluid introduced into the valve housing 100 from the outside passes through a space between the lower protruding disc 230 and the lower seating part 520, the fluid may be supplied to a region intended to be heated.

In this case, a pressure difference (hereinafter, referred to as a ‘pressure difference’) may occur between a region of the internal space of the valve housing 100 connected to the heat exchanger by a pipe (an upper space of the opening/closing part based on FIGS. 2 to 5) and a region connected to a region of the internal space of the valve housing 100 intended to be heated (a lower space of the opening/closing part based on FIGS. 2 to 5). The pressure difference may cause a change in flow rate of the hot water discharged from the valve.

In particular, it is necessary to supply the hot water at a constant flow rate to the heat exchanger regardless of the pressure difference when the opening/closing part 200 of the valve 10 is positioned at the same position. This is because a user's satisfaction significantly deteriorates because a temperature of water supplied to the user is greatly changed when the flow rate of the hot water supplied to the heat exchanger is changed by the above-mentioned pressure difference.

Therefore, according to the present disclosure, the width of the upper protruding disc 220 in the upward/downward direction H and the width of the lower protruding disc 230 in the upward/downward direction H may be different from each other, such that the flow rate of the hot water discharged to the outside of the valve according to the present disclosure may be constant regardless of the above-mentioned pressure difference.

More specifically, the width of the upper protruding disc 220 in the upward/downward direction H may be larger than the width of the lower protruding disc 230 in the upward/downward direction H. In this case, a space of the internal space of the valve housing 100, which is positioned above the opening/closing part 200, may be connected to the above-mentioned heat exchanger, and a space of the internal space of the valve housing 100, which is positioned below the opening/closing part 200, may be connected to the region intended to be heated.

Meanwhile, according to the present disclosure, the upper protruding disc 220 may be configured to be inserted into the upper seating part 510, and the lower protruding disc 230 may be configured to be inserted into the lower seating part 520. More specifically, with reference to FIG. 5, an outer diameter A1 of the upper protruding disc 220 may be smaller than an inner diameter A2 of the upper seating part 510, and an outer diameter B1 of the lower protruding disc 230 may be smaller than an inner diameter B2 of the lower seating part 520.

For example, a difference between the inner diameter of the upper seating part 510 and the outer diameter of the upper protruding disc 220 may be more than 0 mm and equal to or less than 0.1 mm, and a difference between the inner diameter of the lower seating part 520 and the outer diameter of the lower protruding disc 230 may be more than 0 mm and equal to or less than 0.1 mm.

During a process in which the opening/closing part 200 moves upward so as to be tightly attached to the upper seating part 510 or the opening/closing part 200 moves downward so as to be spaced apart from the upper seating part 510, the upper protruding disc 220 is inserted into an internal space of the upper seating part 510 or withdrawn from the internal space of the upper seating part 510. In this case, because the width by which the upper protruding disc 220 protrudes from the opening/closing part body 210 is relatively larger than the width by which the lower protruding disc 230 protrudes from the opening/closing part body 210 as described above, the flow rate of the fluid passing through the space between the upper protruding disc 220 and the upper seating part 510 may be constant regardless of the above-mentioned pressure difference.

In addition, according to the present disclosure, it is possible to prevent the occurrence of noise in the valve 10 by preventing the flow rate of the fluid passing through the space between the upper seating part 510 and the opening/closing part 200 from being rapidly decreased during the process in which the opening/closing part 200 moves upward and the upper protruding disc 220 is inserted into the internal space of the upper seating part 510 in the state in which the upper seating part 510 and the opening/closing part 200 are spaced apart from each other. That is, according to the present disclosure, even though a part of the upper protruding disc 220 is inserted into the internal space of the upper seating part 510, the opening/closing part body 210 is not tightly attached to the upper seating part 510. Therefore, the fluid may still flow through the space between the upper protruding disc 220 and the inner surface of the upper seating part 510 in a state in which the upper seating part 510 and the opening/closing part 200 are not completely tightly attached to each other. Therefore, a state (so-called a transition state) in which a part of the fluid continuously flows to the upper region of the opening/closing part 200 may be maintained until the opening/closing part 200 moves upward, the entire upper protruding disc 220 is inserted into the internal space of the upper seating part 510, and the opening/closing part body 210 is also tightly attached to the upper seating part 510. Therefore, it is possible to prevent the occurrence of noise caused by a rapid decrease in flow rate. The above-mentioned reduction in the occurrence of noise may also be applied to a process in which the opening/closing part 200 moves downward in a state in which the entire upper protruding disc 220 is inserted into the internal space of the upper seating part 510 and the opening/closing part body 210 is tightly attached to the upper seating part 510.

Meanwhile, with continued reference to FIGS. 2 to 5, the opening/closing part body 210 may be divided into a plurality of regions. More specifically, the opening/closing part body 210 may include a central region 212 configured to define a central portion of the opening/closing part body 210 based on the upward/downward direction H, an upper region 214 having a lower end connected to an upper end of the central region 212, and an upper end connected to the upper protruding disc 220, and a lower region 216 having an upper end connected to a lower end of the central region 212, and a lower end connected to the lower protruding disc 230.

In this case, according to the present disclosure, an outer diameter of an upper surface of the upper region 214 may be larger than the inner diameter of the upper seating part 510, and an outer diameter of a lower surface of the lower region 216 may be larger than the inner diameter of the lower seating part 520. Therefore, in case that the entire upper protruding disc 220 is inserted into the internal space of the upper seating part 510, the upper surface of the upper region 214 may be tightly attached to the upper seating part 510. In case that the entire lower protruding disc 230 is inserted into an internal space of the lower seating part 520, the lower surface of the lower region 216 may be tightly attached to the lower seating part 520. In a more exemplary embodiment, with reference to FIG. 5, a distance in a horizontal direction W between a radially outer peripheral surface of the upper surface of the upper region 214 and a radially outer peripheral surface of the upper protruding disc 220 may be larger than the width of the upper protruding disc 220 in the upward/downward direction H.

Meanwhile, according to the present disclosure, assuming that a position of the opening/closing part 200 when the upper surface of the upper region 214 comes into contact with the upper seating part 510 as the opening/closing part 200 is moved in the upward/downward direction H by the drive part 400 is a top dead center, and a position of the opening/closing part 200 when the lower surface of the lower region 216 comes into contact with the lower seating part 520 as the opening/closing part 200 is moved in the upward/downward direction H by the drive part 400 is a bottom dead center, the width of the upper protruding disc 220 in the upward/downward direction H may be 0.25 times or more and 0.50 times or less an interval (i.e., a stroke) in the upward/downward direction H between the top dead center and the bottom dead center. This is to define an appropriate opening/closing timing of the valve 10 made by means of the upper protruding disc 220 while maintaining a constant change in flow rate made by the above-mentioned pressure difference.

Meanwhile, as illustrated in FIG. 5, the upper region 214 and the lower region 216 may each be divided into a plurality of sections.

More specifically, the upper region 214 may include an upper inclined section 214a having a lower end connected to the central region 212, the upper inclined section 214a having an outer diameter increasing upward, and an upper cylindrical section 214b extending from an upper end of the upper inclined section 214a and having a cylindrical shape. In addition, the lower region 216 may include a lower inclined section 216a having an upper end connected to the central region 212, the lower inclined section 216a having an outer diameter increasing downward, and a lower cylindrical section 216b extending from a lower end of the lower inclined section 216a and having a cylindrical shape.

Meanwhile, for example, a region of the opening/closing part 200, which excludes the upper protruding disc 220 and the lower protruding disc 230, may have a symmetric shape in the upward/downward direction H. That is, the opening/closing part body 210 may have a symmetric shape in the upward/downward direction H while having a rotationally symmetrical shape about a central axis of the shaft part 300.

In addition, as illustrated in FIG. 5, an outer diameter of the central region 212 may be smaller than the outer diameter A1 of the upper protruding disc 220 and the outer diameter B1 of the lower protruding disc 230. This may be to minimize an influence on the flow of the fluid in the central region 212.

Method of Operating Boiler

Hereinafter, a method of operating a boiler according to the present disclosure will be described with reference to the above-mentioned description and the drawings.

First, a boiler used for the method of operating a boiler according to the present disclosure may include the above-mentioned valve 10 according to the present disclosure.

With reference to FIGS. 1 to 5, in the above-mentioned valve 10, the width of the upper protruding disc 220 in the upward/downward direction H may be larger than the width of the lower protruding disc 230 in the upward/downward direction H. In this case, when the valve 10 is mounted in the boiler, the upward/downward direction H of the valve 10 and an upward/downward direction of the boiler may not be necessarily consistent with each other.

In this case, the method of operating a boiler according to the present disclosure may include a first hot water supply step of supplying hot water through the space between the lower protruding disc 230 and the lower seating part 520 by tightly attaching the upper protruding disc 220 to the upper seating part 510, and a second hot water supply step of supplying the hot water through the space between the upper protruding disc 220 and the upper seating part 510 by tightly attaching the lower protruding disc 230 to the lower seating part 520.

According to the present disclosure, the hot water, which is supplied through the space between the lower protruding disc 230 and the lower seating part 520 in the first hot water supply step, may be hot water for heating. Therefore, the hot water supplied in the first hot water supply step may be supplied to a pipe connected to a region (e.g., a floor in a house) to be heated.

In contrast, the hot water, which is supplied through the space between the upper protruding disc 220 and the upper seating part 510 in the second hot water supply step, may be hot water that exchanges heat with water to be discharged to the outside (e.g., a bathroom or sink) to heat the water to be discharged to the outside. Therefore, the hot water supplied in the second hot water supply step may be supplied to the heat exchanger so that the hot water exchanges heat with the water to be discharged to the outside.

Meanwhile, the method of operating a boiler according to the present disclosure may further include a third hot water supply step of supplying hot water through the space between the upper protruding disc 220 and the upper seating part 510 and the space between the lower protruding disc 230 and the lower seating part 520 by spacing the upper protruding disc 220 apart from the upper seating part 510 and spacing the lower protruding disc 230 apart from the lower seating part 520. Therefore, the third hot water supply step may be a step of supplying the hot water to both i) the region to be heated and ii) the above-mentioned heat exchanger.

FIG. 6 is a graph illustrating flow rates in regions of hot water with respect to positions of the opening/closing part in case that the width of an upper protruding disc in the upward/downward direction and the width of a lower protruding disc in the upward/downward direction are equal to each other in a comparative example of the present disclosure, and FIG. 7 is a graph illustrating flow rates in regions of hot water with respect to positions of the opening/closing part in case that the width of the upper protruding disc in the upward/downward direction and the width of the lower protruding disc in the upward/downward direction are different from each other in an example of the present disclosure.

FIG. 6 is a graph illustrating i) flow rates of hot water supplied to the pipe connected to the region required to be heated and ii) flow rates of hot water supplied to the pipe connected to the heat exchanger with respect to the number of steps of the motor in accordance with the pressure difference (hereinafter, referred to as the ‘differential pressure’) between the pressure in the pipe connected to the region required to be heated and the pressure in the pipe connected to the heat exchanger in the comparative example of the present disclosure in which a height in the upward/downward direction of a component corresponding to the upper protruding disc according to the present disclosure and a height in the upward/downward direction of a component corresponding to the lower protruding disc according to the present disclosure are equal to each other. In this case, the motor may be understood as a component corresponding to the drive part of the valve according to the present disclosure. More specifically, in FIG. 6, the graph trending downward from the left upper end to the right lower end indicates a flow rate of hot water supplied to the pipe connected to the region required to be heated, and the graph trending upward from the left lower end to the right upper end indicates a flow rate of hot water supplied to the pipe connected to the heat exchanger.

FIG. 7 is a graph illustrating i) flow rates of hot water supplied to the pipe connected to the region required to be heated and ii) flow rates of hot water supplied to the pipe connected to the heat exchanger with respect to the number of steps of the motor in accordance with the above-mentioned differential pressure in the example of the present disclosure in which the width of the upper protruding disc 220 in the upward/downward direction H is larger than the width of the lower protruding disc 230 in the upward/downward direction H. In this case, the motor is the drive part of the valve according to the present disclosure. More specifically, in FIG. 7, the graph trending downward from the left upper end to the right lower end indicates a flow rate of hot water supplied to the pipe connected to the region required to be heated, and the graph trending upward from the left lower end to the right upper end indicates a flow rate of hot water supplied to the pipe connected to the heat exchanger.

With reference to FIGS. 6 and 7, it can be ascertained that in the example of the present disclosure, the change in flow rate of hot water supplied to the pipe connected to the heat exchanger, which is caused by the differential pressure, is remarkably reduced in comparison with the comparative example of the present disclosure. In particular, because the hot water to be supplied to the heat exchanger exchanges heat with the water to be supplied directly to the user, the temperature of the water to be supplied directly to the user is greatly changed in case that the change in flow rate of hot water caused by the differential pressure is large. For this reason, the user's satisfaction may be significantly degraded. Therefore, according to the present disclosure, the hot water may be provided directly to the user at a constant flow rate regardless of the above-mentioned change in differential pressure, which may remarkably improve the user's satisfaction. Meanwhile, for example, the boiler equipped with the valve according to the present disclosure may be a household boiler.

The present disclosure has been described with reference to the limited embodiments and the drawings, but the present disclosure is not limited thereby. The present disclosure may be carried out in various forms by those skilled in the art, to which the present disclosure pertains, within the technical spirit of the present disclosure and the scope equivalent to the appended claims.

Claims

1. A valve comprising: a valve housing having an empty space therein;an opening/closing part provided in the valve housing and configured to be movable in an upward/downward direction H;a shaft part fixedly coupled to the opening/closing part and configured to be movable in the upward/downward direction H together with the opening/closing part;a drive part configured to move the shaft part in the upward/downward direction H; anda seating part protruding inward from an inner surface of the valve housing and configured to interfere with the opening/closing part when the opening/closing part moves in the upward/downward direction H by a predetermined distance,wherein the seating part comprises:an upper seating part provided above the opening/closing part; anda lower seating part provided below the opening/closing part,wherein the opening/closing part comprises:an opening/closing part body configured to define a body of the opening/closing part;an upper protruding disc protruding upward from an upper surface of the opening/closing part body; anda lower protruding disc protruding downward from a lower surface of the opening/closing part body, andwherein a width of the upper protruding disc in the upward/downward direction H and a width of the lower protruding disc in the upward/downward direction H are different from each other.

2. The valve of claim 1, wherein an outer diameter of the upper protruding disc is smaller than an inner diameter of the upper seating part, and an outer diameter of the lower protruding disc is smaller than an inner diameter of the lower seating part.

3. The valve of claim 2, wherein the opening/closing part body comprises: a central region;an upper region having a lower end connected to an upper end of the central region, and an upper end connected to the upper protruding disc; anda lower region having an upper end connected to a lower end of the central region, and a lower end connected to the lower protruding disc,wherein an outer diameter of an upper surface of the upper region is larger than the inner diameter of the upper seating part, andwherein an outer diameter of a lower surface of the lower region is larger than the inner diameter of the lower seating part.

4. The valve of claim 1, wherein the width of the upper protruding disc in the upward/downward direction H is larger than the width of the lower protruding disc in the upward/downward direction H.

5. The valve of claim 2, wherein i) a difference between the inner diameter of the upper seating part and the outer diameter of the upper protruding disc is more than 0 mm and equal to or less than 0.1 mm, or ii) a difference between the inner diameter of the lower seating part and the outer diameter of the lower protruding disc is more than 0 mm and equal to or less than 0.1 mm.

6. The valve of claim 3, wherein a distance in a horizontal direction W between a radially outer peripheral surface of the upper surface of the upper region and a radially outer peripheral surface of the upper protruding disc is larger than the width of the upper protruding disc in the upward/downward direction H.

7. The valve of claim 3, wherein assuming that a position of the opening/closing part when the upper surface of the upper region comes into contact with the upper seating part as the opening/closing part is moved in the upward/downward direction H by the drive part is a top dead center and a position of the opening/closing part when the lower surface of the lower region comes into contact with the lower seating part as the opening/closing part is moved in the upward/downward direction H by the drive part is a bottom dead center, the width of the upper protruding disc in the upward/downward direction H is 0.25 times or more and 0.50 times or less an interval in the upward/downward direction H between the top dead center and the bottom dead center.

8. The valve of claim 1, wherein the opening/closing part body has a rotationally symmetrical shape about a central axis of the shaft part and has a symmetric shape in the upward/downward direction H.

9. The valve of claim 3, wherein the upper region comprises: an upper inclined section having a lower end connected to the central region, the upper inclined section having an outer diameter increasing upward; andan upper cylindrical section extending upward from an upper end of the upper inclined section and having a cylindrical shape, andwherein the lower region comprises:a lower inclined section having an upper end connected to the central region, the lower inclined section having an outer diameter increasing downward; anda lower cylindrical section extending downward from a lower end of the lower inclined section and having a cylindrical shape.

10. The valve of claim 3, wherein an outer diameter of the central region is smaller than the outer diameter of the upper protruding disc and the outer diameter of the lower protruding disc.

11. A method of operating a boiler using the valve according to claim 1 in which the width of the upper protruding disc in the upward/downward direction H is larger than the width of the lower protruding disc in the upward/downward direction H, the method comprising: a first hot water supply step of supplying hot water through a space between the lower protruding disc and the lower seating part by tightly attaching the upper protruding disc to the upper seating part; anda second hot water supply step of supplying hot water through a space between the upper protruding disc and the upper seating part by tightly attaching the lower protruding disc to the lower seating part.

12. The method of claim 11, wherein the hot water in the first hot water supply step is supplied to a pipe connected to a region intended to be heated, and the hot water in the second hot water supply step is supplied to a heat exchanger so as to exchange heat with water to be discharged to the outside.

13. The method of claim 11, further comprising: a third hot water supply step of supplying hot water through the space between the upper protruding disc and the upper seating part and the space between the lower protruding disc and the lower seating part by spacing the upper protruding disc apart from the upper seating part and spacing the lower protruding disc apart from the lower seating part.