Not Applicable.
Not Applicable.
The present invention pertains to draft inducer blower assemblies for use with water heaters having burners and gas-fueled water heaters having a draft inducer blower assembly.
Gas-fueled water heaters typically comprise a draft inducer blower assembly that provides combustion air to the burner. A draft inducer blower assembly is most commonly attached to the top of the water heater and therefore takes up vertical space that, in some circumstances, can be a concern. Moreover, in some circumstances such blower assemblies must be connected to vertical vent lines, while in other circumstances they must be connected to horizontal vent lines.
The configuration of a draft inducer blower assembly in accordance with the present invention allows for the blower assembly to be connected to either vertical or horizontal vent lines, without altering the components of the blower assembly itself, even in situations where vertical/clearance is a concern. By not having to adjust the blower assemblies to account for specific installation needs, installation costs are reduced, as are the skills required to install water heaters provided with such a draft inducer blower assembly.
In one aspect of the disclosure, a draft inducer blower assembly for use with a gas-fueled water heater comprises a housing, a motor, and a fan. The housing has an exhaust volute surrounding the fan, an inlet port, and an exhaust port, the inlet port and the exhaust port being in fluid communication with the exhaust volute. The housing is configured and adapted to be mounted atop a water heater. The inlet port is adapted and configured to receive exhaust gas from the water heater when the base is mounted atop the water heater. The fan is connected to the motor for rotation about a rotation axis. The exhaust volute has a cut-off at a cut-off angle relative to the rotation axis. The cut-off angle extends at an angle that is no more than thirty degrees positive from horizontal. The exhaust volute has an exhaust outlet passageway including a terminal portion that extends to the exhaust port. The housing is configured and adapted such that, when the housing is oriented so that the terminal portion of the exhaust outlet passageway extends vertically upwardly, the cut-off angle is not more than thirty degrees positive from horizontal.
Another aspect of the disclosure is a draft inducer blower assembly for use with a gas-fueled water heater. The blower assembly comprises a housing, a motor, and a fan. The housing has an exhaust volute surrounding the fan, an inlet port, and an exhaust port, the inlet and exhaust ports being in fluid communication with the exhaust volute. The housing is configured and adapted to be mounted atop the water heater. The housing has an inlet port adapted and configured to receive exhaust gas from the water heater when the housing is mounted atop the water heater. The fan is connected to the motor for rotation about a rotation axis. The exhaust volute has a cut-off at a cut-off angle relative to the rotation axis. The exhaust volute has an exhaust outlet passageway that extends to an exhaust port. The housing is configured and adapted such that, when the housing is oriented to discharge exhaust gas vertically upwardly through the exhaust port, the exhaust port is lower than the top of the exhaust volute.
Another aspect of the disclosure is a draft inducer blower assembly for use with a gas-fueled water heater. The blower assembly comprises a housing, a motor, and a fan. The housing has an exhaust volute surrounding the fan, an inlet port, and an exhaust port, the inlet and exhaust ports being in fluid communication with the exhaust volute. The housing is configured and adapted to be mounted atop the water heater. The housing has an inlet port adapted and configured to receive exhaust gas from the water heater when the housing is mounted atop the water heater. The fan is connected to the motor for rotation about a rotation axis. The exhaust volute has a cut-off at a cut-off angle relative to the rotation axis. The housing is configured and adapted such that, when the housing is oriented to discharge exhaust gas vertically upwardly through the exhaust port, the cut-off angle is not more than thirty degrees positive from horizontal.
Further features and advantages of the present invention, as well as the operation of the invention, are described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings.
Reference numerals in the written specification and in the drawing figures indicate corresponding items.
An embodiment of a draft inducer blower assembly 20 in accordance with the invention is shown in the figures. The blower assembly 20 comprises a housing 22 that houses a fan 24. The base 26 of the housing 22 is configured to attach atop a water heater 28, as shown in
As shown in
The configuration of the blower assembly 20 provides considerable advantages when the clearances above the tank of a water heater are limited. As shown in
Referring now to
In view of the foregoing, it should be appreciated that the invention has several advantages over the prior art.
As various modifications could be made in the constructions and methods herein described and illustrated without departing from the scope of the invention, it is intended that all matter contained in the foregoing description or shown in the accompanying drawings shall be interpreted as illustrative rather than limiting. Thus, the breadth and scope of the present invention should not be limited by any of the above-described exemplary embodiments, but should be defined only in accordance with the following claims appended hereto and their equivalents.
It should also be understood that when introducing elements of the present invention in the claims or in the above description of exemplary embodiments of the invention, the terms “comprising,” “including,” and “having” are intended to be open-ended and mean that there may be additional elements other than the listed elements. Additionally, the term “portion” should be construed as meaning some or all of the item or element that it qualifies. Moreover, use of identifiers such as first, second, and third should not be construed in a manner imposing any relative position or time sequence between limitations. Still further, the order in which the steps of any method claim that follows are presented should not be construed in a manner limiting the order in which such steps must be performed, unless such an order is inherent or explicit.
This application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 16/516,851, filed Jul. 19, 2019, which is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 15/381,443, filed Dec. 16, 2016, now U.S. Pat. No. 10,443,891, issued Oct. 15, 2019, which is a CIP of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 15/349,674, filed Nov. 11, 2016, which is a CIP of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 15/183,040, filed Jun. 15, 2016, now U.S. Pat. No. 11,015,836, issued May 25, 2021, each entitled WATER HEATER BLOWER ASSEMBLY HAVING A LOW EXHAUST PORT, the entire disclosures of each of which are incorporated herein by reference.
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Entry |
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Decision on Appeal, Appeal No. 2021-000308, for U.S. Appl. No. 15/349,674, dated May 17, 2021. |
Decision on Appeal, Appeal No. 2021-001618, for U.S. Appl. No. 16/516,851, dated May 13, 2021. |
Number | Date | Country | |
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20220099337 A1 | Mar 2022 | US |
Number | Date | Country | |
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Parent | 16516851 | Jul 2019 | US |
Child | 17547859 | US | |
Parent | 15381443 | Dec 2016 | US |
Child | 16516851 | US |
Number | Date | Country | |
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Parent | 15349674 | Nov 2016 | US |
Child | 15381443 | US | |
Parent | 15183040 | Jun 2016 | US |
Child | 15349674 | US |