Patent Application
20090241858
The present invention relates to a water heater including a water tank and a conduit for hot gasses in heat exchange relationship with water within the tank.
In one aspect, the invention provides a water heater for exchanging heat between hot gasses and water within the water heater. The water heater includes a water tank, a conduit for allowing flow of the gasses therethrough, the conduit extending through the tank and promoting heat exchange between the gasses and water in the tank. The water heater also includes a baffle extending within the conduit for affecting the flow of the gasses. The baffle includes a sheet bent in a zig-zag manner and having a number of plate sections. Each plate section has a through-flow portion allowing the gasses to flow therethrough. The sheet also has a number of first bends and a number of second bends. The first bends alternate with the second bends such that each plate section is defined between one first bend and one second bend.
In another aspect, the invention provides a water heater including a water tank, a device for producing heated gasses, and a conduit through which the heated gasses flow in a direction of gas flow. The conduit extends through the tank and promotes heat transfer between the gasses and water in the tank. The water heater also includes a baffle extending within the conduit for increasing the heat transfer between the gasses and the water. The baffle includes a sheet of material bent in a zig-zag manner to form a plurality of sheet sections. Each section extends in a different direction from adjacent sections, and each section has therein a flow opening that is out of alignment in the direction of gas flow with the flow openings in adjacent sections, such that gasses passing through a flow opening in a section must change direction to pass through the flow opening in the adjacent section.
In another aspect, the invention provides a method of manufacturing a water heater. The method includes providing a water heater having a water tank, a device for producing heated gasses, and a conduit through which the heated gasses flow in a direction of gas flow, the conduit extending through the tank. The method also includes providing a substantially planar sheet of material, bending the sheet of material in a zig-zag manner to form a plurality of substantially planar sheet sections, each section extending in a different direction from adjacent sections, and forming each section with a flow opening. The method also includes placing the baffle within the conduit so that each flow opening is out of alignment in the direction of gas flow with the flow openings in adjacent sections, such that gasses passing through a flow opening in a section must change direction to pass through the flow opening in the adjacent section.
In another aspect, the invention provides a water heater for exchanging heat between hot gasses and water within the water heater. The water heater includes a water tank, and a conduit for allowing flow of the gasses therethrough. The conduit extends vertically through the tank and promotes heat exchange between the gasses and water in the tank. The water heater also includes a baffle extending within the conduit for affecting the flow of the gasses. The baffle is operable to create a swirl-type flow of gasses through the conduit and includes a sheet bent in a zig-zag manner. The sheet has a number of plate sections, each plate section having a through-flow portion allowing the gasses to flow therethrough. The sheet also has a number of first bends and a number of second bends, the first bends alternating with the second bends such that each plate section is defined between one first bend and one second bend. All of the first bends and the second bends define substantially equal angles between adjacent plate sections, the angles being between about 50 degrees and about 80 degrees. The through-flow portion of one plate section is adjacent to one of the first bend and the second bend, and the through-flow portion of an adjacent plate section is adjacent to the other of the first bend and the second bend.
Other aspects of the invention will become apparent by consideration of the detailed description and accompanying drawings.
Before any embodiments of the invention are explained in detail, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited in its application to the details of construction and the arrangement of components set forth in the following description or illustrated in the following drawings. The invention is capable of other embodiments and of being practiced or of being carried out in various ways. Also, it is to be understood that the phraseology and terminology used herein is for the purpose of description and should not be regarded as limiting. The use of “including,” “comprising,” or “having” and variations thereof herein is meant to encompass the items listed thereafter and equivalents thereof as well as additional items. Unless specified or limited otherwise, the terms “mounted,” “connected,” “supported,” and “coupled” and variations thereof are used broadly and encompass both direct and indirect mountings, connections, supports, and couplings. Further, “connected” and “coupled” are not restricted to physical or mechanical connections or couplings.
With particular reference to the flue system 60 illustrated in
According to one construction of the present invention, the baffle 10 is manufactured from a relatively flat plate or sheet of material. For example, the manufacturing process of the baffle 10 can include stamping or cutting the material to form a sheet 95 as shown in
With reference to
Plate sections 100 defining the first bends 125 and second bends 130 define an angle therebetween based on heat exchange requirements, such as the type of water heater. The magnitude of the angle formed at the first bends 125 is substantially the same with respect to the magnitude of the angle formed at the second bends 130. For a storage type water heater (e.g., water heater 15), the angle between adjacent plate sections 100 is approximately between 62 and 75 degrees. More preferably, the angle between adjacent plate sections 100 is about 70 degrees. For instantaneous water heaters, the angle between adjacent plate sections 100 is approximately between 52 and 65 degrees. More preferably, the angle between adjacent plate sections 100 is about 60 degrees. It is to be understood that other angles defined by adjacent plate sections 100 fall within the scope of the invention and are dependent on design characteristics, such as heat exchange requirements. For example, an alternate construction of the baffle 10 can include plate sections 100 forming different angles therebetween at different sections of the baffle 10 to allow a faster (or slower) gas flow through the conduit 65, thus adjusting heat exchange rates at different sections of the conduit 65.
Each plate section 100 includes an approximately oval or ellipsoid shape mainly defined by an outer edge 108. The ellipsoid shape of each plate section 100 allows the baffle 10 to snugly fit within the flue tube 65, which generally has a circular cross-section. Each plate section 100 includes a through-flow portion (also identified as a flow opening) 110, as mentioned above, defined by a first edge 115 and by a second edge 120. The through-flow portions 110 are designed to allow hot gasses therethrough during operation of the water heater 15. As shown in
The first edge 115 and the second edge 120 are each formed as a relatively straight cut-out or line. More particularly, the first edge 115 and the second edge 120 form a sector having an included angle of about 90 degrees. In addition, the first edge 115 of one plate section 100 is substantially parallel to the first edge 115 of an adjacent plate section 100. Also, the second edge 120 of one plate section 100 is substantially parallel to the axis 102 and to the second edge 120 of an adjacent plate section 100. Other constructions of the sheet 95 can include through-flow portions having different shapes.
In the construction illustrated in
With respect to
Still with reference to
The baffle 10 can be viewed still another way. Each of the first bends 125 defines a line, and each of the second bends 130 defines a line parallel to the lines of the first bends and parallel to the lines of other second bends. The lines of the first bends 125 define a first plane 150 (
Each plate section 100 of the baffle 200 includes a half-oval or half elliptical portion 223, mainly defined by arcuate outer edges 225, and an elongated portion 230. The outer edges 225 of the portion 223 are designed to contact the inner-surface of the flue tube 65. Each plate section 100 also includes a first through-flow portion 233 and a second through-flow portion 235 such that the elongated portion 230 is defined therebetween. The first through-flow portion 233 is defined by generally perpendicular first and second edges 240 and 245. Similarly, the second through-flow portion 235 is defined by generally perpendicular-third and fourth edges 250 and 255. In the illustrated construction, the second edge 245 and the fourth edge 255 are substantially parallel to one another, and the first edge 240 and the third edge 250 are collinear and substantially perpendicular to the axis 68.
Similar to the embodiment shown in
In other alternative constructions (not shown), the plate sections can have other numbers of flow-through portions, and the flow-through portions can have other shapes.
Various features and advantages of the invention are set forth in the following claims.
