Patent Application
20220011016
The present subject matter relates generally to water heater appliances.
Water heater appliances generally include a tank wrapped in insulation and enclosed within an outer shell. Typically, the tank can be formed of metal, such as steel, with an inner lining or coating such as glass or enamel. Such water heater appliances typically include assorted tubes attached to the tank, such as a dip tube for introduction of cold water into the tank.
Conventional dip tubes for water heater appliances are standard, straight pipes with open ends. These dip tubes deliver cold water to a lower portion of the tank, but, due to clearances and manufacturing tolerances, cannot directly reach the very lowest portion of the tank. Additionally, the open end of the dip tube pipe concentrates the outflow of cold water from the dip tube in a single location at a relatively high velocity.
As such, there is a need for a water heater that can more efficiently supply cold water to the tank. Additionally, features for more precisely locating the inflow of cold water to the tank would be beneficial.
Aspects and advantages of the invention will be set forth in part in the following description, or may be apparent from the description, or may be learned through practice of the invention.
In one exemplary embodiment, a water heater appliance is provided. The water heater appliance includes a tank. The tank includes a top end wall and a bottom end wall spaced from the top end wall along a vertical direction. The tank also includes a cylindrical wall extending along the vertical direction between the top end wall and the bottom end wall. A bottom corner of the tank is defined by an intersection of the cylindrical wall and the bottom end wall. A dip tube extends from an inlet end of the dip tube coupled to a cold water inlet in the top end wall to an outlet end of the dip tube positioned in the bottom corner of the tank.
In another exemplary embodiment, a water heater appliance is provided. The water heater appliance includes a tank extending along a vertical direction between a top end wall and a bottom end wall. The water heater appliance also includes a dip tube extending from an inlet end to an outlet end. The inlet end of the dip tube is coupled to a cold water inlet in the top end wall of the tank and the outlet end of the dip tube is positioned at an outer perimeter of the bottom end wall.
These and other features, aspects and advantages of the present invention will become better understood with reference to the following description and appended claims. The accompanying drawings, which are incorporated in and constitute a part of this specification, illustrate embodiments of the invention and, together with the description, serve to explain the principles of the invention.
A full and enabling disclosure of the present invention, including the best mode thereof, directed to one of ordinary skill in the art, is set forth in the specification, which makes reference to the appended figures.
Reference now will be made in detail to embodiments of the invention, one or more examples of which are illustrated in the drawings. Each example is provided by way of explanation of the invention, not limitation of the invention. In fact, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various modifications and variations can be made in the present invention without departing from the scope or spirit of the invention. For instance, features illustrated or described as part of one embodiment can be used with another embodiment to yield a still further embodiment. Thus, it is intended that the present invention covers such modifications and variations as come within the scope of the appended claims and their equivalents.
As used herein, terms of approximation, such as “generally,” or “about” include values within ten percent greater or less than the stated value. When used in the context of an angle or direction, such terms include within ten degrees greater or less than the stated angle or direction. For example, “generally vertical” includes directions within ten degrees of vertical in any direction, e.g., clockwise or counter-clockwise.
Although exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure will be described generally in the context of a water heater appliance for purposes of illustration, one of ordinary skill in the art will readily appreciate that embodiments of the present disclosure may be applied to any style or type of heater for a liquid and are not limited to water heaters or heating systems for water.
As may be seen in, e.g.,
As illustrated for example in
As illustrated in the exemplary embodiment of
The cold water inlet 114 and hot water outlet 116 may each be adapted for connection to the plumbing system of a building such as a residence. Cold water inlet 114 is adapted for connection to a pipe supplying water in an initial non-heated, i.e., “cold,” state, e.g., as supplied from the water supply line of a home or other building. In order to provide thermal stratification, e.g., with colder water at or near the bottom end wall 110 of the tank 104 and hotter water at or near the top end wall 108 of the tank 104, and in particular at the hot water outlet 116 formed in the top end wall 108, a dip tube 120 may be provided. In some embodiments, the dip tube 120 may extend from the cold water inlet 114 to or towards the bottom end wall 110 of the tank 104. For example, the dip tube 120 may extend from an inlet end 122 which is coupled to the cold water inlet 114 in the top end wall 108 to an outlet end 124. The outlet end 124 is preferably positioned at the lowest possible point, e.g., farthest away from the top end wall 108, in the tank 104 to provide thermal stratification.
As may be seen in
In some embodiments, the bottom end wall 110 may be curved, such as convex curved, e.g., as illustrated in
In some embodiments, the dip tube 120 may be formed of a flexible material. For example, the material of the dip tube 120 may be sufficiently flexible to bend during installation from an initially straight configuration to a curved configuration, such as the curved configuration illustrated in
In at least some embodiments, the dip tube 120 may be longer than the tank 104. For example, the bottom end wall 110 may be spaced from the top end wall 108 along the vertical direction V by a first distance. Further, the dip tube 120 may define a length from the inlet end 122 to the outlet end 124, and the length of the dip tube 120 may be greater than the first distance. For example, as may be seen in
As best seen in
Throughout this disclosure, features illustrated or described as part of one embodiment can be used with another embodiment to yield a still further embodiment. This written description uses examples to disclose the invention, including the best mode, and also to enable any person skilled in the art to practice the invention, including making and using any devices or systems and performing any incorporated methods. The patentable scope of the invention is defined by the claims, and may include other examples that occur to those skilled in the art. Such other examples are intended to be within the scope of the claims if they include structural elements that do not differ from the literal language of the claims, or if they include equivalent structural elements with insubstantial differences from the literal languages of the claims.
