Water heater

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-10066852-B2
Application number	US-201615079643-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Mar 24, 2016
Priority date	Apr 21, 2015
Publication date	Sep 4, 2018
Grant date	Sep 4, 2018

Abstract

A water heater has a primary heat exchanger having a first heat transfer tube, a secondary heat exchanger having a second heat transfer tube connected with the first heat transfer tube and being located higher than the first heat transfer tube, and an outflow path connected to an outflow-side end portion of the first heat transfer tube. The outflow path has an offset flow path portion including a rising portion which rises upward or obliquely upward from a connecting portion of the outflow path and the outflow-side end portion of the first heat transfer tube or from the vicinity of the connecting portion, the offset flow path portion being offset at a position higher than the outflow-side end portion. When hot water supply is temporally stopped, the water at high temperature in the first heat transfer tube flows into the offset flow path portion, thereby inhibiting such a disadvantage that water having a lower temperature than a target temperature is supplied because of a natural convection at the time of restarting hot water supply.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. A water heater comprising:
a primary heat exchanger having a first heat transfer tube configured to recover heat from heating gas;
a secondary heat exchanger having a second heat transfer tube configured to further recover heat from heating gas of which heat has been recovered in the primary heat exchanger, the secondary heat transfer tube being connected with the first heat transfer tube and being located higher than the first heat transfer tube;
a bypass flow path connecting an inflow path connected with an inflow-side end portion of the second heat transfer tube and an outflow path connected with an outflow-side end portion of the first heat transfer tube;
the outflow path having an offset flow path portion including a rising portion which rises upward or obliquely upward directly or indirectly from a connecting portion of the outflow path with the outflow-side end portion of the first heat transfer tube, the offset flow path portion being offset at a position higher than the outflow-side end portion;
a first trap flow path provided in an area of the inflow path, wherein a lowest portion of the first trap flow path is lower than the outflow-side end portion of the first heat transfer tube; and
a second trap flow path provided for an intermediate flow path connecting the first heat transfer tube and the second heat transfer tube,
wherein the inflow path extends downward from the secondary heat exchanger,
wherein the outflow path extends downward from the primary heat exchanger except for the offset flow path portion,
wherein the offset flow path portion further comprises a horizontal portion connected with an upper end portion of the rising portion and extending in a horizontal direction, and
wherein the offset flow path portion does not extend downward.

2. The water heater according to claim 1 ,
wherein the primary heat exchanger comprises a case into which heating gas is supplied and in which the first heat transfer tube is housed, and
wherein the horizontal portion and the rising portion of the offset flow path portion are in a non-contact condition with the case.

3. The water heater according to claim 1 ,
wherein the primary heat exchanger comprises a case having a circumferential wall portion into which heating gas is supplied, the circumferential wall portion provided in a shape of a frame and an upper flange portion, the upper flange portion being provided at an upper portion of the circumferential wall portion and mounting the secondary heat exchanger directly or indirectly,
wherein the first heat transfer tube is configured in such a manner that a plurality of straight tube bodies supported by the circumferential wall portion are connected via a plurality of connection tube bodies arranged outside of the circumferential wall portion,
wherein a space is provided between the plurality of connection tube bodies and the upper flange portion, and
wherein the horizontal portion is configured to extend into the space or face the space.

4. The water heater according to claim 1 ,
wherein the primary heat exchanger comprises a case having a circumferential wall portion into which heating gas is supplied, the circumferential wall portion provided in a shape of a frame and an upper flange portion, the upper flange portion being provided at an upper portion of the circumferential wall portion and mounting the secondary heat exchanger directly or indirectly,
wherein the first heat transfer tube is configured in such a manner that a plurality of straight tube bodies supported by the circumferential wall portion are connected via a plurality of connection tube bodies arranged outside of the circumferential wall portion, and
wherein the horizontal portion is located under the upper flange portion and is departed from an outer surface of the case in a horizontal direction further than the plurality of connection tube bodies.

5. The water heater according to claim 1 ,
wherein the primary heat exchanger comprises a case having a circumferential wall portion in a shape of a frame into which heating gas is supplied, the circumferential wall portion being constituted with a plurality of side wall portions, and
wherein the offset flow path portion is configured to wind around at least two side wall portions in a non-contact condition.

6. The water heater according to claim 5 ,
wherein an end portion of the offset flow path portion and the inflow-side end portion have a pair of pipe connection ports, and
wherein the offset flow path portion is configured in such a manner that the pair of pipe connection ports are provided on the same side of the case in a longitudinal width direction or in a lateral width direction.

7. The water heater according to claim 1 ,
wherein the primary heat exchanger comprises a case having a circumferential wall portion in a shape of a frame into which heating gas is supplied, the circumferential wall portion being constituted with a plurality of side wall portions, and
wherein an end portion of the offset flow path portion and the inflow-side end portion have a pair of pipe connection ports, and the pair of pipe connection ports are provided on the same side of the case in a longitudinal width direction or in a lateral width direction.

8. The water heater according to claim 1 ,
wherein the first heat transfer tube is configured in such a manner that a plurality of straight tube bodies are arranged with a space in a direction intersecting with an axially longitudinal direction and are consecutively connected in a meandering manner via a plurality of connection tube bodies, and
wherein the primary heat exchanger comprises a case into which heating gas is supplied and the heat transfer tube in a meandering manner is provided in a single stage in a vertical height direction in the case.

9. The water heater according to claim 1 ,
wherein the primary heat exchanger comprises a case into which heating gas is supplied and in which the first heat transfer tube is housed, and a third heat transfer tube arranged in side-by-side to the first heat transfer tube in the case, and
wherein the secondary heat exchanger comprises an additional case into which heating gas of which heat has been recovered in the first heat transfer tube and the third heat transfer tube is supplied and in which the second heat transfer tube is housed, and comprises a fourth heat transfer tube arranged in side-by-side to the second heat transfer tube in the additional case.

Assignees

• Noritz Corp

Inventors

• Nishimura Kazuhiro
• Hirotsu Makoto

Classifications

• F24H8/00 Primary

  Fluid heaters characterised by means for extracting latent heat from flue gases by means of condensation · CPC title

• F24H1/165

  using fluid fuel · CPC title

• F24H9/001

  Guiding means · CPC title

• F24H9/146 Primary

  Connecting elements of a heat exchanger · CPC title

• F24H9/144

  Valve seats, piping and heat exchanger connections integrated into a one-piece hydraulic unit · CPC title