FR2706989A1 - Device for storing and feeding with hot sanitary water - Google Patents

Abstract

This device for storing and feeding with hot water comprises at least one hot water storage tank (3). The device comprises means (4, 8) for feeding the tank in the top part with the water which is heated to a first temperature, and floating/separating means (14) of a density which is greater than that of the heated water and smaller than that of colder water, of a temperature lower than a second temperature. The floating/separating means are arranged to have a horizontal surface area essentially equal to the horizontal section of the storage volume of the tank at all levels of said tank.

Description

STORAGE AND WATER SUPPLY DEVICE

SANITARY HOT

  The present invention relates to hot water storage and supply devices of the type comprising a hot water retention tank and means for heating the water for filling the tank. It finds a particularly important although not exclusive application in the field of hot water storage tanks for sanitary purposes, such as for example those allowing to have a volume of hot water sufficient for the intake of one or more consecutive baths or showers. Water balloon devices are already known

hot of the type defined above.

  In general, they all have the following drawback. During the first part of the heating time of the water in a tank, the production of lukewarm water cannot be avoided due to the mixing of the heated water supplying the tank with cold water.

contained in the balloon.

  The present invention aims to provide a device that better meets those previously known to the requirements of practice, in particular in that it allows the rapid reconstitution of a quantity of hot water in a storage tank, when the water stock has been partially or completely exhausted, which allows in particular to

overcome the above drawback.

  To do this, the invention starts from the idea that, in a container, in the absence of convective phenomena, the same fluid at different temperatures naturally presents a phenomenon of stratification. The fluid at the highest temperature, with the lowest density, floats on the part

  the cooler of the same fluid, more dense.

  This natural stratification is destroyed

  when reheating the cold part.

  The idea is to physically separate a fluid into two or more parts depending on its temperature, and therefore its density, by a body whose density is intermediate between that of the hot fluid and that of the cooler fluid. To this end, the invention proposes in particular a device for storing and supplying hot water comprising at least one hot water retention tank defining between its internal walls a storage volume and means for heating the water of filling of said balloon at a first temperature, characterized in that it comprises means for supplying the balloon at the top with water heated to said first temperature, and float-separator means with density greater than that of the water heated to said first temperature, and lower than that of colder water of temperature lower than a second temperature, said float-separator means being arranged to have a horizontal surface substantially equal to that of the horizontal section of the volume of

  storage of the ball at all levels of it.

  In advantageous embodiments, recourse is also had to one and / or the other of the following arrangements: the balloon being vertical of substantially cylindrical shape, the float-separator means consist of a disc of thin thickness ; - The float-separator means consist of balls or balls; the means for supplying the balloon in the upper part with the heated water comprise a tube arranged around the heating means located inside the balloon, said tube being fixed in the lower part of the balloon, and of height slightly less than that of said balloon, and comprising at least one orifice situated in the lower part of said tubing for communication from the interior of the tubing with the storage volume of the balloon; - the tubing and the supply means comprise in the upper part means for regulating the flow rate; the regulating means comprise a domed upper plate situated in the upper part of the tubing, said plate being pierced with an axial orifice, and a movable part made of material identical to the material of the float-separator means, arranged to close said orifice when it is pressed against the opening; - The regulating means comprise a cylindrical sleeve made of a material identical to that of the float-separator means arranged to slide outside the tubing between a release position and a partially closed position of the upper end of said tubing relative to the storage volume of the balloon - the heating means comprise an external tubing incorporating the heating means, the upper part of said tubing being connected to the upper part of the balloon, and the lower part of the tubing being connected to the lower part of said balloon; - The device comprises several balloons connected in parallel to the heating means; - The device comprises regulating means arranged to allow overheating of the water supplied to the upper part of the tank a few degrees above the first determined temperature. The invention will be better understood on reading

  the description of embodiments given to

  by way of nonlimiting example, and with reference to the figures in which: - Figure 1 shows, in section and in elevation, a first embodiment of the device according to the invention. - Figure 2 shows in section and in elevation a second embodiment of the device according to the invention. - Figure 3 is a sectional view in elevation

  of a variant of the device of FIG. 1.

  - Figure 4 is a diagram, in perspective, of another embodiment of the device according to the invention comprising several retention balloons. FIG. 1 shows a device 1 for storing and supplying hot water to a network

sanitary, via mixer 2.

  The device comprises a cylindrical retention balloon 3, for example made of steel, and heating means 4, for example constituted by electrical resistors 5 placed in a protective sheath 5 ′ conducting heat, of the filling water supplied in the lower part 6 of the balloon

via tubing 7.

  The device comprises a central cylindrical tube 8, for example made of a material which is not very conductive of heat such as a plastic material, disposed axially in the balloon around the heating means and comprises orifices 9 distributed angularly in the lower part 10 of said fixed tube for example by gluing on the bottom

removable 11 from the balloon.

  The tubing 8 is of height slightly less than the axial height of the balloon. The cold water 16 or supplied with 6 penetrates through the orifices 9 and rises along the heating means 4. In doing so, it reaches the first temperature

determined sought.

  In the embodiment more particularly described here, the end of the tubing 8 is terminated by a curved wall or plate 8a pierced with an axial orifice, for example of diameter equal to 2

or 3 cm.

  Below this orifice is fixed a small perforated cage 8b, for retaining a movable part 8 ′, for example constituted by a spherical ball made of the same material as the float-separator means. The ball 8 ′, with a diameter slightly greater than that of the orifice plays the role of a valve not letting the water come out of the tubing 8 until it has reached the desired temperature, that is to say a density lower than the

  ball, which flows into heated water.

  The means 4 are actuated in a manner known in itself through a thermostat 12 for regulating and automatically controlling the electrical supply.

resistors 5.

  A protective housing 13 of the

  regulation is also planned.

  The device 1 comprises float means-

  separators 14, for example constituted by a flexible annular disc of thin plastic material (for example a few millimeters), introduced by the opening closed by the removable bottom 11 and threaded onto the central tube 8 with a central clearance relative to the external cylindrical wall of the tubing and a peripheral clearance relative to the internal cylindrical wall of the balloon, the internal cylindrical walls of the tubing and of the balloon forming the internal walls of said balloon defining the storage volume. In other words, the float-separator means are here a crown, the large diameter of which is slightly less than the internal diameter of the balloon and the small diameter of which is slightly greater than the external diameter.

tubing.

  The crown is thus arranged to slide freely inside the balloon under the effect of the forces exerted by the water, despite the phenomena of expansion, while minimizing the exchanges between

hot water 15 and cold water 16.

  More specifically, the means for supplying the balloon in the upper part with the heated water and the float-separator means serving for the physical separation of the hot water 15 and the cold water 16 are produced, as is understandable and within the reach of those skilled in the art, in materials compatible with the environment in which they bathe, which is a function of the pressure, the temperature, the composition of the water, the hygienic and bacteriological requirements imposed by the standards in force, etc. The means 14 and 8 'are also of sufficient mass not to see their function disturbed by the various components possibly produced during the heating of the water (limestone by

example).

  They are also arranged to be able to be introduced into the balloon during the manufacture thereof, which implies specific physical or geometric properties (flexibility in the case of a single disc, diameter in the case of using spheres multiple, as will be seen in other embodiments explained below). The float-separator means are also, by their thickness and their thermal resistance, capable of withstanding sufficiently the heat exchange between the two faces in contact with the media at different temperatures which they separate, while being, once again , with a density barely greater than that of hot water which they must separate from cold water, of mass

higher volume.

  In the embodiment more particularly described here, the device 1 also comprises a tube 17, for example internal to the tube 8, terminating on one side in the upper part outside of said tube and connected on the other side to the mixer 2, water withdrawal

hot to the sanitary circuit.

  The balloon is itself insulated at 18 in a manner known per se to avoid

heat losses.

  FIGS. 2 and 3 show two other embodiments, one applied to a horizontal cylindrical balloon 20 (FIG. 2) and the other to a vertical cylindrical balloon 30 (FIG.

  3) identical to the balloon in Figure 1.

  In these two cases, the separation means 21, 31 are formed by one or more layers, for example two layers, small spherical elements 22, 32 or of substantially spheroidal shape, for example from a few millimeters to a few centimeters in diameter, independent of the each other and such that their number allows them to cover the surface of the horizontal section of the storage volume of the balloon, which in the case of FIG. 2 is in fact the very section of the balloon which varies according to the level in the tank, and in the case of Figure 3 the section of the balloon reduced by the section of the internal tubing, which this time

is substantially constant.

  The discoidal means described with reference to FIG. 1 are indeed only suitable for vertical cylindrical tanks (which constitutes the majority of manufacturing), the elements of spheroidal shapes suitable whatever the shape of the tank and its position in the space, the number of these elements making it possible to maintain the separation between hot and cold water despite possible cross-sectional variations, which is particularly the case for tanks

horizontal cylindrical.

  In the case of FIG. 3, the means for supplying the balloon in the upper part with the heated water comprise, for example, on the one hand, a tube 33 arranged around the heating means as described with reference to FIG. 1, and on the other hand a cylindrical sleeve 34 made of the same material as the float-separator means and sliding freely outside the tube 33 over a height suitable for clearing or partially closing off the portion 35 delimited by the sky 36 of the balloon 30 and the upper end 37 of the

tubing 33.

  A part 38, of lower abutment of the sleeve 34, for example constituted by an annular projection of the tubing, is provided to prevent the sleeve from

fall to the bottom of the ball.

  The hot water tubing 39, similar to the tubing 17 described with reference to FIG. 1, for its part, slightly exceeds the top of the

tubing 33.

  The separating means can be made of a single material, or of several materials, homogeneous or heterogeneous, making it possible to obtain the

density required.

  For example, the density of water at atmospheric pressure being - 0.9996 kg / dm3 at 10 C - 0.9718 kg / dm3 at 80 C - 0.9653 kg / dm3 at 90 C, if the hot water stored must be at 85 C, which corresponds to a density of 0.9685 kg / dm3, we will then choose slightly higher density float-separator means, for example

equal to 0.969 kg / dmn3.

  The mobile float-separator means having such a density can thus separate cold water, of variable temperature during the year, for example from 5 ° C. to 20 ° C., from water.

  hot brought to the desired temperature of 85 C.

  To bring the heated water to the top of the container

  several solutions can be envisaged.

  As we have seen, a first solution consists in placing a tube around the heating element, of appropriate diameter, fixed at the bottom of the balloon and making a few millimeters apart the

height of it.

  So that hot water can escape to the top of the tank a moving part made for example

  in the same material as the float means-

  separators, acts as a valve, letting water out of the tubing only when it has

reaches the desired temperature.

  il As for cold water from the bottom of the water heater, it enters the tubing pierced at its base.

  several holes, for example 2 or 4.

  This solution (see FIG. 4) makes it possible to provide a device 40 where the heating element 41 is placed outside of the balloon (s) 42 for example, in a tube 43 fixed on a generator

of one of the balloons.

  This external heater, which is connected to the bottom and to the top of the storage tank (s) by small pipes 44 and 45, can moreover advantageously be placed under the same envelope.

insulated 46 as balloons.

  This arrangement makes it possible, if necessary, to install several heating elements around a storage tank or even several storage tanks, of smaller diameter, mounted in

  parallel with one or more heating elements.

  In this way it becomes possible to manufacture water heaters of small thickness, facilitating

  their integration inside housing.

  The external shape of such water heaters can be a rectangular parallelepiped with a height of the order of 2 m, a thickness of 20 cm to 30 cm and a variable width depending on the capacity (a cylinder of diameter 20 cm and height 2 m

contains just over 60 liters).

  A second solution consists, as we have seen, in putting in place as in the first solution, a tube around the heating elements. The role of flow regulator is however played by a cylindrical sleeve produced in

  the same material as the float means-

  dividers and sliding freely along the first tube (Figure 3). This regulator, by floating in cold water, partially closes the passage section between the inside of the tube and the

rest of the tank.

  We will now describe the operation of a device according to the invention by doing more

  particularly reference to figure 1.

  As we have seen, the water heated to the desired temperature is automatically stored in the upper part of the tank thanks to the supply means in the upper part and the moving part.

  of separation that constitutes the float means-

separators 14.

  In fact, the float-separator means descend into the tank or water heater only as a function of the volume of hot water produced at the appropriate temperature and placed at the top of it by the supply means. This amount of water comes from cold water 16 located below the

float-separator means 14.

  Conversely, if hot water is drawn off

  at 17 by the user, the float means-

  separators 14 rise under the effect of cold water, of higher density introduced

at the bottom of the water heater at 6.

  The storage speed of the heated water (D) will depend on three parameters: - P: the power of the heating element in W - Tef: the cold water temperature in C - Tech: the desired temperature for storage in C p D = ---------------- in liters / hour m. (Tech - Tef) with m: volume heat of water (1.16 Wh / l. C) If, for example, the desired set temperature is 85 C and the power of the heating element is 3 kW, the flow rate is: - with cold water at 5 C: D = --------------- = 32.3 liters / hour

1.16. (85 - 5)

  - with cold water at 20 C: D = ---------------- = 39.8 liters / hour

1.16. (85 - 20)

  In an advantageous embodiment, a specific regulation of the heating is provided such as

this will be described below.

  The density of the float means-

  separators being equal to that of water at the minimum temperature desired for storage, it is necessary that the water is heated to a temperature such that its density is lower than that

  said float-separator means.

  In order to optimize the operation, the setpoint of the regulation thermostat 12 for heating the water is therefore placed at a temperature a few degrees higher (for example 5 K), above

  this desired minimum temperature.

  Thus heating the water to a temperature slightly above this minimum temperature desired for storage allows the float-separator means 14 to flow in this water.

  heated 15 and float on cold water.

  Overheating of the water appears after the cold water to be heated has run out, when the

  float-separator means 14, at the bottom of the heater

  given that they are not waterproof, only a flow rate of hot water leaks leading to a rise in temperature of the upper part of the water heater and then to the shutdown of the

heated by thermostat 12.

  The thermostat bulb can therefore be placed at

  the outlet of the water heated by the heating element.

  This overheating of a few degrees also allows

  to overcome heat losses from the heater

  water between two starts of the heating system, without significant disturbance of the position

  float-separator means 14.

Claims (10)

  1. A device for storing and supplying hot water comprising at least one balloon (3,20,30,42) for retaining hot water defining between its internal walls a storage volume and means (4,41) heating the filling water of said tank to a first temperature, characterized in that it comprises means for supplying the tank in the upper part with the water heated to said first temperature, and means (14, 21, 31) float-separators with a density greater than that of water heated to said first temperature, and lower than that of colder water, of temperature below a second temperature, said float-separator means being arranged to present a horizontal surface approximately equal to the horizontal section of the storage volume   of the ball at all levels of said ball.   2. Device according to claim 1, characterized in that the balloon (3) being vertical, of substantially cylindrical shape the float-separator means (14) are constituted by a thin disc.   3. Device according to claim 1,   characterized in that the float means (21,31)   separators consist of balls or balls (22.32).   4. Device according to any one of   previous claims, characterized in that   the means for supplying the balloon in the upper part with the heated water comprise a tube (8) disposed around the heating means (4) located inside the balloon, said tube being fixed in the lower part (10) of the balloon , and of height slightly less than that of said balloon, and comprising at least one orifice (9), located in the lower part of said tubing, for communication from the inside of the tubing with the volume of retention of the ball.   5. Device according to claim 4, characterized in that the tubing comprises in the upper part means (8 ', 8a, 8b) for regulating flow. 6. Device according to claim 5, characterized in that the regulation means comprise a curved upper plate located in the upper part of the tube pierced with an axial orifice and a movable part made of material identical to   material of the float-separator means.   7. Device according to claim 5, characterized in that the regulation means comprise a cylindrical sleeve (34) produced in   a material identical to that of the float means-   dividers arranged to slide freely outside the tubing (33) between a release position and a partially closed position of the upper end of said tubing by   compared to the storage volume of the balloon.   8. Device according to any one of   Claims 1 to 3, characterized in that the   heating means comprise an external tube (43) incorporating the heating means (41), the upper part of said tube being connected to the upper part of the balloon, and the lower part of the tube being connected to the lower part of said balloon.   9. Device according to claim 8, characterized in that it comprises several balloons   (42) connected in parallel to the heating means.   10. Device according to any one of   previous claims, characterized in that it   includes regulating means (12) arranged to allow the water to overheat by a few degrees   higher than the first determined temperature.