CN113587424B

CN113587424B - Water heating apparatus and water heating system using the same

Info

Publication number: CN113587424B
Application number: CN202110708122.6A
Authority: CN
Inventors: 陈超; 浦育伟
Original assignee: Vaillant Wuxi Heating Equipment Co Ltd
Current assignee: Vaillant Wuxi Heating Equipment Co Ltd
Priority date: 2021-06-17
Filing date: 2021-06-17
Publication date: 2023-03-31
Anticipated expiration: 2041-06-17
Also published as: CN113587424A

Abstract

The invention provides a hot water device and a hot water system using the same. The hot water appliance includes a housing and a heat source disposed within the housing. A water inlet line and a water outlet line are disposed within the housing and are connected to the upstream and downstream of the heat source, respectively. And a cold water branch is arranged in the shell, can be communicated with an external cold water pipeline and is connected with the water inlet pipeline. And a water return branch is arranged in the shell, can be communicated with an external water return pipeline, is connected with the water inlet pipeline and is arranged in parallel with the cold water branch. A flow sensor is arranged on the cold water branch, an electric control valve is arranged on the water return branch, and a water pump is at least used for driving water flow in the water return branch to flow. And the controller is electrically connected with the flow sensor, the electric control valve and the water pump. The controller is configured to control the electrically controlled valve to open to allow water flow therethrough and to activate the water pump when water flow is detected by the flow sensor.

Description

Water heating device and water heating system using same

Technical Field

The present disclosure relates to the field of hot water preparation, and more particularly, to a hot water apparatus for providing instant hot water and a hot water system using the same.

Background

Hot water appliances, such as gas-fired hot water appliances, typically include a gas water heater and a gas boiler. Generally, when a user needs domestic hot water, the user turns on a water tap, and then the gas water heating device is started. During a period of time when the device is just started, cold water stored in the water pipe is discharged first, thereby influencing the use experience of a user. To avoid this problem, the current gas-fired water heating apparatus usually has a preheating circulation function to circulate cold water in the preheating water pipe during the period when the user is not using hot water, so that the user can use the hot water after turning on. In some existing implementation manners, by laying a water return pipeline, when there is no water demand, the equipment can automatically detect the water temperature in the pipeline, and when the water temperature drops to a certain threshold, the equipment is automatically started to work to circularly heat the water flow in the pipeline, so that a zero-cold-water function is realized, namely, a faucet is opened to output hot water. However, in practice, there is still a delay from opening the faucet to delivering hot water. Because there is a time for cleaning before the gas-fired hot water device is started, that is, there is a time interval between the start of the device and the successful ignition of the burner, during this time, a part of cold water is introduced from the water inlet pipe, and this part of cold water is not heated because the burner is not operated yet and is finally directly output from the water using point, which undoubtedly causes discomfort to the user using hot water, thereby affecting the user experience.

Disclosure of Invention

To overcome the problems in the related art, the present disclosure provides a hot water apparatus capable of performing instant heating and a hot water system using the same.

A first aspect of embodiments of the present disclosure provides a hot water appliance including a housing and a heat source disposed within the housing. A water inlet line and a water outlet line are disposed in the housing and are connected to the upstream and downstream of the heat source, respectively. And a cold water branch is arranged in the shell, can be communicated with an external cold water pipeline and is connected with the water inlet pipeline. And a water return branch is arranged in the shell, can be communicated with an external water return pipeline, is connected with the water inlet pipeline and is arranged in parallel with the cold water branch. A flow sensor is arranged on the cold water branch, an electric control valve is arranged on the water return branch, and a water pump is at least used for driving water flow in the water return branch to flow. And the controller is electrically connected with the flow sensor, the electric control valve and the water pump. The controller is configured to control the electrically controlled valve to open to allow water flow therethrough and to activate the water pump when water flow is detected by the flow sensor.

In some embodiments, the controller is further configured to control the electronically controlled valve to close when a predetermined water return interruption condition is reached.

In some embodiments, the controller is further configured to stop operation of the water pump.

In some embodiments, the predetermined water return interruption condition includes a specific time period after the electronic control valve is opened.

In some embodiments, the specific time period is less than 10 seconds.

In some embodiments, the heat source comprises a burner for combusting a fuel and air mixture to generate heat, an ignition device for igniting the fuel and air mixture, and a flame detection device for detecting the presence of a flame; the predetermined water return interruption condition includes that the controller detects a flame signal through the flame detection device.

In some embodiments, the water pump is disposed in the water inlet line.

In some embodiments, a water pump is disposed in the water return branch.

In some embodiments, the electrically controlled valve comprises a stepper motor.

A second aspect of the embodiments of the present disclosure provides a hot water system, which includes a water consumption point, the above-described hot water apparatus, a hot water pipeline, and a return water pipeline. Wherein, one end of the hot water pipeline is connected with the water consumption point, and the other end is connected with the water outlet pipeline of the hot water equipment; one end of the water return pipeline is connected with a water return branch of the hot water equipment, and the other end of the water return pipeline is connected with the hot water pipeline, so that a circulating water path is formed among the hot water equipment, the hot water pipeline and the water return pipeline. The controller of the hot water device is configured to open the electric control valve and start the water pump to work when the temperature of water in the circulating water path is lower than a first temperature threshold value; and when the water temperature in the circulating water channel reaches a second temperature threshold value which is higher than the first temperature threshold value, closing the electric control valve and stopping the water pump.

Technical solutions provided by one or more embodiments of the present disclosure may include the following advantageous effects: the return water branch is opened when cold water enters the equipment, so that hot water stored in the return water branch is mixed with cold water entering the cold water branch in the water inlet pipeline, and before the combustor is ignited to work, although the mixed water is finally output at a water using point due to the fact that the mixed water cannot be heated, the mixed water has higher temperature than the cold water, and uncomfortable feeling cannot be brought to a user.

Drawings

In order to more clearly illustrate the embodiments of the present disclosure or the technical solutions in the prior art, the drawings used in the description of the embodiments or the prior art will be briefly described below, it is obvious that the drawings in the following description are only some embodiments of the present disclosure, and other drawings can be obtained by those skilled in the art without creative efforts.

Fig. 1 is a hot water apparatus and a hot water system employing the same in an embodiment of the present disclosure.

Detailed Description

The embodiments shown will be described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings. These embodiments are not intended to represent all embodiments consistent with the present disclosure, and structural, methodological or functional changes in accordance with these embodiments are intended to be encompassed by the present claims.

The disclosed hot water system is suitable for domestic applications and may be used to provide domestic hot water and/or heating. The water heating system comprises a water heating device, and the water heating device can be a gas water heating device taking combustible gas as fuel, or an electric water heater taking an electric heating rod as a heat source, or a water heating device taking solar energy or a heat pump as a heat source, and the like. The gas water heater is a gas water heater which heats domestic water by burning combustible gas to meet the living needs of users, such as a gas water heater which provides domestic hot water, or a gas boiler which can provide domestic hot water and heating needs at the same time. The following embodiments will describe the present disclosure in detail by taking a gas water heater as an example.

Fig. 1 shows a hot water system 100 in an embodiment of the present disclosure, in which a hot water device is connected to a water point (e.g., a mixing valve faucet) 70 through a cold water pipe 51 (via a water pipe 50) and a hot water pipe 52. The hot water device is also connected to the hot water line 52 through a return line 53, whereby a circulating water circuit is formed between the hot water device, the hot water line 52, and the return line 53. There may be a plurality of water consumption points, and in this embodiment, the water consumption point 70 is one of the water consumption points which is farthest or far away from the gas-fired water heating apparatus, so that all or most of the water consumption points in the water heating system 100 can enjoy instant hot water output.

As shown in fig. 1, the hot water apparatus includes a housing 10 and a heat source accommodated in the housing 10. In this embodiment, the heat source includes a burner assembly and a heat exchanger 13. The housing 10 may be formed by splicing a plurality of panels to form a receiving space therein to accommodate the respective components. An inlet conduit 113 and an outlet conduit 114 are disposed within the housing 10 and are connected upstream and downstream of the heat source, respectively. A cold water branch 111 and a return water branch 112 are also provided in the housing 10. One end of the cold water branch 111 extends out of the bottom of the housing 10 to communicate with the external cold water pipeline 51, and the other end thereof is connected with the water inlet pipeline 113; one end of the return water branch 112 extends out of the bottom of the housing 10 to communicate with the external return water line 53, and the other end thereof is also connected to the water inlet line 113. The cold water branch 111 and the return water branch 112 are arranged in parallel.

The burner assembly generally includes a burner 12 for combusting a fuel and air mixture to generate heat, an ignition device 121 for igniting the fuel and air mixture, and a flame detection device 122 for detecting the presence of a flame. A gas valve 15 is provided on the gas supply line 115 for connecting or disconnecting the gas supply passage and controlling the gas supply amount. In some embodiments, the combustor 12 includes several combustion units (not shown) arranged side-by-side in the longitudinal direction. Each combustion unit is in the form of a flat plate, which is generally vertically fixed in the burner frame, and has an air inlet at a lower portion thereof, a plurality of fire holes at a top portion thereof, and a gas-air mixing passage communicating the air inlet and the plurality of fire holes. The gas through the gas valve 15 is distributed into the gas inlet of each combustion unit, and simultaneously the introduced primary air is mixed in the gas-air mixing passage and transferred to the fire holes at the top of the fire row pieces for combustion and generation of hot fumes. In some embodiments, the ignition device 121 includes a pair of ignition electrodes extending over the fire holes of the combustion unit. The flame detection device 122 includes a flame detection electrode extending over the fire hole of the combustion unit.

The heat generated by the combustion of the burner 12 passes through a heat exchanger 13. The heat exchanger 13 is typically disposed above the combustor 12. In some embodiments, the heat exchanger may be a finned tube heat exchanger, i.e., a plurality of fins are disposed in the heat exchanger shell, and a heat exchange water pipe passes through the fins in a winding manner, and both ends of the heat exchange water pipe are respectively communicated with the water inlet pipe 113 located upstream in the water flow direction and the water outlet pipe 114 located downstream in the water flow direction. The heat generated by the combustion of the gas-air mixture is absorbed by the fins and further transferred to the water flowing through the heat exchange water pipe, and the heated water is transferred to the hot water pipe 52 through the water outlet pipe 114, so as to provide domestic hot water for drinking, bathing and the like for the user.

In this embodiment, a flow sensor 14 is disposed on the cold water branch 111, and an electrically controlled valve 17 is disposed on the water return branch 112. The flow sensor 14 is used to detect the inflow of water and may include a rotor assembly with a magnet and a hall element, and the rotor assembly is rotated when water passes through the flow sensor, thereby measuring the magnetic physical quantity using the hall effect of the hall element. The electrically controlled valve 17 may be a solenoid valve for opening and closing the water flow in the water return branch 112. In some embodiments, the electric control valve can also drive the valve core component by the motor to adjust the water flow quantity of the water outlet of the valve. For example, the motor may be a stepper motor to achieve fine adjustment of the water flow rate.

In this embodiment, a water pump 18 is disposed in the water inlet line 113. On the one hand, it can be used to drive the water flow in the return water branch 112 in the cyclic preheating mode; on the other hand, a pressure boosting function may be performed to promote the flow of cold water in the cold water branch 111 in the normal water use mode. In some embodiments, the water pump may also be provided in the water return branch 112 to drive the circulating water flow only during the circulation preheat mode. In some embodiments, a fan 16 may be disposed below the burner 12 to drive air flow to provide air for combustion and to cause flue gases produced by combustion to be collected by a smoke collection hood of the smoke exhaust 14 and exhausted through a smoke exhaust duct (not shown) connected to the smoke collection hood. A temperature sensor 19 is disposed on the water line (e.g., on the outer wall of the water inlet line 113) for sensing the temperature of the water flowing through the line.

In some embodiments, a controller 20 is disposed within the housing 10 for detecting and controlling the operation of the various circuit components within the gas-fired water heating apparatus. The controller 17 is electrically connected with the ignition device 121, the flame detection device 122, the air valve 15, the fan 16, the flow sensor 14, the electric control valve 17, the water pump 18 and the like in a wired mode or in a wireless mode. The controller 20 may be a control circuit including a processor, a memory, and a plurality of electronic components connected in a wired manner. The Processor may be a Central Processing Unit (CPU), other general purpose Processor, a Digital Signal Processor (DSP), an Application Specific Integrated Circuit (ASIC), a Field Programmable Gate Array (FPGA), or other Programmable logic device, discrete Gate or transistor logic device, discrete hardware component, etc. The general purpose processor may be a microprocessor or any conventional processor.

The controller 20 monitors the temperature of the water in the appliance line via the temperature sensor 19 while the hot water appliance is on standby. When the water temperature is detected to be lower than the first temperature threshold value, the device starts a preheating circulation mode, namely the burner 13 and the ignition device 121 ignite and burn, simultaneously opens the electric control valve 17 to enable the circulation water path to be communicated, and starts the water pump 18 to work, so that the water in the heating pipeline is circulated until the water temperature in the circulation water path reaches a second temperature threshold value which is higher than the first temperature threshold value, and then closes the electric control valve 17 and stops the water pump 18 to work.

When a user needs to use hot water, such as opening a mixing valve at the water using point 70, at this time, when the controller detects a water flow signal indicating that cold water enters through the flow sensor 14 arranged in the cold water branch 111, the device controls the burner 13 and the ignition device 121 to ignite and burn, and controls the electronic control valve 17 to communicate with the circulating water path, and starts the water pump 18 to work. In some embodiments, the apparatus controls the operation of the burner, the electrically controlled valve, and the water pump when the sensed water flow is greater than the start-up flow. Since the return water branch is opened while the cold water enters the device, the hot water stored in the return water branch is mixed with the cold water entering the cold water branch in the water inlet pipeline 113, so that before the burner is ignited to work, although the mixed water is finally output at the water consumption point 70 because the mixed water cannot be heated, the mixed water has higher temperature than the cold water, and uncomfortable feeling cannot be brought to a user.

Since the hot water stored in the circulation line is limited and cannot be continuously supplied, the controller 20 controls the electrically controlled valve 17 to be closed when a predetermined backwater interruption condition is reached. In some embodiments, the controller 20 further controls the water pump 18 to stop if the water pump 18 is not required to be pressurized. In some embodiments, the predetermined water return interruption condition includes the controller 20 detecting a flame signal via the flame detection device 122 indicating that the burner 12 is operating properly without premixing the incoming cold water; in other embodiments, the predetermined backwater interruption condition includes a specific period of time after the electronic valve 17 is opened, when the burner is normally operating and no premixing of the incoming cold water is required. The specific time period is usually less than 10 seconds, such as 2 to 3 seconds.

It should be understood that the methods and apparatus disclosed in the foregoing disclosure may be implemented in other ways. For example, the above-described embodiments of the apparatus are merely illustrative, and the division of the units in the controller is merely a division of one logic function, and there may be other divisions when actually implementing, for example, a plurality of units may be combined or may be integrated into another system, or some features may be omitted, or not implemented. In addition, the components, elements and units discussed above may be connected to each other electrically, mechanically or in other forms; the connection can be direct connection or indirect connection through some interfaces and the like; either wired or wireless.

It should be understood that although the present description refers to embodiments, not every embodiment contains only a single technical solution, and such description is for clarity only, and those skilled in the art should take the description as a whole, and the technical solutions in the embodiments may be appropriately combined to form other embodiments understood by those skilled in the art.

Claims

1. A water heating apparatus, characterized by: the water heating device comprises

A housing;

a heat source disposed within the housing;

the water inlet pipeline and the water outlet pipeline are arranged in the shell and are respectively connected with the upstream and the downstream of the heat source;

the cold water branch is arranged in the shell, can be communicated with an external cold water pipeline and is connected with the water inlet pipeline;

the water return branch is arranged in the shell, can be communicated with an external water return pipeline, is connected with the water inlet pipeline and is arranged in parallel with the cold water branch;

the flow sensor is arranged on the cold water branch;

the electric control valve is arranged on the water return branch;

the water pump is at least used for driving water flow in the water return branch to flow;

the controller is electrically connected with the flow sensor, the electric control valve and the water pump; the controller is configured to detect water flow through the flow sensor when hot water is required to be used, control the electric control valve to be opened so that the water flow passes through, and start the water pump to work; the controller is further configured to control the electronically controlled valve to close when a predetermined water return interruption condition is reached.

2. The water heating apparatus according to claim 1, wherein: the controller is further configured to stop the water pump from operating.

3. The water heating apparatus according to claim 1, wherein: the predetermined backwater interruption condition includes that a certain period of time has elapsed since the electronic control valve was opened.

4. A hot water apparatus according to claim 3, characterized in that: the specific time period is less than 10 seconds.

5. The water heating apparatus according to claim 1, wherein: the heat source includes a burner for burning a fuel and air mixture to generate heat, an ignition device for igniting the fuel and air mixture, and a flame detection device for detecting the presence of a flame; the predetermined water return interruption condition includes that the controller detects a flame signal through the flame detection device.

6. The water heating apparatus according to claim 1, wherein: the water pump is arranged in the water inlet pipeline.

7. The water heating apparatus according to claim 1, wherein: the water pump is arranged in the water return branch.

8. The water heating apparatus according to claim 1, wherein: the electric control valve comprises a stepping motor.

9. A water heating system, characterized in that it comprises:

water consumption;

the water heating apparatus as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 8;

one end of the hot water pipeline is connected with a water consumption point, and the other end of the hot water pipeline is connected with a water outlet pipeline of the hot water equipment;

one end of the water return pipeline is connected with a water return branch of the hot water equipment, and the other end of the water return pipeline is connected with the hot water pipeline, so that a circulating water path is formed among the hot water equipment, the hot water pipeline and the water return pipeline; wherein

The controller of the hot water device is configured to open the electric control valve and start the water pump to work when the temperature of water in the circulating water path is lower than a first temperature threshold value; and when the water temperature in the circulating water path reaches a second temperature threshold value higher than the first temperature threshold value, closing the electric control valve and stopping the water pump.