GB2080510A

GB2080510A - Automatic Gas-heating Apparatus

Info

Publication number: GB2080510A
Application number: GB8023203A
Authority: GB
Original assignee: GUO JYUO JEAN
Current assignee: GUO JYUO JEAN
Priority date: 1980-07-16
Filing date: 1980-07-16
Publication date: 1982-02-03

Abstract

This invention relates to a safety gas-heating apparatus in which the ignition and extinction of a number of igniting burners 16, 18 and main burners 30 can be performed automatically by means of an electronic ignitor 17 and a bimetal 7. Furthermore, when the flame out of the main burners 30 are unexpectedly extinguished or the temperature of the heated water is over a predetermined value, the apparatus according to the present invention will send out an alarming signal, such as a sound, to draw one's attention and cut off the communication of the gas source so as to avoid any accident. <IMAGE>

Description

SPECIFICATION Automatic Gas-heating Apparatus This invention relates to a safety gas-heating apparatus in which the ignition and extinction of a number of igniting burners and main burners can be performed automatically by means of an electronic ignitor and a bimetal. Furthermore, when the flame out of the main burners are unexpectedly extinguished or the temperature of the heated water is over a predetermined value, the apparatus according to the present invention will send out an alarming signal, such as a sound, to draw one's attention and cut off the communication of the gas source so as to avoid any accident.

Many kinds of gas-heating apparatuses are known in the art. Most of them need, firstly, the gas valve be opened and the igniting burner be ignited manually before use. And then, one has to turn on the water faucet to cause ignition of the main burners so as to heat the water flowing through a pipe mounted above the main burners.

Accidents often happen because the user may forget or may be confused by the troublesome order of the above mentioned heating operation steps. Additionally, the ignition of the igniting burner has to be maintained for a certain period when many persons intend to use the conventional apparatus successively, such as for taking a bath. Not only does the gas energy waste but the use life of the apparatus reduce. Further, if the igniting burner is extinguished by the undesired wind or the like, gas will flow therefrom into the atmosphere and this may cause an accident such as suffocation or explosion.

Although an improved gas-heating apparatus, in which the ignition and extinction of the igniting burner and main burners are controlled by a complex electronic circuit with high voltages, has appeared in the market, it is not fully accepted by the consumers since it has a number of drawbacks. For instance, the electronic circuit thereof gets damaged easily due to the fact that its thermal resistance is relatively low. The damaged electronic circuit has to be repaired by a person skilled in the electronic field. This apparatus does not work when lacking the electricity.

Therefore, the object of the present invention is to provide a gas-heating apparatus, adapted with a 1.5 volts D.C. battery, which can overcome the previously described disadvantages of the conventional gas-heating apparatuses.

A main object of the present invention is to provide an apparatus for heating water which can perform multi-safety functions during its operation. Specifically, when one turns on the water faucet, a diaphragm valve provided in the apparatus in accordance with the invention will raise vertically a first spindle provided within a first chamber to actuate a micro-switch of a simple electronic ignitor provided at the lateral of a first igniting burner so as to ignite the first igniting burner, and accordingly open the first chamber to lead the gas through a first gas channel and a second chamber into the first and second igniting burners. As soon as the first igniting burner is ignited, under the action of an inspecting device the electronic ignitor will stoup producing igniting sparks.Then, the second igniting burner is ignited by the flame of the first igniting burner. It should be noted that during the previously described igniting operation only the first and second igniting burners are communicated with the gas source respectively.

By the flame of the second igniting burner, a bimetal provided above the second igniting burner will be heated to expand to move a second spindle downward to open a valve provided in the second chamber. Such that the gas within the first gas channel and the second chamber will flow through a second gas channel to a number of main burners. The first igniting burner in turn ignites the main burners to complete the whole igniting operation.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a gas-heating apparatus wherein the second spindle is provided with two recesses thereon. When the second spindle is positioned at its extreme upper position, that is to say, it is not yet moved downward by the thermal expansion of the bimetal, one of the recesses receives one steel ball mounted on one end of a first traversed channel so as to enable the first piston stem to close the first traversed channel. Under the movement of the first piston stem, the first traversed channel could communicate with a third chamber which is directly connected to the first chamber through a gas pipe. On the other hand, through a pipe the first traversed channel is communicated with a safety igniting burner provided at a plaee adjacent to the main burners.

When the second spindle is moved downward to allow the gas stored in the first gas channel and the second chamber flowing through the second gas channel to the main burners, by the thermal expansion of the bimetal the first steel ball accordingly moves out of the recess of the second spindle whereby the first piston stem will move outward to open the first traversed channel so as to allow the gas stored in the third chamber to flow into the safety igniting burner. Thus, the safety igniting burner is ignited in turn by the main burners. The other recess is used to receive a steel ball mounted on one end of a second piston stem provided in a second traversed channel so as to ensure the closed condition of the second traversed channel, when the second spindle is moved down to a suitable position. The second traversed channel is connected to the second igniting burner through a pipe.Under the movement of the second piston stem, the second traversed channel is able to communicate or discommunicate with a fourth chamber which is communicated with both the second chamber and the first igniting burner. Therefore, when the steel ball of the second piston stem is received in the other recess of the second spindle, that is to say, when the second spindle is moved down to a suitable position by the thermal expansion of the bimetal, the second igniting burner is extinguished so as to avoid over-heating of the bimetal since the second traversed channel is closed.

Still another object of the present invention is to provide a gas-heating apparatus wherein a thermal couple is provided above the main burners for producing differential voltages when heated by the flame of the main burners. The different voltages will be amplified to actuate a solenoid used to catch the valve mounted on the lower end of the second spindle so as to make the second spindle keep in a suitable lower position even if the second igniting burner is extinguished and the bimetal returns gradually to its original position.

A further object of the present invention is to provide a gas-heating apparatus having a safety spring provided under the second spindle to contact against the valve mounted on the lower end of the second spindle. In normal heating operation, in other words, when the second igniting burner has been extinguished and the bimetal returns to its original position, the attraction force of the solenoid is larger than the expansion force of the safety spring so that the second spindle is kept at the suitable lower position. However, when the flame of the first igniting burner, the safety igniting burner and the main burners are simultaneously extinguished by the wind unexpectedly, there will be no differential voltages generated on the thermal couple and this means no attraction force has been supplied to the valve mounted on the lower end of the second spindle by the solenoid.Thus, by the extension of the safety spring the second spindle will be moved upward to its extreme upper position. Under such condition, the inspecting device will send a signal to the ignitor to produce sparks until the first igniting burner is ignited. And then, the second igniting burner, safety igniting burner and main burners are in turn ignited to complete the whole igniting operation as described previously.

Still a further object of the present invention is to provide a gas-heating apparatus wherein if the flame of the main burners and of the first igniting burner are extinguished by the wind when the second igniting burner was just extinguished about 8 seconds ago and the bimetal has not yet returned to its original position, the first igniting burner will be, at once, ignited by the ignitor, and then, the first igniting burner will ignite the main burners to cause the solenoid to attract the second spindle downward whereby a normal heating operation can be maintained.

An additional object of the present invention is to provide a gas-heating apparatus wherein even if one turns off the water faucet that makes the first spindle move downward to close the gas source, the safety igniting burner may still keep itself in an igniting condition until the bimetal is cooled by the air and returns to its original position and the second spindle is moved upward to its extreme upper position by the extension of the safety spring. In other words, under the above described condition, if one turns on again the water faucet before the second spindle returns to its extreme upper position, the main burners will be ignited by the safety igniting burner so as to avoid any accident.

An even further object of the present invention is to provide a gas-heating apparatus wherein the lower portion of the second spindle has a flange for contacting against a resilient stop device provided at the lateral of the second spindle. In the initial thermal expansion of the bimetal, the downward expansion force of the bimetal is smaller than the resisting forces formed by the resilient stop device and the safety spring, so that the second spindle will not be gradually moved downward. That is to say, the second traversed channel will not be gradually closed at this moment so that the second igniting burner will be permitted to keep a constant flame to heat the bimetal continuously.Until the downward expansion force becomes enough larger than the total resisting forces, the second spindle may be suddenly moved to the suitable lower position to open the first traversed channel and the second gas channel and to close the second traversed channel.

An additional object of the present invention is to provide a gas-heating apparatus having an auxiliary manual device which makes the apparatus keep in a workable condition even if the bimetal and/or the ignitor are damaged.

Another important object of the present invention is to provide a gas-heating apparatus having an alarm device which can send an alarming sound out to draw one's attention and cut off the gas supply simultaneously when the water is over-heated.

The above and further objects and features of the present invention will become more obvious from the following detailed description when read with reference to the accompanying drawings. It is to be expressly understood, however, that the drawings are for the purpose of illustration only and are not intended as a definition of the limit of the invention.

Fig. 1 is a diagrammaticatly sectional view of a preferred apparatus in accordance with the invention showing the construction of the apparatus before use; Fig. 2 is another diagrammatically sectional view of the apparatus shown in Fig. 1 in which thei first and second burners are ignited; Fig. 3 is another diagrammatically sectional view of the apparatus shown in Fig. 1 showing the apparatus being in use; Fig. 4 is a diagrammatic view of a temperature controlling device in accordance with the invention; Fig. 5 is a circuit diagram of the temperature controlling system and of an alarm device; and Fig. 6 is a sectional view of a gas cut-off device in accordance with the invention.

Referring to the drawings, particularly to Fig. 1, there is shown a gas heating apparatus of the invention having a body mainly comprising a diaphragm valve 1, a first spindle 3, a bimetal 7, a second spindle 8, two igniting burners 1 6, 1 8, a safety igniting burner 29, a number of main burners 30 and an electronic ignitor 1 7.

The lower end of the first spindle 3 is preferably mounted on the central portion of the diaphragm valve 1. The first spindle 3 is partially provided in a first chamber 501 which is communicable to the gas source and a second chamber 510 through a first gas channel 551.

Provided on the upper end of the first spindle 3 is a first valve member 2 for controlling the communication of the gas between the first chamber 501 and the gas source. Specifically speaking, before the apparatus is operated, in other words, when the water faucet is not turned on to move the diaphragm valve 1 upwards, the first valve member 2 is pressed downwards to close a gas source channel 521 by a spring 6 provided thereon.

Provided in the second chamber 510 are a solenoid 33 and a safety spring 10 for contacting against a second valve member 9 mounted on the lower end of thesecond spindle 8. The second valve member 9 is adapted to control the communication between the second chamber 510 and a second gas channel 541 through which gas will flow into the main burners 30.

The upper end of the second spindle 8 is connected to one end of the bent bimetal 7 fixed on a supporting frame. The second spindle 8 is provided with two recesses 1 9, 20 for receiving steel balls 22, 24 mounted on one end of piston stems 21, 23 respectively. The first piston stem 21 extrudes through a first traversed channel 601 communicated with the safety igniting burner 29 into a third chamber 1 2 communicated with the gas source channel 521.

A valve member 1 3 contacted against a spring 621 provided in the third chamber 12 is mounted on the other end of the first piston stem 21 for controlling the communication between the first traversed channel 601 and the third chamber 12.

Similarly, the second piston stem 23 extrudes through a second traversed channel 611 communicated with the second igniting burner 1 8 into a fourth chamber 14 communicated with both the second chamber 510 and the first igniting burner 1 6. A valve 1 5 contacted against a spring 631 provided in the fourth chamber 14 is mounted on the other end of the second piston stem 23 for controlling the communication between the second traversed channel 611 and the fourth chamber 14.

A thermal couple 32 is provided above the main burners so as to produce differential voltages when the main burners are ignited. The differential voltages will be amplified by known skill to actuate the solenoid 33 provided within the second chamber 510.

As shown in Fig. 1, prior to the operation of the apparatus described previously, that is to say, when the water faucet is not turned on, the valve members 2, 9 and 13 close the chambers 501, 510 and 1 2 respectively so that there will be no possibility of gas leakage. In other words, under such condition, the steel ball 22 is received in the recess 1 9 of the second spindle 8 so that the first piston stem 21 is moved rightward by the spring 621 to close the communication between the third chamber 12 and the first traversed channel 601. And the steel ball 24 moves out of the recess 20 of the second spindle 8 so that the second piston stem 23 is moved rightward against the spring 631 to open the valve 15.

When one turns on the water faucet, the first spindle 3 will be moved upwards to open the first valve member 2 by the diaphragm valve 1 while a lever 4 mounted on the lower portion of the first spindle 3 will contact with a micro-switch 5 to actuate the ignitor 1 7 to produce sparks. Thus, gas is leaded through the first gas channel 551, the second chamber 510, into the fourth chamber 14, and divided into two ways to enter the first and second igniting burners 1 6, 1 8 simultaneously. By the sparks produced by the ignitor 17, the first and second igniting burners 1 6, 18 will be ignited in order (as shown in Fig. 2).

Since the second igniting burner 1 8 is provided beiow the bimetal 7 the latter will make thermal expansion by the flame of the former.

Consequently, when the downward expansion force of the bimetal 7 becomes larger than the extension force of the safety spring 10, the second spindle 8 will be moved downwards to a suitable lower position so as to open the valve member 9.

When the second spindle 8 is in the lower position, the steel ball 24 is received in the recess 20 of the second spindle 8 so as to make the second piston stem 23 move leftward by the spring 631 to close the second traversed channel 23, while the steel ball 22 is out of the recess 19 to make the first piston stem 21 move leftward to open the first traversed channel 601. Accordingly, the main burners 30 and the safety igniting burner 29 will be ignited in order by the first igniting burner 16, and the second igniting burner 1 8 will be extinguished due to absence of gas therein (as shown in Fig. 3). The second spindle 8 is kept at the lower position by the solenoid 33 actuated by the thermal couple 32, even if the bimetal 7 is cooled and returns to its original position.

In order to prevent the second spindle 8 being gradually moved down to the lower position which may weaken the flame of the second igniting burner 18 and cause accordingly that the thermal expansion force produced by the bimetal can not continuously move the second spindle 8 downwards. On the lower portion of the second spindle 8 is provided with a flange 25 which is adapted to contact against a steel ball 27 mounted on one end of a spiral spring 28 provided in an inner recess 26 of the body. Thus, when the second spindle 8 begins to move downward the flange 25 thereof will contact against the steel ball 27 to stop its downward movement.Until the thermal expansion force produced by the bimetal becomes larger enough than the upward resisting forces formed by the safety spring 10 and the steel ball 27, the steel ball 27 and the spring 28 will be pressed into the inner recess 26 while the second spindle 8 will be moved suddenly down to the lower position.

If the flame of the main burners 30 and of the igniting burners 1 6, 1 8 are extinguished by the wind unexpectedly, the second spindle 8 with the valve member 9 will be, at once, moved upwards by the safety spring 10 to close the second gas channel 541 and the first traversed channel 601 so as to avoid accident. Under such situation, since the valve member 2 is still raised by the first spindle 3 and the second traversed channel 1 5 is opened again by the upward movement of the second spindle 8, the first and second igniting burners will be ignited by the ignitor 1 7. And then, the whole igniting operation described previously will be performed again.

If the water faucet is turned off within 8 seconds from its being turned on, the main burners 30 and the first igniting burner 1 6 will be extinguished due to the closing of the first gas channel 551. However, since the bimetal 7 is still kept in the thermal expansion condition that makes the second spindle 8 stay at the lower position, the safety burner 29 is not extinguished until the bimetal 7 is cooled and returns to its original position. Thus, under such situation, even if the water faucet is turned on again within short, the main burners 30 will be ignited by the safety igniting burner 29 without any gas leakage.

Fig. 4 shows a schematically sectional view of a temperature controlling device, suitably mounted on a water spout 500, comprising a hollow measuring rod 50 having liquid with low boiling point and a flexible bellow 51 provided at one end thereof, a transmission rod 521, and an adjusting mechanism consisting of an adjusting knob 53, an eccentric cam 54 and a lever 55.

When the temperature of the heated water is over a value which is pre-determined by the adjusting mechanism, the vaporized liquid stored in the hollow measuring rod 50 will expand the flexible bellow 51 to actuate the transmission rod 521 to connect two electrical terminals 56,57 so as to work an alarm 59 and a solenoid 60 (as shown in Fig. 5).

Fig. 6 shows a schematically sectional view of a gas cut-off device, suitably mounted on the inlet of the gas source channel 529, comprising substantiaily a tubular housing 90 having a valve mechanism therein, and a controlling mechanism consisting of the solenoid 60, a spring 61 and a controlling rod 62.

The valve mechanism is composed of a movable rod 64, a valve disk 63 mounted on the rod 64, a spring 66 provided-on the inner wall of the housing 90 for contacting against the underside of the valve disk 63, and a cam 65 provided on the rod 64 for cooperating with the controlling rod 62. The lower end of the rod 64 protrudes out of the tubular housing 90 and is provided with a pulling device 67.

Under the normal condition, one end of the controlling rod 62 is placed on the upper surface of the cam 65 of the valve mechanism so that the valve disk 63 is kept at a lower position to press the spring 66 so as to allow the gas flowing through the device. However, when the temperature of the water is over the predetermined value, the solenoid 60 will catch the controlling rod 62 backwards. Thus, the whole rod 64 with the valve disk 63 and the cam 65 will" be moved upwards by the compressed spring 66 whereby making the valve disk 63 close the through way of the housing 90.

When the temperature becomes lower than the predetermined value, the solenoid 60 releases the rod 62 and the compressed spring 61 moves the rod 62 forewards to contact the underside of the cam 65. At this moment, one may pull the pulling device to move the valve rod 64 downwards. To open the through way of the housing 90, the end of the controlling rod 62 is placed upon the upper surface of the cam 65 against the extension force of the spring 66.

To prevent the gas leakage, two O-rings 68, 69 are respectively provided on the rods 62, 66 in place.

In accordance with the invention the apparatus could also be provided with a manual device which can make the apparatus maintain a workable condition even if the electronic circuit and/or the bimetal are damaged.

Turning now to Fig. 1, this manual device includes a rod 41, provided partially in a lateral through way of the body, having a forked end with an inclined surface 42, and a block 43 mounted on the upper portion of the second spindle 8 for cooperating with the forked end of the rod 41.

When only the bimetal 7 is damaged, one may turn on the water faucet to ignite the first igniting burner 16 by the ignitor 17, and then, push the rod 41 inwards to make the second spindle 8 position between the two forks of the forked end (not shown) and to move the second spindle 8 downwards by the inclined surface 42 of the forked end of the rod 41 pressing against the block 43. Such that the main burners 30 will be accordingly ignited.

In case the ignitor and the bimetal are simultaneously damaged, one may push the rod 41 inwards before he turns on the water faucet so that a suitable amount of gas will flow out of the safety igniting burner 29, and then, ignite the safety igniting burner 29 by a lighter. Thus, the main burners 30 could be ignited by the safety igniting burner 29 upon one's turning on the water faucet.

While there has been described what is at present considered to be the preferred embodiment of the invention, it should be understood that various modifications may be made therein, and it is intended to cover in the appended claims all such modifications as falling within the true spirit and scope of the invention.

Claims

1. An automatic gas-heating apparatus comprises: a body; a diaphragm valve actuated by a water faucet and provided with a first spindle thereon, said first spindle being provided with a lever for actuating a micro-switch mounted on the wall of said body so as to cause sparks to be produced from an electronic ignitor, and a first valve member at the upper end thereof for controlling the communication between a gas source channel and a first chamber communicated with a second chamber through a first gas channel; a second spindle having two recesses thereon for receiving one end of a first and second piston stems respectively, and a second valve member provided at the lower end thereof for controlling the communication between said second chamber and a second gas channel communicated with a number of main burners;; a third chamber, communicated with said gas source channel, having a spring therein for contacting against a third valve member mounted on the other end of said first piston stem, said third valve member being adapted to control the communication between said third chamber and a first traversed channel communicated with a safety igniting burner adjacent to said main burners, and the end of said first piston stem being received in one of said recesses so as to close said third valve member when said second spindle is kept at its extreme position; a bent bimetal provided above a second igniting burner, the lower end of said bimetal being normally contacted to the upper end of said second spindle;; a fourth chamber, communicaid with said second chamber and a first igniting burner adjacent to said electronic ignitor, having a spring therein for contacting against a fourth valve member mounted on the other end of said second piston stem, said fourth valve member being adapted to control the communication between said fourth chamber and a second traversed channel communicated with a second igniting burner adjacent to said first igniting burner, and the end of said second piston stem being received in the other recess so as to close said fourth valve member when said second spindle is moved downwards to a suitable lower position by the thermal expansion of said bimetal; a spring provided in said first chamber for contacting against said first valve member; a spring provided in said second chamber for contacting against said second valve member; and a thermal couple provided above said main burners and connected through an amplifier to a solenoid provided in said second chamber whereby before the water faucet is turned on all said valve members are kept in a close condition except said fourth valve member.

2. An apparatus as claimed in claim 1 wherein said first valve member is opened so as to allow the gas flowing through said first chamber and said first gas channel into said second chamber, when one turns on the water faucet to move said first spindle upward.

3. An apparatus as claimed in claim 2 wherein said first igniting burner is ignited by said ignitor and then ignites said second igniting burner to heat said bimetal so as to move said second spindle downwards.

4. An apparatus as claimed in claim 1 wherein said second spindle is further provided with a flange at the lower portion thereof for contacting temporarily against a resilient device mounted on the wall of said body.

5. An apparatus as claimed in claim 4 wherein said second spindle will not be moved downwards until the thermal expansion force is larger enough than the upward resisting forces generated by said resilient device and said spring provided in said second chamber.

6. An apparatus as claimed in claim 1 wherein differential voltages will be produced from said heated thermal couple and amplified to actuate said solenoid to catch second spindle at a lower position.

7. An apparatus as claimed in claim 1 further comprises a temperature controlling device suitably mounted on the water spout, which can send an alarming signal out when the temperature of the heated water is over a predetermined value.

8. An apparatus as claimed in claim 7 further comprises a gas cut-off device mounted on said gas source channel for cutting off the gas source channel upon receipt of a signal sent out of said temperature controlling device when the temperature of the heated water is over a predetermined value.

9. An apparatus as claimed in claim 1 further comprises a manual device having a rod with a forked end having an inclined surface, and a block mounted on the upper portion of said second spindle, said rod being provided in a lateral through way of said body and extruding out of the body, when said rod is pushed inwards, the inclined surface thereof will press said block to make said second spindle move downwards while the upper portion of said second spindle will be positioned between two forks of said rod.

10. An automatic gas-heating apparatus as substantially hereinbefore described with reference to the accompanying drawings.