JP2009506295A - Hot water distributor - Google Patents

Abstract

  The hot water distribution system includes a water tank having a heat source that heats the water in the tank. The tank has a cold water inlet and a hot water outlet. An expansion chamber is connected to the water tank and is placed on top of the water tank to receive heated water from the water tank.

Description

  This application claims priority from US Provisional Application No. 60 / 710,953, filed Aug. 24, 2005, and US Patent Non-Provisional Application No. 11 / 465,657, filed Aug. 18, 2006. Which are incorporated herein by reference.

  The present invention relates to a hot water distributor.

  An apparatus for dispensing instantaneous hot water typically consists of two main parts, a faucet placed above the sink to dispense liquid as desired, and attached to the user's field of view under the sink. Other units outside the counter that do not occupy the counter space. The unit under the sink for the instantaneous hot water distributor has a water heater and a tank for holding hot water connected to the faucet.

  In a typical sink lower hot water distributor, the tank includes two tanks or chambers, a main chamber in which the water is heated and an expansion chamber in which the water being heated in the main chamber can be expanded. When hot water is drawn from the tank by opening the faucet, it is necessary to draw hot water from the expansion chamber of the tank in order to expand the supplemental cold water supplied from the building water system to the main tank chamber. This expanded water is drained from the expansion chamber by a suction vacuum formed by a venturi system activated by a cold water stream that flows with each use of the distributor.

  Known distributors place the expansion chamber below or on the side of the main water heating tank. When the water levels in the expansion chamber and the main heating chamber reach equilibrium, a void or air space is created in the main heating tank. During drawing, the voids or air space created in the main heating tank before the water actually flows out of the tank needs to be filled. Depending on the volume of air space generated in the heating tank, there can be a large delay (1 to 15 seconds in some known systems) before hot water flows from the outlet. This flow delay is seen as a unit failure, increasing service calls and reducing customer satisfaction.

  The teachings of the present disclosure address the shortcomings associated with the prior art.

  In accordance with the teachings of the present disclosure, a water heating system includes a water tank having a heat source for heating water in the tank. The tank has an inlet and an outlet with an expansion chamber connected to the water tank. A water heating system includes a faucet connected to an outlet that dispenses hot water typically used to make hot food or drinks. The expansion chamber is disposed on top of the water tank that receives heated water from the water tank such that when the water is discharged from the water tank via the outlet, the water flows from the expansion chamber to the water tank.

  In some exemplary embodiments, the expansion chamber includes a generally funnel-shaped portion having a check ball therein. The funnel-shaped portion is connected to the tank inlet so that water flows from the expansion chamber through the funnel-shaped portion and into the inlet and tank. Since the aspirator is connected to the inlet, water flowing through the inlet to the tank draws water from the expansion chamber into the tank.

  Other objects and advantages of the present invention will become apparent upon reading the following detailed description and upon reference to the drawings in which:

  While the invention is susceptible to various modifications and alternative forms, specific embodiments thereof are shown by way of example in the drawings and are herein described in detail. However, the description herein of specific embodiments is not intended to limit the invention to the particular forms disclosed, and on the contrary, all modifications, equivalents, and alternatives are within the spirit and scope of the invention. It is intended to be included within.

  Exemplary embodiments of the invention are described below. For the sake of clarity, not all features of an actual implementation are described herein. Of course, in the development of any of those actual embodiments, a number of implementation-specific decisions, such as alignment with system-related and business-related restrictions, must be made to achieve the developer's specific goals. It should be understood that this will vary from implementation to implementation. Further, such implementation efforts may be complex and time consuming, but in any event would be a normal job for one of ordinary skill in the art having the benefit of this disclosure.

  FIG. 1 generally illustrates portions of a typical hot water distribution system 100. The dispensing system 100 includes a faucet 110 disposed above the sink for dispensing liquid as desired, and a sink lower unit 112 for attachment to the lower portion of the sink that is outside the user's field of view and does not occupy the counter space. Including. The faucet 110 includes an arcuate outlet 114 and one or more activation handles 116, 117. For example, in a unit that distributes both hot and cold water, one handle 116 is activated to dispense hot water and the other handle 117 is activated to dispense cold water.

  The sink lower unit 112 includes a water heating unit shown in more detail in FIGS. A main tank or chamber 120 for heating water is disposed inside the unit 112 and a heater 122 is disposed inside the tank 120. In one embodiment, the tank 120 is made from stainless steel. The heater 122 is connected to a thermostat and maintains the temperature of the water typically at about 190 ° F. The water inlet fitting 132 is connectable to a water supply for providing water to the heating chamber 120. In a unit that distributes both hot and cold water, the water supply line is further connected to a faucet assembly 110 that supplies cold water to be distributed, in addition to supply to the heating unit 112 via the inlet pipe 132. Can do. Hot water from the heating chamber 120 is delivered to the faucet assembly 110 via a tube connected to the outlet 136.

  The tank 120 is connected to an expansion chamber 130 in which the feed water heated in the tank 120 can be expanded. In the illustrated embodiment, the expansion chamber 130 is made of plastic, but can be made of other materials. The expansion chamber 130 is vented to the atmosphere by a vent pipe 140. When hot water is withdrawn from the tank 110 by activation of the distribution lever 116, it is necessary to withdraw the hot water from the expansion chamber 130 to provide an expansion of the supplemental cold water supplied to the tank 120. When the distribution lever 116 is activated, it does not directly control the distribution of hot water, which supplies cold water to the tank 120, thereby discharging hot water from the top of the tank 120 via the outlet 136.

  In the illustrated embodiment, the expansion chamber 130 is located directly on top of the heating chamber 120 rather than on the side or bottom of the heating chamber as in known products. After water withdrawal, the tank 120 is kept full due to the location of the expansion chamber 130 above the tank 120, eliminating the water flow delay associated with the void at the top of the tank.

  In the illustrated embodiment, the expansion chamber 130 is composed of upper and lower portions 130a, 130b with O-rings 150, 151 that seal the portions 130a, 130b when assembled. FIG. 6 shows the expanded chamber 130 assembled. The lower portion 130b includes a substantially funnel-shaped portion 154 that extends below the lower portion 130b. Check ball 156 is received in portion 154. The illustrated heating tank 120 is composed of top and bottom portions 120a, 120b with a seal 158 therebetween. The heater 122 extends into the heating tank 120 and is sealed with a gasket 160.

  The inlet 132 is connected to an aspirator 170, which is connected to a baffle 172 that guides incoming water to the bottom of the tank 120. Tube 174 connects aspirator 170 to funnel-shaped portion 154 of expansion chamber 130. Cold feed water flows from inlet 132 to aspirator 170. The aspirator 170 is configured to define a venturi restriction therein and restricts flow through the aspirator 170. The restriction results in an increase in flow rate, which is accompanied by a decrease in water pressure compared to the pressure of hot water in the expansion chamber 130. Accordingly, hot water from the expansion chamber 130 is drawn into the tank 120 via the pipe 174. The flow of water flowing in from the expansion chamber 130 and the supply water push hot water out of the tank 120, raise it to the outlet pipe 136, and are discharged from the faucet outlet 114.

  When all the water has been withdrawn from the expansion chamber 130 into the tank 120, the check ball 156 sits on the bottom of the funnel-shaped portion 154 and closes the tube 174 to prevent air from entering the system. When hot water is not dispensed through the faucet 110, the water is heated in the tank 120 and the heated water rises from the tank 120 to the aspirator 142 and expands to the expansion chamber 130 via the tube 174. As heated water enters the funnel-shaped portion 154 of the expansion chamber 130, the check ball 154 rises and the water can flow into the expansion chamber 130.

  The particular embodiments disclosed above are for purposes of illustration only, and the invention can be modified and implemented in different but equivalent ways in a manner that will be apparent to those skilled in the art having the benefit of the teachings herein. Further, the details of construction or design presented herein are not intended to be limiting except as set forth in the claims. It is therefore evident that the particular embodiments disclosed above may be altered or modified and all such variations are considered within the spirit and scope of the invention.

FIG. 3 illustrates a water distribution system according to the teachings of the present disclosure. It is a perspective view which shows the water heating unit of the distribution system shown in FIG. It is an expanded view of a water heating unit. It is a fragmentary sectional view of a water heating unit. It is a fragmentary sectional view of a water heating unit. It is a perspective view of the expansion chamber of a water heating unit.

Claims (9)

A heat source for heating the water in the tank and a water tank having an inlet and an outlet;
When water is discharged from the water tank via the outlet, it is connected to the water tank to accept the heated water from the water tank so that the water flows from the expansion chamber to the water tank. A water heating system comprising: an expansion chamber disposed;   The water heating system of claim 1, wherein the water tank is made from stainless steel.   The water heating system of claim 1, wherein the expansion chamber is made from stainless steel.   The water heating system of claim 1, wherein the expansion chamber includes a generally funnel portion having a check ball therein.   The water heating system of claim 4, wherein the funnel portion is connected to the inlet of the tank such that water flows from the expansion chamber via the funnel portion into the inlet and the tank.   The water heating system of claim 5 further comprising a suction device connected to the inlet such that water flowing into the tank via the inlet draws water from the expansion chamber into the tank.   The water heating system of claim 1, wherein the expansion chamber includes a vent tube.   The water heating system of claim 1, wherein the hot water inlet is located at the top of the tank.   The water heating system of claim 1, further comprising a faucet connected to the outlet.

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