NO162888B

NO162888B - HEAT WATER COVER WITHOUT PRESSURE.

Info

Publication number: NO162888B
Application number: NO870605A
Authority: NO
Inventors: William H Zebuhr
Original assignee: American Thermal Corp
Priority date: 1985-06-17
Filing date: 1987-02-16
Publication date: 1989-11-20
Also published as: NO162888C; NO870605D0; NO870605L

Description

Oppfinnelsen angår en standard husvarmtvanns-bereder for hjem eller mindre kommersielt bruk omfattende en trykktank inneholdende vann med ledningstrykk (1,38 - 6,98 bar)-og en varmeinnretning. Varmeinnretningen kan være et elektrisk element, gass- eller oljebrenner eller varmeveksler som over-fører varme fra en annen kilde. The invention relates to a standard domestic hot water heater for home or smaller commercial use comprising a pressure tank containing water with line pressure (1.38 - 6.98 bar) and a heating device. The heating device can be an electric element, gas or oil burner or heat exchanger that transfers heat from another source.

Trykktanken tilveiebringer tilstrekkelig lagring The pressure tank provides sufficient storage

av oppvarmet vann for å tilfredsstille maksimalkrav. Varmeinnretningen vil ikke overføre varme hurtig nok til å tilfredsstille de fleste kravforhold men gitt tilstrekkelig tid vil den bringe vannet i tanken tilbake til den ønskede temperatur. of heated water to meet maximum requirements. The heating device will not transfer heat quickly enough to satisfy most requirements, but given sufficient time it will bring the water in the tank back to the desired temperature.

Den store majoritet av trykktanker er laget av The vast majority of pressure tanks are made of

stål og beskyttet mot korrosjon av et glass- eller sement-belegg. Korrosjonsbeskyttelsen er ikke fullstendig og leve-tiden for en typisk tank er omkring 10 år. Tanken må motstå ledningstrykket sikkert og stål er den laveste kostnadsmåte for å få til den oppbygning som kreves. steel and protected against corrosion by a glass or cement coating. The corrosion protection is not complete and the lifespan of a typical tank is around 10 years. The tank must withstand the line pressure safely and steel is the lowest cost way to achieve the structure required.

Formålet med oppfinnelsen er å tilveiebringe en varmtvannsbereder hvor tanken kan lages vesentlig billigere fordi den kan inneholde vann med omgivelsestrykk. Dette oppnås ifølge oppfinnelsen ved de karakteristiske trekk angitt i den kjennetegnende del av krav 1. The purpose of the invention is to provide a water heater where the tank can be made significantly cheaper because it can contain water at ambient pressure. This is achieved according to the invention by the characteristic features stated in the characterizing part of claim 1.

Oppfinnelsen tillater at ledningstrykket kan overføres fra den inngående kaldtvannsstrøm til den utgående varmtvanns-strøm uten å påføre dette trykk på tankens vegger. Trykket holdes i to små beholdere med et sammensatt volum som kan være mye mindre enn 1% av tankens volum. Disse beholdere er bygget slik at en kan fylles med det oppvarmede vann mens den andre avgir sitt innhold til varmtvannsledningen og vice versa. De drives syklisk av den inngående fluidumstrøm med overtrykk. The invention allows the line pressure to be transferred from the incoming cold water flow to the outgoing hot water flow without applying this pressure to the walls of the tank. The pressure is maintained in two small containers with a combined volume that can be much less than 1% of the tank's volume. These containers are built so that one can be filled with the heated water while the other discharges its contents to the hot water line and vice versa. They are driven cyclically by the incoming fluid flow with overpressure.

Ved denne mekanisme kan ledningstrykket holdes i With this mechanism, the line pressure can be maintained

en liten innretning som bruker minimalt med materialer mens det oppvarmede volum av vann holdes i en rimelig tank ved omgivelsestrykk. a small device that uses minimal materials while the heated volume of water is kept in a reasonable tank at ambient pressure.

Oppfinnelsen skal beskrives nærmere i det følgende The invention shall be described in more detail below

i forbindelse med noen utførelseseksempler og under henvis-ning til tegningene, der fig. 1 er et modifisert snittriss av det komplette utstyr unntatt elementer som ikke er nødven-dig for beskrivelsen, fig. 2 viser utstyret modifisert for solvarme. in connection with some design examples and with reference to the drawings, where fig. 1 is a modified sectional view of the complete equipment excluding elements that are not necessary for the description, fig. 2 shows the equipment modified for solar heating.

Utstyret består av trykkoverføringsmekanismen 1 The equipment consists of the pressure transfer mechanism 1

(engelsk pressure transfer mechanism PTM) og lagerbeholder 2. PTM er en fluidumdrevet pumpe. Tanken 2 inneholder et fluidum 3 med en temperatur Tl. (English pressure transfer mechanism PTM) and storage tank 2. PTM is a fluid-driven pump. The tank 2 contains a fluid 3 with a temperature Tl.

Fluidum 4 ved temperatur T2 og trykk P kommer inn Fluid 4 at temperature T2 and pressure P enters

i ventilkammeret 5 via rør 6, ventilen 7 er anbragt slik at fluidum 4 kommer inn i kammeret 8 ved et nominelt trykk P som driver stemplet 9 til venstre og driver fluidumet inn i kammeret 10 forbi tilbakeslagsventilen 11 inn i røret 12 til røret 13. Stemplet 14 forbundet med stemplet 9 ved stangen 15 beveger seg også mot venstre og driver fluidum i kammeret 16 forbi ventilen 17 og inn i bunnen av tanken 2 via røret 18. Stemplet 14 trekker også fluidum fra tanken 2 inn i kammeret 19 via tilbakeslagsventilen 20. in the valve chamber 5 via pipe 6, the valve 7 is arranged so that fluid 4 enters the chamber 8 at a nominal pressure P which drives the piston 9 to the left and drives the fluid into the chamber 10 past the check valve 11 into the pipe 12 to the pipe 13. The piston 14 connected to piston 9 at rod 15 also moves to the left and drives fluid in chamber 16 past valve 17 and into the bottom of tank 2 via pipe 18. Piston 14 also draws fluid from tank 2 into chamber 19 via check valve 20.

Fluidumet i kammeret 16 har et nominelt omgivelsestrykk på grunn av den åpne forbindelse til tanken 2. Fluidumet 1 kammeret 19 har også nominelt omgivelsestrykk på grunn av den åpne forbindelse med tanken 2 og har en temperatur Tl. Fluidumet i kammeret 8 har en temperatur T2. The fluid in the chamber 16 has a nominal ambient pressure due to the open connection to the tank 2. The fluid 1 chamber 19 also has a nominal ambient pressure due to the open connection to the tank 2 and has a temperature Tl. The fluid in the chamber 8 has a temperature T2.

Mens stemplet 14 beveger seg mot venstre bringes det i kontakt med fjæren 21 og videre med armen 22. Armen 22 driver ventilen 7 til venstre og med den armen 23. Armen 23 holdes i posisjon av magneten 24 og frigjøres fra magneten av ventilen 7. Så snart den er utløst vender fjæren 21 full kraft utover på ventilen 7 som overvinenr fluidumtrykket mot den og driver den over kammeret 5 til det motsatte sete. Etter del-vis bevegelse av ventilen 7 bringes armen 22 i kontakt med ventilen 17 og beveger den også til dens motsatte sete. As the piston 14 moves to the left it is brought into contact with the spring 21 and further with the arm 22. The arm 22 drives the valve 7 to the left and with that arm 23. The arm 23 is held in position by the magnet 24 and released from the magnet by the valve 7. So as soon as it is triggered, the spring 21 turns its full force outwards on the valve 7 which overcomes the fluid pressure against it and drives it across the chamber 5 to the opposite seat. After partial movement of the valve 7, the arm 22 is brought into contact with the valve 17 and also moves it to its opposite seat.

Bevegelse av ventiler 7 og 17 av virkningen fra stemplet 14 bevirker at fluidum ved et trykk T og temperatur T2 kan komme inn i kammeret 16 og tillater at fluidumet i kammeret 8 kan komme ut via ventilen 17 og røret 18 til tanken 2 ved omgivelsestrykk. Det høyere trykk P i kammeret 16 driver nå stemplet 14 til høyre og med den stangen 15 og stemplet 9. Fluidumet i kammeret 19 ved temperaturen Tl er nå nesten kommet til trykk P og drives nå gjennom den åpne til-bakeslagsventil 25 til røret 26 og til røret 13. Høytrykks-fluidumet ved temperaturen Tl i røret 13 er forhindret fra å komme inn i kammeret 10 av ventilen 11 som nå er lukket. Ventilen 27 er nå åpen og tillater fluidum 3 å komme inn i kammeret 10 ved temperaturen Tl og omgivelsestrykk. Movement of valves 7 and 17 by the action of the piston 14 causes fluid at a pressure T and temperature T2 to enter the chamber 16 and allows the fluid in the chamber 8 to exit via the valve 17 and the pipe 18 to the tank 2 at ambient pressure. The higher pressure P in the chamber 16 now drives the piston 14 to the right and with it the rod 15 and the piston 9. The fluid in the chamber 19 at the temperature Tl has now almost reached pressure P and is now driven through the open check valve 25 to the pipe 26 and to the pipe 13. The high-pressure fluid at the temperature Tl in the pipe 13 is prevented from entering the chamber 10 by the valve 11 which is now closed. The valve 27 is now open and allows fluid 3 to enter the chamber 10 at the temperature Tl and ambient pressure.

Stemplet 9 beveger seg nå til høyre inntil det bringes i kontakt med fjæren 28 som bevirker at ventilene veksler tilbake til stillingen vist og igjen vender retningen for stemplet 9, stangen 15 og stemplet 14. The piston 9 now moves to the right until it is brought into contact with the spring 28 which causes the valves to switch back to the position shown and again reverse the direction of the piston 9, the rod 15 and the piston 14.

Ved virkningen ovenfor er kamrene 10 og 19 vekslende fylt med fluidum ved temperatur Tl og omgivelsestrykk og fluidumet 3 heves så til nominelt trykk P før det kommer inn i røret 13. Samtidig frigjøres fluidum 4 ved temperatur T2 og trykk P ved nominell T2 og omgivelsestrykk inn i tanken 2 via røret 18. Dette tillater nominelt den samme virkning som om fluidum 4 kommer inn i en tank ved trykk P og temperatur Tl som driver fluidum ved Tl og trykk P inn i et utløpsrør. In the above action, the chambers 10 and 19 are alternately filled with fluid at temperature Tl and ambient pressure and the fluid 3 is then raised to nominal pressure P before entering the pipe 13. At the same time, fluid 4 is released at temperature T2 and pressure P at nominal T2 and ambient pressure into in tank 2 via pipe 18. This nominally allows the same effect as if fluid 4 enters a tank at pressure P and temperature Tl which drives fluid at Tl and pressure P into an outlet pipe.

En fordel med denne oppfinnelse er at trykkover-føringsutstyret 1 kan lages med mindre kostnader enn en trykktank over en gitt størrelse. Kostnadsfordelen øker voldsomt etter hvert som lagertankstørrelsen øker. An advantage of this invention is that the pressure transfer equipment 1 can be made with less cost than a pressure tank above a given size. The cost advantage increases dramatically as the storage tank size increases.

Virkningen av PTM 1 er ikke perfekt og en viss ineffektivitet såsom fluidum som passerer forbi ventilene 7 og 17 under veksling vil oppstå. PTM 1 er utformet til å pumpe nominelt mer fluidum fra tanken 2 enn den mottar fra røret 6. Dette oppnås av den litt mindre forskyvning av kammeret 8 og 19 på grunn av tilstedeværelsen av stangen 15. Diameteren av stangen 15 kan være taylorisert (engelsk taylored) for å supplere påkostede fluidumomløp og samme tilleggsdifferanse for å være sikker på at tanken 2 ikke vil bli for full, en-hver mangel er supplert av flottørventilen 29 som holder tanken 2 ved et ønsket nivå. The action of PTM 1 is not perfect and some inefficiency such as fluid passing by valves 7 and 17 during switching will occur. The PTM 1 is designed to pump nominally more fluid from the tank 2 than it receives from the pipe 6. This is achieved by the slightly smaller displacement of the chamber 8 and 19 due to the presence of the rod 15. The diameter of the rod 15 can be taylorized ) to supplement expensive fluid circulation and the same additional difference to be sure that the tank 2 will not be too full, any deficiency is supplemented by the float valve 29 which keeps the tank 2 at a desired level.

Den lille differanse i forskyvning av drivkamrene The small difference in displacement of the drive chambers

8 og 16 kontra drivkamrene 10 og 19 og friksjonstap vil be-virke at trykket i røret 13 er litt mindre enn i røret 6. 8 and 16 versus the drive chambers 10 and 19 and friction loss will cause the pressure in pipe 13 to be slightly less than in pipe 6.

I praksis kan denne differanse holdes på omkring 3%. Ventilen 7 åpnes litt før ventilen 17 og armen 22 og 23 brukes for å redusere kraften på fjæren 21 eller 28, dvs. nødvendig for å aktivere veksling. Dette hjelper for økning av virknings-graden og reduserer utgangstrykkvariasjon ved å redusere aktiveringskraften som kreves på stemplet 14 eller 9. In practice, this difference can be kept at around 3%. The valve 7 is opened slightly before the valve 17 and the arm 22 and 23 are used to reduce the force on the spring 21 or 28, i.e. necessary to activate switching. This helps to increase efficiency and reduce output pressure variation by reducing the actuation force required on piston 14 or 9.

Fig. 2 viser PTM 1 og tank 2 med en solarpumpe 30 og solarsamler 31. Bruken av en lagertank med omgivelsestrykk tillater utførelse av et enkelt tilbaketappingssolarutstyr med stor virkningsgrad. Utstyret er kjent som et tilbaketappingsutstyr fordi fluidumet i samlerne, vanligvis vann, tappes tilbake til en lagertank (engelsk holding tank) når utstyret ikke er i drift. Dette forhindrer varmetap og mulig frysing. Fig. 2 shows PTM 1 and tank 2 with a solar pump 30 and solar collector 31. The use of a storage tank with ambient pressure allows the execution of a simple recirculation solar equipment with high efficiency. The equipment is known as a draw-back equipment because the fluid in the collectors, usually water, is drawn back to a storage tank (English holding tank) when the equipment is not in operation. This prevents heat loss and possible freezing.

Solarpumpen 30 drevet av motoren 32 trekker vann fra den nedre del av tanken 2 via røret 31 og leverer det til samleren 31 via røret 34. Når samleren 31 er fylt strømmer vannet tilbake til tanken 2 via røret 35. En ventilering 36 er anbragt i røret 35 for å tillate luft å komme inn for dre-nering tilbake når pumpen 30 ikke er i drift. The solar pump 30 driven by the motor 32 draws water from the lower part of the tank 2 via the pipe 31 and delivers it to the collector 31 via the pipe 34. When the collector 31 is filled, the water flows back to the tank 2 via the pipe 35. A ventilation ring 36 is placed in the pipe 35 to allow air to enter for drainage back when the pump 30 is not in operation.

I mange tilfeller vil det være ønskelig å kombinere solarlageret med hjelpelageret. Dette oppnås ved å tillate at bunnavsnittet av tanken 2 kan oppvarmes av solarsamleren og bare toppavsnittet oppvarmes av det elektriske element 3 7 eller av annen innretning. En sperre 3 8 kan anvendes for å forhindre uønsket blanding av vannet fra toppavsnittet med vannet i bunnavsnittet. In many cases, it will be desirable to combine the solar storage with the auxiliary storage. This is achieved by allowing the bottom section of the tank 2 to be heated by the solar collector and only the top section to be heated by the electric element 3 7 or by another device. A barrier 38 can be used to prevent unwanted mixing of the water from the top section with the water in the bottom section.

Tilbaketappingsutstyr i forbindelse med trykktanker benytter vanligvis en separat lagerbeholder med omgivelsestrykk for å holde fluidumet utnyttet i solarsløyfen. Varme overføres fra det solaroppvarmede fluidum til drikke-vannet via en varmeveksler. Varmeveksleren som er mindre enn 100% effektiv hever driftstemperaturen for solarsamlerne for en gitt temperatur av drikkevann som følgelig senker virk-ningsgraden av solarsamleren. Drawback equipment in connection with pressure tanks usually uses a separate storage container with ambient pressure to keep the fluid utilized in the solar loop. Heat is transferred from the solar-heated fluid to the drinking water via a heat exchanger. The heat exchanger which is less than 100% efficient raises the operating temperature of the solar collectors for a given temperature of drinking water, which consequently lowers the efficiency of the solar collector.

Varmeveksleren, den separate tank, og tilknyttet maskinutstyr øker betydelig utstyrets kostnad og kompleksi-tet. Derfor er utstyret ifølge denne oppfinnelse vesentlig mer effektivt, enklere og koster mindre. The heat exchanger, the separate tank and associated machinery significantly increase the cost and complexity of the equipment. Therefore, the equipment according to this invention is significantly more efficient, simpler and costs less.

Claims

1. Assembly for providing a reservoir without excess pressure in a pressurized fluid line, comprising a container (2) for containing fluid and a fluid-driven pump (1) comprising a control inlet (5), a control outlet (18), a pump inlet and a pump outlet, the fluid-driven pump further comprises first and second cylinders and a piston (9, 14) sealingly and slidingly arranged in each cylinder to divide the cylinder into cavities (8, 10, 16, 19) with variable pump volume and regulation, the pistons are connected to each other so that while one piston slides to increase the volume of the pump cavity in the cylinder where it is placed, the other piston slides to decrease the volume of the pump cavity in the cylinder where it is placed, CHARACTERIZED IN THAT the pump comprises: A. an inlet check valve ( 20, 27) in each cylinder providing one-way communication from the container to the interior of the pump cavity therein, the inlet valves in the first and second cylinders together providing the pump inlet; B. an outlet check valve (11, 25) in each cylinder providing one-way communication from the interior of the pump cavity therein to the exterior thereof to provide the pump outlet; C. a control inlet valve device (5, - 7) which can be operated alternately to assume a first and a second state, in order in the first state to create fluid flow from the control inlet to the control cavity in the first cylinder, and in the second state to create fluid flow from the control inlet to the regulating cavity in the second cylinder; D. a control outlet valve device (17) operable alternately to assume first and second states, to allow fluid to flow into the container from the control cavity in the second cylinder when the control outlet valve device is in its first state and from the control cavity in the first cylinder when the control outlet valve device is in its second state; and G. means (21, 27, 23, 28) for 1) driving control inlet and outlet valve means to their respective first states when the pistons have reached a predetermined first position, where the pump cavity in the first cylinder has reached a first, relatively large predetermined volume and the pump cavity in the second cylinder has reached a relatively large volume, and 2) to drive control inlet and outlet valves to their respective other states when the pistons have reached a predetermined second position, where the pump cavity in the first cylinder has reached a second, relatively large predetermined volume and the pump cavity in the second cylinder has reached a relatively large volume.

2. Assembly according to claim 1, CHARACTERIZED IN THAT: A. the control outlet valve device comprises a poppet valve (17) in the control cavity in each of said first and second cylinders, the poppet valve in the control cavity in the first cylinder is kept tightly closed by fluid pressure to prevent fluid from flowing from the control cavity in the first cylinder when the control outlet valve arrangement is in its first state and is open to admit fluid from the control cavity in the first cylinder into the container when the control outlet valve arrangement is in its second state, the poppet valve in the second cavity in the second cylinder is open to allow fluid to flow from the control cavity of the second cylinder into the container when the control outlet valve device is in its first state and is held closed by fluid pressure to prevent fluid from flowing from the control cavity of the second cylinder into the container when the control outlet valve device is in itssecond state; and B. the means for operating the control inlet and outlet valve means comprises a spring (21, 28) which acts between each piston and one of the poppet valves and stores sufficient energy to completely change the state of the associated valve once the valve poppet has begun its change of state .

3. Assembly according to claim 2, CHARACTERIZED IN THAT it further comprises a magnet (24) which is arranged in such a way with respect to each poppet valve that it helps to keep the valve in its closed position so that the spring stores more energy before it moves poppet valve than it would be capable of in the absence of the magnet.

4. Assembly according to claim 1, CHARACTERIZED IN THAT the device for driving the control inlet and outlet valve device changes the state of one of the control inlet and outlet valve devices before it changes the state of the other and thereby reduces the overall force required to change the state of the control inlet - and the outlet valve device.

5. Assembly according to claim 1, CHARACTERIZED IN that: A. the container is arranged to accommodate a liquid; and B. the assembly further includes a float valve (29) to allow liquid from the control outlet to enter the container directly without flowing through the pump when the liquid level in the container is higher than a predetermined maximum level, but to prevent liquid from flowing directly to the container without to flow through the pump when the liquid level in the container is below the predetermined maximum level.

6. Assembly according to claim 1, CHARACTERIZED IN THAT the container is without excess pressure so that essentially the entire pressure difference across the container walls is caused by the weight of fluid contained in the container.

7. Assembly according to claim 1 or 6, CHARACTERIZED IN THAT it further comprises a device (37) for heating fluid in the container.

8. Assembly according to claim 1, CHARACTERIZED IN THAT the useful displacement of the pump cavities is greater than the useful displacement of the regulation cavities.