US1953302A - Heat conserver - Google Patents

Description

April 3, 1934. w. D. JOHNSTON HEAT CONSERVER Filed May 25, 1932 1 N V EN TOR. W/7//'0/27 0. Jo/mr/afl n m T T A Patented Apr. 3, 1934 UNITED STATES PATENT orF-ica 3 Claims.

This invention relates to improvements in heat conservers and has for its primary object a device adapted to be connected to the flue pipe of a furnace or stove in such a manner that air 5 passing through pipes located therein will be heated by the products of combustion passing therethrough.

It is a well known fact that a considerable portion of the heat from fuel is nowbeing wasted by passing directly from the combustion chamber to the flue without performing any useful function, and it is my purpose to extract the major portion of this heat by utilizing it to heat air which can then be conducted to a room which is hard to heat.

It happens frequently when a hot air furnace is used that it is almost impossible to heat-a certain room, and especially a room which requires a long hot air conduit, because the air therein becomes chilled in its passage therethrough, that is, its buoyancy is almost entirely lost and it acts as a plug in that conduit and prevents air from the furnace from entering; consequently, the remainder of the conduits receive more hot air than was intended, but with my device it is possible todeliver freshly heated air to such conduit at a point removed from'the furnace and thus restore heat to the chilled air and restore its buoyancy. i

It is also possible with my device to lead the air pipe directly to a room which is not connected with the furnace and thus heat an additional room without installing a larger furnace, and at no increase in fuel cost, since the heat used by 35 my device would otherwise pass into the chimney flue.

My device can also be used to advantage in connection with steam, vapor and hot water plants, as it can be installed in the smoke pipe 40 and the air pipe be led to a room that it is desired to warm quickly in the morning, since most persons do not maintain the same degree of warmth during the night as is done during the day, and with the above mentioned heating plants it always takes some time to. get the desired temperature in the rooms. With my device, however, a selected room can be quickly heated without the expenditure of any additional fuel.

The device may also be used as a ventilator in cold weather for auditoriums where a steam, vapor or hot water system is used, as the air duct can be arranged to discharge into any. convenient point in .such auditorium and a constant stream of prewarmed air can be delivered at no additional fuel cost. In fact, such place can be ventilated cheaper by my device because the waste heat is used to warm the air before being admitted to such auditorium and, consequently, the heating system does not have to overcome the lowering of the temperature that follows the admission of outside air by means of ordinary ventilators. 1 7

My device can alsobe used to advantage with stoves because, by its use, the air in the room will not only be heated by radiation from the stove but the circulation of air in the room caused by taking air from near the floor, passing it through my device where it is heated, and then discharging it back into the room, will cause an even distribution of heat throughout the room and the occupants will no longer have to gather closely about a stove, in cold weather for warmth, and even then experience varying degrees of temperature.

In accomplishing these and other objects of my invention, I have provided improved details of structure, the preferred forms of which are illustrated in the accompanying drawing, wherein:

Fig.1 is a perspective view of my device with parts in section, showing the same located in the smoke pipe of a hot air furnace.

Fig. 2 is an enlarged vertical longitudinal section of my device.

Fig. 3 is a horizontal longitudinal section of the same taken on the line 33, Fig. 2.

Fig. 4 is a cross section of the same taken on the line 4-4, Fig. 3.

Fig. 5 is a perspective view with parts in section of a modified form of structure as adapted for use inconnection with heating stoves.

Referring to the drawing in detail:

1 represents a shell or casing preferably cylindrical in cross section and having its ends closed by means of heads 2. Each of the heads is provided with a central opening 3 which is surrounded by an outwardly extending flange 4 arranged to receive the ends of pipe sections 5 and 6, which constitute a part of the smoke pipe of a heating system, the section 5 being attached, as shown in Fig. 1, to a hot air furnace 7, and the section 6 to the chimney 8. I

The shell 1 has an opening or cut away portion 9 which serves as a clean-out for the removal of soot or dust, and which is normallyclosed by means of a door 10 hinged to the shell along one edge, as indicated at 11, and which is retained in closed position by means of latches 12.

In the shell are located a plurality of hollo headers 13 preferably triangular in plan view, and which are provided with circular openings 14, 15 and 16, and, as all of these headers are identical, it will be needless to describe them separately.

Extending upwardly through the shell 1 adjacent one of the heads 2 is a pipe 1''] having its end secured in the opening 14 of one of the headers 13. Pipes l8 and 19 have their upper ends secured in the openings l5- and 16, respectively, of this header. These pipesextend across the interior of the shell parallel to the pipe 17, and have their lower ends secured in the corresponding opening of a similar header. A single pipe 20, having its lower end secured in the opening 14 of this header, extends upwardly across the shell parallel to the pipes 18 and 19, and has its upper end secured in the opening 14 of another header lying in the same horizontal plane as the first mentioned header.

Pipes 21 and 22 have their upper ends secured in the openings 15 and 16, respectively, of the last mentioned header and extend across the shell parallel to the pipe 20, their lower ends being secured in the openings 15 and 16 of a header lying in the same horizontal plane as the second mentioned header, and secured in the opening 14 of this header is a pipe 23 extending across and out through the shell and parallel to the pipes 21 and 22. The opposite end of the pipe may be connected into any one of the hot air ducts or conduits leading from the furnace 7 or it may lead to any desired room, as the necessity requires.

From the foregoing it will be seen that the headers are arranged in pairs lying in the same plane along diametrically opposite sides of the shell with their openings 14, 15 and 16 turned toward each other and the apices of one pair of headers are turned in adirection opposite to that of the other pair.

Forced air circulation may be obtained by attaching a fan or blower 24 to the lower end of the pipe 1'7 and connecting the intake of this blower to fresh air duct 25, by means of a conduit 26, but if such forced circulation is not required or desired, the blower can be omitted and the pipe 17 connected directly to the duct 25, in which event my device will operate on the thermo-siphon circulation principle.

The passage of air through th described is as follows:

Air enters the pipe 17 and passes upwardly into the first header, then down through the pipes 18 and 19, into the second header, then up through the pipe 20 into the third header, then down through the pipes 21 and 22 into the fourth header, and then up through the pipe 23 and to the point of delivery. During this passage of air, heat is absorbed from the flue gases which pass from the combustion chamber through the pipe 5 into the shell, where they completely surround the headers and pipes therein, and then these gases, now having a greatly reduced temperature, pass on to the chimney 8 through the pipe 6.

From the foregoing it will be seen that-I obtain a continuous supply of heated air which can be delivered at any required point without the expenditure of additional fuel.

After the device has been in operation for a period of time the door 10 maybe opened and the accumulated soot'or other solidmatter, carried by the flue gases from the combustion chamber and deposited in the shell, can be removed, the opening 9 being of such size that all parts therein are readily accessible. The heat conserver just described may be termed the horizontal type and structure just instance the headers are arranged in pairs parallel to the heads 28 and 29 instead of parallel to the shell, as shown in Figs. 1, 2 and 3.

The head 29 isprovided wih an opening through which a pipe 33 extends vertically, and which has its upper end secured in a header 32 adjacent the head 28; secured in this header are the upper ends of pipes 34 and 35, which are parallel to the pipe 33 and which have their lower ends secured in a second header which is located adjacent the head 29. A pipe 36, having its lower end secured in the last mentioned header, extends upwardly parallel to the pipes 34 and 35 and has its upper end secured in a third header adjacent the head 28. Pipes 37 and 38, having their upper ends secured in the last mentioned header, extend parallel to the pipe 36 and have their lower ends secured in a fourth header which is adjacent the head 29. A pipe 39, having its lower end secured to said last mentioned header, extends upwardly parallel to the pipes 37 and 38. The pipe 39, however, is of less length than the pipes 37 and. 38, and has an elbow 40 on its upper end from which a pipe 41 extends horizontally through the shell and discharges heated air into the room.

The lower end of the pipe 33 terminates near the floor of the room so that the coldest air in the room will be drawn therein, and if desired a blower may be attached thereto. The pipe 41 may also be extended so that the air will be discharged into another room or at a point remote from the shell.

From the foregoing it will be noted that the headers are connected together in opposing pairs by means of pipes, and a header of one pair carries an inlet pipe and a header of another pair carries an outlet pipe, so that the air in passing from the inlet pipe to the outlet pipe must follow a sinuous course through a heated zone.

It will also be noted that the air entering the first header passes through a single pipe. The air becoming warmed expands in the header, and, on account of the double connection to the second header and the consequent larger passage aiTorded, the air moves down into the second header, and, during its passage to and while in the second header becomes further heated, causing more expansion. As the air leaves the second header it passes upwardly to the third header through a single pipe where its natural tendency, to rise in addition to the expansion, causes it to flow at an increased rate of speed. The same is repeated as the air passes from the third to the fourth headers and out through the pipe 23, and this intermittent acceleration of the air column as it passes through my device seems to create an action similar to air passing through a venturi' by increasing the natural rate of flow of the air column, and, consequently, I am enabled to heat'a greater volume of air in a given length of time when usingthe thermo-siphon system of air circulation than can be where the buoyancy of heated air alone is relied on. In

other words, I have a heat absorbing coil having alternate or spaced apart portions which automatically increases the rate of flow of air therethrough as it is being heated.

What I claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. A heat conserver comprising a shell having a head at each end adapted to receive a pipe section, a plurality of headers located in said shell, pipes for connecting said headers together in opposing pairs, an air inlet connected to one of said headers and extending beyond said shell, an air outlet pipe connected to another of said headers and projecting beyond said shell, and means connected to the projecting end of said air inlet pipe for delivering air to said pipe and passing the same through said headers and the pipes connected thereto.

2. A heat conserver comprising a shell having a head at each end adapted to receive a pipe section, a plurality of headers located in said shell, pairs of pipes for connecting selected headers together in opposing pairs, a single pipe for connecting a selected header of each pair together, thereby forming a heat absorbing coil having a header at each end, an air inlet pipe connected to one of said end headers and projecting beyond said shell, and an air outlet pipe connected to the remaining end header and projecting beyond said shell.

3. A heat conserver comprising a casing having inlet and outlet connections for passage of a heating medium therethrough, a plurality of headers located in the casing and spaced from the walls thereof, pairs of pipes for connecting selected headers together in opposing pairs, a single pipe connecting a selected header of each pair together thereby forming a heat absorbing coil completely surrounded by the heating medium in the casing and having a header at each end, an air inlet pipe connected to one of the headers, and an air outlet pipe connected to the remaining header.

WILLIAM D. JOHNSTON.

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