US2715499A

US2715499A - Hot water control system

Info

Publication number: US2715499A
Application number: US238793A
Authority: US
Inventors: Roy C Earley
Original assignee: RUGGLES KLINGEMANN Manufacturing CO
Current assignee: RUGGLES KLINGEMANN Manufacturing CO; RUGGLES-KLINGEMANN Manufacturing Co
Priority date: 1951-07-27
Filing date: 1951-07-27
Publication date: 1955-08-16
Anticipated expiration: 1972-08-16

Description

Aug. 16, 1955 R. c. EARLEY 2,715,499

HOT WATER CONTROL SYSTEM Filed July 27, 1951 I N VE NTOR.

United States Patent 2,715,499 HOT WATER CONTROL SYSTEM Roy C. Earley, Danvers, Mass., assignor to Ruggles- Klingemann Mfg. Co., Salem, Mass. Application July 27, 1951, Serial No. 238,793 2 Claims. (Cl. 236-25) My present invention relates to fluid heated systems, such for example as hot water for domestic or process requirements and the subject matter of which is related to my application Serial Number 224,418 filed May 3, 1951, now Patent No. 2,680,563 issued June 8, 1954 being an extension of the broader features of the original invention.

The main object of the invention is to provide means for controlling the heat input, to the fluid to be heated, proportionally in accordance with the variation in flow of the heated fluid. A further object of the invention is in providing novel control means whereby the periodic demands are controlled in such a way as to avoid heat input when there is no demand and consequently avoid overheating.

Fig. 1 illustrates the application of my invention to an instantaneous hot water heater, the steam supply being controlled by means of a diaphragm operated valve.

Fig. 2 shows a vertical cross section of the hot water flow operated device and the admission and exhaust pilot valve for actuating a Bourdon tube to in turn operate a mercury switch for electric valve operation (not shown).

The same reference characters indicate the same or similar parts in the several figures. In my copending application I illustrated and described the broader aspects of my invention as an auxiliary control in a two temperature control system in which some of the elements of the combination were common to both. In my present application I have illustrated and described my invention in its broader aspects omitting features which involve invention only as a combination of the whole. Referring to Fig. 1 a heater shell 1 has cold water inlet 2 and hot water outlet 3. A conventional type of diaphragm op erated steam valve 4 controls steam supply to the heater, a flow operated device 5 operates a pilot valve 7 (shown in Fig. 2) for controlling a source of fluid pressure for actuating the steam control valve 4. Referring to Fig. 2 the flow operated device 5 has inner member 6 which operates pilot valve 7 proportional to the flow demand from heater 1 and this in turn controls the steam supply to the heater. In the operation pilot valve 7 is raised closing port 8 and opening port 9 permitting fluid pressure to enter ports 10 and pass through pipe 11 to the Bourdon tube 12 or diaphragm operated valve 4, the case may be, depending on whether the main steam control valve is electrically operated, or diaphragm actuated as in Fig. 4. On a discontinuance of flow through valve 5 inner valve 6 will become seated, by its own heft, closing port 9 and opening port 8 to exhaust connection 16 to hot well or other draining receptacle. This operation exhausts the pressure from the Bourdon tube, or diaphragm chamber 21 of the diaphragm operated valve 4 thereby closing the steam supply to the heater.

In the case of electric valve operation of the steam supply, the Bourdon tube 12 tends to straighten when pressure is admitted, thus causing the tube 13 to be tilted on pivot point 14 closing an electric circuit to in turn operate an electric operated steam control valve, either motor or solenoid operated and closing the steam sup ply to the heater.

It should be understood that valve 4 has a reverse seating, meaning that the valve is opened when pressure is admitted to the diaphragm chamber 21 and closed by spring 22 when pressure is exhausted from chamber 21.

It should be further understood that what is referred 2,715,499 Patented Aug. 16, 1955 to as flow operated device includes

parts

5 and 6 in both Figs. 2 and 3.

The apparatus of this invention are similar in certain of their broader aspects to the apparatus of a two temperature hot water control system as disclosed in my co-pending application Serial Number 224,418 filed May 3, 1951, now Patent No. 2,680,563 issued June 8, 1954. The subject matter common to this application and application Serial Number 224,418 is claimed in this application.

Having described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. In a hot water control system comprising in combination, a heater, a steam supply line to the heater, a steam supply valve in said line, motive means for operating said valve, a cold water inlet to the heater, a hot water delivery outlet from the heater, a casing through which the hot water flows, a flow operated member in said casing, a control chamber mounted on said casing, said control chamber having an upper and lower compartments, a control valve interposed between said compartments, said control valve being operatively connected with said flow operated member, ports leading from the casing to the lower compartment, an atmospheric exhaust connection from the upper compartment, said control valve having a neutral position in which it is not effective and two relatively efiective positions in which water pressure from the said casing is conveyed to the steam valve motive means to cause said valve to in crease the supply of steam to the heater on an increase in hot Water flow acting on said flow member, and to exhaust fluid pressure to cause steam valve motive means to operate said valve to reduce steam supply to the heater on a reduction in the flow of hot Water acting on said flow member.

2. In a hot water control system comprising in combination, a heater for heating the water, a steam supply line to the heater, a steam supply valve in said line, motive means for operating said valve, resilient spring means for biasing said valve to a closed position, a cold water inlet to the heater, a hot water delivery outlet from the heater, a casing through which the hot Water flows, said casing having an inlet and an outlet, a partition wall separating the inlet from the outlet, an orifice in said wall, a flow operated member adapted to normally close said orifice, a control chamber mounted on said casing, said control chamber having upper and lower compartments, a control valve interposed between the upper and lower compartments and operatively connected with said flow operated member, ports leading from said casing to the lower compartment, an atmospheric exhaust connection from the upper compartment, said control valve having a neutral position in which it is not effective and two effective positions in which water pressure from the said casing is admitted or exhausted from the steam supply motive means, the operation being such that on an increase in flow through said casing said flow operated member operates the control valve to admit fluid pressure from the lower compartment to actuate the steam valve motive means to supply an increased amount of steam to said heater and on a decrease in hot water flow to exhaust fluid pressure from the said motive means to the upper compartment to thereby reduce the supply of steam to said heater.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,231,822 Warman July 3, 1917 1,356,121 Beler -l Oct. 19, 1920 2,006,035 Stewart June 25, 1935 2,572,253 Fellows Oct. 23, 1951 2,644,641 Clarkson July 7, 1953