US3190283A

US3190283A - Compact instantaneous water heater

Info

Publication number: US3190283A
Application number: US232411A
Authority: US
Inventors: Miyahara Kingo
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1962-10-23
Filing date: 1962-10-23
Publication date: 1965-06-22
Anticipated expiration: 1982-06-22

Description

Filed Oct. 23, 1962 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Fig. l

June 22, 1965 KINGO MIYAHARA COMPACT INSTAN'IANEOUS WATER HEATER 2 Sheets-Sheet 2- Filed Oct. 23, 1962 Fig. 7

United States Patent 3,190,283 COMPACT INSTANTANEOUS WATER HEATER Kingo Miyahara, 45 Miyarnaecho, Meguro-iru,

Tokyo, Japan Filed Oct. 23, 1962, Ser. No. 232,411 2 Claims. (Cl. 126-459) define the top portion of a combustion chamber and having a wall formed with through apertures serving as outlet openings allowing burnt gases to flow exteriorly of said combustion chamber, a stack of heat-absorbing material filling a space defined between said cap member and the adjacent wall of said casing, means for sprinkling water over said stack of heat absorbing material, and

means for collecting the water heated.

In the water heater according to the present invention, sprinkled water comes into direct contact with the burnt gases or the heat absorbing material heated thereby to be heated through the heat exchange efiected therebetween while trickling down through the stack of heatabsorbing material and the water thus heated is collected in the water collector.

The water heater according to the present invention is a kind of flush type water heater which is highly eificient, compact and economical to manufacture. The waterheater may be advantageously employed in all cases where heated water is required either for domestic or industrial use.

The present invention will now be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings, which illustrate a few embodiments of the invention and in which:

FIG. 1 is a vertical cross-sectional view of one embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 2 is a top plan view of the embodiment shown in FIG. 1;

. FIG.,3 is a side elevational view of a modified form I of cap member;

FIG. 4 is an enlarged fragmentary cross-sectional view of the cap member shownin FIG. 3;

FIG. 5 is a vertical cross-sectional view of another embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 6 is a top plan view of the embodiment shown in FIG. 5; and

FIGS. 7 and 8 are a side elevational and a top plan view, respectively, of the cap member employed in the embodiments of FIGS. 5 and 6.

Referring to the drawings and particularly to FIGS. 1 and 2, the water heater illustrated is comprised of a base 10, a casing mounted on the base. A cover is disposed on top of the casing, and a cap-like member 4b is mounted in the casing. A burner assembly 50 is arranged in the base on the bottom thereof. A stack of solid heat-absorbing refractory material 60 fills a space defined between the cap-like member 44 and the adjacent wall of the casing 20 to surround the cap-like member 40. Water feeding means 713 is provided for sprinkling water over the stack of heat-absorbing material. The heat-absorbing material preferably takes the form of pebbles of fora-ruinous rock such as of silica, shale or pumice or ceramic material or balls formed of sheet metal.

The base 10 is preferbly a one-piece structure of cast iron having a cylindrical side wall 11, a bottom wall 12 and an annular flange 13 extending horizontally inwardly ice from the side wall 11 at a level about half of the height thereof.

The casing 21) is made of sheet metal and has a cylindrical outer shell or wall 21 connected at the bottom end with an annular bottom wall 22 along the outer periphery thereof. A relatively short cylindrical upstanding wall 23 extends upwardly from the inner peripheral edge of the annular bottom 22. The

walls

21, 22 and 23 together form a reservoir 24 where heated water collects. Provided inside of the outer casing wall 21 is an inner shell or cylindrical heat-shielding wall 25 in slightly spaced-apart relation thereto. The heat-shielding wall 25 is secured to the wall 21 by suitable means, as will readily be understood. The casing20 is placed on the flange 13 of the base 10 by way of the annular bottom wall 22. The cover 30 mounted on top of the casing 20 has formed therein a central aperture 31 serving as a burnt gas discharge opening.

The cap-like member 40 is placed in the casing on top of the upstanding wall 23 thereof, as illustrated. The cap-like member 40 is also made of sheet metal and generally frustoconical including a fiat horizontally extending top wall 41 and a downwardly diverging conicallyshaped wall 42, the inner surface of which engages the top edge of the upstanding wall 23 as at 43. The conical wall 42 is formed with a multitude of apertures 44 serving as outlet passages through which burnt gases flow out. Each of the apertures 44 includes a slit having a horizontally extending straight bottom edge 45 and an outwardly expanded or bulged top edge overlying said bottom edge in spaced-apart relation thereto. The apertures in this embodiment of the invention open downwardly.

The bottom wall 12 and annular flange 13 of the base 10 define a space together with the upstanding wall 23 of the casing and the cap-like member 40, the burner assembly 50 being arranged in the bottom portion of the space, as illustrated. The top portion of the space forms a combustion chamber where fuel ejected through the burner is burnt. The burner assembly 50 includes a blower 51, an air delivery pipe 52 connected to the outlet of said blower, and a mixing chamber 53 communicating with the air delivery pipe 52 at the extremity thereof. Fuel gas is fed through a conduit 54 into the air delivery pipe 52 intermediate its ends and mixed with air in the mixing chamber 53. The fuel-air mixture is ejected upwardly from the mixing chamber 53 to burn in the combustion chamber above.

In this embodiment, the stack of heat-absorbing material 6t) fills the space defined between the inner wall 25 of the casing and the cap-like member 40 to surround the walls thereof reaching at the top a level higher than the top wall 41.

The water feeding device 70 includes a sprinkler head 72 disposed above the stack of heat-absorbing material and formed with a mulitude of orifices 71 having down- Wardly diverging axes. The water feeding device 70 is secured at the sprinkler head 72 to the outer wall 21 of the casing 20 by means of a support bar 73. A Water conduit 75 for feeding water to the sprinkler head 72 extends downwardly along the inner surface of the inner wall 25 and further extends outwardly through the inner wall 25 and the outer wall 21 as indicated at 76 to a suitable water supply source. Water to be heated is thus fed from the supply source through the conduit 75 to the sprinkler head 72.

For the purpose of carrying the heated water collecting in the reservoir 24 exteriorly of the heater, a conduit $1 is connected to the reservoir 24 adjacent to its bottom and extends outwardly through the side wall 11 of the base 14) to the point of use of the heated water. As

the water.

shown in FIG. 1, a window device 82 is provided 'for ob- I serving the state of fuel combustionin the heater exteriorly of the casing thereof. i

In operation of the water heaterillustrated in FIGS. ;1' and 2, as apparent from thegforegoing description, fuel gas fed throughthe conduit 54 into the air delivery pipe 52 of the burner assembly to be mixed with the air delivered from the blower 51 flows upwardly through the pipe 52 into the mixing chamber to be thoroughly mixed with the; air. The mixture flows out of the chamber toburn in the space above. The burnt gases rise to flow outwardly through the mulitude of apertures 44 formed in the cap-like member 40 to be uniformly distributed into the stack of heat-absorbing material 60 and thusvrises there= through while directly heating the heat-absorbing material. Water fed through the conduit 75 into the sprinkler cent roof members outwardly into the stack of heat absorbing material 260. V i v The general function of the water heater shown in FIGS.

5 to 8 is similar to that, of the heater shown in FIGS. 1 and '2. Specifically, water is fed through the conduit 275 to the sprinkler head 272 and ejected downwardly divergently 5 through the orifices 271 formed therein. to flowfidown through the stack of heat-absorbing material while being heated bythe burnt gases and the heat-absorbing material head 72 is ejected through the orifices 7 1 [formed therein downwardly divergentlyto trickle down through the stack of heat-absorbing material 60 While-making direct contact with the risinghot gases or with the surfaces of the heatabsorbing material heated thereby. The water thus heated 7 while trickling down through'th-e heat-absorbing material is collected in the annular reservoir and led out through the conduit 81 to-the point of use as required.

With this arrangemenh itwill be appreciated that the I contact area between the trickling water and the rising:

gases or the heat-absorbing material isextremely large for the size of. the waterheater and thus'theheat content of the burnt gases is substantially entirely. ransferred to an extremely highly efficient water heater is provided produced from escaping exteriorly readily be. appreciated. v

Referring next to FIGS. 3 and4, a modified form of cap-like member 140 is generally similar to the cap-like of the casing, as will rnem'ber iil except that it includesapertures 144 each tElk-r ing the form of a slit having a horizontally extending straight top edgeand'an inwardly olfset b ottom edge 149. Another embodiment of the present invention'shown in According'to the present invention, therefore,

which may be fed with fuel and water at highrates despite of its limited size. In the embodiment described above; the provision of the inner wall 25. is effective to keep heat means defining 'a combustion chamber in said casing and comingacaplike cover member defining an upper part of said combustion .chamberin which combustion takes place, said cap-like member having through, elongated apertures extending in a circumferential direction for allowing hot gases of combustion to flow out of said combustion chamber, means on'said cap-like cover memberdefining said apertures'opening ina downward direction, a plurality of stacked heat-absorbing bodies disposed around and over said'upper part of said come ,bustion chamber in immediate contact-therewith to be heated by said gases fiowin'g out-10f said combustion chamberv apertures, means to sp'rink'le water on the-stack of said heat-absorbing bodies for heat transfer from said hot gases and said bodies to thesprinkled water percolating therethrougli, means for collecting the heated water comprising means defining a hot water reservoir disposed at a level for receiving said water after percolating through said heat-absorbing bodies and disposed beneath andclose adjacent to said stacked heat-absorbing-bodies to hold the heated water outwardly of said @combustion chamber and in contactwith said combustion FIGS. 5 and--6 is generallysi'milar in construction to the I first embodiment shown 'infFIGS.,1 and 2 except the following features. Parts of the second embodiment corre-. sponding to those of the first embodiment are designated in FIGS. 5 and '6 by adding 200 to the reference numerals for the first embodiment.

Thecasing 220 of thesecond embodimentha's a simplified structure compared with that of the first embodiment, lacking any inner wall corresponding to the wall 2'5 arranged inside of the outer casing wall'fll of the first embodiment. The casing 220 also has an integral top wall platform 291 provided [for the purpose. A burner assembly 250 is' designed for use with liquid-duel.

230 in place of the cover 30. The stack of heat-absorbing material 2 60 is supported at the bottom by an annular A furtherdistinctive feature of the embodiment shown in FIGS. 5 and '6 is a cap-likernember 240 constructed as described below. 7

As illustrated in FIG. 7, the cap-likev member 240 includcs a top roof member 246, anurnber ofintermediate roofmembers 247, a bottom roof member 248, and three 7 rafters 249 interconnecting said roof members in spacedapart overlapping relation to each other to form a domelike structure having annular spacings 244; Burnt gases flow through these annular spacings 24 4 betweeri the adja- V chamber at least partially circumferentiallythereof, and a burner assembly in said combustioncharnber for burning a fuel in said combustion chamber, whereby said compact water heater is of reduced dimensions and can heat relatively large amounts .of water with an improved efficiency. i A

2 A'compact water heater according to claim 1, in wh1ch sa1dheat-absorbing bodies comprise a foraminou-s material.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATESYPATENTS' V 4/08 Shipley V 126-359 2,247,304 6/41 Mela 126-344 X 2,893,359v 7/59. .Magovern et a1. 126-355 X FOREIGN PATENTS r 835,516 3/52 Germany. 582,792 11/46 Great Britain. 575,458 7 '4/58 Italy. 4 1 162,078 7 8/33 Switzerland. 1

JAMES W. WESTHAVER, Primary Examiner. PERCY L. PATRmIc raminer. Y J

Claims

1. A COMPACT WATER HEATER COMPRISING, A CASING, MEANS DEFINING A COMBUSTION CHAMBER IN SAID CASING AND COMING A CAP-LIKE COVER MEMBER DEFINING AN UPPER PART OF SAID COMBUSTION CHAMBER IN WHICH COMBUSTION TAKES PLACE, SAID CAP-LIKE MEMBER HAVING THROUGH, ELONGATED APERTURES EXTENDING IN A CIRCUMFERENTIAL DIRECTION FOR ALLOWING HOT GASES OF COMBUSTION TO FLOW OUT OF SAID COMBUSTION CHAMBER, MEANS ON SAID CAP-LIKE COVER MEMBER DEFINING SAID APERTURES OPENING IN A DOWNWARD DIRECTION , A PLURALITY OF STACKED HEAT-ABSORBING BODIES DISPOSED AROUND AND OVER SAID UPPER PART OF SAID COMBUSTION CHAMBER IN IMMEDIATE CONTACT THEREWITH TO BE HEATED BY SAID GASES FLOWING OUT OF SAID COMBUSTION CHAMBER APERTURES, MEANS TO SPRINKLE WATER ON THE STACK OF SAID HEAT-ABSORBING BODIES FOR HERAT TRANSFER FROM SAID HOT GASES AND SAID BODIES TO THE SPINKLED WATER PERCOLATING THERETHROUGH, MEANS FOR COLLECTING THE HEATED WATER COMPRISING MEANS DEFINING A HOT WATER RESERVOIR DISPOSED AT A LEVEL FOR RECEIVING SAID WATER AFTER PERCOLATING THROUGH SAID HEAT-ABSORBING BODIES AND DISPOSED BENEATH AND CLOSE ADJACENT TO SAID STACKED HEAT-ABSORBING BODIES TO HOLD THE HEATED WATER OUTWARDLY OF SAID COMBUSTION CHAMBER AND IN CONTACT WITH SAID COMBUSTION CHAMBER AT LEAST PARTIALLY CIRCUMFERENTIALLY THEREOF, AND A BURNER ASSEMBLY IN SAID COMBUSTION CHAMBER FOR BURNING A FUEL IN SAID COMBUSTION CHAMBER, WHEREBY SAID COMPACT WATER HEATER IS OF REDUCED DIMENSIONS AND CAN HEAT RELATIVELY LARGE AMOUNTS OF WATER WITH AN IMPROVED EFFICIENCY.