WO2022102477A1

WO2022102477A1 - A safety configuration in hydroblock systems

Info

Publication number: WO2022102477A1
Application number: PCT/JP2021/040436
Authority: WO
Inventors: Mustafa KARASAHIN
Original assignee: Daikin Industries, Ltd.; Daikin Europe N.V.
Priority date: 2020-11-10
Filing date: 2021-11-02
Publication date: 2022-05-19
Also published as: EP4244537A1; TR202017937A2

Abstract

The invention relates to a flow hydroblock (3.1) connected with a heat exchanger (2) within a hydroblock group (3) of water heater device (1), including a filling valve (4), a safety valve (6), and a 3-way valve (5), and for keeping constant pressure within the hydroblock group; the filling valve is positioned either in a way that water entering the flow hydroblock between the heat exchanger and the outlet direction of the 3-way valve, or in a way that water entering the flow hydroblock before the inlet direction of the 3-way valve, and safety valve is positioned before inlet direction of the 3-way valve.

Description

A SAFETY CONFIGURATION IN HYDROBLOCK SYSTEMS

The invention relates to a flow hydroblock connected with a heat exchanger within a hydroblock group of water heater device, comprising a filling valve for supplying water to the flow hydroblock group, a safety valve, and a 3-way valve.

More specifically, the invention relates to a flow hydroblock for keeping constant pressure within the hydroblock group wherein the filling valve is positioned either in a way that water entering the flow hydroblock between the heat exchanger and the outlet direction of the 3-way valve, or in a way that water entering the flow hydroblock before the inlet direction of the 3-way valve, and safety valve is positioned before inlet direction of the 3-way valve.

With the development of technology, new designs are developing day by day mainly for cost down purpose. Other than new designs, new type of raw materials are used and sometimes alternative methods are conducted for compromising function or serviceability.

As for the combi boilers, they provide instantaneous hot water within a compact body in an efficient, economical and clean way. An important point they should serve is safety and there are many studies on parts of the combi boilers to develop safety configurations without sacrifiying energy optimised design.

In the state of the art, a combi boiler has a hydroblock group (3) as shown in Figure 6a composed of a plate heat exchanger (2), a flow hydroblock (3.1) and a return hydroblock (3.2) as shown in Figure 6b. The flow hyroblock comprises filling valve, 3-way valve and its motor, safety valve, by-pass valve (or check valve) disposed on a by-pass line, a main heat exchanger outlet line connection, a central heating (CH) outlet line connection, DHW outlet line connection and the by-pass inlet line connection. The return hydroblock comprises limit thermistor, pump and pump connection, flow sensor, flow limiter, pressure sensor for CH inlet line connection, DHW inlet line connection and the by-pass outlet line connection. Although they have similar components, "flow" or "return" hydroblock groups differ in location and functions within the hydroblock group.

In present hydroblock group configurations in the art as shown in Figure 7a-d, supply water coming from the network to the domestic water inlet line (DHW Inlet) (13) with a pressure of approximately 10 bar arrives to the filling valve (4) via the parallel connection from the domestic water outlet line 14). The filling valve (4) is connected to the system after the 3-way valve (5) on the central heating outlet line (16) and the safety valve (6) before the 3-way valve (5).

If the water routing position (black triangle shows the closed position) of 3-way valve (5) does not allow central heating outlet line (16) and at the same time any valve on the installation between the central heating outlet line (16) and the central heating inlet line (15) is closed as shown in Figure 7a, then the water with 10 bar fed from the network creates the risk of damaging the system by creating an excessive pressure force on the 3-way valve (5) and other equipment between the 3-way valve (5) and the closed valve (black triangle shows the closed position) on the heating line. At the same time, the boiler is inoperable, since water cannot be supplied with sufficient pressure to the system. The dashed lines zone shows the closed part of the installation.

For the technical solution of the situation given above, some producers change the connection position of safety valve (6) between 3-way valve (5) and CH outlet line (16). In this case as shown in Figure 7b, however, the water with 10 bar fed from the mains continues to fill until it reaches 3 bar between 3-way valve (5) and closed valve on the heating line. The dashed lines zone shows the closed part of the installation. After reaching 3 bar pressure, safety valve (6) starts the water discharge to set pressure at 3 bar. In this situation, the boiler is inoperable as it cannot be supplied with sufficient pressure water to the rest of the system.

In an alternative state of the art, supply water coming from network to the domestic water (DHW) inlet line (13) with a pressure of approximately 10 bar to the filling valve (4) via parallel connection from the DHW outlet line (14). As shown in Figure 7c, the filling valve (4) is connected before the 3-way valve (5) and the safety valve (6) on the CH outlet line (16) after the 3-way valve (5).

If the water routing position of 3-way valve (5) does not allow DHW outlet line (14) and at the same time any valve on the installation between the DHW outlet line (14) and the CH inlet line (15) is closed, then water with 10 bar fed from the mains will stay in the dashed lines zone and never reach the safety valve (6), and therefore creates the risk of damaging the system by creating a pressure force more than expected on all equipment between the 3-way valve (5) and the closed valve.

Another problem in the state of the art is discharging of remaining water within the hydroblock group (3) after performance tests. At the end of the serial production of combi boilers, various performance and safety tests are carried out on the line and offered to customers. To carry out these test processes, the device is fed with mains water and at the end of the tests, air sweeping process is applied in two steps to discharge the remaining water in the installation inside the device.

1. Pressurized air is supplied to the system from the CH inlet line (15). And the water in the device is discharged from the CH outlet line (16) as indicated in dashed and dotted lines zone shown in Figure 7d.
2. Pressurized air is supplied to the system from the DHW inlet line (13). And the water in the device is discharged from the DHW outlet line (14).

After the specified 2 steps, the water inside the device is drained, except for the area indicated in dashed lines in Figure 7d. The water remaining in dashed lines zone cannot be discharged until the device reaches the customer and is installed and commissioned at the customer site.

In the period until the product is put into use, it may damage the equipment it is located in, due to the freezing of water and the increase in volume with freezing under low ambient stock and transfer conditions. For example, it can blow the plate heat exchanger (2) at the lowest point of resistance.

In the light of above problems and various considerations within the prior art, it is required to develop a new configuration on flow hydroblock to provide that the system pressure will not exceed the required 3 bar value as well as that the remaining water within the hydroblock group can be fully discharged. Some other solutions regarding the hydroblock groups/water inlet groups are mentioned below.

TR 2017 03604 is related with a plastic combi inlet block of plumping water line. The invention includes the filling valve clip that provides the fixing of the filling valve body to the main body in a removable way and the body connection hole that ensures the fixation of the main body to the exchanger.

TR 2013 08350 discloses a water inlet group with angled filling valve. The filling tap on the pump side body is positioned angularly to provide easy accessibility. The filling valve is used to adjust the combi boiler water pressure, and the use and maintenance services are accelerated with the angular position design.

TR 2011 09503 relates to a three-way flow group comprising a filling tap that can be mounted straight and/or angularly allowing the use of filling taps of different manufacturers to fill water in the internal heating system. The three-way flow group also comprises safety valve connection socket which enables the safety valve to be connected to the body of the three-way group, an external bypass element that controls the water flow in the said water line by opening with increasing pressure in case of a large pressure increase in hot water line and connection nozzle that provides the connection of the said bypass element to the three-way flow group body, the heating system outlet that directs the hot water to the heating line and the nipple with socket attached to this outlet, plate heat exchanger-hot tap water connection that directs the hot tap water coming from the plate heat exchanger to the tap.

None of the above patents provides necessary solution to the mentioned problems regarding the pressure increase and water discharging within the hydroblock group. Consequently, a flow hydroblock for keeping constant pressure within the hydroblock group wherein the filling valve and safety valve is positioned accordingly is required the emergence of the solution according to the present invention.

The aim of the present invention is to provide a safe water heater device by keeping the water pressure value constant within the hydroblock group.

Another aim of the invention is to provide a solution for fully discharging the water from the device and to eliminate the risk of damaging the equipment due to water source problems such as frost.

One other aim of the invention is to protect the parts of the water heater device and provide a prolonged use with less maintenance requirement.

Another important aim of the invention is to provide a filling valve that provides water alternatively from the mains line.

In order to achieve the above aims, the present invention is a flow hydroblock connected with a heat exchanger within a hydroblock group of water heater device, comprising
- a filling valve for supplying water to the flow hydroblock,
- a safety valve,
- 3-way valve having inlet direction to main heat exchanger, outlet direction to the heat exchanger, and outlet direction to central heating outlet,
wherein for keeping constant pressure within the hydroblock group
- said filling valve is positioned either in a way that water entering the flow hydroblock between the heat exchanger and the outlet direction of the 3-way valve, or in a way that water entering the flow hydroblock before the inlet direction of the 3-way valve,
- said safety valve is positioned before inlet direction of the 3-way valve.

The flow hydroblock has a filling valve which provides water directly from DHW inlet line or alternatively provides water directly from mains line.

The flow hydroblock body is made of plastic.

The invention is also a combi boiler comprising the flow hydroblock that mentioned above.

Figure 1 schematically shows a preferred embodiment of the invention; Figure 2 schematically shows a preferred embodiment of the invention where the filling valve provides water directly from mains line; Figure 3 schematically shows an alternative embodiment of the invention where the filling valve located before the inlet direction of the 3-way valve; Figure 4 schematically shows an alternative embodiment of the invention where the filling valve provides water directly from mains line; Figure 5a shows a front view of the preferred embodiment of the invention, and Figure 5b shows a sectional view of the preferred embodiment of the invention; Figure 6a shows a perspective view of hydroblock group in the state of the art, and Figure 6b shows a disassembled perspective view of hydroblock group in the state of the art; Figure 7a-d shows schematic views of problems within a hydroblock group in the state of the art.

The invention relates to a flow hydroblock (3.1) connected with a heat exchanger (2) within a hydroblock group (3) of water heater device (1), comprising a filling valve (4) for supplying water to the flow hydroblock group (3.1), a safety valve (6), and a 3-way valve (5).

As seen from Figure 1, the water heater device (1) mainly comprises a hydroblock group (3), a main heat exchanger (12), and an expansion vessel (9). The hydroblock group (3) of water heater device (1) is composed of a heat exchanger (2) (preferably a plate heat exchanger), a flow hydroblock (3.1) connected to the one side of the heat exchanger (2), and a return hydroblock (3.2) connected to the other side of the heat exchanger (2).

The flow hydroblock (3.1) comprises a filling valve (4), a safety valve (6), a 3-way valve (5), a by-pass valve (7), DHW outlet line (14), and DHW outlet line (14) connection. The 3-way valve (5) comprises an inlet direction (5.1), an outlet direction to heat exchanger (5.2), and another outlet direction to CH (5.3). The flow hydroblock (3.1) body is made of plastic.

The return hydroblock (3.2) comprises DHW inlet line (13), limit thermistor, pump (8) and pump (8) connection, flow sensor, flow limiter, pressure sensor for CH inlet line (15) and DHW inlet line (13) connection.

The 3-way valve (5) of this invention comprises an inlet direction (5.1) connected to the safety valve (6), an outlet direction (5.2) connected to the plate heat exchanger (2), and another outlet direction (5.3) connected to the central heating outlet line (16).

In a preferred embodiment of the flow hydroblock (3.1), in order to achieve both aims that keeping constant pressure within the hydroblock group (3) as well as fully discharging the water from the device, the filling valve (4) is positioned in a way that water entering the flow hydroblock (3.1) between the heat exchanger (2) and the outlet direction (5.2) of the 3-way valve (5), and safety valve (6) is positioned before the inlet direction (5.1) of the 3-way valve (5). Front and sectional views of the preferred embodiment of the invention are shown in Figure 5a and 5b respectively.

When the water heater device (1) works, the supply water coming from the network to the DHW inlet line (13) with a pressure of about 10 bar arrives to the filling valve (4) via a parallel connection from the DHW outlet line (14). After the 3-way valve (5), the filling valve (4) is connected directly to the heat exchanger (2) and the safety valve (6) is connected before the 3-way valve (5).

If the water routing position of 3-way valve (5) does not allow CH outlet line (16) and at the same time any valve on the installation between the CH outlet line (16) and the CH inlet line (15) is closed; or regardless of the position of the 3-way valve (5) if any valve in the heater device (1) is closed; the system pressure will not exceed the required 3 bar value and the excess pressure on the equipment has been eliminated since it will be directly connected with the safety valve (6).

At the same time, the water pressure value required by the system was provided precisely.

After the production performance tests of the device, the 2 steps (mentioned on prior art part) are applied exactly to discharge the water remaining inside. In addition to these steps, a third step can be added thanks to the location and connection of filling valve (4).

In the third step, the filling valve (4) is brought to the open position and the simultaneous DHW outlet line (14) is closed by means of a plug. With the compressed air applied for a certain period of time, all the water in the heat exchanger (2) is swept and fully evacuated over the CH inlet line (15).

In an alternative embodiment of this preferred structure of the flow hydroblock (3.1), the filling valve (4) provides water directly from mains line (17) as shown in Figure 2 instead of DHW outlet line (14) of heat exchanger (2).

Another embodiment of the flow hydroblock (3.1) is shown in Figure 3 schematically. In order to keep constant pressure within the hydroblock group (3), the filling valve (4) is positioned in a way that water entering the flow hydroblock (3.1) before the inlet direction (5.1) of the 3-way valve (5), and safety valve (6) is positioned before the inlet direction (5.1) of the 3-way valve (5).

When the water heater device (1) works, supply water coming from the network to the DHW inlet line (13) with a pressure of about 10 bar arrives to the filling valve (4) via a parallel connection from the DHW outlet line (14). Both filling valve (4) and safety valve (6) are connected to the inlet direction (5.1) of the 3-way valve (5).

In an alternative embodiment of this structure of the flow hydroblock (3.1), the filling valve (4) provides water directly from mains line (17) as shown in Figure 4 instead of DHW outlet line (14) of heat exchanger (2).

1 Heater device
2 Heat exchanger
3 Hydroblock group
3.1 Flow hydroblock
3.2 Return hydroblock
4 Filling valve
5 3-way valve
5.1 Inlet direction of 3 way valve
5.2 Outlet direction of 3 way valve to heat exchanger
5.3 Outlet direction of 3 way valve to central heating (CH)
6 Safety valve
7 By-pass valve
8 Pump
9 Expansion vessel (Tank)
10 Radiator or heater emitter
11 Manual valve
12 Main heat exchanger
13 DHW inlet line
14 DHW outlet line
15 CH inlet line
16 CH outlet line
17 Mains water line
18 Main heat exchanger line
19 Check valve
20 3-way valve motor

[PTL 1] TR 2017 03604
[PTL 2] TR 2013 08350
[PTL 3] TR 2011 09503

Claims

A flow hydroblock (3.1) connected with a heat exchanger (2) within a hydroblock group (3) of water heater device (1), comprising:
- a filling valve (4) for supplying water to the flow hydroblock (3.1);
- a safety valve (6); and
- 3-way valve (5) having inlet direction (5.1) to main heat exchanger (12), outlet direction (5.2) to the heat exchanger (2), and outlet direction (5.3) to central heating outlet,
characterized in that for keeping constant pressure within the hydroblock group (3),
- said filling valve (4) is positioned either in a way that water entering the flow hydroblock (3.1) between the heat exchanger (2) and the outlet direction (5.2) of the 3-way valve (5), or in a way that water entering the flow hydroblock (3.1) before the inlet direction (5.1) of the 3-way valve (5),
- said safety valve (6) is positioned before inlet direction (5.1) of the 3-way valve (5).
The flow hydroblock (3.1) according to Claim 1 wherein
the filling valve (4) provides water directly from DHW inlet line (13).
The flow hydroblock (3.1) according to Claims 1 wherein
the filling valve (4) provides water directly from mains line (17).
The flow hydroblock (3.1) according to the preceding claims wherein
the flow hydroblock (3.1) body is made of plastic.
A combi boiler comprising the flow hydroblock (3.1) according to the preceding claims.