Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
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TITLE
DISTRIBUTION MODULE FOR WATER HEATER
.INTRODUCTION
This invention relates to a distribution module
and, more particularly, to a distribution module used
with a plurality of water and coolant circulation systems
in a boat or vehicle.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Recreational vehicles, motor homes, trucks,
boats and the like, particularly ones of the larger
variety, often,have a plurality of water and coolant
circuits. A first circuit may extend from the engine of
the vehicle or boat and is typically used for heata.ng'the
interior or the vehicle or boat. A second circuit may
extend from an auxiliary heater which.may also be used
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for heating when the engine is not operating. A third
circuit may extend from a source of potable water used
for cooking and other personal use. A.further circuit
may be used for zone heating and heat exchangers between
the various circuits are common. The heating module and
the engine are usually not made by the same manufacturer
and they may not be installed at the same time.
Accordingly, adapting-a the previously installed system
with a newly installed system is.ineffici.ent and time
consuming due to the.many connections, heat exchanger,
pumps valves and the like.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
According to one aspect of the invention, there
is provided a distribution module for a hot water heater
system, said distribution module comprising an engine
heater coolant inlet and outlet to allow for the ingress
to and egress from said distribution module of engine
coolant from an engine, a potable water inlet and outlet
to allow for the ingress to and egress from said
distribution module of potable water, a coolant heater
inlet and outlet to allow for the ingress to and egress
from said distribution module of heater coolant from a
coolant heater and at least one heat exchanger to
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exchange heat between said heater coolant and/or said
engine coolant and said potable water.
According to a further aspect of-the invention,
there is provided a distribution module for a hot water
heating system comprising an inlet and an outlet for
connection to a potable water heater circuit, a heat
exchanger having an inlet and outlet from said inlet and
outlet for said potable water heater circuit, an inlet
and outlet for.connection to a coolant circuit containing
a zone heater and a pump within said distribution module
for moving said coolant through said coolant circuit.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWINGS
Specific embodiments of the invention will now
be described, by way of example only, with the use of
drawings in which:
Figures 1A and 1B are diagrammatic side and endviews, respectively, of a
potable water heater according
to the invention;
Figure 2 is a schematic of the circuit used
with the water level sensor according to a further aspect
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of the invention;
Figure,3 is an isometric and partial cutaway
view of one end of the heater according to-the invention
particularly illustrating the accessibility of the
various components for serving and the water inlet and
outlets;
Figure 4 is a diagrammatic schematic of a zone
heater which zone heater is used.in operable association
with the heater according to the invention;
Figures 5A and 5B are diagrammatic end and side
cutaway views of a further embodiment of the. invention in
which'a heater according to the invention may be used in
two different applications;
Figure 6 is a diagrammatic schematic of a
distribution module according to a further aspect of the
invention in which hot and cold potable water is provide&
for personal use and which utilises heater and engine
coolant for heating; and
Figure 7 is a diagrammatic schematic of a
distribution module according to a further aspect of the
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invention but which:distribution module is used only with
the potable water heater circuit and the coolant circuit
used for zone heating.
DESCRIPTION OF SPECIFIC EMBODIMENT
Referring now to the drawings, the potable
water heating system is generally illustrated at 100 in
Figure 1A. The exhaust is created by a centrally located'
burner 101 which is conveniently.diesel fuel powered and
which burner 101 utilises pressurized air for the nozzle
102 where the diesel fuel and the air combine to provide
the combustion flame 122. The burner 101 is conveniently~
a burner utilised in a HUFtRICANE (Trademark)-heating
system manufactured by International Thermal Research
Ltd. of Richmond, British Columbia, Canada.
The heating system 100 includes an exhaust
jacket 103 surrounding the burner 101 which exhaust
jacket 103 conveys hot exhaust to an exhaust manifold 104and thence to a stack
110 which releases the hot gases to
the atmosphere, the direction of flow of the hot exhaust
being illustrated by the arrows.
A potable water jacket 110 surrounds the burner
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101 and carries potable water. Cold potable water enters
the water jacket 110 at cold water inlet 1.12 (Figure 1B)
and, after being heated by the hot gases in the exhaust
jacket 103, the now heated potable water leaves at water
outlet 113.
An electrical or resistance element 114 is
inserted into the water jacket 110 from the end as
illustrated in Figure 1B. The electrical element 114 is
a resistance type 120 volt heater and is electrically
powered to assist in maintaining the temperature of the
potable water when the burner 101 is not operating such
as when the vehicle or boat has an independent source of
power available.
The heating system 100 is pressurized; that
is, the heating system 100 is a closed system. As such,
there.are forces acting on the end portions 120, 121 of
the water jacket 110. The end portions 120, 121 are each
generally convex on the outside surface and concave on
the inside surfaces 126, 127 which inside surfaces 126,
127 are exposed to the potable water under pressure in
the water jacket 110.
A water level sensor generally illustrated at
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130 (Figure 1B) is inserted into the potable water heater
100. Water level sensor 130 is used to sense the
presence of water within the heater 100. In the event
the sensor 130 does not sense water within.the heater
100, a signal 131 is sent to a control.board (not
illustrated) which signal results in heater shutdown with
the control board terminating operation of the burner
101.
Referring now to Figure 3, one end of the
heater 100 is illustrated. it will be appreciated that
the heater 100 is conveniently installed in a
,, =
recreational vehicle (not shown) from the end; that is,
it is mounted endwise and, if -servicing is required, it
is conveniently done by opening access to one end of the
heater 100 only so that the heater 100 need not be
removed in its entirety for servicing. To that end, a
single removable and peripheral wrap around panel member
partially shown at 140 which covers the two sides and the
top of the heater 100 is conveniently attached with
removable attachments 141 (one of which is shown) such as
screws; bolts and the like on opposite sides of the
heater 100. A further and front panel member 142 is
conveniently attached to the front of the heater 100 and
is similarly easily removed by removing its attachment
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screws (not shown). When the end panel 142 and/or the
side pane1.140 are removed, the operating components of
the heater 100 are readily visible and manually
accessible from the end of the heater 100 and servicing
is possible without the removal of the heater 100 from
the recreational vehicle or boat. The burner assembly
143, the compressor 144, the aquastats 150 mounted in the
water jacket and at the end of the combustion chamber,
the combustion fan 151, and the fuel pump 152 are all
readily accessible to a user of.the heater 100 and may be
removed and serviced from the end of the heater 100
without removal of the heater 100 from the vehicle in
which it is installed. In addition, the cold water inlet
153 and the hot water outlet 154 are similarly
conveniently located at the end of the heater 100 with a
mixing-valve 160 also conveniently located at the end of
the heater 100 for-"access..
OPERATION
in operation, ignition of the fuel and air will
take place as is usual, such as with the use of an
ignition electrode (not shown) and a combustion flame.122
will appear in the burner tube 101 from the combustion of
the pressurized air and fuel combined in the nozzle 102
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9 (Figure 1A). Hot gases will subsequently emanate from
the combustion flame 122 and leave the end of the burner
tube 101 as is shown by the arrows, the hot gases
traveling first into the exhaust jacket 103 to a first
stack 124 which transfers the exhaust gases to a second
passageway 104 located within the water jacket 110 of the
burner 100. The exhaust will exit the second passageway
104 through outside stack 110 and subsequently is
released to the atmosphere.
Thus, it.will be seen that the heat from the
exhaust gases are used to heat the exhaust manifold 104
which manifold is in contact with the potable water
within the heater 100. Additional heat is therefore
provided to the potable water through the exhaust
manifold 104 which, because of its location within the
potable water jacket 110,.will enhance the heating of the
potable water prior to the exhaust gases being released
to'the atmosphere and improve the efficiency of the
burner. A further advantage is that the stack
temperature will be reduce because heat in the exhaust
gases will be transferred to the potable water before the
exhaust gases reach stack-100.
Because the water is under pressure within the
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water jacket 110, the force of the water will act against
the end portions 120, 121'of the water heater 100. 'This
force may be intermittent with the result that cyclical
stress arises. It has been found that having the end
portions 120, 121 assume a convex outside configuration
and a concave inside corifiguration will reduce the
amplitude of the cyclic stress on heater 100. The forces
acting on the end portions, therefore, are better
absorbed by the housing of the heater 100.
Access to the operating components associated
.with the combustion in heater 100 is conveniently
provided by the removable side and end panels 140, 142
respectively (Figure 3). The-user or operator may
unscrew the attachment screws 141 and remove the side and
top panel 140 and likewise remove the end panel 142. The
burner assembly 14-3 may then-be removed for servicing.
If the other operating components need servicing or
replacement such as the compressor 144, the combustion
fan 151, the fuel pump 152 or the aquastats 150, their
location on one end of the heater 100 conveniently
provides access without removal of the heater 100 from
the vehicle and without the necessity of removing panels
other than those located at one end of the heater 100.
Similarly,the mixing valve 160 may easily be,adjusted
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for raising or lowering the temperature of the hot water
exiting the water heater 100 from hot water outlet 154.
A further embodiment of the invention is
illustrated in Figure 4 from which a zone heater
generally illustrated at 161 is operably connected to the
potable water heater 100. Zone heater 161 conveniently
includes a fan 162 which blows air over a radiator within
the zone heater 161. A glycol mixture circulates through'
the zone heater 161 and a heat exchanger 163 by the use
of a pump 164 which is operably connected to an aquastat
170 which measures the temperature of the circulating
glycol mixture. An expansion tank 170 is conveniently
provided in the circuit of the zone heater 162.
A second pump 172 and an associated aquastat
173 are provided to pump the- potable water heated within
the potable water heater 100 through the heat exchanger
163 thereby to exchange heat with the glycol mixture
circulating through the zone heater 161. The pumps 164,
171 are initiated by a thermostat located in the zone
serviced by the zone heater 161.
Reference is riow made to Figures 5A and 5B
which illustrate an improved efficiency heater similar to
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the potable water heater 100 of Figures 1A and 1B. In
this embodiment, however, a coolant other than potable
water may be used with the same efficiencies, such a
coolant being, for example, glycol. A further aspect of
the Figure 5 embodiment lies in a configuration which may
be adapted for heater use in two(2) installations. The
first installation, as shown in Figure 5B, incorporates a
final exhaust stack 180 which extends downwardly within
the heater 181 and exits the heater 181 from the bottom.
This exhaust configuration may conveniently be used for
recreational vehicles and other vehicles where the
exhaust is routed along the bottom of the vehicle. A
second final exhaust configuration is shown in broken
lines at 182. A hole is cut in the top of coolant stack
183 and the final exit or exhaust stack 182 is connected
and exits the top of the coolant heater 181. Electric
elements 190, 191 are conveniently provided to heat the
coolant when electric power is available. Cold coolant
enters the coolant heater at 192 and may conveniently
exit the heater 181 at 193 although ingress and egress of
the coolant may be similar to that in the Figure 1
embodiment. Other operating configurations particularly
described in association with the Figure 1 embodi.ment'may
likewise be useful in the Figure 5 embodiment.
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With reference to Figure 6 and in yet a further
embodiment-of the invention, there is provided a
distribution module generally illustrated at 200 for a
potable water heater circuit 201, a zone heater coolant
circuit or "winter" loop 202, an engine coolant circuit
203 and a coolant heater circuit 204. A coolant heater
is generally illustrated at 210. Such a heater 210 is
conveniently a diesel-powered hot water heater known as a
HURRICANE (Trademark) hot water heater manufactured by
International Thermal Research of Richmond, British
Columbia; Canada. The coolant heater 210 is used to heat
a coolant, conveniently a glycol-water mixture, which
coolant circulates through the storage tank 211 of the
coolant heater 210 which surrounds, the burner 213 and
passes into a first heat exchanger 211 and thence into a
second heat exchanger 212. A solenoid 214 is interposed
between a "summer" heater,coolant loop 220 and winter
heater coolant loop 202. The summer heater coolant loop
220 returns the coolant to the coolant heater 210. The
winter heater coolant'loop 202 includes a plurality of
zone heaters 221 and an overflow tank 222. If the winter
heater coolant loop 202 is enabled, heater coolant will
pass through the zone heaters 221 to the summer engine
loop 220 where the coolant returns to the coolant heater
210 for reheating by the combustion flame 223 in burner
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213. It will be noted that the exhaust from the burner
213 passes through a jacket 225 within the storage tank
211 of the coolant heater 210 so as to better transfer
heat to the heater coolant prior to the exhaust
exhausting from the burner 210 to the atmosphere through
exhaust stack 250.
The potable-water circuit 201 includes a
potable water tank 224 and a pump 230 used to pump the
potable water to the.first heat exchanger 211, through a
mixing valve 231 and thence to the various potable water
outlets 232. The pump 230 also is used to provide cold
water through potable water circuit 233.. A further
potable water inlet 234 may be'conveniently be provided
for hookup to the potable water circuit 201 when the
vehicle or boat has access to such a source such as a
city supply of potable water. A three way water'valve
240 will be operably installed between the two potable
water sources 224, 234 with operator's control to valve
240 being provided to select the appropriate potable
water source and which valve 240 may also be operated to
allow the city source 234 go fill the potable water tank
224. Engine coolant circuit 203 runs from the engine
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241 to a pump 243 which conveniently provides'the pumping
pressure necessary for the heated engine coolant to pass.
through second heat exchanger 212 and to provide engine
heat to the potable water and/or the coolant of the
coolant heater 210.
Two pumps 243, 244 are conveniently also
provided in the distri:bution-module 200. Each is
independently operated. Pump 243 provides coolant to the'
winter loop circuit 202. Pump 244 provides coolant to
the summer loop 220 when the winter solenoid 214 is
initiated to enable the summer loop 220.
In operation, it will be assumed that the boat
or vehicle is being operated away from a land based
source of potable water and without engine operation of
the vehicle or boat; that is, the boat or vehicle is not
underway. It will further be assumed that the winter
loop 202 is being used and that coolant is being provided
to the zone heaters 221. Winter solenoid 214, therefore,
will be closed-thus preventing coolant from the second
heat exchanger 212 from passing through the valve between
the winter loop 202 and the summer loop 220 and directing
all coolant through the pump 243 and into the winter loop
202.
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The operation of the coolant heater 210 will be
initiated and coolant.will be pumped through the coolant
heater 210 by wa.y of pump 243 in winter loop 202.
Coolant leaving the coolant heater will pass into first
heat exchanger 211 and thence through second heat
exchanger 212. Since the solenoid 214 is closed, heated
coolant will pass through winter loop 202 to the zone
heaters 221, thence to the overflow tank 222, through the
summer loop 220 and back to the coolant heater 210 for
coolant reheating.
During this circulation of coolant.from the
coolant heater 210, potable water from the potable water
tank 224 will pass through the first heat exchanger 211
by way of mixing valve 231 where the temperature of the
potable water passing to the potable water outlets 232 is
regulated to obtain controlled temperature potable water
from the various outlets 232. Cold water from the
potable water tank 224 will be provided directly to the
potable water outlets 232 through circuit 233 without the
need for the water passing through the mixing valve 231
or first heat exchanger 211.
In the event heat from the zone heaters 221 is
not required, the winter loop 202 will be closed by
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opening the solenoid operated valve 214 which will allow
. the heated coolant to*pass directly through the summer
loop 220 and back to the coolant heater 210. The
operation of pump 243 will be terminated with the opening
of solenoid valve 214.
if the vehicle or boat is underway with the
engine 241 in operation, the heat produced by the engine
coolant in engine coolant circuit 203 will be used and
the operation of the burner 223 of the coolant heater 210
will ordinarily be terminated. One of the pumps 243, 244
will be operated to circulate the coolant heater coolant
through either the winter or summer circuits 202, 220,
respectively. This heater coolant is then heated by the
engine coolant passing through second.heat exchanger 212.
The heated engine coolant passes through second.heat
exchanger 212 and theri returns directly to the engine 241
for reheating. Since the potable water passes through
first heat exchanger 211, it will be heated by the heater
coolant. The temperature of the water exiting to the
potable water outlets 232 is aqain regulated by the
.mixing valve 231. The operat=on of both winter and
summer loops 202, 220 is the sane as earlier described.
In the event a shore based potable water source
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is used, water valve 240 is closed to the potable water
tank 224 and water from the city connection 234 is
provided directly to the potable water loop 201. Water
valve 240, being a three water valve, will-also allow the
filling of potable water tank 224 from the city water
connection 234.
Yet a further distribution module is
illustrated generally at 300 in Figure 7. This
distribution module is utilised-with only two circuits,
namely the potable water circuit 301 which passes the
potable water from the potable water heater 302 through
the heat exchanger 303 and which potable water then
returns to the water heater 302 or which is otherwise
used in the potable water circuit 301. The coolant
circuit 304 utilises coolant heated by the potable water
within heat exchanger 303 and that heated coolant is
circulated through the zone heater 310 and overflow tank
311 by the use of pump 312 which is also located within
the distribution module 300.
Many modifications will readily occur to those
skilled in the art to which the invention relates. For
example, although the exhaust stack is shown to be in a
rectangular configuration as viewed in Figure 2, the
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shape could of course change as design circumstances
change and while the exhaust stack is shown as traveling.
down only one side of the water jacket 110., the hot
exhaust could also travel within the water jacket 110 in
several other configurations on various sides of the
burner tube 101 and on each side of the burner tube 101
if desired. And while only one pass of the hot exhaust
through the water jacket 114-is-described and
illustrated, more than one pass for the hot exhaust is
readily contemplated..
It is further contemplated that the potable
water heater according to the invention may conveniently
be used in a living environment other than in marine or
vehicle use. Such a heater requires initial power to
initiate the combustion flame but, following that
ignition, the heater could operate on minimal power or
the energy generated by the heater could be used to
.produce the necessary power for continued operation.
Many-further embodiments will readily occur to
those skilled in the art to which the invention relates
and the particular embodiments described are given by'vday
of example only and are not intended as limiting the
scope of the invention as defined in accordance with the
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accompanying claims.
