warm water device

Abstract

To provide a water heating apparatus capable of effectively cooling a predetermined motor by a simple structure, without using a large-sized special member.SOLUTION: A water heating apparatus WH is equipped with a water heating apparatus body portion A that has a combustion device 8, a fan 1 and a motor M for driving the fan, and an air supply adaptor 4 attached to an upper wall portion 31 of an exterior case 3. The combustion device 8 and the motor M are located in an area near an upper part in the exterior case 3, and in plan view, the combustion device 8 is at least partially located between the air supply adaptor 4 and the fan 1. An air outflow port 42 of the air supply adaptor 4 opens in a generally horizontal direction while avoiding a direction facing the motor M, and air flowing out from the outflow port 42 advances while changing directions by a side wall portion 32c of the exterior case 3 to reach a position of the motor M.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a hot water device such as a water heater. [Background technology]

[0002] A specific example of a water heating device is described in Patent Document 1. The water heater described in the document has a water heater main body housed in an outer casing. The water heater main body has a heat exchanger for heating water and a combustion device for supplying combustion gas to the heat exchanger, and the heat exchanger recovers heat from the combustion gas, heating the water fed to the heat exchanger and producing hot water. The upper wall of the outer casing is provided with an air intake adapter for drawing outside air into the outer casing, and the outer casing also houses a fan and its drive motor for supplying a mixture of fuel gas and air to the combustion device.

[0003] The motors often contain electronic components such as ICs and capacitors that are sensitive to heat, and these components must be protected. Therefore, in Patent Document 1, a duct-like air intake box is built into the exterior case to guide the air flowing out from the air outlet of the air intake adapter to above the motor and then toward the motor. With this configuration, the air taken into the exterior case is used to cool the motor, making it possible to prevent thermal damage to the motor.

[0004] Without using the air intake box, for example, if the air drawn into the exterior case simply flows downward through the air outlet of the air intake adapter, it would be difficult to effectively cool the motor. Furthermore, if a combustion device is located below the air intake adapter, the exterior surface of the combustion device will become relatively hot during operation of the hot water supply system. Therefore, the temperature of the air flowing downward from the air intake adapter will increase when it comes into contact with the exterior surface of the combustion device. Therefore, even if this air subsequently flows toward the motor, it will not be able to efficiently cool the motor. Patent Document 1 can solve this problem.

[0005] However, in the above-mentioned conventional technology, an air intake box is used as a means for cooling the motor. The air intake box guides the air flowing out of the air intake adapter's air outlet above the motor and then toward the motor. However, this air intake box is a relatively large duct-like structure. If the distance from the air intake adapter to the motor is long, the air intake box must be larger. This increases manufacturing costs and weight, and can lead to problems such as difficulty in securing space for the air intake box. Therefore, it is desirable to solve these problems. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0006] [Patent Document 1] Patent No. 6730112 [Patent Document 2] Special Publication No. 4-74609 [Patent Document 3] Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 9-329323 [Patent Document 4] Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2014-159889 [Patent Document 5] Japanese Utility Model Application Publication No. 53-14233 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0007] The present invention was conceived under the circumstances described above, and its objective is to provide a hot water device that can effectively cool a designated motor by using air drawn into the outer case from the outside, without using large dedicated parts. [Means for solving the problem]

[0008] In order to solve the above problems, the present invention provides the following technical solutions.

[0009] The hot water device provided by the present invention comprises a hot water device main body having a heat exchanger for heating hot water and a combustion device for supplying combustion gas to the heat exchanger, a fan for supplying a combustion mixture or air to the combustion device and a motor for driving the fan, an outer case having a top wall and a side wall that form an accommodation space for accommodating the hot water device main body, the fan and the motor, and an air intake adapter attached to the top wall and having an air outlet for discharging external air into the outer case, wherein the combustion device and the motor are located in an upper region within the outer case, and at least a part of the combustion device is located between the air intake adapter and the fan in a plan view, The hot water device main body includes an exhaust gas flow path forming member for guiding the exhaust gas that has completed heat recovery by the heat exchanger to the outside of the outer case, the exhaust duct cover being connected via a cylindrical portion to an exhaust adapter attached to the upper wall of the outer case and being provided in an upper region within the outer case, and in a plan view, the exhaust duct cover and the cylindrical portion are located between the fan and the motor and the air intake adapter, The air outlet of the air intake adapter is In the vertical height direction, the exhaust duct cover is located between the upper surface portion of the exhaust duct cover and the upper wall portion of the exterior case. Approximately horizontal direction Opens to And avoid facing the motor. The outer case is obliquely opposed to the side wall portion of the outer case. The air outlet is opened at passes through the region between the side wall portion and the cylindrical portion in the upper region of the exhaust duct cover. The device is characterized in that it is configured to reach the position of the motor.

[0010] This configuration provides the following effects. First, the external air drawn into the exterior case through the air intake adapter flows out of the air outlet of the air intake adapter in a generally horizontal direction, so not much air flows downward from the air intake adapter. This prevents or suppresses the air from coming into contact with the exterior surface of the combustion device and raising its temperature, thereby appropriately preventing heated air from being supplied to the motor. On the other hand, since at least a part of the combustion device is located between the air intake adapter and the fan in a plan view, if air is simply discharged directly from the air intake adapter toward the motor, the suction action of the fan will cause much of the air to come into contact with the outer surface of the combustion device, which could cause the air temperature to rise. This makes it difficult to properly supply cool air to the motor. In contrast, according to the present invention, air flows out of the air outlet of the air intake adapter in a direction away from the motor, and this air flows through the side wall of the exterior case. and the predetermined cylindrical portion. To this end, the air travel path is adjusted to the upper side of the combustion device. as much as possible This allows the air to flow through a bypass route that does not pass through the combustion device. In other words, as the air travels from the air intake adapter toward the motor, it is possible to prevent the air from being strongly affected by the combustion device and resulting in a large temperature rise, and then allow the air to act on the motor. This makes it possible to effectively cool and protect the motor. As described above, according to the present invention, the side wall of the exterior case is used as a means for directing air to the motor, eliminating the need for the large duct-shaped air supply box used in Patent Document 1. This prevents increases in manufacturing costs and weight. It also eliminates the problem of having difficulty securing space to install an air supply box. Furthermore, with this configuration, the air flowing out of the air outlet of the air intake adapter travels above the exhaust duct cover toward the motor. The temperature of the upper surface (outer surface) of the exhaust duct cover is lower than that of the combustion device. Therefore, the air can be directed toward the motor while its temperature is suppressed. The exhaust duct cover can also function as an air downward prevention member, preventing the air flowing out of the air outlet from traveling downward.

[0013] In the present invention, preferably, the device further comprises a guide member that guides the air that has flowed out from the air outlet and hit the side wall portion so that the air travels toward the motor.

[0014] This configuration is more preferable in terms of increasing the amount of air flowing toward the motor and improving the cooling efficiency of the motor.

[0015] In the present invention, preferably, The guide member is provided on the exhaust duct cover. .

[0016] According to this configuration, the mounting structure of the guide member can be rationalized and simplified. Exhaust duct cover In comparison with a combustion device, the temperature of the outer surface of the guide member is low, so the guide member itself does not become hot, and the temperature of the air guided by the guide member does not rise. Exhaust duct cover Even if the motor comes into contact with the air, the temperature rise is still suppressed, and the motor can be appropriately cooled using this air.

[0019] In the present invention, preferably, a member to be cooled other than the motor is disposed in the path of air travel from the air supply adapter to the motor.

[0020] This configuration is rational because it is possible to cool other members to be cooled in addition to the motor.

[0021] Other features and advantages of the present invention will become more apparent from the following description of the preferred embodiments of the invention, which proceeds with reference to the accompanying drawings. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0022] [Figure 1] 1 is a schematic cross-sectional front view of a main part showing an example of a hot water device according to the present invention. [Figure 2] FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram that schematically shows the general configuration of the hot water device shown in FIG. [Figure 3] FIG. 2 is a plan cross-sectional view of the hot water device shown in FIG. [Figure 4] 2 is a perspective view of an air supply adapter used in the hot water apparatus shown in FIG. 1. FIG. [Figure 5]2 is a perspective view of an exhaust duct cover (exhaust gas flow path forming member) with a guide member used in the hot water apparatus shown in FIG. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0023] Preferred embodiments of the present invention will now be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

[0024] The hot water device WH shown in Figures 1 and 2 is configured as a hot water supply device and includes a hot water device main body A, a fan 1 and a motor M for driving it, an outer case 3, an air supply adapter 4, an exhaust adapter 78, and an exhaust duct cover 7 (omitted in Figure 2 and shown with a dotted pattern in Figure 3) provided with a guide member 6.

[0025] The exterior case 3 is a hollow, approximately rectangular parallelepiped, and defines an internal storage space 30 for accommodating the main components of the water heater WH, such as the water heater main body A, fan 1, motor M, and exhaust duct cover 7. The exterior case 3 has an upper wall 31, a plurality of side walls 32, and a lower wall 33, which are formed, for example, from a thin metal plate. The side walls 32 are divided into a pair of left and right lateral side walls 32a, 32b, a rear wall 32c, and a front wall 32d (see FIG. 3). The front wall 32d is a so-called front panel that is detachable from the other parts of the exterior case 3.

[0026] The fan 1 is, for example, a centrifugal fan, and has a premixing device 19 connected to an air intake port provided on its bottom surface, and a driving motor M attached to its top surface. When the fan 1 is driven, air inside the outer case 3 is drawn into the premixing device 19, and fuel gas flows in from a fuel gas supply pipe (not shown) connected to the premixing device 19, and a mixture of the fuel gas and air is generated for combustion. This mixture is supplied from the discharge port of the fan 1 to a premixing combustion device 8 of the hot water apparatus main body A, which will be described later.

[0027] The hot water device main body A includes a combustion device 8, primary and secondary heat exchangers 9a and 9b, and an exhaust duct 79. As described above, the combustion device 8 is of the premixing type and includes a burner 80, a burner upper case 81 surrounding the burner 80, and a burner main case 82. The burner 80 is configured with a perforated plate 80b having multiple vent holes 80a. The burner upper case 81 is connected to the outlet side of the fan 1, and enables the combustion mixture discharged from the fan 1 to be supplied to the perforated plate 80b from above. The burner 80 is provided with an ignition plug (not shown) and the like. The mixture passes through the multiple vent holes 80a and is combusted below the perforated plate 80b. The inside of the burner main case 82 corresponds to a combustion chamber.

[0028] The primary and secondary heat exchangers 9a, 9b are of the heat transfer tube type and are installed below the combustion device 8. The combustion gas generated by the combustion device 8 acts on the primary and secondary heat exchangers 9a, 9b, and the sensible heat and latent heat are sequentially recovered, heating the hot water passing through each heat transfer tube of the primary and secondary heat exchangers 9a, 9b. This produces hot water, which is then supplied to the desired hot water supply destination.

[0029] The exhaust gas of the combustion gas that has passed through the primary and secondary heat exchangers 9a, 9b passes through an exhaust duct 79 and a tubular portion 70 (described later) of the exhaust duct cover 7, reaches an exhaust adapter 78 provided on the upper wall portion 31 of the outer case 3, and is exhausted to the outside of the outer case 3. The exhaust duct 79 is provided so as to rise from a position below the secondary heat exchanger 9b to an upper region inside the outer case 3, and the exhaust duct cover 7 is attached to the top of this exhaust duct 79. As shown in FIG. 5 , this exhaust duct cover 7 has a tubular portion 70 that rises in the vertical direction, and the top of the exhaust duct 79 and the bottom of the exhaust adapter 78 are connected via this tubular portion 70, so that the exhaust gas flows from the exhaust duct 79 to the exhaust adapter 78. The exhaust duct cover 7 corresponds to an example of the exhaust gas flow path forming member of the present invention, and is made of, for example, resin.

[0030] The air intake adapter 4 is made of, for example, resin, and is attached to the upper wall portion 31 of the exterior case 3, similar to the exhaust adapter 78. In Fig. 1, reference numeral 99 denotes a cover body for covering the air intake adapter 4. Reference numeral 98 denotes an external exhaust duct connected to the exhaust adapter 78.

[0031] The air intake adapter 4 has a configuration as shown in FIG. 4 and includes a horizontal flange plate 40 for attachment to the upper wall 31 of the outer case 3, and a substantially cylindrical main body 41 that extends vertically through the flange plate 40. A lower region 41a of the main body 41, located below the flange plate 40, protrudes downward from the upper wall 31 of the outer case 3, and a substantially horizontal air outlet 42 is provided on the side peripheral surface of the lower region 41a. A bottom 41b of the lower region 41a is closed. When the water heater WH is in operation, negative pressure is generated within the outer case 3 when the fan 1 is driven, and external air flows into the air intake adapter 4 through its upper opening and then flows out through the air outlet 42 into the outer case 3.

[0032] As described above, the air intake adapter 4 is attached to the upper wall 31 of the outer case 3. The air outlet 42 of the air intake adapter 4 is located between the upper surface of the exhaust duct cover 7 and the upper wall 31 of the outer case 3 in the vertical direction. Meanwhile, the fan 1, the motor M for driving it, the burner upper case 81 of the combustion device 8, and the exhaust duct cover 7 are all located toward the upper part of the outer case 3, and are positioned in the relative positions shown in FIG. 3 in a plan view.

[0033] That is, the fan 1 and motor M are spaced a suitable distance horizontally from the air intake adapter 4, but in a plan view, a part of the burner upper case 81 and the exhaust duct cover 7 are located between the fan 1 and the air intake adapter 4.

[0034] In contrast, air outlet 42 of intake adapter 4 opens in a substantially horizontal direction and faces obliquely toward side wall 32 (rear wall 32c) of exterior case 3. More specifically, air outlet 42 is oriented so that air flowing out from air outlet 42 is reflected by rear wall 32c of exterior case 3 and reaches the position of motor M. Preferably, position P on rear wall 32c to which air outlet 42 of intake adapter 4 faces is in a relationship such that when two straight lines La and Lb are drawn from center Oa of intake adapter 4 and center Ob of motor M, respectively, toward position P, the inclination angles α and β of lines La and Lb with respect to normal line NL passing through position P are substantially the same. Note that line Lb does not cross tubular portion 70 provided on exhaust duct cover 7.

[0035] The guide member 6 is a member that guides the air reflected by the rear wall portion 32c toward the motor M to increase the amount of air heading toward the motor M, and has a guide surface 60 that is inclined at approximately the same angle as the straight line Lb in a plan view. As shown in FIG. 5, the guide member 6 is provided on the upper surface of the exhaust duct cover 7 and has a plate shape that protrudes upward. Preferably, the guide member 6 is molded integrally with the exhaust duct cover 7.

[0036] Next, the operation of the water heating device WH will be described.

[0037] First, the external air taken into the exterior case 3 via the air intake adapter 4 flows out from the air outlet 42 of the air intake adapter 4 in a substantially horizontal direction, hits the rear wall 32c of the exterior case 3, is reflected by this rear wall 32c and then heads towards the motor M. During operation of the hot water device WH, the upper surface of the burner upper case 81 becomes quite hot, but when air flows along the above-mentioned path, the air comes into contact with the burner upper case 81, causing a temperature rise, and then is directed towards the motor M. Therefore, the motor M can be cooled effectively by being exposed to air that has not experienced a temperature rise due to the burner upper case 81. The motor M contains IC chips, capacitors, etc., and it is possible to prevent these from being thermally damaged.

[0038] When air flowing out from air outlet 42 of air intake adapter 4 hits and is reflected by rear wall 32c of exterior case 3, the air flow is not actually orderly, and the direction of reflection from rear wall 32c varies. In response to this, guide member 6 guides such air so that it flows toward motor M. This increases the amount of air that acts on motor M, making it possible to further improve the cooling effect of motor M. The guide member 6 is attached to the exhaust duct cover 7, but unlike the burner upper case 81, this exhaust duct cover 7 does not become very hot. Therefore, there is no problem of the air being guided by the guide member 6 becoming significantly hotter. In addition, the exhaust duct cover 7 serves to prevent the air that flows out of the air outlet 42 in a substantially horizontal direction from moving downward, which also helps to increase the amount of air supplied to the motor M.

[0039] As described above, according to this embodiment, the rear wall portion 32c of the exterior case 3 is used as a means for guiding air to the position of the motor M for cooling. Therefore, compared to a means using a large duct-shaped air supply box, for example, it is possible to preferably reduce manufacturing costs and weight. In this embodiment, although a guide member 6 is provided, this guide member 6 is molded integrally with the exhaust duct cover 7, so the manufacturing cost is low and there is no need for dedicated screw fastening means for attaching the guide member 6. Furthermore, the guide member 6 only needs to be a relatively small, simple plate, so there is no need to worry about securing space for attaching this guide member 6.

[0040] 3, the water heater WH may be configured such that a member to be cooled 95 separate from the motor M is disposed in the air path from the air supply adapter 4 to the motor M. The type of member to be cooled 95 is not limited, but may be, for example, an electrical component or electronic component that is vulnerable to heat.

[0041] The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and the specific configuration of each part of the hot water device according to the present invention can be freely modified in various ways within the intended scope of the present invention.

[0042] In the embodiment described above, the air flowing out from the air outlet 42 of the air intake adapter 4 is reflected by hitting the rear wall 32c of the exterior case 3, but the present invention is not limited to this. The present invention can also be configured so that the air is reflected by hitting a side wall other than the rear wall of the exterior case. Furthermore, in the present invention, instead of or in addition to reflecting the air by the side wall of the exterior case, the air can be directed toward the motor by flowing along the side wall of the exterior case. In short, the air outlet should be configured to open in a substantially horizontal direction and away from the direction directly facing the motor, and the air flowing out of the air outlet should be redirected by the side wall of the outer case before reaching the position of the motor.

[0043] In the above-described embodiment, a premixing type combustion device is used as the combustion device, but this is not limiting. If the combustion device is not a premixing type, combustion air is supplied to the combustion device from the fan instead of the combustion mixture. In the present invention, the specific types of the fan and the motor for driving the fan are not limited. The guide member may be formed separately from the exhaust duct cover, or may be attached to the side wall of the exterior case, for example. The hot water device according to the present invention is not limited to use for general hot water supply, but can also be used for bath hot water supply, hot water heating, etc. [Explanation of symbols]

[0044] A Water heater main unit Medium motor WH water heater 1 fan 3 Outer case 30 Storage space 31 Upper wall 32 Side wall 32(32c) Rear wall 4 Air Intake Adapter 42 Air outlet 6 Guide member 7 Exhaust duct cover (exhaust gas flow path forming component) 8 Combustion equipment 9a, 9b Primary and secondary heat exchangers (heat exchangers)

Claims

1. a water heating device main body having a heat exchanger for heating hot water and a combustion device for supplying combustion gas to the heat exchanger; a fan for supplying a combustion mixture or air to the combustion device and a motor for driving the fan; an exterior case having an upper wall and a side wall that form an accommodation space for accommodating the water heater main body, the fan, and the motor; an air intake adapter attached to the upper wall portion and having an air outlet for letting outside air flow into the exterior case; It is equipped with the combustion device and the motor are located in an upper region of the exterior case, and at least a portion of the combustion device is located between the air intake adapter and the fan in a plan view, The hot water device main body includes an exhaust gas flow path forming member for guiding the exhaust gas that has completed heat recovery by the heat exchanger to the outside of the outer case, the exhaust duct cover being connected via a cylindrical portion to an exhaust adapter attached to the upper wall of the outer case and being provided in an upper region within the outer case, and in a plan view, the exhaust duct cover and the cylindrical portion are located between the fan and the motor and the air intake adapter, the air outlet of the air supply adapter is located between the upper surface of the exhaust duct cover and the upper wall of the exterior case in the vertical height direction, opens in a substantially horizontal direction, and opens obliquely opposite the side wall of the exterior case so as to avoid a direction directly facing the motor, A hot water device characterized in that the air flowing out from the air outlet passes through the area between the side wall portion and the cylindrical portion in the upper area of ​​the exhaust duct cover and reaches the position of the motor.

2. The hot water device according to claim 1, The water heating device further includes a guide member that guides the air that has flowed out of the air outlet and hit the side wall portion toward the motor.

3. The hot water device according to claim 2, The guide member is provided on the exhaust duct cover.

4. The hot water device according to any one of claims 1 to 3, A water heating apparatus, wherein a member to be cooled other than the motor is disposed in a path of air travel from the air supply adapter to the motor.

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