Calibration Method for Gas Water Heating Equipment and Its Flame Detection Device

Abstract

The present invention discloses a calibration method for a gas water heating device and its flame detection device. It uses a flue gas temperature sensor to cooperate with an induction needle to complete the calibration of the flame detection device, making up for the deficiency of traditional gas water heating devices that solely rely on the induction needle of the flame detection device to detect the flame. It can intuitively reflect to the user whether it is a malfunction of the burner itself that prevents ignition or whether the ignition is successful but the induction needle fails to detect the flame, effectively saving the time consumed in the inspection and maintenance process. It can provide the direction of maintenance before professional maintenance personnel come to conduct a detailed inspection and repair, saving human resources and time. It does not require additional use of other inspection means or inspection equipment, and the flue gas temperature sensor cooperating with the induction needle can realize the self-inspection of the device, effectively reducing the cost of the solution; this calibration method of the flame detection device can detect the faults of the induction needle and the burner at any time, and use the fault reporting unit and the display unit to convey to the user in a timely manner, effectively improving the user experience.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to the technical field of gas water heaters, and in particular to a calibration method for gas water heaters and their flame detection devices. Background Art

[0002] In existing gas water heaters, a flame detection device is required to detect the flame of the burner, determine whether the burner ignites successfully to ensure the safe and normal operation of the gas water heater. The flame detection device includes an induction needle arranged beside the burner. The induction needle is used to sense the flame of the burner, and it can judge whether there is a flame. Some induction needles can also detect the flame current value corresponding to the flame size in real time.

[0003] However, as the service life of the gas water heater increases, under the long-term influence of the high-temperature flue gas generated by combustion, the induction needle will age and other adverse conditions that interfere with the normal detection of the induction flame or even make it impossible to detect the induction flame. Simply relying on the induction needle, users cannot easily know whether it is a failure of the burner itself to ignite or the induction needle fails to detect the flame of the burner after successful ignition. Professional maintenance personnel often need to go to the site for detailed inspection, which will bring inconvenience to users, consume extra time, and increase the maintenance cost of the gas water heater.

[0004] In the traditional gas water heaters in the industry, there is a lack of technical solutions to solve the above problems. Therefore, it is necessary to propose new technical solutions. Summary of the Invention

[0005] In view of this, the purpose of the present invention is to provide a calibration method for gas water heaters and their flame detection devices to solve the above problems.

[0006] To achieve the above purpose, the present invention adopts the following technical solutions:

[0007] The present invention first provides a calibration method for a flame detection device of a gas water heating device. The gas water heating device includes the flame detection device, a heat exchanger, a power adjustment unit, and an exhaust pipe. A flue gas temperature sensor is provided on the exhaust pipe. The heat exchanger includes a burner. The flame detection device includes an induction needle disposed beside the burner. Among them, the calibration method for the flame detection device includes: the burner performs ignition startup, and the induction needle detects whether there is a flame at the burner. If a flame is detected at the burner, it is determined that the burner ignition is successful and the flame detection device is normal; if no flame is detected at the burner, the flue gas temperature sensor detects whether there is a temperature change in the exhaust pipe before and after the burner ignition startup. If there is no temperature change, it is determined that the burner ignition fails; if there is a temperature change, it is determined that the burner ignition is successful but the flame detection device fails to detect the flame. The power adjustment unit gradually increases the ignition power of the burner, and the induction needle detects whether a flame appears at the burner during the detection process; if a flame appears at the burner during the process of the power adjustment unit gradually increasing the ignition power of the burner, it enters the equipment operation adjustment stage, and the minimum operation load of the gas water heating device is increased until a continuous flame can be detected at the burner by the induction needle during the operation of the gas water heating device. It is determined that the equipment can operate, but the flame detection device fails and the detection sensitivity of the induction needle decreases; if no flame is detected at the burner during the process of the power adjustment unit gradually increasing the ignition power of the burner, it is determined that the flame detection device fails and the induction needle fails.

[0008] Preferably, the method for the burner to perform ignition startup includes the burner performing ignition startup with a preset minimum ignition power.

[0009] Preferably, after it is determined that the burner ignition is successful and the flame detection device is normal, the power adjustment unit controls and adjusts the minimum operation load of the gas water heating device according to an external adjustment instruction.

[0010] Preferably, the power adjustment unit is a blower.

[0011] Preferably, during the process of the power adjustment unit gradually increasing the ignition power of the burner, the ignition power of the burner is within a preset safe ignition power threshold range, and during the operation adjustment stage, the minimum operation load of the gas water heating device is within a preset safe operation load threshold range.

[0012] Preferably, the gas water heating device further includes a fault reporting unit and a display unit for displaying the information generated by the fault reporting unit. When the flue gas temperature sensor detects that there is no temperature change in the exhaust pipe before and after the burner ignition startup and it is determined that the burner ignition fails, the fault reporting unit generates code information about the burner fault and reports it.

[0013] Preferably, when it is determined that the flame detection device fails and the detection sensitivity of the induction needle decreases, the fault reporting unit generates code information indicating that the induction needle needs maintenance and reports it.

[0014] Preferably, when it is determined that the flame detection device fails and the induction needle fails, the fault reporting unit generates code information indicating the failure of the induction needle and reports it.

[0015] Preferably, the gas water heating device further includes a remote communication unit, which is used to call the user information pre-stored in the background to convey the information of the fault reporting unit to the user.

[0016] The present invention also provides a gas water heating device, which includes a flame detection device, a heat exchanger, a power adjustment unit, and an exhaust pipe. A flue gas temperature sensor is provided on the exhaust pipe. The heat exchanger includes a burner. The flame detection device includes an induction needle disposed beside the burner. The flue gas generated in the burner is discharged into the exhaust pipe. The flame detection device is connected to a master control unit. A calibration program for the flame detection device is stored in the storage medium of the master control unit and is used to be executed to implement the calibration method of the flame detection device of the gas water heating device as described above.

[0017] The technical effects achieved by the above technical solutions of the present invention include:

[0018] The gas water heating device uses the flue gas temperature sensor on the exhaust pipe to complete the calibration of the flame detection device, filling the deficiency of traditional gas water heating devices that simply rely on the induction needle of the flame detection device to detect the flame of the burner, enabling it to intuitively reflect to the user whether it is a fault of the burner itself that causes failure to ignite or whether the induction needle fails to detect the flame of the burner after successful ignition. It effectively saves the consumption of the inspection and maintenance process of the gas water heating device, provides a direction for maintenance before professional maintenance personnel come to conduct a detailed inspection and repair, saves human resources and maintenance costs, and saves time;

[0019] Without the need to additionally adopt other inspection means or inspection equipment, the gas water heating device can complete self-inspection by using the flue gas temperature sensor on the exhaust pipe in cooperation with the induction needle, effectively reducing the cost of the solution;

[0020] Through the above calibration method, faults of the induction needle and the burner can be detected at any time, and the user is timely informed by using the fault reporting unit and the display unit, effectively improving the user experience. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0021] Figure 1 is a flowchart of the calibration method of the flame detection device of the gas water heating device provided by an embodiment of the present invention;

[0022] Figure 2It is a schematic structural diagram of the gas water heating equipment;

[0023] Figure 3 It is a schematic structural diagram of the heat exchanger in the gas water heating equipment;

[0024] Figure 4 It is a schematic structural diagram of the burner in the heat exchanger. Detailed implementation manners

[0025] To make the objectives, technical solutions and advantages of the present invention clearer, the following will describe in detail the specific implementation manners of the present invention with reference to the accompanying drawings. Examples of these preferred implementation manners are illustrated in the drawings. The implementation manners of the present invention shown in the drawings and described according to the drawings are merely exemplary, and the present invention is not limited to these implementation manners.

[0026] Here, it should also be noted that, in order to avoid obscuring the present invention with unnecessary details, only the structures and / or processing steps closely related to the solution according to the present invention are shown in the drawings, while other details of less relevance are omitted.

[0027] In the traditional gas water heating equipment in the industry, such as gas-fired heating water heaters or gas water heaters, a flue gas temperature sensor for monitoring the temperature of the flue gas discharged from the equipment is usually not provided. It only judges dry burning in the case of water shortage of the equipment by setting a water temperature sensor, so as to limit the damage to the equipment and the like caused by too high a flue gas temperature. And for a condensing gas-fired heating water heater, since the flue gas temperature is low, the flue gas discharged is easier to condense compared with the above non-condensing equipment. Since the liquid formed by the condensation of the flue gas in the flue gas duct is usually acidic, the flue gas duct of this type of condensing equipment will use a plastic flue gas duct to resist the corrosion of the acidic liquid generated by the condensation of the flue gas. Plastic flue gas ducts such as those made of PP material have good acid resistance, but their defect is that the heat resistance performance cannot reach the level of metal flue gas ducts. Therefore, in order to prevent damage to the plastic flue gas duct caused by too high a flue gas temperature due to dry burning and the inability to transfer the heat of the flue gas to water due to scale formation inside the heat exchanger, it is necessary to add a flue gas temperature sensor near the exhaust port of the flue gas duct to monitor the flue gas temperature in order to control the flue gas temperature.

[0028] In the embodiment of the present invention, by using the above flue gas temperature sensor, it not only plays a role in monitoring the flue gas temperature to protect the flue gas duct, but also is used to solve the technical problems in the above background technology.

[0029] As Figure 1 shown, the embodiment of the present invention provides a calibration method for a flame detection device of a gas water heating equipment, in combination with Figures 2 to 4As shown, the gas water heating device includes the flame detection device, a heat exchanger 1, a power adjustment unit 2, and an exhaust pipe 3. A flue gas temperature sensor 31 is provided on the exhaust pipe 3. The heat exchanger 1 includes a burner 11, and the burner 11 is arranged inside an ignition device 10 in the heat exchanger 2. The flame detection device includes an induction needle 4 arranged beside the burner 11.

[0030] Among them, the calibration method of the flame detection device includes:

[0031] Step S1: The burner 11 performs ignition and startup;

[0032] Step S11: The induction needle 4 detects whether there is a flame at the burner 11;

[0033] Step S12: If a flame is detected at the burner 11, it is determined that the burner 11 has been successfully ignited and the flame detection device is normal;

[0034] Step S2: If no flame is detected at the burner 11, the flue gas temperature sensor 31 detects whether there is a temperature change in the exhaust pipe 3 before and after the burner 11 is ignited and started;

[0035] Step S21: If there is no temperature change, it is determined that the burner 11 fails to ignite;

[0036] Step S22: If there is a temperature change, it is determined that the burner 11 has been successfully ignited but the flame detection device is faulty and unable to detect the flame;

[0037] Step S3: The power adjustment unit 2 gradually increases the ignition power of the burner 11, and the induction needle 4 detects whether a flame appears at the burner 11 during the detection process;

[0038] Step S31: If during the process that the power adjustment unit 2 gradually increases the ignition power of the burner 11, the induction needle 4 detects a flame at the burner 11, then it enters the equipment operation adjustment stage, and the minimum operation load of the gas water heating device is increased until the induction needle can continuously detect the existence of a flame at the burner during the operation of the gas water heating device. It is determined that the equipment can operate, but the flame detection device is faulty and the detection sensitivity of the induction needle 4 has decreased;

[0039] Step S32: If during the process that the power adjustment unit 2 gradually increases the ignition power of the burner 11, the induction needle 4 still does not detect a flame at the burner 11, it is determined that the flame detection device is faulty and the induction needle 4 has failed.

[0040] The calibration method of the above-mentioned flame detection device provided by the embodiments of the present invention is based on the situation where if the burner ignition is successful but the induction needle 4 fails, the temperature of the flue gas discharged from the flue gas outlet of the flue gas duct 3 will also change. Therefore, the temperature change of the flue gas duct 3 before and after the burner 11 is ignited and started is detected by the flue gas temperature sensor 31, so as to indirectly judge whether the burner 11 is successfully ignited. In the case where the induction needle 4 has a fault, it may not be completely ineffective but only has a slightly reduced sensitivity due to slight aging. Therefore, in this case, during the ignition stage, the ignition power of the burner 11 is gradually increased through the power adjustment unit 2 so that the flame current threshold that can be determined to be ignited is reached. When the flame current value is large enough, that is, the firepower is strong enough, it can make the induction needle 4 with reduced sensitivity still be able to detect ignition. Thereafter, in order to meet the current heat demand of the user, it enters the equipment operation adjustment stage. Since the induction needle 4 is affected by aging and there are certain detection accuracy limitations in the hardware of the flame detection device itself, if the original lower minimum operation load of the equipment is maintained, the too small flame current value is very likely not to be detected. Therefore, by increasing the minimum operation load of the equipment, the flame current value during equipment operation reaches the flame current threshold that can be determined to be a stable flame existence. At this time, it can be determined that the equipment can operate, but the induction needle 4 is aging and the sensitivity is reduced, and maintenance is necessary.

[0041] In summary, the calibration method of the flame detection device can make up for the deficiency of simply relying on the induction needle 4 to detect the flame, and can intuitively reflect whether it is the burner 11 itself that fails to ignite or the ignition is successful but the induction needle fails to detect the flame of the burner 11. Before the professional maintenance personnel come to the door for detailed inspection and repair, the problem can be roughly confirmed, saving human resources and maintenance costs and saving time.

[0042] In the step S1, when there is an ignition demand, the method for the burner 11 to perform ignition and start includes that the burner 11 performs ignition and start with a preset minimum ignition power. In order to calibrate the sensitivity of the induction needle 4 and the burner 11, and also to ensure the safety of the equipment, it is verified that the burner 11 can perform ignition and start with the minimum ignition power, and it is verified that the induction needle 4 can still detect the flame at the minimum ignition power.

[0043] In this embodiment, the induction needle and the ignition needle are integrally arranged, that is, the induction needle 4 is integrated with the function of discharging electricity to ignite the burner 11.

[0044] Correspondingly, in the step S12, when it is determined that the burner 11 is successfully ignited and the flame detection device is normal, the power adjustment unit 2 controls and adjusts the minimum operation load of the gas water heating equipment according to an external adjustment instruction. After it is determined that the whole equipment is normal, the calibration can be ended and the equipment can be used normally, and the load can be adjusted according to the heat demand of the user himself.

[0045] Exemplarily, the power adjustment unit 2 is a blower. In this embodiment, the gas valve and the Venturi device 21 achieve the adjustment and control of power by changing the rotational speed of the blower, and a Hall element for controlling and feedbacking the rotational speed is provided at the blower.

[0046] In the step S3, when the power adjustment unit gradually increases the ignition power of the burner, the ignition power of the burner is within the preset safe ignition power threshold range. In the operation adjustment stage, the minimum operation load of the gas water heater is within the preset safe operation load threshold range.

[0047] Because when determining the preferred normal ignition power during the normal use of the device, it is gradually increased from the minimum load, and the ignition success rate increases with the increase of the load. When the load reaches a specific value, the increasing speed of the ignition success rate decreases and no longer increases significantly with the increase of the load. Considering that too large ignition power may cause problems such as overheating, this specific value is the preferred normal ignition power. The magnitude of the flame current that the sensing pin 4 can detect changes with the change of the load. Exemplarily, at the lowest load, the normally detectable flame current is relatively small, about 3 μA, while at the high load, it can reach 400 μA. Therefore, in the above step S3, the ignition power of the burner 11 is gradually increased within the safe range to the preferred value and above, so that the sensing pin 4, whose sensitivity may only decrease, can detect the continuous existence of the flame when entering the operation adjustment stage of the device.

[0048] Further, the gas water heater further includes a fault reporting unit and a display unit for displaying the information generated by the fault reporting unit. Therefore, in the step S21, when the flue gas temperature sensor detects that there is no temperature change in the flue duct before and after the ignition start of the burner 11 and determines that the ignition of the burner 11 fails, the fault reporting unit generates code information of the burner 11 fault and reports it. Exemplarily, the gas water heater is locked to avoid safety problems, and the burner 11 fault code information generated by the fault reporting unit is displayed through a display unit such as the display screen of the gas water heater.

[0049] Further, the gas water heater further includes a remote communication unit, and the remote communication unit is used to call the user information pre-stored in the background to convey the information of the fault reporting unit to the user.

[0050] Specifically, in the step S31, when it is determined that the flame detection device fails and the detection sensitivity of the sensing needle 4 decreases, the fault reporting unit generates code information indicating that the sensing needle 4 needs maintenance and reports it. The code information indicating that the sensing needle 4 needs maintenance generated by the fault reporting unit is displayed on the display screen of the gas water heater. According to the detected problems, the remote communication unit can call the pre-stored user information through the background to actively contact the user to convey the fault information and facilitate the user to make an appointment for on-site repair and other services.

[0051] Specifically, in the step S32, when it is determined that the flame detection device fails and the sensing needle 4 fails, the fault reporting unit generates code information indicating that the sensing needle 4 fails and reports it. Similarly, the code information indicating that the sensing needle 4 is aged and fails generated by the fault reporting unit is displayed on the display screen of the gas water heater. The gas water heater is locked to prevent safety problems, and the remote communication unit calls the pre-stored user information through the background to contact the user.

[0052] Similarly, in the above step S21, the remote communication unit can also call the pre-stored user information through the background to contact the user.

[0053] Combined Figures 1 to 3 As shown, the embodiment of the present invention further provides the above-mentioned gas water heater, which includes the above-mentioned flame detection device, heat exchanger 1, power adjustment unit 2, and exhaust pipe 3. A flue gas temperature sensor 31 is provided on the exhaust pipe 3. The heat exchanger 1 includes a burner 11. The flame detection device includes a sensing needle 4 disposed beside the burner 11. A gas valve 5 is further included in the gas water heater to introduce gas into the burner 11 of the heat exchanger 1 for combustion. The flue gas generated in the burner 11 is discharged into the exhaust pipe 3. The flame detection device is connected to a master control unit. A calibration program of the flame detection device is stored in the storage medium of the master control unit and is used to be executed to implement the calibration method of the flame detection device of the gas water heater as described above.

[0054] It should be noted that in this article, relational terms such as first and second are only used to distinguish one entity or operation from another entity or operation, and do not necessarily require or imply any actual relationship or order between these entities or operations. Moreover, the terms "include", "comprise" or any other variant thereof are intended to cover non-exclusive inclusion, so that a process, method, article or device including a series of elements not only includes those elements, but also includes other elements not expressly listed, or also includes elements inherent to such process, method, article or device. Without further limitation, an element defined by the statement "including a..." does not exclude the existence of additional identical elements in the process, method, article or device including the element.

[0055] The above are only specific embodiments of the present application. It should be noted that for those of ordinary skill in the art, without departing from the principle of the present application, several improvements and refinements can also be made, and these improvements and refinements should also be regarded as the protection scope of the present application.

Claims

1. A calibration method for a flame detection device of a gas water heating device, characterized in that, The gas water heating device includes the flame detection device, a heat exchanger, a power adjustment unit, and an exhaust pipe. A flue gas temperature sensor is provided on the exhaust pipe. The heat exchanger includes a burner. The flame detection device includes a sensing pin disposed beside the burner. Wherein, the calibration method of the flame detection device includes: The burner performs ignition startup. The sensing pin detects whether there is a flame at the burner. If a flame is detected at the burner, it is determined that the burner ignition is successful and the flame detection device is normal. If a flame is not detected at the burner, the flue gas temperature sensor detects whether there is a temperature change in the exhaust pipe before and after the burner ignition startup. If there is no temperature change, it is determined that the burner ignition fails. If there is a temperature change, it is determined that the burner ignition is successful but the flame detection device fails to detect the flame. The power adjustment unit gradually increases the ignition power of the burner, and the sensing pin detects whether a flame appears at the burner during the detection process. If a flame is detected at the burner by the sensing pin during the process of the power adjustment unit gradually increasing the ignition power of the burner, it enters the equipment operation adjustment stage. The minimum operating load of the gas water heating device is increased until a continuous flame can be detected at the burner by the sensing pin during the operation of the gas water heating device. It is determined that the equipment can operate, but the flame detection device fails and the detection sensitivity of the sensing pin decreases. If a flame is still not detected at the burner by the sensing pin during the process of the power adjustment unit gradually increasing the ignition power of the burner, it is determined that the flame detection device fails and the sensing pin fails.

2. The calibration method of the flame detection device of the gas water heating equipment according to claim 1, characterized in that, The method for the burner to perform ignition startup includes that the burner performs ignition startup with a preset minimum ignition power.

3. The calibration method of the flame detection device of the gas water heating equipment according to claim 2, characterized in that, After it is determined that the burner ignition is successful and the flame detection device is normal, the power adjustment unit controls and adjusts the minimum operating load of the gas water heating device according to an external adjustment instruction.

4. The calibration method of the flame detection device of the gas water heating equipment according to claim 1, characterized in that, The power adjustment unit is a blower.

5. The calibration method of the flame detection device of the gas water heating equipment according to claim 1, characterized in that, During the process of the power adjustment unit gradually increasing the ignition power of the burner, the ignition power of the burner is within the range of a preset safe ignition power threshold. During the operation adjustment stage, the minimum operating load of the gas water heating device is within the range of a preset safe operating load threshold.

6. The calibration method of the flame detection device of the gas water heating equipment according to claim 1, characterized in that, The gas water heating device further includes a fault reporting unit and a display unit for displaying the information generated by the fault reporting unit. When the flue gas temperature sensor detects that there is no temperature change in the exhaust pipe before and after the burner ignition startup and it is determined that the burner ignition fails, the fault reporting unit generates code information of the burner fault and reports it.

7. The calibration method of the flame detection device of the gas water heating equipment according to claim 6, characterized in that, When it is determined that the flame detection device fails and the detection sensitivity of the sensing pin decreases, the fault reporting unit generates code information that the sensing pin needs maintenance and reports it.

8. The calibration method of the flame detection device of the gas water heating equipment according to claim 6, characterized in that, When it is determined that the flame detection device fails and the sensing pin fails, the fault reporting unit generates code information of the sensing pin failure and reports it.

9. The calibration method of the flame detection device of the gas water heating equipment according to claim 7, characterized in that, The gas water heating device further includes a remote communication unit, and the remote communication unit is used to call the user information pre-stored in the background to convey the information of the fault reporting unit to the user.

10. A gas water heating device, characterized in that, It includes a flame detection device, a heat exchanger, a power adjustment unit, and an exhaust pipe. A flue gas temperature sensor is provided on the exhaust pipe. The heat exchanger includes a burner. The flame detection device includes an induction needle disposed beside the burner. The flue gas generated in the burner is discharged into the exhaust pipe. The flame detection device is connected to a master control unit. A calibration program for the flame detection device is stored in the storage medium of the master control unit and is used to be executed to implement the calibration method for the flame detection device of the gas water heating equipment according to any one of claims 1 to 9.

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