Adaptable solar heater with water heater having a conical-spiral coil arrangement

Abstract

The present invention relates to a solar heater with a water heater comprising an external tank and an internal tank. The solar heater comprises a heat exchanger located inside the internal tank, specifically in the top third of same, which forms the hottest zone owing to the thermosiphon effect. The heat exchanger consists of a coil formed by one or more tubes in a conical-spiral arrangement, which bear on one or more coil supports, adapting to the circumference of the internal tank. The solar heater also comprises a depressurisation tank that is coupled in fluid communication with the interior of the internal tank. By virtue of the coil of the water heater and the depressurisation tank, the solar heater can be adapted to receive the flow of water in hydraulic supply systems at different pressures.

Description

[0001] SOLAR HEATER WITH ADAPTABLE WATER HEATER WITH CONICAL-SPIRAL COIL ARRANGEMENT

[0002] Technical field of the invention

[0003] The present invention relates to the field of solar-powered water heaters. In particular, this invention consists of a solar heater that improves the heat transfer of the water heater through a conical-spiral coil arrangement, providing novel advantages over prior-art heaters, allowing its connection to low- or high-pressure water supply systems.

[0004] Background of the invention

[0005] Solar water heaters have been around for many years and are currently one of the best solutions for heating liquids in an environmentally friendly and economical way. However, the availability of different high- and low-pressure water supply systems limits their implementation, as not all water heaters are compatible with both systems.

[0006] Therefore, the solution proposed in the present invention consists of a heater with a hot water tank that has a conical-spiral coil arrangement to carry out a more efficient heat transfer, regardless of the type of hydraulic supply system used.

[0007] There are some patent documents and utility models in the state of the art aimed at providing a solar heater with a hot water tank that includes heat exchangers inside.

[0008] In this regard, documents CN202613798U, CN202002376U, CN203893455U, CN204285851U, JP04319678B2, CN210688780U, CN201892337U, CN202204194U and CN218936694U describe water heaters that include heat exchange means in the form of a coil inside. However, all of them have the disadvantage of distributing the coil symmetrically in relation to the cylindrical volume of the water heater, which reduces the efficiency of the heat transfer. Another disadvantage is that some of these documents are not considered for solar heaters.

[0009] For their part, utility models CN202177242U, CN212057800U, CN202177242U and CN203323381U describe water heaters that include heat exchange means in the form of a coil inside them, particularly located in the upper area of ​​the water heater, which due to the thermosiphon effect constitutes the hottest area, with the intention of improving the efficiency of heat transfer. However, the configuration of the coil in its common spiral form also reduces the efficiency of heat transfer. Another disadvantage is that some of these documents are not considered for solar heaters of the collector tube type.

[0010] On the other hand, utility model CN203010960U describes a solar water heater with a water heater that includes heat exchange means configured in the form of a coil inside. In this utility model, the coil has a zigzag arrangement, particularly located on the lower surface of the water heater, which, due to the thermosiphon effect, constitutes the coldest area. In this regard, the utility model describes a coil configuration that aims to carry out a more efficient heat transfer. However, the heat transfer is carried out from the fluid coming from the solar thermal source driven by a pump that runs inside the coil, to the water contained inside the water heater. Therefore, the disadvantage of this solar water heater is that the water inside the water heater can only come from a low-pressure hydraulic system.

[0011] Based on the foregoing, there is a need in the state of the art for a solar heater of the collector tube type, which has a water heater equipped with a coil-type heat exchanger, which allows the water to be heated to flow inside it, coming from a high or low pressure hydraulic supply system, and the coil is optimally located in the upper area of ​​the water heater, which by thermosiphon effect constitutes the hottest area, and the arrangement of the coil has a geometric configuration that makes efficient the transfer of heat from the surrounding fluid inside the water heater that comes from the solar thermal source, to the water that flows inside the coil.

[0012] Objectives of the invention

[0013] An object of the present invention is to provide a solar heater of the collector tube type with an internal water heater equipped with a coil type heat exchanger.

[0014] Another objective of the present invention is that the coil of the solar heater's water heater allows the flow of the water to be heated, both at high and low pressures.

[0015] Likewise, another objective of the present invention is that the coil of the solar heater's water heater is located in the upper area of ​​the water heater, which by thermosiphon effect constitutes the hottest area.

[0016] Finally, another objective of the present invention is to provide the arrangement of the coil of the solar water heater's water heater with a geometric configuration that makes heat transfer more efficient. Brief description of the figures

[0017] To provide a better understanding of the invention, the following drawings are attached:

[0018] Figure 1 refers to a front view of the exterior of the solar heater with a hot water tank adaptable to high / low pressure systems of the present invention.

[0019] Figure 2 refers to a front view of the interior of the solar heater with a hot water tank adaptable to high / low pressure systems of the present invention.

[0020] Figure 3 refers to a top left front perspective view of the interior of the solar heater with a hot water tank adaptable to high / low pressure systems of the present invention.

[0021] Figure 4 refers to a sectional view of the perspective of Figure 3 of the solar heater with a hot water tank adaptable to high / low pressure systems of the present invention.

[0022] Figure 5 is a top left front perspective view of the conical-spiral coil arrangement of the solar heater with a hot water tank adaptable to high / low pressure systems of the present invention.

[0023] Figure 6 shows a top left front perspective view of the conical-spiral coil of the solar water heater with a water heater adaptable to high / low pressure systems of the present invention. Figure 7 shows a front view of the coil support of the solar water heater with a water heater adaptable to high / low pressure systems of the present invention.

[0024] Figure 8 is a front view of the depressurizing tank of the solar heater with a hot water tank adaptable to high / low pressure systems of the present invention.

[0025] Figure 9 is a front view of the float device of the depressurizing tank of the solar heater with a hot water tank adaptable to high / low pressure systems of the present invention.

[0026] Detailed description of the invention

[0027] As can be seen in Figures 1 to 4, the present invention relates to a solar heater with a hot water tank (1) adaptable to high / low pressure systems, which has an external tank (10), substantially cylindrical, formed by a body (11A) and two covers (11B, 11C) that cover the ends of said body. It should be noted that the substantial shape of the external tank (10) may comprise other types of parallelepipeds or geometric volume shapes.

[0028] The body (HA) of the external tank (10) has on the front face at least one set of slots (12), preferably circular, where each slot is configured to allow the passage of a collector tube (not illustrated). The collector tubes can be vacuum tubes of various types known in the state of the art, which are part of the solar heater systems acting as solar thermal energy collectors. It is evident to an expert in the field that the number of slots will depend on the number of collector tubes that make up the solar heater system, due to several technical parameters, such as, volume of water, solar incidence, among others. In addition, the external tank (10) has other tubes and a depressurizing tank (40), whose operation will be explained later.

[0029] Now looking specifically at Figures 2 to 4, it can be seen that inside the solar heater (1) the water heater is formed by an internal tank (20), substantially cylindrical, and made up of a body (21A) and two covers (not illustrated) that cover the ends of the body. It should be noted that the substantial shape of the internal tank (20) may comprise another type of parallelepipeds or geometric shapes of volume, particularly coinciding with the shape of the external tank (10). The body (21A) has on the front face at least one set of slots (not illustrated) coinciding with the set of slots (12) of the external tank (10). Each slot of both sets is configured to receive a collector tube (not illustrated) as referred to above.Finally, in these figures you can see at least one heat exchanger (30) located in the upper third of the internal tank (20) which, due to the thermosiphon effect, constitutes the hottest area, and whose operation will be explained later.

[0030] Now, looking at the cross section of figure 4, it can be observed that between the external tank (10) and the internal tank (20) that make up the water heater, there are one or more layers of plastic materials, where at least one layer is an insulating material.

[0031] Figures 5 and 6 illustrate the heat exchanger (30) consisting of a coil (31) made up of one or more tubes in a conical-spiral arrangement, which rest on one or more coil supports (32), adapting to the circumference of the inner tank (20). The conical-spiral arrangement of the coil (31) consists of a first lower elliptical turn (31a) which is of greater perimeter than a second subsequent elliptical turn (31b) which is located one level above, thus subsequently forming a circuit of the conical-spiral arrangement with the desired levels up to a last turn of the coil (31z). In the preferred embodiment, the conical-spiral arrangement of the coil (31) is shown with eight levels, but the person skilled in the art will understand that the dimensions of the conical-spiral arrangement, i.e. turns and levels, depend on the heat transfer conditions that are calculated for the solar heater.

[0032] The preferred embodiment of the coil supports (32) is shown in Figure 7 and consists of a sheet with a base portion (33), preferably smaller than the diameter of the internal tank (20), and a circumference portion (34) that has a plurality of slots (35) that coincide with the passage of the coil tubes (31).

[0033] Turning now to Figure 8, the depressurizing tank (40) is illustrated, which is preferably hollow, having an inlet connection (41) to receive water from the hydraulic supply system, an outlet connection (42) that connects to a pressure release device, for example a depressurizing air jug, and a hot water tank connection (not illustrated) that connects the interior of the depressurizing tank (40) to the interior of the internal tank (20). The depressurizing tank (40) allows the pressure of the hydraulic supply system to be reduced in order to fill the internal tank (20), and consequently, the solar energy collector tubes. In addition, the depressurizing tank (40) has an internal float (45), illustrated in Figure 9, which actuates a shut-off valve when the internal tank (20) has been completely filled.

[0034] As mentioned above, inside the internal tank (20) is the water to be heated that flows through the collector tubes, where they receive solar thermal energy. The solar heater with water heater (1) has at least one drainage tube (2), preferably in the lower part of the water heater, and at least one pressure release device (4), such as an air jug, preferably in the upper part of the water heater. In addition, the solar heater with water heater (1) has at least one cold water inlet tube (3), preferably in one of the covers and at the height of the last turn of the coil (31z), and at least one hot water outlet tube (5), preferably in one of the covers and also at the height of the last turn of the coil (31z).

[0035] During operation, the internal tank (20) is filled with water from the depressurizing tank (40) and heated by the collector tubes. The thermosiphon effect causes the hottest water to rise to the upper third of the internal tank (20), such that the water passing through the coil (31) receives the thermal energy of the water into the internal tank (20) more efficiently by heat transfer, and leaves the coil (31) at a desired hot temperature. In this way, the solar heater with a hot tank (1) becomes adaptable to any water supply pressure, since the coil (31) can receive water at different pressures, while the internal tank (20) can receive water from a high-pressure water supply system in the depressurizing tank (40), or directly in that same connection if it comes from a low-pressure water supply system.

[0036] Although the specific embodiment of the invention has been described above in detail, the description is merely for purposes of illustration. It should therefore be appreciated that many aspects of the invention were described above by way of example only and are not intended as required or essential elements of the invention unless explicitly stated otherwise. Various modifications of, and equivalent steps corresponding to, the described aspects of the alternative embodiments, in addition to those described above, can be made by one of ordinary skill in the art having the benefit of this disclosure, without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention, as defined in the following claims, which scope is to be given the broadest interpretation to embrace such modifications and equivalent structures.

Claims

Claims 1. A solar water heater with a water heater comprising an external tank and an internal tank, characterized in that: a heat exchanger is located inside the internal tank, in the upper third; where the heat exchanger consists of a coil formed by one or more tubes in a conical-spiral arrangement, which rest on one or more coil supports, adapting to the circumference of the internal tank; and a depressurizing tank is coupled in fluid communication with the interior of the internal tank.

2. The solar heater with a water heater according to claim 1, wherein the conical-spiral arrangement of the coil consists of a first lower elliptical turn that is of greater perimeter than a second subsequent elliptical turn that is located one level above, thus subsequently forming a circuit of the conical-spiral arrangement with the desired levels.

3. The solar heater with a water tank according to claim 1, wherein the coil support consists of a sheet with a base portion and a circumference portion that has a plurality of slots that coincide with the passage of the coil tubes.

4. The solar heater with a hot water tank according to claim 3, wherein the base portion is smaller than the diameter of the internal tank.

5. The solar heater with a hot water tank according to claim 1, wherein the depressurizing tank is hollow.

6. The solar heater with a water heater according to claim 1, wherein the depressurizing tank has an inlet connection, an outlet connection, and a water heater connection.

7. The solar heater with a hot water tank according to claim 1, wherein the depressurizing tank has an internal float that activates a shut-off valve when the internal tank is full.

8. The solar heater with a water heater according to claim 1, wherein the solar heater with a water heater has at least one drainage pipe and at least one pressure release device.

9. The solar heater with a water heater according to claim 8, wherein the at least one drain pipe is located at the bottom of the water heater, and the at least one pressure release device is located at the top of the water heater.

10. The solar heater with a water heater according to claim 1, wherein the solar heater with a water heater It has at least one cold water inlet pipe and at least one hot water outlet pipe.

11. The solar heater with a water tank according to claim 10, wherein the at least one cold water inlet pipe is located at the height of the last turn of the coil, and the at least one hot water outlet pipe is located at the height of the last turn of the coil.

12. The solar heater with a hot water tank according to claim 1, wherein the external tank and the internal tank are cylindrical, each consisting of a body and two covers that cover the ends of said body.

13. The solar heater with a hot water tank according to claim 12, wherein the body of the external tank has at least one set of slots on the front face, wherein each slot is configured to allow the passage of a collector tube.

14. The solar heater with a hot water tank according to claim 13, wherein the body of the inner tank has on the front face at least one set of slots coinciding with the set of slots of the outer tank, where each slot of both sets is configured to receive a collector tube.

15. The solar heater with a hot water tank according to claim 1, wherein between the external tank and the tank internal that make up the water heater, there are one or more layers of plastic materials.

16. The solar heater with a hot water tank according to claim 15, wherein at least one layer is an insulating material.

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