Heating Device with Removable Front Cover for Top-Access Maintenance

Resolve Bottlenecks,
Find Innovative Solutions
Generate Solutions

Solution Overview

Problem

Existing heating devices are mechanically complex, making maintenance, particularly cleaning of the heat exchanger, cumbersome and difficult.

Innovation Solution

A heating device design where the burner is positioned at the top, allowing for easy access and maintenance from above without removing the heat exchanger from the housing, with a unique housing configuration that creates additional space for flue-gas connections and improved accessibility to internal components.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Ease of repair

If the heat exchanger is fixed in the housing with the burner at the bottom, then the heating function is achieved, but maintenance and cleaning of the heat exchanger becomes difficult and complex

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvemaintenance accessibilityVSAvoidmechanical complexity
Core Design Contradiction:
Ease of repairVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

The burner is inverted from its conventional bottom position to a top position, allowing maintenance personnel to access and clean the heat exchanger from above by simply removing the front cover, eliminating the need for complex extraction mechanisms

Inventive Principle:
Principle #13The other way round (Inversion)

Solution Approach 2:

The front cover is made removable to extract the barrier preventing access to internal components, allowing direct access to the heat exchanger and burner for maintenance purposes without disassembling the entire housing

Inventive Principle:
Principle #2Taking out (Extraction)

2Loss of time

If the heat exchanger can be easily accessed for maintenance, then maintenance time is reduced, but the housing structure becomes more complex

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvemaintenance timeVSAvoidhousing structure
Core Design Contradiction:
Loss of timeVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

The housing is segmented into a removable front cover and a fixed rear housing, allowing selective access to internal components without disturbing the entire structure, thus reducing maintenance time while maintaining structural simplicity

Inventive Principle:
Principle #1Segmentation

3Ease of operation

If the burner is positioned at the top for easy maintenance access, then maintenance accessibility is improved, but space for flue-gas connections and internal components becomes constrained

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvemaintenance accessibilityVSAvoidinternal space
Core Design Contradiction:
Ease of operationVSVolume of moving object

Solution Approach 1:

The housing design utilizes vertical dimension optimization with the top housing wall extending less far than the housing bottom, creating an angled internal space that accommodates both the top-positioned burner and sufficient volume for flue-gas connections and heat exchanger components

Inventive Principle:
Principle #17Another dimension (Dimensionality change)

Applied Scientific Principles

This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.

Function Achieved in This Case

Facilitates easier maintenance and cleaning of the heat exchanger by allowing access from above, reducing mechanical complexity and improving overall accessibility to internal components.

Implementation Method 1

The flames from the respective burner are directed downwards and transfer heat to water in the heat exchanger

Methodology Applied
Scientific EffectHeat transfer: Conduction (thermal)

Implementation Method 2

the heated water can be used to heat rooms by passing the heated medium through one or more radiators

Methodology Applied
Scientific EffectThermal energy transfer: Conduction (thermal)

Implementation Method 3

The condensation tray is furthermore connected to a flue-gas discharge for discharging the flue gases which flow out of the burner

Methodology Applied
Scientific EffectGas flow: Convection

Data Source

PatentEP2623883B1Heating device with removable front cover, method for maintaining a heating device
Publication Date: 2020.04.22 ROBERT BOSCH GMBH
  • EP2623883B1 patent drawingFigure 1~2
  • EP2623883B1 patent drawingFigure 3
  • EP2623883B1 patent drawingFigure 4~7

AI summary

A heating device has a housing (2), a cover (4), and heating components (6). In a position of use, the cover (4) is removably connected to a front side of the housing (2). The housing (2) has a rear housing wall (36), a left-hand lateral housing wall (38), a right-hand lateral housing wall (40), a housing bottom (34) and a top housing wall (42). The cover (4) joins onto respective front sides (44, 46, 48, 50) of the housing in a gas-tight manner in order to create a space (60) inside the housing (2) in which the heating components (6) are situated. At the location of one of the lateral housing walls, the top housing wall (42) extends less far from the rear housing wall (36) towards the cover (4) than the housing bottom (34) extends from the rear housing wall (36) towards the cover (4) at the location of the same lateral housing wall. Some of the heating components (6) are situated between a front face (60), defined by the front sides (48, 50), and the cover (4).