Single-Control Flow Valve for Leak-Safe Continuous Water Heaters
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing fittings for flow water heaters require two separate control elements for operation, leading to increased complexity, risk of leaks, and higher manufacturing effort, making them difficult to use and costly to produce.
Innovation Solution
A single control element is used to operate a switching element with a microswitch, which controls an electronic ignition and monitoring device to manage gas flow, reducing the need for separate controls and simplifying the design while minimizing leaks and production costs.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If two separate control elements are used to control water flow and gas flow, then the water heater can be operated, but the device complexity increases and the risk of leaks increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent combines the water flow control function and gas flow control function into a single control element. The control element has a first control section for adjusting water flow through the water valve and a second control section for controlling gas flow through the gas valve. This merging of functions reduces the number of separate control elements from two to one, simplifying operation while maintaining full control capabilities.
Solution Approach 2:
The single control element is designed to perform multiple functions: it controls both the water valve (affecting water flow to the heat exchanger) and the gas valve (affecting gas flow to the burner). This multi-functional design eliminates the need for separate control elements for water and gas, reducing complexity and potential leak points while preserving operational versatility.
2Ease of operation
If two separate control elements are used, then the water heater can be controlled, but the manufacturing effort and production costs increase
Solution Approach 1:
By merging the control functionality into a single integrated control element rather than using two separate elements, the patent reduces the number of parts that need to be manufactured, assembled, and sealed. This consolidation simplifies the manufacturing process and reduces production costs while maintaining the necessary control functionality for both water and gas flow.
3Ease of operation
If multiple control elements and openings are used, then the control functionality is complete, but the risk of leaks increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent reduces the number of openings required in the housing wall by consolidating control functions into a single control element. Fewer openings mean fewer potential leak points, improving reliability while the multi-functional design of the control element ensures complete control capability for both water and gas flow regulation.
Data Source
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AI summary
The aim of the invention is to devise a flow control for a continuous-flow water heater, which is used to control the flow of gas to a burner of a heat exchanger as a function of the passage of water, in which only one operating element has to be actuated. Because of the reduction in the apertures through the housing wall of the flow control, at the same time the risk leaks occurring is reduced. Furthermore, the expenditure in manufacturing is to be minimized. To this end, in addition to the operating element (8), a switching element (9) is rotatably mounted on a spindle (7) projecting from the water-carrying housing (5), wherein a rotary movement of the operating element (8) can be transmitted via drivers (10; 11) to the switching element (9), which also has a switching contour (13) by means of which a fixedly arranged microswitch (14) can be actuated, by means of which an electronic ignition and monitoring device (3) can be electrically actuated, by means of which gas flow to the burner can be shut off.