Storage boiler
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Existing storage boilers for hot-beverage vending machines have high standby temperatures, leading to high production costs, poor thermal efficiency, and limited versatility, as they are typically made of metal and cannot quickly adjust temperature, requiring multiple boilers for different beverages.
Innovation Solution
A storage boiler design featuring a dual-chamber system with a plastic tank and modulatable heating elements, where one chamber maintains water at a low standby temperature (50-60°C) and the other chamber heats water to a higher temperature only when needed, using a central control unit to manage heating and dispensing, allowing for efficient temperature modulation and reduced energy consumption.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Speed
If the standby temperature is kept high to ensure immediate dispensing of hot water, then the water is ready for dispensing, but heat loss to the outside increases and energy consumption rises
Solution Approach 1:
The water storage is divided into two separate tanks: a first tank for storing water at a lower standby temperature and a second tank for storing water at a higher dispensing temperature. This segmentation allows the system to maintain a smaller volume of hot water, reducing heat loss while ensuring immediate availability of hot water for dispensing.
Solution Approach 2:
The system pre-heats water in the first tank to a lower temperature and only heats water to the final dispensing temperature in the second tank when needed. This preliminary action at a lower temperature level reduces the overall energy required to maintain standby conditions while ensuring hot water is ready when demanded.
2Temperature
If the tank is made of metal to withstand high temperatures and pressure, then the boiler can operate at high standby temperatures, but thermal efficiency deteriorates due to heat loss through the metal walls
Solution Approach 1:
The system changes the temperature parameter of the stored water from high standby temperature to a lower temperature in the first tank. This parameter change allows the use of plastic material for the first tank, which has better thermal insulation properties than metal, thereby reducing heat loss through the tank walls.
3Device complexity
If the electric resistors are not modulated to change temperature quickly, then the heating system is simple, but versatility deteriorates as multiple boilers are needed for different beverage temperatures
Solution Approach 1:
The heating system is segmented into two independent heating circuits: a first electric resistor for heating the first tank and a second electric resistor for heating the second tank. This segmentation allows each heater to be independently controlled and modulated, enabling the system to produce different water temperatures for different beverage types while maintaining relatively simple individual heating elements.
Solution Approach 2:
The dual-tank system with independent heating makes a single boiler unit capable of serving multiple functions: producing different water temperatures for various beverage types (espresso, instant coffee, weak coffee, etc.), thereby replacing the need for multiple separate boilers.
4Device complexity
If a single tank is used to store all water, then the system is simple, but versatility deteriorates as the temperature of all water cannot be quickly altered for different beverages
Solution Approach 1:
The water storage is divided into two separate tanks with different temperature zones. The first tank stores water at a lower temperature and the second tank stores water at a higher temperature. This segmentation allows the system to quickly adjust the available water temperatures for different beverage requirements without needing to reheat or cool the entire water volume.
Solution Approach 2:
The system dynamically adjusts the water temperatures in the two tanks based on the beverage requirements. The independent heating circuits allow each tank to be heated to different temperatures as needed, providing dynamic adaptability for producing different beverage types from a single boiler unit.
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
This design reduces production costs, minimizes heat loss, allows for efficient energy use, and enables a single boiler to produce multiple beverage temperatures, improving thermal efficiency and versatility.
Implementation Method 1
a first electric resistor for heating the water in the first tank to a first standby temperature
Implementation Method 2
a second electric resistor for heating the water in the second tank to a second standby temperature higher than the first
Implementation Method 3
the second tank inserted inside and insulated thermally from the main tank
Data Source
Figure 1~2
Figure 3
AI summary
A storage boiler (1; la), a tank (2) of which has a first chamber (15) for housing a given quantity of water; an inlet (22) for feeding water into the first chamber (15); an outlet (20) for discharging water from the tank (2); and a first resistor (25) fitted inside the first chamber (15) to heat the water inside the first chamber (15) to, and keep it at, a standby first temperature (Tl); the first chamber (15) housing a tubular body (9), which houses a second chamber (16) communicating with the first chamber (15) and with the outlet (20), and housing a second resistor (17) selectively activatable to heat the water flowing through the second chamber (16) to a dispensing second temperature (T2) higher than the first temperature (Tl).