Forced draft direct vent type room heater

• US 8,474,729 B2
• Filed: 10/12/2009
• Issued: 07/02/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 07/08/2008
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Rinnai Corporation
• Original Assignee: Rinnai Corporation
• Inventors: Kaneiwa, Satoshi
• Primary Examiner(s): McAllister, Steven B
• Assistant Examiner(s): DECKER, PHILLIP
• Application Number:
  US12/577,328
• Publication Number:
  US 20100025487A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,359 Days
• Field of Search: 237/53, 237/2.A, 126/504, 236/49.3, 700/276, 700/278
• US Class Current: 237/2.A
• CPC Class Codes: F24B 1/1808 Simulated fireplaces
• CPC Class Codes: F24C 3/004 of the closed type
• CPC Class Codes: F24D 19/0087 Fan arrangements for forced convection
• CPC Class Codes: F24D 2200/10 Fire place
• CPC Class Codes: F24H 3/027 using solid fuel
• CPC Class Codes: F24H 3/067 using solid fuel
• CPC Class Codes: F24H 9/0063 in air channels
• CPC Class Codes: F24H 9/0073 Arrangement or mounting of means for forcing the circulation of air
• CPC Class Codes: Y02B 30/00 Energy efficient heating, ventilation or air conditioning [HVAC]

Abstract

The room heater has, in an outer case 1, both a first air flow passage that leads to a vent hole 12 through a section in which the main heat exchanger 6 is arranged and a second air flow passage that does not pass through the section in which the main heat exchanger 6 is arranged but leads to the vent hole 12 through a section in which a supplementary heat exchanger 6′ is arranged provided. At least one of the first damper 20 which can freely block the first air flow passage and the second damper 21 which can freely block the second air flow passage is provided, and the first air flow passage or the second air flow passage is blocked in a weak combustion period.

Claims

1. A forced draft direct vent type room heater comprising:

an outer case,

a combustion housing which is provided in the outer case and houses a burner therein,

a combustion fan for forced draft direct ventilation, which is provided on the way of any one of an air supply path that supplies air for combustion to the combustion housing and an exhaust path that exhausts a combusted gas from the combustion housing,

a main heat exchanger and a supplementary heat exchanger, which are provided in the outer case and are provided on the way of the exhaust path,

an air intake and a vent hole which are opened in the outer case,

a warm air fan in the outer case for taking in room air from the air intake and sending the air to the inside of the room from the vent hole through a section in which the main heat exchanger and the supplementary heat exchanger are arranged,

a drain dish which is provided in the outer case and which makes a drain formed in an exhaust extension tube that is connected to a downstream end of the exhaust path flow into the drain dish itself, and

a controller, wherein

a first air flow passage that leads to the vent hole in the outer case through a section in which the main heat exchanger is arranged and a second air flow passage that does not pass through the section in which the main heat exchanger is arranged but is led to the vent hole through a section in which the supplementary heat exchanger is arranged are separately formed in the outer case,

at least one of a first damper which can freely block the flow of the room air flowing into the first air flow passage due to the warm air fan and a second damper which can freely block the flow of the room air flowing into the second air flow passage due to the warm air fan is provided,

and the controller is configured to detect a weak combustion period and to control the at least one of the first damper and the second damper to block the room air from flowing into the first air flow passage or the second air flow passage when the weak combustion period is detected, the weak combustion period being a period wherein a combustion amount of the burner is a predetermined amount or less.

2. The forced draft direct vent type room heater according to claim 1, wherein the controller is configured to:

detect when a room temperature exceeds a predetermined upper limit temperature which is set higher than a set heating temperature,

conduct a temperature-control OFF operation wherein the controller controls the warm air fan to rotate at a low speed in a state that the burner stops combustion, and

control the at least one of the first damper and the second damper to block the room air from flowing into the first air flow passage or the second air flow passage.

3. The forced draft direct vent type room heater according to claim 2, wherein

both of the first damper and the second damper are provided therein,

the first air flow passage is formed along the outer surface of the combustion housing, and

the controller is configured to:

detect when the temperature of the combustion housing is a predetermined temperature or higher in the temperature-control OFF operation period, and control the first damper to allow the room air to pass into the first air flow passage and the second damper to block the room air from flowing into the second air flow passage; and

detect when the temperature of the combustion housing is lower than the predetermined temperature, and control the second damper to allow the room air to pass into the second air flow passage and the first damper to block the room air from flowing into the first air flow passage.

4. The forced draft direct vent type room heater according to claim 1, wherein

both of the first damper and the second damper are provided therein, and

the controller is configured to:

detect when the combustion amount of the burner decreases to a predetermined lower limit combustion amount, in a temperature-control operation period of varying a combustion amount of the burner according to a deviation of a set heating temperature from the room temperature,

when the deviation is a predetermined value or more, control the first damper to allow the room air to pass into the first air flow passage and the second damper to block the room air from flowing into the second air flow passage, and

when the deviation is less than the predetermined value, control the second damper to allow the room air to pass into the second air flow passage and the first damper to block the room air flowing into the first air flow passage.

5. The forced draft direct vent type room heater according to claim 4, wherein the controller is configured to:

detect when a room temperature exceeds a predetermined upper limit temperature which is set higher than the set heating temperature, and conduct a temperature-control OFF operation wherein the controller controls the warm air fan to rotate at a low speed in a state in which the burner stops combustion, and controls

one of the first damper and the second damper to block the room air from flowing into the first air flow passage or the second air flow passage.

6. The forced draft direct vent type room heater according to claim 5, wherein

the first air flow passage is formed along the outer surface of the combustion housing, and

the controller is configured to:

detect when the temperature of the combustion housing is a predetermined temperature or higher in the temperature-control OFF operation period, and control the first damper to allow the room air to pass into the first air flow passage and the second damper to block the room air from flowing into the second air flow passage, and

detect when the temperature of the combustion housing is lower than the predetermined temperature, and control the second damper to allow the room air to pass into the second air flow passage and the first damper to block the room air from flowing into the first air flow passage.