Embossed Heads for Tanks and Tanks Including Same

This application claims priority to and the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No. 63/365,713, filed on Jun. 2, 2022, the disclosure of which is hereby incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.

Many existing tank-type water heaters include one or more ends or heads that have a generally concave shape (i.e., extending into the interior of the tank). Particularly in the case of a bottom head for a vertically oriented tank, the heads can be concave to provide a substantially flat bottom surface to support and stabilize the tank. The heads typically require a material thickness that is sufficiently large to resist buckling when pressure is applied to the head (e.g., pressure from the water inside the tank, the weight of the tank itself and any other components attached thereto). At the same time, it is desirable to reduce the thickness of these heads to thereby reduce the weight of the head itself and/or reduce the weight of the overall water heater. This can in turn reduce costs (e.g., material costs, shipping costs) and/or increase the easy of transporting and/or installing the water heater.

What is needed, therefore, are improved head designs that require a reduced amount of material while providing sufficient resistance to buckling during use of the resulting water heater.

These and other problems are be addressed by the technology described herein. Examples of the disclosed technology relate generally to embossed heads for tank (e.g., water heater tanks) and tanks (e.g., water heater tanks) including an embossed head.

The disclosed technology includes a tank head including a skirt portion, a knuckle portion, a transition portion, and a central portion. The skirt portion can extend at least partially in a generally axial direction relative a central axis of the tank head. The central portion can extend at least partially in a generally radial direction relative the central axis of the tank head. The knuckle portion can be configured to transition between the skirt portion and the transition portion. The tank head can include one or more embossed features, and each of the one or more embossed feature can have a side wall that extends at least partially in the generally axial direction.

The tank head can have an approximately constant material thickness. Alternatively, the tank head can have a variable material thickness

The one or more embossed features can include an annular emboss. The annular emboss can extend at least partially in the generally radial direction such that the annular emboss is sloped.

The one or more embossed features can include a plurality of separate and distinct embosses.

An embossed feature of the one or more embossed features can extend in a generally downward direction. Alternatively or in addition, an embossed feature of the one or more embossed features can extend in a generally upward direction.

The one or more embossed features can include a first plurality of embosses and a second plurality of embosses. The first plurality of embosses can each have a first shape and a first size. The second plurality of embosses can each have a second shape and a second size. The second shape can be different from the first shape, and/or the second size can be different from the first shape.

Each of the first plurality of embosses can be located along a first circumference corresponding to a first radius extending from the central axis of the tank head, and each of the second plurality of embosses can be located along a second circumference corresponding to a second radius extending from the central axis of the tank head. The second radius can be greater than the first radius.

The tank head can include a secondary emboss located at least partially within an embossed feature of the one or more embossed features.

The disclosed technology includes a tank (e.g., a water heater tank) including one or more of the disclosed tank headers having one or more embossed features.

Further features of the disclosed design, and the advantages offered thereby, are explained in greater detail hereinafter with reference to specific examples illustrated in the accompanying drawings. wherein like elements are indicated be like reference designators.

Throughout this disclosure, embossed heads are described in relation to tank-type water heaters. Those having skill in the art, however, will recognize that the disclosed technology can be applicable to multiple different scenarios and applications. For example, the disclosed technology can be applied to storage tanks or any other container that includes a generally concave end. Further, this disclosure generally illustrates and describes the disclosed technology in relation to a bottom head (e.g., a bottom side of a tank), but the disclosed technology is not so limited. For example, some or all of the concepts and elements described herein can be incorporated into a top head (e.g., a top side of a tank)

Some implementations of the disclosed technology will be described more fully with reference to the accompanying drawings. This disclosed technology may, however, be embodied in many different forms and should not be construed as limited to the implementations set forth herein. The components described hereinafter as making up various elements of the disclosed technology are intended to be illustrative and not restrictive. Indeed, it is to be understood that other examples are contemplated. Many suitable components that would perform the same or similar functions as components described herein are intended to be embraced within the scope of the disclosed devices and methods. Such other components not described herein may include, but are not limited to, for example, components developed after development of the disclosed technology.

Herein, the use of terms such as “having,” “has,” “including,” or “includes” are open-ended and are intended to have the same meaning as terms such as “comprising” or “comprises” and not preclude the presence of other structure, material, or acts. Similarly. though the use of terms such as “can” or “may” are intended to be open-ended and to reflect that structure, material. or acts are not necessary, the failure to use such terms is not intended to reflect that structure, material, or acts are essential. To the extent that structure, material, or acts are presently considered to be essential, they are identified as such.

Unless otherwise specified, all ranges disclosed herein are inclusive of stated end points, as well as all intermediate values. By way of example, a range described as being “from approximately 2 to approximately 4” includes the values 2 and 4 and all intermediate values within the range. Likewise, the expression that a property “can be in a range from approximately 2 to approximately 4” (or “can be in a range from 2 to 4”) means that the property can be approximately 2, can be approximately 4, or can be any value therebetween. Further, the expression that a property “can be between approximately 2 and approximately 4” is also inclusive of the endpoints, meaning that the property can be approximately 2, can be approximately 4, or can be any value therebetween.

It is to be understood that the mention of one or more method steps does not preclude the presence of additional method steps or intervening method steps between those steps expressly identified. Similarly, it is also to be understood that the mention of one or more components in a device or system does not preclude the presence of additional components or intervening components between those components expressly identified.

As used herein, unless otherwise specified, the use of the ordinal adjectives “first,” “second,” “third,” etc., to describe a common object, merely indicate that different instances of like objects are being referred to and are not intended to imply that the objects so described must be in a given sequence, either temporally, spatially, in ranking, or in any other manner. Although the disclosed technology may be described herein with respect to various systems and methods, it is contemplated that embodiments or implementations of the disclosed technology with identical or substantially similar features may alternatively be implemented as methods or systems. For example, any aspects, elements, features, or the like described herein with respect to a method can be equally attributable to a system. As another example, any aspects, elements, features, or the like described herein with respect to a system can be equally attributable to a method.

Reference will now be made in detail to examples of the disclosed technology that are illustrated in the accompanying drawings and disclosed herein. Wherever convenient, the same reference numbers will be used throughout the drawings to refer to the same or like parts.

As discussed. the disclosed technology relates to improved head designs (e.g., for water heater tanks) that require a reduced amount of material while providing sufficient resistance to buckling during use of the resulting water heater. Certain rules and regulations can dictate the permissible resistance provided by a head design. For example, certain water heaters sold in the United States can be required to adhere to the regulations set forth in ANSI Z21.10.3 (2017)/CSA 4.3 (2017), entitled “Gas-Fired Water Heaters, Volume III, Storage Water Heaters with Input Ratings Above 75,000 BTU Per Hour, Circulating and Instantaneous.” As a more specific example, Section 5.28 of ANSI Z21.10.3/CSA 4.3 relates to allowable deformations of a head during a hydrostatic test. When comparing pre-test and post-test measurements, the allowable lineal deformation is

and the allowable circumferential deformation is

where dis the pre-test diameter of the tank head, dis the post-test diameter of the tank head, and Cis the post-tank circumference of the tank head. Stated otherwise, to satisfy ANSI Z21.10.3 (2017)/CSA 4.3 (2017), the diameter of the tank head is permitted to lineally deform during the hydrostatic test only by 0.5% or less as compared to the pre-test diameter of the tank head, and the circumference of the tank head is permitted to vary during the hydrostatic test only by 0.2% or less as compared to the pre-test circumference of the tank head.

Head designs for fluid heating tanks used to have two radii—a knuckle radius that transitions a dish portion to a flange, and a dish/crown radius representing the major radius of the head. A transition portion was added to transition between the major portion and the knuckle portion, but stabilization of the transition radius (e.g., the radius of the transition portion) against internal pressure may be improved.

As illustrated in-ID, existing head designs typically have a generally concave shape. The headtypically includes a skirt portion, a knuckle portion, a transition portion, and a generally spherical portion. As illustrated, the skirt portioncan be a generally vertical portion (e.g., having a generally cylindrical shape) of the head. which, as shown perhaps most clearly in, can be at least partially overlapped by the tank's shellor sidewall. Stated otherwise, the skirt portioncan extend in a generally axial direction relative a central axis of the head. The knuckle portioncan have a knuckle radius and can effectively “turn the corner” from the generally axial direction of the skirt portionto a generally radial direction associated with the transition portionand the generally spherical portion. The generally spherical portioncan have a spherical shape or an approximately spherical shape, and the transition portion can serve to smoothly and/or gradually transition the headfrom a non-spherical shape (e.g., at the skirt portionand/or knuckle portion) to a generally spherical shape (e.g., at the spherical portion). Based at least in part on the requirements of ANSI Z21.10.3 (2017)/CSA 4.3 (2017), current headdesigns having a 16-inch diameter can often have a head thickness of approximately 0.118 inches, with the tank often having a shell thickness of 0.48 inches. Buckling of a traditional headis illustrated in.

Buckling refers to a sudden change in shape of a structure under load, and buckling may occur even when the stresses in and/or on the structure are below those that would cause a failure in the material of the structure. The critical load to induce buckling is derived from Euler's formula and relates to the modulus of elasticity of the material and the area moment of inertia. The embossed features, and the resulting embossed head. disclosed herein can help increase the area moment of inertial of the embossed head to thereby increase the critical load of the embossed head.

To reduce the amount of required material while also providing sufficient resistance to buckling, an embossed headis disclosed. The embossed headcan be formed from a single piece of material and can include one or more embossed features, as described herein. As illustrated in, the embossed headcan include a skirt portion(e.g., similar to the skirt portionof a traditional head), a knuckle portion(e.g., similar to the knuckle portionof a traditional head). a transition portion(e.g., similar to the transition portionof a traditional head), and a generally spherical portion(e.g., similar to the generally spherical portionof a traditional head). As illustrated in, the embossed headcan include an embossed feature in the form of an annular emboss. The annular embosscan be or include a step or shoulder. The circumference and radius of the embossed headmay not be continuous due to the skirt portion, the knuckle portion, the transition portion, and a generally spherical portion(e.g., central portion). As shown in, the transition portionmay have a different radius than the skirt portion, the knuckle portion, and the generally spherical portion.

The annular embosscan be generally vertical. That is to say, the annular embosscan generally extend at least partially in the axial direction of the head.

Alternatively or in addition, the annular embosscan extend at least partially in a radially inward direction. For example, the annular embosscan extend partially in an axial direction and partially in a radially inward direction such that the annular embossis sloped or slanted. The depth and/or height of the annular embosscan be any depth or height. For example, the annular embosscan be located at and/or begin at a first radial location that is approximately% of the radius of the head, measured from a central axis of the head. As another non-limiting example, the annular embosscan be located at and/or begin at a first radial location that is approximately 75% of the radius of the head, measured from a central axis of the head. Alternatively or in addition, the annular embosscan be located at and/or end at the end of the knuckle portionas the knuckle portiontransitions to the transition portion.

The annular embosscan have an outer diameter (e.g., corresponding to the start of the annular emboss) and an inner diameter (e.g., corresponding to the end of the annular emboss). The difference between the inner and outer diameters can be approximately zero (or approximately equal to the material thickness at the annular emboss) such that the annular embossforms a generally vertical wall. Alternatively, the outer diameter can be greater than the inner diameter such that the annular emboss has a width. The width of the annular embosscan be any width. For example, the width of the annular embosscan be equal to the distance between a radial location at the boundary of the knuckle portionand a radial location at the boundary of knuckle portionon the opposite side of the head.

The thickness of the embossed headcan be substantially constant. That is to say, the thickness at any point along the embossed headcan approximately equal the thickness at any other point along the embossed head(e.g., including an annular emboss, emboss, and/or secondary emboss, as described more fully herein). For example, the thickness of the embossed headcan be in a range between approximately 0.085 inch and approximately 0.10 inch. As another example, the thickness of the embossed headcan be less than or equal to approximately 0.096 inch. Alternatively, the thickness can vary at one or more locations along the embossed head. For example, the embossed headcan have an increased thickness at locations likely to fail. As non-limiting examples, the embossed headcan have a comparatively increased thickness at corners or transitions into, or out of, the annular emboss.

Numerous dimensional examples have been set forth herein. However, as will be appreciated, the specific dimensions of the element(s) of a particular embossed head(e.g., a particular annular emboss. a particular emboss. and/or a particular secondary emboss) will depend on several factors, including, but not limited to, dimensions of the headand the size or volume of the tank.

As illustrated, the annular embosscan be located proximate the knuckle portionand/or proximate the transition portion, but the disclosed technology is not so limited. That is to say, the annular emboss can be positioned at any location on the embossed head. For example, the embossed headcan include an annular embossin or proximate the knuckle portion, in or proximate the transition portion, and/or the in or proximate generally spherical portion. Further, whileillustrate the embossed headas having only one annular emboss, the inclusion of multiple annular embossis contemplated. For example, the embossed headcan include two, three, four, or more annular embosses. The annular emboss(es)can have a central axis that is generally aligned with a central axis of the embossed headsuch that the embossed headis symmetrical.

As illustrated in, a deformation simulation of the embossed headincluding an annular embossand having a substantially constant thickness was performed. And referring to the graph shown in, the embossed headwith the annular embosscan provide approximately the same resistance to buckling as a traditional headbut can do so while having a material thickness that is substantially less than the material thickness of the traditional head.

Referring to, the embossed feature of the embossed headcan be an embossthat is extending generally downward (i.e., toward a surface defined by the edge of the skirt portion), as in, or generally upward (i.e., opposite the generally downward direction), as in. Depending on the system characteristics (e.g., head diameter, tank size), a generally upward embosscan be preferable over a generally downward emboss, or vice versa. Alternatively or in addition, the embossed headcan include one or more generally upward embossesand one or more generally downward embosses.

The embossescan be of any shape. As illustrated in, the embossescan be generally elongate and/or can have a generally arcuate shape. The ends of the embossescan be rounded, as illustrated. Alternatively or in addition, one or more embosses can have a shape that is generally circular, generally spherical, generally ovular, generally triangular, generally square, generally rectangular, any other shape. The embossescan have any desired length or width. The embossescan all be of the same size (e.g., length, width). Alternatively, one, some, or all of the embossescan have a different size (e.g., length, width). Similarly, the embosses can all have the same height or depth. For example, the height or depth (height for a generally upward embossand depth for a generally downward emboss) of the annular embosscan be between approximately 0.02 inch and approximately 0.125 inch on a headhaving a 16-inch diameter. For example, the annular embosscan be between approximately 0.02 inch and approximately 0.05 inch, between approximately 0.05 inch and approximately 0.08 inch, between approximately.08 inch and approximately 0.1 inch, or between approximately 0.1 inch and approximately 0.125 inch.

The embossescan be separate and distinct. Alternatively, at least some of the embossescan at least partially overlap.

As shown in, the embossed headcan include multiple embosses, and these embossescan be arranged in any configuration. For example. a first plurality of embossescan be located at and/or extend along a first radius (e.g., corresponding to the central axis of the embossed head), and a second plurality of embossescan be located at and/or extend along a second radius that is greater than the first radius. Each of the first plurality of embossescan have the same size and the same shape. Alternatively, one, some, or all of the first plurality of embossescan have different sizes and/or different shapes. Each of the first plurality of embossescan have the same size and the same shape. Alternatively, one, some, or all of the first plurality of embossescan have different sizes and/or different shapes. As illustrated, the second plurality of embossescan have a size that is greater than the size of the first plurality of embosses. Conversely, the second plurality of embossescan have a size that is less than or approximately equal to the size of the first plurality of embosses.

The first and second pluralities of embossesshown ineach include four embosses. but the disclosed technology is not so limited. That is to say, the first plurality of embossescan include two, three, five, six, ten, twenty, or any other number of embosses. Similarly, the second plurality of embossescan include two, three, five, six, ten, twenty, or any other number of embosses. The first and second plurality of embossescan have the same number of embosses, or the first and second plurality of embossescan have different numbers of embosses.

As described, a plurality of embossescan extend along a circumference corresponding to a shared radius relative the central axis. Thus, gaps can exist between adjacent embossesof the plurality of embosses. (However, it should be understood that embossesare not required to be located along a circumference for the embossesto form gaps therebetween.) The distance between adjacent embosses(i.e., the length of the gap) can be approximately equal within a given plurality of embosses. The distance between adjacent embossesof the first plurality of embossescan be greater than the distance between adjacent embossesof the second plurality of embosses. Conversely, the distance between adjacent embossesof the first plurality of embossescan be less than or approximately equal to the distance between adjacent embossesof the second plurality of embosses.

Each gap can correspond to a sector, as shown in. At least one embossof one plurality of embossescan be configured to at least partially extend across the sector corresponding to a gap between embossesof another plurality of embosses. As an example. the second plurality of embossescan be rotated (e.g., 90 degrees) relative the first plurality of embosses. Alternatively or in addition. one or more embossesof the first plurality of embossescan extend entirely across a sector corresponding to a gap located between two adjacent embossesof the second plurality of embosses, as illustrated in.

The side walls of the embosscan be generally vertical. That is to say, the side walls of the embosscan generally extend at least partially in the axial direction of the embossed head. Alternatively or in addition, the side walls of the embosscan extend at least partially in a radial direction relative a central axis of the emboss. For example, the side walls of the embosscan extend partially in an axial direction and partially in a radial direction such that the side walls of the embossare sloped or slanted. The depth and/or height of the embosscan be any depth or height. For example, the axial distance between the start of the embossand the top or bottom of the emboss(top for a generally upward embossand bottom for a generally downward emboss) can be between approximately 0.02 inch and approximately 0.125 inch on a headhaving a 16-inch diameter.

The embossed headcan include a secondary emboss, as illustrated in. That is to say, a second embossed feature can be located within a first embossed feature. The secondary embosscan extend generally upward or generally downward. For example, the secondary embosscan be located within a generally downward emboss, and the secondary embosscan extend generally upward. As another example, the secondary embosscan be located within a generally downward emboss, and the secondary embosscan extend generally downward. As another example. the secondary embosscan be located within a generally upward emboss, and the secondary embosscan extend generally downward. As yet another example, the secondary embosscan be located within a generally upward emboss, and the secondary embosscan extend generally upward.

The secondary embosscan have any shape as described herein with respect to the embosses. The secondary embosscan have approximately the same shape as the embosswithin which the secondary emboss is located.

While the present disclosure has been described in connection with a plurality of example aspects, as illustrated in the various figures and discussed above, it is understood that other similar aspects can be used, or modifications and additions can be made to the described subject matter for performing the same function of the present disclosure without deviating therefrom. In this disclosure, methods and compositions were described according to aspects of the presently disclosed subject matter. But other equivalent methods or compositions to these described aspects are also contemplated by the teachings herein. Therefore, the present disclosure should not be limited to any single aspect. but rather construed in breadth and scope in accordance with the appended claims. Moreover, various aspects of the disclosed technology have been described herein as relating to methods, systems, devices, and/or non-transitory, computer-readable medium storing instructions.

However, it is to be understood that the disclosed technology is not necessarily limited to the examples and embodiments expressly described herein. That is, certain aspects of a described system can be included in the methods described herein, various aspects of a described method can be included in a system described herein, and the like.