Control Device for Expansion Tank and Water Heater

This application is a continuation of and claims priority to U.S. application Ser. No. 18/048,502, filed Oct. 21, 2022 which claims priority to Chinese Utility Model patent application Ser. No. 202122544008.2, entitled “Control Device for Expansion Tank and Water Heater” and filed Oct. 21, 2021, the entirety of which is hereby incorporated by reference.

The present disclosure relates to hot water distributors. More specifically, to a control device for an expansion tank and a water heater comprising same.

A water heater usually includes a heating tank and an expansion tank. The expansion tank is a safety device used to absorb thermal expansion and alleviate the pressure caused while water in the heating tank generates expansion so as to be filled with hot water. When a hot water distributor is working and a hot water faucet is turned on to make the hot water flow out of the heating tank, it is necessary to discharge the hot water in the expansion tank to release expansion space.

Most expansion tanks use a venturi pipe to generate a negative pressure difference at the narrowest part of the pipe during the water flow process, thereby generating an adsorption force, and the hot water in the expansion tank is sucked out by the adsorption force. The negative pressure difference of the venturi tube is largely affected by the water flow pressure within the venturi tube. For that reason, the expansion tank cannot work properly once the negative pressure fails to be formed in the pipe due to limited water flow pressure or other factors. If the expansion tank cannot release the expansion space in time, the heating tank is unable to accommodate the extra hot water due to expansion when performing a heating function, resulting in continuous dripping of water from the faucet.

Accordingly, there is a need to continue to improve functionality and features of faucets, and more specifically the hot water heating capabilities of faucets while minimizing dripping.

The present disclosure relates to hot water distributors and expansion tanks that utilize a venturi pipe.

An expansion control device may include a water flow sensor, a water inlet, a water heater, a controller, and an electric driving part. The water flow sensor may be arranged in the water inlet waterway. The water flow sensor may send out a first electronic signal after detecting the water flow in the water inlet. A second electronic signal may be sent after detecting that no water flow exists in the water inlet waterway.

In one embodiment, an input end of the controller may be connected to an output end of the water flow sensor. The controller then outputs a driving signal after receiving the first electronic signal output by the water flow sensor, and outputs a reset electric signal after receiving the second electric signal output by the water flow sensor.

In another embodiment, the electric driving part may be arranged on a shell of the expansion tank. A controlled end of the electric driving part may then be connected with an output end of the controller, and a driving end of the electric driving part may have a push plate. The controlled end of the electric driving part then drives the push plate to move in a direction close to the expansion tank after receiving the driving electric signal, or in a direction away from the expansion tank after receiving the reset electric signal.

In some embodiments, the expansion tank control device further may include a fixed seat arranged on the shell of the expansion tank, with the electric driving part arranged on the fixed seat. A hole may be formed on the fixed seat, and the driving end of the electric driving part may move along the through the hole.

In some embodiments of the expansion tank control device, the electric driving part may have an electromagnet. A controlled end of the electromagnet may be powered on after receiving the driving electric signal, and a driving end of the electromagnet moves towards to the expansion tank. When the controlled end of the electromagnet is powered off after receiving the reset electric signal, the driving end of the electromagnet may move away from the expansion tank.

In some embodiments of the expansion tank control device, the electric driving part may include a motor, a screw rod, and a nut. The nut may be arranged in the hole, and the push plate may be connected with the nut. One end of the screw rod may be connected with an output shaft of the motor, and the other end of the screw rod is connected with the nut. Once the driving electric signal is received, a controlled end of the motor drives the screw rod to rotate in a first direction, and the nut moves along the hole in the direction towards the expansion tank. After receiving the reset electric signal, the controlled end of the motor may drive the screw rod to rotate in a second direction, and the nut moves along the hole in the direction away from the expansion tank.

In some embodiments of the expansion tank control device, a chute may be formed in the hole, and an outer wall of the nut is formed with a rib matched with the chute.

In another embodiment, the expansion tank control may have s a fixing piece, where the fixed seat has a pair of fixing lugs, and fixing holes are formed on the fixing lugs. A connecting hole may be formed on a shell of the electric driving part, and the fixing piece may penetrate through the connecting hole and the fixing hole in turn to fix the electric driving part.

In another embodiment, a venturi pipe may be arranged on the water inlet waterway of the water heater and located at an opening of the expansion tank. The venturi pipe may be arranged at a downstream position of the waterway of the water flow sensor and may provide a supporting force for the water flow sensor. A water heater may be used, and may include the expansion tank control device described in any one of the above embodiments.

Embodiments of the present disclosure can have one or more the following technical effects:

According to embodiments of the disclosure directed to the expansion tank control device and the water heater, the water flow sensor is used to detect whether a faucet is turned on. When the faucet is turned on, water flow can be detected in the water inlet waterway of the water heater, the controller controls the electric driving part to drive the push plate to move in the direction close to the expansion tank so as to push out the water stored in the expansion tank. When the faucet is turned off, no water flow is detected in the water inlet waterway of the water heater, the controller controls the electric driving part to drive the push plate to move in the direction far away from the expansion tank so as to suck portion of the water in the heating tank into the expansion tank and form a cavity at the top of the heating tank to absorb the volume expansion of the water in the heating process and prevent the hot water from flowing out from a water outlet of the faucet. According to embodiments, the functions of the expansion tank are realized by the electric driving part, which is not influenced by a water pressure, and is more reliable.

The above summary is not intended to describe each illustrated embodiment or every implementation of the subject matter hereof. The figures and the detailed description that follow more particularly exemplify various embodiments.

While various embodiments are amenable to various modifications and alternative forms, specifics thereof have been shown by way of example in the drawings and will be described in detail. It should be understood, however, that the intention is not to limit the claimed inventions to the particular embodiments described. On the contrary, the intention is to cover all modifications, equivalents, and alternatives falling within the spirit and scope of the subject matter as defined by the claims.

The present disclosure relates to an expansion control device. The expansion control device may include and a water heater comprising the same. The expansion control device may further include a water flow sensor, a water inlet, a water heater, a controller, and an electric driving part. The water flow sensor may be arranged in the water inlet waterway. The technical solutions of embodiments of the application will be described clearly and completely with reference to the accompanying drawings. Obviously, the described embodiments are some but not all of the embodiments of the application. Based on the embodiments of the application, all other embodiments obtained by those having ordinary skills in the art without going through any creative work shall fall within the scope of protection of the application.

In the description of the application, it should be noted that, the orientation or positional relationships indicated by the terms “center”, “up”, “down”, “left”, “right”, “vertical”, “horizontal”, “inside”, “outside” and the like are orientation or positional relationships based on the accompanying drawings, which are only for convenience and simplification of the description of this application, but are not intended to indicate or imply that the indicated device or element must have a specific orientation, be constructed and operated in a specific orientation, and thus, cannot be understood as a limitation to the application. Moreover, the terms “first”, “second” and “third” are used for descriptive purposes only and cannot be understood as indicating or implying relative importance.

In the description of the application, it should be noted that unless expressly stipulated and defined otherwise, terms such as “installation”, “connected” and “connection”, etc., should be understood broadly, for example, the connection may be fixed connection, or detachable connection or integral connection; may be direct connection, may also be indirect connection through an intermediate medium, and may also be internal communication of two elements. The specific meaning of the above terms in the application can be understood by those having ordinary skills in the art according to a specific case.

According to one embodiment of the present disclosure, an expansion tank control devicemay be used in a water heater assembly, as shown into. The expansion tank control devicemay comprise a water flow sensor, a controller, an electric driving part, and a push plate, all arranged within in a housingwith the remaining components of the water heater assembly. The housingmay include a single piece, or one or more connecting sidewalls-, and optionally an electric plugor other power source, such as a battery pack. The water flow sensormay be arranged in a water inlet waterwayof the water heater (as shown in the figure, the water flow sensoris arranged between a water sourceand a heating tank), and the water flow sensormay comprise, but is not limited to, a flow sensor, a water pressure sensor or a conductivity sensor. In embodiments, the water flow sensorsends out a first electric signal after detecting a water flow in the water inlet waterway, and the water flow sensorsends out a second electric signal after detecting that no water flow exists in the water inlet waterway.

In a non-limiting example, the first electric signal may be a high level signal and the second electric signal may be a low level signal. An input end of the controlleris connected with an output end of the water flow sensor. The controlleroutputs a driving electric signal after receiving the first electric signal output by the water flow sensor, and outputs a reset electric signal after receiving the second electric signal output by the water flow sensor. The electric driving partmay be arranged on a shellof the expansion tank. A controlled end of the electric driving partis connected with an output end of the controller, and a driving end of the electric driving partis provided with a push plate. The controlled end of the electric driving partdrives the push plateto move in a direction towards the expansion tankafter receiving the driving electric signal, and the controlled end of the electric driving partdrives the push plateto move in a direction away from the expansion tankafter receiving the reset electric signal.

Specifically, with reference toand, when a facet is turned on, the water inlet waterwaybetween the water sourceand the water heater is opened, cold water enters the water heater through a water inlet, and the water flow sensordetects the water flow and outputs a first electric signal to the controller. The controllerthen controls the electric driving partto move, and the driving end of the electric driving partextends and moves to the right, driving the push plateto push and press the expansion tank. The expansion tankmay be made of silica gel, or another suitable material. After being pushed by the push plate, the water stored in the expansion tank is discharged through a drain pipe, and the discharged water enters the heating tankthrough a water inlet hose. The hot water in the heating tankis discharged to a water outletthrough a drain hose, and the water outletis communicated with the faucet (not shown), and thus the faucet discharges the hot water.

In another embodiment, when the faucet is turned off, the water inlet waterwaybetween the water sourceand the water heateris closed, the water flow sensordetects no water flow and then outputs a second electric signal to the controller, then the controllercontrols the electric driving partto move, and a driving section of the electric driving partwithdraws and moves to the left, driving the push plateto be far away from the expansion tank. The water in the heating tankis stored in the expansion tankthrough the water inlet hoseand the drain pipeunder pressure. In this case, a part of the cavity is released from the top of the heating tank. When an electric heaterexecutes a heating operation, the cavity may be used to absorb the expansion of the water in the heating tankduring the heating process and prevent the water in the heating tankfrom overflowing from the faucet. In the structure shown in the figure, the water flow sensoris arranged at a front end of the expansion tank, which can further avoid the occurrence of a detection signal from the water flow sensorin the process of releasing the water in the heating tankto the expansion tankwhen the faucet is turned off, thereby improving the reliability of the expansion tank.

In the foregoing embodiment, the electric driving partmay be realized by an electric cylinder, an electric worm gear or the like, i.e., a member capable of extending or retracting the driving end. The controllermay be realized directly by a control module of the water heater itself.

According to the embodiment above, the water flow sensoris used to detect whether the faucet is turned on. When the faucet is turned on, water flow can be detected in the water inlet waterwayof the water heater, and the controllercontrols the electric driving partto drive the push plateto move in the direction towards to the expansion tankso as to push out the water stored in the expansion tank. When the faucet is turned off, no water flow is detected in the water inlet waterway of the water heater, and the controllercontrols the electric driving partto drive the push plateto move in the direction away from the expansion tankso as to suck part of the water in the heating tankinto the expansion tankand form a cavity at the top of the heating tank. This helps to absorb the volume expansion of the water in the heating process and prevent the hot water from flowing out from a water outlet of the faucet. In the above solution, the functions of the expansion tankare realized by the electric driving part, which is not influenced by a water pressure, and is more reliable.

According toand, the expansion tank control devicefurther comprises a venturi pipe, which is arranged on the water inlet waterway of the water heater and located at an outlet of the expansion tank, and may be connected with the drain pipeof the heating tank. In one embodiment, the venturi pipeis arranged at a downstream position of the waterway of the water flow sensorto provide a supporting force for the water flow sensor. The venturi tubemay have a jet orifice structure. When cold water passes through the venturi tube, a negative pressure is generated at the drain pipe. Through the negative pressure of the venturi effect and the driving effect of the electric driving part, the drainage effect of the expansion tankmay reduce a thrust of the electric driving part, improving the control effect and reducing the cost.

Further, the expansion tank control devicemay comprise a fixed seat arranged on the shellof the expansion tank, and the electric driving partis arranged on the fixed seat. The shellof the expansion tankmay be made of a rigid material, and the fixed seat can also be made of a rigid material. The internal members of the water heatermay all be made of waterproof and non-oxidizable materials. In some embodiments, a through hole is formed on the fixed seat, and the driving end of the electric driving partmay move along the through hole.

As shown in, a through hole corresponding to the push platemay be formed on the shellof the expansion tank, and the push platecan pass through the through hole. The electric driving partmay be a member capable of extending or retracting the driving end. For example, as shown in, the electric driving partcomprises an electromagnet. A controlled end of the electromagnetis powered on after receiving the driving electric signal, and a driving end of the electromagnet moves in the direction close to the expansion tank. The controlled end of the electromagnetmay be powered off after receiving the reset electric signal, and the driving end of the electromagnet moves in the direction far away from the expansion tank. The push platepresses or moves far away from the expansion tankunder the action of the electromagnet.

Referring to, a chuteis formed in the through hole; and an outer wall of the nutis formed with a ribmatched with the chute. The ribmoves along the chuteto ensure the stability of the push platein pushing and pressing the expansion tank. The expansion tank control devicefurther comprises a fixing piece. The fixed seat comprises a pair of fixing lugs, and fixing holes are formed on the fixing lugs. A connecting hole is formed on a shell of the electric driving part, and the fixing piecepenetrates through the connecting hole and the fixing hole in turn to fix the electric driving part. In, the motor is fixed in the fixing hole with a screw, so as to improve the stability of the motorin the working process.

As shown in, the push platemay be placed between the shellof the expansion tank and the expansion tank, the electric driving partis arranged on the other side of the shellof the expansion tank, and the driving end of the electric driving partmay penetrate through the through hole, and the through hole is adapted to a shape of the driving end.

Referring now toand, the electric driving partcomprises a motor, a screw rod, and a nutarranged in the through hole. The push plateis connected with the nutand one end of the screw rodis connected with an output shaft of the motor, and the other end of the screw rodis connected with the nut. After receiving the driving electric signal, the controlled end of the motordrives the screw rodto rotate in a first direction (for example, clockwise), and the nutmoves along the through hole in the direction close to the expansion tank. After receiving the reset electric signal, the controlled end of the motordrives the screw rodto rotate in a second direction (for example, anticlockwise), and the nutmoves along the through hole in the direction far away from the expansion tank.

According to, a structure such as a turbine worm may be used to facilitate the process in the embodiment above. A similar structure may be used according to another embodiment. In the above solution, the electric driving partcan be operated according to the control of the controller and is not affected by the water pressure, thus ensuring that the functions of the expansion tankare not affected.

As shown in, some embodiments of the application provide a water heater assembly, wherein the water heater assemblycomprises the expansion tank control devicedescribed in any one of the above, and further comprises a faucet assembly, which comprises a cold water faucetand a hot water faucet. When the hot water faucetis turned on, the push plateis driven to push and press the expansion tankby using the signal of the water flow sensor so as to push out the stored water in the expansion tank; after the hot water faucetis turned off, the signal of the water flow sensor indicates that there is no water flow, and the push plateis driven to withdraw to suck the stored water in the heating tankinto the expansion tank, and form a cavity at the top of the heating tankto absorb the volume expansion of the water during heating and prevent the hot water from flowing out from the water outlet of the faucet. The functions of the expansion tankin this embodiment are not affected by tap water pressure, and are more reliable.

According to another embodiment of the expansion tank control device and the water heater comprising same, the water flow sensor may be used to detect whether a faucet is turned on. When the faucet is turned on, the water flow can be detected in the water inlet waterway of the water heater. The controller controls the electric driving part to drive the push plate to move in the direction towards the expansion tank so as to push out the water stored in the expansion tank. When the faucet is turned off, no water flow is detected in the water inlet waterway of the water heater. The controller then controls the electric driving part to drive the push plate to move in the direction away from the expansion tank so as to suck a portion of the water in the heating tank, into the expansion tank. This action may form a cavity at the top of the heating tank to absorb the volume expansion of the water in the heating process and prevent the hot water from flowing out from a water outlet of the faucet. Use of the electric driving part may result in more reliability, because the electric driving part is not influenced by water pressure.

Various embodiments of systems, devices, and methods have been described herein. These embodiments are given only by way of example and are not intended to limit the scope of the claimed inventions. It should be appreciated, moreover, that the various features of the embodiments that have been described may be combined in various ways to produce numerous additional embodiments. Moreover, while various materials, dimensions, shapes, configurations and locations, etc. have been described for use with disclosed embodiments, others besides those disclosed may be utilized without exceeding the scope of the claimed inventions.

Persons of ordinary skill in the relevant arts will recognize that the subject matter hereof may comprise fewer features than illustrated in any individual embodiment described above. The embodiments described herein are not meant to be an exhaustive presentation of the ways in which the various features of the subject matter hereof may be combined. Accordingly, the embodiments are not mutually exclusive combinations of features; rather, the various embodiments can comprise a combination of different individual features selected from different individual embodiments, as understood by persons of ordinary skill in the art. Moreover, elements described with respect to one embodiment can be implemented in other embodiments even when not described in such embodiments unless otherwise noted.

Although a dependent claim may refer in the claims to a specific combination with one or more other claims, other embodiments can also include a combination of the dependent claim with the subject matter of each other dependent claim or a combination of one or more features with other dependent or independent claims. Such combinations are proposed herein unless it is stated that a specific combination is not intended.

Any incorporation by reference of documents above is limited such that no subject matter is incorporated that is contrary to the explicit disclosure herein. Any incorporation by reference of documents above is further limited such that no claims included in the documents are incorporated by reference herein. Any incorporation by reference of documents above is yet further limited such that any definitions provided in the documents are not incorporated by reference herein unless expressly included herein.

For purposes of interpreting the claims, it is expressly intended that the provisions of 35 U.S.C. § 112(f) are not to be invoked unless the specific terms “means for” or “step for” are recited in a claim.