Heating systems – Heat and power plants – Vehicle
Reexamination Certificate
1998-12-08
2001-04-10
Joyce, Harold (Department: 3747)
Heating systems
Heat and power plants
Vehicle
C126S11000R
Reexamination Certificate
active
06213406
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to automotive evaporation combustion heaters and, more particularly, to automotive evaporation combustion heaters for vehicles, which are suitable as automotive cooling water heaters and room heaters.
2. Prior Art
Heaters using liquid fuel are used as heat sources permitting the engine to start in short period of time in winter seasons or as auxiliary heat sources for room heating of running cars. Also, these heaters are used as room heaters of electric cars because of the demand for power consumption reduction of these cars due to battery capacity restrictions.
FIG. 9
shows a prior art automotive heater of the pertaining type. In this automotive evaporation combustion heater, fuel is supplied by a fuel pump (not shown) from a fuel tank via a fuel pipe
20
to the vicinity of an ignition plug
3
. Space surrounding the ignition plug
3
is communicated with an outer pipe
30
forming a combustion chamber. Fuel flows from space surrounding the ignition plug
3
into the outer pipe
30
. The outer pipe
30
has a fuel evaporating medium
4
applied to its inner surface. The fuel evaporating medium
4
is made of ceramic wool or the like, and has numerous inner pores communicated with one another. Liquid fuel is retained in the fuel evaporating medium
4
by the capillary phenomenon.
In the outer pipe
30
, an inner pipe
31
is coaxially disposed. Air for combustion is supplied by the air supply blower
16
into the inner pipe
31
. A flame-retaining plate
32
is secured to an end of the inner pipe
31
. A gap is formed between the end of the inner pipe
31
and the flame-retaining plate
32
. The inner pipe
31
also has a number of axial slits. The outer and inner pipes
30
and
31
forms an annular combustion chamber between them. In this combustion chamber, fuel evaporated from the fuel evaporating medium
4
and air issued through the gap between the inner pipe
31
and the flame-retaining plate
32
and also through the slits of the inner pipe
31
are mixed and combusted.
Fuel is ignited by the ignition plug
3
. The ignition plug
3
has a helical heat-generating element. When the heat-generating element is energized for a fixed period of time, it is heated hot to a high temperature and ignites vapor fuel evaporated from the liquid fuel.
The flame-retaining plate
32
also serves as a baffle plate for the annular combustion chamber, and promotes complete combustion of fuel. Furthermore, the flame-retaining plate
32
functions to prevent extinguishment of flame. Combustion gas is led from the combustion chamber through an orifice
29
therein, and flows as a combustion gas stream
33
from the inner side of the combustion cylinder
1
along the outer side of the combustion cylinder
1
to be exhausted through a combustion gas exhaust pipe
13
.
Heat radiated from the combustion gas heats water circulated in the automotive evaporation combustion heater. The water is circulated by a pump between a heat exchanger (not shown) for generating hot air and the automotive evaporation combustion heater. Water pumped out for the pump is led through a cooling water lead pipe
14
and enters a space defined between an outer and an inner water guide pipes
34
and
35
. The water entering the space is guided by a helical partitioning member
36
along the periphery of the inner water guide pipe
35
, and is led out through a cooling water outlet pipe
15
. The heat of the combustion gas heats water via the inner water guide pipe
35
, and the heated water heats air in the heat exchanger. The heated air is supplied into and warms the car room.
A thermostat
37
and temperature fuses
38
are provided on the outer side of the automotive evaporation combustion heater, and are connected in series. In the event of abnormal heating of the automotive evaporation combustion heater due to such cause as idle heating, either of the thermostat
7
and temperature fuses
38
becomes non-conductive. When a controller detects this, it stops the fuel pump to interrupt fuel supply.
In the above prior art automotive evaporation combustion heater, however, the fuel evaporating medium
4
which is applied to the entire inner surface of the outer pipe
30
, is voluminous. This means that long time is required from the ignition until steady combustion sets in with the heating by the fuel evaporating medium
4
. Therefore, long rise time of combustion is required until the room warming effect is obtained.
Another problem in the prior art automotive evaporation combustion heater arises from the fact that usually only a single orifice
29
is provided. With the single orifice
29
, the combustion cylinder
1
should have a large length for obtaining complete combustion of fuel. Besides, the heat exchanger for heating water transmits heat only from the outer surface of the inner water guide pipe
35
. Therefore, the inner water guide pipe
35
should also have a large length for ensuring sufficient heat exchange effect. These requirements leads to a large heater size, imposing restriction on the heater installation place or dictating sacrifice in safety for determining the installation place when the heater is installed in the narrow engine room.
The present invention was made in view of the above problems, and it has an object of providing an automotive evaporation combustion heater, which permits reducing the rise time from the ignition till the rising of combustion provides the steady state of combustion.
Another object of the present invention is to provide an automative evaporation combustion heater, which is small in size and permits increasing the heat exchange efficiency.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The automotive evaporation combustion heater according to the present invention features that it comprises a combustion chamber and a ring-like fuel evaporating medium provided on an end wall of the combustion chamber, the end wall having a combustion air lead holes formed, for forming a vortex flow, in a portion surrounded by the fuel evaporating medium, fuel being supplied to a space in the vicinity of an upper part of the fuel evaporating medium.
Another feature of the automotive evaporation combustion heater according to the present invention resides in that the peripheral wall of the combustion chamber has combustion air lead holes for forming a vortex flow parallel to and in the proximity of the fuel evaporating medium.
The automotive evaporation combustion heater according to the present invention further features that it comprises a heat exchanger disposed downstream a first combustion chamber, for causing heat exchange between combustion gas and a heated medium, the heat exchanger including a second combustion chamber adjacent to and downstream the combustion gas outlet side of the first combustion chamber, a first combustion gas collecting zone provided downstream the second combustion chamber, a second combustion gas collecting zone provided around the first and second combustion chambers, and a plurality of connecting pipes communicating the first and second combustion gas collecting zones with each other, combustion gas being exhausted from the second combustion gas collecting zone, a heated medium passage being formed around the first and second combustion chambers, the first combustion gas collecting zone, the plurality of connecting pipes and the second combustion gas collecting zone.
A further feature of the present invention resides in that it has an integral structure obtained by securing a flange to a casing covering the first combustion chamber and also to the heat exchanger, the flange being contacted by outlet side hot water and also outlet side combustion gas.
A still further feature of the present invention resides in that it comprises a hot water temperature sensor thermistor provided on a portion of the flange in contact with outlet side hot water, and a temperature fuse provided on a portion of the flange in contact with outlet side combustion gas, the hot water temperature sensor thermistor and
Katushi Takami
Kenzi Okada
Koozi Takasawa
Shin Saito
Tooru Huzinuma
Boles Derek S.
Goodman & Teitelbaum, Esqs.
Joyce Harold
Mikuniadec Corporation
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