Heating device with removable front cover, method for mantaining a heating device

Abstract

 A heating device has a housing (2), a cover (4), and heating components (6). In a position of use, the cover (4) is removably connected to a front side of the housing (2). The housing (2) has a rear housing wall (36), a left-hand lateral housing wall (38), a right-hand lateral housing wall (40), a housing bottom (34) and a top housing wall (42). The cover (4) joins onto respective front sides (44, 46, 48, 50) of the housing in a gas-tight manner in order to create a space (60) inside the housing (2) in which the heating components (6) are situated. At the location of one of the lateral housing walls, the top housing wall (42) extends less far from the rear housing wall (36) towards the cover (4) than the housing bottom (34) extends from the rear housing wall (36) towards the cover (4) at the location of the same lateral housing wall. Some of the heating components (6) are situated between a front face (60), defined by the front sides (48, 50), and the cover (4).

Description

[0001] The invention relates to a heating device according to the preamble of claim 1. Such a heating device is used to heat a medium, such as water. The heated water is then used to heat rooms by passing the heated medium through one or more radiators. Alternatively or additionally, the heated water can be used as hot tap water by users.

[0002] DE-A1-101.30.925 discloses a heating device for heating water. The heating device comprises a housing, a burner and a heat exchanger. In normal use, the burner is provided on top of the heat exchanger. The flames from the respective burner are directed downwards and transfer heat to water in the heat exchanger. The heating device furthermore comprises a bottom. A condensation tray is fixedly provided in the bottom. In the position of use, the heat exchanger rests in the condensation tray, as a result of which the latter forms the bottom of the heat exchanger. The condensation tray is furthermore connected to a flue-gas discharge for discharging the flue gases which flow out of the burner into the condensation tray via the heat exchanger. The heating device furthermore comprises rotation means. In order to carry out maintenance on the heat exchanger, the latter can be lifted out of the condensation tray and rotated into a maintenance position outside the housing of the heating device by the rotation means. As a result of this combined translational and rotary movement, it is possible to inspect and/or clean the heat exchanger from below.

[0003] A problem associated with the known heating device is the fact that it is relatively complicated from a mechanical point of view.

[0004] It is an object of the present invention to provide a heating device which at least partly eliminates the abovementioned drawback or at least to provide an alternative. In particular, it is an object of the present invention to provide a heating device which is simpler than those of the prior art.

[0005] The invention achieves this object by means of a heating device according to claim 1. Advantageous embodiments are defined in the dependent claims.

[0006] A heating device comprises a housing, a cover, and heating components. The heating components comprise a burner, a heat exchanger, an air supply line, and a flue-gas discharge line. The burner is removably connected to a top side of the heat exchanger in order to heat a medium which flows through the heat exchanger. In a position of use, the cover is removably connected to a front side of the housing. The housing comprises a rear housing wall, a left-hand lateral housing wall, a right-hand lateral housing wall, a housing bottom and a top housing wall. The left-hand lateral housing wall, the right-hand lateral housing wall, the housing bottom and the top housing wall are each fixedly connected to the rear housing wall in a gas-tight manner, each extend from the rear housing wall to the cover and each comprise a front side on the respective side facing away from the rear housing wall. In the position of use, the cover joins onto the respective front sides of the left-hand lateral housing wall, the right-hand lateral housing wall, the housing bottom and the top housing wall in a gas-tight manner in order to create a space inside the housing which is gas-tight with respect to an environment in which the heating device is installed, in which gas-tight space at least the heating components are provided. At the location of one of the lateral housing walls, the top housing wall extends less far from the rear housing wall towards the cover than the housing bottom extends from the rear housing wall towards the cover at the location of the same one of the lateral housing walls. An imaginary front face is defined by the respective front sides of the housing bottom and the top housing wall. At least a part of at least one of the heating components is situated between the imaginary front face and the cover in the position of use.

[0007] Due to the invention, a maintenance engineer can easily reach the components inside the housing and in particular clean the interior of the heat exchanger from above without the latter having to be removed from the housing in any way.

[0008] Where this patent document mentions rear, front, left-hand, right-hand, bottom and top, these relate to a standard position of use of the heating device, in which the latter may be fitted against a wall by its rear side, or hangs on a wall and operating means are provided on the front side, such as a control panel which is optionally concealed behind a cover or flap. As a rule, the top side of the heating device is the side where a connection for an external flue-gas discharge is provided.

[0009] It should be noted that WO-2004/101982 discloses a heating device with a housing, cover, heat exchanger, air supply line and a flue-gas discharge line. The housing comprises a top housing wall, lateral housing walls, a rear housing wall and a housing bottom. The heating device furthermore comprises a burner for supplying hot gases to a Stirling engine and an additional burner. After driving the Stirling engine, the hot gases are passed through the heat exchanger. The heat exchanger with burners is placed on a support. The Stirling engine is situated underneath the support and rests with its top side against the bottom of the heat exchanger. The heat exchanger and Stirling engine are partly in front of an imaginary front face which is defined by the respective front sides of the housing bottom and the top housing wall. The burner is situated at the bottom of the heat exchanger and not at the top, as is the case in the present invention. Furthermore, WO-2004/101982 does not disclose that the burner and heat exchanger are removably attached. Finally, it does not disclose that the top housing wall extends less far from the rear housing wall towards the cover at the location of one of the lateral housing walls than the housing bottom extends from the rear housing wall towards the cover at the location of the same one of the lateral housing walls. Neither does the heating device from WO-2004/101982 suffer from the problem which the present invention solves. Due to the fact that the burner is not situated at the top and is moreover not removably attached, the interior of the heat exchanger cannot and does not have to be cleaned from above.

[0010] In particular, in a side view of the housing, the respective front sides of the left-hand lateral housing wall and the right-hand lateral housing wall extend obliquely with respect to the rear housing wall in such a manner that the left-hand lateral housing wall and the right-hand lateral housing wall are narrower at their top side than at their bottom side, and the respective front sides in particular are situated in the imaginary front face. Due to this configuration, additional space is created on the side of the top side of the housing to maintain the heating means.

[0011] In an advantageous embodiment, the front of the top housing wall has a convexly curved shape in a top view of the housing. As a result thereof, the required space is created for a flue-gas connection, on the one hand, and on the other hand additional space is created towards the sides for maintaining the heating means.

[0012] In an embodiment, the cover comprises a front cover wall, a top cover wall, and a bottom cover wall, in which the top cover wall and the bottom cover wall are each fixedly connected to the front cover wall in a gas-tight manner, each extend from the front cover wall towards the housing and each join onto the front of the top housing wall and the housing bottom, respectively, in a gas-tight manner with their rear side facing away from the front cover wall. This is an advantageous way of creating space in the cover for accommodating the protruding part of the heating components.

[0013] In particular, the top cover wall extends further from the front cover wall towards the housing than the bottom cover wall, and preferably the top cover wall extends so much further towards the housing than the bottom cover wall, that the front cover wall extends substantially vertically in the position of use. This creates additional space at the top side of the cover for accommodating protruding heating components, in accordance with the relatively small depth of the housing at the top side.

[0014] More particularly, the cover furthermore comprises a left-hand lateral cover wall and a right-hand lateral cover wall, each of which is fixedly connected to the front cover wall in a gas-tight manner, each of which extends from the front cover wall towards the housing and each of which joins onto the front of the left-hand lateral housing wall and the right-hand lateral housing wall, respectively, in a gas-tight manner with a rear side facing away from the front cover wall. By providing the cover with lateral walls, the lateral walls of the housing can be made accordingly smaller which further improves the accessibility of the heating components.

[0015] In an advantageous embodiment, the housing bottom is connected to the left-hand lateral housing wall and the right-hand lateral housing wall at a position between the top and bottom edge of the respective lateral housing wall, as a result of which the respective lateral housing walls extend underneath the housing bottom. Thus, a space is created in the housing underneath the gas-tight space for components which do not have to be accommodated in the gas-tight space.

[0016] The invention also relates to a method for maintaining a heating device, as defined in the respective claims.

[0017] It should be noted that DE-42.32.340 discloses a method for maintaining a heating device. A cover of the heating device is removed in order to carry out said maintenance. However, in this case, maintenance is carried out on a control circuit rather than a heat exchanger.

[0018] The invention will be explained in more detail with reference to an embodiment which is illustrated in the attached drawing, in which:

Fig. 1 shows a perspective view of a heating device according to the invention;

Fig. 2 shows the heating device from Fig. 1 with the cover removed;

Fig. 3 shows the view from Fig. 2, in which a number of heating components have been removed;

Fig. 4 shows a housing of the heating device from Figs. 1-3;

Fig. 5 shows a housing of a second embodiment;

Fig. 6 shows a housing of a third embodiment; and

Fig. 7 shows a housing of a fourth embodiment.

[0019] Figs. 1 and 2 show a heating device according to the invention which is denoted overall by reference numeral 1. In this case, the heating device 1 is a wall-mounted central heating boiler which is mounted on a wall by its rear side. The heating device 1 comprises a housing 2 which, in this case, is made from a folded piece of sheet metal material.

[0020] The heating device 1 furthermore comprises a cover 4 and heating components 6 which, inter alia, comprise an air supply 8 for combustion air, a gas supply line (not shown) and a flue-gas discharge line 10. The heating components furthermore comprise a ventilating fan 14, a burner 16, and a heat exchanger 18. Both the air supply 4 and the gas hose 12 run towards the ventilating fan 14, where gas and air are mixed. An outlet of the ventilating fan 14 is connected to the burner 16 which, together with the heat exchanger 18, forms a heat block 20. The burner 16 is attached to a top side of the heat exchanger 18 and can be removed therefrom by removing connecting means (not shown), such as bolts.

[0021] On a bottom side, the heat exchanger 18 is in open communication, via a condensate collector 22, with the flue-gas discharge line 10 which in this case comprises a flat flue-gas discharge pipe 24 and an S-shaped flue-gas bend 26. The flue-gas discharge pipe 24 is in open communication with the S-shaped flue-gas bend 26 which runs to a connecting opening 28 which is provided in a top side of the housing 2.

[0022] The connection 28 is a concentric double-walled connection, an inner circular opening part acts as connecting opening for flue gases and an outer annular opening part is intended as a combustion-air supply opening. Depending on the local requirements, the connection 28 may be provided with a manifold 30 which divides the concentric connection 28 into a first connecting part 32 which is in open communication with the connecting opening for flue gases and a second connecting part 33 which is in open communication with the outer annular opening part which serves as the combustion-air supply opening.

[0023] The housing 2 of the heating device 1 comprises a housing bottom 34, a rear housing wall 36, a left-hand lateral housing wall 38, a right-hand lateral housing wall 40, and a top housing wall 42. The left-hand lateral housing wall 38, the right-hand lateral housing wall 40, the housing bottom and the top housing wall 42 are fixedly connected to the rear housing wall 36 in a gas-tight manner. The left-hand lateral housing wall 38, the right-hand lateral housing wall 40, the housing bottom 34 and the top housing wall 42 each extend from the rear housing wall 36 towards the cover. The left-hand lateral housing wall 38 has a front side 44, the right-hand lateral housing wall 40 has a front side 46, the housing bottom 34 has a front side 48 and the top housing wall 42 has a front side 50 (see Fig. 3). The front side is in each case the side of the respective wall which is turned away from the rear housing wall 36.

[0024] In this exemplary embodiment, the heat exchanger 18 is provided on the housing bottom 34 via the condensate collector 22. The housing bottom 34 is connected to the left-hand lateral housing wall 38 and the right-hand lateral housing wall 40 at a position between the top and bottom edge of the respective lateral housing wall 38, 40, as a result of which the respective lateral housing walls 38, 40 extend underneath the housing bottom. Thus, the bottom side of the housing bottom 34, together with the downwardly protruding parts of the lateral housing wall 38, 40 and a corresponding part of the rear housing wall 36 delimits a space inside the housing 2 which is not gas-tight and which is intended to accommodate some of the heating components 6 and the electronic control unit of the heating device 1. In Figs. 1-3, a control panel 51 of the electronic control unit can be seen.

[0025] In a position of use, the cover 4 is removably connected to a front side of the housing 2. To this end, the heating device is provided with fastening means, including loop-shaped openings 52 on the rear and top side of the cover 4 which are attached to projections 54, which projections 54 are situated on the top and front side of the housing 2. The fastening means furthermore comprise bolts 56 which are inserted into corresponding holes on the bottom side of the cover 4 and screwed into threaded holes 58.

[0026] In the position of use, the cover 4 joins onto the respective front sides 44-50 of the left-hand lateral housing wall 38, the right-hand lateral housing wall 40, the housing bottom 34 and the top housing wall 42 in a gas-tight manner to form a space 60 inside the housing 2 which is gas-tight with respect to an environment in which the heating device is installed. The gas-tight space 60 contains the heating components 6, such as the air supply 8, a part of the gas supply line (not shown), the flue-gas discharge line 10, the ventilating fan 14, the burner 16, the heat exchanger 18, and the condensate collector 22.

[0027] At both the left-hand and the right-hand lateral housing walls 38, 40, the top housing wall 42 extends less far from the rear housing wall 36 towards the cover 4 than the housing bottom 34 extends from the rear housing wall 36 towards the cover at the location of the same lateral housing wall. A front face 62 is defined by the respective front sides 48, 50 of the housing bottom 34 and the top housing wall 42. The front face 62 is open and is thus an imaginary, non-physical face. At least a part of both the air supply 8 and the flue-gas discharge line 10 is situated between the front face 62 and the cover 4 when this is in the position of use. In other words, the air supply 8 and the flue-gas discharge line 10 run through the front face 62.

[0028] In a side view of the housing 2, the respective front sides 44, 46 of the left-hand lateral housing wall 38 and the right-hand lateral housing wall 40 run obliquely with respect to the rear housing wall in such a manner that the left-hand lateral housing wall 38 and the right-hand lateral housing wall 40 are narrower at their top side than at their bottom side. In this case, the respective front sides 44, 46 are situated in the front face 62. In a top view of the housing, the front side 50 of the top housing wall 42 has a convexly curved shape. As a result thereof, midway along the left-hand and the right-hand lateral housing wall 38, 40, the top housing wall 42 extends further from the rear housing wall 36 towards the cover 4, than at the location of the left-hand and the right-hand lateral housing wall 38, 40. Consequently, there is just sufficient space to fit the concentric connection 28 in the top housing wall 42, while additional space is created on the side to reach the heat exchanger 18 and other components in the space 60. As a result of the shape of the front sides 48 and 50, the shape of the front face 62 has a single curve.

[0029] The cover 4 comprises a front cover wall 64, a top cover wall 66, a bottom cover wall 68 (illustrated by a dashed line in Fig. 1), a left-hand lateral cover wall (not shown), and a right-hand lateral cover wall 70. The top cover wall 66, the bottom cover wall 68, and the left-hand lateral cover wall and right-hand lateral cover wall 70 are each fixedly connected to the front cover wall 64 in a gas-tight manner, each extend from the front cover wall 64 to the housing 2 and each join onto the front sides 44-50 of respectively the left-hand lateral housing wall 38, the right-hand lateral housing wall 40, the housing bottom 34 and the top housing wall 42 with a rear side (not shown) facing away from the front cover wall 64 in gas-tight manner.

[0030] The top cover wall 66 extends further from the front cover wall 64 towards the housing 4 than the bottom cover wall 68. The difference between the two corresponds to that between the housing bottom 34 and the top housing wall 42. In the position of use, the front cover wall 64 thus extends substantially vertically.

[0031] In use, maintenance is carried out on the heating device by firstly removing the cover 4 by loosening bolts 56 and lifting the cover 4 with its loops 52 over the projections 54. Subsequently, if desired, one or more heating components 6 can be removed, or taken care of, such as the air supply 8, the flue-gas discharge line 10, the ventilating fan 14, and the burner 16. This results in the situation as shown in Fig. 3. In this situation, due to the relatively shallow top housing wall 42, a maintenance engineer can inspect and/or clean the inside of the heat exchanger 18 more comfortably than if the top housing wall 42 had been as deep as the housing bottom 34. This accessibility is increased further as a result of the spherical shape of the front edge 50 of the top housing wall 42. Following maintenance, any heating components 6 which have been removed are re-installed and the cover is replaced.

[0032] Figs. 4-6 show four basic variants, all of which fall within the scope of the invention, in which the respective cover is shown in each case by means of dashed lines so that the interior of the heating device is visible. In addition, for the sake of clarity, only the respective housing is shown, as it is clear to the person skilled in the art how the heating components can be installed here. The variant from Fig. 4 corresponds to the embodiment from Figs. 1-3 which has been described in detail above and will not be described again.

[0033] Fig. 5 shows a second embodiment of a heating device 101 according to the invention with a housing 102 and a cover 104. The housing 102 comprises a housing bottom 134, a rear housing wall 136, a left-hand lateral housing wall 138, a right-hand lateral housing wall 140, and a top housing wall 142. In contrast with the first embodiment, the front edges of the housing bottom 134 and the top housing wall 142 are straight. As a result thereof, the accessibility to the heating means (not shown) is slightly reduced, but a simpler, i.e. straight, front face and a correspondingly simpler connection to the cover 104 are produced.

[0034] Fig. 6 shows a third embodiment of a heating device 201 according to the invention with a housing 202 and a cover 204. The housing 202 comprises a housing bottom 234, a rear housing wall 236, a left-hand lateral housing wall 238, a right-hand lateral housing wall 240, and a top housing wall 242. In contrast with the first embodiment, the housing bottom 234 is fitted near the bottom edges of the left-hand lateral housing wall 238 and the right-hand lateral housing wall 240, as a result of which the entire internal space of the housing 202 is gas-tight with respect to the environment. This means that substantially all heating components are situated inside the gas-tight space of the heating device.

[0035] Fig. 7 shows a fourth embodiment of a heating device 301 according to the invention with a housing 302 and a cover 304. The housing 302 comprises a housing bottom 334, a rear housing wall 336, a left-hand lateral housing wall 338, a right-hand lateral housing wall 340, and a top housing wall 342. This fourth embodiment can be seen as a combination of Figs. 5 and 6, as the housing bottom 334 is placed low and the front edges of the housing bottom 334 and the top housing wall 342 are straight.

[0036] Still more variants are possible within the scope of the invention. Thus, a heating device other than a central heating boiler may achieve the advantages of the invention, such as a water heater. Although currently burners which are gas-fired are commonly used, it is also possible to use other fuels, in particular fluid fuels. It is also possible to heat media other than water in a heat exchanger.

[0037] The edges of the lateral housing walls do not have to be straight, but they may also be concavely or convexly curved. It is also possible for the respective edges to first extend vertically downwards and then perpendicularly or obliquely forwards to the point where the front of the housing bottom meets the lateral housing walls. This further improves accessibility of the combustion components. Alternatively, the respective edges may first extend perpendicularly or obliquely forwards and then vertically downwards to the point where the front of the housing bottom meets the lateral housing walls. As a result thereof, the cover does not have to be provided with lateral walls.

[0038] The cover can also be removably attached in another manner, for example by means of permanent hinges along the top side, a side, or a bottom side of the housing. The bottom wall of the cover may be relatively small, depending on the position of the housing bottom and the degree to which it protrudes. In a minimal situation, the bottom cover wall only consists of means to achieve a gas-tight connection to the front of the housing bottom.

[0039] The walls of the housing can make angles with respect to one another other than right angles. The connection of the cover to the housing may be an abutting connection, as illustrated. There may also be a small overlap between the lateral walls of the cover and housing. A small overlap is understood to mean an overlap of a few millimetres and of at most 10 or 20 millimetres. There may be more or fewer components inside the gas-tight space than illustrated. At least the heating block and a part of the flue-gas discharge line are situated in the gas-tight space. The housing and cover may be made from a plastic or from a metal, or from another suitable material.

Claims

1. Heating device, comprising a housing (2), a cover (4), and heating components (6), in which
the heating components (6) comprise a burner (16), a heat exchanger (18), an air supply line (8), and a flue-gas discharge line (10),
the burner (16) is removably connected to a top side of the heat exchanger (18) in order to heat a medium which flows through the heat exchanger (18),
in a position of use, the cover (4) is removably connected to a front side of the housing (2),
the housing (2) comprises a rear housing wall (36), a left-hand lateral housing wall (38), a right-hand lateral housing wall (40), a housing bottom (34) and a top housing wall (42),
the left-hand lateral housing wall (38), the right-hand lateral housing wall (40), the housing bottom (34) and the top housing wall (42) are each fixedly connected to the rear housing wall (36) in a gas-tight manner, each extend from the rear housing wall (36) to the cover (4) and each comprise a front side (44, 46, 48, 50) on the respective sides facing away from the rear housing wall (36), and
in the position of use, the cover (4) joins onto the respective front sides (44, 46, 48, 50) of the left-hand lateral housing wall (38), the right-hand lateral housing wall (40), the housing bottom (34) and the top housing wall (42) in a gas-tight manner in order to create a space (60) inside the housing (2) which is gas-tight with respect to an environment in which the heating device is installed, in which gas-tight space (60) at least the heating components (6) are provided, characterized in that
at the location of one of the lateral housing walls, the top housing wall (42) extends less far from the rear housing wall (36) towards the cover (4) than the housing bottom (34) extends from the rear housing wall (36) towards the cover (4) at the location of the same one of the lateral housing walls,
an imaginary front face (60) is defined by the respective front sides (48, 50) of the housing bottom (34) and the top housing wall (42), and
at least a part of at least one of the heating components (6) is situated between the imaginary front face (60) and the cover (4) in the position of use.

2. Heating device according to claim 1, in which, in a side view of the housing (2), the respective front sides (44, 46) of the left-hand lateral housing wall (38) and the right-hand lateral housing wall (40) extend obliquely with respect to the rear housing wall (36) in such a manner that the left-hand lateral housing wall (38) and the right-hand lateral housing wall (40) are narrower at their top side than at their bottom side.

3. Heating device according to claim 2, in which the respective front sides (44, 46) are situated in the imaginary front face.

4. Heating device according to one of the preceding claims, in which the front (50) of the top housing wall (42) has a convexly curved shape in a top view of the housing (2).

5. Heating device according to one of the preceding claims, in which the cover (4) comprises a front cover wall (64), a top cover wall (66), and a bottom cover wall (68), in which
the top cover wall (66) and the bottom cover wall (68) are each fixedly connected to the front cover wall (64) in a gas-tight manner,
each extend from the front cover wall (64) towards the housing (2) and
each join onto the front of the top housing wall (42) and the housing bottom (34), respectively, in a gas-tight manner with their rear side facing away from the front cover wall (64).

6. Heating device according to claim 5, in which the top cover wall (66) extends further from the front cover wall (64) towards the housing (2) than the bottom cover wall (68).

7. Heating device according to claim 6, in which the top cover wall (66) extends that much further towards the housing (2) than the bottom cover wall (68), that the front cover wall (64) extends substantially vertically in the position of use.

8. Heating device according to one of the preceding claims, in which the cover (4) comprises a left-hand lateral cover wall and a right-hand lateral cover wall (70), each of which is fixedly connected to the front cover wall (64) in a gas-tight manner, each of which extends from the front cover wall (64) towards the housing (2) and each of which joins onto the front side of the left-hand lateral housing wall (38) and the right-hand lateral housing wall (140), respectively, in a gas-tight manner with a rear side facing away from the front cover wall (64).

9. Heating device according to one of the preceding claims, in which the housing bottom (34) is connected to the left-hand lateral housing wall (38) and the right-hand lateral housing wall (40) at a position between the top and bottom edge of the respective lateral housing wall, as a result of which the respective lateral housing walls extend underneath the housing bottom (34).

10. Method for maintaining a heating device (1) according to one of the preceding claims, comprising the following steps:

removing the cover (4),

carrying out maintenance on at least one of the heating components (6), and

replacing the cover (4).

11. Method according to claim 10, furthermore comprising the following steps:

removing the burner (16), and

cleaning the inside of the heat exchanger (18).

Drawing