WATER HEATER FIXING ASSEMBLY

Abstract

A water heater fixing assembly includes a pair of upper column members, a pair of lower column members, a pair of lower column members, a first pipe stay, a second pipe stay, and a first copper pipe. The pair of upper column members are laterally disposed with each other. The pair of lower column members are disposed below the pair of upper column members and laterally disposed with each other. A vertical projection of the first pair of the water heaters is not overlapped with a vertical projection of the second pair of the water heaters. A first pipe stay is protruded from the pair of upper column members and extended below the first pair of the water heaters. A second pipe stay is protruded from an installation side of the pair of lower column members and extended below the second pair of the water heaters.

Description

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application claims the priority benefit of U.S. provisional applications Ser. No. 63/436,090, filed on Dec. 29, 2022. The entirety of the above-mentioned patent application is hereby incorporated by reference herein and made a part of this specification.

BACKGROUND

In an urban area with dense population, residential buildings, such as apartment buildings, hotel buildings, or school dormitory buildings, often have limited space for installing water heaters, and thus the requirements for installation of the water heaters become even more strict and complicated. For enhancing mountability of the water heaters, the configurations of fixing frames for installing the water heaters have to be modified for allowing a space-saving construction and easier maintainability of the water heaters.

Further limitations and disadvantages of conventional and traditional approaches will become apparent to one of skill in the art, through comparison of described systems with some aspects of the present disclosure, as set forth in the remainder of the present application and with reference to the drawings.

SUMMARY

According to an embodiment of the disclosure, a water heater fixing assembly includes a pair of upper column members, a pair of lower column members, a first pipe stay, a second pipe stay, and a first copper pipe. The pair of upper column members are laterally disposed with each other. The pair of upper column members are disposed between back surfaces of a first pair of the water heaters and an installation surface for mounting the first pair of the water heaters on the installation surface. The pair of lower column members are disposed below the pair of upper column members and laterally disposed with each other. A second pair of the water heaters is disposed within the pair of lower column members. A vertical projection of the first pair of the water heaters is not overlapped with a vertical projection of the second pair of the water heaters. A first pipe stay is protruded from the pair of upper column members and extended below the first pair of the water heaters. A second pipe stay is protruded from an installation side of the pair of lower column members and extended below the second pair of the water heaters. A first copper pipe is fixed to and extended between the first pipe stay and the second pipe stay.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram that illustrates a water heater fixing assembly having water heaters accommodated therein in accordance with some embodiments in the disclosure.

FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram that illustrates a side view of a water heater fixing assembly of FIG. 1 in accordance with some embodiments in the disclosure.

FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram that illustrates a top view of a water heater fixing assembly of FIG. 1 in accordance with some embodiments in the disclosure.

FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram that illustrates a water heater fixing assembly having water heaters accommodated therein in accordance with another embodiment in the disclosure.

FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram that illustrates a side view of a water heater fixing assembly of FIG. 4 in accordance with another embodiment in the disclosure.

FIG. 6 is a schematic diagram that illustrates a top view of a water heater fixing assembly of FIG. 4 in accordance with another embodiment in the disclosure.

The foregoing summary, as well as the following detailed description of the present disclosure, is better understood when read in conjunction with the appended drawings. For the purpose of illustrating the present disclosure, exemplary constructions of the preferred embodiment are shown in the drawings. However, the present disclosure is not limited to the specific methods and structures disclosed herein. The description of a method step or a structure referenced by a numeral in a drawing is applicable to the description of that method step or structure shown by that same numeral in any subsequent drawing herein.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram that illustrates a water heater fixing assembly 100 having water heaters 10-1, 10-2, 10-3, 10-4 accommodated therein in accordance with some embodiments in the disclosure. In some embodiments, the water heater fixing assembly 100 includes a pair of upper column members 110 and a pair of lower column members 120 vertically disposed with each other. In the present embodiment, as shown in FIG. 1, the pair of upper column members 110 may include a first upper column member 110-1 and a second upper column member 110-2 laterally disposed and aligned with each other. In the present embodiment, the first upper column member 110-1 and the second upper column member 110-2 are respectively disposed between back surfaces of a first pair of the water heaters 10-1, 10-2 and a mounting wall or an installation surface (not shown).

In the present embodiment, the first pair of water heaters 10-1, 10-2 are respectively fixed to the mounting wall or the installation surface through the first upper column member 110-1 and the second upper column member 110-2. In some embodiments, the installation surface may be located on the walls of a residential building, a school dormitory building, an apartment building, or a hotel building.

In some embodiments, the pair of lower column members 120 may include a first lower column member 120-1 and a second lower column member 120-2. As shown in FIG. 1, the first lower column member 120-1 and the second lower column member 120-2 are laterally disposed with each other and disposed on the installation surface. In the present embodiment, a second pair of water heaters 10-3, 10-4 are respectively disposed within the first lower column member 120-1 and the second lower column member 120-2.

In some embodiments, the first and second upper column members 110-2, 110-1 and the first and second lower column members 120-1, 120-2 may be made of an aluminum metal material for reducing an overall weight of the water heater fixing assembly 100.

FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram that illustrates a side view of a water heater fixing assembly 100 in accordance with some embodiments in the disclosure. As shown in FIG. 1 and FIG. 2, in the present embodiment, the first pair of the water heaters 10-1, 10-2 is disposed above the second pair of the water heaters 10-3, 10-4. In the present embodiment, a vertical projection of the first pair of the water heaters 10-1, 10-2 does not overlap with a vertical projection of the second pair of the water heaters 10-3, 10-4. In the present embodiment, from a perspective of an installation surface, the first pair of the water heaters 10-1, 10-2 are respectively disposed in front of the first upper column member 110-1 and the second upper column member 110-2 and the installation surface. Moreover, the second pair of the water heaters 10-3, 10-4 are respectively disposed within the first lower column member 120-1 and the second lower column member 120-2. As shown in FIG. 2, the top surfaces of the water heaters 10-3, 10-4 are respectively exposed through the first and second upper column members 110-1, 110-2.

Referring to FIG. 1 and FIG. 2, the water heater fixing assembly 100 may further include a first pipe stay 117 and a second pipe stay 127 parallelly extended along a direction perpendicular to a vertical height direction of the water heater fixing assembly 100. In the present application, the first pipe stay 117 is protruded from the first upper column member 110-1 and laterally extended below the first pair of the water heaters 10-1, 10-2. As shown in FIG. 2, the first pipe stay 117 is extended along a thickness direction of the water heaters 10-1, 10-2.

In the current embodiment, the second pipe stay 127 is protruded from an installation side 121 of the first and second lower column members 120-1, 120-2 and laterally extended below the second pair of the water heaters 10-3, 10-4. As shown in FIG. 2, the second pipe stay 127 is extended in a direction away from the installation side 121 of the first and second lower column members 120-1, 120-2. In the present embodiment, the water heater fixing assembly 100 may include a first copper pipe 151 that is fixed to the first pipe stay 117 and the second pipe stay 127 and extended in a direction perpendicular to protruding directions of the first pipe stay 117 and the second pipe stay 127. Referring to FIG. 1 and FIG. 2, the first copper pipe 151 may be further extended from the first pipe stay 117 to the second pipe stay 127 for transmitting cold water provided from a water supply source, such as building water, respectively to the first pair of the water heaters 10-1, 10-2 and the second pair of the water heaters 10-3, 10-4.

In some embodiments, the water heater fixing assembly 100 may further include a second copper pipe 152 fixed to the first pipe stay 117 and the second pipe stay 127. The first copper pipe 151 and the second copper pipe 152 are parallelly extended with each other. As shown in FIG. 1 and FIG. 2, the second copper pipe 152 may be extended from the first pipe stay 117 to the second pipe stay 127 for transmitting hot water heated by and flowed from the first pair of the water heaters 10-2, 10-2 and the second pair of the water heaters 10-3, 10-4 to a water tank or to a building for immediate use.

In the present embodiment, due to the configurations of the first copper pipe 151 and the second copper pipe 152 are respectively made of a copper metal material, rustiness of the water pipes can be prevented, and thus an anti-rust paint is not required to be utilized and painted on surfaces of the first copper pipe 151 and the second copper pipe 152. Hence, complexity of installation, maintenance cost, and overall weight of the water heater fixing assembly 100 and the water heaters 10-1, 10-2, 10-3, 10-4 disposed therein can be effectively reduced.

In some embodiments, the first upper column member 110-1 and the second upper column member 110-2 may be connected with each other by a plurality of bolts through holes respectively disposed in the first upper column member 110-1 and the second upper column member 110-2. In some embodiments, the first lower column member 120-1 and the second lower column member 120-2 may be also connected with each other by a plurality of bolts through holes respectively disposed in the first lower column member 120-1 and the second lower column member 120-2. In some other embodiments, the first upper column member 110-1 and the second upper column member 110-2 may be fixed and connected with each through other fashions of connection, such as welding.

In the present embodiment, the water heater fixing assembly 100 may include a plurality of the first pipe stays 117 extended parallelly and horizontally from the first upper column members 110-1 and the second upper column member 110-2. Several first pipe stays 117 may be disposed according to a total number of upper column members and water heaters laterally mounted therein and an overall length and extension paths of the first copper pipes 151 and the second copper pipes 152 extended below the first pair of water heaters 10-1, 10-2. That is, the total number and length of the first pipe stays 117 in the configuration of the water heater fixing assembly 100 may be adjusted based on the total number of the water heaters disposed therein.

Moreover, the water heater fixing assembly 100 may include a plurality of the second pipe stays 127 respectively extended parallelly and horizontally from the installation side 121 of the first and second lower column members 120-1, 120-2. In the present embodiment, the total number and length of the second pipe stays 127 may be adjusted and configured based on a length and an extension path of the first copper pipes 151 and the second copper pipes 152.

As shown in FIG. 2, the water heater fixing assembly 100 may include first water valves 151-1 respectively disposed between the first pair of the water heaters 10-1, 10-2 and the first copper pipe 151 and disposed between the second pair of the water heaters 10-3, 10-4 and the first copper pipe 151 for allowing or shutting off the cold water, flowed from a water supply source, to flow into the first pair of the water heaters 10-1, 10-2 and for being heated to a set temperature therein.

In some embodiments, the water heater fixing assembly 100 may include second water valves 152-1 respectively disposed between the first pair of the water heaters 10-1, 10-2 and the second copper pipe 152 and between the second pair of the water heaters 10-3, 10-4 and the second copper pipe 152 for allowing or shutting off hot water heated by and flowed out from the first pair of the water heaters 10-1, 10-2 and the second pair of the water heaters 10-3, 10-4.

Referring again to FIG. 1, each of the water heaters 10-1, 10-2, 10-3, 10-4 may include an air supply portion 131-1 and an air discharge portion 132-1 which are respectively connected to an air intake pipe 131 and an air ducting pipe 132 for intaking the air from an outside into the water heaters 10-1, 10-2, 10-3, 10-4 for gas burning and for discharging exhaust air produced during gas burning to the outside.

In the present embodiment, through configuring the first pair of water heaters 10-1, 10-2 and the second pair of the water heaters 10-3, 10-4 in the water heater fixing assembly 100 by the fashion mentioned above, the first pair of the water heaters 10-1, 10-2 is misaligned with the second pair of the water heaters 10-3, 10-4 disposed therebelow along the vertical height direction of the water heater fixing assembly 100, the top surfaces of the second pair of the water heaters 10-3, 10-4 can be exposed for directly connecting the air intake pipe 131, the air ducting pipe 132, and other related control valves thereon. In the present embodiment, the upper space of the second pair of the water heaters 10-3, 10-4 can be saved for accommodating the intake or exhaust pipes without needs of expanding the lateral footprints as installing the water heaters 10-3, 10-4 for disposing the intake or exhaust pipes at lateral sides of the water heaters 10-3, 10-4 or even outside of the first lower column member 120-1 and the second lower column member 120-2. In addition, as shown in FIG. 1, pipes 133, 134 may be respectively connected between the water heaters 10-1, 10-2, 10-3, 10-4 and the building pipes (not shown).

FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram that illustrates a top view of a water heater fixing assembly 100 in accordance with some embodiments in the disclosure. In the present disclosure, as shown in FIG. 3, based on the above configuration of the water heater fixing assembly 100 and the water heaters 10-1, 10-2, 10-3, and 10-4 accommodated therein, multiple water heaters could be combined and assembled in a minimal footprint dimension. Compared to a conventional method of storage of multiple water heaters, the footprint dimension of the water heater fixing assembly 100 may be cut and reduced to one third to one fourth of the original footprint dimensions of the conventional storage of the water heaters. Hence, the water heater fixing assembly 100 with the first pair of the water heaters 10-1, 10-2 and second pair of the water heaters 10-3, 10-4 can be accommodated and fitted through any building space, which greatly enhances mountabilites of the water heater fixing assembly 100 and the water heaters 10-1, 10-2, 10-3, 10-4.

In the present embodiments, as shown in FIG. 1 to FIG. 3, two pairs of water heaters, that is, a total of four water heaters 10-1, 10-2, 10-3, 10-4 are disposed in the water heater fixing assembly 100. However, the present disclosure is not limited therein, in some other embodiments not illustrated, one or two more water heaters may be also disposed in the water heater fixing assembly 100 to make a total number of the water heaters accommodated in a single water heater fixing assembly expanded to 5 or 6.

Further, in another embodiment not illustrated, two or more water heater fixing assemblies 100 may be connected in series for accommodating more water heaters for fulfilling different requirements and functions of different applications in different buildings.

As shown in FIG. 1 to FIG. 3, in some embodiments, a male pipe thread (MPT) gas pipe 162 may be also disposed for transmitting fuel gas. The MPT gas pipe 162 is concurrently fixed to the first pipe stays 151 and the second pipe stays 152, and the MPT gas pipe 162 is extended laterally below the first pair of the water heaters 10-1, 10-2 and the second pair of the water heaters 10-3, 10-4. As shown in FIG. 3, the MPT gas pipe 162 may be extended parallel with the first copper pipe 151 and the second copper pipe 152.

In some embodiments, gas valves 164-1 may be respectively disposed between the MPT gas pipe 162 and the first and second pair of the water heaters 10-1, 10-2, 10-3, 10-4 for allowing or shutting off fuel gas, provided from an outside gas supply, for burning in the water heaters 10-1, 10-2, 10-3, 10-4.

In addition, a condensate drain pipe 164 may be fixed to upper sides of the first pipe stays 117 and the second pipe stays 127 opposite to the side where the first and second copper pipes 151, 152 and the MPT gas pipe 162 are fixed. In the present embodiment, the water heaters 10-1, 10-2, 10-3, 10-4 connected to the condensate drain pipe 164, so that the water vapor from the exhaust gases can be condensed and drained out from the water heaters 10-1, 10-2, 10-3, 10-4.

In the present embodiment, as shown in FIG. 2, the first copper pipe 151, the second copper 152, the MPT gas pipe 162, and the condensate drain pipe 164 are together fixed to the first pipe stay 117 and the second pipe stay 127 and parallelly extended with each other between the first pair of the water heaters 10-1, 10-2 and the second pair of the water heaters 10-3, 10-4. In the present embodiment, through configuration of the first pipe stay 117 and the second pipe stay 127, all the pipes, including the first and copper pipes 151, 152, the MPT gas pipe 162, and the condensate drain pipe 164 may be parallelly aligned together in an orderly manner under the water heaters 10-1, 10-2, 10-3, 10-4 for efficiently making good use of space within the water heater fixing frame 100, for easier arrangement of the pipes and for reducing overall footprint dimension thereof. In some other embodiments not illustrated, the first pipe stay 117 and the second pipe stay 127 may be further fixed with other pipes based on practical needs.

In the present embodiment, referring to FIG. 3, the first upper column member 110-1 and the second upper column member 110-2 may include an upper beam 115 connected the first upper column member 110-1 and the second upper column member 110-2. Further, as shown in FIG. 2, the first upper column member 110-1 and the second upper column member 110-2 may include frame beams 116, 118 diagonally extended in relative to each other and respectively extended from intermediate portions of the first and second upper column members 110-1, 110-2 toward upper and lower corners thereof for providing frame support for the first and second column members 110-1, 110-2 and the first and second water heaters 10-1, 10-2 disposed therein.

Referring again to FIG. 2, the first lower column member 120-1 and the second lower column member 120-2 may include frame beams 126, 128 diagonally extended in relative to each other and respectively extended from intermediate portions of the first and second lower column members 120-1, 120-2 and respectively toward upper corners and lower corners of the first and second lower column members 120-1, 120-2.

As shown in FIG. 2, the first and second lower column members 120-1, 120-2 may include lower beams 125 extended from an installation side 121 of the first and second lower column members 120-1, 120-2 and further protruded and extended below the first pair of the water heaters 10-1 and 10-2 for erecting the water heater fixing frame 100 on, for example, a ground plane or a mounting surface. In the present embodiment, the frame beam 128 may further diagonally extend to and connected with the protruding portion of the lower beams 125 out of the pair of lower column members 120-1, 120-2 for providing a more firmly structural support for an overall structure of the water heater fixing assembly 100 and the first and second pair of water heaters 10-1, 10-2, 10-3, 10-4 mounted therein.

In some embodiments, the water heater fixing assembly 100 may include a plurality of power sockets 181 disposed between the upper column members 110-1, 110-2 and between the lower column members 120-1, 120-2 for plugging power cables (not shown) of the water heaters 10-1, 10-2, 10-3, 10-4 into the power sockets 181 to provide power source for the water heaters 10-1, 10-2, 10-3, 10-4. The number of the power sockets 181 may be disposed based on the total number of water heaters for combination in the water heater fixing frame 200.

FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram that illustrates a water heater fixing assembly 200 having water heaters 10-1, 10-2, 10-3, 10-4 accommodated therein in accordance with another embodiment in the disclosure. In the current embodiment, the water heater fixing assembly 200 is distinct from the water heater fixing frame 100 in that the water heater fixing assembly 200 may further include an auxiliary device-fixing frame 225 disposed next to the second upper column member 210-2 for accommodating a system circulation pump 230 and a circulation valve 234 that control water circulation of the water heaters 10-1, 10-2, 10-3, 104. In the present embodiment, the water heater fixing assembly 200 includes the auxiliary device-fixing frame 225 lateral disposed with the first and second upper column members 110-1, 110-2 and the first and second lower column members 120-1, 120-2 to expand the overall space of the water heater heating assembly 200 for accommodating the auxiliary devices of the water heaters 10-2, 10-2, 10-3, 10-4. In the present embodiment, dimensions of the auxiliary device-fixing frame 225 may be adjusted based on practical needs in an environment of installation.

FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram that illustrates a side view of a water heater fixing assembly 200 of FIG. 4 in accordance with another embodiment in the disclosure. In the present embodiment, referring to FIG. 4 and FIG. 5, the water heater fixing assembly 200 may further include a recirculation line 137 and a recirculation valve 232 for recirculating hot water of the water heaters 10-1, 10-2, 10-3, 10-4.

FIG. 6 is a schematic diagram that illustrates a top view of a water heater fixing assembly 200 of FIG. 4 in accordance with another embodiment in the disclosure. Referring to FIG. 4 to FIG. 6, the water heater fixing assembly 200 includes an upper beam 215, which connects a first upper column member 210-1, a second upper column member 210-2, and the auxiliary device-fixing frame 225. Moreover, the water heater fixing assembly 200 includes a first lower column member 220-1 and a second lower column member 220-1, which are respectively connected to and disposed below the first and second upper column members. In the present embodiment, the upper beam 215 can be further extended for increasing storage space of the water heater fixing assembly 200 for accommodating a gas inlet pipe 135, a hot water supply pipe 242, a water returning pipe 244, and a building makeup water supply pipe 246. In the present embodiment, the gas inlet pipe 135 is configured for supplying the fuel gas to the water heaters 10-1, 10-2, 10-3, 10-4. In addition, the hot water supply pipe 242 is configured for supplying the hot water from the water heaters 10-1, 10-2, 10-3, 10-4 to a water tank. Moreover, the water returning pipe 244 is configured for returning water from the water tank to the water heaters 10-2, 10-2, 10-3, 10-4. Furthermore, the building makeup water supply pipe 246 is configured for supplying makeup water from the buildings.

In the present embodiment, the water heater fixing assembly 200 has an elongated frame body than the water heater fixing assembly 100 in the above embodiment by including the water heater fixing frame 100. Hence, the water fixing assembly 200 may accommodate more auxiliary devices or pipes of the water heaters 10-1, 10-2, 10-3, 10-4. In some other embodiment not illustrated, the water heater fixing assembly 200 may further include a width-extending frame (not illustrated) to further expand a lateral width of the water heater fixing assembly 200 based on practical needs.

In the present embodiment, the overall dimension of the water heater fixing assembly 200 can be adjusted and modified by connecting and configuring additional frames for accommodating additional devices, control valves, and pipes in the water heater fixing assembly 200. Hence, the configuration of the water heater fixing assembly 200 can be flexibly complied with different kinds of requirements at construction sites of the different buildings for maximizing usage efficiency of building space and for enhancing mountablility of the water heater fixing assembly 200 and the water heaters 10-1, 10-2, 10-3, 10-4 in different construction sites.

Claims

1. A water heater fixing assembly for accommodating a plurality of water heaters, comprising:

a pair of upper column members, laterally disposed with each other, wherein the pair of upper column members are disposed between back surfaces of a first pair of the water heaters and an installation surface for mounting the first pair of the water heaters on the installation surface;

a pair of lower column members, disposed below the pair of upper column members and laterally disposed with each other, wherein a second pair of the water heaters is disposed within the pair of lower column members,

wherein a vertical projection of the first pair of the water heaters is not overlapped with a vertical projection of the second pair of the water heaters;

a first pipe stay, protruded from the pair of upper column members and extended below the first pair of the water heaters;

a second pipe stay, protruded from an installation side of the pair of lower column members and extended below the second pair of the water heaters; and

a first copper pipe, fixed to and extended between the first pipe stay and the second pipe stay.

2. The water heater fixing frame of claim 1, further comprising a plurality of first water valves, respectively disposed between the first copper pipe and the first pair of the water heaters and disposed between the first copper pipe and the second pair of the water heaters for allowing or shutting off cold water flowing into the first pair of the water heaters and the second pair of the water heaters.

3. The water heater fixing assembly of claim 1, further comprising a second copper pipe, fixed to the first pipe stay and the second pipe stay and extended parallelly with the first copper pipe,

wherein the first copper pipe and the second copper pipe are respectively extended below the first pair of the water heaters and the second pair of the water heaters along a direction perpendicular to protruding directions of the first pipe stay and the second pipe stay.

4. The water heater fixing assembly of claim 3, further comprising a plurality of second water valves, respectively disposed between the second copper pipe and the first pair of the water heaters and between the second copper pipe and the second pair of the water heaters for allowing or shutting off hot water flowing out of the first pair of the water heaters and the second pair of the water heaters.

5. The water heater fixing assembly of claim 1, further comprising a condensate drain pipe is fixed to upper sides of the first pipe stay and the second pipe stay opposite to the first copper pipe.

6. The water heater fixing assembly of claim 1, further comprising a male pipe thread (MPT) gas pipe fixed to the first pipe stay of the second pipe stay and extended parallelly with the first copper pipe for transmitting fuel gas into the first pair of the water heater and the second pair of the water heaters.

7. The water heater fixing assembly of claim 1, further comprising an upper beam disposed above and connected between the pair of the upper column members.

8. The water heater fixing assembly of claim 1, further comprising an auxiliary device-fixing frame lateral disposed next to the pair of upper column members and the pair of the lower column members.

9. The water heater fixing assembly of claim 8, further comprising an upper beam disposed above and connected between the pair of the upper column members and the auxiliary device-fixing frame.

10. The water heater fixing assembly of claim 1, wherein each of the water heaters comprise an air supply portion and air discharge portion,

wherein the air supply portion and the air discharge portion are disposed on a top surface of the each of the water heaters and respectively connected to an air intake pipe and an air duct pipe.

11. The water heater fixing assembly of claim 1, further comprising a lower beam connected to and protruded from the pair of lower column members for erecting and mounting the water heater fixing assembly on a ground plane.