Object of the invention The object of the present invention is an arrangement for locating a burner in conjunction with an oil- and/or gas-operated boiler, such as a steam or heating boiler, which is provided with means for connecting at least one burner to the boiler for burning fuel. Prior art

In prior art arrangements, in order to connect the burners used for igniting the fuel and for forming the flame to the steam and heating boilers, the burners are arranged essentially parallel to the longitudinal axis of the re- spective boiler, extending away from one end of the boiler. For the sake of clarity, hereafter only a boiler will be discussed.

This type of boiler and burner construction for locating the burner and its parts has been settled on, firstly, because the structure of generally available burners has been made to correspond specifically to this type of connection relating to the boiler. Furthermore, this type of location of the burner does not make any particular demands on the burner in order to be able to direct the flame formed with the burner easily in the desired manner at the boiler's combustion chamber, usually parallel to the combustion chamber and the longitudinal dimension of the zone which is its extension. At the same time, the flow of flue gases can immediately be directed in the same direction, while a turbulent flow to the desired extent about its own flow axis can easily be formed in it. However, one of the disadvantages of this arrangement is that the aggregate formed by the boiler and the burner devices becomes unnecessarily long. Since the space available is limited, there may remain very little space around the boiler arrangement in the longitudinal direction, which in turn hinders, among others, maintenance and repair measures on the boiler apparatus. The essential fitting of the burner, that is, the lance, also limits the moving and orientation of the burner apparatus with respect to the boiler. Limitations on the movability of the lance may also easily arise. By means of the lance, the aim is to bring the burner fuel as close to the centre of the air current generated by the burner mechanism as possible. The lance typically extends through the entire burner around its central axis. Limitations may arise especially on the backward movement of the lance for pulling it into a safety position away from the combustion chamber of the boiler.

Aim and solution of the invention The aim of the invention is to provide a solution by means of which the above problems of the prior art could be reduced or completely avoided. To achieve this aim, the characteristic features of the device according to the present invention are disclosed in the characterising part of claim 1. In addition, preferred embodiments of the invention appear from the dependent claims.

In order to avoid the foregoing shortcomings, the burner arrangement according to the invention is implemented in conjunction with a boiler in a manner differing from the conventional, where the location of the burner lance with respect to the rest of the burner device makes jt possible to move them essentially independently of one another compared to what was possible before. At the same time, the essential idea of the invention also consists of the fact that the longitudinal dimension of the burner arrangement can be directed to deviate essentially from the longitudinal axis of the boiler, or the location of the burner arrangement can be arranged to deviate from the ear- Her extension-type installation, whereby the overall length of the boiler apparatus can be shortened.

Advantages provided by the invention

The solution according to the invention provides obvious advantages with respect to the prior art. By means of the arrangement applying the invention is achieved an aggregate, which can be fitted in very different installation sites. Depending to the space available, the lance can be fitted in such a way with respect to the burner and boiler that maximum extraction of the lance is made possible.

As another advantage of the arrangement should be noted that the mutual location and position of the lance and the burner can be selected considera- bly more freely than before and they can at the same time be moved almost independently of one another. The structure according to the invention is also very simple and cost-wise economical to implement.

More of the other advantages provided by the invention are revealed in con- nection with the following embodiment of the invention.

List of figures

The invention is described in the following with reference to the drawing, in which:

Figure 1 shows a diagrammatic top view of a prior art boiler arrangement, Figure 2 shows a diagrammatic top view of an arrangement according to the invention, Figure 3 shows a diagrammatic top view of another arrangement according to the invention,

Figure 4 shows a top view of yet another embodiment of the invention.

Detailed description of the invention

Figure 1 shows diagrammatically a prior art arrangement, wherein fuel is burned by means of a burner apparatus 5 inside a steam or heating boiler 3, in the combustion chamber 115 of the boiler, in which is then formed a flame 77 of desired dimensions and orientation. The size of the burner 5 with respect to the boiler has been exaggerated to improve clarity.

The fixing of the burner 5 to the boiler 3 is arranged typically essentially per- pendicularly to the plane determined by the fixing wall 9 of the boiler 3 intended for the burner by means of a connection 57 between the boiler and the flow channel 5" of the burner. The burner or burners are usually mounted on the end wall or end part of the boiler in such a way that the burner arrangement forms, as it were, an extension parallel to the longitudi- nal axis 11 of the boiler, whereby the overall length L of the apparatus is comprised of both the boiler and burner apparatus parts.

The lance 7 comprised in the burner arrangement, by means of which fuel is supplied to the combustion air current, is at the same time arranged in con- junction with the burner 5 in such a way that it extends essentially through the entire blast mechanism 51 of the burner. A lance positioned in the middle of the air current blasted by the blast mechanism of the burner functions efficiently from the point of view of mixing the fuel. Through the successive positioning of the devices is at the same time formed an arrangement advan- tageous to the operation of the burner apparatus 5, where the combustion air current and the fuel are easy to direct parallel to the boiler, and where the flame can simultaneously be formed optimally with respect to the heat delivery surfaces of the boiler.

This type of an arrangement may, however, prove to be inconvenient in tight places where the space parallel to the longitudinal axis of the boiler is limited and there is a maximum value for the overall length L of the boiler apparatus. At the same time, due to the lead-in of the lance, the burner arrangement is inflexible as such, that is, in practice it cannot be moved in any way with respect to the boiler. Even temporary transfer from the installation site itself requires considerable disassembly measures, especially as concerns the fixing of the burner and the lance. It also does not facilitate the performance of maintenance and repair measures.

Figure 2, on the other hand, shows an arrangement applying the idea of the invention, where the location of the burner apparatus 5 and its parts in conjunction with the boiler 3 has been carried out in a new manner. The position of the burner 5 with respect to that wall plane 9 of the boiler to which the connection 57 between the burner and the boiler has in practice been placed, is now clearly different from the conventional perpendicular mount- ing. This is made possible by lead-in of the lance 7 into the combustion chamber 115 of the boiler in a manner deviating essentially from the earlier one.

The lance 7 can further be located in such a way that its lance head 71 formed for spraying the fuel is preferably located in the middle of the air jet 53 formed by the combustion air current coming through the supply channel of the burner apparatus. Similarly, the arm 73 of the lance can, however, be located to extend preferably in the main direction of flow 55 of the air current. The lead-in 75 of the lance into the boiler 3, that is, into the gas flow flowing through the boiler, is now arranged after the blast mechanism (turbo mechanism) 51, which performs the blasting function of the burner. In other words, the lead-in 75 of the lance is here arranged in the channel section 58 comprising the flow channel system 5" of the burner, between the connection 57 between the burner and the boiler and the blast mechanism 51 of the burner. The lance 7 is, however, controlled in such a way that its arm 73 extends in the combustion chamber 115 of the boiler essentially parallel to the combustion air current 53 coming into the boiler.

The lance 7 is thus located essentially independently of the blast mechanism 51 of the burner apparatus 5 and of the flow channel system 5". By means of the arrangement according to the invention is provided the particular advantage that the location and position of the burner 5, and especially of the blast mechanism 51, can be changed without having to make changes concerning the lance 7, especially its arm 73 or tip 71, or that the lance should be disassembled or the tip 71 be pulled out from inside the boiler. At the same time, the lance 7 is in turn easy to remove from the flow channel system 5". Furthermore, this type of an arrangement is structurally clearly simpler and cost- effective to manufacture.

Preferred embodiments of the invention

In Figure 3, the burner apparatus 5 is located completely on the side of one boiler wall 15a, parallel to it, and even fixed to it in the desired manner. The burner apparatus 5 is, therefore, essentially in the immediate vicinity of the boiler wall, at the same time oriented in such a way that the axial longitudinal axis 111 of the burner extending in the axial direction of flow of the blast mechanism 51 of the burner and the longitudinal axis 11 of the boiler are essentially parallel. In other words, the boiler and the blast mechanism are mounted in side by side, whereby the overall length can be minimised. The invention is not, however, limited to the use of a particular angle between the burner mechanism and the boiler. By means of the invention, it is specifically possible to move the burner apparatus with respect to the boiler, and even essentially independently of the lance. The arrangement is, there- fore, proven particularly flexible and it is easy to adjust according to changing conditions. The channel section 58 between the burner 5 and the boiler 3, which comprises the flow channel system 5", is preferably arranged to be flexible at least over a part of its length in such a way that the location of the burner 5 can be changed by bending the channel section 58. The angle a between the axial longitudinal axis 111 of the blast mechanism 51 and the longitudinal axis 11 of the boiler 3 can thus be set to be less than 90°, and in extreme cases into the position according to Figure 3, where the angle a is 0°, that is, the said axes are parallel. The flexible part receives and also eliminates possible tensions in the channel which are due to temperature changes during the process and after it.

In connection with the burner mechanism 5 can also be arranged wheels or similar means facilitating moving in such a way that it is easily moveable to a desired location or completely elsewhere, for example, for maintenance and repair.

Figure 4 further illustrates a solution according to the invention where the lance 7 has been brought to the combustion air current 53 in such a way that the arm 73 of the lance remains completely outside the flow channel system. The fuel channel running in the lance can be arranged to be flexible to run in a rigid lance arm 73 provided for it in such a way that it can be taken in a bent manner past the angular point marked by line 79 and further to the tip 71 of the lance. Similarly, the arm 73 of the lance can be arranged to be straight over its whole distance in such a way that only its tip 71 is lo- cated essentially in the combustion air current 53. The lance 7 is then completely independent of the installation and location of the burner device 5. At the same time, the length L of the entire aggregate can be made even smaller.

Although the invention has been described above with reference to the em- bodiments shown in Figures 1 to 4, it is obvious that the invention is not limited to this description and these figures, but several variations are conceivable within the scope of the appended claims. Similarly, the features disclosed in connection with the different embodiments may also be used within the basic idea of the invention in connection with other embodiments and/or different entities may be combined of the features described if so desired and if the technical possibilities for this exist. Any inventive embodiment can thus be implemented within the scope of the inventive idea. Although this application describes the use of the invention mainly in connection with conventional steam and heating boilers, it may obviously also be used in other boiler types.