SYSTEMS AND METHODS FOR HEATING WATER BY ABSORBING HEAT IN AMBIENT AIR

Technical Field:

Embodiments of the present invention relate to systems and methods for generating heat, and more particularly, to hybrid hot water heater systems and related methods for absorbing heat in ambient air and transferring it to water.

Background Art:

Conventionally, water heating is a thermodynamic process for increasing water's temperature above its initial temperature by using an energy source. There are several devices available worldwide to provide a continuous supply of hot water, such as, for example, water heaters, boilers, heat exchangers, calorifiers, geysers and the like for various commercial and domestic purposes. These devices use various types of energy sources for heating water, such as, for example, fossil fuels including natural gas, liquefied petroleum gas (Hereinafter '"LPG"), oils, solid fuels and the like.

Generally, water heaters can be classified according to various generations like a first generation of water heaters refers to water heaters utilizing a gas as an energy source. As discussed above, the gas can either be the natural gas or the LPG. Typically, a gas- operated water heater includes a housing and an upright open-ended mixing tube defining a combustion chamber in the housing. The combustion chamber has gas burners, and the combustion product gases are drawn into the mixing tube by lowering of pressure therein caused by directing a spray of finely-divided water particles down the tube. Heat exchange between the combustion gases and the water takes place in the tube, and both water and gases flow out at the lower end of the tube. However, frequent use of gas for

heating water may cause environment pollution by release of harmful residual gases. Further, production of gas heaters is expensive and subsequently, the gas water heaters are complex in structure.

Similarly, a second generation of water heaters refers to water heaters utilizing electricity as an energy source for heating water. Generally, an electric water heater includes a housing made of a polymer material. The housing defines an internal passageway adapted for fluid flow through the housing. The housing has a first opening in fluid communication with the passageway, and a pair of access openings. The housing also includes a second opening in fluid communication with the tubing system. The heater also includes a heater tube defining a first end connected to the first opening in the housing. An elongated electrical heat pipe is partly disposed within the outer tube, and has opposite ends extending out of the first end of the heater tube and through the pair of access openings. The electrical heater includes compressions fittings connecting the heater tube and the elongated heat pipe by seals to the housing. The electric water heaters suffer from a big disadvantage as these consume a lot of energy thereby increasing an operational cost leading to their restricted use in cost-effective environments.

A third generation of water heaters refers to water heaters utilizing solar energy as an energy source. Solar energy is the energy from sun typically in a form of heat and light.

Generally, a solar water heater includes a water tank, a solar heating compartment for heating water, and an air pump. The water ^' tank and the solar heating compartment are generally cylindrical, and the bottom surface of the heating compartment overlaps the top surface of the water tank. The solar heating compartment has an upper surface and a side surface which are usually constructed from transparent materials. The heating compartment contains water tubing in communication with water in the water tank and one stainless steel parabolic reflector positioned for reflecting incident sunlight upon the water tubing for absorption. The water tubing terminates in one of the hot water outlets.

The air pump is in communication with the water tubing within the solar heating compartment. Operation of the air pump causes a stream of water to continuously flow

from the water tank to the hot water outlets by the siphoning effect. However, the use of solar water heaters is highly restricted by the presence or absence of the sun. Furthermore, solar water heaters cannot operate during nights and their use is further limited by poor weather conditions like rainfall, snowfall, storms and other similar poor visibility natural conditions during daylight. Moreover, manufacturing and installation of solar water heaters is expensive and complex, thereby limiting its use in rural areas.

A fourth generation of water heaters includes water heaters using a heat pump cycle as a source of energy for heating water. Typically, in a heat-pump water heater, a control unit has a heat-radiation determining mechanism for determining a heat radiation from refrigerant to outside air in an air heat exchanger based on a water temperature flowing into a water heat exchanger, and the control unit selectively performs a general cycle operation and a bypass operation in accordance with a determination result of the heat- radiation determining mechanism. That is, when the water temperature flowing into the water heat exchanger is lower than 60°C, the general cycle operation is performed. On the other hand, when the water temperature is equal to or higher than 60°C, the bypass operation is performed. However, the heat pump water heaters require a large amount of space for their installation and operation. Moreover, these water heaters require continuous air circulation for their operation thereby limiting their usage. Furthermore, the heat pump water heaters take heat from the surrounding air and therefore, as a result, they cool and dehumidify a surrounding space. Further drawbacks of the fourth generation water heater are bulky system again leading to a large requirement of space for its installation, noisy operation leading to noise pollution, lengthened heating time resulting in consumption of a large amount of energy, a complicated maintenance procedure and the like

However, all the above mentioned generations of water heaters suffer from several drawbacks, such as, for example, release of air pollutants such as refrigerants, high power requirements, high cost of electric energy required, restricted usage during night or during poor weather conditions, complex installation procedures, requirement of large

amount of . space for opcialion. high operation costs, non-suitable for installation at some locations and the like.

Accordingly there exists a need in the art for a fifth generation water heater in order to overcome the above-mentioned shortcomings and drawbacks.

Disclosure of the Invention:

The present invention aims to provide systems and methods for generating heat, and more particularly, to hybrid hot water heater systems and related methods for absorbing heat in ambient air and transferring it to water.

A hybrid hot water heater for heating water using ambient air includes a hot water tank having a wall defining a water chamber there within. The wall has a first opening, a water inlet opening and a hot water outlet opening.

The hybrid hot water heater further includes a heat pipe positioned within the first opening of the wall of the hot water tank. The heat pipe protrudes into the water chamber from the wall of the hot water tank. The hybrid hot water heater further includes an upper heat plate directly coupled to the heat pipe. The upper heat plate is mounted on an outer surface of the water chamber of the hot water tank.

The hybrid hot water heater further includes a peltier tablet directly coupled to the upper heat plate, a lower heat plate directly coupled to the peltier tablet, a coil electronically coupled to the lower heat plate on either sides of the lower heat plate, a switching power supply electronically coupled to the peltier tablet, a thermostat control board electronically coupled to the switching power supply, a fan electronically coupled to the thermostat control board and a power supply electronically coupled to the thermostat control board.

The hybrid hot water heater further includes a thermostat electronically coupled to the thermostat control board. The thermostat is positioned within the hot water tank. The hybrid hot water heater further includes a control member wirelessly coupled to the thermostat control board. The control member controls a temperature of the hybrid hot water heater.

In one embodiment, the lower heat plate is adapted to transfer heat to the upper heat plate via the peltier tablet. The heat pipe is adapted to transfer heat from the upper plate to cold water present in the water chamber of the hot water tank. The fan is adapted to absorb heat from ambient air from a surrounding of the hybrid hot water heater.

In one embodiment, the peltier tablet is adapted to transfer heat from the lower heat plate to the upper heat plate after receiving a signal from the switching power supply. The switching power supply is adapted to send the signal to the peltier tablet after receiving an activating signal from the thermostat control board. The power supply is adapted to supply an AC voltage of about two hundred forty volts and a power of at least about one hundred twenty watts.

In one embodiment, the hybrid hot water heater further includes an overheat protection mechanism for switching off a heating process in case of an emergency.

In operation, a method for using a hybrid hot water heater for heating water using ambient air includes: providing the hot water tank having the wall defining the water chamber there within. The wall has the first opening, the water inlet opening and the hot water outlet opening. The method further includes providing and positioning the heat pipe within the first opening of the wall of the hot water tank. The heat pipe protrudes into the water chamber from the wall of the hot water tank.

The method further includes providing and directly coupling the upper heat plate to the heat pipe. The upper heat plate is mounted on the outer surface of the water chamber of

the hot water tank The method further includes providing and directly coupling the peltier tablet to the upper heat plate, providing and directly coupling the lower heat plate to the peltier tablet, providing and electronically coupling the coil to the lower heat plate on either sides of the lower heat plate, providing and electronically coupling the switching power supply to the peltier tablet, providing and electronically coupling the thermostat control board to the switching power supply, providing and electronically coupling the fan to the thermostat control board, and, providing and electronically coupling the power supply to the thermostat control board.

The method further includes: providing and electronically coupling the thermostat to the thermostat control board. The thermostat is positioned within the hot water tank. The method further includes providing and wirelessly coupling the control member to the thermostat control board. The control member controls the temperature of the hybrid hot water heater.

In one embodiment, a hybrid hot water heater for heating water using ambient air includes; connecting the water inlet opening of the wall of the hot water tank to the source of water; supplying electrical power from the power supply to the thermostat control board; setting a desired temperature using the control member; and, distributing hot water from the hot water outlet opening of the wall of the hot water tank.

In one embodiment, a method for heating water using ambient air by the hybrid hot water heater includes: switching on the power supply; setting a desired temperature at the control panel; activating the thermostat control board; activating the fan, the switching power supply and the peltier tablet; absorbing heat from the ambient air by the fan; transferring the absorbed heat to the water present inside the water chamber via the upper heat plate, the peltier tablet and the lower heat plate; cutting off the power supply when the desired temperature achieved; and distributing the hot water present inside the water chamber via the hot water outlet opening of the wall of the hot water tank.

While the invention is described herein by way of example using several embodiments and illustrative drawings, those skilled in the art will recognize that the invention is not limited to the embodiments of drawing or drawings described, and are not intended to represent the scale of the various components. Further, some components that may form a part of the invention may not be illustrated in certain figures, for ease of illustration, and such omissions do not limit the embodiments outlined in any way. It should be understood that the drawings and detailed description thereto are not intended to limit the invention to the particular form disclosed, but on the contrary, the invention is to cover all modification, equivalents and alternatives falling within the spirit and scope of the present invention as defined by the appended claims. The headings used herein are for organizational purposes only and are not meant to be used to limit the scope of the description or the claims. As used throughout this application, the word "may" is used in a permissive sense (i.e., meaning having the potential to), rather than the mandatory sense (i.e., meaning must). Similarly, the words "include," "including," and "includes" mean including, but not limited to. Further, the words "a" or "an" mean "at least one" and the word "plurality" means one or more, unless otherwise mentioned.

Descriptive Key

100 hybrid hot water heater

105 hot water tank ^' 135 first opening

110 wall 140 upper heat plate

115 water inlet opening 145 peltier tablet 120 hot water outlet opening 150 lower heat plate

125 water chamber 155 coil

130 heat pipe 160 thermostat control board

118 source of water 165 switching power supply

180 thermostat 170 fan 185 power supply 175 control member

Description of Drawings and Best Mode for Carrying Out the Invention:

So thai the manner in which the above recited features of the present invention can be understood in detail, a more particular description of the invention, briefly summarized above, may be had by reference to embodiments, some of which are illustrated in the appended drawings. It is to be noted, however, that the appended drawings illustrate only typical embodiments of this invention and are therefore not to be considered limiting of its scope, for the invention may admit to other equally effective embodiments.

These and other features, benefits and advantages of the present invention will become apparent by reference to the following text figures, with like reference numbers referring to like structures across the views, wherein:

FIG. 1 illustrates a hybrid hot water heater, in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention;

FlG. 2 illustrates an exploded view of the hybrid hot water healer, in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 3 illustrates a portion of the hybrid hot water heater having multiple peltier tablets, in accordance with an alternate embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 4 illustrates a method for operating the hybrid hot water heater for heating water using ambient air, in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention; and

FIG. 5 illustrates a method for heating water using ambient air by the hybrid hot water heater, in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention.

Referring now to FIG. 1 , a hybrid hot water heater 100 for heating water using ambient air includes a hot water tank 105 having a wall 1 10 defining a water chamber 125 there

within. The wall 1 10 includes a first opening 135. a water inlet opening 1 15 and a hot water outlet opening 120.

The hybrid hot water heater 100 further includes a heat pipe 130 positioned within the first opening 135 of the wall 1 10 of the hot water tank 105. The heat pipe 130 protrudes into the water chamber 125 from the wall 1 10 of the hot water tank 105. The hybrid hot water heater 100 further includes an upper heat plate 140 directly coupled to the heat pipe 130. The upper heat plate 140 is mounted on an outer surface of the water chamber 125 of the hot water tank 105.

The hybrid hot water heater 100 further includes a peltier tablet 145 directly coupled to the upper heat plate 140, a lower heat plate 150 directly coupled to the peltier tablet 145, a coil 155 electronically coupled to the lower heat plate 150 on either sides of the lower heat plate 150, a switching power supply 165 electronically coupled to the peltier tablet 145, a thermostat control board 160 electronically coupled to the switching power supply 165, a fan 170 electronically coupled to the thermostat control board 160 and a power supply 185 electronically coupled to the thermostat control board 160.

The hybrid hot water heater 100 further includes a thermostat 180 electronically coupled to the thermostat control board 160. The thermostat 180 is positioned within the hot water tank 105.

The hybrid hot water heater 100 further includes a control member 175 wirelessly coupled to the thermostat control board 160. The control member 180 controls a temperature of the hybrid hot water heater 100. In one embodiment, the control member 175 is a remote control that wirelessly controls the temperature. In another embodiment, the temperature control member 175 is a control panel connected to the thermostat control board 160 via a wire. Those of ordinary skill in the art will appreciate that the control member 175 may also be used to control a display, a timer, an on / off switch and the like. The display may be used to monitor various parameters like temperature, the

timers may be used to provide a real time control of an operation of the hybrid hot water heater 100 and the on / off switch may be used to switch on or switch off the hybrid hot water heater 100.

In one embodiment, the lower heat plate 150 is adapted to transfer heat to the upper heat plate 140 via the peltier tablet 145. The heat pipe 130 is adapted to transfer heat from the upper plate 140 to cold water present in the water chamber 125 of the hot water tank 105. The fan 170 is adapted to absorb heat from ambient air from a surrounding of the hybrid hot water heater 100.

In one embodiment, the peltier tablet 145 is adapted to transfer heat from the lower heat plate 150 to the upper heat plate 140 after receiving a signal from the switching power supply 165. The switching power supply 165 is adapted to send the signal to the peltier tablet 145 after receiving an activating signal from the thermostat control board 160. The power supply 185 is adapted to supply an AC voltage of about two hundred forty volts and a power of at least about one hundred twenty watts.

In one embodiment, when a user sets a temperature using the temperature control member 175, an activation signal is sent to the thermostat control board 160 that activates the switching power supply 165, the peltier tablet 145 and the fan 170. The fan 170 absorbs heat from the ambient air and transfers the absorbed heat to the coil 155. The heat absorbed by the coil 155 is transferred to the upper heat plate 140 via the lower heat plate 150 and the peltier tablet 145. The fan 170 further releases a cold air to the external environment via the coil 155. The cold air released by the fan 170 via the coil 155 is at a temperature of about 270°C which helps in keeping the surroundings of the hybrid hot water heater 100 cool. The cold air also helps to prevent the outer surface and a roof of the hybrid hot water heater 100 from getting overheated. Those of ordinary skill in the art will appreciate that the cold air released by the fan 170 can be utilized for various purposes, such as, for example, for cooling the surroundings of the hybrid hot water heater 100, thereby providing a multi-purpose system for heating water as well for

cooling environments. It is also appreciated that various adjustments can be made in the hybrid hot water heater 100 to release cold air having different temperatures to provide numerous advantages. The detailed operation of the hybrid hot water heater 100 is explained in FIG. 4 with reference to the following text.

In one embodiment, the hybrid hot water heater 100 further includes an overheat protection mechanism (not shown) for switching off a heating process in case of an emergency. The overheat protection mechanism is provided by the thermostat control board 160 that switches off of the switching power supply 165 in case of the emergency such as, but not limited to, overheating of any component of the hybrid hot water heater 100, a short circuit anywhere inside the hybrid hot water heater 100, failure of any component of the hybrid hot water heater 100, overheating of water inside the hybrid hot water heater 100 and the like.

Referring now to FIG. 2, the hybrid hot water heater 100 includes multiple heat plates and a peltier tablet 145 sandwiched in between thereto. The multiple heat plates include the upper heat plate 140 and the lower heat plate 150. The upper heat plate 140 is directly coupled to the heat pipe 130 and the lower heat plate 150 is electronically coupled to the coil 155.

Referring now to FIG. 3, according to an alternate embodiment of the present invention, the hybrid hot water heater 100 may include a plurality of peltier tablets similar to the peltier tablet 145. The plurality of peltier tablets may heat a large quantity of water in a short span of time thereby making the present invention suitable for commercial and industrial applications in addition to domestic usage. Those of ordinary skill in the art will appreciate that the plurality of peltier tablets similar to the peltier tablet 145 can be arranged in various patterns- different from a pattern as herein illustrated. For example, but not limited to, the plurality of peltier tablets similar to the peltier tablet 145 can be arranged in a sidewise pattern such that each peltier tablet lies on a side of the other peltier tablet.

In an alternate embodiment, the power supply 1 85 can also be replaced by a 12 V battery. The use of the 12 V battery allows proper operation of the hybrid hot water heater 100 when there is reduced power or no power available. Furthermore, the hybrid hot water heater 100 consumes very less electrical energy as compared to conventional power heaters. For example, the hybrid hot water heater 100 consumes an electrical power of about 120 W to about 240 W whereas conventional water heaters consume the electrical power of about 2400 W to about 4800 W. Thus, a huge amount of electrical power is saved by a use of the hybrid hot water heater 100. Moreover, an efficiency of the hybrid hot water heater 100 is about 280 % to about 450 % whereas the efficiency of conventional water heaters is about 100 %. The efficiency referred herein is a ratio of an amount of water heated by the heater to an amount of electric energy consumed.

In one embodiment, the wall 100 of the hybrid hot water heater 100 is made up of polyurethane (Hereinafter "PU"). The PU employed in the hybrid hot water heater 100 provides a big advantage of preventing the hot water inside the hybrid hot water heater 100 from getting cold and hence once the twelve volt DC voltage is cut off, the hot water will remain hot for a longer period of time. It is observed that if the process oT heating water is not run, the hot water already present inside the hybrid hot water heater 100 remains hot for few days and the temperature of the hot water inside the hybrid hot water heater 100 is decreased by about 2°C every day.

In one embodiment, the coil 155 and the heat pipe 130 are made up of copper and / or aluminum pipes. The hybrid hot water heater. 100 is made up of stainless steel. Those of ordinary skill in the art will appreciate that the hybrid hot water heater 100 and its various components can be made using numerous elements, alloys and the like depending upon the requirements and similar other parameters.

In operation, a method for using a hybrid hot water heater 100 for heating water using ambient air includes: providing the hot water tank 105 having the wall 110 defining the water chamber 125 there within. The wall 110 includes the first opening 135, the water

inlet opening 1 1 5 and the hot water outlet opening 120. The method further includes providing and positioning the heat pipe 130 within the first opening 135 of the wall 1 10 of the hot water tank 105. The heat pipe 130 protrudes into the water chamber 125 from the wall 1 10 of the hot water tank 105.

The method further includes providing and directly coupling the upper heat plate 140 to the heat pipe 130. The upper heat plate 140 is mounted on the outer surface of the water chamber 125 of the hot water tank 105. The method further includes providing and directly coupling the peltier tablet 145 to the upper heat plate 140, providing and directly coupling the lower heat plate 150 to the peltier tablet 145, providing and electronically coupling the coil 155 to the lower heat plate 150 on either sides of the lower heat plate 150, providing and electronically coupling the switching power supply 165 to the peltier tablet 145, providing and electronically coupling the thermostat control board 160 to the switching power supply 160, providing and electronically coupling the fan 170 to the thermostat control board 160, and, providing and electronically coupling the power supply 185 to the thermostat control board 160.

The method further includes: providing and electronically coupling the thermostat 180 to the thermostat control board 160. The thermostat 180 is positioned within the hot water tank 105. The method further includes providing and wirelessly coupling the control member 175 to the thermostat control board 160. The control member 175 controls the temperature of the hybrid hot water heater 100.

FIG. 4 illustrates a method 400 for using the hybrid hot water heater 100 for heating water using ambient air, in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. At step 402, the method 400 includes connecting the water inlet opening 1 15 of the wall 1 10 of the hot water tank 105 to the source of water 1 18. At step 404, the method 400 includes supplying electrical power from the power supply 185 to the thermostat control board 160. In one embodiment, the electrical power supplied from the power supply 185 to the thermostat control board 160 includes an AC voltage of about two hundred forty

volts. The λC voltage of about two hundred forty volts is transferred to the switching power supply 165 from the thermostat control board 160.

At step 406, the method 400 includes setting a desired temperature using the control member 1 75. Once a desired temperature is set, the switching power supply 165 converts the AC voltage of about two hundred forty volts into a twelve volt DC voltage. The twelve volt DC voltage activates both the peltier tablet 145 and the fan 170. The fan 170 absorbs heat from the ambient air and transfers the absorbed heat to the coil 155. The heat absorbed by the coil 155 is transferred to the upper heat plate 140 via the lower heat plate 150 and the peltier tablet 145. Now the peltier tablet 145 acts as a conductor to transfer all heat from the coil 155 to the upper heat plate 140 for the purposes of heating water via the heat pipe 130. Consequently, the temperature of the lower heat plate 150 becomes 0°C and the temperature at the upper heat plate 140 becomes double than an earlier temperature which is transmitted to the heat pipe 130 for heating up the cold water. Subsequently, the fan 170 again absorbs heat from the ambient air. The absorbed heat is transmitted to the coil 155. The coil 155 transmits the absorbed heat to the lower heat plate 150 to balance the temperature condition between the lower heat plate 150 and the upper heat plate 140. This recycle process continues till the desired temperature set at the step 406 and the cold water inside the water chamber 125 is heated continuously. The twelve volt DC voltage is cut off immediately when the desired temperature is achieved and the water heating process is terminated. The temperature of the hot water is monitored by the thermostat 180. In one embodiment, the water heating process can also be terminated before the desired temperature is achieved by the user with a help of the control member 175.

At step 408, the method 400 includes distributing hot water from the hot water outlet opening 120 of the wall 110 of the hot water tank 105.

FIG. 5 illustrates a method 500 for heating water using ambient air by the hybrid hot water heater 100, in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. The

method 500 begins at step 502 and proceeds to step 504. At step 504, the power supph 185 is switched on. A( step 506, a desired temperature is set at the control panel. In one embodiment, the control panel is similar to the control member 175 as described previously.

At step 508, the thermostat control board 160 is activated. At step 510, the fan 170, the switching power supply 165 and the peltier tablet 145 are activated. At step 512, heat is absorbed from the ambient air by the fan 170. At step 514, the absorbed heat is transferred to the water present inside the water chamber 125 via the upper heat plate 140, the peltier tablet 145 and the lower heat plate 150 as described previously. The water present inside the water chamber 125 is heated by the heat pipe 130 as described previously.

At step 516, the power supply 185 is cut off when the desired temperature set at the step 506 is achieved. At step 518, the hot water present inside the water chamber 125 is distributed via the hot water outlet opening 120 of the wall 1 10 of the hot water tank 105. The method 500 ends at step 520.

The overheat protection mechanism remains activated throughout all the steps of the method 500 that switches off of the switching power supply 165 in case of the emergency as described previously.

Therefore, as can be seen, embodiments of the present invention provides a fifth generation hybrid hot water heater with the unexpected and unpredictable benefits like rapid heating of water, extraction of free energy from air, complete environment friendly system, no release of harmful air pollutants or refrigerators, consumption of very low electric power when compared to conventional water heaters, no requirements for gas, compressor and the like, low voltage operation and smooth operation by 12V battery as an alternative. As a result, a huge amount of electrical energy can be saved by using the present invention. Moreover, the present invention operates and delivers hot water

throughout the day and night irrespective of poor weather conditions. Furthermore, the present invention provides an easy to install, convenient to use and a compact hybrid hot water heater system that is capable of temperature adjustment via the temperature control member and the thermostat.

Moreover, the hybrid hot water heater of the present invention as described above provides a suitable means for heating water present in large enclosures, such as, for example, swimming pools, hot water tanks and other commercial as well as industrial applications. For example, in swimming pools, the multiple peltier plates can be embedded inside so as to heat up water in a minimum amount of time.

In the foregoing specification, specific embodiments of the present invention have been described. However, one of ordinary skill in the ail will appreciate that various modifications and changes can be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention as set forth in the various embodiments discussed above and the claims that follow. Accordingly, the specification and figures are to be regarded in an illustrative rather than a restrictive sense, and all such modifications are intended to be included within the scope of present invention. The benefits, advantages, solutions to problems, and any element(s) that may cause any benefit, advantage, or solution to occur or become more pronounced are not to be construed as a critical, required, or essential features or elements as described herein.