PILOT BURNER WITH LOW NOx CONTENT AND ASSOCIATED METHOD OF USEBACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION All gas burners are susceptible to accumulation of lint, dust or oil (LDO) in heavy environments. These gas burners must be closed before exceeding the limits of carbon monoxide (CO). When there is an accumulation of lint, dust or oil, this can cause the flame of the gas burner to be eliminated and the internal temperature of the combustion chamber of the gas appliance to increase. Therefore, it is desired to have a pilot burner that closes when there is an excessive amount of fluff, dust or oil. An illustrative, but not limiting, example of a gas appliance utilizing a gas burner is a water heater. On the other hand, it is desirable to have a pilot burner with low NOx content. This is due to the fact that NOx is the generic term for a group of highly reactive gases, which contain nitrogen and oxygen in stranded quantities. Now there are standards that dictate that a water heater must not produce process gases containing carbon monoxide in more than 0.04 percent (%) on a free air base when exposed to lint, dust or oil. These test standards are listed underANSI Z21.10.1b-2004, CSA 4.1b-2004, Section 2.36 as "Resistance to accumulation of lint, dust and oil". This is also required by regulation, such as Regulation 1121 of the South Coast Air Quality Management District for the "Control of Nitrogen Oxides of Water Heaters Called by Residential-Type Natural Gas". This Standard dictates the level of NOx emission per joule of heat production. The present invention is directed to solve one or more of the problems established in the above.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION One aspect of the present invention is a pilot heater assembly. The pilot heater assembly includes a pilot burner having an upper portion, middle portion and lower portion, wherein the upper portion of the pilot burner includes a bell that is positioned adjacent a lighter and a thermocouple. An average portion of the pilot burner includes at least one opening that provides an air inlet. Another aspect of the present invention optionally may include a clamp assembly. The clamp assembly can be operatively connected to a pilot burner, a thermocouple assembly and alighter assembly. Preferably, but not necessarily, a pilot burner is mounted at an angle to the thermocouple located lower than the pilot heater bell, eg, 60 ° +/- 15 ° relative to the clamp assembly. The clamp assembly may include a vertical portion with attachment holes as well as a U-shaped clamp with a top opening and a bottom opening for receiving a thermocouple. Optionally, the clamp assembly may include a first top plate and a second top plate connected together. Still another aspect of the present invention may optionally include a bell. The hood can have at least one opening and preferably includes more than one opening to form a multi-way hood, for example, two-way hood. At least one opening can include a wide variety of geometric shapes and sizes but is preferably triangular with an opening that can provide the direction of the flame and design as well as a spark path between a lighter and a pilot burner. Another aspect of the present invention may optionally include an insert. The insert may include an upper portion, a middle portion and a lower portion. Optionally, the middle portion caninclude a tab that can be placed on top of a clamp assembly and the bottom portion can be threaded. The presence of lint, dust and / or oil will restrict at least one opening, for example, four (4), created by a hole (s) or groove (s) forming at least one primary air intake port. A primary air intake port is located in the middle portion of the insert extending from an inner chamber of the insert to an outer surface of the middle portion of the insert. In still another aspect of the present invention, it may optionally include a burner with a hole. The burner with orifice controls the primary flow of gas in the pilot burner and restricts gas flow. The burner with orifice may include a first side wall, a second side wall and a nozzle. The nozzle may include an opening. The opening may include a first groove and a second groove that are positioned transversely, for example, perpendicular to each other and in fluid communication. Another aspect of the present invention optionally may include a ball sleeve. The ball sleeve can provide a compression seal between a burner with a hole and a compression nut. Optionally, the ball sleeve caninclude a triangular portion. Still another aspect of the present invention, optionally may include a compression nut. The compression nut can provide connection to a gas valve and operate to compress a ball-and-socket joint. The compression nut can be threadedly attached to a threaded end portion for insertion. It is another aspect of the present invention to include a lighter. The lighter may include a projection electrode that can be bent to extend adjacent to an opening in a bell. There may be an insulator that can secure the electrode. An illustrative, but not limiting, insulator may include ceramic material. The electrode is at least preferably partially covered in an insulating material. The insulator can be secured in the clamp assembly with an upper ring and a combination of carrier and electrode retainer. Another aspect of the present invention is a method for using a pilot heater assembly. The method includes placing a pilot burner, having an upper portion, a middle portion and a lower portion, near a thermocouple and a lighter so that when at least one opening is blocked that provides an air inlet in the middle portion of the pilot burner at least partially with fluff,oil or dust, then the flame to heat the thermocouple will shrink or rise to the point where it can no longer heat the thermocouple enough to generate enough energy to allow a safety magnet valve to stay energized and shut down the gas-fired device . These and other features and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from the following detailed description of a preferred embodiment which, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, illustrates by way of example, the principles of the present invention.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS For a better understanding of the present invention, reference may be made to the accompanying drawings in which: FIGURE 1 is a perspective view of the pilot burner of the present invention mounted on a main burner; FIGURE 2 is an isolated perspective view of a lighter assembly, a thermocouple assembly and a pilot burner in accordance with the present invention; FIGURE 3 is an exploded perspective view of the pilot burner according to the present invention and as shown in FIGURE 2;FIGURE 4 is a top view of an insert associated with the pilot burner shown in FIGURE 3; FIGURE 5 is a cross-sectional view of the insert associated with the pilot heater valve taken along line 4-4 of FIGURE 4; FIGURE 6 is a cross-sectional view of the insert associated with the pilot heater valve taken along line 5-5 of FIGURE 5; FIGURE 7 is an isolated view of the lighter assembly according to the present invention and as shown in FIGURE 2; FIGURE 8 is a side cross-sectional view of an orifice burner according to the present invention and as shown in FIGURE 3; FIGURE 9 is a top view of an orifice burner according to the present invention and as shown in FIGURE 8; FIGURE 10 is an enlarged top view of the burner with orifice according to the present invention and as shown in FIGURE 9; FIGURE 11 is a top view of a ball sleeve according to the present invention and as shown in FIGURE 3; FIGURE 12 is a cross-sectional viewof the ball sleeve associated with the present invention taken along line 11-11 of FIGURE 11; and FIGURE 13 is a top view of a compression nut according to the present invention and as shown in FIGURE 3.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION While the various features of this invention are illustrated and described below as being particularly adapted to provide a pilot heater construction for burning gaseous fuel, such as natural or synthetic gas, it should be understood that the various features of this invention can be used alone or in various combinations thereof to provide a pilot heater construction for other types of appliances as desired. A typical pilot burner is described in US Pat. No. 5,039,300, which was published for Riehl on August 13, 1991, which is incorporated herein by reference. Another example of a pilot burner is disclosed in U.S. Patent Application No. 20030183177, published October 2, 2003 for Kobayashi et al, which is incorporated herein by reference as well as U.S. Patent Application No. 20010003274, published on 14June 2001, which is incorporated herein by reference. Therefore, this invention will not be limited only to the embodiment illustrated in the drawings, since the drawings are simply used to illustrate one of the wide variety of uses of this invention. The valve of the present invention is especially suitable for controlling the flow of a fuel gas for gas-fired apparatus such as an oven, a water heater or a gas-fired stack. As shown in FIGURE 1, a pilot burner is generally indicated by the number 10. The pilot burner 10 will be mounted adjacent a thermocouple 20. Preferably, but not necessarily, the pilot burner 10 is mounted at an angle with the thermocouple 20 located lower than the pilot bell 12, for example, 60 ° +/- 15 ° of the burner. During normal operation, a bell 12 will provide the flame to heat the thermocouple 20 and to ignite a main burner 2. The thermocouple 20 will allow the safety magnet valve (not shown) to remain energized so that the gas can flow in a main burner 2. During situations where LDO accumulation (lint-dust-oil) has occurred, the hood 12 will continue to provide the flame to the main burner 12, but theFlame for heating the thermocouple 20 will shrink or rise to the point where it can no longer heat the thermocouple 20 enough to generate enough energy to allow the safety magnet valve (not shown) to remain energized. This will result in a gas shut-off associated with the device. The thermocouple 20 is essentially a sensor that is used in a gas device to detect heat from the pilot burner 10. A lighter 22 is provided to provide a spark to ignite the pilot burner 10 which is located adjacent to the bell 12 of the pilot burner 10. Referring now to FIGURE 2, a lighter 22 and an associated insulator 24 are attached to a clamp assembly 100 that includes a vertical portion 102 with the attachment holes 105. The clamp assembly 100 may include a U-shaped clamp 108 with a top opening 103 and a lower opening 104 for receiving the thermocouple 20, as shown in FIGURE 1. This may include a first top plate and a second top plate. upper plate that connect to each other. Any mechanical or chemical connection mechanism will suffice, for example a rivet 199. Alternatively, the assembly 100 may be unitary. Clamp assembly 100, preferably, but not necessarily, designed to withstand at least 22.68 kg (fifty pounds (50)) of forcetraction and 54.431 kg / 0.305 meters (one hundred twenty (120) foot pounds) of rotational torsional force. There is also the pilot burner 10 which includes the bell 12 which is mounted on top of the clamp assembly 100 with the flange members 101 extending, for example, four (4). There are holes or slots 112 that create primary air intake ports located below the hood 12 and just above the clamp assembly 100. However, these holes or slots 112 are not limited to being placed just over the clamp 100 and can be placed along the length of the pilot burner 10 above and below the clamp 100. Now with reference to FIGURE 3, which is an exploded version of the pilot burner 10 shown in FIGURE 2, which includes the bell 12 having a first triangular opening 8 and a second triangular opening 9 for creating the two-way opening. Although two triangular shaped openings are preferred to create a two-way opening, the bell 12 can include a wide variety of geometric shapes, sizes and number of openings. Preferably, although not necessarily, there is a plurality of extension tab members 101 extending outwardly from the bottom of the bell 12, for example, four (4). The bell 12 provides the addressand the pattern of the flame as well as a spark path between the lighter 22 and the pilot burner 10. Bell 12 is preferably established adjacent to lighter 22, as shown in FIGURE 1. Now with reference to FIGURES 3, 4, 5 and 6, there is an insert 202 that includes holes or slots 113 located below the bell 12 and just above the clamp assembly 100, as shown in FIGURE 2. This insert 202 may include an upper portion 201, a middle portion 207 and a lower portion 206. Optionally, the middle portion 207 may include a flange portion 204 and the lower portion 206 may be threaded. The tab portion 204 is optionally placed on top of the clamp assembly 100. The presence of lint, dust and / or oil will restrict at least one opening created by at least one hole or groove 113 forming at least one primary air intake orifice located in the middle portion 207. This will change the characteristics of the flame, including the flame rise, to reduce the temperature of the thermocouple 20. When the temperature detected by the thermocouple 20 is reduced, a safety magnet valve (not shown) will close to stop the flow of gas to the main burner 12. This insert 202 restricts and controls the flow of gas in the pilot burner 10 which provides a small flameto lighten the main burner 12. Referring now to FIGURE 4, there is a cross-sectional top view of the insert 202. The upper portion 201 and an optional portion 204 of the flange are shown. Referring now to FIGURE 5, the cross section of insert 202 includes upper portion 201, optional flange portion 204, and end portion 206. There is an inner chamber 260 which is in fluid communication with the holes or slots 113, ie the primary air intake ports, which extend towards the external surface 262 of the insert 202. The presence of lint, dust and / or or oil will restrict the openings created by the holes or slots 113 so as to prevent air from flowing from the holes or slots 113 to the internal chamber 260. This will cause the flame that heats the thermocouple 20, as shown in FIGURE 1, to contract to the point where the thermocouple 20 no longer effectively heats and the safety magnet valve (not shown) will close to stop the flow of the thermocouple 20. burner gas 12 main. The cross section defined by Line 5-5 shows the holes or grooves 113, ie the primary air intake ports, which extend towards the external surface 262 of the insert 202 to the internal chamber 260. The size of at least one hole or slot 113which functions as primary air intake ports may vary depending on the size and dimensions of the pilot burner 10 and the associated gas-fired device. A cigarette lighter 220 with orifice is placed inside the burner 10, as shown in FIGURE 3. The burner 220 with orifice controls the primary flow of the gas in the pilot burner 10 and restricts the flow of gas. Referring now to FIGURE 8, the orifice burner includes a first side wall 242, a second side wall 244 and a nozzle 246. Referring now to FIGURE 9, the nozzle 246 includes an opening 248. An illustrative example, although non-limiting, an opening 248 includes a first slot 250 and a second slot 252 that is positioned transversely, for example, perpendicular to each other and there is fluid communication between the first slot 250 and a second slot 252, as shown in FIG. FIGURE 10. There is a ball sleeve 222 for providing a compression seal between the burner 220 with a hole and a compression nut 224, as shown in FIGURES 3, 11 and 12. As shown in FIGURE 12, the The ball sleeve may optionally include a triangular portion 261. As shown in FIGURES 3 and 13, there is a compression nut 224to preserve the lighter 220 with hole and the ball sleeve 222. On the other hand, the compression nut 224 provides connection to a gas valve and can compress the ball sleeve 222. The compression nut 224 is operatively attached to the end portion 206 for the insert 202, as shown in FIGURE 2. Preferably, but not necessarily, this connection is through interconnecting threads in the compression nut 224 and the end portion 206 of the insert 202. Referring now to FIGURE 7, the cigarette lighter assembly is generally indicated by the numeral 300. This includes a projection electrode 22 that can be bent to extend toward an opening in the bell 12, as is shown in FIGURE 1. There is an insulator 24 that can secure the electrode 22. An illustrative, but not limiting, insulator 24 may include the ceramic material. The electrode 22 is then covered over the insulator material, for example, TEFLON®. TEFLON® is a federally registered trademark of EI du Pont de Nemours and Company, which has a place of business at 1007 Market Street, Wilmington, Delaware 19898. Insulator 24 can be secured in clamp assembly 100 with a top 310 ring , and a combination of carrier and retainer 306 of electrode. There may be a connector to join a clamp assembly that can support thethermocouple 20, as shown in FIGURE 1. A method for using a pilot burner 10 with one embodiment of the invention is also contemplated. The method includes placing a pilot burner 10 near a thermocouple 20 and a lighter 22 so that when at least one primary air intake port 112 for the pilot burner 10 is partially blocked with at least lint, oil or liquid. powder, then the flame will be contracted or raised to heat the thermocouple 20 to the point where the pilot burner can no longer burn the thermocouple 20 enough to generate enough power to allow a safety magnet valve (not shown) to remain energized and will close the device heated by associated gas, such as the main gas burner 2. While a particular form of the invention has been illustrated and described, it will also be apparent to those skilled in the art that various modifications can be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. Accordingly, the invention is not intended to be limited except by the appended claims.