Rheem Manufacturing Company

Joey W Huffaker

Scott Alan Willbanks

John T Knight

Shawn Allan Reed

Robert Steven Neihouse

Seung-Ho Kim

Daniel Ryan Schmalz

Robert I Kepesky

Kevin Thompson

Michael B Rinke

Kenneth F Thereau

Richard J Bazzo

Carl O Howerton, Jr

Jacob J Verderber, Jr, Deceased

A high-efficiency modulating gas furnace (herein 'gas furnace') includes a furnace controller. The gas furnace further includes a gas valve and at least one pressure switch that is coupled to the furnace controller. The electrical contacts of the at least one pressure switch are removed from a series electrical circuit with the gas valve such that the gas furnace operates without de-energizing the gas valve as soon as the electrical contacts of the at least one pressure switch are opened. Further, the furnace controller operates the induced draft blower at or close to a lowest RPM at which the electrical contacts of the at least one pressure switch can be kept closed, which is between a make point RPM at which the electrical contacts of the at least one pressure switch close and a break point RPM at which the electrical contacts of the at least one pressure switch open.

High efficiency modulating gas furnace

A fuel-fired, forced draft air heating furnace is provided with a draft inducer fan structure which substantially reduces the operational noise of the furnace. The draft inducer fan is disposed within a sealed burner vestibule area of the furnace and is provided with an auxiliary fan blade structure mounted on its drive shaft in a spaced relationship with its main fan impeller. The auxiliary fan blade structure and the fan motor are disposed within an open-ended air transfer duct structure coupled to an air inlet opening in an exterior wall portion of the vestibule. During operation of the draft inducer fan, combustion air is drawn inwardly through the transfer duct structure, across the inducer fan motor, and into the vestibule for supply to the furnace burner section. The use of the transfer duct structure and auxiliary fan blade structure serves to cool the fan motor, preheat the combustion air, and reduce the overall operational noise of the furnace. A baffle plate member is placed in a shielding relationship with the burner structure to inhibit burner flame flickering that might otherwise be caused by combustion air impingement with the burner flames.

Furnace with combustion air-cooled draft inducer fan

A multiple inshot-type gas burner structure is formed from a pair of facing, intersecured stamper sheet metal plates. A spaced plurality of parallel, rectangularly cross-sectioned burner bodies are defined by facing triangular indentation pairs in the plates and have, at front outlet end portions thereof, side indentations which serve to mix air and gaseous fuel received at rear end portions of the burner bodies, and to divert a portion of the fuel/air mixture into crossover channels intercommunicating front interior portions of the burner bodies. The crossover channels have central arcuate closed portions that cooperate with progressively sized standoff dimples extending between opposite wall portions of the channels to provide an even crossover flame pattern along the outlet slot section of each channel. At the outlet end of each burner are four flame retention tabs which are transverse to the flow axis of the burner body and serve to prevent induced secondary combustion air from causing undesirable main flame liftoff. Originally rectangular inlet end portions of the burner bodies are laterally inwardly deformed to define generally circular sections that receive and firmly hold hexagonal gas supply orifice fittings mounted on a gas supply manifold pipe. Immediately forward of these deformed circular sections a plurality of primary air inlet openings are formed through the burner body walls.

Two piece multiple inshot-type fuel burner structure

A fuel fired, forced air, draft induced heating furnace is provided with NOx reduction apparatus associated with a plurality of combustor tubes forming a portion of its heat exchanger structure. In-shot type fuel burners are spaced apart from and face the open inlet ends of horizontal combustion sections of the combustor tubes. The NOx reduction apparatus includes a plurality of insert members received in inlet end portions of the combustor tubes. Each insert member is formed from a single sheet of metal mesh material and has a hollow, open-ended body portion coaxially received in its associated combustor tube and spaced laterally inwardly from its interior side surface, and a circumferentially spaced plurality of integral, laterally outwardly projecting support rib portions that slidably engage the interior side surface of the combustor tube, thereby automatically maintaining the insert member in a coaxial relationship with the combustor tube regardless of the positional orientation of the tube. To axially retain the insert within the combustor tube, an end portion of one of the centering ribs has a lateral notch that receives a rod anchored to and extending transversely across the inlet end portion of the combustor tube.

Inshot fuel burner Nox reduction device with integral positioning

Growing community of inventors

Rudy, AR, United States of America

Joey W Huffaker