Lennox Industries Inc.

Middleby Marshall, Incorporated

John H Wiker

John W Whitesitt

Floyd E Cherington

Robert C Beilfuss

James J Mullen

Delbert S Christopher

Hugh E Vinson

Mark R Rakowski

Tony R Baker

David L Armijo

John L Warren

David J Moody

A conveyor oven is heated by inshot burners, which eliminate blowers, ducts, and motors heretofore required to supply a force draft of combustion air to the burners. Apertures in front of the inshot burners have a diameter that regulates the amount of combustion air that is delivered to the burners. The only blower in the oven is the one required to circulate and recirculate hot air within the oven which produces three pressure zones that causes an induced draft of combustion air for the inshot burner. A modulating valve adjusts the flow of gas to the inshot burners.

High efficiency conveyor oven

A combination water heating and space heating apparatus includes a water heating unit and a space heating unit releasably coupled with the water heating unit. The water heating unit has a water storage tank and a helically wound tubular heat exchanger inside the tank for exhausting products of combustion from a combustion chamber located in a top part of the tank and for transferring heat from the products of combustion to the surrounding water. The space heating unit is an air handler with an hydronic heat exchanger coil and a blower for blowing air over the coil. Hot water is supplied from the tank to the coil and is returned to the tank by means of a water circulation pump located in the space heating unit. Air blown over the coil is heated by the hot water flowing over the coil. The water heating unit and the space heating unit are coordinately controlled such that priority is given to the potable hot water supply over space heating in the event that sufficient hot water is not available to satisfy both demands. Further, the water heating unit anticipates the additional demand for hot water in response to a demand for space heating by raising the tank temperature setpoint so that the water heating operation is usually initiated, even if the temperature of the water in the tank was already at the original tank temperature setpoint when the demand for space heating occurred.

Combination water heating and space heating apparatus

A device for inhibiting NOx production is disposed in a gas furnace combustion chamber. The device includes a baffle member for dividing the combustion chamber into first and second regions. A fuel-rich mixture of gas and primary combustion air is ignited by an inshot burner and the flame is drawn into the combustion chamber by an induced draft blower along with secondary combustion air. The combustion chamber is configured such that in the first region (i.e., upstream of the baffle member) turbulent mixing of the secondary combustion air with the flame is inhibited to maintain a relatively gas-rich flame. The baffle member channels the flame and secondary combustion air into a convergent flow path and the passage of the flame and secondary combustion air over the baffle member creates turbulence, which enhances mixing between the flame and secondary combustion air in the second region of the combustion chamber (i.e., downstream of the baffle member). The turbulent mixing effects substantially complete combustion of the gas/air mixture. Because the turbulent mixing occurs at a location farther along the flame path in the combustion chamber than in conventional gas furnaces, the flame temperature remains relatively low throughout the combustion chamber, thereby inhibiting NOx production.

NOx reduction device

Growing community of inventors

Plainfield, IL, United States of America

John H Wiker