The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document.
The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge covers the following: Patent number, Date patent was issued, Date patent was filed, Title of the patent, Applicant, Inventor, Assignee, Attorney firm, Primary examiner, Assistant examiner, CPCs, and Abstract. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document (in Adobe Acrobat format, aka pdf). To download or print any patent click here.
Patent No.:
Date of Patent:
Aug. 24, 1999
Filed:
Nov. 06, 1998
Applicant:
Inventor:
Barry N Jackson, Woodbury, MN (US);
Assignee:
Water Heater Innovations, Inc., Eagan, MN (US);
Attorney:
Primary Examiner:
Assistant Examiner:
Int. Cl.
CPC ...
H05B / ; H05B / ;
U.S. Cl.
CPC ...
392497 ; 392451 ; 392457 ; 219481 ;
Abstract
An improvement in electrical elements for a water heater includes a mass attached to the element for reducing the deposition of hard water scale on element surfaces, particularly in the return bend areas. In one embodiment, a flow accelerator tube encloses the element. The flow accelerator tube has an inlet at one end and an outlet at a higher elevation at the opposite end. Water is induced to flow through the tube because of temperature change. In another embodiment, a solid mass with high surface area encloses the return bend areas to increase heat transfer at a lower temperature to reduce scaling and increase element life.