Patent US4438759A successfully refreshed from Google Patents.
← Back to Patent Explorer
US4438759A Expired / Lapsed US ⏱️ 0.0 years remaining

Heat-pipe type solar water heater

Assignee: Panasonic Holdings Corp
•
Filing: 1981-12-10
•
Granted: 1984-03-27
•
Expires: 2001-12-10
📄 Original PDF 🌐 Google Patents 🔄 Sync Now

Abstract

Abstract A heat-pipe type solar collector comprises as its principal portion a plurality of heat pipes arranged in parallel with each other and having vaporizing portions and condensing portions, and a plurality of heat collector plates traversing the heat pipes and arranged in parallel with each other, the vaporizing portion of each heat pipe penetrating through and fixedly mounted to the collector plates in intimate heat conductive relation therewith, and each collector plate having a lower portion bent substantially perpendicular to the remaining portion to cover a space between itself and an adjacent collector plate. According to this arrangement, solar heat can be effectively collected by the collector plates and transmitted to the heat pipes with a negligible heat loss. Thus the heat collecting efficiency of the water heater can be remarkably enhanced.

Inventors

  • 👤 Soichi Kitajima
  • 👤 Kazuyuki Iwamura
  • 👤 Yasuhiko Takeda

Bibliographic Details

Application Number —
Jurisdiction US
Data Source google_patents
Last Synchronized 2026-11-05 22:49
CPC Classifications
F; F24; F24S; F24S23/00; F24S23/70; F24S23/77; F24S10/00; F24S10/70; F24S10/75; F24S10/753; F24S10/90; F24S10/95; F24S40/00; F24S40/40; F24S40/44; F24S60/00; F24S60/30; F24S2010/751; Y; Y02; Y02B; Y02B10/00; Y02B10/20; Y02E; Y02E10/00; Y02E10/40; Y02E10/44

Claims Analysis

Total Claims: 6
Claim 1
Independent Claim 150 words
A heat-pipe type solar water heater comprising: a main housing; a plurality of heat pipes arranged longitudinally of said housing and having vaporizing portions and condensing portions, said vaporizing portions being positioned inside said housing and said condensing portions projecting out from one end of said housing; a heat exchange tank mounted to said one end of said housing for enclosing said condensing portions and a plurality of heat collector plates arranged inside said housing in intersecting relation with said heat pipes, each heat collector plate having an upper portion formed with holes each provided with an annular flange integral with the collector plate and a lower portion bent substantially perpendicular to said upper portion to cover a space between itself and an adjacent collector plate, the vaporizing portion of each heat pipe penetrating said collector plates through corresponding holes and flanges in intimate fixed and heat conductive contact therewith.
Claim 2
Dependent Claim 150 words
A heat-pipe type solar water heater comprising: a main housing; a plurality of heat pipes arranged longitudinally of said housing and having vaporizing portions and condensing portions, said vaporizing portions being positioned inside said housing and said condensing portions projecting out from one end of said housing; a heat exchange tank mounted to said one end of said housing for enclosing said condensing portions and a plurality of heat collector plates arranged inside said housing in intersecting relation with said heat pipes, each heat collector plate having an upper portion formed with holes each provided with an annular flange integral with the collector plate and a lower portion bent substantially perpendicular to said upper portion to cover a space between itself and an adjacent collector plate, the vaporizing portion of each heat pipe penetrating said collector plates through corresponding holes and flanges in intimate fixed and heat conductive contact therewith.
Claim 3
Dependent Claim 48 words
A solar water heater as defined in claim 1 wherein said main housing includes a base plate and said vaporizing portions are supported by said base plate through said collector plates, said lower bent portions of said collector plates engaging a heat insulator carried by said base plate.
Claim 4
Dependent Claim 46 words
A solar water heater as defined in claim 1 wherein the bent portion of each collector plate is arranged with respect to said vaporizing portions of the pipes so that solar radiation reflected by the bent portion tends to directly heat the vaporizing portions from below.
Claim 5
Dependent Claim 24 words
A solar water heater as defined in claim 1 wherein said heat exchange tank is provided in the form of a hot water tank.
Claim 6
Dependent Claim 67 words
A solar water heater as defined in claim 1 wherein said main housing is slantingly arranged so that said one end of the housing is raised relative to the other end, the lower portion of each collector plate being bent toward said other end of the main housing in a manner such that a small gap is formed between the bent portion and an adjacent collector plate.

References Cited (Backward Citations)

US3915147A Cited
US3889745A Cited
US4059093A Cited
US4088117A Cited
US4083359A Cited
US4064868A Cited
DE2902088A1 Cited
US4306543A Cited
US4217882A Cited
US4240405A Cited
US4307712A Cited

USPTO Annuity & Maintenance Windows

Annuity Stage Window Opens Payment Deadline Surcharge Period Until Estimated Fee Status
3.5 Years (Year 4) 1987-03-27 1987-09-26 1988-03-27 $2000.00 Window Closed / Lapsed
7.5 Years (Year 8) 1991-03-27 1991-09-26 1992-03-27 $3760.00 Window Closed / Lapsed
11.5 Years (Year 12) 1995-03-27 1995-09-26 1996-03-27 $7700.00 Window Closed / Lapsed

Assigned Categories & Tags

No categories assigned to this patent yet.

Assign Category Tag