FORM 2
THE PATENTS ACT, 1970
(39 OF 1970)
As amended by the Patents (Amendment) Act, 2005
&
The Patents Rules, 2003
As amended by the Patents (Amendment) Rules, 2006
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION
(See section 10 and rule 13)
TITLE OF THE INVENTION
A water heater tank assembly and heating element for multi-oriented
mounting and increased heating efficiency
APPLICANT (S)
Crompton Greaves Limited, CG House, Dr Annie Besant Road, Worli, Mumbai 400 030, Maharashtra, India, an Indian Company
INVENTOR (S)
Upadhyay Pankaj; of Crompton Greaves Ltd, Industrial Design Centre, CG Global R&D Centre, Kanjur Marg (East), Mumbai - 400042, Maharashtra, India, and Garg Damodar; of Crompton Greaves Ltd, Reliability Centre, Global R&D, Kanjur Marg (East), Mumbai - 400042, Maharashtra, India; both Indian Nationals.
PREAMBLE TO THE DESCRIPTION:
The following specification particularly describes the nature of this invention and the manner in which it is to be performed:

Field of the Invention:
This invention relates to the field of mechanical and thermal engineering.
Particularly, this invention relates to a water heating assembly.
Background of the Invention:
Water heating is a thermodynamic process using an energy source to heat water above its initial temperature. Typical domestic uses of hot water are for cooking, cleaning, bathing, and space heating. In industry, both hot water and water heated to steam have many uses.
Domestically, water is traditionally heated in vessels known as water heaters, kettles, cauldrons, pots, or coppers. These metal vessels heat a batch of water but do not produce a continual supply of heated water at a preset temperature. The temperature will vary based on the consumption rate of hot water, use more and the water becomes cooler.
Appliances for providing a more-or-less constant supply of hot water are variously known as water heaters, hot water heaters, hot water tanks,. boilers, heat exchangers, calorifiers, or geysers depending on whether they are heating potable or non-potable water, in domestic or industrial use, their energy source, and in which part of the world they are found. In domestic installations, portable water heated for uses other than space heating is sometimes known as domestic hot water.

Specifically water heaters or water boiler employed in bathrooms for a larger disposal of hot water are the subject matter of this invention.
A typical water heater tank assembly is as shown in Figure 1 of the accompanying drawings (sectional view). As it is seen, the oil tank shape of the tank looks relatively bulkier. The mounting of the base plate (12) which supports heating element (14) is from the bottom of the tank. The heating element shown is of tube shape and accommodates a much lesser length of the heating part for the height inside the tank. Since hot water rises up to replace the colder water, the outlet pipe (16) allows the heated water to exit out of the tank from the opening at the top. Cold water enters the tank through the inlet pipe (17) at the bottom of the tank. A pocket for thermostat is shown by reference numeral 18, adjacent to which is the anodic MG rod (19).
Objects of the Invention:
An object of the invention is to minimize the overall bulk of a water heater assembly.
Another object of the invention is to provide a water heater which may be vertically mounted as well as be horizontally mounted without changing the internal component disposition.
Yet another object of the invention is to provide a water heater with relatively better heating efficiency.

Still another object of the invention is to provide a water heater which could be floor mounted as well as be wall mounted.
An additional object of the invention is to provide a water heater which includes a design of a tank for achieving concealed piping.
Yet an additional object of the invention is to provide a water heater assembly with relatively better aesthetics.
Still an additional object of the invention is to provide a water heater assembly which has reduction in overall visual bulk and thickness of the water heater.
Another additional object of the invention is to provide a water heater assembly with relatively easier access to internal components during on the spot servicing of the water heater assembly.
Still another object of the invention is to reduce the chances of leakage from a water heater assembly.
Summary of the Invention:
According to this invention, there is provided a water heater tank assembly and heating element for multi-oriented mounting and increased heating efficiency, said assembly including a tank assembly adapted to serves as the insulated casing and the general body for said water heater assembly, said tank assembly being a substantially disc shaped assembly, having a front face disc and a co-axial back face disc, said tank assembly with a pre-defined depth allowing it to store water of

pre-calculated capacity and further allowing it to encompass suitably positioned heating elements, said heating elements comprises:
a. heating element assembly plate adapted to provide a fixation support for the
components relating to said heating element incorporated in said tank
assembly, said heating element assembly plate being installed on said front
face disc and being concentric to said front disc face;
b. an angularly inserted heating element from an operative lower portion of
said operative back disc side, said heating element adapted to occupy an
inclined portion from said operative lower portion of one (back) side to a
portion on said heating element assembly plate which is approximately an
intermittent portion on the other (front) side in an angularly transverse
disposition with the portion as defined by said lower portion to the start of
said heating element being the heating zone for heating water in
communication with the heating element in that zone;
c. an Mg anodic rod and a thermal cut-off pocket being installed on said
heating element assembly plate; and
d. inlet and outlet pipes, towards the rear (back face) of said tank assembly,
being positioned at diametrically opposite points to hide them from front
view.
Preferably, maximum depth of said tank assembly is about 34 % to 35 % of diameter of said tank assembly from the front.
Typically, width of said tank assembly is considerably more than the depth of said tank assembly.

Typically, said tank assembly includes mounting brackets located on the back face of said tank assembly, for installation.
Typically, said tank assembly includes plates for fixation of heating element assembly plate on to said tank assembly.
Typically, said heating element is a spiral heating element.
Typically, said assembly includes a pipe for allowing insertion of thermostat, on said heating assembly plate.
Typically, said assembly includes an indentation for a thermal sensor provisioned on the back face of the disc shaped assembly.
Typically, said assembly includes a portion defined from the uppermost tip of the spiral element which is the non-heating zone.
Typically, said heating element includes a spiral heating wire.
Preferably, said heating element includes a spiral NiCr heating wire.
Typically, said assembly includes flexible pipe extensions used to connect said inlet pipe and said outlet pipe of said assembly with water flow pipes in the building plumbing.
Alternatively, said heating element includes a spiral stainless steel body containing the heating wire.

Brief Description of the Accompanying Drawings:
Figure la and lb illustrates sectional views of the water heating assembly of the prior art. Figure lc illustrates a front view of the water heating assembly of the prior art.
The invention will now be described in relation to the accompanying drawings, in which:
Figure 2 illustrates a top 3/4th isometric view of a water heater tank assembly and heating element for multi-oriented mounting and increased heating efficiency;
Figure 3 illustrates a bottom 3/4th view of the water heater tank assembly of Figure
2;
Figure 4 illustrates a back view of the water heater tank assembly of Figure 2; Figure 5 illustrates a section view of the water heater tank assembly of Figure 2;
Figure 6 illustrates a cut-section view of the water heater tank assembly of Figure
2;
Figure 7 illustrates an isometric view of a heating element sub-assembly of the water heater tank assembly of Figure 2;

Figure 8 illustrates a side view of a heating element sub-assembly of the water heater tank assembly of Figure 2;
Figure 9 illustrates a sectional view of water heater tank assembly of Figure 2;
Figure 1 Oa illustrates the water heater tank assembly of Figure 2 in its vertical mounting configuration;
Figure 10b illustrates the water heater tank assembly of Figure 2 in its horizontal mounting configuration; and
Figure 11 illustrates a graphical comparison of the heating efficiency of the water heater assembly of the prior art versus the heating efficiency of the water heater assembly of the current invention.
Detailed Description of the Accompanying Drawings:
According to this invention, there is provided a water heater tank assembly and heating element for multi-oriented mounting and increased heating efficiency
Figure 2 illustrates a top 3/4th isometric view of a water heater tank assembly and heating element for multi-oriented mounting and increased heating efficiency. Figure 3 illustrates a bottom 3/4th view of the water heater tank assembly of Figure 2. Figure 4 illustrates a back view of the water heater tank assembly of Figure 2. Figure 5 illustrates a section view of the water heater tank assembly of Figure 2. Figure 6 illustrates a cut-section view of the water heater tank assembly of Figure

Figure 7 illustrates an isometric view of a heating element sub-assembly of the water heater tank assembly of Figure 2. Figure 8 illustrates a side view of a heating element sub-assembly of the water heater tank assembly of Figure 2.
Figure 9 illustrates a sectional view of water heater tank assembly of Figure 2.
Typically, the water heating and storage tank assemblies for use, according to this invention are 15 litre and 25 litre capacity domestic water heaters.
In accordance with an embodiment of this invention, the water heater assembly includes a tank assembly (22) which serves as the insulated casing and the general body for the water heater assembly. It is a substantially disc shaped assembly with a pre-defined depth which allows it to store water of the defined capacity and rating and further allows it to encompass suitably positioned heating elements. Reference numeral 24 represents illustrative mounting brackets for installation.
The shape of the design of the tank causes the reduction in the overall visual bulk and thickness of the water heater. This is because the maximum depth of the tank is 34 to 35 percent of diameter of the tank from the front. The previous tanks used to have an oil tank shaped design with the heating element at the bottom. The oil tank shape created the illusion of bulk because the width and the depth of the final outer body would have a very small difference. With this new tank design the final outer body can have a width that is considerably more than the depth, thus it creates the illusion of reduced bulk due to its proportions.

The tank assembly consists of this unique design and shape of the storage tank for minimizing the overall bulk of the final product, a unique design of the heating element for better heating efficiency. In the water heaters of the prior art, the heating element has to be suitably changed for it to be mount into different configurations. In the assembly of the current invention, the structure and the elements are so arranged that the water heater could be floor mounted as well as wall mounted without any changes to any of the internal components.
It is a tank design assembly for water heater where the design of the heater is for higher efficiency of heating, where the design of the tank is for achieving concealed piping, and where the design of the assembly is to achieve floor and vertical mount without any changes to internal components.
In accordance with another embodiment of this invention, there is provided a heating element assembly plate (21) adapted to provide a fixation support for the components relating to the heating element incorporated in the tank assembly. There is a front face disc of the tank assembly and a back face disc of the tank assembly. The heating element assembly plate is installed on the front face disc and is substantially concentric to the front disc face. Reference numeral 33 (as shown in Figure 9 of the accompanying drawings illustrate plates for fixation of heating element assembly plate on to the tank assembly.
In accordance with yet another embodiment of this invention, there is provided an angularly inserted heating element (25) from an operative lower portion of said operative back disc side, said heating element adapted to occupy an inclined portion from the operative lower portion of one side to a portion on said heating element assembly plate which is approximately an intermittent portion on the other

(front) side in an angularly transverse disposition. The heating element is typically a spiral heating element. A spiral heating element has been proved to be more efficient than the straight ones. The portion as defined by the lower portion to the start of the spiral element is the heating zone (32) i.e. where heated water is formed due to its contact with the heating element. The water heater assembly, according to this invention, uses a specially modified heating element to make use of the capabilities of the spiral design and provide a space inside the spiral so that a turbulent flow of water can remove the scaling. There is also an inlet pipe (28) at an operative outer end located outside the back disc face of the assembly.
The portion defined from the uppermost tip of the spiral element is the non-heating zone (34).
Further, an Mg anodic rod (27) and a thermal cut-off pocket (29) are installed on the heating element assembly plate (21). A pipe (31) for allowing insertion of thermostat can be seen in Figure 7 of the accompanying drawings which illustrates the heating element. Reference numeral 37 refers to an indentation for a thermal sensor provisioned on the back face of the disc shaped assembly in Figure 9 of the accompanying drawings.
The heating element consists of a heating zone and a non heating zone, which helps to place the heating part of the element in the correct portion on the stored water (the cold zone). The heating element, being spiral in nature, can accommodate a greater length of heating wire (NiCr wire); this in turn produces better heating efficiency than the straight heating element.

During normal heating, the cold water in the tank is at the bottom of the tank due to the difference of density and as the water is heated, it rises up. Thus, for practical purposes, the heating should always happen in the zone where there is cold water. Achieving this for both the vertical mounted and horizontal mounted water heater without changing any of the internal components is a challenge. This has been tackled by changing the shape of the heating element, which has been designed so that the heating portion is always on the cold zone when mounting the water heater on the wall or on the floor- The shape of the heating element is such that the cylindrical cavity created at the centre axis of the spiral is to accommodate a turbulent flow of water to remove scaling from the heating element.
It is to be noted that only the part of the heating element which is at the heating zone generates the heat. The heating element has two portions, one is a non-heating zone the other is the heating zone. The heating element is designed such that the heating zone is always submerged inthe lower half of the stored water in the tank. This is true in when the water heatef assembly of this invention is mounted vertically on the wall or horizontally or the floor, without any changes to any of the internal components.
The water heater assembly of this invention facilitates the chances of having completely concealed plumbing and piping to the water heater. In the water heaters of the prior art, the pipes generally extrude out of the body and disrupt the aesthetics of the heater. Thus the positioning of the inlet and outlet of the piping has been done such that they are not visible from the front of the water heater.
The mounting of the heating element assembly on the front of the tank provides for easier access during on the spot servicing of the water heater. Generally for

removing of internal elements of the water heater assemblies of the prior art, the service person has to first remove the water heater from its mounting point and then remove the internal components. With this design and configuration of the current invention, the heater element is on the opposite side of the mounting bracket. Thus the service person need not necessarily take the device off the mounts to access the heating element assembly.
Inlet (28) and outlet pipes (23) are towards the rear (back face) of the tank and positioned at diametrically opposite points to hide them from view when the complete product is assembled. Furthermore, flexible pipe extensions are used to connect these inlet and outlet sections of the tank with the water flow pipes in the building plumbing.
The current design also reduces the chances of leakage because the weight of the water does not act on the base plate fasteners. The only force that the base plate assembly will have to act against will be the pressure created by the held water. In the prior art, the base assembly plate would be required to hold against the pressure generated by the water as well as the weight of water volume held inside the tank.
Figure 10a illustrates the water heater tank assembly of Figure 2 in its vertical mounting configuration. Figure 10b illustrates the water heater tank assembly of Figure 2 in its horizontal mounting configuration. It can be seen that in either of the configurations, a larger portion of the heating element (25) is always in the cold water zone i.e. the portion where dense cold water would reside in order to get heated up.

Figure 11 illustrates a graphical comparison of the heating efficiency of the water heater assembly of the prior art versus the heating efficiency of the water heater assembly of the current invention. X-axis represents the time axis. Y-axis represents the temperature axis.
The graph shows the experimental data obtained by testing a copper (Cu) heating element (prior art water heater assembly) against the designed water heater assembly of the current invention, for heating efficiency. The Cu heating element and the designed stainless steel (SS) heating element were of same wattage (2kW). The SS design for 2 kW heating element accommodates at the same length of the heating wire but is spread over a larger space (by virtue of the spiral design), therefore reducing the wattage per centimeter square. This is the reason for the increase in the efficiency. Also, changing the material from Cu to SS can potentially reduce the cost of manufacture of the heating element.
Table 1 below illustrates observed temperatures at discrete time intervals for analyzing the heating efficiency of the water heater assembly of the prior art versus the heating efficiency of the water heater assembly of the current invention.

Time (min) Temperature (°C)

2kW Copper heating element (Prior art) 2kW Current Invention heating element
0 29 29
15 60 70
25 71 83
30 76 89

40
85 94
45 88 95
50 90 96
55 92 97
60 93 97
It can be seen clearly that, over the passage of time, for the same power rating 2kW) ,the current invention scores higher temperatures at observed discrete time intervals as compared to the prior art.
While this detailed description has disclosed certain specific embodiments of the present invention for illustrative purposes, various modifications will be apparent to those skilled in the art which do not constitute departures from the spirit and scope of the invention as defined in the following claims, and it is to be distinctly understood that the foregoing descriptive matter is to be interpreted merely as illustrative of the invention and not as a limitation.

We claim,
1. A water heater tank assembly and heating element for multi-oriented mounting and increased heating efficiency, said assembly including a tank assembly adapted to serves as the insulated casing and the general body for said water heater assembly, said tank assembly being a substantially disc shaped assembly, having a front face disc and a co-axial back face disc, said tank assembly with a pre-defined depth allowing it to store water of pre-calculated capacity and further allowing it to encompass suitably positioned heating elements, said heating elements comprising:
a. heating element assembly plate adapted to provide a fixation support for the
components relating to said heating element incorporated in said tank
assembly, said heating element assembly plate being installed on said front
face disc and being concentric to said front disc face;
b. an angularly inserted heating element from an operative lower portion of
said operative back disc side, said heating element adapted to occupy an
inclined portion from said operative lower portion of one (back) side to a
portion on said heating element assembly plate which is approximately an
intermittent portion on the other (front) side in an angularly transverse
disposition with the portion as defined by said lower portion to the start of
said heating element being the heating zone for heating water in
communication with the heating element in that zone;
c. an Mg anodic rod and a thermal cut-off pocket being installed on said
heating element assembly plate; and
d. Inlet and outlet pipes, towards the rear (back face) of said tank assembly,
being positioned at diametrically opposite points to hide them from front
view.

2. An assembly as claimed in claim 1 wherein, maximum depth of said tank assembly is about 34 % to 35 % of diameter of said tank assembly from the front.
3. An assembly as claimed in claim 1 wherein, width of said tank assembly is considerably more than the depth of said tank assembly.
4. An assembly as claimed in claim 1 wherein, said tank assembly includes mounting brackets located on the back face of said tank assembly, for installation.
5. An assembly as claimed in claim 1 wherein, said tank assembly includes plates for fixation of heating element assembly plate on to said tank assembly.
6. An assembly as claimed in claim 1 wherein, said heating element is a spiral heating element.
7. An assembly as claimed in claim 1 wherein, said assembly includes a pipe for allowing insertion of thermostat, on said heating assembly plate.
8. An assembly as claimed in claim 1 wherein, said assembly includes an indentation for a thermal sensor provisioned on the back face of the disc shaped assembly.
9. An assembly as claimed in claim 1 wherein, said assembly includes a portion defined from the uppermost tip of the spiral element which is the non-heating zone.

10.An assembly as claimed in claim 1 wherein, said heating element includes a spiral heating wire.
11 .An assembly as claimed in claim 1 wherein, said heating element includes a spiral NiCr heating wire.
12.An assembly as claimed in claim 1 wherein, said heating element includes a spiral stainless steel body containing the heating wire.
13.An assembly as claimed in claim 1 wherein, said assembly includes flexible pipe extensions used to connect said inlet pipe and said outlet pipe of said assembly with water flow pipes in the building plumbing.