Condensate Trap

Description

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application claims the benefit of U.S. Application No. 63/719,932, filed Nov. 13, 2024, the entirety of which is hereby incorporated by reference.

TECHNICAL FIELD

This application relates generally to heating appliances, and more particularly to a condensate trap for heating appliances.

BACKGROUND

A condensate trap may be an apparatus that is configured to collect and remove excess condensate that is produced during the operation of a heating appliance. However, some existing condensate traps are made from a plastic material and include barbed fittings that may crack when tightened by technicians or other human operators.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The detailed description is set forth with reference to the accompanying drawings. In some instances, the use of the same reference numerals may indicate similar or identical items. Various embodiments may utilize elements and/or components other than those illustrated in the drawings, and some elements and/or components may not be present in various embodiments. Throughout this disclosure, depending on the context, singular and plural terminology may be used interchangeably.

FIGS. 1A-1B illustrate an exemplary condensate trap, in accordance with one or more embodiments of the disclosure.

FIG. 2A illustrates an exemplary heating appliance including a condensate trap, in accordance with one or more embodiments of the disclosure.

FIGS. 2B-2C illustrate a close-up view of the exemplary condensate trap within the heating appliance of FIG. 2A, in accordance with one or more embodiments of the disclosure.

FIG. 3A illustrates a cross-section view of the condensate trap of FIGS. 1A-1B, in accordance with one or more embodiments of the disclosure.

FIGS. 3B-3C illustrate top-down views of the condensate trap of FIGS. 1A-1B with the top cap removed, in accordance with one or more embodiments of the disclosure.

FIGS. 4A-4C illustrate various views of the top cap of a condensate trap, in accordance with one or more embodiments of the disclosure.

FIGS. 5A-5E illustrate various views of the body of a condensate trap, in accordance with one or more embodiments of the disclosure.

FIGS. 6A-6C illustrate various views of another condensate trap, in accordance with one or more embodiments of the disclosure.

FIGS. 7A-7C illustrate various views of the top cap of a condensate trap of FIGS. 6A-6C, in accordance with one or more embodiments of the disclosure.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Described herein is an improved condensate trap. The condensate trap may be used in a heating appliance, which may generally refer to any system configured to produce a heated fluid, such as a water heater, a boiler, a pool heater, etc. A heating appliance may be used in residential or commercial applications. However, the condensate trap described herein may also be applicable to other types of use cases in which condensate is produced. As another non-limiting example, a heating appliance may also be a system that is configured to heat and/or cool the air in a conditioned space, such as a heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) system. Non-limiting examples of such systems may include heat pumps, gas furnaces, air conditioning systems, etc. Thus, any reference herein to a “heating appliance” is merely exemplary and not intended to be limiting. The heating appliance or other type of system may be used in residential or commercial environments.

The condensate trap may be configured to collect and remove excess condensate that is produced during the operation of the heating appliance. In some instances, this condensate may be produced by a heat exchanger of the heating appliance as a byproduct of the operation of the heat exchanger, however, condensate may also be produced by other components of the heating appliance as well (or may accumulate from the environment). It may be undesirable for the condensate to accumulate within the heating appliance as the condensate could potentially damage the internal components of the heating appliance, such as electronic components, for example (and it may otherwise generally be undesirable for condensate accumulation to occur within the heating appliance).

As indicated above, some existing condensate traps may be made from a material, such as plastic, that has the potential to be damaged during installation. To address these potential deficiencies with existing condensate traps, the improved condensate trap described herein is a two-piece design that does not use barbed fittings used in these existing condensate traps.

In contrast, the improved condensate trap described herein may include a body and a top cap that may be removably attached to the top of the body by providing fasteners through fastener apertures on the top cap and corresponding fastener apertures on the body (however, the top cap may also be secured to the body in other ways as well). In some embodiments, the top cap and body may be configured such that the top cap may be re-orientated in 90-degree increments relative to the body, up to 360 degrees. This allows the condensate trap to be re-oriented for use in different use cases with different types of heating appliances. For example, the top cap may be provided in a certain orientation to more easily connect an inlet tube between the heat exchanger and the inlet (described below) of the condensate trap. As is described in further detail below, the 90-degree increments are merely exemplary and more granular orientation adjustments may also be possible depending on the configuration of the top cap and the body.

The condensate trap may include an inlet and an outlet. The inlet may be in fluid communication with the heat exchanger and may be configured to receive condensate produced as a byproduct of the heat exchange process. For example, an inlet tube may be connected between the heat exchanger and the inlet of the condensate trap such that the condensate produced by the heat exchanger is directed to the condensate trap via the inlet tube. The condensate may then enter into an internal cavity of the body and may accumulate within the body. The condensate trap may also be configured to receive the condensate from the heat exchanger in any other suitable manner.

The internal cavity of the body may include a bottom surface including a first portion and a second portion that is raised above the first portion. As condensate enters the internal cavity, the condensate accumulates on the first portion until the condensate level reaches the height of the second portion. An outlet port of the condensate trap may be provided on the second portion such that condensate that reaches the second portion may begin to drain from the condensate trap via the outlet port. The outlet port may be aligned with the outlet of the condensate trap. The outlet may be a length of pipe (or other type of structure) that extends outward from the condensate trap such that the condensate is directed away from the condensate trap. An outlet tube may be connected to the outlet. In some embodiments, the outlet tube may be connected to a neutralizer. The condensate produced by the heat exchanger may be at least partially acidic, and thus the neutralizer may receive and neutralize the condensate before the condensate is released to the environment.

Also provided within the internal cavity and over the outlet port may be a ball. For example, the ball may be a polypropylene ball, however, the ball may be made from other types of materials as well. The ball may be sized such that when the ball rests over the outlet port, gases and fluids are prevented from escaping the condensate trap via the outlet port. However, the ball is also configured to float on top of a fluid, such as condensate. As the condensate accumulates within the condensate trap at the first portion, the condensate eventually reaches the height of the second portion and begins to accumulate above the second portion. This accumulation above the second portion causes the ball to float above the outlet port, allowing at least some of the condensate to drain from the condensate trap via the outlet port, which is no longer covered by the ball. When the height of the accumulated condensate drops below the height of the second portion, the ball no longer floats and returns to cover the outlet port.

To prevent the ball from rolling away from the outlet port and the second portion, one or more vertical standoffs may be provided around the ball. For example, these standoffs may be attached to, or formed as a part of, the second portion. The ball may also be prevented from rolling away from the outlet port using any other suitable mechanism.

The ball not only serves to selectively allow for the condensate to exit the condensate trap once a certain amount of condensate has accumulated but also prevents undesirable flue gases (or other gases or fluids) from exiting the system via the condensate trap. For example, when there is a flue blockage on the exhaust side of the heat exchanger, flue gases may flow into the condensate trap via the inlet. However, this generates back pressure within the condensate trap, which pushes the ball down against the outlet port and prevents the flue gases from exiting the condensate trap and entering the environment. The ball is merely one example of a manner by which the condensate may be selectively drained from the condensate trap (while preventing flue gases from escaping) and this may be accomplished in any other suitable manner.

The condensate trap may also include a float switch provided within the internal cavity of the condensate trap. The float switch may be positioned at a pre-determined height within the condensate trap above the first portion of the bottom surface where the condensate initially accumulates. If there is a block in the outlet of the condensate trap and the condensate, then condensate may continue accumulating within the condensate trap and may be unable to drain from the condensate trap. The float switch is provided such that once the condensate accumulation reaches the height of the float switch, the float switch is triggered. The heating appliance controller may then turn off the heating appliance or take any other type of suitable remediating action to prevent further accumulation of condensate within the condensate trap.

The condensate trap may also include an exhaust port that allows pressure in the body of the condensate trap to be relieved as the condensate accumulates within the condensate trap. For example, this exhaust port may be provided on the top cap of the condensate trap, however, other locations may also be possible. Without this exhaust port, the internal cavity of the body may pressurize and prevent the ball from floating when the condensate accumulation reaches the second portion where the ball resides on top of the outlet port. However, other suitable mechanisms may also be used to de-pressurize the internal cavity of the condensate trap as well.

Turning to the figures, FIGS. 1A-1B illustrate an exemplary condensate trap 100. The condensate trap 100 may include a top cap 102 and a body 104. Although the top cap 102 and the body 104 are shown as being generally cylindrical in shape, this is merely exemplary and other shapes may also be possible. As shown in FIGS. 1A-1B, the top cap 102 may be removably attached to the body 104 using one or more fasteners (for example, fasteners 112, 113, 114, and 116). That is, the top cap 102 may include one or more fastener apertures and the body 104 may include corresponding fastener apertures. Thus, when the top cap 102 is provided on the body 104 and the fastener apertures on the top cap 102 and the fastener apertures on the body 104 are aligned, the fasteners may be provided through the fastener apertures on the top cap 102 and the fastener apertures on the body 104 to secure the top cap 102 to the body 104.

Given that there are multiple fastener apertures on the top cap 102 and the body 104, there exist multiple orientations in which the top cap 102 may be secured to the body 104. This is advantageous because it allows for the condensate trap 100 to be adopted for use with different configurations of heating appliances. For example, given that there are four different fastener apertures on the top cap 102 (and four corresponding fastener apertures on the body 104), there may be four different potential orientations for the inlet 106 (for example, each orientation may represent a 90-degree rotation of the outlet 106 with a total of 360 degrees of orientations). FIG. 1A shows one exemplary orientation in which the inlet 106 is perpendicular to the outlet 118 and FIG. 1B shows another exemplary orientation in which the inlet 106 is parallel with the outlet 118. It may be desirable for the inlet 106 to face a particular direction based on various factors, such as the position of the heat exchanger, the routing of the inlet tube, etc.

Although FIGS. 1A-1B show that the top cap 102 and the body 104 are secured using four fasteners, this is merely exemplary and any other number of fasteners (and fastener apertures that receive the fasteners) may also be used. Accordingly, the number of orientations of the top cap 102 relative to the body 104 that are available may vary by including a larger or smaller number of fastener apertures on the top cap 102 and the body 104. For example, if six or eight fastener apertures are instead used, then additional orientation increments would be available.

Additionally, the use of the fasteners to secure the top cap 102 to the body 104 is merely exemplary and any other suitable mechanism may be used to secure the top cap 102 to the body 104. For example, the top cap 102 and the body 104 may both include threaded exterior portions that allow the top cap 102 to be rotated onto the body 104 through an engagement of the two threaded portions. This mechanism would provide even further granularity in the orientation at which the inlet 106 is provided on the condensate trap 100 as the top cap 102 may be rotated by any amount on the body 104.

The condensate trap 100 also includes the inlet 106 and the outlet 118. The inlet 106 may be configured to receive condensate produced within the heating appliance. For example, as is shown in further detail in FIGS. 2A-2C, the inlet 106 may be connected to a heat exchanger of the heating appliance via an inlet tube (or may otherwise be configured to receive the condensate from the heat exchanger). Therefore, any condensate produced by the heat exchanger may be routed into the condensate trap 100 via the inlet tube and the inlet 106. The inlet 106 is shown as being provided on the top cap 102 of the condensate trap 100, however, the inlet 106 may also be provided at any other location as well. Additionally, the inlet 106 may be any other size and/or shape and may be provided in any other configuration.

In some embodiments, the inlet 106 may be connected to an inlet tube (not shown in the figure but shown in FIGS. 2A-2C) that is configured to receive condensate produced by the heat exchanger such that the condensate may then be directed into the inlet 106, and ultimately the internal cavity of the condensate trap 100. The inlet 106 may also be configured to more securely hold the inlet tube on or within the inlet 106. As one example, the inlet 106 may be ribbed (in a similar manner that the exhaust port 110 is shown as being ribbed in FIGS. 1A-1B). In this example, the inlet tube 106 may be provided over the ribbed inlet 106. In another example, the inlet tube 106 may be tapered or may otherwise be configured to be larger in diameter than the inlet tube. The inlet tube may be made from a flexible material, such as a rubber material, and may be stretched over the inlet 106 such that the inlet tube is unlikely to detach from the inlet 106 without a force provided by a human operator. A hose clamp or other suitable mechanism may also be provided to further secure the inlet tube to the inlet 106. These configurations may also be applicable to the outlet 118 as well (such that an outlet tube may be more securely attached to the outlet 118).

The outlet 118 may be configured to allow any condensate that accumulates within the internal cavity of the body 104 to drain from the condensate trap 100 (the specific mechanism by which this draining occurs is shown in further detail in at least FIG. 3A).

The condensate trap 100 may also include components that are configured to allow the condensate trap 100 to be mounted within a heating appliance (as shown in FIGS. 2A-2C, for example). In the example shown in FIGS. 1A-1B, the condensate trap 100 includes one or more mounting brackets (specifically, mounting bracket 120 and mounting bracket 122). Each of the mounting brackets may also include fastener apertures (for example, fastener apertures 130 and 132 are visible in FIG. 1B, however, any other number of fastener apertures may also be provided on the mounting brackets 120 and 122) that are configured to receive fasteners that may be used to secure the condensate trap 100 to the heating appliance using the fasteners. For example, FIG. 1A shows fasteners 124, 126, and 128 as being provided through the fastener apertures on the mounting brackets 120 and 122 (however, another fastener may also be provided that is not visible in the perspective shown in the figure).

The heating appliance may include corresponding fastener apertures such that the fastener apertures on the mounting brackets may be aligned with the fastener apertures on the heating appliance. The fasteners may then be provided through both the fastener apertures on the mounting brackets and the fastener apertures on the heating appliance to secure the condensate trap 100 to the heating appliance.

Although the condensate trap 100 is shown as including two mounting brackets, this is merely exemplary and any other number of mounting brackets may also be provided. Additionally, the mounting brackets may also be any other shape and/or size and, in some embodiments, a single mounting bracket may be provided on the condensate trap 100. The mounting brackets may also be provided on any other surface or combination of surfaces of the condensate trap 100 (e.g., the top, sides, etc.). Furthermore, the use of the mounting brackets as the mechanism for securing the condensate trap 100 to the heating appliance is merely exemplary and the condensate trap 100 may be secured to the heating appliance in any other suitable manner.

FIG. 2A illustrates a heating appliance 200 including a condensate trap 202 as described herein. FIGS. 2B-2C illustrate a close-up view of the exemplary condensate trap 202 within the heating appliance 200.

In this embodiment, the heating appliance 200 is a hydronic or domestic hot water heat for a residential home or a commercial establishment. However, the condensate traps described herein may also be provided in any other type of heating appliance or system in general in which condensate is produced and the particular heating appliance 200 shown in FIG. 2A is not intended to be limiting.

The particular heating appliance 200 shown in FIGS. 2A-2C is intended only to illustrate an example of a type of heating appliance in which the condensate trap 202 (or any other condensate trap described herein) may be provided. The condensate trap 206 may also be provided in any other type of heating appliance as well.

The condensate trap 202 is shown as being mounted to the bottom surface of the heating appliance 200, however, the condensate trap 202 may also be mounted at any other location within and/or outside of the heating appliance 200 as well. The condensate trap 202 is shown as being in fluid communication with the heat exchanger 208. That is, an inlet tube 210 is provided between the heat exchanger 208 and the inlet 204 of the condensate trap 202. Condensate that is produced by the heat exchanger 208 as a byproduct may flow through the inlet tube 210 and into the inlet 204 of the condensate trap 202.

The inlet tube 210 may be made from a rigid or a flexible material, such as a plastic, metal, rubber, etc. Although the inlet tube 210 is shown as being a particular size and shape, this is merely exemplary and the inlet tube 210 may also be any other size and shape as well. Additionally, the inlet tube 210 may be routed through the heating appliance 200 to the inlet 204 of the condensate trap 202 in any other suitable manner.

The condensate trap 202 is also including an outlet tube 212. The outlet tube 212 may be in fluid communication with the outlet 206 such that any condensate that exits the condensate trap 202 may exit the condensate trap 202 via the outlet 206 and the outlet tube 212. The outlet tube 212 may direct the condensate out of the heating appliance 200 and into the environment. In some instances, the outlet tube 212 may be in fluid communication with a neutralizer. The condensate produced by the heat exchanger 208 may be at least partially acidic, and thus the neutralizer may receive and neutralize the condensate before the condensate is released to the environment.

The heating appliance 200 may also include one or more controller(s) 220 (which may be referred to hereinafter as “controller 220” for simplicity). In some embodiments, the one or more controller(s) 220 may be disposed within or on the heating appliance 200. In some embodiments, some or all of the one or more controllers 220 may be provided remotely from the heating appliance 200. The one or more controller(s) 220 may be installed within or on any of the components of the heating appliance 200 or may be provided as standalone components locally to the heat pump system as well.

In one or more embodiments, the one or more controller(s) 220 (and/or any other elements of the heating appliance 200) may be configured to communicate via a communications network. The communications network may include, but not limited to, any one of a combination of different types of suitable communications networks such as, for example, broadcasting networks, cable networks, public networks (e.g., the Internet), private networks, wireless networks, cellular networks, or any other suitable private and/or public networks. Further, the communications network may have any suitable communication range associated therewith and may include, for example, global networks (e.g., the Internet), metropolitan area networks (MANs), wide area networks (WANs), local area networks (LANs), or personal area networks (PANs). In addition, communications network may include any type of medium over which network traffic may be carried including, but not limited to, coaxial cable, twisted-pair wire, optical fiber, a hybrid fiber coaxial (HFC) medium, microwave terrestrial transceivers, radio frequency communication mediums, white space communication mediums, ultra-high frequency communication mediums, satellite communication mediums, or any combination thereof.

The controller 220 may include one or more processors that may include any suitable processing unit capable of accepting digital data as input, processing the input data based on stored computer-executable instructions, and generating output data. The computer-executable instructions may be stored, for example, in the data storage and may include, among other things, operating system software and application software. The computer-executable instructions may be retrieved from the data storage and loaded into the memory as needed for execution. The processor may be configured to execute the computer-executable instructions to cause various operations to be performed. Each processor may include any type of processing unit including, but not limited to, a central processing unit, a microprocessor, a microcontroller, a Reduced Instruction Set Computer (RISC) microprocessor, a Complex Instruction Set Computer (CISC) microprocessor, an Application Specific Integrated Circuit (ASIC), a System-on-a-Chip (SoC), a field-programmable gate array (FPGA), and so forth.

The data storage may store program instructions that are loadable and executable by the processors, as well as data manipulated and generated by one or more of the processors during execution of the program instructions. The program instructions may be loaded into the memory as needed for execution. The memory may be volatile memory (memory that is not configured to retain stored information when not supplied with power) such as random access memory (RAM) and/or non-volatile memory (memory that is configured to retain stored information even when not supplied with power) such as read-only memory (ROM), flash memory, and so forth. In various implementations, the memory may include multiple different types of memory, such as various forms of static random access memory (SRAM), various forms of dynamic random access memory (DRAM), unalterable ROM, and/or writeable variants of ROM such as electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM), flash memory, and so forth.

Various program modules, application may be stored in data storage that may comprise computer-executable instructions that when executed by one or more of the processors cause various operations to be performed. The memory may have loaded from the data storage one or more operating systems (O/S) that may provide an interface between other application software (for example dedicated applications, a browser application, a web-based application, a distributed client-server application, etc.) executing on the server and the hardware resources of the server. More specifically, the O/S may include a set of computer-executable instructions for managing the hardware resources of the server and for providing common services to other application programs (for example managing memory allocation among various application programs). The O/S may include any operating system now known or which may be developed in the future including, but not limited to, any mobile operating system, desktop or laptop operating system, mainframe operating system, or any other proprietary or open-source operating system.

FIG. 3A illustrates a cross-section view of a condensate trap 300 (which may be the same as, or similar to, the condensate trap 100 shown in FIGS. 1A-1B or any other condensate trap described herein). FIGS. 3B-3C illustrate top-down views of a condensate trap 300 with the top cap 302 removed. Similar to the condensate trap 100, the condensate trap 300 also includes an inlet 304, an outlet 327, a top cap 302, and a body 320.

FIG. 3A also specifically shows the internal cavity 322 of the condensate trap 300. Any condensate that is received via the inlet 304 (for example, from the heat exchanger) may enter the internal cavity via the inlet port 303. Once the condensate enters the internal cavity 322, the condensate falls towards a bottom surface 340 of the condensate trap 300 and begins to accumulate. In embodiments, the bottom surface 340 may include multiple portions, with one portion being provided at a greater height than the other potion. For example, the bottom surface is shown as including a first portion 342 and a second portion 242. In this example, the second portion 344 is provided at a certain height above the first portion 342. Accordingly, the condensate may tend to initially accumulate at the first portion 342 of the bottom surface 340.

As the condensate continues to accumulate, the condensate may eventually reach a level corresponding to the height of the second portion 344. Located at the second port 344 is the outlet port 328 of the condensate trap 300. The outlet port 328 is an aperture that provides access to the outlet 327 of the condensate trap 327. Thus, as the water accumulates and begins flowing onto the second portion 344 of the bottom surface 340, the condensate may flow into the outlet 327 via the outlet port 328.

However, it may not be desirable for the outlet port 328 to remain open at all times. There may be circumstances where it is desired for the outlet port 328 to be closed such that gases or fluids are not able to escape from the condensate trap 300 via the outlet 327. For example, when there is a flue blockage on the exhaust side of the heat exchanger, flue gases may flow into the condensate 300 trap via the inlet 304. It may be undesirable for these flue gases to exit the condensate 300 trap via the outlet 327 because the flue gases would then be expelled into the nearby environment, which may include the interior of a residential home or commercial establishment depending on where the heating appliance in which the condensate trap 300 is provided is installed.

To allow for accumulated condensate to drain from the condensate trap 300 while also preventing flue gases from exiting the condensate trap 300 via the outlet 327, a mechanism may be provided to selectively control access to the outlet port 328. For example, also provided within the internal cavity 322 and positioned over the outlet port 328 may be a ball 324. For example, the ball 324 may be a polypropylene ball, however, other types of materials may also be used. The ball 324 may be sized such that when the ball 324 rests over the outlet port 328, gases and fluids are prevented from escaping the condensate trap 300 via the outlet port 328. However, the ball 324 may be configured to float on top of a fluid, such as condensate. Thus, when the condensate accumulates to the height of the second portion 324, the accumulated condensate causes the ball 324 to begin to float above the outlet port 3283, allowing at least some of the condensate to exit the condensate trap 300 via the outlet port 328, which is no longer covered by the floating ball 324. When the height of the accumulated condensate drops below the height of the second portion 344, the ball 324 is no longer floating and returns to cover the outlet port 328.

The ball 324 also serves the dual purpose of preventing the flue gases form exiting the heating appliance via the condensate trap 300. When a blockage occurs and flue gases travel into the condensate trap 300, a back pressure is generated within the condensate trap 300. This back pressure pushes the ball 324 down against the outlet port 328 and prevents the flue gases from exiting the condensate trap 300 and entering the environment.

To prevent the ball 324 from rolling away from the outlet port 328 and the second portion 344, one or more vertical standoffs 330 may be provided around the ball 324. For example, these standoffs 330 may be attached to, or formed as a part of, the second portion 344. The ball 324 may also be prevented from rolling away from the outlet port 328 using any other suitable mechanism.

The condensate trap 300 may also include a float switch 326 that is provided within the internal cavity 322 of the condensate trap 300. The float switch 326 may be positioned at pre-determined height within the condensate trap 300 above the first portion 342 of the bottom surface 342 where the condensate initially accumulates. If there is a block in the outlet 327 of the condensate trap 300 and the condensate is unable to drain from the condensate trap 300 via the outlet 327, the condensate would continue to accumulate, which may be problematic. The float switch 326 is provided such that once the condensate accumulation reaches the height of the float switch 326, the float switch 326 is triggered. A heating appliance controller (for example, controller 220 shown in FIG. 2A) may then turn off the heating appliance or take any other type of suitable remediating action to prevent further accumulation of condensate within the condensate trap 300.

The condensate trap 300 may also include an exhaust port 306 that allows pressure in the body of the condensate trap 300 to be relieved as the condensate accumulates within the condensate trap 300. For example, this exhaust port 306 may be provided on the top cap of the condensate trap 300, however, other locations may also be possible. Without this exhaust port 306, the internal cavity 322 of the body 320 may pressurize and prevent the ball 324 from floating when the condensate accumulation reaches the second portion 344 where the ball 324 resides on top of the outlet port 328.

As shown in FIG. 3A, in some embodiments, the exhaust port 306 may be disposed within an exhaust aperture 305 provided through the top cap 302 of the condensate trap 300. The exhaust aperture 305 may be threaded such that the exhaust aperture 305 may receive corresponding threads 307 on the exhaust port 306 to thread the exhaust port 306 into the exhaust aperture 305. However, the exhaust port 306 may be provided on the top cap 302 in any other suitable manner. In some instances, the exhaust port 306 may be formed as a part of the top cap 302 rather than being a separate component. Although the exhaust port 306 is shown as being provided on the top cap 102, the exhaust port 306 may also be provided on the body 320 of the condensate trap 300 (or any other location on the condensate trap 300) as well.

FIGS. 4A-4C illustrate different views of the top cap 400 of a condensate trap (for example, condensate trap 100, condensate trap 202, condensate trap 300, and/or any other condensate trap described herein). Particularly, FIG. 4A illustrates a top-down view of the top cap 400, FIG. 4B illustrates a top-down perspective view of the top cap 400, and FIG. 4C illustrates a bottom-up perspective view of the top cap 400. The top cap 400 may be the same as, or similar to, top cap 102, top cap 302, etc.).

The top cap 400 is shown as including the inlet 402 (which may be the same as, or similar to, inlet 106, inlet 204, inlet 304, etc.) and the inlet port 406 (which may be the same as, or similar to, inlet port 303). The inlet port 406 may be an aperture on the top cap 400 that allows condensate received by the inlet 402 to enter the internal cavity of the condensate trap. The top cap 400 is also shown as including the exhaust port 404 (which may be the same as, or similar to, exhaust port 110, exhaust port 306, etc.).

The top cap 400 is also shown as including one or more fastener apertures (for example, fastener aperture 408, fastener aperture 410, fastener aperture 412, and fastener aperture 414). As described with respect to at least FIGS. 1A-1B, when the top cap 400 is provided on the body (not shown in FIGS. 4A-4C) of the condensate trap and the fastener apertures on the top cap 400 and the fastener apertures on the body are aligned, the fasteners may be provided through the fastener apertures on the top cap 400 and the fastener apertures on the body to secure the top cap 400 to the body.

The use of the top cap 400 rather than having the condensate trap formed as a single structure allows for the condensate trap to be modified for use in different use cases. For example, if the condensate trap is configured to receive condensate produced by a heat exchanger in a heating appliance, it may be desired for the inlet 402 to face a certain direction relative to the body of the condensate trap based on various factors, such as the position of the heat exchanger relative to the condensate trap, the inlet tubing used to connect the heat exchanger to the condensate trap, and/or any other number of factors.

To modify the condensate trap depending on the use case, the top cap 400 may be aligned with the body in various orientations depending on the number of fastener apertures on the top cap 400. In the example shown in FIGS. 4A-4C, the top cap 400 includes four fastener apertures (and the body may also include four corresponding fastener apertures). Therefore, the top cap 400 can be provided on the body (with the four fastener apertures of the top cap 400 aligning with the four fastener apertures of the body) in a first orientation, or the top cap 400 can be rotated 90 degrees into the next orientation in which the fastener apertures of the top cap 400 again align with the fastener apertures of the body. Given that there are four fastener apertures (in this exemplary configuration), two additional orientations in which the top cap 400 is rotated by an additional 90 degrees each time are also possible.

Although FIGS. 4A-4C show that the top cap 400 includes four fastener apertures, this is merely exemplary and any other number of fastener apertures may also be provided on the top cap 400. Accordingly, the number of increments that are available may be adjusted by including a larger or smaller number of fastener apertures on the top cap 400. For example, if six or eight fastener apertures are instead used, then additional orientation increments would be available.

Additionally, the use of the fasteners to secure the top cap 400 to the body is merely exemplary and any other suitable mechanism may be used to secure the top cap 400. For example, rather than including the fastener apertures, the bottom portion of the top cap 400 may be threaded such that the top cap 400 may be rotated into corresponding threads on the body of the condensate trap. This would provide for even further granularity in terms of the orientation of the top cap 400 relative to the body as the top cap 400 could then be rotated by any amount relative to the body.

FIGS. 5A-5E illustrate different views of the body 500 of a condensate trap (for example, condensate trap 100, condensate trap 202, condensate trap 300, and/or any other condensate trap described herein) without the top cap. Particularly, FIG. 5A illustrates a side view of the body 500, FIG. 5B illustrates a top-down perspective view of the body 500, FIG. 5C illustrates a bottom-up view of the body 500, FIG. 5D illustrates a side view of the body 500, and FIG. 5E illustrates a front view of the body 500. The body 500 may be the same as, or similar to, body 104, body 320, etc.). Although specific dimensions are shown in FIGS. 5A-5E, these are merely exemplary and the body 500 may also be any other size and/or shape.

The body 500 shown in FIGS. 5A-5E includes similar elements shown in the body 104 of FIGS. 1A-1B, the body 320 of FIGS. 3A-3C, and any other body described herein. That is, FIGS. 5A-5E show the body 500 includes a bottom surface 502 a side surface 504 (as is shown in the perspective of FIG. 5B, the side surface may be formed as a generally cylindrical surface, however, other shapes are also possible (in some instances, the body 500 may also include multiple side surfaces). The bottom surface 502 may include multiple portions provided at varying heights relative to one another. For example, the bottom surface 502 may include a first portion 515 and a second portion 516 that is raised above the first portion 515. As indicated with respect to at least FIG. 3A, an outlet port 508 is provided on the second portion 516 such that condensate that accumulates within the internal cavity 512 up to the height of the second portion 516 may drain from the body 500 via the outlet port 508 and the outlet 506. FIGS. 5A-5B show the vertical standoffs 510 that are provided to retain a ball at the second portion 516 over the outlet port 508 (however, the ball itself is not shown in FIGS. 5A-5E).

FIGS. 5B-5C also show the one or more mounting brackets (specifically, mounting bracket 520 and mounting bracket 526, which may be the same as mounting bracket 120 and mounting bracket 122 shown in FIGS. 1A-1B). Each of the mounting brackets may also include fastener apertures (for example, fastener apertures 522, 524, 528, and 530) that are configured to receive fasteners that may be used to secure the body 500 to the heating appliance using the fasteners. The bottom-up view shown in FIG. 5C also shows that the mounting brackets may together form a single continuous structure. However, the mounting brackets may also be attached individually to the body 500. Additionally, any other number of mounting brackets may be provided and the mounting brackets may be any other size and/or shape.

As indicated above with respect to FIGS. 1A-1B, the use of the mounting brackets 520 and 526 is merely one exemplary manner by which the body 500 may be mounted to a heating appliance and the body 500 may be mounted to the heating appliance in any other suitable manner.

FIGS. 6A-6C illustrate various views of another condensate trap 600. FIGS. 7A-7C illustrate various views of the top cap 602 of a condensate trap 600 of FIGS. 6A-6C. The condensate trap 600 may include similar elements and structure as the condensate trap 300 of FIGS. 3A-3C (or any other condensate trap described herein). For example, the condensate trap 600 may also include a body 620 and a top cap 602 and/or any other elements of other condensate traps described herein. In contrast with the other condensate traps, however, the body 620 of the condensate trap 600 shown in FIGS. 6A-6C may be a shorter height. For example, the condensate trap 600 may be 1.5″ shorter than the condensate trap 300, however, this height difference is merely exemplary. Lowering the height of the condensate trap 600 may be beneficial to the functionality of the condensate trap 600. This is to allow the height of the inlet port of the condensate trap 600 to be lower than the outlet drain port of the heat exchanger so that the condensate can flow into the condensate trap 600 using gravity.

The condensate trap 600 also includes an extended inlet 604. Specifically, the inlet 604 includes a portion 606 that extends into the internal cavity 622 of the body 620. By extending the inlet 604 into the internal cavity 622 of the body 620, a path is created for condensate to travel directly to the bottom of the condensate trap 600 instead of entering from the top of the condensate trap 600 and falling to the bottom. This may prevent blower air or other air that enters the condensate trap 600 from pushing the ball against the outlet port.

It should be apparent that the foregoing relates only to certain embodiments of the present application and that numerous changes and modifications may be made herein by one of ordinary skill in the art without departing from the general spirit and scope of the disclosure.

Although specific embodiments of the disclosure have been described, numerous other modifications and alternative embodiments are within the scope of the disclosure. For example, any of the functionality described with respect to a particular device or component may be performed by another device or component. Further, while specific device characteristics have been described, embodiments of the disclosure may relate to numerous other device characteristics. Further, although embodiments have been described in language specific to structural features and/or methodological acts, it is to be understood that the disclosure is not necessarily limited to the specific features or acts described. Rather, the specific features and acts are disclosed as illustrative forms of implementing the embodiments. Conditional language, such as, among others, “can,” “could,” “might,” or “may,” unless specifically stated otherwise, or otherwise understood within the context as used, is generally intended to convey that certain embodiments could include, while other embodiments may not include, certain features, elements, and/or steps. Thus, such conditional language is not generally intended to imply that features, elements, and/or steps are in any way required for one or more embodiments.