Abstract:
A method of making a circular support base for a water heater in which a sheet of material having two ends is formed with corrugations such that the corrugations are progressively more pronounced towards one longitudinal edge thereby creating a generally circular shape out of the formerly straight sheet material, the two ends are connected to form an unbroken circular shape, the corrugated material is shaped to form a lip at an inner circumferential region, and the circular lip intersects with an outer circumferential region of the support base to form a circular trough for supporting and positioning a water tank of the water heater.

Description:
RELATED APPLICATIONS 
     This application is a divisional of co-pending U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/763,594 filed on Jun. 15, 2007, the entire content of which is incorporated herein by reference. 
    
    
     BACKGROUND 
     The present invention relates to a water heater support base for supporting components of a water heater in their proper position and in a manner that elevates an outer jacket of the water heater and still provides sufficient space for insulation between a water tank and the outer jacket. 
     As conventionally constructed, a water heater typically has a water tank adapted to hold a quantity of water to be heated, an outer jacket outwardly circumscribing the vertical water tank sidewall portion and forming an annular insulation space between the jacket and the water tank. A quantity of insulation is typically disposed in this annular space. A bottom end of the water tank and jacket is typically placed into a bottom pan structure and suitably secured to the pan. The bottom pan must be both durable and structurally sound to support and properly position the water heater components. 
     A common method of placing insulation in the annular space surrounding the water tank, after a bottom portion of the water tank and outer jacket structure are secured within the bottom pan, is to simply inject liquid foam insulation into the annular space and let the injected foam cure after injection. One of the functions of the bottom pan is to hold the base of the water tank and outer jacket in position during the foam injection and curing process, to prevent the water tank from wandering around within the outer jacket as the foam expands. 
     SUMMARY 
     In one embodiment of the invention, a water heater is provided with a support base for supporting a water tank and an outer jacket surrounding the water tank. The support base comprises a circular lip coupled to an angled middle portion for supporting the water tank at a junction of the lip and the middle portion. The junction is preferably formed as a circular trough where the lip is coupled to the angled middle portion which projects upwardly from the lip in a non-vertical direction. The trough provides a structurally robust platform for positioning and supporting the water tank. The angled middle portion is coupled at its upper end to a top portion extending in a generally vertical direction from the upper end of the angled middle portion such that the top portion provides support for the outer jacket. The angled middle portion and the top portion intersect to form a support surface for the outer jacket such that the outer jacket is elevated vertically above the level of the trough. The support base may be formed from a flat strip of metal that is corrugated or crimped into a shape that can be readily formed into a circular jacket base. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         FIG. 1  is a simplified fragmented section view showing a prior art construction of a water heater utilizing a typical prior art support base; 
         FIG. 2  is a section view showing a water heater utilizing a support base of the present invention and illustrating insulation in relation to an inner water tank and a surrounding outer jacket for the water heater. 
         FIG. 3  is a section view showing the construction of a preferred embodiment of a support base for supporting a water heater in accordance with the present invention. 
         FIG. 4  is a section view of the support base of  FIG. 3  with certain other water heater components also shown in section view. 
         FIG. 5  is a partial elevation view of a portion of a support base formed with a corrugation construction. 
         FIG. 6  is a partial elevation view of a portion of a support base formed with a corrugated construction with an upper portion that is formed without any corrugations. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
     Before any embodiments of the invention are explained in detail, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited in its application to the details of construction and the arrangement of components set forth in the following description or illustrated in the following drawings. The invention is capable of other embodiments and of being practiced or of being carried out in various ways. Also, it is to be understood that the phraseology and terminology used herein is for the purpose of description and should not be regarded as limiting. The use of “including,” “comprising,” or “having” and variations thereof herein is meant to encompass the items listed thereafter and equivalents thereof as well as additional items. Unless specified or limited otherwise, the terms “mounted,” “connected,” “supported,” and “coupled” and variations thereof are used broadly and encompass both direct and indirect mountings, connections, supports, and couplings. Further, “connected” and “coupled” are not restricted to physical or mechanical connections or couplings. 
     Referring now to the drawings and, more particularly, to  FIG. 1 , there is shown generally at  10  a basic prior art construction of a water heater. The water heater  10  comprises a water tank  22  in which water is heated by a heating device, shown in dashed outline at  13 , such as electric resistive elements in the a lower portion of the interior of the water tank  22 , as is well known in the art. The water tank  22  is provided with pipe fittings  12  or other fittings such as  12 ′, which lead to the internal resistive elements  13 . The water tank  22  is typically provided with a dome shape bottom wall  14  and the water tank sits on an insulating support base  15 , which has formed in it a circular trough in which the bottom edge of the water tank  22  sits. The insulating support base  15  is positioned as a flat layer in a pan  16  about which is secured an outer jacket  28 . A top cover  18  is secured over a top end of the outer jacket  28 . The outer jacket  28  is provided with a side wall that is spaced apart from an outer wall of the water tank  22  to provide an insulating space  19 . As foam insulation expands within the insulating space  19 , the tank  22  is prevented from wandering within the jacket  28  by the insulating base  15 . A similar construction is illustrated in U.S. Pat. No. 5,154,140. 
     In  FIG. 2 , a water heater  10  is shown in a structure that incorporates the present invention. A ring-shaped support base  30  supports the water tank  22  and centers it in the jacket  28  the foam insulation injection and curing process. 
     Referring now to  FIGS. 3 and 4  there is shown a cross-section of the one construction of the support base  30 . It should be understood that a range of dimensions and angles can be utilized in the practice of the invention. The specific selection of surface size, angles and dimensions is a matter of choice for those skilled in the art. In the embodiment shown, the support base  30  is formed in three separate sections, as viewed in a cross-section. These three sections comprise a lip  32 , an angled middle portion  34  and a top portion  38 . To form these three sections, a single piece of metal material can be transformed into the three sections using various metal shaping techniques. It is also possible to form the support base  30  by coupling three separate structures. Alternatively, non-metallic materials can be utilized such as plastic. Various other non-metallic materials and means of construction may also be utilized. 
     Referring again to  FIGS. 3 and 4 , in the embodiment shown the angled middle portion  34  constitutes the largest cross-section and greatest surface area of the three sections. The angle  31  of this middle portion  34  in comparison to a surface or floor on which it will stand may be, for example, 45 degrees or another angle suitable for a particular construction. The angled middle portion  34  can be either straight or curved when viewed in cross-section. 
     The angled middle portion  34  is coupled to or formed to be integral with the lip  32  at its lower end and the top portion or vertical portion  38  at its upper end. The lip  32  is typically coupled to the angled middle portion  34  at something less than a 90 degree angle (for example, 85 degrees) between the two parts as shown at  33  in  FIG. 3 . At this junction or intersection between the lip  32  and the angled middle portion  34 , there is formed a trough  36  that extends around the circumference of the support base  30  to define a trough circle. The diameter of the trough circle is the same as the diameter of the bottom edge of the water tank  22  so that the bottom edge of the water tank  22  fits snugly within the trough  36 . It can be readily appreciated that this trough  36  provides a suitable platform and positioning device for the water tank  22 . 
     At its other end, the angled middle portion  34  is coupled to or integral with the top portion  38 . In the embodiment shown, the top portion  38  is generally angled in a vertical or nearly vertical direction. Consequently, the angle between the top portion  38  and the angled middle portion  34  will generally be more than 90 degrees, and typically about 135 degrees. Again, this angle can be varied over a range. 
     At an intersection or junction between the top portion  38  and the angled middle portion  34 , there is provided a support surface  40  that supports a lower end or lower edge of the outer jacket  28 . It can be readily appreciated that this support surface  40  is elevated a distance off the floor equal to the rise 100 of the triangle. Compared to prior art water heater constructions in which the jacket extends all the way to the floor, the present invention enables use of a shorter outer length jacket and consequently saves an amount of jacket material equal to the rise 100 multiplied by the circumference of the jacket  28 . 
     It can also be appreciated that elevation of the outer jacket  28  means that space  24  is reduced by a volume about equal to the triangle extending all the way around the base  30 . The reduction in space  24  gives rise to a savings in insulation material  25  required to fill the space  24 . Another cost savings provided by the support base  30  of the present invention compared to prior art flat pans is that the base pan  30  does not extend across the entire bottom of the water tank  22 , but instead is ring-shaped with a hole in the middle under the tank  22 . The material savings in this regard are roughly equal to the surface area under the water tank  22 . 
     Another advantage of the present invention is apparent from  FIGS. 3 and 4 . It is desirable to position the water tank  22  centrally within outer jacket  28  so that the water tank is supported to remain centered within the outer jacket  28  during the process of filling space  24  with foam. This is desirable because adequate and uniform insulation space is provided around an outer surface of water tank  22  without any inadequate or thin insulation spaces. This also means that the weight of the water tank  22  and the weight of the water tank  22  when filled with water, remains centered within outer jacket  28  and centered on the support base  30 . 
     Referring now to  FIG. 5 , an embodiment of the invention is shown that uses a specific construction method to form the support base  30 . The support base in  FIG. 5  is made with corrugations that provide structural rigidity. Additionally, the corrugated structure is relatively easy to manufacture. Corrugations ease the process of manufacturing because an initially flat strip of metal can be bent, shaped and formed with appropriate bends and angles to transform a flat strip of metal into a support base  30  with a lip  32 , an angled middle portion  34  and a top portion  38 . The corrugations take up the material along the inner radius (i.e., at the lip  32 ) of the base support  30 , which is smaller than the outer radius (i.e., at the top portion  38 ). By properly spacing and sizing the corrugations, the radius of a strip of material can be adjusted such that when the two ends are joined together to form a circular band, the trough  36  circle has a diameter equal to the bottom edge of the water tank  22  it is intended to support. 
     Additional forms of construction may also be utilized to form the support base  30 . For example, crimps may be utilized to transform a flat strip of metal into a curved, circular band that can be shaped into the proper construction to form the support base  30 . Various other forms of manufacturing, forming and shaping will be apparent to those skilled in the art. 
     An alternate embodiment of the invention comprises a water heater support base being formed as an integral extension of the outer jacket. In this embodiment, the base is formed from the same material as the outer jacket and can be formed from the same sheet stock. In a profile view, the support base, the lip and the outer jacket will appear as a single part. The lip is formed as an extension of the outer jacket material. In this alternate embodiment, the outer jacket length is increased over the length shown in previous embodiments. However, since the support base is integral with the outer jacket, the result can be a net material savings. Additionally, manufacturing steps may be simplified. 
     Thus the invention provides, among other things, a water heater support base that positions and supports a water tank and an outer jacket to provide adequate and uniform insulation space around the water tank and such that the lower end of outer jacket is elevated vertically. 
     Various features and advantages of the invention are set forth in the following claims.