Patent Publication Number: US-6666421-B2

Title: Bracket for mounting igniter on gas water heater

Description:
BACKGROUND OF INVENTION 
     Recently, gas water heaters have incorporated electronic ignition devices and sealed burners, which prevent manual lighting of a pilot light with a match or other flame. Such water heaters may provide a manually activated device for electrically igniting the pilot, as shown in Overbey, U.S. Pat. No. 6,269,779. In particular, the device disclosed in Overbey is a push-button piezo igniter that allows a user to remotely activate or ignite the pilot flame from a location on the outside of the water heater. It has been difficult to incorporate piezo igniters and other similar devices into hot water heaters in an ideal location that users can easily operate. Attempts to incorporate these igniters have resulted in added cost associated with fastening the igniter on the water heater. 
     SUMMARY OF INVENTION 
     The present invention relates to a bracket for mounting a push-button piezo igniter to a gas valve on a water heater, while also providing electrical ground connection of the piezo igniter to the gas valve. In particular, the present invention provides a bracket that receives and supports the push-button piezo igniter and connects to an external conductive end of the piezo igniter to provide grounding. The bracket further comprises a clip for engaging and securely attaching to a gas valve, through which the bracket establishes an electrical ground connection via the clip. Finally, the bracket secures the push-button piezo igniter without requiring fasteners, and locates the piezo igniter in a recognizable, ergonomically accessible location on the water heater. 
     It should be understood that the detailed description and specific example are intended for purposes of illustrating only and are not intended to limit the scope of the invention. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS 
     FIG. 1 is a drawing of a gas water heater and gas valve incorporating a piezo igniter in accordance with the present invention. 
     FIG. 2 is a cut away drawing of a water heater and gas valve showing a bracket mounted in accordance with the present invention. 
     FIG. 3 is a drawing of a push-button igniter inserted into the bracket in accordance with the present invention. 
     FIG. 4 is a drawing of the bracket in accordance with the present invention. 
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
     A gas-fired water heater is generally shown in FIG. 1 with a push-button piezo igniter  15  mounted on a gas valve  11 , in accordance with the present invention. FIG. 2 shows a bracket  10  of the present invention secured to the gas valve  11 , which is assembled to the water heater. In operation, the gas valve  11  is manually pressed open to initiate the supply of gas through a tube  12  to provide for a pilot light. The gas at the outlet of tube  12  is ignited at electrode  13  by a spark, which is generated by the push button piezo igniter. Because such piezo igniters for generating a spark are prevalently used and well known in the art, the piezo igniter&#39;s operation will not be described in detail. By ergonomically locating the push-button piezo igniter on the gas valve  11 , the user can simultaneously press the gas valve open and press the piezo igniter button with the same hand, freeing the other hand for support while visually verifying the pilot flame to be lit. The gas valve  11  will continue to supply gas to the pilot light as long as the thermocouple  14  senses flame. Once the pilot light is lit, the water heater operates normally to maintain temperature. 
     The bracket invention is shown in FIG. 3, with the push-button piezo igniter  15  inserted into the bracket  10 . The bracket  10  comprises a clip that engages and securely attaches to the gas valve  11 . The bracket further comprises a 3-sided enclosure for receiving the piezo igniter  15 . The piezo igniter  15  is snugly held between two sides of the bracket enclosure, and a round conductive end of the piezo igniter contacts the third side  10   b  of the bracket shown in FIG.  4 . This external conductor of the piezo igniter  15  electrically grounds through the bracket  10  to the gas valve  11  and the gas flow tube  12  shown in FIG.  2 . Depressing the push-button  16  of the piezo igniter  15  generates a voltage potential between the grounded end of the piezo igniter  15  and an insulated wire leading from the piezo igniter  15  to the electrode  13 . The voltage potential between the electrode  13  and the electrically grounded gas flow tube  12  creates a spark for igniting the pilot flame. Thus, the clip on bracket  10  also serves to establish ground connection to the valve  11 , in addition to providing a means for attachment to the valve  11 . More specifically, the mounting clip portion of the bracket shown in FIG. 4 is configured as a spring-loaded member  10   a , which can expand to slide over and remain engaged to a wall on the gas valve  11 . Also, the bracket&#39;s three-sided enclosure for snugly receiving the piezo igniter  15  allows for the release of an installed igniter for ease of replacement. 
     The description of the invention is merely exemplary in nature and, thus, variations that do not depart from the gist of the invention are intended to be within the scope of the invention. Such variations are not to be regarded as a departure from the spirit and scope of the invention.