Combustion apparatus

Abstract

A combustion apparatus mainly consists of burners, a fuel supply channel having branched channels, an air feeder for supplying air to the burners, and a pressure regulator and has a combustion space. The branched channels allow fuel gas supplied to the burners to pass therethrough and are provided with shutoff valves. The pressure regulator includes a signal-pressure inlet and a secondary-pressure inlet. A signal pressure introduced through the signal-pressure inlet is detected at a downstream of the air feeder and a secondary pressure introduced through the secondary-pressure inlet is detected at a vicinity of a boundary of the branched channels in the fuel supply channel. Fuel gas discharged from the pressure regulator is regulated so as to satisfy a predetermined relationship between the signal pressure introduced through the signal-pressure inlet and the secondary pressure introduced through the secondary-pressure inlet.

1 . A combustion apparatus, comprising:
 a plurality of burners;   a fuel supply channel having a plurality of branched channels at its downstream;   an air feeder for supplying air to the burners; and   a pressure regulator, and   having a combustion space containing a combusting area,   the branched channels allowing supplied fuel to the burners to pass therethrough,   at least one of the branched channels having a shutoff valve, which is either opened or closed so as to either increase or decrease the combusting area in the combustion space, and   the pressure regulator having a signal-pressure inlet through which a signal pressure to be based on is introduced and a secondary-pressure inlet through which a secondary pressure is introduced and being designed to regulate fuel gas supplied at a primary pressure to gas having a discharge pressure satisfying a predetermined relationship between the signal pressure introduced through the signal-pressure inlet and the secondary pressure introduced through the secondary-pressure inlet,   wherein the signal pressure introduced through the signal-pressure inlet is detected at a position selected from the air feeder and a downstream of the air feeder, and the secondary pressure introduced through the secondary-pressure inlet is detected at a position selected from the branched channels and a vicinity of a boundary of the branched channels within the fuel supply channel.   
     
     
         2 . The combustion apparatus as defined in  claim 1 ,
 the fuel supply channel having a secondary-pressure outlet through which the secondary pressure to be introduced into the pressure regulator is taken out,   the secondary-pressure outlet being disposed at upstream of the shutoff valves in the branched channels.   
     
     
         3 . The combustion apparatus as defined in  claim 2 ,
 the secondary-pressure outlet being disposed at one of the branched channels where a flow of fuel gas is protected from being blocked even with either increase or decrease of the combusting area in the combustion operation.   
     
     
         4 . The combustion apparatus as defined in  claim 1 ,
 having a plurality of secondary-pressure outlets through which the secondary pressure to be introduced into the pressure regulator is taken out and being designed to change positions where the secondary pressure is detected.   
     
     
         5 . The combustion apparatus as defined in  claim 1 ,
 having a pressure modification means for modifying a pressure to be detected,   the pressure modification means being disposed adjacent to the position where either the signal pressure or the secondary pressure is detected and being controlled so as to modify the detected pressure.   
     
     
         6 . The combustion apparatus as defined in  claim 5 ,
 the pressure modification means being controlled so as to increase the detected pressure in ignition in the combustion space.   
     
     
         7 . The combustion apparatus as defined in  claim 1 ,
 the pressure regulator having inside a main valve and a main-valve drive mechanism for driving the main valve,   the main-valve drive mechanism being designed to drive the main valve with a gas composed of one selected from fuel gas and air from the air feeder, and comprising a chamber into which the gas is introduced, a gas supply part for supplying the gas to the chamber, and a leak channel for leaking the gas within the chamber,   wherein the gas supply part is temporally closed in decreasing the combusting area in the combustion space.