Patent Application
20240230243
This application relates generally to a heat exchange tray. More specifically, this application relates to a heat exchange tray configured to recover heat from shower wastewater to increase the temperature of water traveling to the shower.
While the disclosure is susceptible to various modifications and alternative forms, a specific embodiment thereof is shown by way of example in the drawings and will herein be described in detail. It should be understood, however, that the drawings and detailed description presented herein are not intended to limit the disclosure to the particular embodiment disclosed, but to the contrary, the intention is to cover all modifications, equivalents, and alternatives falling within the spirit and scope of the present disclosure as defined by the appended claims.
The invention will now be described with reference to the drawing figures, in which like reference numerals refer to like parts throughout. For purposes of clarity in illustrating the characteristics of the present invention, proportional relationships of the elements have not necessarily been maintained in the drawing figures.
Turning first to
The heat chamber inlet 30 may be placed near an end 35 of the cover 5. The end 35 of the cover 5 may be on an opposite side of the cover 5 relative to the first end 15 of the heat exchange tray 1. The heat chamber inlet 30 may be positioned near a connection point 40 of the cover 5 and the sloped portion 25 of the base 10. The heat chamber inlet 30 may be positioned in any suitable manner, such that gravity causes water to flow toward and into the heat chamber inlet 30.
As illustrated in
Turning now to
The heat exchange coil 75 may be positioned along the wastewater flow path 70. The heat exchange coil 75 may “snake” along the wastewater flow path 70 and may be fitted along the wastewater flow path 70. The heat exchange coil 75 may be any suitable length to fit the wastewater flow path 70. The heat exchange coil 75 may connect to, be attached to, or be integrally formed with the wastewater flow path 70 in any suitable manner. The heat exchange coil 75 may be made of copper or any other suitable material with beneficial heat transfer qualities. Using copper or another material with desirable heat transfer properties for the heat exchange coil 75 may improve the effectiveness of heat transfer.
When the cover 5 is attached to or placed within the base 10, water may enter a heat exchange chamber 90 via the heat chamber inlet 30. The heat exchange chamber 90 may be formed by the heat exchange coil 75 fitted along the wastewater flow path 70. Fresh water may flow into and through the heat exchange coil 75. When flowing through the heat exchange coil 75 in the heat exchange chamber 90, fresh water in the heat exchange coil 75 may be heated by the wastewater flowing along the wastewater flow path 70. The heat exchange coil 75 may therefore be positioned between a freshwater inlet and an ablutionary fitting. After passing through the heat exchange chamber 90, water may exit the heat exchange tray 1 via a wastewater outlet 95. A waste trap fitment or filter may be placed at the wastewater outlet 95 in order to collect or remove waste from the wastewater.
There may be a void beneath the heat exchange chamber 90, which may act as still air gap insulation or may be filled with an insulating material including but not limited to a foamed polymer or other insulation. The insulating material may serve as a mechanism to enhance heat exchange between the wastewater and the water flowing through the heat exchange coil 75. The insulation may assist with heat transfer by reducing losses of heat to the atmosphere or building structure, and/or act as a safety feature to prevent leaks. The insulation may be expansive foam or a molded insert.
As is evident from the foregoing description, certain aspects of the present invention are not limited by the particular details of the examples illustrated herein, and it is therefore contemplated that other modifications, applications, variations, or equivalents thereof, will occur to those skilled in the art. Many such changes, modifications, variations, and other uses and applications of the present constructions will, however, become apparent to those skilled in the art after considering the specification and the accompanying drawings. In addition, unless mention was made above to the contrary, it should be noted that all of the accompanying drawings are not to scale. All such changes, modifications, variations, and other uses and applications which do not depart from the spirit and scope of the present inventions are deemed to be covered by the inventions which are limited only by the claims which follow.
The present application claims priority to U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 63/479,210, filed Jan. 10, 2023, entitled, “WASTEWATER HEAT RECOVERY SYSTEMS,” the entire contents of which are hereby incorporated by reference.
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 63479210 | Jan 2023 | US |
