HEAT RECOVERY SYSTEM

Abstract

 The present invention relates to a heat recovery system comprising a toilet (10) with a flush tank (11), wherein the toilet (10) has a drainage outlet (14) that can be connected to a main drainage (40) of a dwelling, and wherein the flush tank (11) of the toilet (10) has at least one water inlet (12) and one water outlet (13), and a heat recovery unit (20) having a drainage outlet (25) for discharging water condensed by the heat recovery unit (20), wherein the drainage outlet (25) of the heat recovery unit (20) is connected to the toilet (10).

Description

Field of the Art

[0001] The present invention relates to the treatment of air inside buildings, proposing a high-performance heat recovery system, which uses the condensation water generated during its operation by supplying it back to the flush tank of a toilet, and which furthermore takes up very little space as it can be built into the same false wall in which the flush tank of the toilet is arranged.

State of the Art

[0002] Flush tanks for toilet bowls which are built into the wall of a building so that they are hidden from users' view have been known for some time now, see patent document EP 544,616 or patent document ES 2 354 469, for example.

[0003] The flush tank together with its water inlet and drainage are built into a false wall, generally of the Pladur®-type or the like, the flush tank being arranged in the lower part of the false wall, whereas the remaining space inside said false wall is empty or only taken up by a kind of insulating material or tracks for water, electricity or communications installations.

[0004] In addition, the energy efficiency required by new constructions has led to the extensive use of heat recovery units in home ventilation systems. Heat recovery units remove polluted air from the dwelling while at the same time introducing air from the outside, causing an exchange between both hot and cold airflows for optimum energy use. To that end, the heat recovery units have an air inlet and an air outlet which are connected to the exterior of the dwelling, an air inlet and an air outlet which are connected to the interior of the rooms of the dwelling to be ventilated, and a drainage which is directly connected to a main drainage downspout of the dwelling for discharging condensed water originating in the heat recovery unit.

[0005] The main drainage downspout of the dwelling is usually located far from the place where the heat recovery unit is installed, making it necessary to use very long drainage to connect the heat recovery unit to the downspout, which entails performing significant installation work, with the corresponding time loss and cost.

Object of the Invention

[0006] The object of the present invention relates to a heat recovery system comprising:

• a toilet with a flush tank, wherein the toilet has a drainage outlet that can be connected to a main drainage of a dwelling, and wherein the flush tank of the toilet has at least one water inlet and one water outlet; and
• a heat recovery unit having a drainage outlet for discharging water condensed by the heat recovery unit, wherein the drainage outlet of the heat recovery unit is connected to the toilet.

[0007] A heat recovery system wherein the drainage outlet of the heat recovery unit has a smaller length with respect to conventional heat recovery units is thereby obtained, since directly connecting the drainage outlet of the heat recovery unit to a main drainage downspout of the dwelling is avoided, the system installation time and costs thereby being significantly reduced.

[0008] According to a preferred embodiment of the invention, the drainage outlet of the heat recovery unit is connected to the water inlet of the flush tank of the toilet, such that the condensed water from the heat recovery process is reused to refill the flush tank of the toilet. Nevertheless, this embodiment is non-limiting, as the drainage outlet of the heat recovery unit could be connected to the water outlet of the flush tank of the toilet, or to the drainage outlet of the toilet.

[0009] The drainage outlet connecting the heat recovery unit to the toilet has a siphoning area to prevent air from exiting through the drainage outlet. When the drainage outlet of the heat recovery unit is connected to the water inlet of the flush tank of the toilet, the drainage outlet with a siphoning area is not required, as it can be replaced with a drainage outlet having a free end arranged in the lower part of the flush tank of the toilet, such that it is assured that the drainage outlet is always located in an area of the flush tank where there is water, air pressure losses in the heat recovery unit thus being minimized.

[0010] The heat recovery system additionally comprises profiles defining a housing having a first part in which the flush tank of the toilet is arranged and a second part in which the heat recovery unit is arranged, such that both the heat recovery unit and the flush tank are arranged in one and the same housing close to one another.

[0011] An efficient heat recovery system which can reuse the condensation water generated in its operation by supplying it back to the flush tank of the toilet, and which takes up very little space, is thereby obtained.

Description of the Drawings

[0012] 

Figure 1 shows a front view of the heat recovery system of the invention.

Figure 2 shows a side view of one embodiment of the heat recovery system with the drainage outlet of the heat recovery unit connected to the water inlet of the flush tank of the toilet.

Figure 3 shows a side view of one embodiment of the heat recovery system with the drainage outlet of the heat recovery unit connected to the water outlet of the flush tank of the toilet.

Figure 4 shows a side view of one embodiment of the heat recovery system with the drainage outlet of the heat recovery unit connected to the drainage outlet of the flush tank.

Figure 5 shows a front view of the heat recovery system with the drainage outlet of the heat recovery unit connected to the water inlet of the flush tank of the toilet.

Figure 6 shows a front view of the heat recovery system with the heat recovery unit not aligned with respect to the flush tank of the toilet.

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0013] The heat recovery system of the invention comprises a toilet (10) with a flush tank (11) and a heat recovery unit (20).

[0014] The flush tank (11) has at least one water inlet (12) for replenishing the tank after each use which is connected to the water distribution network of the dwelling, and one water outlet (13) which is connected to the toilet (10), which in turn has a drainage outlet (14) that can be connected to a main drainage downspout (40) of the dwelling.

[0015] The heat recovery unit (20) has a first air inlet (21) for collecting air from outside the dwelling, a first air outlet (22) for discharging air out of the dwelling, a second air inlet (23) for collecting air from at least one room of the dwelling, and a second air outlet (24) for delivering air to the room of the dwelling, so the heat recovery unit (20) thereby allows renewing the air of the rooms of the dwelling by means of recovering thermal energy from the air extracted from the rooms to be ventilated.

[0016] The heat recovery unit (20) has a drainage outlet (25) for discharging the condensed water generated in the heat exchange process, which according to the invention is connected to the toilet (10), such that the length of the drainage outlet (25) is smaller, which leads to less work for installing the system.

[0017] According to the preferred embodiment of the invention shown in Figures 1, 2, 5 and 6, the drainage outlet (25) of the heat recovery unit (20) is connected to the water inlet (12) of the flush tank (11) of the toilet (10), such that the water condensed by the heat recovery unit (20) is reused to refill the flush tank (11), thereby resulting in a more efficient system. Nevertheless, the drainage outlet (25) of the heat recovery unit (20) can be connected to the water outlet (13) of the flush tank (11) of the toilet (10), as shown in Figure 3, or it can be connected to the drainage outlet (14) of the toilet (10), as shown in Figure 4.

[0018] A siphon must be arranged between the heat recovery unit (20) and the toilet (10) to prevent air from exiting through the drainage outlet (25), to that end as shown in Figures 1 and 6, the drainage outlet (25) has a siphoning area (251). Nevertheless, a siphon is not required when the drainage outlet (25) is connected to the water inlet (12) of the flush tank (11), and the heat recovery unit (20) can be connected directly to the toilet (10); however in this embodiment the drainage outlet (25) must be permanently submerged in the water of the flush tank (11) of the toilet (10), and as seen in Figure 5, the drainage outlet (25) has a free end (252) which is arranged in the lower part of the flush tank (11) to assure permanent contact with the water.

[0019] The flush tank (11) and the heat recovery unit (20) may be in full view or built into a false wall (30) of the Pladur®-type or the like of the dwelling in which the heat recovery system is installed; to that end, the heat recovery system additionally comprises profiles (50) defining a housing (51) of the false wall (30) in which the flush tank (11) and the heat recovery unit (20) are arranged, the housing (51) being closed by means of a Pladur®-type board or the like which is fixed on the profiles (50). The housing (51) has a first part (52) located in its lower part in which the flush tank (11) of the toilet (10) is arranged, and a second part (53) located in its upper part in which the heat recovery unit (20) is arranged.

[0020] The flush tank (11) of the toilet (10) and the heat recovery unit (20) are therefore arranged in the same false wall (30), therefore being close to one another, so the length of the drainage outlet (25) for connecting the heat recovery unit (20) to the toilet (10) is smaller, which leads to less work for installing the system.

[0021] As seen in Figures 1 and 5, the heat recovery unit (20) is aligned with the flush tank (11) of the toilet (10), such that the space of the heat recovery system inside the housing (51) is optimized, and the length of the drainage outlet (25) is likewise minimized; nevertheless, without this altering the concept of the invention, the heat recovery unit (20) may be not aligned with respect to the flush tank (11) of the toilet (10), as shown in Figure 6.

Claims

1. A heat recovery system, characterized in that it comprises:

- a toilet (10) with a flush tank (11), wherein the toilet (10) has a drainage outlet (14) that can be connected to a main drainage (40) of a dwelling, and wherein the flush tank (11) of the toilet (10) has at least one water inlet (12) and one water outlet (13); and

- a heat recovery unit (20) having a drainage outlet (25) for discharging water condensed by the heat recovery unit (20), wherein the drainage outlet (25) of the heat recovery unit (20) is connected to the toilet (10).

2. The heat recovery system according to claim 1, characterized in that the drainage outlet (25) of the heat recovery unit (20) is connected to the water inlet (12) of the flush tank (11) of the toilet (10).

3. The heat recovery system according to claim 1, characterized in that the drainage outlet (25) of the heat recovery unit (20) is connected to the water outlet (13) of the flush tank (11) of the toilet (10).

4. The heat recovery system according to claim 1, characterized in that the drainage outlet (25) of the heat recovery unit (20) is connected to the drainage outlet (14) of the toilet (10).

5. The heat recovery system according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the drainage outlet (25) has a siphoning area (251).

6. The heat recovery system according to claim 2, characterized in that the drainage outlet (25) has a free end (252) which is arranged in the lower part of the flush tank (11) of the toilet (10).

7. The heat recovery system according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that it additionally comprises profiles (50) defining a housing (51) having a first part (52) in which the flush tank (11) of the toilet (10) is arranged, and a second part (53) in which the heat recovery unit (20) is arranged.

8. The heat recovery system according to the preceding claim, characterized in that the heat recovery unit (20) is aligned with the flush tank (11) of the toilet (10).

9. The heat recovery system according to claim 7, characterized in that the heat recovery unit (20) is not aligned with respect to the flush tank (11) of the toilet (10).

Drawing