Patent Abstract:
The present invention relates to an apparatus for recycling wasted heat using waste hot water that includes: a tub that charges and discharges waste hot water; a heat exchange unit that transfers the heat of waste hot water to cold water supplied to a shower bat; and an upper cover that the open upper portion of the tub, and is friendly to the environment by reducing the amount of fuel consumed to supply hot water and it is possible to reduce the fuel cost by the reduced amount of fuel consumption.

Full Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     1. Field of the Invention 
     The present invention relates to an apparatus for recycling wasted heat using waste hot water. In detail, the present invention relates to an apparatus for recycling wasted heat using waste hot water, which collects waste hot water that is discharged after being used from a shower or bath and then preheats cold water to be supplied for a shower, using heat of the waste hot water. 
     2. Description of the Related Art 
     In general, hot water that is used in houses or bathhouses is supplied to waterworks or showers through hot water supply lines after water at the normal temperature is heated by a variety of boilers using fossil fuel or electric energy. 
     Most hot water used for a bath or a shower is discharged through a drain-outlet, but it is undesirable in terms of efficient use of energy to discharge the waste hot water outside a bathhouse without recycling the heat of the waste hot water, because the heat of the discharged waste hot water has temperature of 30° C. or more. 
     In consideration of the above problem, efforts for applying an apparatus for recycling various wasted heats, which collects the heat of waste hot water and reuses it to heat water, to hot water equipment, such as a large bathhouse, have been recently made to reduce use of fossil fuels and prevent air pollution. 
     However, apparatuses for recycling wasted heat in the related art had a problem in that thermal efficiency is easily deteriorated, because the structure is complicated and foreign substances are easily gathered on the internal heat transfer surface. Therefore, even though the heat transfer surface should be frequently cleaned, it was difficult to clean it, because the structure is a covered type. 
     Meanwhile, it was substantially difficult to install a large apparatus for recycling wasted heat of the related art in small bathrooms of houses in terms of the cost and structure and research for an apparatus for recycling wasted heat, which has a simple structure and can be achieved at a low cost such that it can be installed in houses, are still insufficient. Accordingly, most water for a shower and a bath used once in houses is now discharged. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     In order to overcome the above problems, it is an object of the present invention to provide an apparatus for recycling wasted heat, using waste hot water, which saves energy and prevents deterioration of absorption efficiency of wasted heat due to easy maintenance by preheating cold water that is supplied to a shower, using the wasted heat of waste hot water. 
     In order to achieve the above objects, the present invention provides an apparatus for recycling wasted heat using waste hot water that includes: a tub (i.e., waste water tub) having a bottom with a floor drain through which water is discharged, a side that is connected to the bottom and protrudes upward from the bottom while forming an internal space, and a drain control unit that is formed around the floor drain and controls drain; a heat exchange unit that has heat collecting pipes (or heat transfer pipes) through which cold water to be supplied for a shower flows, is disposed in the tub, and transfers the heat of waste hot water filled in the tub to the cold water to be supplied for a shower flowing through the heat collecting pipes; and an upper cover that has drain holes and covers the open upper portion of the tub. 
     The drain control unit protrudes upward from the bottom and has lower drain grooves for discharging water, at the lower end. 
     Further, an upper drain groove for adjusting the level of the waste hot water filled in the internal space of the tub may be formed at the upper end of the drain control unit. 
     Further, the upper end of the drain control unit is in contact with the bottom of the upper cover. 
     Further, the heat exchange unit may be provided with a quick coupler at both ends. 
     Further, the bottom of the tub declines such that the water filled in the tub flows to the lower drain grooves. 
     Further, the heat exchange unit includes a spacer that makes a gap between the heat exchange unit and the bottom of the tub. 
     According to the present invention, it is friendly to the environment by reducing the amount of fuel consumed to supply hot water and it is possible to reduce the fuel cost by the reduced amount of fuel consumption. Further, since the structure is simple and the manufacturing cost is low, maintenance, such as cleaning or replacing, is easy. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         FIG. 1  is an exploded perspective view of an apparatus for recycling wasted heat using waste hot water according to an embodiment of the present invention; 
         FIG. 2  is a plan view of the apparatus for recycling wasted heat using waste hot water, with the upper cover open; 
         FIG. 3  is a perspective view of a drainage control unit; and 
         FIG. 4  is a perspective view of the apparatus for recycling wasted heat using waste hot water which has been assembled. 
         FIG. 5  is a perspective view of the apparatus with a cutout showing the spacer. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
     Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. First of all, it is to be noted that in giving reference numerals to elements of each drawing, like reference numerals refer to like elements even though like elements are shown in different drawings. Detailed descriptions may not be provided if it is determined those may make the aspect of the present invention unclear. Hereinafter, the preferred embodiment of the present invention will be described, but it will be understood to those skilled in the art that the spirit and scope of the present invention are not limited thereto and modifications and changes can be made in various ways. 
       FIG. 1  is an exploded perspective view of an apparatus for recycling wasted heat using waste hot water according to an embodiment of the present invention,  FIG. 2  is a plan view of the apparatus for recycling wasted heat using waste hot water, with the upper cover open,  FIG. 3  is a perspective view of a drainage control unit,  FIG. 4  is a perspective view of the apparatus for recycling wasted heat using waste hot water which has been assembled and  FIG. 5  is a perspective view of the apparatus with a cutout showing the spacer. 
     Hereinafter, an apparatus  100  for recycling wasted heat using waste hot water (referred to as “apparatus for recycling wasted heat”) according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention is described with reference to  FIGS. 1 to 4 . 
     The apparatus for recycling wasted heat  100  is installed on the floor of a bathhouse, a bathroom, and a shower booth etc. where waste hot water is discharged, and reduces waste of energy by reducing the amount of hot water that is supplied to a shower, by preheating cold water that is supplied to the shower, using the heat of waste hot water. 
     The apparatus for recycling wasted heat  100  according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention includes a tub  110 , a heat exchange unit  120 , and an upper cover  130 . 
     The tub  110  has a bottom  111  with a floor drain  115  through which water is discharged and a side  112  that is connected to the edge of the bottom  111 , protruding upward from the bottom  111 , and where waste hot water used for a predetermined purpose and discharged. 
     Although the tub  110  is formed in a rectangular parallelepiped shape with the upper side open in  FIG. 1 , the shape of the tub  110  is not limited thereto and it may be formed in a polygonal column or cylinder shape. 
     An inlet pipe  113  and an outlet pipe  114  that are connected with the heat exchange unit  120  are inserted in the tub  110  through the side  112 . It is preferable to seal the portions where the inlet pipe  113  and the outlet pipe  114  pass therethrough and prevent leakage of water filled in the tub  110  such that the floor where the apparatus for recycling wasted heat  100  is installed is prevented from contamination due to the waste hot water. 
     In this embodiment, the inlet pipe  113  is a cold water supply pipe that is connected to a water pipe and provided to a shower and the outlet pipe  114  is a cold water pipe that is provided for a showerhead that has undergone heat exchange with waste hot water. The inlet pipe  113  and the outlet pipe  114  can be made of a stainless material to prevent corrosion. 
     The height of the tub  110  is set larger than the diameter of a heat collecting pipe (or heat transfer pipe)  121  of the heat exchange unit  120  such that the heat exchange unit  120  including the heat collecting pipe  121  can be completely submerged in the waste hot water filled in the tub  110 . 
     It is preferable that the tub  110  is made of a material having corrosion resistance, such as stainless steel, because it contacts with water, for the characteristic. 
     A cover support portion  119  that protrudes is formed at a predetermined distance from the upper end inside the side  112  of the tub  110 . The cover support portion  119  supports the upper cover  130  covering the tub  110 . In this embodiment, the distance between the cover support portion  119  and the upper end of the tub  110  is set such that a step is not formed when the upper portion of the tub  110  is covered by the upper cover  130 , in consideration of the thickness of the upper cover  130 . 
     Meanwhile, the tub  110  further has a drain control unit  116  that surrounds the floor drain  115 , protruding upward from the bottom of the tub  110 . 
     The upper end of the drain control unit  116  is in contact with the bottom of the upper cover  130  covering the open upper portion of the tub  110 , such that the heat exchange unit  120  can be completely submerged in the waste hot water filled in the tub  110  by the drain control unit  116  and the heat of the waste hot water can be sufficiently transferred to the heat exchange unit  120 . Further, the upper end of the drain control unit  116  supports the upper cover  130  while being in contact with the bottom of the cover  130 , such that structural stability can be ensured. 
     Drain grooves  117  are formed at the upper end of the drain control unit  116 . The waste hot water filled in the tub  110  is discharged through the upper drain grooves  117  of the drain control unit  116  and the floor drain  115  disposed in the drain control unit  116 . It is preferable to adjust the size and the number of the upper drain grooves  117  formed at the upper end of the drain control unit  116  in accordance with the internal volume of the tub  110  such that the waste hot water filled in to tub  110  does not flow over the upper cover  130 . 
     On the other hand, it is preferable that lower drain grooves  118  are further formed at the lower end of the drain control unit  116 . The lower drain grooves  118  allows the waste hot water filled in the tub  110  to be completely discharged through the floor drain  115 , without collecting in the tub  110 . 
     It is preferable to determine the size or the number of the lower drain grooves  118  in consideration of the internal volume of the tub and the drain capacity of the upper drains  117 , because it is difficult to sufficiently ensure the level of the waste hot water filled in the tub  110 , when the size or the number of lower drain grooves  118  is excessively large. 
     The floor drain  115  provided on the bottom  111  of the tub  110  is connected with a drain pipe such that the waste hot water filled in the tub  110  is discharged to a drain-outlet through the floor drain  115  after exchanging heat in the tub  110 . 
     Further, the bottom  111  declines such that the water filled in the tub  110  flows to the lower drain grooves  118 , in order to easily discharges the water filled in the tub  110 . 
     The heat collecting unit  120  is formed by connecting the heat collecting pipes  121 , through which cold water supplied to a shower flows, using pipe connectors  122 ,  123 , and is disposed in the tub  110 . The shape of the heat exchange unit  120  can be changed in accordance with the arrangement of the drain control unit  116  corresponding to the position of the drain pipe, or other installation conditions of the apparatus  100  for recycling wasted heat. Meanwhile, as another embodiment, the heat exchange unit  120  can be formed by bending one long pipe. 
     The heat exchange unit  120  transfers the heat of the waste hot water filled in the tub  110  to the cold water that is supplied to a shower through the heat collecting pipes  121 . It is preferable to use a copper pipe that has high heat conductivity and corrosion resistance for the heat collecting pipes  121 . 
     The heat exchange unit  120  may be provided with a quick coupler  124  at both ends. The quick coupler  124 , which is a pipe connecting member for easy connection of pipes, connects both ends of the heat exchange unit  120  with the inlet pipe  113  and the outlet pipe  114 . 
     The heat exchange unit  120  can be easily disposed in the tub  110  by the quick coupler  124 . In other words, it is possible to save installation time of the heat exchange unit  120  by performing assemblage of the heat exchange unit  120 , which is formed by assembling a plurality of heat collecting pipes  121 , outside the tub  110  and then disposing the heat exchange unit  120  in the tub  110 , using the quick couplers  124 . Further, it is easy to replace the heat exchange unit  120  later, because it is possible to making the heat exchange unit  120  in a single unit, using the quick couplers  124 . 
     Meanwhile, the heat exchange unit  120  may be provided with a spacer  126  (see  FIG. 5 ) which makes a gap between the heat exchange unit  120  and the bottom  111  of the tub  110 . Since the heat exchange unit  120  is spaced apart from the bottom  111  of the tub  110  by the spacer  126 , it is possible to further increase the contact area of the waste hot water and the heat exchange unit  120 . 
     As the pipe connectors  122 ,  123  connecting the heat collecting pipes  121 , various connecting members, such as the L-shaped pipe connector  122  and the U-shape pipe connector  123 , can be used in accordance with the shape connected portions between the heat collecting pipes  121 , and it is possible to adjust the pipe diameter using a reducer, when the heat collecting pipes  121 , the inlet pipe  113 , and the outlet pipe  114  are different in diameter. 
     The upper cover  130  is a plate-shaped member covering the upper portion of the tub  110 , which has drain holes  132  formed in the up-down direction. It is preferable that the size of the drain holes  132  is not too large to prevent foreign substances from flowing into the tub  110 . 
     Further, the drain holes  132  are not formed at the portion where the drain control unit  116  faces the upper cover  130  to prevent the waste hot water from being directly discharged through the floor drain  115  inside the drain control unit  116  without exchanging heat with the heat exchange unit  120 . 
     According to the apparatus for recycling wasted heat  100  described above, it is possible to increase the temperature of the cold water by 10° C., which has average temperature of around 10° C. and is supplied to a shower, such that it is possible to reduce the amount of hot water that is supplied to the shower and correspondingly reduce the amount of fuel consumption. 
     It is possible to reuse waste hot water that will be discharged after flowing out of a shower by installing the apparatus for recycling wasted heat  100  on the bottom of a shower room or a shower booth. In addition, it is possible to preheat boiler supply water by collecting waste hot water, which is used once and then discharged, into the tub  110 . 
     The spirit of the present invention has just been exemplified. It will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that various modifications, changes, and substitutions can be made without departing from the essential characteristics of the present invention. Accordingly, the embodiments disclosed in the present invention and the accompanying drawings are used not to limit but to describe the spirit of the present invention. The scope of the present invention is not limited only to the embodiments and the accompanying drawings. The protection scope of the present invention must be analyzed by the appended claims and it should be analyzed that all spirits within a scope equivalent thereto are included in the appended claims of the present invention.

Technology Classification (CPC): 4