EP2687641A1 - Shower WC with heat pump for heating the water - Google Patents

Abstract

The closet has a hot water heater for heating shower water for abdomen showers and comprising a heat pump that is provided with an evaporator (5), equipment lines (6), a compressor (7), an expansion valve (8) and a condenser (9). A heat exchanger of the pump is designed as a part of a feces tank in the toilet. The hot water heater comprises an instantaneous water heater for improving a starting behavior and/or a temperature control function of the toilet. The exchanger heats a rinse water tank (4) of the toilet. A hot water tank (12) is refilled with fresh water over a fresh water lead (13). An independent claim is also included for a method for operating a shower toilet.

Description

The present invention relates to a shower toilet, so a water closet (WC) with an abdominal shower for cleaning a user.

Shower toilets have been known for some time and are increasingly being used in Europe. An abdominal shower directs a shower water jet at the user to cleanse them. This regularly heated tap water is used, for example, electric water heaters or electric boiler find use.

In addition, a known shower toilet regularly has a pump for conveying the shower water, an electric motor for moving a shower arm into and out of the toilet bowl, an electric hair dryer for drying the user after the showering process, an air suction device for odor removal, Occasionally also a seat ring heater and other facilities. This list is only exemplary, in particular, these devices are not necessary for the present invention.

The object of the invention is the improvement of previously known shower toilets with regard to the hot water.

This object is achieved by a shower toilet with a abdominal shower and a water heater for shower water for the abdomen shower, characterized in that the water heater has a heat pump, and by a corresponding method for operating the shower toilet, in which with a heat pump shower water for the abdomen shower of the shower toilet is heated.

The invention thus proposes the use of a heat pump in a shower toilet for water heating. This means that the shower toilet has its own, so separately provided for the shower toilet hot water heater and this water heater in turn own heat pump. The invention Thus, it does not focus on the use, for example, of hot water generated by a central heating system with a heat pump, that is to say the simple connection to a hot water pipe present in the building (which has a heat pump heating system).

Heat pumps "generate" vividly by a conventional refrigerator comparable thermodynamic cycle of a medium heat, which is withdrawn from a heat reservoir. The cyclic process allows the temperature level to be increased from that of the heat reservoir to the required temperature level. The cycle must be powered by energy, in particular by operating an electric compressor. Today's heat pumps typically reach so-called ratios of the order of four to five. In other words, for a used (usually electrical) energy unit, a heat energy in the amount of four to five times won, the remaining three to four energy components have been removed from the heat reservoir in the form of heat.

Thus, heat pumps not only allow the saving of (electrical) energy - an aspect with shower toilets due to the frequency of use and the limited amounts of heat in the hot water preparation is not always of particular importance. However, heat pumps also allow an increase in heating power over the electrical power used for it. In the opinion of the inventor, this aspect is of particular interest in shower toilets, because the typical appliances of a shower toilet enumerated at the beginning already form electrical consumers and shower toilets are regularly operated on ordinary household power sources, ie at a connection with household voltage (in Europe 230 V effective) and limited current protection (for example of the order of 10 A to 16 A). Another aspect is the connection of WC-independent further consumers via the same fuse; In many cases, a specially secured power connection is available for a shower toilet.

If, for reasons of comfort and to improve the cleaning effect desired volume performance of, for example, 1.5 l / min, for example, 25 ° C heated should be, so are, at least without heating before use of the toilet and heat storage, heating services needed, which can exceed the connected load, especially taking into account the other electrical loads. With a heat pump, even a fairly simple heat pump with a rather poor ratio, but could for example be a connected load of the order of 1 kW for hot water during toilet use sufficient and leave enough reserves for other consumers.

"During the toilet use" is meant in contrast to the hot water preparation time outside the toilet use, ie using energy storage such as hot water storage (boilers). There, of course, can be provided by small heating with a correspondingly extended heating times energetically enough hot water, but in such a system, the water temperature drops during the showering process usually by admixture and would be really comfortable shower toilets with a long showering period persistently high water temperature problematic large storage necessary. Incidentally, such memories generate considerable energy losses depending on the insulation effort. The insulation, in turn, can not be arbitrarily improved because of the limitations of the construction volume.

In that regard, a heat pump according to the invention with heat pump has the advantage, even substantially instantaneously, d. H. earliest from a detection of an upcoming toilet use, for example, by a user detection by a proximity sensor, detection of a toilet cover movement or simply by switching to provide enough heating power in the remaining time and / or simultaneously with the hot water.

Preferably, the heat pump according to the invention is integrated in the shower toilet, which, depending on the individual design, the entire toilet system is meant. To the shower toilet so in particular the toilet body (the so-called ceramic) in front of the building wall and, if available, an installation trunk box in front of the building wall, an installation space of the shower toilet in a building wall, such as a drywall (for example, under the therein integrated Spülwassertank) and also structures and attachments on or on the toilet body. Not meant here Heat pump systems that are structurally independent of the shower toilet installed in the sanitary room. In particular, it is preferable to equip the shower toilet with the heat pump on the manufacturer side and to install it in one, in particular also as a sales and / or installation unit (module).

The heat reservoir of the heat pump can be designed differently in this invention. Considered are the ambient air, building parts in the environment, for example walls of the sanitary room, floor areas under the toilet, steel components of a drywall and the like. Also considered are existing lines, especially near running fresh water or sewage pipes, both in terms of their outer shell, especially in metal pipes, as well as with regard to the introduction of heat exchangers in these lines.

However, two WC-internal solutions are particularly preferred, namely first the sewage-faeces mixture in the WC itself. For this purpose, a heat exchanger can be provided in the WC in its sewer (as opposed to a general sewer), especially in a separate one for this provided sewage tank in the toilet. After use so the faeces located in the toilet are spent together with the rinse water in a tank to be cooled there. After sufficient cooling, they are then transported further into the actual sewer line. The advantage of this solution is that the sewage is relatively warm due to the feces and possibly also just used warm shower water of the shower toilet. The disadvantage is that the heat exchanger is housed in a pollution-sensitive area and in the case of a sewage tank and the discharge process for sewage and faeces is complicated. Furthermore, in this variant, a heat storage must be provided because the heat pump is running during and after the flushing and time passes until the next use of the toilet.

Another preferred solution (which does not rule out the above or others) is directed to the flushing water tank (the so-called cistern) of the toilet itself. Here is a several liters of fresh water supply, which can either be circulated to a heat exchanger or directly in the flushing water tank can be cooled by a heat exchanger. In this case, the heat pump operation during the toilet use and thereby expire before or during the shower process. The specific advantage is that the cooled water is brought out of the building in the subsequent rinsing process via the sewer and therefore hardly absorbs building heat. Even if the fresh water in the flushing water tank is relatively cool, for example significantly cooler than parts of the building, the energy balance can nevertheless improve as a result of the fact that the heat absorption is not or at least to the detriment of the building heating. Incidentally, the rinse water tank provides a structurally close heat reservoir with a sufficient volume.

Although initially the inventive hot water with the heat pump has been explained as a cheap alternative to conventional practice with water heaters, the use of water heaters in the invention, first, is not excluded and second, for some reasons, also low. An additional water heater is in fact structurally simple and small and inexpensive and also responsive and thus easy control or control technology. Thus, if the majority of the heating power is applied by the heat pump, then another smaller part can come from a water heater. This has, firstly, the advantage of achieving a sufficient temperature more quickly and, in the case of regulation, at least approximately the target temperature and, secondly, the advantage that the actual control and in particular control interventions for achieving and maintaining the desired temperature control or control with the heating power of Flow heater can be performed. If the instantaneous water heater is located downstream of the heat pump heating, ie receives preheated water, then it comes to the fact that he accomplished the highest part of the necessary Temperaturhubes in which the heat pump has the worst efficiency.

Furthermore, the heat pump can be combined in an advantageous manner with a heat storage heated by it. On the one hand, this affects heat pump operation during WC use. In this case, the heat pump can still sufficiently heat or at least warm up a water reservoir, then possibly supported by a heat output of the continuing heat pump or to provide a water heater during the shower function hot water. The heat storage can then turn out to be much smaller than if no heat pump was present, because there is a higher total heating by the heat pump during the toilet operation. Of course, the heat storage, especially hot water tank, even before the start of WC use to a certain (not necessarily sufficient) temperature level can be warmed. Furthermore, the heat storage is advantageous if the heat exchanger of the heat pump should take energy from the wastewater / faeces / shower water mixture of the toilet itself.

Operation of the heat pump is advantageous only during toilet use, be it in combination with a heat storage or without. As already explained, the use of the heat pump allows a sufficient heat output even without pre-storage of heat before using the toilet and thus even the omission of a heat storage.

Figur 1

zeigt eine Seitenansicht mit einer Schemadarstellung eines erfindungsgemäßen Dusch-WC nach einem ersten Ausführungsbeispiel.

Figur 2

zeigt eine Darstellung eines zweiten Ausführungsbeispiels analog Figur 1.

Figur 3

zeigt eine Darstellung eines dritten Ausführungsbeispiels analog Figur 1 und Figur 2.

In the following, the invention is explained in detail with reference to three exemplary embodiments, wherein the features of the exemplary embodiments can also be essential to the invention in other combinations and relate to all categories of claims.

FIG. 1

shows a side view with a schematic representation of a shower toilet according to the invention according to a first embodiment.

FIG. 2

shows a representation of a second embodiment analog FIG. 1 ,

FIG. 3

shows a representation of a third embodiment analog FIG. 1 and FIG. 2 ,

FIG. 1 shows a schematic view of a shower toilet according to a first embodiment. In this case, 1 denotes a per se known ceramic toilet body, on the top of a toilet lid 2 and concealed hidden below a seat ring is provided. 3 denotes an installation trunk box. This may be a previously known drywall stem wall for technical parts of the shower toilet, in particular a in FIG. 1 with 4 designated rinse water tank (hereinafter cistern) act. It could also be one of a sanitary manufacturer supplied installation box similar to the monolith products of the applicant act, which is optionally available with the shower toilet and mounted to facilitate installation in front of a building wall. Finally, one could even imagine a cavity in a building wall itself here.

The toilet body 1 is designed to be wall-mounted and attached to the installation box 3 via mechanical elements not shown in detail here. In FIG. 1 is in the toilet body 1, a part of the illustrated below water heater, which is only a schematic (a circuit diagram resembling) and not about the actual local conditions exactly reproducing representation. In practice, the corresponding components of the water heater would rather be in the in FIG. 1 housed on the left rear area of the toilet seat 1 or in a construction not shown on it.

In the water-filled cistern 4, a functioning as a heat exchanger evaporator 5 is housed in a resource cycle of a heat pump. This is connected via operating lines 6 with the technical elements of the water heater in the toilet body 1, with a compressor 7 and an expansion valve 8. Between these two elements is also a capacitor 9 of the heat pump, which is connected in terms of heat exchange to a hot water circuit 10. In the hot water circuit 10 is also a circulating pump 11, the water circulate from a hot water tank 12 and run through the condenser 9.

The hot water tank 12 is refilled via a fresh water supply line 13 from the installation box 3 out with fresh water, the fresh water line 13 may be connected, for example via a manifold to the fresh water connection of the cistern 4 with.

Finally, leads from the hot water tank 12 via a water pump 14, a hot water pipe 15 to a not-shown and known per se abdominal shower of the shower WC.

Here, therefore, the water is pumped in the hot water tank 12 with the circulation pump 11 through the condenser 9 and heated to a certain temperature. The heat pump with the elements 5 to 9 provides the energy, namely the key for the most part by cooling the fresh water in the cistern 4. Since after using the toilet regularly flushing is pressed, the correspondingly cooled rinse water is relatively quickly out of the building transported out and absorbs so far only a small part of the heat withdrawn from it again from the building. Of course, care must be taken that the flushing function of the cistern 4 is not obstructed by ice formation.

In this embodiment, depending on the amount of hot water in the hot water tank 12 and the desired temperature and the power of the heat pump 5 to 9 operation of the heat pump after opening the toilet lid 2 or a user recognition conceivable. The time remaining until the actual operation of the shower function and, if necessary, the time during the shower can be completely sufficient with sufficient power, and without very powerful power connection. This also applies to additional electrical consumers, which are not shown here, but are also supplied via the same power supply. If required, however, even an elevated temperature can be present before the actual use of the toilet, so that the hot water tank 12 can also be used to extend the heating time.

Overall, no fast-reacting heating system must be realized in this embodiment, but a water storage is necessary. Although this could be refilled with sufficient heat output of the heat pump during the shower operation with fresh water and so far small, but in any case means an increased volume and a certain additional construction costs. If refilling is not possible, "endless" use of the shower function is not possible.

Of course, in this case, the heat pump can also be arranged partially or completely in the installation wall; this also applies, but not necessarily for the hot water tank. Furthermore, the fresh water line could be passed through the condenser. Finally, of course, is an arrangement of the evaporator outside the cistern conceivable by the water is led out of the cistern with another line to the evaporator.

FIG. 2 shows a representation of the second embodiment analog FIG. 1 , wherein the same reference numerals are used for corresponding elements and accordingly no repeated explanation follows. In contrast to the first embodiment, an electric instantaneous water heater 16 is provided here, which is connected downstream of the condenser 9 of the heat pump 5 to 9 in the hot water pipe 15. In this example, the shower water pump 14 is upstream of the condenser 9 and relates the water to be heated in the same manner as in the first embodiment via a fresh water line 13. To ensure the appropriate protective provisions for the fresh water network here a known separation 17 is provided, ie a over a certain height falling inlet into a catchment funnel.

Accordingly, this embodiment has no heat storage but works exclusively instantaneously during the actual showering process. The heat pump 5 to 9 contributes most of the necessary heating power and the water heater 16 is provided because of the required here faster reactivity of the overall system. In a start-up phase, it can ensure a faster increase in temperature and, moreover, permit more precise temperature control in continuous operation. Thus, the water heater deteriorates the energy efficiency something, this is ultimately crucial, how well the startup behavior and temperature stability with the slower in itself heat pump 5 to 9 and approximates how small so that the water heater 16 can be designed. As an advantage, the generally very good control or controllability of the temperature and the principle unlimited shower time as well as the small size compared to the first embodiment to call.

With regard to possible variants, reference is made to the comments on the first exemplary embodiment.

The third embodiment is in FIG. 3 shown, wherein here again the first embodiment corresponding elements are designated by the same reference numerals and will not be explained again.

The essential difference from the first two embodiments lies in the existence of a sewage tank 18, which, as shown in dashed lines, is connected downstream of the drain siphon of a bowl of the WC body 1. The accumulated in the toilet bowl mix of rinse water, fecal matter and possibly warm shower water is cached in this tank 18 before it is discharged after a certain time via a drain line 19 with a drain valve 20. Here, a discharge pump and a shredder to prevent clogging (upstream of the tank 18) could be provided. Accordingly, in or on the sewage tank 18 of the heat exchanger or evaporator 5 'of a heat pump 5' to 9 are provided, which is otherwise constructed analogously as in the other two embodiments. Further, a hot water tank 12 is provided as in the first embodiment, which is also installed. However, since the fecal matter can be cooled only at the end or after using the WC, it is unavoidable to temporarily store the heat energy generated by the heat pump in the hot water storage 12 for a longer time until the next WC use. For this purpose, the hot water tank 12 can be made correspondingly large and well insulated.

Incidentally, the comments on the first embodiment apply.

Advantage of this embodiment is the use of otherwise unused dissipated residual heat in the wastewater and largely avoiding heat absorption from the building. However, this embodiment is more expensive than the first two in terms of effort and volume and must be carefully designed with regard to the problem of contamination in the sewage tank and before and behind.

Incidentally, the embodiments may be wholly or partially combined with each other, so for example, the water heater 16 from the second embodiment could also be provided in the first or third embodiment be, or could the heat extraction from the cistern 4 in the first and second embodiment, be combined with the heat extraction from the sewage tank 18.

Claims (12)

Shower toilet with
an abdomen shower and a water heater (5-20, 5 ') for shower water for the abdomen shower,
characterized in that the water heater (5-20, 5 ') has a heat pump (5-9, 5'). Shower toilet according to claim 1, wherein the heat pump (5-9, 5 ') is integrated in the shower toilet. Shower toilet according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the heat pump (5 ', 6-9) has a heat exchanger (5'), which is designed for the use of heat from toilet wastewater. Shower toilet according to claim 3, wherein the heat exchanger (5 ') is part of a sewage tank (18) in the shower toilet. Shower toilet according to one of the preceding claims, wherein a heat exchanger (5) of the heat pump (5-9) is adapted to use heat of a flushing water tank (4) of the shower toilet. Shower toilet according to one of the preceding claims, wherein the water heater (5-20) additionally comprises a flow heater (16) for improving the startup behavior and / or the temperature control. Shower toilet according to one of the preceding claims, wherein the water heater (5-20, 5 ') by the heat pump (5-9, 5') heatable heat storage (12), in particular hot water tank has. Shower toilet according to one of the preceding claims, wherein no heat storage is provided, which is adapted to be heated outside of a WC use time. A method of operating a shower toilet as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, wherein shower water for an abdominal shower of the shower toilet is heated with a heat pump (5-9, 5 '). Method according to Claim 9, in which the heat pump (5-9, 5 ') is in operation exclusively during a WC use. The method of claim 9 or 10 for operating a shower toilet according to claim 6, wherein the heat pump (5-9, 5 ') carries the main quantitative part of the heating load and the water heater (16) is used for temperature control. Use of a heat pump (5-9, 5 ') for a shower toilet according to one of claims 1 to 8 or for an operating method according to one of claims 9 to 11.

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