HK1152094B

HK1152094B - Valve assembly and heat recovery apparatus including the same

Info

Publication number: HK1152094B
Application number: HK11106264.3A
Authority: HK
Inventors: 陈世辉
Original assignee: 源创者科技有限公司
Priority date: 2009-07-07
Filing date: 2011-06-20
Publication date: 2014-03-21

Description

Valve component and heat energy recovery device with same

Technical Field

The present invention relates to a valve assembly, and more particularly, to a valve assembly for use in a heat recovery device and a heat recovery device having the same.

Background

In daily life, people use different washing facilities for cleaning and washing. These washing facilities include, for example, bathrooms, sinks, and the like. However, if these washing facilities use hot water as the washing medium, the discharged waste water still contains a large amount of heat energy, which results in energy waste.

People generally use a heat energy recovery device to recover and utilize heat energy in waste water discharged from a washing facility. Fig. 1 shows a conventional thermal energy recovery apparatus. The wastewater discharged from the washing facility is introduced into the heat exchanger and exchanges heat with cold water supplied from the cold water source to the heat exchanger to produce warm water. The waste water subjected to the heat exchange in the heat exchange device becomes sewage, and is discharged through a sewage pipe. The warm water generated by the heat exchange device is mixed with the hot water input by the hot water source under the control of the regulating valve to generate the warm water with proper temperature, and the warm water is input into a washing facility for use.

However, such conventional heat recovery devices have not been popularized because of the following problems:

1. the installation is difficult: because the original water supply and drainage pipelines of the building need to be changed when the heat energy recovery devices are installed, the heat energy recovery devices are difficult to install by ordinary people, and professional personnel need to be hired for installation, so that the installation cost is high.

2. The cold water source directly supplies water to the heat exchange device, so that the heat exchange device bears larger water pressure. The heat exchange device is in communication with the cold water source, even when not in use, and is subject to significant pressure from the cold water source for extended periods of time. Therefore, the heat exchange device must be made of a relatively thick heat conductive material, thereby reducing the heat exchange efficiency of the device.

3. When the heat exchange device in the system is damaged and leaks, the clean cold water can be lost through the sewage pipeline of the heat energy recovery device for a long time. Since leakage may occur in a more concealed portion of the heat exchanger device and is not easily discovered, there is a possibility of a large waste of clean cold water.

Disclosure of Invention

In view of the above problems in the prior art, it is an object of the present invention to provide a valve assembly including a housing, a valve cartridge disposed in the housing, and a handle for controlling the valve cartridge, wherein the valve cartridge includes: a valve core main body, a cavity is formed in the valve core main body, and an opening is formed at one end of the valve core main body; the bottom cover is hermetically buckled at the opening end of the valve core main body and is provided with a cold water inlet, a cold water outlet, a warm water inlet, a hot water inlet and a hot water outlet; a fixing piece fixedly arranged on the bottom cover in the cavity inside the valve main body and provided with a cold water inlet through hole, a cold water outlet through hole, a hot water inlet through hole and a mixing through hole at intervals, wherein the cold water inlet through hole is communicated with the cold water inlet, the cold water outlet through hole is communicated with the cold water outlet, the hot water inlet through hole is communicated with the hot water inlet, and the mixing through hole is communicated with the warm water inlet and the hot water outlet; a sliding plate which is relatively slidably disposed on the fixing plate and has a first recess and a second recess formed on a surface thereof facing the fixing plate, wherein the first recess is aligned with the cold water inlet through hole and the cold water outlet through hole and is disposed to selectively communicate the cold water inlet through hole and the cold water outlet through hole as the sliding plate slides; and the second groove is aligned with the hot water inlet through hole and the mixing through hole and is provided to selectively communicate the hot water inlet through hole and the mixing through hole as the slide plate slides; and the control rod is arranged at the end part of the valve core main body opposite to the opening of the valve core main body and can rotate in a pitching mode relative to the valve core main body, wherein one end, extending out of the valve core main body, of the control rod is connected to the handle, and one end, extending into the cavity inside the valve core main body, of the control rod is connected to the sliding sheet so as to drive the sliding sheet to slide on the fixing sheet.

The shell is provided with a cold water input pipe, a cold water output pipe, a warm water input pipe, a hot water input pipe and a hot water output pipe which are respectively communicated with the cold water inlet, the cold water outlet, the warm water inlet, the hot water inlet and the hot water outlet.

The handle controls the control rod to rotate in different angles in a pitching way relative to the valve core main body, so that the control rod drives the sliding sheet to slide on the fixed sheet for different strokes.

The control rod performs pitching rotation in the front-back direction and the left-right direction relative to the valve core main body so as to drive the sliding piece to perform front-back sliding and left-right sliding on the fixed piece. The valve core may be made of ceramic, metal, or other suitable material.

Another aspect of the present invention provides a heat energy recovery apparatus including a heat exchange device and the above valve assembly, wherein the heat exchange device receives waste water from an application device and cold water input from a cold water source through a cold water input pipe and a cold water output pipe of the valve assembly, so that the waste water exchanges heat with the cold water to heat the cold water into warm water; the warm water is input into the valve component through the warm water input pipe and is mixed with the hot water input into the valve component through the hot water input pipe by a hot water source, and the mixed warm water with proper temperature is output into the application device through the hot water output pipe.

The heat energy recovery device can be directly installed without modifying or changing the structure of a building, thereby simplifying the installation procedure and reducing the installation cost.

In addition, the valve component can effectively reduce the water pressure born by the heat exchange device and also can effectively prevent the clear water from leaking due to the damage of the heat exchange device.

Drawings

The above and/or other features and advantages of the present invention will become more apparent from the following detailed description of the invention when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which the components are shown by way of illustration and not in scale, and wherein:

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a prior art thermal energy recovery device;

FIG. 2 is a block diagram of the thermal energy recovery device of the present invention;

FIG. 3 is a schematic structural view of the heat recovery apparatus of the present invention;

FIG. 4 is a schematic view of an embodiment of a valve assembly in the thermal energy recovery device of the present invention;

FIG. 5 is an exploded view of the valve assembly of FIG. 4;

FIG. 6 is a schematic view of the valve assembly of FIG. 4 in a closed condition; and

FIG. 7 is a schematic view of the valve assembly of FIG. 4 in an open position.

Detailed Description

Fig. 2 is a block diagram of the thermal energy recovery apparatus of the present invention. The heat energy recovery device of the present invention is different from the prior art in that the cold water source is not directly connected to the heat exchanging device, but is connected to a valve assembly and supplies cold water to the heat exchanging device through the valve assembly. The cold water is heated by the heat exchange device to warm water, which is returned to the valve assembly to be mixed with hot water supplied from a hot water source, to produce warm water at a suitable temperature, which is fed to an application device (e.g., a washing facility) through the valve assembly for use.

Fig. 3 shows a schematic structural view of the thermal energy recovery apparatus of the present invention. The thermal energy recovery device 1 comprises a valve assembly 2 and a heat exchange device 3. As shown in fig. 3, the valve assembly 2 includes a cold water chamber 21 and a mixing chamber 22 spaced apart from each other. The cold water chamber 21 communicates with a cold water input pipe 24 via a cold water regulating valve 23 and directly with a cold water output pipe 25 to supply cold water from the cold water input pipe 24 to the heat exchange device 3 through the cold water output pipe 25. The mixing chamber 22 communicates directly with a warm water input pipe 26 and a hot water output pipe 27, and with a hot water input pipe 29 via a hot water regulating valve 28, wherein the warm water input pipe 26 receives warm water from the heat exchange device 3, and the hot water input pipe 29 receives hot water from a hot water source, for example, a water heater. Thus, the warm water from the heat exchange device 3 and the hot water supplied through the hot water input pipe 29 are mixed in the mixing chamber 22 and output to the application device 4, for example, a faucet, through the hot water output pipe 27. The cold water regulating valve 23 is used to regulate the flow of cold water into the cold water chamber 21, and the hot water regulating valve 28 is used to regulate the flow of hot water into the mixing chamber 22.

The heat exchange means 3 may be heat exchange means known in the art and will not be described in further detail herein.

Fig. 4 shows an embodiment of the valve assembly of the present invention. The valve assembly 2 includes a housing 30, a valve cartridge 31 disposed in the housing 30, and a handle 32 for controlling the valve cartridge. The housing 30 is provided with the above-mentioned cold water input pipe 24, cold water output pipe 25, warm water input pipe 26, hot water output pipe 27, and hot water input pipe 29 to communicate with the valve core 31.

Fig. 5 is an exploded view of the valve cartridge of the valve assembly of fig. 4. The valve body 31 includes a valve body 33 having a cavity formed therein and an opening at one end, a bottom cover 34 sealingly engaged with the opening end of the valve body 33, a fixing piece 35 fixedly provided on the bottom cover 34 in the cavity formed in the valve body 33, a slide piece 36 relatively slidably provided on the fixing piece 35, and a lever 37 provided on an end portion of the valve body 33 opposite to the opening of the valve body and capable of tilting with respect to the valve body 33. The end of the control rod 37 that extends out of the cartridge body is connected to the handle 32, while the end that extends into the internal cavity of the cartridge body is connected to the slide 36. When the handle 32 is pulled, it drives the control rod 37 to rotate in pitch relative to the valve core main body 33, so as to drive the sliding piece 36 to slide on the fixed piece 35.

The bottom cover 34 is provided with a cold water inlet 341, a cold water outlet 342, a hot water inlet 343, a warm water inlet 344, and a hot water outlet 345, which are respectively communicated with the cold water input pipe 24, the cold water output pipe 25, the hot water input pipe 29, the warm water input pipe 26, and the hot water output pipe 27 provided on the outer shell 30.

The fixing plate 35 is provided with a cold water inlet through hole 351, a cold water outlet through hole 352, a hot water inlet through hole 353 and a mixing through hole 354 at intervals, wherein the cold water inlet through hole 351 is communicated with the cold water inlet 341 on the bottom cover 34; the cold water outlet through hole 352 communicates with the cold water outlet 342 to form the cold water chamber 21 of the valve assembly 2 of fig. 3; the hot water inlet through hole 353 is communicated with the hot water inlet 343; and the mixing through hole 354 communicates the warm water inlet 344 and the hot water outlet 345 to form the mixing chamber 22 of the valve assembly 2 of fig. 3.

Two grooves, a first groove 361 and a second groove 362, are formed on the surface of the slide plate 36 facing the fixing plate 35 at a spacing. The first groove 361 is aligned with the cold water inlet through hole 351 and the cold water outlet through hole 352 and is provided to selectively communicate the cold water inlet through hole 351 and the cold water outlet through hole 352 as the slide plate 36 slides; and the second recess 362 is aligned with the hot water inlet through-hole 353 and the mixing through-hole 354 and is provided to selectively communicate the hot water inlet through-hole 353 and the mixing through-hole 354 as the slide plate 36 slides.

Fig. 6 and 7 show a state change caused by the sliding of the slide piece 36 with respect to the fixing piece 35. In an initial state, that is, a state in which the valve assembly is closed, the first groove 361 covers only the cold water inlet through hole 351 while being spaced apart from the cold water outlet through hole 352, so that the cold water inlet through hole 351 and the cold water outlet through hole 352 are spaced apart from each other without being communicated. Also, the second groove 362 covers only the hot water inlet through hole 353 while being spaced apart from the mixing through hole 354, so that the hot water inlet through hole 353 and the mixing through hole 354 are spaced apart from each other without being communicated. Thus, the cold water supplied from the cold water source cannot enter the cold water outlet through hole 352 through the cold water inlet through hole 351, that is, cannot enter the cold water output pipe 25 through the cold water input pipe 24, and thus cannot be supplied to the heat exchange device 3. Therefore, in the state that the valve component is closed, the cold water source can not supply cold water to the heat exchange device 3, so that the heat exchange device 3 can not bear water pressure, and clear water waste caused by leakage can not happen.

At this time, since the hot water inlet through hole 353 and the mixing through hole 354 are not communicated with each other, the hot water supplied from the hot water source cannot enter the mixing through hole 354 through the hot water inlet through hole 353, and cannot be supplied to the hot water output pipe 27 and thus to the application device 4.

When the control lever 37 is moved by the handle 32, which in turn drives the slide 36 to slide on the stationary plate 35, the valve assembly enters the open state as shown in fig. 7. At this time, the first groove 361 covers the cold water inlet through hole 351 and the cold water outlet through hole 352, thereby communicating both with each other. Similarly, the second recess 362 covers the hot water inlet through-hole 353 and the mixing through-hole 354, and also communicates with each other. At this time, the cold water supplied from the cold water source is introduced into the cold water outlet through hole 352 through the cold water inlet through hole 351, that is, into the cold water output pipe 25 through the cold water input pipe 24 to be supplied to the heat exchange device 3. The cold water is heat-exchanged in the heat exchanging device to become warm water, and enters the mixing through hole 354 through the warm water input pipe 26. On the other hand, hot water supplied from the hot water source enters the mixing through-hole 354 through the hot water inlet through-hole 353, and is mixed with warm water therein to generate warm water having a suitable temperature, and is supplied to the application device 4 through the hot water output pipe 27.

The pitch angle of the control rod 37 with respect to the valve body 33 controls the stroke of the sliding piece 36 sliding with respect to the stationary piece 35, and thus controls the degree of communication between the cold water inlet hole 351 and the cold water outlet hole 352, and the degree of communication between the hot water inlet hole 353 and the mixing hole 354, that is, the opening degree of the valve assembly 2. When the amount of water used is small, the lever 37 can be tilted and rotated by a small angle with respect to the valve body 33, so that the slide plate 36 moves by a small stroke, and at this time, the cold water inlet through hole 351 and the cold water outlet through hole 352 are only partially communicated, and the hot water inlet through hole 353 and the mixing through hole 354 are also only partially communicated, and at this time, the opening degree of the valve assembly 2 is small. When the amount of water used is large, the control lever 37 can be tilted by a large angle with respect to the valve body 33, so that the slide plate 36 moves by a large or full stroke, and at this time, the cold water inlet passage 351 and the cold water outlet passage 352 are mostly or completely communicated, and the hot water inlet passage 353 and the mixing passage 354 are also mostly or completely communicated, whereby the opening degree of the valve assembly 2 is increased.

The control lever 37 may also tilt in two directions, i.e., the front-rear direction and the left-right direction, with respect to the spool body 33. Thus, the slide plate 36 can also move forward and backward and leftward and rightward on the fixed plate 35 by the driving of the lever 37. This allows the opening degree of the valve assembly 2 to be controlled more flexibly.

The valve assembly of the present invention, and in particular the valve cartridge, may be made of ceramic, metal or other suitable material.

In addition, in order to stabilize the temperature of the hot water flowing out of the hot water outlet pipe 27, the thermal energy recovery device of the present invention may further comprise a thermostatic device (not shown) disposed in the valve assembly 2. The constant temperature device comprises a warm water inlet, a hot water inlet and a mixing cavity; the warm water inlet is communicated with the warm water inlet of the valve component, the hot water inlet is communicated with the hot water inlet of the valve component through the hot water regulating valve of the valve component, and the mixing cavity is communicated with the mixing cavity of the valve component. This constant temperature equipment detects the temperature of mixing hot water in the mixing chamber to when this temperature of mixing hot water is less than a preset temperature, then increase the aperture of its self hot water entry, reduce the aperture of its warm water entry simultaneously, make the hot water volume that gets into the mixing chamber increase, warm water volume reduces, thereby improve the temperature of mixing hot water. However, when it is detected that the temperature of the mixed hot water is higher than the preset temperature, the thermostat device decreases the opening degree of its own hot water inlet and increases the opening degree of its warm water inlet, thereby decreasing the amount of hot water entering the mixing chamber and increasing the amount of warm water to increase the temperature of the mixed hot water.

While various embodiments of the present invention have been described in detail above, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that further changes and modifications can be made. It is to be understood that such changes and modifications are within the spirit and scope of the present invention.

Claims

1. A valve assembly comprising a housing, a valve cartridge disposed in the housing, and a handle controlling the valve cartridge, wherein the valve cartridge comprises:

a valve core main body, a cavity is formed in the valve core main body, and an opening is formed at one end of the valve core main body;

the bottom cover is hermetically buckled at the opening end of the valve core main body and is provided with a cold water inlet, a cold water outlet, a warm water inlet, a hot water inlet and a hot water outlet;

a fixing piece fixedly arranged on the bottom cover in the cavity inside the valve main body and provided with a cold water inlet through hole, a cold water outlet through hole, a hot water inlet through hole and a mixing through hole at intervals, wherein the cold water inlet through hole is communicated with the cold water inlet, the cold water outlet through hole is communicated with the cold water outlet, the hot water inlet through hole is communicated with the hot water inlet, and the mixing through hole is communicated with the warm water inlet and the hot water outlet;

a sliding plate which is relatively slidably disposed on the fixing plate and has a first recess and a second recess formed on a surface thereof facing the fixing plate, wherein the first recess is aligned with the cold water inlet through hole and the cold water outlet through hole and is disposed to selectively communicate the cold water inlet through hole and the cold water outlet through hole as the sliding plate slides; and the second groove is aligned with the hot water inlet through hole and the mixing through hole and is provided to selectively communicate the hot water inlet through hole and the mixing through hole as the slide plate slides; and

the control rod is arranged at the end part of the valve core main body opposite to the opening of the valve core main body and can rotate in a pitching mode relative to the valve core main body, wherein one end, extending out of the valve core main body, of the control rod is connected to the handle, and one end, extending into the cavity inside the valve core main body, of the control rod is connected to the sliding sheet so as to drive the sliding sheet to slide on the fixing sheet.

2. The valve assembly of claim 1, wherein the housing is provided with a cold water inlet pipe, a cold water outlet pipe, a warm water inlet pipe, a hot water inlet pipe, and a hot water outlet pipe, which are respectively communicated with the cold water inlet, the cold water outlet, the warm water inlet, the hot water inlet, and the hot water outlet.

3. The valve assembly of claim 1, wherein the handle controls the control rod to tilt at different angles relative to the valve body to drive the slide plate to slide on the stationary plate at different strokes by the control rod.

4. The valve assembly of claim 3, wherein the control rod tilts with respect to the valve cartridge body in the front-rear direction and the left-right direction to drive the sliding piece to slide back and forth and left and right on the fixed piece.

5. The valve assembly of any one of claims 1-4, wherein the valve spool is made of ceramic or metal.

6. The utility model provides a heat energy recovery device, includes heat exchange device and valve assembly, wherein, this valve assembly includes the shell, sets up the case in the shell and the handle of control case, is provided with cold water input tube, cold water output tube, warm water input tube, hot water input tube and hot water output tube on this shell, and this case includes:

the bottom cover is hermetically buckled at the opening end of the valve core main body, is provided with a cold water inlet, a cold water outlet, a warm water inlet, a hot water inlet and a hot water outlet, and is respectively communicated with the cold water input pipe, the cold water output pipe, the warm water input pipe, the hot water input pipe and the hot water output pipe;

a control rod which is arranged at the end part of the valve core main body opposite to the opening of the valve core main body and can rotate in a pitching way relative to the valve core main body, wherein one end of the control rod extending out of the valve core main body is connected with the handle, and the other end of the control rod extending into the inner cavity of the valve core main body is connected with the sliding sheet so as to drive the sliding sheet to slide on the fixed sheet,

the heat exchange device receives waste water from an application device and cold water input by a cold water source through a cold water input pipe and a cold water output pipe of the valve assembly, so that the waste water and the cold water exchange heat to heat the cold water into warm water;

the warm water is input into the valve component through the warm water input pipe and is mixed with the hot water input into the valve component through the hot water input pipe by a hot water source, and the mixed warm water with proper temperature is output into the application device through the hot water output pipe.

7. The heat energy recovery device of claim 6, wherein the handle controls the control rod to rotate in pitch and in different angles relative to the valve body, so that the control rod drives the sliding plate to slide on the fixing plate in different strokes.

8. The thermal energy recovery device according to claim 7, wherein the lever is tilted in the front-rear direction and the left-right direction with respect to the valve body to drive the sliding piece to slide in the front-rear direction and in the left-right direction on the fixed piece.

9. The thermal energy recovery device of any one of claims 6-8, wherein the valve element is made of ceramic or metal.