Heat exchanger, shower tray and method for producing a shower tray

Abstract

A shower tray having a heat exchanger that is arranged beneath the shower tray for recovering heat from waste water in order to heat up clean water, wherein a first heat-exchanger surface is in contact with the waste water and a second heat-exchanger surface is in contact with the clean water, and the first heat-exchanger surface forms the floor, or part of the floor, of the shower tray. The shower tray here is produced from one metal material and, in the region of the tray floor, beneath the shower tray, a base plate made of some other metal is fastened on the tray floor, so as to form a heat-conducting connection to the tray floor is formed substantially over the entire surface of the base plate. Beneath the base plate, tubes are connected to the base plate in an integral manner. The tubes form the second heat-exchanging surface.

1 . A shower tray with a heat exchanger, wherein the heat exchanger is arranged below the shower tray for a heat recovery from waste water for heating fresh water, wherein a first heat exchanger surface is in contact with the waste water and a second heat exchanger surface is in contact with the fresh water, and the first heat exchanger surface forms the base or a part of the base of the shower tray, wherein the shower tray is manufactured of aluminium or an aluminium alloy. 
     
     
         2 . The shower tray according to  claim 1 , wherein the second heat exchanger surface is formed by pipes or by one or more plates, which are connected by way of a material-fit connection to the base of the shower tray. 
     
     
         3 . The shower tray according to  claim 2 , wherein the pipes are composite pipes with an outer layer of aluminium or an aluminium alloy and with an inner layer of copper or a copper alloy. 
     
     
         4 . The shower tray according to  claim 3 , wherein the shower tray and the outer side of the pipes are anodised. 
     
     
         5 . The shower tray according to  claim 4 , wherein an edge region of the shower tray comprises a reinforced coating, in particular a layer produced by powder coating with aluminium oxide, or a paint layer. 
     
     
         6 . The shower tray according to  claim 2 , wherein the pipes are welded to the base of the shower tray by way of welding spots produced by way of laser welding. 
     
     
         7 . The shower tray according to  claim 6 , wherein the welding spots in each case have a contact region between the pipe and the base, with a diameter of less than 2 mm and/or a distance between the middle points of the welding spots in the region between 1.5 mm and 2.5 mm, in particular at 2 mm. 
     
     
         8 . The shower tray according to  claim 1 , wherein the shower tray is shaped by a forming process, in particular by way of deep-drawing or by way of hydroforming or by way of superplastic deformation. 
     
     
         9 . The shower tray according to  claim 1 , with a cover, wherein the shower tray comprises: a first edge and a second edge of the shower tray, wherein the first and the second edge lie opposite one another, and wherein an inclined support region for supporting the cover is present at the first edge, and an undercut edge region is present at the second edge of the shower tray which lies opposite the first edge. 
     
     
         10 . The shower tray according to  claim 1 , comprising reinforcement profiles which are arranged on the lower side of the base of the shower tray, said profiles having a U-shape with arms that are fixedly connected to the lower side of the base of the shower tray and through which profile one or more of the pipes lead. 
     
     
         11 . A method for manufacturing a shower tray, comprising the steps of
 shaping an aluminium blank by way of a forming process into the shape of the shower tray;   welding or soldering pipes, which at least at their outer side consist of aluminium or an aluminium alloy, onto the lower side of the tray base of the shower tray;   anodising the shower tray and the pipes.   
     
     
         12 . The method for manufacturing a shower tray according to  claim 11 , comprising the further steps of:
 connecting the pipes to manifolds, or to transition pipes into manifolds,   in regions of connections between the pipes and the manifolds or transition pipes, manufacturing an electrical insulation layer on the outer side of these regions.   
     
     
         13 . The method for manufacturing a shower tray according to  claim 11 , wherein the method is carried out repeatedly and thereby shower trays with differently far extended, outer edge regions are manufactured, wherein such outer edge regions connect to edge regions of a recess of the shower tray. 
     
     
         14 . A shower tray with a heat exchanger, wherein the heat exchanger is arranged below the shower tray for a heat recovery from waste water for heating fresh water, wherein a first heat exchanger surface is in contact with the waste water, and a second heat exchanger surface is in contact with the fresh water, and the first heat exchanger surface forms the tray base or a part of the tray base, wherein the shower tray is manufactured of a steel alloy, and a base plate of a metal that is different from the steel alloy is fastened in the region of the tray base below the shower tray, to the tray base, and a thermally conductive connection to the tray base is formed by way of this essentially over the complete surface of the base plate, and in turn pipes, below this base plate, are connected to the base plate by way of a material-fit connection, in particular by way of welding or soldering, and these said pipes form the second heat exchanger surface. 
     
     
         15 . The shower tray according to  claim 14 , wherein the base plate is fastened by way of welding or adhesive bonding on the lower side of the tray base. 
     
     
         16 . The shower tray according to  claim 15 , wherein adhesive bonding is accomplished via an adhesive layer provided by an adhesive film. 
     
     
         17 . The shower tray according to  claim 16 , wherein the adhesive film has added aggregates or is strewn with aggregates, for improving its thermal conductivity. 
     
     
         18 . The shower tray according to  claim 15 , wherein adhesive bonding is accomplished by an an epoxy resin that includes added aggregates for improving its thermal conductivity. 
     
     
         19 . The shower tray according to  claim 14 , wherein the metal of the base plate and the metal of the pipes is copper or a copper alloy. 
     
     
         20 . The shower tray according to  claim 14 , in which wherein the metal of the base plate and the metal of the pipes at least on the outer side of the pipes is aluminium or an aluminium alloy. 
     
     
         21 . The shower tray according to  claim 20 , wherein the pipes are composite pipes with an outer layer of aluminium or an aluminium alloy and with an inner layer of copper or a copper alloy. 
     
     
         22 . The shower tray according to  claim 14 , wherein the shower tray on the upper side is provided with an enamel layer, is not enamelled on the lower side, and comprises ribs on the lower side, said ribs providing for mechanical stabilisation of the shape of the tray base. 
     
     
         23 . A shower tray according to  claim 22 , in which the enamel layer has added metal particles that improve thermal conductivity of the enamel layer. 
     
     
         24 . The shower tray according to  claim 23 , wherein the metal particles are of stainless steel and are rust-free, in particular of CrNi steel. 
     
     
         25 . A method for manufacturing a shower tray, comprising the steps
 shaping a steel blank by way of a forming process, into the shape of the shower tray;   fastening, in particular welding or soldering on ribs, for the stabilisation of the shape of a tray base of the shower tray,   enamelling the shower tray;   bonding a base plate with pipes attached thereon, onto the lower side of the tray base, or bonding the base plate onto the lower side of the tray base and subsequently attaching the pipes to the base plate.   
     
     
         26 . The method for manufacturing a shower tray according to  claim 25 , comprising the following steps for enamelling the shower tray:
 enamelling the shower tray with the ribs, and, by way of this, forming an enamel layer on the lower side of the tray base;   removing the enamel layer on the lower side of the tray base.   
     
     
         27 . A semifinished product for manufacturing a shower tray according to  claim 11 , comprising a plane base plate with pipes which are welded thereon, wherein the base plate essentially has a rectangular contour, and the pipes are arranged outside this contour for connection of manifolds. 
     
     
         28 . The semi-finished product according to  claim 27 , wherein the base plate comprises cut-outs for receiving ribs of the shower tray.