AND S IMILAR UTILITIES

TECHNICAL FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to a system for managing water in home environment , which is able to limit the water waste during shower normal use . More in particular, the invention relates to a system for accumulating water to avoid waste while choosing the water temperature before water begins to flow out from the shower head at the correct temperature .

STATE OF THE ART

Currently, various systems are known for accumulating and managing domestic water, which are reali zed with the aim of limiting water waste while using shower .

Among them, in particular in CN107185738 a smart sel f-heating shower head is described, which is provided with a voice-activated control system for controlling working temperature and pressure . This invention is characteri zed by the provision of a storage tank where the water to be heated is stored, which is provided with a sponge layer to improve heat keeping . The system is also provided with a temperature sensor, which is able to monitor the temperature of the water inside the pipes in real time and to avoid that it is too high or too low, thus bothering the user . The invention is finally provided with a voice-activated control sensor which allows the users to control the equipment in the best way .

Therefore , the user receives the water directly at the desired temperature , thus allowing to obtain a real water saving but at the same time it implies to wait until the system is heated .

In CN108317740 a device is described comprising a water tank, a water inlet pipe , a hot water pipe , a return pipe , a cold water pipe , a pump, a water inlet magnetic valve , a two positions valve , three two-ways solenoid valves to manage cold water, the water outflow respectively, and to mix water at constant temperature , a water outflow pipe , a shower noz zle , housing and control system . The device detects the temperature of the water in the hot water pipe by means of a water temperature sensor and when the water temperature goes under the desired temperature , it comes back automatically to the tank through the return pipe , and is kept constant by the thermostatic mixer . Concerning water supply, when the human body is far from the shower noz zle , the water can be automatically interrupted, thus obtaining a remarkable saving .

The technical solution adopted instead in CN111218963 consists in an automatic shower head comprising a sprinkler and a main water pipe . The main water pipe is provided with a water temperature detecting device and is connected to a tank .

Among the other devices known at the state of the art , the utility model CN205020261 relates to a device aiming at limiting waste by using an infrared sensor for measuring distance and at varying the position of the head of the shower body, so that water can be sprinkled directly on the user' s body, thus saving water ef ficiently; inside the water inlet pipe a temperature sensor is provided which supplies the detected data to a microprocessor to control the water supplying mode . In particular, i f the temperature corresponds to the desired one , the water is emitted through the shower body, otherwise it is conveyed to the water tank through the return pipe . The system is also provided with a timer and buz zer, to warn the user in case of prolonged use of the shower .

Finally, in KR20160067411 a functional shower is described, which is able to control water temperature by means o f a control sensor, so that water at constant temperature can be suppl ied independently of the instable functioning of the boiler . In particular, the device is connected to a water tank with predetermined dimensions , on which a sensor is arranged .

These systems often provide the use of a storage tank integrated in the shower panel . Anyway, this fact implies a remarkable volume occupation since the hot water restored inside the tank integrated in the panel takes up a substantial volume which takes away space to the shower volume . So , the comfort while using the shower is reduced, since this is occupied by the shower panel proj ecting outwards owing to the volume of the storage tank . This type of systems can be used only for great shower trays , so that the person having the shower has suf ficient space for himsel f inside the shower tray, also in presence of the storage tank . Yet , also in these cases , the volume of the tank cannot be too great because the shower appearance would be compromised since the shower panel would proj ect very much outwards relative to the wall on which it is installed .

A second technical problem is that with a storage tank arranged in the shower panel , it is needed suf ficient pressure inside the tank in order that the water mass contained in said tank has suf ficient strength to go up to the output of the shower head, which is very often above , so higher than the shower panel . So , it is needed to introduce a pump which moves water from the tank positioned in the panel up to the shower head . So , the energy saved by restoring hot water while waiting the desired temperature to be obtained is yet used partially to move the water mass from the tank of the panel to the shower head . Moreover, the energy requested is of mechanical and not thermal type .

Another technical problem not faced at the state of the art is that no auxiliary system is provided in case of boiler failure . In fact , in case of sudden failure during shower, the water outflow would not have the desired temperature anymore , thus bothering the user remarkably .

Moreover, none of the above-mentioned devices is provided with the possibility to preset the water temperature so that it flows at the requested conditions at the moment of the shower, with a remarkable time saving for the user .

AIM OF THE INVENTION Therefore, aim of the present invention is to provide a device able to obtain water and energy saving while using shower, by restoring in a tank the water not yet at the temperature desired by the user .

Furthermore, aim of the present invention is to provide a device able to remotely adjust the water working temperature by creating various dedicated profiles .

BRIEF DESCRIPTION

The invention realizes the prefixed aims since it is a device for optimizing the use of water in a shower, comprising: at least a water inlet pipe; a tank (7) ; at least a shower head (12) configured to supply water to a user and to receive inlet water through said inlet pipe, or through said tank, or through said inlet pipe and said tank at the same time; a temperature sensor (3) configured to measure the temperature of the water in said inlet pipe (1) ; a three-ways solenoid valve (4) positioned downstream of said temperature sensor (3) and configured so to deviate the inlet flow towards the shower head (12) of the shower or towards said tank (7) as a function of the value of the temperature measured by said sensor (3) ; control electronic means configured to acquire the values measured by the sensors provided in the device, to control the solenoid valves provided in the device and to communicate with at least a remote device in order to acquire from said remote device at least a desired temperature value for water supplying; a solenoid valve (10) positioned downstream of said tank and configured to close or allow the water flow from said tank (7) towards said shower head (12) and characterized in that it comprises also a flow aerator (15) comprising a choke (18) provided in the connection pipe (19) to the shower head (12) and a connection pipe (16) of the inside of the pipe (19) with the outside, provided with a nonreturn valve (17) . DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES

These and other advantages will be described in the following with reference to the appended figure 1 which shows a panoramic view of the device.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

With reference to the appended drawings, it is described a preferred embodiment of a system for optimizing water in a shower, and in particular an apparatus for accumulating and heating water, provided with a controller able to be connected by

Bluetooth or Wi-Fi to various devices. The whole device is arranged on the shower head of the shower by exploiting the height normally already provided in the various buildings, since it has to be guaranteed by the building habitability criteria. In the proposed configuration the tank is suspended on the area occupied by the user.

The already mixed water coming from the boiler is conveyed in the system through the inlet pipe (1) , at whose end a temperature sensor (3) is positioned, which measures the temperature of the fluid .

Downstream of the sensor (3) it is provided a three-ways solenoid valve (4) which, according to the temperature of the inlet water detected and to the temperature of the water desired by the user, deviates the fluid flow directly towards the shower head (12) or, if the acquired value does not satisfy the user desires, towards the tank (7) . This latter, whose capacity can be variable, is provided inside with a level sensor (6) and with an emergency electric resistance (8) , whose function is to heat water in case of boiler failure.

Preferably, but not limitingly the tank (7) comprises also a compressor (9) therein, which is configured to pressurize the tank and to allow the water in the tank (7) to have the right pressure to be used by the user . In particular if the supplying pressure from the system is sufficient, the water is sent directly to the shower head (12) through the three-ways solenoid valve (10) positioned upstream of the tank (7) ; otherwise, in case the water stored in the tank (7) is used, it is needed the intervention of the compressor (9) in order to bring the pressure back on normal usage levels .

Finally, downstream of the tank (7) a two-ways solenoid valve (10) is positioned which allows the passage of the water towards the shower head (12) and, so, allows to obtain the outflow towards the user ( 13 ) .

Moreover, in order to monitor the user water consumption and to optimize the use of the invention, a flow meter (11) is arranged between the solenoid valve (10) and the shower head (12) . All the just described equipment is managed by an electronic controller (5) supplied by the current of the low voltage domestic network. Said controller (5) receives data in input deriving from the measurements carried out by the temperature sensor (3) and controls firstly the solenoid valve (4) in order to direct the water flow towards the shower head or in direction of the storage tank (7) , in case the temperature detected is lower than the one desired by the user. Once restored in the tank (7) , the water will be re-used in the following by mixing it with the hot water coming from the boiler, and will be input in the system through the solenoid valve (10) , which is controlled by the controller (5) as well.

In particular, the device is configured so that, if the inlet water temperature is higher than the temperature desired by the user, and the temperature of the water in the tank is lower than the one desired by the user, water coming from said inlet pipe and from the tank is supplied through the shower head at the same time.

In case hot water is not provided in the inlet pipe, for example for a boiler failure, the controller (5) will control the electric resistance

(8) arranged inside the tank (7) to heat the cold water provided in the same, yet allowing the user to use the shower at the desired temperature. Moreover, in order to give the user the possibility to manage the system also remotely, the electronic controller (5) is provided therein with a microcontroller able to be connected via Bluetooth or Wi-Fi to various devices, thus allowing to set the starting time of the shower and the water temperature. It is also possible to create many user profiles containing data relating to the preferred temperature of the water and the times of shower use.

Finally, the controller is able to provide information relating to the quantity of water used by the user by means of the flow sensor (11) , as well as the liters of water yet present in the tank (7) by means of the level sensor (6) arranged therein .

So, the invention satisfies important advantages in the daily use of the shower, since it allows to save a remarkable quantity of water by restoring the water not having the usage thermal features requested by the user and allows also to set temperature parameters remotely by creating various user profiles.

As it is shown in detail in figure 2, preferably downstream of the flow meter (11) the device according to the invention comprises a flow aerator (15) comprising:

- a choke (18) realized in the connection pipe (19) to the shower head (12) ,

- a connection pipe (16) of the inside of the pipe (19) with the outside, provided with a nonreturn valve ( 17 ) . The flow aerator ( 15 ) functions according to the Venturi ef fect and is dimensioned so that the pressure at the choke ( 18 ) goes under the value of atmospheric pressure , so to suck air from outside towards the water flow .

The described device is also able to compensate for possible failures which can occur to the boiler, thanks to the use of the resistance arranged inside the storage tank ( 7 ) . The present invention has been described according to preferred embodiments , but equivalent variants can be conceived without departing from the protection aim of the invention .