RECOVERY DEVICE

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

[0001] This application claims priority to and benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No. 63/299,464, filed January 14, 2022, which is incorporated herein by reference.

TECHNICAL FIELD

[0002] The present disclosure relates to energy recovery devices.

BACKGROUND

[0003] Energy recovery includes method of minimizing energy input to a system by exchange of energy from another system. More often, energy recovery systems exchange thermal energy in either sensible or latent form. Typically, households include multiple appliances that use electrical energy for heating and cooling. Waste heat generated from operation of the appliances is either intentionally exhausted to the environment or lost to the environment without any control on such loss. Constant supply of the energy inputs to such appliances promotes increase in carbon emissions and cost associated with supply of the energy inputs.

SUMMARY

[0004] According to one aspect of the present disclosure, an energy recovery device includes a body defining a cavity within a waste heat channel of a first appliance, and a capsule detachably disposed within the cavity. The capsule is made of a material configured to allow exchange of heat from the waste heat channel to a phase change material disposed within the capsule. Further, the capsule can be attached to a second appliance. In an embodiment, the phase change material is one of paraffin wax, sodium sulphate, lauric acid, trimethylolethane, lithium nitrate, manganese nitrate, manganese chloride, or sodium silicate.

[0005] In an embodiment, the capsule is transferable from a first appliance to a second appliance, wherein the phase change material absorbs heat from the first appliance and releases heat to the second appliance. In an embodiment, the capsule is a hollow cylindrical in structure. In an embodiment, the material is one of copper, silicon carbide, aluminum, tungsten, graphite, zinc, or alloys thereof. The first appliance is one of a domestic furnace, dishwasher, washing machine, or air conditioner condenser, and the second appliance is one of a portable space heater, a hair care appliance, outdoor patio heater, tankless water heater, portable water heater, or a massager.

[0006] In an embodiment, the body is disposed along a waste heat channel of the first appliance and configured to allow (a) flow of heated air through the cavity and (b) absorption of heat by the phase change material.

[0007] According to another aspect of the present disclosure, a method of using an energy recovery device is disclosed. The method includes attaching a body of the device to a first appliance and subj ecting a capsule of the device to waste heat from the first appliance, where a phase change material disposed within the capsule absorbs the waste heat. The method also includes detaching the capsule from the first appliance and installing the capsule into a second appliance such that the phase change material changes phase and releases heat to the second appliance.

[0008] These and other aspects and features of non-limiting embodiments of the present disclosure will become apparent to those skilled in the art upon review of the following description of specific non-limiting embodiments of the disclosure in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0009] A better understanding of embodiments of the present disclosure (including alternatives and/or variations thereof) may be obtained with reference to the detailed description of the embodiments along with the following drawings, in which:

[0010] FIG. 1 A is an exemplary view of a first appliance implementing an energy recovery device, according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0011] FIG. IB is an exemplary view of a capsule of the energy recovery device being transferred to a second appliance from the first appliance, according to an embodiment of the present disclosure; [0012] FIG. 1C is another exemplary view of a capsule of the energy recovery device being transferred to a second appliance from the first appliance, according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0013] FIG. ID is another exemplary view of a capsule of the energy recovery device being transferred to a second appliance from the first appliance, according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0014] FIG. 2 is flowchart of a method of using the energy recovery device, according to an embodiment of the present disclosure; and

[0015] FIG. 3 is an exemplary use case, according to an embodiment of the present disclosure

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0016] Reference will now be made in detail to specific embodiments or features, examples of which are illustrated in the accompanying drawings. Wherever possible, corresponding or similar reference numbers will be used throughout the drawings to refer to the same or corresponding parts. Moreover, references to various elements described herein, are made collectively or individually when there may be more than one element of the same type. However, such references are merely exemplary in nature. It may be noted that any reference to elements in the singular may also be construed to relate to the plural and vice-versa without limiting the scope of the disclosure to the exact number or type of such elements unless set forth explicitly in the appended claims.

[0017] As used herein, the terms “a”, “an” and the like generally carry a meaning of “one or more,” unless stated otherwise. Further, the terms “approximately”, “approximate”, “about”, and similar terms generally refer to ranges that include the identified value within a margin of 20%, 10%, or preferably 5%, and any values therebetween.

[0018] Aspects of the present disclosure are directed to an energy recovery device including a capsule consisting of a phase change material, where the capsule can be transferred from one appliance to another appliance to exchange heat. [0019] Referring to FIG. 1A, a domestic appliance 100 implementing an energy recovery device 102 (hereinafter referred to as “the device 102”) is illustrated. The domestic appliance 100 is alternatively referred to as the “first appliance 100,” which generates waste heat from its operation. The first appliance 100 is illustrated as a domestic furnace, such as a gas furnace. However, in some embodiments, the first appliance 100 may be implemented as one of a dishwasher, a washing machine, an air conditioner, a shower unit, a pool heater, garage freezer, a refrigerator, and/or any other type of appliance or device that may produce heat as a byproduct of its operation. Since the domestic furnace is conventionally known, components of the domestic furnace are not described for the purpose of brevity.

[0020] The first appliance 100 includes a waste heat channel 104 through which heat generated as a byproduct from the operation of the first appliance 100, such as burning fuel or gas, is exhausted out of the first appliance 100. For example, if the first appliance 100 is a domestic furnace, the waste heat channel 104 may include a flue or stack that may be used to exhaust combustion gases the furnace to make room for fresh combustion gases. However, this is not intended to be limiting and any other heated gases produced by the domestic furnace may be captured by the device 102. In case of dishwasher and washing machine, the waste heat channel may be understood as, for example, a duct carrying hot used water out of the dishwasher or the washing machine. Although reference is made to “waste heat” herein, the device 102 and associated methods may similarly be applicable to any other types of heat produced by the first appliance 100.

[0021] According to an aspect, the device 102 is coupled to the waste heat channel 104 of the first appliance 100. In an embodiment, the device 102 includes a body 106 made of, for example, heat insulating material. In some embodiments, the body 106 may be made of aluminum and an inner surface thereof may be coated with heat insulating material. However, this is not intended to be limiting and the body 106 may be made of any other type of material as well. The body 106 may also include additional fixtures to aid coupling the device 102 to the waste heat channel 104. Further, the body 106 defines a cavity 108 within the waste heat channel 104. For example, the cavity 108 may be aligned with the waste heat channel 104 to define a continuous flow path for the waste heat when the device 102 is coupled to the first appliance 100. In some embodiments, the device 102 may be removably coupled to the waste heat channel 104. [0022] The device 102 further includes a capsule 110 embodied as a hollow cylindrical structure. The capsule 110 is made of a material capable of conducting and transferring heat. For example, the capsule 110 may be made of one of copper, silicon carbide, aluminum, tungsten, graphite, zinc, or alloys thereof. The hollow cylindrical structure is configured to contain a phase change material 112. In an example, the phase change material 112 may be one of paraffin wax, sodium sulphate, lauric acid, trimethylolethane, lithium nitrate, manganese nitrate, manganese chloride, sodium silicate, or any other material capable of phase changing at desired temperatures. It should be noted that any shapes of the device 102 or the capsule 110, as well as any materials of the device 102 or the capsule 110, as described herein are merely exemplary and not intended to be limiting in any way.

[0023] The capsule 110 is detachably disposed within the cavity 108. During operation of the first appliance 100, waste heat, in form of, for example, flue gas flows through the waste heat channel 104. The material of the capsule 110 is configured to allow exchange of heat from the waste heat channel 104 to the phase change material. For example, considering the phase change material 112 as paraffin wax (however, this is merely exemplary and any other phase change material may be used), the material of the capsule 110 absorbs heat from the waste heat flowing through the waste heat channel 104 and transfers the absorbed heat to the paraffin heat, thereby aiding change of phase of the paraffin wax from solid to molten form and further to liquid. Unless the capsule 110 is removed from the cavity 108, the phase change material 112 continues to absorb heat from the waste heat channel 104. To this end, it is understood that the body 106 of the device 102 is disposed along the waste heat channel 104 and configured to allow (a) flow of heated air through the cavity 108 and (b) absorption of heat by the phase change material 112. FIG. IB illustrates transferring of the capsule 110 from the first appliance 100 to a second appliance 114. According to an aspect, the capsule 110 is portable and attachable from the first appliance 100 to the second appliance 114. That is, the capsule 110 may be heated by the first appliance, removed from the first appliance 100, and attached to the second appliance. In this manner, heat that is produced by the first appliance 100 may be captured and stored by the capsule 110 and the capsule 110 may then be removed from the first appliance 100 and attached to the second appliance 114 to serve as a heat source for the second appliance 114. This allows the heat produced by the first appliance 100 to be re-used for other purposes, which improves the energy efficiency of the second appliance 114 by leveraging energy produced by the first appliance 100.

[0024] In some embodiments, the second appliance 114 may be implemented as one of, but not limited to, a portable space heater, a hair care appliance, outdoor patio heater, tankless water heater, portable water heater, a portable water bottle, a massager, and/or any other type of element that may benefit from a heat source. In an embodiment, the capsule 110 may include a handle 116 to allow a user to easily install the capsule 110 into the cavity 108, extract the capsule 110 from the cavity 108, and carry the capsule 110 from the first appliance 100 to the second appliance 114. In some embodiments, the handle 116 may also serve to indicate proper installation of the capsule 110 into the cavity 108. In some embodiments, the body 106 may include a closure element, such as a door (not shown), configured to conceal the cavity 108 in a closed position and provide access to the cavity 108 in an open position.

[0025] A portable space heater 118 is illustrated in FIG. IB as the second appliance 114. In an embodiment, the portable space heater 118 may define a receiving space or a cavity configured to receive the capsule 110. Upon transferring the capsule 110 from the first appliance 100 to the second appliance 114, based on temperature of surrounding environment, the phase change material 112 releases heat to the second appliance 114. In the illustrated embodiment, when the capsule 110 is transferred from the domestic furnace to the portable space heater 118, the phase change material 112 releases heat through the material of the capsule 110, thereby heating the surrounding. Amount of heat absorbed and released by the phase change material 112 may be a factor of quantity of the phase change material 112 disposed within the cavity 108.

[0026] In some embodiments, the capsule 110 may include a plurality of chambers to receive mini capsules (not shown), each containing the phase change material 112. Each mini capsule may be selectively removed from the capsule 110 and installed in another appliance. For example, one mini capsule may be removably installed in (a) the hair care appliance used for straightening hairs, where the phase change material can dissipate heat required for the straightening of hairs; (b) the outdoor patio heater, such as patio propane heater for lighting the surroundings; (c) the tankless water heater, where the phase change material dissipates heat to preheat water being supplied in a loop; (d) portable water heater, where the phase change material dissipates heat to heat water being dispensed therefrom; or (e) the massager, where the phase change material dissipates heat to a surface of the massager to relax muscles of the body.

[0027] Additionally, in some embodiments, multiple devices 102 may be coupled to the first appliance 100 rather than a single device 102 including a capsule 110 with multiple mini capsules.

[0028] FIG. 1C-1D also illustrate transferring of the capsule 110 from the first appliance 100 to a second appliance 114. Specifically, FIG. 1C illustrates an example in which the capsule 110 is transferred from the first appliance 100 to a space heater and FIG. ID illustrates a further example in which the capsule 110 is transferred from the first appliance 100 to an outdoor patio heater.

[0029] FIG. 2 illustrates a flowchart of a method 200 of using the device 102, according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. The method 200 is described in conjunction with FIG. 1A and FIG. IB. In an embodiment, the method 200, at step 202, includes attaching the body 106 of the device 102 to the first appliance 100, such as the domestic furnace. Step 202 may also include removably coupling the body 106 of the device 102 to the waste heat channel 104 of the domestic furnace, such that the cavity 108 is aligned with the waste heat channel 104 of the domestic furnace.

[0030] At step 204, the method 200 includes subjecting the capsule 110 to waste heat from the first appliance 100, where the phase change material 112 absorbs the waste heat.

[0031] At step 206, the method 200 includes detaching the capsule 110 from the first appliance 100. The capsule 110 may include the handle 116 to aid removal of the capsule 110 from the cavity 108 of the device 102.

[0032] At step 208, the method 200 includes installing the capsule 110 into the second appliance 114 such that the phase change material 112 changes phase and releases heat to the second appliance 114. Once all the heat has been exhausted from the phase change material 112, the capsule 110 may be detached from the second appliance 114 and installed back into the first appliance 100.

[0033] To this end, the device 102, and particularly the portable capsule 110, helps recovery of energy from one appliance to the other, thereby reducing carbon emissions and hence financial savings. [0034] The operations described and depicted in the illustrative methods, process flows, and use cases of FIG. 2 may be carried out or performed in any suitable order as desired in various example embodiments of the disclosure. Additionally, in certain example embodiments, at least a portion of the operations may be carried out in parallel. Furthermore, in certain example embodiments, less, more, or different operations than those depicted in FIGS. 2 may be performed.

[0035] FIG. 3 illustrates a use case 300 depicting a further use of the device 102 and/or the capsule 110. The first scene 302 in the use case 300 illustrates the device 102 capturing heat from the first appliance 100. For example, in this particular use case 300, the first appliance 100 may be a furnace, and the device 102 may be capturing heat from the hot exhaust air being produced by the furnace. The second scene 310 shows a user 312 located at a remote campsite 314 and holding a portable water bottle 316. Attached to the portable water bottle 316 is the capsule 110 of the device 102. The heat stored by the capsule 110 that is captured from the first appliance 100 may be used to heat the portable water bottle 316 in the remote environment of the campsite 314.

[0036] This use case 300 further illustrates the energy efficiency advantages of the device 102 in that the user 312 does not need to expend additional energy to heat the portable water bottle 316, but rather may rely on the energy byproduct of the first appliance 100 that may already be producing energy for other purposes (for example, a furnace may be used to heat a home of the user 312). The use case 300 also illustrates the portability of the capsule 110 and that such portability allows for the energy produced by the first appliance 100 to be used to provide heat to a second appliance (e.g., the portable water bottle 316 in this use case 300) even in a remote location.

[0037] While aspects of the present disclosure have been particularly shown and described with reference to the embodiments above, it will be understood by those skilled in the art that various additional embodiments may be contemplated by the modification of the disclosed methods without departing from the spirit and scope of what is disclosed. Such embodiments should be understood to fall within the scope of the present disclosure as determined based upon the claims and any equivalents thereof.

[0038] Exemplary Embodiments

[0039] Embodiment 1. An energy recovery device comprising: a body defining a cavity within a waste heat channel of a first appliance; and a capsule detachably disposed within the cavity, the capsule made of a material configured to allow exchange of heat from the waste heat channel to a phase change material disposed within the capsule, wherein the capsule is attachable to a second appliance.

[0040] Embodiment 2. The energy recovery device of embodiment 1, wherein the capsule is transferable from a first appliance to a second appliance, wherein the phase change material absorbs heat from the first appliance and releases heat to the second appliance.

[0041] Embodiment 3. The energy recovery device of embodiment 2, wherein the first appliance is one of a domestic furnace, dishwasher, washing machine, or air conditioner condenser.

[0042] Embodiment 4. The energy recovery device of any of embodiments 1 -3, wherein the body is disposed along a waste heat channel of the first appliance and configured to allow (a) flow of heated air through the cavity and (b) absorption of heat by the phase change material.

[0043] Embodiment 5. The energy recovery device of any of embodiments 1-4, wherein the second appliance is one of a portable space heater, a hair care appliance, outdoor patio heater, tankless water heater, portable water heater, portable water bottle, or a massager.

[0044] Embodiment 6. The energy recovery device of any of embodiments 1-5, wherein the capsule is a hollow cylindrical in structure.

[0045] Embodiment 7. The energy recovery device of any of embodiments 1-6, wherein the material is one of copper, silicon carbide, aluminum, tungsten, graphite, zinc, or alloys thereof.

[0046] Embodiment 8. The energy recovery device of any of embodiments 1-7, wherein the phase change material is one of paraffin wax, sodium sulphate, lauric acid, trimethylolethane, lithium nitrate, manganese nitrate, manganese chloride, or sodium silicate.

[0047] Embodiment 9. The energy recovery device of any of embodiments 1-8, wherein the phase change material is configured to transition from a solid state to a liquid state from the heat in the waste heat channel. [0048] Embodiment 10. A method of using an energy recovery device according to claim 1, the method comprising: attaching a body of the energy recovery device to a first appliance; subjecting a capsule of the energy recovery device to waste heat from the first appliance, wherein a phase change material disposed within the capsule absorbs the waste heat; detaching the capsule from the first appliance; and installing the capsule into a second appliance such that the phase change material changes phase and releases heat to the second appliance.

[0049] Embodiment 11. The method of embodiment 10, wherein the first appliance is one of a domestic furnace, dishwasher, washing machine, or air conditioner condenser.

[0050] Embodiment 12. The method of embodiment 11, wherein the second appliance is one of a portable space heater, a hair care appliance, outdoor patio heater, tankless water heater, portable water heater, or a massager.

[0051] Embodiment 13. The method of any of embodiments 10-12, wherein the phase change material absorbs heat from the first appliance and releases heat to the second appliance.

[0052] Embodiment 14. The method of any of embodiments 10-13, wherein the body is disposed along a waste heat channel of the first appliance and configured to allow (a) flow of heated air through the cavity and (b) absorption of heat by the phase change material.

[0053] Embodiment 15. The method of any of embodiments 10-14, wherein the capsule is a hollow cylindrical in structure.

[0054] Embodiment 16. The method of any of embodiments 10-15, wherein the material is one of copper, silicon carbide, aluminum, tungsten, graphite, zinc, or alloys thereof.

[0055] Embodiment 17. The method of any of embodiments 10-16, wherein the phase change material is one of paraffin wax, sodium sulphate, lauric acid, trimethylolethane, lithium nitrate, manganese nitrate, manganese chloride, or sodium silicate.

[0056] Embodiment 18. The method of any of embodiments 10-17, wherein the phase change material is configured to transition from a solid state to a liquid state from the heat in the waste heat channel.

[0057] Embodiment 19. The method of any of embodiments 10-18, wherein an inner surface of the body is coated with a heat insulating material. [0058] Embodiment 20. An energy recovery device comprising: a body defining a cavity within a waste heat channel of a first appliance; and a capsule detachably disposed within the cavity, the capsule made of a material configured to allow exchange of heat from the waste heat channel to a phase change material disposed within the capsule, wherein the capsule is attachable to a second appliance, wherein the phase change material absorbs heat from the first appliance and releases heat to the second appliance, wherein the body is disposed along a waste heat channel of the first appliance and configured to allow (a) flow of heated air through the cavity and (b) absorption of heat by the phase change material.