JP2000146297A - Hot-water supplier - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To improve safety with respect to the trouble due to the deterioration of a battery voltage by a method wherein the hot-water supplier is equipped with a hot-water supply stopping means for monitoring the battery voltage or the power source of an instrument at all times during combustion whether the same is higher than a predetermined level or not, and for stopping the discharge of hot-water when the battery voltage is so judged that the same is lower than the predetermined level. SOLUTION: When an ignition switch is put on, a motor M is started and a cam body 1 is turned by a given angle. During this operation, respective function units are operated while retaining given timings through various cam followers contacted slidably with a water wash driving cam 1a, a solenoid safety valve driving cam 1b, a slow igniting mechanism driving cam 1c and a button indicating cam 1d whereby igniting and hot-water discharging operation is effected. The opening of a water cock is driven through an operation lever 22a contacted slidably with the water wash driving cam 1a. In this case, it is confirmed whether a battery voltage is higher than a given voltage or not and, when the battery voltage is short upon starting the supply of hot-water, the igniting operation of a burner thereafter is prohibited to prevent the discharge of hot-water.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a water heater, and more particularly, to a water heater that opens a motor-operated faucet to discharge hot water.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, in a non-stop instantaneous water heater, a water faucet is provided in a water passage to a heat exchanger, and the water faucet is opened by opening a water faucet by pressing an ignition button. The automatic gas valve is opened by this water flow, the burner is started by the operation of the igniter, and the water in the water flow is heated so that the hot water is discharged. Recently, there has been known an apparatus that opens a valve by driving a motor without opening the faucet with an operation force of a user. This water heater includes a combustion controller that drives and controls a water faucet, a gas control valve, an igniter, and the like using a dry battery as a power source, and the combustion controller drives a motor based on a hot water supply instruction from an operation switch to drive the water faucet. Is opened, and after confirming the flow of water to the heat exchanger by a water flow switch, a gas control valve such as an electromagnetic valve is opened to start combustion and discharge hot water from a tapping pipe.

[0003]

However, in such a water heater using a motor-driven water faucet, when the battery voltage drops to a voltage at which the motor cannot be operated during tapping, an operation switch instructs stoppage of tapping. Even so, the motor becomes inoperable, the faucet keeps the valve open, and the water cannot be stopped. Further, in the case of a system in which the combustion is stopped based on the turning off of the water flow switch, the water flow switch is kept on due to the inability to stop water, and the combustion is continued and the tapping cannot be stopped. An object of the present invention is to improve the safety against a specific problem when a motor-driven water faucet is adopted, that is, a problem due to a battery voltage drop.

[0004]

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a water heater, which heats water in the flowing water by combustion heat of a burner, and a water passage of the heat exchanger. A water faucet that opens and closes, a motor that is energized by a predetermined operation to open and close the faucet, a water flow detection unit that detects a water flow in the water passage, and a water flow that is detected by the water flow detection unit. In a water heater provided with combustion control means for performing an ignition operation of a burner to start combustion and a battery serving as a power supply for the appliance, whether or not the battery voltage is equal to or higher than a predetermined level is constantly monitored during combustion, and the predetermined level is monitored. The gist is that a tapping stop means for stopping tapping is provided when it is determined that the temperature is lower than.

In the water heater of the first aspect of the present invention having the above structure, the motor is driven by a predetermined tapping operation to open the faucet, the water flow is detected, and then the burner is burned to discharge the hot water. However, during combustion, it constantly monitors whether the voltage of the battery serving as the power source of the motor is equal to or higher than a predetermined level. Then, when it is determined that the battery voltage is lower than the predetermined level, the tapping is stopped. Therefore, even if the battery voltage decreases due to various electric loads during tapping, tapping can be stopped before the faucet reaches the valve closing impossible level. As a result, a problem that the operation of the motor becomes impossible during tapping is avoided,
Safety is improved.

[0006]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS In order to further clarify the configuration and operation of the present invention described above, a preferred embodiment of a water heater of the present invention will be described below. FIG. 1 is an exploded configuration view schematically showing a mixing-type main water heater of one embodiment, in which WV is a water faucet, and a diaphragm water supply valve is used as the water faucet. Equipped on the upstream side, the structure is such that a pilot valve 8 urged in the closing direction by a sprung 7 is provided in the valve hole 6 of the diaphragm valve 5 so as to be able to contact and separate, and the pilot valve 8 is advanced and retracted to open and close the valve hole 6. By doing so, the diaphragm valve 5 is opened and closed at the feed water pressure, so that water supply to the heat exchanger 9, water supply stop, and water discharge can be performed. A water pressure responsive device D is adjacent to the downstream side of the diaphragm type water supply valve serving as the faucet WV. The automatic water pressure gas valve V4 responds to the water supply pressure via the diaphragm 10 so that the amount of gas supplied to the gas burner 11 and the amount of water supplied to the heat exchanger 9 are automatically controlled.

MV is an electromagnetic safety valve, which is provided on the upstream side of the gas supply path 12. The safety valve V5 urged in the closing direction by the spring 13 is opened and held by the electromagnet 14, and the electromagnet 14 is energized. When released, the safety valve V5 is automatically closed. G is a mild ignition mechanism, gas supply path
Equipped with a locking plate 17 fixed to the valve shaft 15 with a gentle ignition valve V2 urged in the closing direction by the sprung 16 on the valve shaft 15 of the device plug V1 and provided with a certain play on the downstream side of the valve plug V1. At the time of ignition, they are linked with the appliance plug V1 with a certain time difference, and the gentle ignition gas passage 18 branched from the appliance plug V1 and the mild ignition valve V2 of the gas supply path 12 is connected to the capacity switching valve V6. Open to the downstream side, a mild ignition needle valve V
7 is provided. In addition, 19 is a return issue.

M is a single motor for driving functional parts such as the faucet WV, the electromagnetic safety valve MV, the mild ignition mechanism G and the like. For example, a geared motor with a reduction gear 20 or the like is used, and is interlocked with the motor M. The respective functional units are driven via the operating body K while changing their operation timings. That is, a cam body 1 as illustrated in FIG. 2 is used as an operating body K, and the cam body 1 is fixed to an output shaft of a motor M, and the cam body 1 is intermittently rotated by a predetermined angle by the motor M. The drive of each functional unit is performed at different timings. A cam for driving the faucet WV is used as the cam body 1.
1a, a cam 1b for driving the electromagnetic safety valve MV, and a cam 1c for driving the mild ignition mechanism G are arranged side by side while maintaining the same axis, and a button display cam 1d and a position for detecting the position of the cam body 1
A cam 1e for operating the three cam switches S3 and S4 is also integrally provided, and the tip of the faucet driving cam 1a is engaged with the valve shaft 21 of the pilot valve 8 of the diaphragm type water supply valve WV. A pushing rod 24 provided on the base end 22b of the operating lever 22 and on the cam 1b for driving the electromagnetic safety valve is provided coaxially with the safety valve V5 of the electromagnetic safety valve MV and urged in the return direction by a spike 23.
Further, the valve shaft 15 of the slow ignition mechanism G is associated with the slow ignition mechanism driving cam 1c, and the shape of the cam surface of each of the cams 1a, 1b, 1c is such that the cam body 1 is intermittently driven by the motor M at a predetermined angle. The function units are set so as to be appropriately driven by changing the timing by rotating them in an appropriate manner.
The button display cam 1d is associated with the display rod 25, and the cam switch operating cam 1e is associated with the switch rods 26 and 27, respectively.

The motor M is connected to, for example, an ignition switch S1 which is linked with the operation button 2 of the feather touch type. The ignition switch S1 is operated by touching (slightly pressing) the operation button 2 at the time of ignition. In addition to the structure in which the motor M is started while being kept ON, a touch-type operation switch S2 provided in the kitchen shower 3 as shown in FIG. 7 is connected to the motor M via the ignition switch S1. The ignition switch S1 is previously held ON, and the motor M can be started and stopped only by turning ON and OFF the touch-type operation switch S2 provided in the kitchen shower 3 thereafter. In addition, an overload monitoring sequence for the motor M is provided in each of the functional units in response to the activation of the motor M, and a structure is provided in which the motor M is stopped by the sequence control when an excessive load is applied to the motor M. I have. Further, the faucet WV, the electromagnetic safety valve M
V, a monitoring sequence is provided in each functional unit such as the mild ignition mechanism G, and the operation of each functional unit is constantly monitored by the monitoring sequence.
When an abnormality occurs, the operation is immediately redone by sequence control.

In FIG. 1, S5 is a hydraulic switch (corresponding to the water flow detecting means of the present invention), and a cam 29 provided on the valve shaft 28 of the automatic hydraulic gas valve V4 interlocked with the diaphragm 10 of the hydraulic pressure responsive device D. It is to be operated by. Therefore, it operates so as to be turned ON only when water is flowing through the heat exchanger 9. V9 is a hot water temperature control valve which is interlocked with the operation button 2 via the gears 30 and 31 and rotates the operation button 2 to supply water to the heat exchanger 9 via the water supply pipe 34. And the mixer H, the amount of water supplied to the mixer H via the water supply pipe 35 can be adjusted to control the temperature of the hot water, and a water outlet path for only water can be configured. The cam provided on the gear 31 when it is turned to the "flush" position
At 31a, the water switch S6 is operated to turn off all the functional units necessary for water heating, so that only water can be reliably discharged. 36 is a tapping pipe, 32 is a strainer, V8 is a gas governor, 33 is a pilot gas passage branched from the mild ignition gas passage 18, 4a is a water inlet of the water supply passage 4, and 12a is a gas supply passage.
There are 12 gas inlets.

The operation of the above arrangement will be described below with reference to FIG.
The operation will be described with reference to FIG. The basic operating principle is, as shown in FIG. 3, when the ignition switch S1 is held ON by operating the operation button 2 in the ignition and tapping, the motor M is started and the cam body 1 is kept constant. A → B → C → D during rotation of angle
In the order of → E, each functional unit operates with a certain timing, and starts the ignition and tapping operations, and the cam switches S3 and S4
Detects the operating position of each of the cam bodies 1, the motor M is stopped once and restarted. Next, when the fire is extinguished and the hot water is stopped, the ignition switch S1 is released from the ON state, the motor M is started, the cam body 1 is returned to the original position, and each functional unit is returned to the original position straight from E to A and reset. Fire extinguishing and stopping hot water.

In the above operation, when tapping is temporarily stopped by closing a main faucet (not shown) during tapping, the water pressure switch S5 is turned off while the ignition switch S1 is turned on, and E → A → B is activated. When it stops and the main faucet is opened (when tapping), the water pressure switch is turned on with the ignition switch S1 turned on, and the operation is performed in the order of B → C → D → E (see FIG. 3). When the appliance plug is opened for slow ignition between D and E, the motor M stops for a certain time (for example, about one second), and opens the slow ignition valve after a time difference. The motor M, that is, the two cam switches S3 and S4 for detecting the position of the cam body 1 operate at A, B, D and E as shown in Table 1 below.

[Table 1] In Table 1 above, ○ indicates ON and X indicates OFF.

The ignition sequence based on the basic principle will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. First, step
When the ignition of the operation button 2 is operated at 100, the ignition switch S1 is turned on.
The ignition switch S1 is turned off at step 101.
F After confirming whether or not the operation has been performed, confirming whether or not the voltage of the dry battery serving as the power source of the appliance is equal to or higher than the constant voltage V1, and confirming whether or not the water switch S6 is OFF, all are YES. Then, the motor M is started in step 102, and if there is at least one NO, the "stop" sequence of step 101 is activated to stop the ignition operation. Therefore, if the battery voltage is insufficient at the time of starting hot water supply, the next sequence is not performed, so that a problem that the water tap WV and each gas valve cannot be driven and controlled by the motor M during hot water supply is prevented. . This "stop" sequence is the highest priority sequence, and a monitoring sequence is incorporated in step 101 to constantly monitor the above operation. Therefore, if the battery voltage becomes insufficient during tapping,
Since the sequence works to stop the tapping, it is possible to prevent the battery voltage from being kept at the motor control uncontrollable level when the battery is continuously used. When the motor M is started in step 102, the cam body 1 rotates. First, the faucet WV is opened with the faucet driving cam 1a, and the cam switches S3 and S4 are in the B position (refer to Table 1 and thereafter). When this is detected in step 103, the motor M stops temporarily. In step 104, after confirming ON / OFF of the water pressure switch S5, the water pressure switch S5 is turned on.
In other words, when it is confirmed that the water is passed to the heat exchanger 9, the routine proceeds to step 105, where the motor M is started again, and
The cam body 1 rotates to push open the safety valve V5 of the electromagnetic safety valve MV by the electromagnetic safety valve driving cam 1b. At this time, the igniter IG is turned on, the quick is turned on, and the holding current to the electromagnet 14 is turned on at the same time when the motor M is started. Then step
At 106, the instrument plug V1 is opened by the slow ignition mechanism driving cam 1c of the cam body 1, and the gas adjusted by the slow ignition needle valve V7 is supplied to the main burner 11 through the mild ignition gas passage 18 while the pilot gas passage is being supplied. Gas is also supplied to a pilot burner (not shown) via 33, and the pilot burner is ignited by the spark from the plug by the igniter IG, and then the main burner 11 is moderately ignited. At this time, when it is detected by the cam switches S3 and S4 that the cam is at the D position, the motor M is temporarily stopped.
A certain slow ignition time (T2 seconds) after the appliance plug V1 is opened
, The motor M is started again, the slow ignition valve V2 is opened by the slow ignition mechanism driving cam 1c of the cam body 1, and in step 108, the slow ignition valve V2 is fully opened by the cam switch S.
3. When the cam position is detected to be at the position E by S4, the motor M is stopped and a series of ignition operations is completed.

In the steps 103 and 104, a monitoring sequence for constantly monitoring the state of the water pressure switch S5 is incorporated. For example, if the water pressure switch S5 is turned on once and the water pressure switch S5 is turned off during the progress of the sequence, the water pressure switch S5 is turned off. Turning off the switch S5 is prioritized, and the motor is operated from E to A to B as shown in FIG. 3, and once the tapping is stopped, the faucet WV is opened to check the B position of the cam switches S3 and S4. Then, the control waits until the water pressure switch S5 is turned on again, and proceeds to the next sequence by detecting the ON of the water pressure switch S5. Therefore, after performing the tapping operation with the operation button 2 first, the tapping operation can be linked to the opening and closing operation of the original faucet. That is, tapping is started by simply opening the main faucet provided in the water supply pipe without operating the operation button 2, and the burner is extinguished by closing the main faucet to stop the hot water supply. Becomes possible.
Similarly, a water tap can be provided in the hot water supply pipe, and the tapping operation can be linked to the tapping operation like a stop water heater. As a result,
Since the tapping operation can be performed in various modes, it is convenient for the user.

Further, the motor overload is monitored by a motor overload monitoring sequence corresponding to the start of the motor M in each step, and the motor is immediately stopped when an excessive load is applied. . Further, in step 105, when the igniter IG is turned on, the battery confirmation lamp is turned on to facilitate the confirmation. As a confirmation method, it is preferable that the lamp gradually darkens as the battery voltage decreases.

Next, the fire extinguishing sequence will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. 5. When the operation button 2 is extinguished in step 200, the ignition switch S1 is released from being held ON and the holding current of the electromagnetic safety valve MV is turned off in step 202, and the motor M Is activated to return the cam body 1 to the original position (A position). When it is detected in step 203 that the cam body 1 is in the A position by the cam switches S3 and S4, the motor M is stopped in step 204 and all the sequences are stopped. Return to the original position and reset. Therefore, without confirming the stoppage of the water supply by the water pressure switch S5, the power supply to the electromagnetic safety valve MV is directly stopped by the fire extinguishing operation of the operation button 2 to shut off the gas, so that the faucet WV cannot be closed by any chance. Even if the water pressure switch S5 is kept ON, the fire can be extinguished and it is safe.

In the fire extinguishing sequence, even if the operation is turned on during the operation of the "stop" sequence, the "stop" operation is prioritized until the "stop" sequence is completed. A corresponding overload monitoring sequence is provided. As a motor overload monitoring sequence corresponding to the start of the motor M in the ignition and fire extinguishing sequence, for example, as illustrated in FIG. The current flowing through the motor M is checked. If the current is more than the predetermined value A1, the motor M is stopped in step 301, the Mg holding current is turned off in step 302, and the button switch is turned off.
This is to shift to ON hold release.

According to the water heater of this embodiment described above,
The following effects are obtained. 1. Since the faucet WV, the mild ignition mechanism G, and the electromagnetic safety valve MV are driven by using a single motor M having high conversion efficiency of electric energy to mechanical energy as a driving source, power consumption is small, and the timing of each of them is reduced. Since the driving is changed, the motor load is reduced, the rush current can be suppressed, and the power consumption is further reduced. In addition, since the power supply voltage drop due to the inrush current is suppressed, the usable period in which the power supply voltage does not fall below the minimum operation guarantee voltage can be extended, and the battery life (battery replacement cycle) can be extended along with low power consumption. . Also, the output of the motor M can be small. Further, as compared with a device that controls opening and closing of the gas side and the water side using a plurality of drive sources, the configuration is simple, compact, and can be manufactured at low cost. Further, since the motor M is driven at different timings, the control position can be confirmed each time the motor is driven, and abnormal operation can be sufficiently monitored.
Very secure. 2. Before the electromagnetic ignition valve G is opened, the electromagnetic safety valve MV is opened before the electromagnetic safety valve MV is opened. If the motor M locks abnormally while the slow ignition mechanism G is open, the valve can be closed by the electromagnetic safety valve MV. is there. 3. Since each control valve on the gas side and water side is opened and closed by using the cam body 1, even with a single motor M, it is possible to operate them in a timely and reliable manner simply by setting the cam shape and the rotation angle. It becomes possible and the configuration becomes simple. 4. If the battery voltage is insufficient to start tapping and if the battery voltage becomes insufficient during tapping,
Since the "stop" sequence is activated to stop the tapping, it is possible to prevent a problem that the water tap WV and each gas valve cannot be driven and controlled by the motor M during tapping, thereby improving safety. 5. At the time of the fire extinguishing operation of the operation button 2, since the power supply to the electromagnetic safety valve MV is directly stopped and the gas is cut off without confirming the stoppage of the water supply by the water pressure switch S5, the water faucet WV cannot be closed and the water pressure switch S5 Even if S5 is kept ON, it is safe to extinguish the fire. 6. If the main faucet is closed during tapping, the tap is stopped once, the tap is opened and the valve is in the open position (see FIG. 3), and the ignition operation is started when water flow to the heat exchanger is confirmed again. Since it starts burning, it is safe to use and can be used easily, such as manual operation of the original faucet. In addition, if a tap is provided at the tap, it can be used like a water heater. 7. Since the cam switch S3, S4 detects the fully opened state of the faucet WV, and the water pressure switch S5 detects the flow of water to the heat exchanger 9, and starts the ignition operation.
If the valve is locked during opening of the V valve, the ignition operation is not started.
For this reason, when the faucet WV is locked in the half-open state and the desired flow rate cannot be obtained, the tapping temperature is higher than the set temperature and there is no burn, so that it is safe. 8. When the overload state of the motor M is detected, the energization of the motor M and the energization for holding the valve open to the electromagnetic safety valve MV are stopped, so that the continuous use in an abnormal state such as a motor lock is prevented. . 9. At the time of ignition, since the slow ignition valve V2 and the appliance plug V1 are opened with a certain time difference by the motor M, reliable gentle ignition is always performed without being affected by the level of water pressure or gas pressure. Can be. 10. In the embodiment of FIG. 7, by replacing the ignition switch S1 with an operation switch S2 provided in the kitchen shower 3 or the like, a hand operation becomes possible and operability is improved. In this embodiment, a mechanical switch such as a micro switch is used as the operation switch S2, but a non-contact electronic switch such as an infrared sensor can be used freely.

The embodiments of the present invention have been described above.
The present invention is not limited to these embodiments at all, and it goes without saying that the present invention can be implemented in various modes without departing from the gist of the present invention. For example, in this embodiment, the gas passage is opened and closed by the automatic hydraulic gas valve V4, the electromagnetic safety valve MV, and the slow ignition mechanism G including the appliance plug V1 and the mild ignition valve V2. It may be a configuration using only a low-speed ignition valve or a configuration without providing a mild ignition valve. Further, the gas shutoff valve such as the instrument stopper is not limited to the motor drive, and may be a configuration using an electromagnetic control valve.

[0020]

As described in detail above, claim 1 of the present invention
According to the water heater described above, the battery voltage is constantly monitored during tapping, so that a problem that the motor cannot be operated during tapping is avoided and safety is improved.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic development configuration diagram of a water heater as one embodiment.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a cam body.

FIG. 3 is an operation explanatory view.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing an ignition sequence.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing a fire extinguishing sequence.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart illustrating a motor overload monitoring sequence.

FIG. 7 is a schematic development configuration diagram of a water heater of another embodiment.

[Explanation of symbols]

 WV Water tap MV Electromagnetic safety valve V1 Instrument tap M Motor K Actuator 1 Cam 2 Operation button S1 Ignition switch S5 Water pressure switch (water flow detection means)

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A heat exchanger for heating water in water flow by the heat of combustion of a burner, a faucet for opening and closing a water passage of the heat exchanger, and an electric power supplied by a predetermined operation to open and close the faucet. A motor, water flow detecting means for detecting the water flow in the water passage, combustion control means for starting the burner by igniting the burner after the water flow is detected by the water flow detecting means, and a battery serving as a power supply for the appliance. A water heater comprising: a water tap stop means for constantly monitoring whether or not the battery voltage is equal to or higher than a predetermined level during combustion and judging that the battery voltage is lower than the predetermined level and stopping the tapping. A water heater characterized by the following.