JP2002018214A - Bath equipment - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To detect mesh clogging of a filtration apparatus or a filter without inviting increase of a cost in bath equipment. SOLUTION: When a water current switch is not turned on to the capacity of a circulation pump for which the water current switch is to be turned on, judging treatment for mesh clogging by judgeing the presence of mesh clogging is carried out everyday. When the mesh clogging is judged to occur continuously, for example for 5 days, a user is informed thereof by displaying it.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a bath apparatus capable of performing a purifying operation for filtering while circulating bathtub water between a bathtub and a circulation path.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In this type of bath apparatus, a filter and a circulation pump are provided in a bath water circulation path from a suction port opened to a discharge port to a discharge port, and the bath water is filtered while circulating the bath water. In some cases, a purifying operation is performed to remove dirt and dust mixed in water.

In such a purification operation, when clogging of a filter or a filter occurs, it is necessary to detect the clogging and notify a user.

[0004]

For this reason, conventionally,
A flow rate detector and a pressure detector are provided in the circulation path, and clogging of the filter and the filter is detected based on changes in the flow rate and the pressure.

[0005] However, installing a flow rate detector and a pressure detector leads to an increase in cost. Also,
The known impeller type flow rate detector that outputs a pulse for each rotation also has a disadvantage that the detection accuracy is reduced due to adhesion of dirt, dust and the like of bathtub water.

The present invention has been made in view of the above points, and provides a bath apparatus capable of detecting clogging of a filter or a filter without increasing costs. With the goal.

[0007]

In order to achieve the above-mentioned object, the present invention is configured as follows.

That is, in the bath apparatus of the present invention according to claim 1, a filter and a circulation pump are provided in a bathtub water circulation path from a suction port to a discharge port provided in the bathtub. A bath apparatus capable of performing a purifying operation of removing bathtub water from a bathtub, filtering the bathtub water with the filter, and returning the filtered bathtub water to the bathtub, wherein the water flow switch is provided in the circulation path and operates at a constant flow rate. An output of the water flow switch is provided, and control means for controlling the capacity of the circulation pump is provided.The control means is based on the presence or absence of the operation of the water flow switch with respect to the capacity of the circulation pump.
This is for determining the presence or absence of clogging.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the first aspect of the invention, the control means increases the capacity of the circulating pump when the water flow switch is not operated at a certain capacity of the circulating pump. If the water flow switch is not operated even if the capacity is increased, it is determined that clogging is present.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the first or second aspect, the control means controls a duty ratio of a PWM pulse which is a control output to the circulating pump.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the invention according to any one of the first to third aspects, the processing for determining the presence or absence of clogging is executed at a required interval, and clogging is continuously performed a predetermined number of times. When the determination is made, this fact is notified.

According to the first aspect of the present invention, when the water flow switch that operates at a constant flow rate does not operate with respect to the capacity of the circulating pump that should be operated, it is determined that the constant flow rate does not flow and there is clogging. The determination can be made, and the presence or absence of clogging can be detected without providing a flow detector or a pressure detector.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, when the water flow switch is not operated with a certain capacity of the circulation pump, that is, when a constant flow which should be flowing is not flowing, the capacity of the circulation pump is increased. Thus, the presence or absence of clogging is determined based on whether or not the water flow switch remains inactive, so that more accurate determination can be made.

According to the third aspect of the present invention, the presence or absence of clogging can be determined by controlling the duty ratio of the PWM pulse and controlling the capacity of the circulation pump.

According to the fourth aspect of the present invention, the process of determining the presence or absence of clogging is executed at a predetermined interval, for example, every day, and when it is determined that clogging has been performed a predetermined number of times in succession, the fact is determined. Since the notification is performed, when the notification is performed, the user can clean the filter to eliminate the clogging,
Further, if the user periodically cleans the filter before the predetermined number of times has been reached, there is no notification that there is clogging.

[0016]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS The details of the present invention will be described based on embodiments shown in the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a configuration diagram of a reheating unit with hot water supply as a bath device according to one embodiment of the present invention.

In FIG. 1, reference numeral 1 denotes a bathtub, and 2 denotes a reheating unit with hot water supply. The reheating unit 2 with hot water here mainly includes a circulation path 3 connected to the bathtub 1 and a DC for bathtub water circulation.
The apparatus includes a circulation pump 4 as a pump, a reheating heater 5, a hot water supply heater 7, a filter 8, an ultraviolet sterilization tank 9, and a controller 10 as a control means for controlling each part. In addition, 11 is a remote control device for controlling each part of the reheating unit with hot water supply via the controller 10.

The circulation path 3 has a suction port at a bathtub water introduction end and a discharge port at a bathtub water recirculation end connected to a side wall of the bathtub 1 through a circulation fitting 12. A bypass path 15 is connected to the return side 3a as the return side and the outgoing side 3b as the bathtub water return side. It should be noted that manual water drain plugs 13a, 13a are provided at the bathtub water introduction end and the bathtub water return end of the circulation path 3 disposed in the apparatus case.
b is attached.

An electromagnetic or motor-driven first two-way valve 16 is provided in the bypass passage 15 at a position downstream of the position where the bypass passage 15 is connected to the return side 3a of the circulation passage 3. 17 is the circuit 3
An electromagnetic or motor-driven second two-way valve 18 is provided downstream of the connection position of the bypass passage 15 with respect to the outgoing side 3b.
, Respectively. A drain pipe 19 is connected to the three-way valve 17, and the drain pipe 19 is provided with an electromagnetic or motor-driven drain two-way valve 20. In addition, a pressure sensing type water level sensor 21 such as a semiconductor pressure sensor for detecting a water level in the bathtub 1 is provided upstream of a connection position of the bypass path 15 with respect to the return side 3a of the circulation path 3. A water flow switch 2 that is turned on / off in accordance with the bathtub water circulation amount in the circulation path 3 is located downstream of the connection position of the bypass path 15 with respect to the return side 3a of the circulation path 3.
In addition, an incoming water temperature sensor 23 such as a thermistor is provided in the circulation path 3 upstream of the additional heat exchanger 5a.

Further, in a region upstream of a connection position of the bypass passage 15 with respect to the return side 3a of the circulation passage 3, an inverted U-shaped tube 40 as described below is provided. This inverted U-shaped tube 40 has a lower end of the rising channel 41 of about 9
The bent portion 43 is connected to the connecting position of the bypass 15 with respect to the return side 3a of the circulation path 3 so as to be linearly connected to the bypass 15 and the lower end of the falling flow path 42 is It is connected to a position closer to the bathtub 1 than the connection position. In addition, it is preferable that the height dimension of the rising channel 41 in the inverted U-shaped tube 40 is set to be larger than the pressure amplitude of the circulation pump 4. The lower end of the filter 8 on the downstream side of the inverted U-shaped tube 40 is provided with a U-shaped tube 4.
5 and a filter 8 downstream of the U-shaped tube 45.
The upper end on the side is connected to the three-way valve 17.

The circulating pump 4 is disposed downstream of the three-way valve 17 in the circulating path 3, and forcibly flows hot and cold water in the circulating path 3.

The reheating unit 5 heats the bathtub water flowing through the circulation path 3 as necessary.
a, a reheating heater 5b, and a reheating fan 5c. The additional heating heat exchanger 5a is disposed in the circulation path 3 in a region from the circulation pump 4 to the connection position of the bypass path 15 with respect to the outgoing side 3b of the circulation path 3 and is heated by the additional heating heater 5b. Heat exchange is performed.

The hot water supply heating section 7 is connected via a hot water supply path 24b to a region from the downstream of the additional heat exchanger 5a in the circulation path 3 to the connection position of the bypass path 15 to the outgoing side 3b of the circulation path 3; It supplies hot and cold water at a required temperature into the bathtub 1 through the circulation path 3, and includes a hot water supply heat exchanger 7a;
It has a heater 7b for hot water supply and a fan 7c for hot water supply. In the hot water supply heating section 7, a water supply path 24a is connected to the upstream of the hot water supply heat exchanger 7a, and a hot water supply path 24b is connected to the downstream of the hot water supply heat exchanger 7a. And a hot water supply path 24b are connected to a bypass path 24c. This hot water supply channel 24
In FIG. 3B, an overflow prevention valve 25 such as a flow control valve, an electromagnetic or motor-driven hot water supply two-way valve 26, and a check valve 27 are installed in this order downstream of the connection position of the bypass passage 24c. The hot water supply path 24b is branched between an overflow prevention valve 25 and a hot water supply two-way valve 26, and is connected to a curan 28 installed in a kitchen or the like. Further, an electromagnetic or motor-driven flow control valve 29 is provided in the middle of the bypass passage 24c. In addition, the above-mentioned overflow prevention valve 25 is based on the detection output of the flow sensors 30 and 31 installed at two places of the hot water supply path 24b and the water supply path 24a, for example, based on the detection output of the flow sensor 30 from the backwash path. The priming water flow rate is controlled, and the hot water supply flow rate is controlled based on the detection output of the flow rate sensor 30 to a flow rate that matches the heating capacity for obtaining hot water supply at the set temperature.

The filter 8 and the ultraviolet sterilizer 9 are provided in the bath 1
It constitutes a purification unit that purifies the bathtub water inside. The filter 8 includes a three-way valve 17 and a circulation pump 4 in the circulation path 3.
Is installed between the tub and water to separate foreign substances such as dirt and debris contained in the bathtub water.The air that accumulates inside is discharged to the outside with an air release valve, or to the outside without using an air release valve. It is structured to discharge. The ultraviolet sterilizing tank 9 is disposed between the circulation pump 4 and the additional heat exchanger 5a in the circulation path 3, and sterilizes bath water by ultraviolet irradiation. The filter 8 is installed upstream of the circulation pump 4 in order to prevent foreign matter such as dirt and dust mixed in the bath water taken out of the bathtub 1 from flowing into the circulation pump 4. It is.

The controller 10 comprises, for example, a microcomputer and executes an automatic operation mode described below. That is, when the automatic driving mode is instructed, first,
An automatic hot water filling operation for supplying hot water to the inside of the bathtub 1 is performed, and a purification operation for maintaining the quality of bathtub water in the bathtub 1 for a required time from the completion of the hot water filling is performed. During this purification operation, the warming of the bathtub water and the execution of the water replenishment operation are allowed for a period from the start until the required time elapses, and when the permissible execution time elapses, wait for the required time to elapse from this time, By heating the circulating water to a required temperature (for example, 80 degrees) while circulating inside the circulation path 3 without returning to the bathtub 1 from the circulation path 3, the circulation path 3 and all the components (4, 5a, 8) attached thereto are heated. , 9, 15, 16 and 17). After the required time has elapsed from the end of the heat sterilization operation, the backwash operation for washing the filter 8 is performed by supplying a required amount (for example, 20 liters), and thereafter, the purification operation for maintaining only the water quality is performed. Return.

Further, in this embodiment, during the purification operation, for example, every day, a clogging determination process for determining whether or not clogging of the filter 8 or the filter of the circulation fitting 12 is performed as described later. For example, when it is determined that there is clogging for five consecutive days, this is displayed on the display unit of the remote control device 11.

Next, each operation will be described in detail.

[Automatic Filling Operation] In the first automatic filling operation after the construction, when the remote control device 11 performs the automatic filling operation, the hot water supply two-way valve 26 is opened and the bathtub is circulated through the circulation path 3. The hot water heated to the set bath temperature by the hot water supply heating unit 7 is supplied to 1 to fill the hot water.

At the time of the automatic filling, the above-mentioned valves are opened and closed and switched to form a backwashing path, a return-side single-conveying path, a forward-side single-conveying path, and both conveying paths.

In the backwashing path, the first two-way valve 16 and the second two-way valve 18 are closed, and the three-way valve 17 is switched to the drain side to supply hot water at the set bath temperature along the path shown by the one-dot chain line in the figure. Is what you do.

The return side one-way path is set only through the return side 3a of the circulation path 3 by opening the first two-way valve 16, closing the second two-way valve 18, and switching the three-way valve 17 to the shut-off position. The bath temperature is supplied to the bathtub 1.

The one-side transfer path on the outgoing side is set only through the outgoing side 3b of the circulation path 3 by closing the first two-way valve 16, opening the second two-way valve 18, and switching the three-way valve 17 to the shut-off position. The bath temperature is supplied to the bathtub 1.

The two transfer paths are connected to the first two-way valve 16 and the second
The two-way valve 18 is opened and the three-way valve 17 is switched to the shut-off position to supply hot water at the set bath temperature to the bathtub 1 from both the return side 3a and the outgoing side 3b of the circulation path 3.

Of these paths, the backwash path is mainly for priming and air purging of the filter 8, the circulation pump 4, and the ultraviolet sterilization tank 9, and is formed at the beginning of the automatic filling operation. After a predetermined amount of hot water at a set bath temperature is supplied from the backwashing path, a return-side one-side transport path and an outgoing-side one-side transport path are sequentially formed, and air purging on the return side 3a and the outward side 3b of the circulation path 3 is performed. Done.

After a predetermined amount of hot water at a set bath temperature or a predetermined temperature (for example, 37 ° C.) is supplied from these paths, the circulation pump 4 is driven to check the flow of bathtub water with the water flow switch 22. When the determination is made and the flow of the bathtub water is detected as a result of the circulation determination, the circulation fitting 12
Then, the three-way valve 17 is switched to the shut-off position, the water level is detected by the water level sensor 21, and the output value of the water level sensor 21 is stored. After that, the three-way valve 17 is returned to the original circulation side to form both transport paths, a predetermined amount of hot water at the set bath temperature is supplied from the return side 3a and the outgoing side 3b of the circulation path 3, and the bathtub water is determined by the circulation determination. After confirming the flow, the three-way valve 17 is again switched to the shut-off position and the water level sensor 21 detects the water level.

Thereafter, the water level sensor 2 detected before and after the above
The bathtub cross-sectional area is calculated from the relationship between the difference between the output value of No. 1 and the amount of hot water supplied to the bathtub 1 between before and after water level detection, and from the calculated cross-sectional area, the water level sensor 21 has a required output value. The required amount of additional hot water is calculated, the three-way valve 17 is returned to the original state, and the calculated amount of hot water is supplied to the bathtub 1 via both transport paths.
Finally, the output value of the water level sensor 21 at the set water level is stored.

Then, the first two-way valve 16 is closed and the second
With the two-way valve 18 opened, the three-way valve 17 is switched to the circulation side to drive the circulation pump 4, and the reheating heater 5b is operated to perform the reheating operation.

When it is confirmed by the incoming water temperature sensor 23 that the bath water has risen to the set bath temperature by the reheating operation, the combustion operation of the reheating heater 5b is stopped and the automatic hot water filling operation is terminated.

When priming the filter 8, the circulating pump 4 and the ultraviolet sterilizing tank 9 from the backwashing path at the beginning, since the filter medium in the filter 8 is in a dry state, a large amount of the set bath temperature is suddenly reached. When hot water is supplied, the filter media is likely to flow out. Therefore, at the beginning of the priming, it is desirable to control the flow rate so that the supplied hot water amount is small (for example, 2 liters / minute) and the subsequent hot water supply amount is increased (for example, 8 liters / minute).

When the circulation pump 4 is driven to determine the circulation, if the bathtub water flow cannot be confirmed, first,
Since it is expected that the hot water inside the filter 8 and the like has flowed into the circulation path 3, a backwash path is formed in order to perform air purging inside the filter 8 and the like again. After supplying hot water having a fixed set bath temperature, a return-side one-side transport path is formed, and after a predetermined amount of hot water having a set bath temperature is supplied to the bathtub 1, circulation determination is performed again.

Further, when switching from the return-side single-conveying path to the outgoing-side single-conveying path or vice versa, once both conveying paths are formed so as not to cause a closed state,
For example, it is preferable that both the first two-way valve 16 and the second two-way valve 18 are once opened, and then one of the two-way valves is closed.

As described above, the automatic filling operation that is performed first after the construction has been described. However, the automatic filling operation that is performed thereafter is also described below. Return side 3a from the route
And the circulation path 3 from the one-sided conveyance path to the
b, priming and air purging from the backwash path again when the flow of the bathtub water is not confirmed by the circulation judgment, and the return side 3
a, and the details of the air purging will be omitted.

If it is determined in the circulation determination that there is no circulation, priming is performed. However, the number of times this priming is performed is limited to several times. Since it is considered that the drain plug (not shown) of the bathtub 1 is missing, an error is displayed and the hot water filling operation is terminated. The number of times of priming is set so that, if all priming is performed, even if the bathtub 1 is empty, the amount of priming is sufficient to submerge the circulation fitting 12 in the bathtub 1. By the way, if the circulation fitting 12 is submerged,
By driving the circulation pump 4, the bathtub water can be circulated between the bathtub 1 and the circulation path 3, and the water level can be accurately determined.

[Purification Operation] After the completion of the automatic hot water filling operation, a purification operation of circulating the bathtub water while filtering for a required time (for example, 168 hours) is performed. Until that time, the execution of the heat retention and water replenishment operation is permitted as necessary. After the permissible execution time of the heat retention / water replenishment operation has elapsed, the heat retention / water replenishment operation is not performed, but the circulating pump 4 is continuously driven unless the remote operation device 11 cancels the purification operation. Continue the purification operation. Then, when the entire execution time of the purification operation has elapsed, the operation is terminated, and a message such as, for example, “Please replace the bathtub water” is displayed on the display unit of the remote control device 11 as necessary.

In this embodiment, during the cleaning operation, clogging of the filters of the filter 8 and the circulation fitting 12 can be prevented by, for example,
The clogging determination process for daily detection is executed as follows.

In this embodiment, in addition to the clogging determination processing, the capacity learning processing for determining the capacity of the circulating pump 4 for flowing the set flow rate necessary for obtaining the purifying effect is performed.

Here, the capacity learning processing for determining the capacity of the circulation pump 4 will be described. In the purification operation, it is necessary to reduce the driving power consumption of the circulation pump 4 as much as possible so as to save energy, and to suppress noise at midnight. Therefore, it is necessary to obtain the purification effect of the circulation pump 4 by the purification operation. It is preferable to control the flow rate so that the set flow rate can be flowed.

The set flow rate required to obtain the purifying effect can be obtained in advance by experiments or the like. If the conditions such as the resistance of the circulation path are constant, the circulating pump necessary to flow the set flow rate is required. Ability can be uniquely determined.

However, the resistance of the circulation path varies depending on the installation site of the bath apparatus, and also varies depending on conditions such as filter and filter clogging.

Therefore, even if the flow rate necessary for obtaining the purifying effect is set as the set flow rate and the pump capacity for flowing this set flow rate is uniquely determined and the pump capacity is controlled, the resistance of the circulation path and the like can be controlled. Due to this difference, the set flow rate cannot be flowed, and the desired purification effect cannot be obtained.

Therefore, in this embodiment, the ability of the circulating pump 4 capable of flowing a constant flow rate is detected by performing a capacity learning process, and based on this, the capacity of the circulating pump 4 necessary for flowing the set flow rate is determined as follows. It is determined as follows. The set flow rate necessary to obtain the purifying effect is obtained in advance through experiments or the like.
L / min.

FIG. 2 is a flowchart for explaining the operations of the ability learning process and the clogging determination process.

In this embodiment, the capability learning process is performed every day together with the clogging determination process. Specifically, the capability learning process is performed after the end of the heat sterilization operation.

After the heat sterilization operation is completed, the process shifts to the circulation pump capacity learning process. First, the process shifts to the circulation mode in step S1. In this circulation mode, the first two-way valve 16 is closed, the second two-way valve 18 is opened, and the three-way valve 17 is set to the circulation side. In step S2, each of the valves 16, 18, and 17 corresponds to the circulation mode. It is determined whether or not the state has been reached. If so, the circulation pump 4 is driven with the initial capacity (step S3), and it is determined whether or not the water flow switch 22 has been turned on, that is, whether or not circulation has started. (Step S
4). The circulation is performed along a path as indicated by a broken arrow in FIG. By this circulation, the bathtub water is filtered and purified by the filter 8. In step S2, the valves 16, 1
When the devices 8 and 17 are not operating normally, an abnormal display is performed (step S18).

Here, the capacity of the circulation pump 4 can be grasped by the duty ratio of the PWM pulse which is a control output for controlling the circulation pump 4, and the duty ratio 15/64 is used as the initial capacity in step S3. And

In this embodiment, the determination of clogging is performed as described later. Therefore, when the water flow switch 22 is turned on, it is determined that no clogging occurs. In step S5, the clogging counter built in the controller 10 is cleared. I do.

Thereafter, the capacity of the circulation pump 4 is reduced by 1/64 in the duty ratio, that is, the duty ratio is reduced by 1
4/64 (step S6), and it is determined whether or not the water flow switch 22 is continuously turned on until 15 seconds have elapsed since the capacity of the circulation pump 4 is reduced (steps S7 and S).
8) If the water flow switch 22 is still on even after 15 seconds have elapsed, the process returns to step S6, and the capacity of the circulation pump 4 is further reduced by a factor of 1/64, that is, the duty ratio is reduced to 13/64. Similarly, whether the water flow switch 22 is on is continuously determined for 15 seconds. Thus, when the water flow switch 22 is turned on, the capacity of the circulation pump 4 is gradually reduced by a 1/64 duty ratio.

When the flow rate in the circulation path 3 becomes a constant flow rate at which the water flow switch 22 is turned off, for example, 3 liters / minute,
In step S7, it is determined that the water flow switch 22 has not been turned on, that is, it has been turned off, and the process proceeds to step S9.

In step S9, the water flow switch 22
The circulation pump 4 for flowing the set flow rate from the duty ratio which is the capacity of the circulation pump 4 at the time of turning off, with reference to the duty ratio reference table shown in the following table previously stored in the storage unit of the controller 10. This is to determine the duty ratio, which is the capability of the system.

[0061]

[Table 1] The reference table includes a constant flow rate at which the water flow switch 22 is turned off, for example, a duty ratio which is the capacity of the circulation pump 4 required to flow 3 liters / minute, and a set flow rate required to obtain a purifying effect, for example, 7 This shows a correlation with the duty ratio, which is the capacity of the circulation pump 4 necessary to flow ８8 liters / minute, and this correlation is obtained in advance by experiments or the like. In this table,
The denominator 64 of the duty ratio is omitted and only the value of the numerator is shown.

For example, assuming that the duty ratio when the water flow switch 22 is turned off is 10 (/ 64), the circulation path changes the capacity of the circulation pump 4 to the duty ratio of 10 (/ 64).
When controlled by (/ 64), the water flow switch 22 has a resistance at which a constant flow rate of 3 liters / min at which the water flow switch 22 is turned off flows. It can be seen that the capacity of the circulating pump 4 should be set to 30 (/ 64) from the reference table in order to make the flow.

When the circulating pump 4 is controlled at the duty ratio determined based on the reference table as described above, it is possible to flow the minimum set flow rate of 7 to 8 liters / min required for obtaining the purifying effect. Energy saving and low noise can be achieved.

Incidentally, the duty ratio 15/64 of the initial capacity in the above-mentioned step S3 is such that, when the water flow switch 22 is turned off at this duty ratio, the circulation pump 4 Is a boundary that needs to be controlled at a duty ratio of 58/64, which is almost the maximum capability. Therefore, the initial capability is set to a duty ratio of 15/64. The water flow switch 2
2 is turned off at a duty ratio of 5/64 to 1/64, which is almost the minimum capacity of the circulation pump 4,
The duty ratio is 13/64, which is a flow rate slightly larger than 7 to 8 liters / minute.

Next, a description will be given of a clogging determination process for determining whether or not clogging of the filter of the filter 8 or the circulation fitting 12 has occurred.

In step S4, when the water flow switch 22 is not turned on at the duty ratio 15/64, which is the initial capacity, the circulation pump 4 is turned on at the duty ratio 15/6.
It is determined whether the water flow switch 22 is not continuously turned on until 10 seconds elapse after setting the time to 4 (step S1).
0), when it is not turned on, the capacity of the circulation pump 4 is increased to a duty ratio of 25/64 (step nS1).
1) It is determined whether or not the water flow switch 22 is continuously turned on until 30 seconds have elapsed since the capacity of the circulating pump 4 was increased (steps S12 and S13). Then, 1 is added to the value of the clog counter (step S14), and it is determined whether or not the count value of the clog counter has reached a predetermined value, in this embodiment, 5 (step S15). When it becomes 5, it is determined that there is clogging for 5 consecutive days in the clogging determination process performed every day. In this case, a clogging failure display is performed (step S16), and the normal purification operation is performed. Return to. When the water flow switch 22 is turned on in step S12, it is determined that there is no clogging, and the clogging counter is cleared (step S17).
When the count value of the clogging counter has not reached 5 in step S15, it is determined that clogging cannot be finally determined, and the process returns to the normal purification operation.

The duty ratio of the initial capacity is 15/64.
The reason why the clogging is not determined even if the water flow switch 22 is not turned on is that the water flow switch 22 may not be turned on depending on the length of the piping at the installation site.

The capacity of the circulating pump for determining clogging is set to a duty ratio of 25/64, as shown in the above-mentioned reference table.
If the water flow switch 22 is not turned off at 5/64, the set flow rate cannot be flowed even at the duty ratio 58/64 which is almost the maximum capacity, and the margin for the maximum capacity of the circulation pump 4 is taken into consideration. .

In the above-described embodiment, the clogging determination processing is performed every day. However, as another embodiment of the present invention, the clogging determination processing may be performed at an arbitrary interval such as every half day or every several days. May be performed in response to the request.

The duty ratio for clogging determination, the duty ratio of the initial capacity, and the duty ratio to be reduced are not limited to the above-described embodiment.

In the above-described ability learning process, the ability of the circulating pump 4 to be turned off is detected by gradually decreasing the ability of the circulating pump 4. However, as another embodiment of the present invention, the ability of the circulating pump 4 is May be temporarily reduced, the capacity is gradually increased, and the capacity when the water flow switch 22 is turned on is detected, and based on this, the capacity of the circulation pump 4 for the purification operation may be determined.

[Heat Sterilization Operation] When the required time elapses after the permissible execution time of the heat retention / water replenishment operation in the above-described purification operation, the heat sterilization operation is performed.

In this heat sterilization operation, a heat sterilization path indicated by a two-dot chain line arrow in FIG. 1 is formed. That is, the circulation pump 4
Is stopped, the first two-way valve 16 is opened and the second two-way valve 18 is opened.
Close. At this time, since the hot water supply two-way valve 26 is closed and the three-way valve 17 is on the circulation side, a heat sterilization path is secured.

Then, the reheating heater 5b is heated at the maximum heating amount to heat the reheating heater 5a. By this heating, when the bathtub water temperature rises to the first set temperature (for example, 78 degrees), the heating amount of the reheating heater 5b is halved, and further, the bathtub water temperature reaches the second set temperature (for example, 80 degrees). When it rises, the combustion operation of the reheating heater 5b is stopped, the drive of the circulation pump 4 is continued for a certain time (for example, 5 minutes) from this stop, and the heat sterilization operation is ended when the certain time elapses. This allows
Bacteria remaining in the circuit 3 can be killed.

By the way, the heat sterilization path is completely connected to the bathtub 1 by connecting the upstream area and the downstream area of the connection position of the bypass path 15 on the return side 3a of the circulation path 3 as in the prior art. However, by providing the U-shaped pipe 45 and the inverted U-shaped pipe 40 in the circulation path 3, the rising flow path 46 of the U-shaped pipe 45 is formed.
Since the heat sterilization path is cut off from the bathtub 1 and sealed by hot water stored in the rising channel 41 and the bent portion 43 of the inverted U-shaped tube 40, circulating water circulating in the heat sterilization path flows out to the bathtub 1 side. Is gone. With this water seal structure, even if the internal pressure of the heat sterilization path rises due to the heating of the circulating water circulating in the heat sterilization path in the heat sterilization operation, the pressure is increased from the return side 3a of the circulation path 3 into the bathtub 1. Will be able to escape.

[Backwashing Operation] When the above-mentioned heat sterilization operation is completed, first, the drive of the circulation pump 4 is stopped, and then the first two-way valve 16 and the second two-way valve 18 are closed, and the three-way valve 1 is closed.
7 is switched to the discharge side to form a backwashing path indicated by an alternate long and short dash line arrow in FIG. In this state, the hot water supply two-way valve 26 and the drainage two-way valve 20 are opened to supply a predetermined amount (for example, 20 liters) of hot water at a set bath temperature or a predetermined temperature (for example, 37 ° C.). By passing the filter in the opposite direction, that is, from the bottom to the top, the foreign matter accumulated inside the filter 8 is discharged from the drain pipe 19 to the outside.

In this backwashing operation, hot water at a set bath temperature or a predetermined temperature (for example, 37 ° C.) is introduced from the hot water supply heating unit 7, so that it is easily peeled off by thermal action during the above-mentioned heat sterilization operation. It becomes easy to discharge the foreign matter that has become. Moreover, if the backwash operation is continuously performed after the execution of the heat sterilization operation as in this embodiment, the residue such as bacteria killed by the heat sterilization operation can be quickly removed by the backwash operation, It is possible to discharge to the outside, and it is possible to prevent bathtub water from becoming dirty.

In the embodiment described above, the presence or absence of clogging can be detected by using the existing water flow switch 22 without providing a flow rate detector or a pressure detector which causes an increase in cost.

Further, the capacity of the circulating pump 4 for flowing the set flow rate necessary for obtaining the purification effect is determined by using the existing water flow switch 22, and the purification operation is performed with the determined capacity, thereby saving energy. And noise can be reduced.

The present invention is not limited to the above embodiment, but various applications and modifications are conceivable.

(1) In the above-described embodiment, an example in which the automatic hot watering operation, the cleaning operation, the heat sterilization operation, and the backwashing operation are sequentially performed in the automatic operation mode is described. A switch (not shown) for performing each of the above-mentioned operations individually may be provided in the device 11, and the device 11 may be selectively and independently performed in response to each switch operation.

(2) In the above embodiment, the clogging determination process is performed in association with the circulating pump capacity learning process, but may be performed independently without being linked.

[0083]

As described above, according to the present invention, without providing a flow rate detector or a pressure detector which causes an increase in cost,
The presence or absence of clogging can also be detected by using a water flow switch that operates at a constant flow rate.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a configuration diagram showing a reheating unit with hot water supply according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a flowchart for explaining the operation.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Bathtub 2 Reheating device with hot water supply 3 Circulation path 4 Circulation pump 8 Filter 10 Controller

 ──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continuing on the front page (72) Inventor Eiichi Tsuji 93F, Edocho, Chuo-ku, Kobe-shi, Hyogo F-term in Noritz Co., Ltd. 3L024 CC02 CC06 DD06 DD13 DD14 DD17 DD19 DD22 DD27 DD28 DD32 DD34 EE02 EE12 EE16 FF15 GG06 GG12 GG22 GG24 GG28 GG38 GG41 HH13 HH22 HH26 HH31 HH32 HH33 HH42 HH45 HH48 4D064 AA11 BF32 BF33 BF39 BF40 DD09 DD11 DD14

Claims (4)

[Claims] 1. A filter and a circulation pump are provided in a bathtub water circulation path from a suction port to a discharge port provided in a bathtub, the bathtub water is taken out of the bathtub by the circulation pump, and the bathtub is filtered by the filter. A bath device capable of performing a purification operation of filtering water and returning it to a bathtub, wherein a water flow switch provided in the circulation path and operating at a constant flow rate, and an output of the water flow switch being given,
Control means for controlling the capacity of the circulation pump, wherein the control means determines the presence or absence of clogging based on the presence or absence of operation of the water flow switch with respect to the capacity of the circulation pump. . 2. The bath apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the control means increases the capacity of the circulating pump and increases the capacity when the water flow switch is not operating at a certain capacity of the circulating pump. The bath apparatus is characterized in that when the water flow switch is not operated, it is determined that there is clogging. 3. The bath apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the control unit controls a duty ratio of a PWM pulse that is a control output to the circulation pump. 4. The bath apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the clogging presence / absence determination process is executed at a predetermined interval, and it is determined that clogging is continuously performed a predetermined number of times. A bath apparatus characterized by occasionally notifying that fact.