JP2002048394A - Automatic bath system - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To improve quality at installation by automatically setting a water level set value at a trial operation time and executing an accurate trial operation in a short time. SOLUTION: An automatic bath system comprises a hot water supply unit 1 for supplying hot water to a hot water supply port at a lower part of a bathtub, a water level detector 2 for detecting a water level in the bathtub, an operating unit 3 for selecting the operation and setting a desired hot water filling level, a display unit 6 for displaying an operating state and a set water level, a hot water supply amount detector 4 for detecting a hot water supply amount supplied by the unit 1, a controller 5 for calculating a hot water supply amount necessary to fill the hot water to the set level set by the unit 3 from a present water level detected by the detector 2 to control the unit 1, and a set water level altering unit 7 provided separately from the unit 3. In this system, the system is normally operated based on the set level decided by the unit 3, and when a predetermined operation is executed by the unit 3, the system is operated based on the set level decided by the unit 7.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an automatic bath apparatus for automatically filling a bathtub with hot water up to a set water level.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art A conventional automatic bath apparatus will be described with reference to FIG. The automatic bath apparatus shown in FIG. 2 includes a hot water supply unit 1 that supplies hot water to a hot water supply port provided below the bathtub via a hot water supply path, a water level detection unit 2 that is provided in the hot water supply path and detects a water level in the bathtub,
Operation unit 3 for selecting operation and setting a desired hot water level
And a display unit 6 for displaying an operation state and a set water level value;
Hot water supply detector 4 for detecting the amount of hot water supplied by hot water supply unit 1
And a control unit 5 for calculating the amount of hot water required to fill the water from the current water level detected by the water level detection unit 2 to the set water level set by the operation unit 3 and controlling the hot water supply unit 1. To calculate the required amount of hot water up to the set water level, it is necessary to know the amount of hot water per sectional area of the bathtub. A predetermined amount of hot water is supplied during the first operation after installation, and the difference between the water level values detected by the water level detecting unit 2 before and after the hot water supply is obtained as a bathtub sectional area coefficient.

[0003]

In the conventional automatic bath apparatus, it is necessary to supply a sufficient amount of hot water to obtain a sufficient difference in water level when calculating the bathtub sectional area coefficient. Therefore, when the water level set by the user with the operation unit 3 is too low,
A sufficient amount of hot water cannot be secured, and the bathtub sectional area coefficient cannot be determined.

[0004]

In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, an automatic bath apparatus according to the present invention is provided with a hot water supply section for supplying hot water to a hot water supply port provided at a lower part of a bathtub via a hot water supply path, and provided in the hot water supply path. A water level detection unit for detecting a water level in the bathtub, an operation unit for selecting an operation and setting a desired hot water level, a display unit for displaying an operation state and a set water level value, and hot water supplied by the hot water supply unit A hot water supply amount detecting unit for detecting an amount, and a control for calculating a hot water supply amount necessary for filling the hot water from a current water level detected by the water level detecting unit to a set water level set by the operation unit and controlling the hot water supply unit Unit, and a set water level changing unit provided separately from the operation unit, usually operates based on a set water level determined by the operation unit, and when a predetermined operation is performed on the operation unit, the set water level Move based on the set water level determined by the change unit It is obtained by way.

According to the above invention, when the user performs a predetermined operation on the operation unit as a test run, the user operates at the water level set by the set water level changing unit instead of the set water level of the operation unit. A sufficient amount of hot water for which the area coefficient can be reliably obtained can be supplied.

[0006]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS The automatic bath apparatus according to the first aspect is
A hot water supply unit for supplying hot water to a hot water supply port provided in a lower part of the bathtub via a hot water supply path, a water level detection unit provided for the hot water supply path for detecting a water level in the bathtub, an operation for selecting operation and setting a desired bathing water level Unit, a display unit for displaying an operation state and a set water level value, a hot water supply amount detection unit for detecting an amount of hot water supplied by the hot water supply unit, and a current water level detected by the water level detection unit. A control unit that calculates the amount of hot water required to fill the set water level and controls the hot water supply unit, and a set water level change unit provided separately from the operation unit,
Normally, it operates based on the set water level determined by the operation unit, and when a predetermined operation is performed by the operation unit, it operates based on the set water level determined by the set water level change unit. .

When a predetermined operation is performed on the operation unit, the operation is performed at the water level setting determined by the set water level change unit, so that a reliable test operation can be performed.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the automatic bath apparatus, the set water level changing unit sets the water level to a predetermined level higher than a lower limit water level set by the operation unit.

Since the set water level changing unit sets the water level higher than the lower water level by a predetermined amount, the test operation can be performed in a short time.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the automatic bath apparatus, the set water level changing unit determines the set water level based on a water level detection value after the control unit supplies a predetermined amount of hot water.

Since the set water level is determined based on the water level detection value after the predetermined amount of hot water has been supplied, an optimum water level set value can be set without being affected by the capacity or shape of the bathtub.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the automatic bath apparatus, the display unit does not display the set water level value for a predetermined period after performing the predetermined operation.

Since the set water level is not displayed on the display for a predetermined period, it is possible to recognize that a predetermined operation has been received, and to eliminate a sense of incongruity that the set water level display automatically changes.

[0014]

An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to FIG.

FIG. 1 is a control block diagram of the automatic bath apparatus. A hot water supply unit 1 that supplies hot water to a hot water supply port provided in a lower part of the bathtub via a hot water supply path, a water level detection unit 2 that is provided in the hot water supply path and detects a water level in the bathtub, and selects an operation and sets a desired filling water level. From the current water level detected by the operation unit 3, the display unit 6 for displaying the operation state and the set water level value, the hot water supply amount detection unit 4 for detecting the amount of hot water supplied by the hot water supply unit 1, and the water level detection unit 2 A control unit 5 that calculates the amount of hot water required to fill the water to a set water level set by the operation unit 3 and controls the hot water supply unit 1, and a set water level change unit 7 provided separately from the operation unit 3
Consists of

The operation of the above configuration will be described. Since the set water level is represented by the height from the hot water supply port, the required hot water supply amount up to the set water level depends on the capacity and shape of the bathtub even at the same set water level. For this reason, after the equipment is installed, a trial operation is performed to determine the amount of hot water supply per sectional area of the bathtub, that is, the bathtub sectional area coefficient.

Hereinafter, the operation for determining the coefficient will be described. When the user performs a predetermined operation using the operation unit 3, the test operation is started. I want to finish the test run in a short time,
Although the set water level is preferably a lower limit, a predetermined amount of hot water is required to determine the bathtub cross-sectional area coefficient. Therefore, when test operation is started, the set water level changing unit 7 automatically sets the set water level to the second water level from the lower limit. To set. The display unit 6 sets the display of the set water level in a non-display state so that the user does not feel uncomfortable with the automatic setting of the set water level.

The control section 5 first performs an operation for submerging the hot water supply port. Hot water supply is usually 10-20 from the bottom of the bathtub
Since it is installed at a height of cm, about 50 liters of hot water is supplied in order to supply water to the area at once. Assuming a hot water supply flow rate of 10 liters per minute, hot water supply of 50 liters can be achieved by supplying hot water for 5 minutes. Therefore, hot water supply amount detection section 4
The hot water supply unit 1 is driven and hot water is supplied into the bathtub until the minute is counted. The water level detection unit 2 is configured by a pressure sensor, and detects the water level in the bathtub by detecting the pressure in the hot water supply path when the hot water supply is stopped. Even if hot water is supplied in a range in which water is not supplied to the hot water inlet, the water level value detected by the water level detection unit 2 does not change. Therefore, it can be recognized that the water level has risen to the hot water supply port by checking whether or not the water level value has changed after the small amount of hot water has been supplied. Therefore, after the hot water is supplied for one minute (equivalent to 10 liters), the operation of checking the water level is repeated.

When it is detected that the water level has risen to the hot water inlet, the opening of the hot water inlet is completely submerged for three minutes (3 minutes).
(Equivalent to 0 liter). The water level after hot water supply is h0. Next, hot water is supplied from this water level for 4 minutes (equivalent to 40 liters), and the water level after the hot water supply is defined as h1. By calculating the ratio between the amount of hot water supplied and the raised water level, the bathtub sectional area coefficient K can be obtained. K = 40 / (h1-h0).

At the start of the test run, the set water level was set to the second from the lower limit, but depending on the capacity and shape of the bathtub, the water level h0
There is a case where the set water level is exceeded when 40 liters of hot water is supplied. If the water level at the completion of the test run exceeds the set water level, the correct set water level position cannot be determined. Therefore, the set water level changing unit 7 determines which set water level the water level h1 is close to, and changes the set water level to the closest setting. For example, it is assumed that the water level h1 is between the second and third from the lower limit of the set water level. Since the second setting has already been exceeded, the set water level is changed from the lower limit to the third.

Thereafter, a hot water supply amount up to a set water level is calculated from the obtained bathtub sectional area coefficient K to fill the bath. When the test run is completed, the display unit 6 returns the set water level display, which was not displayed, to the display state. This allows the user to recognize that hot water has been filled in the bathtub according to the set water level displayed at the completion of the test run.

[0022]

According to the automatic bath apparatus of the first aspect,
When a predetermined operation is performed on the operation unit, the operation is performed at the water level setting determined by the set water level changing unit, so that a reliable test operation can be performed without erroneous setting.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, the set water level changing unit sets the water level higher than the lower limit water level by a predetermined amount, so that the set water level is not too low or too high, and the test operation is performed in a short time. It can be carried out.

According to the third aspect of the present invention, since the set water level is determined based on the water level detection value after a predetermined amount of hot water has been supplied, the optimum water level set value is not affected by the capacity and shape of the bathtub. It can be set, and the filling condition at the time of the completion of the test run can be accurately evaluated.

According to the fourth aspect of the present invention, since the set water level is not displayed on the display unit until the test operation is completed and the set water level is determined, the operation for starting the test operation is accepted. , And the sense of incongruity of automatically changing the set water level display can be eliminated.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a control block diagram of an automatic bath apparatus according to one embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a control block diagram of a conventional automatic bath apparatus.

[Description of Signs] 1 Hot water supply unit 2 Water level detection unit 3 Operation unit 4 Hot water supply amount detection unit 5 Control unit 6 Display unit 7 Set water level change unit

 ──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continuing from the front page (72) Inventor Toshihiro Horiuchi 1006 Kadoma Kadoma, Osaka Prefecture Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd. (72) Inventor Ichiro Nasu 1006 Odaka Kadoma Kadoma City, Osaka Pref. 72) Inventor Junichi Hattori 1006 Kazuma Kadoma, Kazuma, Osaka Prefecture F-term in Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd. (reference) 3L024 CC06 DD16 FF11 GG12 GG22 GG41 HH02 HH05 HH12 HH58

Claims (4)

[Claims] 1. A hot water supply unit for supplying hot water to a hot water supply port provided in a lower part of a bathtub via a hot water supply path, a water level detection unit provided in the hot water supply path for detecting a water level in the bathtub, and selection of operation and desired hot water filling An operation unit for setting a water level, a display unit for displaying an operation state and a set water level value, a hot water supply amount detection unit for detecting an amount of hot water supplied by the hot water supply unit, and a current water level detected by the water level detection unit A control unit that calculates the amount of hot water required to fill the water to a set water level set by the operation unit and controls the hot water supply unit, and a set water level change unit provided separately from the operation unit, and usually includes An automatic bath apparatus that operates based on a set water level determined by the operation unit, and operates based on a set water level determined by the set water level change unit when a predetermined operation is performed on the operation unit. 2. The automatic bath apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the set water level changing unit sets the water level to be higher than a lower limit water level set by the operation unit by a predetermined amount. 3. The automatic bath apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the set water level changing unit determines the set water level based on a water level detection value after the control unit supplies a predetermined amount of hot water. 4. The automatic bath apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the display unit does not display the set water level value for a predetermined period after performing a predetermined operation.