JP2002081736A - Water heater equipped with bathtub cleaning apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a water heater equipped with a bathtub cleaning apparatus with high safety and with an effective cleaning function by combining an ultra sonic cleaning apparatus and a water heater in an organic manner. SOLUTION: There are provided a bathtub 1, a water heater 2 for performing hot water filling operation to the bathtub 1, and an ultrasonic wave generator apparatus 3 at a proper position in the bathtub 1. The water heater 2, once a cleaning switch is switched on, pours water such that a water level in the bathtub reaches a previously determined water level. After the previously determined water level is confirmed, the ultrasonic wave generator apparatus 3 is actuated and once it is detected that the foregoing bathtub water level changes from the predetermined water level, the operation of the foregoing ultrasonic wave generator apparatus 3 is interrupted.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a water heater having a bathtub cleaning function.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Generally, as a method of cleaning a bathtub, a method has been adopted in which dirt adhering to the bathtub surface is dissolved using a detergent or the like, then removed manually, and then washed away with a shower or the like. This method is a part of the conventional cleaning operation performed by humans, does not require a special device, and is a problem that can be solved by taking time and effort. However, as the population ages as in recent years, cleaning the bathtub is one of the difficult tasks. In addition, in the present age when housewives having occupations are increasing, it is also an important task to eliminate the trouble of housework such as cleaning.

Therefore, a method of automatically cleaning the bathtub has been considered. For example, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 61-259630 discloses a method.
Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. H8-10729 discloses a bathtub body provided with an ultrasonic oscillator below the water surface.
As disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open Publication No. H10-209, there is a configuration in which versatility is provided as a configuration in which an ultrasonic cleaning unit can be freely attached.

[0004]

However, Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication Nos. 61-259630 and 8-10729 disclose an ultrasonic cleaning apparatus that functions independently, and the bath tub water level and It does not specify the relevance of the system or the safety in case a person enters during the cleaning operation.

According to the present invention, the water heater and the ultrasonic cleaning device are organically connected to each other to effectively utilize the bathtub water level detection function of the water heater, thereby effectively operating the ultrasonic cleaning device and preventing idling. , And to ensure safety during the cleaning operation.

[0006]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, a water heater with a bathtub cleaning device according to the present invention comprises a bathtub, a water heater for filling the bathtub with water, and an ultrasonic wave provided at an appropriate position in the bathtub. When the washing switch is turned on, the water heater injects water so that the water level in the bathtub becomes a predetermined predetermined water level, and after the predetermined water level is confirmed, activates the ultrasonic oscillator. When detecting that the bathtub water level has changed from a predetermined water level, the operation of the ultrasonic oscillation device is stopped.

According to the above invention, when the washing mode is selected, first, the state of the remaining hot water in the bathtub is detected by the bathtub water level detecting function built in the water heater, and when it is determined that the remaining hot water is small, water is automatically injected. The ultrasonic oscillating device is activated when the remaining water or water at the predetermined water level is secured in the bathtub, so that the bathtub can be washed automatically, even for elderly people and children. The bathtub can be easily cleaned. In addition, the idle operation of the ultrasonic oscillator can be prevented, and a highly reliable system can be provided.
Effective bathtub cleaning becomes possible. In addition, since the operation of the ultrasonic cleaning device is stopped when the bathtub water level changes, if a person enters the bathtub during cleaning, the operation of the ultrasonic cleaning device should be stopped immediately. And a highly safe device can be provided.

[0008]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS The invention according to claim 1 comprises a bathtub, a water heater for filling the bathtub with hot water, and an ultrasonic oscillator provided at an appropriate position in the bathtub. When the washing switch is turned on, water is injected so that the water level in the bathtub becomes a predetermined water level, and after the predetermined water level is confirmed,
The ultrasonic oscillator is operated, and when detecting that the bathtub water level has changed from a predetermined water level, the operation of the ultrasonic oscillator is stopped.

When the washing mode is selected, first, the state of the remaining hot water in the bathtub is detected by a bathtub water level detecting function built in the water heater, and when it is determined that the remaining hot water is low, water is automatically injected, and The ultrasonic oscillating device is activated when the remaining hot water or water at the predetermined water level is secured, so that the bath tub can be automatically cleaned, so that the elderly and children can easily clean the bath tub. Cleaning can be performed. In addition, idling of the ultrasonic oscillator can be prevented, a highly reliable system can be provided, and effective bathtub cleaning can be performed. Furthermore, since the operation of the ultrasonic cleaning device is stopped when the bathtub water level changes,
When a person enters the bathtub during cleaning, for example, the operation of the ultrasonic cleaning device can be stopped immediately, and a highly safe device can be provided.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided a bath tub, a water heater for filling the tub with hot water, and an ultrasonic oscillator provided at an appropriate position in the bath tub. When the water level in the bathtub exceeds a predetermined water level when turning on, after storing the bathtub water level at that time, the ultrasonic oscillator is operated, and the bathtub water level changes from the stored water level. Is detected, the operation of the ultrasonic oscillation device is stopped.

When the bathtub water level when the washing mode is selected is higher than a predetermined water level, the bathtub water level at that time is stored, and a change in the bathtub water level is detected based on the stored bathtub water level. Therefore, the same operation and effect as those of the first aspect can be obtained.

[0012]

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

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a water heater with a bath tub cleaning device, 1 is a bath tub, 2 is a water heater, 3 is an ultrasonic cleaning device installed on the side of the bath tub 1, 4 is a bath adapter and a feed pipe and a return pipe. Is connected to the water heater 2. Reference numeral 5 denotes a water level detector, and reference numeral 6 denotes a water level detection unit, which converts the data into data of a bathtub water level based on a signal from the water level detector 5. A storage unit 7 stores bathtub water level data of the water level detection unit 6. A control unit 8 controls the operation of the water heater 2 and controls the cleaning operation. 9
Is a washing switch and 10 is a drain cock.

The operation of the above configuration will be described. First, during a normal bath operation, when an operation start instruction is given in a state where the cleaning switch 9 is OFF, the control unit 8 starts the combustion operation based on a predetermined sequence and switches the bath adapter 4 on. A bathing operation is performed on the bathtub 1 via the bath, and the bath is filled until the water level detection unit 6 detects the set water level A.

Next, the bath tub cleaning operation after bathing will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. 2. First, when the cleaning mode is selected by turning on the cleaning switch 9, the operation of stopping the operation of the water heater 2 is performed. Next, the water level detector 5 and the water level detector 6 detect whether or not the water level in the bathtub 1 is at a predetermined water level, for example, at a set water level A. If the water level is at the set water level A, the ultrasonic cleaning device 3 Operation is started to perform the cleaning operation. Further, when it is detected that the water level is lower than the set water level A, the control unit 8 instructs a water injection operation via the bath adapter 4 and performs water injection until the bathtub water level reaches the set water level A. Then, when the bathtub water level reaches the set water level A, the water injection operation is stopped and the operation of the ultrasonic cleaning device 3 is started. Also, the water level C in which the bathtub water level is higher than the set water level A
When the water level data is stored in the storage unit 7, the operation of the ultrasonic cleaning device 3 is started.

As described above, when the operation of the ultrasonic cleaning device 3 is started, the cleaning operation is continued for a predetermined time while confirming the change in the bathtub water level thereafter. Thereafter, the operation of the ultrasonic cleaning device 3 is stopped, and the cleaning operation is completed. Further, when detecting that the bathtub water level becomes higher than the set water level A during the cleaning operation, it is determined that a person has entered the bathtub, and the operation of the ultrasonic cleaning device 3 is immediately stopped. On the other hand, when it is detected that the bathtub water level is lower than the set water level A, it is determined that there is a leak from the drain plug 10 and the operation of the ultrasonic cleaning device 3 is immediately stopped, and the operation of the ultrasonic cleaning device 3 is stopped. Prevent idle running of the vehicle.

Although the ultrasonic cleaning device 3 is installed on the side in this embodiment, the present invention is not limited to this. The ultrasonic cleaning device 3 may be installed at any location such as a bottom surface or a bathtub.

Although the description of the drainage treatment after the cleaning operation is omitted, the drain plug 10 is configured to perform the automatic drainage treatment by using an electromagnetic valve or the like, so that the automatic filling control after the cleaning operation is performed. This also makes it possible to provide a fully automatic type water heater with a bathtub cleaning device.

[0019]

According to the first aspect of the present invention, when the washing mode is selected, first, the state of the remaining hot water in the bathtub is detected by the bathtub water level detection function built in the water heater, and it is determined that the remaining hot water is small. When the bath is filled with water, the ultrasonic oscillating device is activated when the bath has a certain level of remaining hot water or water, so the bath can be cleaned automatically. Yes, the elderly and children can easily clean the bathtub. In addition, idling of the ultrasonic oscillator can be prevented, a highly reliable system can be provided, and effective bathtub cleaning can be performed. further,
Since the operation of the ultrasonic cleaning device is stopped when the bathtub water level changes, the operation of the ultrasonic cleaning device can be stopped immediately if a person enters the bathtub during cleaning. Thus, a highly safe device can be provided.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, when the bathtub water level when the cleaning mode is selected is higher than the predetermined water level, the bathtub water level at that time is stored, and the bathtub water level is stored based on the stored bathtub water level. Since the change in the water level is detected, the same operation and effect as the first aspect of the invention can be obtained.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a water heater with a bathtub cleaning device according to one embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a flowchart showing the operation of the water heater.

[Explanation of symbols]

 Reference Signs List 1 bathtub 2 water heater 3 ultrasonic cleaning device 9 cleaning switch

Claims (2)

[Claims] 1. A bathtub, a water heater for filling the bathtub with hot water, and an ultrasonic oscillator provided at an appropriate position in the bathtub, wherein the water heater turns on a washing switch to reduce the water level in the bathtub. Water is injected to a predetermined water level, and after the predetermined water level is confirmed, the ultrasonic oscillation device is operated, and when it is detected that the bathtub water level has changed from the predetermined water level, the operation of the ultrasonic oscillation device is performed. Water heater with bath tub cleaning device that stops the operation. 2. A bath tub, a water heater for filling the bath tub with water, and an ultrasonic oscillator provided at an appropriate position in the bath tub, wherein the water level in the bath tub is set when a washing switch is turned on. If the water level exceeds a predetermined water level, after storing the bathtub water level at that time, the ultrasonic oscillation device is operated, and when it is detected that the bathtub water level has changed from the stored water level, the ultrasonic oscillation device is activated. A water heater with a bath tub cleaning device that stops operating.