JP2002267195A - Electric floor-heating apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To prevent the dimensions of a case for accommodating a drive relay from becoming large even if the power consumption of a heating element is large. SOLUTION: For performing the conduction control of the heating element 11 built into a plane structure, contact sections 19 and 20 of pluralities of relays 15 and 16 are connected in parallel with the electrical heating element. By connecting the contact sections 19 and 20 in parallel, the number of switching per the contacting sections 19 and 20, thus reducing the shape in the relay.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an electric floor heating apparatus suitable for controlling a high power consumption heating element incorporated in a planar structure.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, as this type of electric floor heating device,
For example, there is one shown in FIG. In FIG.
The temperature of the heating element 1 incorporated in the planar structure is detected by a thermally coupled temperature sensor unit 2, and the signals of the temperature setting unit 3 and the temperature sensor unit 2 are compared by a temperature control unit 4. As a result, when the temperature is low, the coil portion 6 of the relay 5 is energized to close the contact portion 7, and an AC power is supplied to the heating element 1 to increase the temperature. The power supply to the section 6 is stopped and the contact section 7 is opened. As described above, the temperature is controlled to the predetermined temperature by repeatedly opening and closing the contact portion 7 of the relay 5.

[0003]

However, in the above-mentioned conventional configuration, when the power consumption of the heating element 1 is set to be large, the capacity of the contact portion 7 of the relay 5 also needs to be increased. In order to satisfy the switching life, a device having a considerably high contact capacity is required. And
As the contact capacity increases, the shape of the relay increases, and the size of the case that houses the relay increases in thickness.
Items used on the floor, such as electric carpets, are required to be thin so as not to stumble, but there has been a problem that this requirement cannot be satisfied.

An object of the present invention is to solve the above-mentioned conventional problems, and to provide an electric floor heating apparatus which obtains a relay shape satisfying the thickness of a case and has a sufficient opening and closing life of contact points of the relay. And

[0005]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In order to solve the above-mentioned conventional problems, an electric floor heating apparatus according to the present invention includes a plurality of relays connected to a heating element for controlling the energization of the heating element incorporated in a planar structure. Are connected in parallel. By connecting the contacts of a plurality of relays in parallel to this heating element, the number of times of opening / closing per contact of the relay is reduced.

[0006]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS The invention according to claim 1 is a heating element incorporated in a planar structure, a temperature sensor for detecting the temperature of the heating element, and a temperature setting for setting the temperature of the heating element. Unit, a temperature control unit that processes signals of the temperature sensor unit and the temperature setting unit to control the temperature of the heating element to a predetermined temperature, and operates in parallel with the output of the temperature control unit and operates in parallel with the heating element. By providing the contact portions of the plurality of relays, the number of switching operations per contact portion of the relay can be reduced, the capacity of the contact portion of the relay can be reduced, and a small-sized relay can be obtained.

[0007] The invention described in claim 2 is particularly advantageous in claim 1.
The contact points of a plurality of relays connected in parallel to the heating element described in the above are sequentially operated by the output from the relay sequential driving section, so that the number of times of opening / closing per relay contact section can be changed as needed.
As the same number of times, the opening and closing life is averaged.

[0008] The invention described in claim 3 is particularly advantageous in claim 1.
By determining the contact points of a plurality of relays connected in parallel to the heating element described in the above based on the signal from the random generating section, the relay to be operated can be determined at random and the switching life can be averaged. .

[0009] The invention described in claim 4 is particularly advantageous in claim 1.
In the electric floor heating device according to the above, comprising a relay time difference drive unit, among the plurality of relays, while the contact portion of one relay is operating, by operating the contact portion of the other relay,
The temperature rise of the contact portion can be suppressed, and the life of the contact portion can be extended.

[0010] The invention described in claim 5 is particularly advantageous in claim 1.
The electric floor heating device according to the above, comprising a power switch and a storage unit, a relay that was first operated when the power switch is turned on is stored in the storage unit, and stored in the storage unit the next time the power switch is turned on. By operating the other relays first, the relay that operates first when the power switch is turned on can be prevented from being fixed, and the switching life can be averaged.

[0011] The invention described in claim 6 is particularly advantageous in claim 1.
The electric floor heating device according to the above, further comprising a relay operation state detection unit, monitoring the open / close state of the contact portion of the relay, detects the progress of the open / close life of each relay, and determines the relay to be driven based on the progress As a result, the switching life can be further averaged.

[0012]

FIG. 1 to FIG. 9 show an embodiment of the present invention.
This will be described with reference to FIG.

(Embodiment 1) FIG. 1 shows a configuration diagram of an electric floor heating apparatus according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention. Figure 1
In the figure, reference numeral 11 denotes a heating element which is incorporated in a planar structure to be a heat source such as a planar electric carpet. Reference numeral 12 denotes a temperature sensor which is thermally coupled so as to detect the temperature from the heating element 11. A temperature setting unit 13 sets a desired temperature.
Reference numeral 14 denotes a temperature control unit that compares a temperature signal detected by the temperature sensor unit 12 with a setting signal of the temperature setting unit 13. 1
Reference numerals 5 and 16 denote relays comprising coil units 17 and 18 driven by an output from the temperature control unit 14, and contact units 19 and 20, and the contact units 19 and 20 are connected in parallel.

In the electric floor heating apparatus configured as described above, when the temperature control unit 14 determines that the temperature detected by the temperature sensor unit 12 is lower than the temperature set by the temperature setting unit 13, the coil unit of the relay 15 By driving the coil portion 18 of the relay 17 or the relay 16, the corresponding contact portion 19 or 20 is closed to energize the heating element 11. Then, when the temperature control unit 14 determines that the temperature rises due to energization of the heating element 11 and the temperature detected by the temperature sensor unit 12 becomes higher than the temperature set by the temperature setting unit 13, the temperature to the coil unit 17 or 18 The energization is stopped, the corresponding contact portion 19 or 20 is opened, and the energization to the heating element 11 is stopped. As described above, the temperature set by the temperature setting unit 13 is controlled by repeatedly opening and closing the contact portion 19 or 20.

Therefore, by connecting the contact portions 19 and 20 in parallel and controlling the energization of the heating element 11 by switching the contact portions to be used, one of the contact portions 19 and 20 can be controlled. The number of times of opening and closing can be reduced.

(Embodiment 2) FIGS. 2 and 3 show a configuration diagram and an operation diagram of an electric floor heating apparatus according to Embodiment 2 of the present invention. In the present embodiment, the relays 15 and 16 are driven by receiving the output from the temperature control unit 14 by 21 relay sequential drive units. Upon receiving a relay-on signal from the temperature control unit 14 at time t1, the relay sequential drive unit 21 drives the relay 15. When the relay-off signal is received at time t2, the relay 15 is turned off. When the relay-on signal is received again at time t3, the relay 16 is driven this time, and the relay 16 is turned off by the relay-off signal at the next time t4. When the relay ON signal is received again at time t5, the relay 15 is driven. By sequentially switching the relays used in this way, the number of times of opening and closing the relays 15 and 16 can be averaged as needed, and a more stable switching life can be obtained. When there are two contact portions as shown in FIG. 2, the contact portions 19 and 20 are operated alternately.

(Embodiment 3) FIG. 4 shows a configuration diagram of an electric floor heating apparatus according to Embodiment 3 of the present invention. In the present embodiment, the temperature control unit 14 determines which of the relay 15 and the relay 16 is to be driven based on the signal of the 22 random generating units, and the contact of the corresponding relay 15 or relay 16 is determined. The unit 19 or 20 is driven. By randomly driving the relays in this manner, the relays 15, 1
6 can be averaged, and a stable opening and closing life can be obtained.

Further, under certain conditions, it is possible to prevent the contact portion of the driven relay from being fixed. For example, when a PTC heater that generates a large inrush current when the AC power is turned on is used for the heating element 11 and the relay that operates first when the AC power is turned on is fixed to the relay 15, the relay is always turned on. A large rush current flows only to the 15 contact portions 19, and the deterioration proceeds only in the contact portions 19. Since such a problem can be solved, the switching life can be averaged and a long life can be obtained.

(Embodiment 4) FIGS. 5 and 6 show a configuration diagram and an operation diagram of an electric floor heating apparatus according to Embodiment 4 of the present invention. In this embodiment, when the 23 relay time difference driving units receive the relay-on signal from the temperature control unit 14 at time t1, the relay 15 is operated, and the relay 16 is also operated at time t2 when the relay 15 is operating. By operating the relay 16, the current flowing through the heating element 11 is shunted, the current flowing through the contact 19 is reduced, and the temperature rise of the contact 19 is reduced. And the relay time difference driving unit 23
Receives a relay-off signal from the temperature control unit 14 at time t3, turns off the relay 16, and then turns off the relay 15.
Turn off. As described above, the relay 15 receives a load when the contact portion 19 is opened and closed, but the load is reduced during operation, and the contact portion 20 of the relay 16 does not receive a load when opened and closed, and the load is applied only during operation. Will receive it. Therefore, the temperature rise of the contact portion 19 of the relay 15 is suppressed as compared with the case where the contact portion 19 operates alone, and the life is extended. Further, the switching time of the plurality of relays can be averaged by switching which one of the plurality of relays is operated during the operation of another relay by the relay time difference driving unit 23.

(Embodiment 5) FIG. 7 shows a configuration diagram of an electric floor heating apparatus according to Embodiment 5 of the present invention. In the present embodiment, the contact portion of the relay operated first when the power switch 24 is turned on is stored in the storage portion 25, and the next time the power switch 24 is turned on, the contact portion other than the one previously stored in the storage portion 25 is used. By operating the contacts of the relay, it is possible to prevent the contact of the relay that is turned on first when the power switch 24 is turned on from being fixed. Therefore, for example, even when a PTC heater through which a large inrush current flows when the power switch 24 is turned on is used for the heating element 11, the large inrush current becomes a load on the contact portions of the respective relays. It can be prevented that only one relay deteriorates.

(Embodiment 6) FIGS. 8 and 9 show a configuration diagram and an operation diagram of an electric floor heating apparatus according to Embodiment 6 of the present invention. In this embodiment, 26 diodes, 27
These transistors constitute a relay operation state detection unit 28, and monitor the open / close state of the contact units 19 and 20. In the operation, when the contact portion 19 or 20 is in the open state, the transistor 27 of the relay operating state detecting section 28 is off, so that the potential at the point a continuously becomes Hi level. Conversely, when the contact portion 19 or 20 is in the closed state, the transistor 27 of the relay operation state detecting portion 28 repeatedly turns on and off in synchronization with the AC power supply, so that the potential at the point a repeats the Lo level and the Hi level. Then, as the contact portion 19 or 20 is opened and closed, the welding phenomenon occurs. This welding phenomenon is a state in which the contact portion 19 or 20 continues to be in the closed state even when the current supply to the coil portion 17 or 18 is stopped at time t1, and the time that the relay maintains the contact time varies. From the welding time ta during which this welding phenomenon occurs, that is, from when the energization to the coil unit 17 or 18 is stopped (t1), the level of the output a point of the relay operating state detecting unit 28 continuously becomes Hi level. By measuring a certain time (t2) and preferentially using a contact portion having a short welding time ta, the switching life can be further averaged and a long life can be obtained.

[0022]

As described above, according to the first to sixth aspects of the present invention, the number of times of opening / closing of one relay contact portion can be
It can be set less than the required number of times of opening and closing per product. For example, if two relays are used, one relay can be set to 開 閉 of the number of times the product requires opening and closing. In addition, it is possible to prevent the relay used among a plurality of relays from being fixed, and furthermore, it is possible to use the relay according to the deterioration of the life of the contact portion of the relay. it can. Therefore, even if the current capacity of the contact portion of the relay is small, a long life can be obtained, the shape of the relay becomes small, and the case for housing the relay can be made thin.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a configuration diagram of an electric floor heating device according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a configuration diagram of an electric floor heating device according to a second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is an operation diagram of an electric floor heating device according to a second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a configuration diagram of an electric floor heating device according to a third embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a configuration diagram of an electric floor heating device according to a fourth embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is an operation diagram of an electric floor heating device according to a fourth embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 7 is a configuration diagram of an electric floor heating device according to a fifth embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 8 is a configuration diagram of an electric floor heating device according to a sixth embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 9 is an operation diagram of an electric floor heating device according to a sixth embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 10 is a configuration diagram of a conventional electric floor heating device.

[Explanation of symbols]

 Reference Signs List 11 heating element 12 temperature sensor section 13 temperature setting section 14 temperature control section 15, 16 relay 19, 20 contact section 21 relay sequential drive section 22 random generation section 23 relay time difference drive section 24 power switch 25 storage section 28 relay operation state detection section

──────────────────────────────────────────────────の Continued on the front page (51) Int.Cl. ⁷ Identification symbol FI Theme coat ゛ (Reference) H01H 47/18 H01H 47/18 A H05B 3/00 310 H05B 3/00 310D (72) Inventor Kazutoshi Nagai Osaka 1006, Kazuma, Kamon, Fumonma-shi Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd. F-term (reference)

Claims (6)

[Claims] 1. A heating element incorporated in a planar structure, a temperature sensor section for detecting a temperature of the heating element, a temperature setting section for setting a temperature of the heating element, the temperature sensor section, and the temperature setting section. A temperature control unit that processes a signal of the unit to control the temperature of the heating element to a predetermined temperature, and a contact unit of a plurality of relays that operate at an output of the temperature control unit and are connected in parallel to the heating element. Floor heating system. 2. The electric floor heating device according to claim 1, further comprising a relay sequential drive unit, wherein the contact units of the plurality of relays are sequentially operated. 3. The electric floor heating device according to claim 1, further comprising a random generator, wherein a contact of a relay driven by a signal from the random generator is determined. 4. The relay device according to claim 1, further comprising a relay time difference drive unit, wherein one of a plurality of relays operates a contact of another relay while operating a contact of the other relay. An electric floor heating device according to claim 1. 5. A power supply switch and a storage unit, wherein a contact portion of a relay operated first when the power switch is turned on is stored in the storage unit, and is stored in the storage unit when the power switch is turned on next time. The electric floor heating device according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein a contact portion of the relay other than the first is operated first. 6. The electric floor heating apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a relay operation state detection unit, wherein the relay operation state detection unit monitors an open / close state of a contact point of the relay.