JP2002286580A - Inspection device for inspecting leakage of heating medium in heating apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To enhance quickness for inspection of leakage of a heating medium, and to enhance inspection precision therefor. SOLUTION: This device is provided with a circulation passage 22 for circulating the heating medium (hot water 4) to heating terminals 2, 3, a circulation pump 24 for feeding forcibly the heating medium, valves (heat valve systems 62, 64) for closing the circulation passage, a pressure detecting means (pressure sensor 66), a determination means (control part 68) and the like. After the valves are closed to close the circulation passage so as to raise inner pressure of the circulation passage by the circulation pump, the presence of the leakage of the heating medium is determined by a change of detected pressure of the pressure detecting means, so as to enhance the inspection precision for the inspection of the leakage of the heating medium and to enhance the quickness of the inspection.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a heating medium leakage inspection apparatus for a heating apparatus using a heating medium such as hot water.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, in this type of heating device, for example,
As shown in FIG. 7, a heating terminal 100 for floor heating installed on the floor and a cistern 102 installed on the floor below are connected via a circulation path 104, and hot water 10, which is a heat medium, is connected from the floor below.
6 may be circulated to the heating terminal 100. Circuit 1
04 is connected to a plurality of pipes using joints 108, 110 and the like.

[0003]

By the way, the circulation path 10
4 and the hot water 106 from the joints 108 and 110
Leaks, if an automatic heating medium supply type heat source device is used, the operation of replenishing the leaked hot water 106 is performed, which may increase water leakage.

Conventionally, as an inspection device for suppressing such water leakage, there is Japanese Patent No. 3017891 "a water leakage inspection device in a hot water heating system". This is because, after pressurizing the piping, the water level in the hot water tank is detected to determine a water leak by detecting a decrease in the water level.As a result of the pressurization, the water level in the hot water tank may increase, and the inspection accuracy and speed of the inspection may increase. There is room for improvement in sex.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is an object of the present invention to provide a heating medium leakage inspection apparatus for a heating apparatus, which has a high accuracy in inspecting a leakage of a heating medium and has an improved inspection accuracy.

[0006]

According to the present invention, there is provided a heating medium leakage inspection apparatus for a heating apparatus, which comprises heating a heating medium (hot water 4) to a heating terminal (2, 3).
(22), a circulation pump (24) for pumping the heat medium, and valves for closing the circulation (thermal valves 62, 6)
4) equipped with a pressure detecting means (pressure sensor 66), a judging means (control unit 68), etc., to close the valve to close the circulation path,
After the internal pressure of the circulation path is increased by the circulation pump, it is determined whether or not the heat medium leaks based on a change in the pressure detected by the pressure detecting means, thereby improving the inspection accuracy of the heat medium leakage and increasing the speed of the inspection.

[0007] The heating medium leakage inspection device for a heating device according to the present invention comprises:
A circulation path (22) for circulating the heating medium (hot water 4) to the heating terminals (2, 3); a circulation pump (24) provided in the circulation path for pumping the heating medium; and a circulation pump (24) provided in the circulation path. (Thermal valves 62 and 64) for closing the circulation path, pressure detecting means (pressure sensor 66) provided in the circulation path for detecting pressure, and closing the valve to close the circulation path. At the same time, the circulating pump is operated to increase the internal pressure of the circulating path, and then the circulating pump is stopped, and the determination means (control Part 68). That is, a liquid or a gas such as antifreeze or oil can be used as the heat medium in addition to hot water. This heat medium leak inspection is performed periodically, and when the circulation pump is operated after closing the valve of the circulation path, the internal pressure of the circulation path is increased. If a large crack is formed in the circulation path or the joint, the internal pressure rises slowly, and a large amount of the heat medium in the circulation path leaks at this point. However, a small leak is a problem. When the internal pressure of the circulation path rises due to the operation of the circulation pump, the circulation pump is stopped, a change in the internal pressure of the circulation path is detected by the pressure detection means, and it is determined whether or not the heat medium leaks based on the change in the detected pressure. it can.

In the heat medium leakage inspection device for a heating device according to the present invention, the valve is a return pipe (32) constituting the circulation path.
Alternatively, it is characterized in that it is installed on the going pipe (56). That is, the valve only needs to close the circulation path, and
Since the circulation path constitutes a closed circuit, it may be installed on either the return pipe or the outgoing pipe constituting the circulation path.

Further, the heat medium leakage inspection device for a heating device according to the present invention includes a circulation path (22) for circulating a heat medium (hot water 4) to heating terminals (2, 3), and the circulation path (22) provided in the circulation path. A circulation pump (24) for pumping the heat medium, a first valve (thermal valve 62) provided on the return pipe (32) side of the circulation path to close the circulation path, and an outgoing pipe of the circulation path A second valve (thermal valve 64) provided on the (56) side to close the circulation path
And a pressure detection means (pressure sensor 66) provided in the circulation path for detecting pressure, and after operating the circulation pump by closing the first valve to increase the internal pressure of the circulation path,
A deciding unit (control unit 68) for closing the second valve to stop the circulating pump, and for judging whether or not a heat medium leaks based on a change in the pressure detected by the pressure detecting unit. . That is, in this case, as a means for closing the circulation path, the first valve on the return pipe side is closed to operate the circulation pump, and after increasing the internal pressure of the circulation path, the second valve is closed to stop the circulation pump. Then, the pressure in the circulation path is applied to the pressure detecting means, and the change in the detected pressure indicates whether or not the heat medium leaks, and the degree of the change can be used to determine whether or not the heat medium leaks.

[0010] In the heat medium leakage inspection device for a heating device according to the present invention, the valve is a thermal valve. That is, an existing thermal valve can be used as the valve.

[0011]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS The present invention and embodiments thereof will be described below in detail with reference to embodiments shown in the drawings.

FIG. 1 shows a first embodiment of a heat medium leakage inspection device for a heating device according to the present invention. The heating device according to the present invention is provided with a heating terminal 2 which is a low-temperature required load such as a floor heating panel and a heating terminal 3 which is a high-temperature required load such as a fan convector. The heating terminals 2 and 3 serve as a heat medium. As a heat source for supplying the hot water 4, for example, a gas water heater 6 is used. As the heat medium, a liquid or a gas such as antifreeze or oil can be used in addition to the hot water 4. The heat source for heating the heat medium includes the combustion heat of fuel gas, the combustion heat of kerosene, the electric heat, and the heat pump. , Solar heat or the like can be used.

The gas water heater 6 is provided with a burner 8 as combustion means in a combustion chamber 10. The burner 8 is provided with fuel gas via valves 12, 14 or 16 as gas adjusting means and switching means. G is supplied. A fan 18 is provided below the burner 8 as air supply means for supplying air required for gas combustion.

The gas water heater 6 includes a burner 8
Heat exchanger 2 as a heating means for adding the combustion heat of water to hot water 4
0 is installed in the combustion chamber 10. The heat exchanger 20 is provided with a circulation path 22 as means for circulating the hot water 4 to the heating terminal 2. The circulation path 22 of this embodiment includes a circulation path 22A for circulating the low-temperature water LW to the heating terminal 2 side and a circulation path 22B for circulating the high-temperature water HW to the heating terminal 3 side, and these two systems of circulation paths 22A and 22B. Is provided with a circulation pump 24 and a cistern 26 as a heat medium tank for storing the hot water 4. The drive source of the circulation pump 24 is A
A C motor or a DC motor can be used.
In the case of using the C motor, the number of rotations can be controlled widely.

The circulation path 22 is provided with a pipe 34 on the heating terminal 2 side and a pipe 36 on the heating terminal 3 side, as well as a low-temperature side pipe 28, a high-temperature side pipe 30 and a return pipe 32.
A bypass pipe 3 is provided between the hot side outgoing pipe 30 and the return pipe 32.
8 is provided, and the high-temperature water HW flows toward the return pipe 32 via the bypass pipe 38. For example, a resin pipe is used for the pipes 34 and 36, and the low-temperature side pipe 2 made of a metal pipe on the gas water heater 6 side via a connecting portion 40 such as a header.
8. It is connected to the high-temperature side pipe 30 or the return pipe 32. A valve 42 is provided on the outgoing side of the pipe 34 on the heating terminal 2 side, and a valve 43 is provided on the outgoing side of the pipe 36 on the heating terminal 3 side.
Is provided.

The cistern 26 is provided with a water supply pipe 44 as a replenishing means for replenishing water W as a heat medium from the outside, and a valve 46 as an on-off valve for controlling the replenishment. As means for detecting the level of the hot water 4 in the cistern 26, level sensors 48, 5
0 is provided, and the level sensor 48 sets a low level as a low level L ₁ and the level sensor 50 sets a high level as a high level L ₂
Are detected, and these detection results are taken out as electric signals.
As shown in FIG. 2, the cistern 26 is provided with two ports 52 and 54 on the bottom surface side, and the return pipe 32 is connected to the port 52 side and the outgoing pipe 56 is connected to the port 54 side. A filter 58 is provided on the port 54 side. An overflow pipe 60 is connected to a port 59 provided on the upper side of the cistern 26. When the temperature of the hot water 4 in the cistern 26 becomes abnormally high, the overflow pipe 60 is connected to the outside through the port 59 and the overflow pipe 60. Let it drain.

As a means for inspecting heat medium leakage, a thermal valve 62 as a first valve is provided on the return pipe 32 side, and a thermal valve 64 as a second valve is provided on the going pipe 56 side. A pressure sensor 66 is provided as pressure detecting means for detecting a change in pressure when the pressure is applied and a change in the pressure when the pressure is stopped. The thermal valves 62 and 64 are means that are opened and closed according to the temperature of the hot water 4 to pass or cut off the flow of the hot water 4.

A control unit 68 is provided as control means for performing heating control, heat medium leak inspection processing, and the like, and as judgment means for judging whether or not there is a water leak based on a change in the detected pressure. It consists of. Detection outputs of the level sensors 48 and 50, the pressure sensor 66, and the like are input to the control unit 68 as control information. Further, various control outputs are obtained from the control unit 68, and control outputs and display outputs for the circulation pump 24, the valve 46, the thermal valves 62, 64, and the like are obtained. The display output is applied to a display 70 that displays heat medium leakage or the like. The control unit 68 also includes valves 12, 14, 16, 42, 4 (not shown).
Control outputs Vn for actuators such as 3 are obtained.

In such a heating apparatus, in the ordinary heating control, the hot water 4 heated by the heat exchanger 20 passes through the high-temperature side pipe 30 to the high-temperature water HW
And flows through the bypass pipe 38 to the return pipe 32 side, merges with the hot water 4 that has passed through the pipe 36 on the heating terminal 3 side, and reaches the cistern 26. The hot water 4 that has exited the cistern 26 flows toward the circulation pump 24 and branches in the directions of arrows A and B. When the valve 42 is open, the low-temperature water L
W flows through the piping 34 on the heating terminal 2 side, circulates through the heating terminal 2, and returns to the return pipe 32. By circulation of low temperature water LW,
The low-temperature water LW is radiated through the heating terminal 2.

In such a heating device, hot water 4 is supplied in accordance with the flowchart shown in FIG. That is, after the pump operation is performed in step S1, when the level sensor 48 in step S2 has detected the low level L ₁ of hot water 4, the process proceeds to step S3, a predetermined time from the previous water replenishment T, for example, 64 It is determined whether the time has elapsed. When the predetermined time T has elapsed, step S4
And the water supply is started. That is, the valve 46 is opened, and the water W is supplied to the cistern 26.

[0021] Then, in step S5, it is determined whether the level sensor 50 detects the high water level L ₂ is, when detecting high level L _2, the process proceeds to step S6, the water replenishment stop is performed. That is, when detecting the high water level L _2, valve 46 is closed the supply of water W is completed.

If the predetermined time T has not elapsed since the last water replenishment in step S3, the process proceeds to step S7 to determine whether water replenishment has been performed N times, for example, twice. Is determined, and if such water replenishment has not been performed, the process proceeds to step S4.
When the number of times has been reached, the process proceeds to step S8, and it is determined that the warm water 4 is minutely leaked.

Further, when not detecting the high water level L ₂ at step S5, the process proceeds to step S9, a predetermined from the start of the water replenishment time t, for example, whether or not two minutes has elapsed is determined, the predetermined time t If not, step S5
When the predetermined time t has been reached, step S1
0, the valve 46 is closed and the supply of water W is stopped, and the process proceeds to step S11, where it is determined that a large amount of the hot water 4 has leaked.

FIG. 4 shows a heat medium leak inspection process for the circulation path 22 and the heating terminals 2 and 3, that is, a leak inspection process for the hot water 4.

After shifting to the inspection mode, step S21
To close the thermal valve 62 on the return pipe 32 side and execute step S2.
The process proceeds to step 2 to start the pump operation. That is, when the circulation pump 24 is operated, the hot water 4 is pressure-fed to the circulation path 22 from the cistern 26 side. In this case, by opening only the valve 42, the hot water 4 is pressure-fed to the heating terminal 2 side and flows to the return pipe 32. In addition, by opening both the valves 42 and 43, the hot water 4 is pressure-fed to the heating terminals 2 and 3;
By opening only the valve 43, the hot water 4 is supplied to the heating terminal 3.
Can be pumped only to the side. In any case, the circulation path 22A or the circulation path 22B filled with the pumped hot water 4
Alternatively, the internal pressure of all the circulation paths 22 can be selectively increased. Then, the process proceeds to step S23, where the thermal valve 64 of the going pipe 56 is closed and the circulation pump 24 is closed.
To stop. At this time, the circulation path 22 forms a closed circuit by closing the thermal valves 62 and 64, and is maintained in a pressurized state.

In step S24, the pressure sensor 66 detects the initial pressure in the circulation path 22 and the pressure when the pump is stopped, and the flow proceeds to step S25. In step S25, the transition of the detected pressure is observed. That is, it is determined whether or not the detected pressure has decreased by a predetermined pressure from the initial pressure. If the detected pressure has not decreased, the process proceeds to step S26, the process proceeds to step S27 without water leakage, and the process proceeds to the heating operation. be able to. That is, when the heating operation is possible, the display 70 shows
A display is provided as notification that there is no water leakage and that heating operation is possible.

When the detected pressure falls to or below the predetermined pressure in step S25, the flow shifts to step S28, where it is determined that there is water leakage, the flow shifts to step S29, and the heating operation is prohibited. When the heating operation is prohibited, the display 70 displays a notification indicating that there is a water leak and that the heating operation is prohibited.

In such a water leak inspection method, the thermal valve 6
2 is closed, and the circulation pump 24 is operated to pressurize the circulation path 22. Then, while the thermal valve 64 is closed and the pressurized state is maintained, a change in pressure is detected by the pressure sensor 66, and the detected pressure is detected. Since it is determined from the change whether or not there is a water leak, it is possible to quickly and accurately determine whether or not a water leak has occurred in the circulation path 22 and the heating terminals 2 and 3 to minimize a water leak accident. be able to. In addition, by selectively opening and closing one or both of the valves 42 and 43, it is possible to selectively inspect a water leak in the circulation path 22A or the circulation path 22B or both, and to specify a location where the water leakage occurs. Becomes easier.

Next, FIG. 5 shows a second embodiment of the heat medium leakage inspection device for a heating device according to the present invention. In the first embodiment, the heating device in which the two heat operated valves 62 and 64 are installed has been described. However, in the second embodiment, the heat operated valve 64 is omitted, and a single heat operated valve 62 is used. This constitutes a medium leakage inspection device. Also in the case of using the second embodiment, the heat medium leakage inspection control shown in FIG. 3 can be performed as in the first embodiment.

FIG. 6 shows the circulation path 22 and the heating terminals 2 and 3 using the heating medium leakage inspection device of the heating device shown in FIG.
2 shows a heat medium leak inspection process on the side, that is, a leak inspection process of the hot water 4. That is, in this case as well, after shifting to the inspection mode, in step S31, the thermal valve 62 on the return pipe 32 side is closed, and the process shifts to step S32 to start the pump operation. That is, when the circulation pump 24 is operated, the cistern 2
The hot water 4 is pumped into the circulation path 22 from the side 6. in this case,
By opening valve 42 or valve 43 or both,
The hot water 4 is pumped to the heating terminal 2 side or the heating terminal 3 side or both, and flows through the return pipe 32. When this pump operation is continued, the circulation path 2 is changed according to the opening / closing pattern of the valves 42 and 43.
Although the internal pressure of 2A or the circulation path 22B or both, that is, the internal pressure of the pipe increases, the pressure is stabilized and stabilized, and therefore, this is measured as an initial pressure in step S33.

In step S34, after the measurement of the initial pressure, the transition of the detected pressure is observed. That is, it is determined whether or not the detected pressure has decreased by a predetermined pressure from the initial pressure. If there is no such pressure decrease, the process proceeds to step S35, and the process proceeds to step S36 without water leakage, and the heating operation is performed. Become. That is, when the heating operation is possible, the display 70 displays information such as notification of no water leakage and the possibility of the heating operation.

When the detected pressure falls below the predetermined pressure in step S34, the flow shifts to step S37, where it is determined that there is water leakage, the flow shifts to step S38, and the heating operation is prohibited. When the heating operation is prohibited, the display 70 displays a notification indicating that there is a water leak and that the heating operation is prohibited.

In this inspection method, a single thermal valve 62 is used to quickly and accurately determine whether or not water leakage has occurred in the circulation path 22 and the heating terminals 2 and 3 as in the inspection method of FIG. In addition to this, there is an advantage that the thermal valve 64 becomes unnecessary, and the opening / closing process thereof can be omitted. Also in this embodiment, by selectively opening and closing one or both of the valves 42 and 43, it is possible to selectively inspect a water leak in the circulation path 22A or the circulation path 22B or both, and to check a water leakage location. Specific simplification can be achieved.

[0034]

As described above, according to the present invention,
The following effects are obtained. a. In addition to improving the quickness of the heat medium leak inspection of the heating terminal and the circulation path on the heating terminal side, the heat medium leakage is determined based on the pressure change of the circulation path, so that the inspection accuracy can be improved. b After applying a certain pressure to the circulation path and detecting the pressure,
Compared to the one that detects water leak from the change of the heat medium level on the heat medium tank side, the heat medium leak is detected only by pressurization and pressure judgment, so the installation of a level sensor for heat medium leak inspection and its There is no need to capture the detection output, and the configuration and processing can be simplified.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a view showing a first embodiment of a heat medium leakage inspection device for a heating device according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a sectional view showing a cistern.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart illustrating automatic replenishment control of a heat medium.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing a heat medium leakage inspection process using the heating medium leakage inspection device of the heating device shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 5 is a view showing a second embodiment of a heat medium leakage inspection device for a heating device according to the present invention.

6 is a flowchart showing a heat medium leakage inspection process using the heating medium leakage inspection device of the heating device shown in FIG. 5;

FIG. 7 is a diagram showing a conventional heating device.

[Explanation of symbols]

 2, 3 Heating terminal 4 Hot water (heat medium) 22 Circulation path 24 Circulation pump 32 Return pipe 56 Outgoing pipe 62 Thermal valve (first valve) 64 Thermal valve (second valve) 66 Pressure sensor (pressure detecting means) ) 68 control unit (judgment means)

Claims (4)

[Claims] 1. A circulation path for circulating a heat medium to a heating terminal, a circulation pump provided in the circulation path for pumping the heat medium, a valve provided in the circulation path to close the circulation path, A pressure detecting means provided in the circulation path for detecting pressure, and closing the valve to close the circulation path, and operating the circulation pump to increase the internal pressure of the circulation path,
A determination unit that stops the circulating pump and determines whether or not there is a leakage of a heat medium based on a change in the pressure detected by the pressure detection unit. 2. The heat medium leakage inspection device for a heating device according to claim 1, wherein the valve is installed in a return pipe or an outgoing pipe constituting the circulation path. 3. A circulation path for circulating the heat medium to the heating terminal; a circulation pump provided in the circulation path for pumping the heat medium; and a circulation pipe provided on the return pipe side of the circulation path to close the circulation path. A first valve to be closed; a second valve provided on an outgoing pipe side of the circulation path to close the circulation path; a pressure detection means provided in the circulation path to detect pressure; After the valve is closed to operate the circulation pump to increase the internal pressure of the circulation path, the second valve is closed to stop the circulation pump, and the heat medium leaks due to a change in the pressure detected by the pressure detection means. And a determining means for determining whether or not the heating medium leaks from the heating device. 4. The heating medium leakage inspection device for a heating device according to claim 1, wherein the valve is a thermal valve.