JP2002357361A - Water heater - Google Patents

Abstract

(57) [Summary] [Problem] Since the specifications are different between a case where one hot water supply device is used alone and a case where a plurality of hot water supply devices are connected in parallel, a water heater is separately manufactured according to each use. However, this increases the manufacturing cost. When a connection unit is connected to a single hot-water supply device that can be operated alone, a control unit of the hot-water supply device detects connection with the connection unit and changes the operation mode from the single operation mode to the connection operation mode. Changed automatically.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a hot water supply apparatus which can be used in a connected operation in which a plurality of hot water supply apparatuses are connected in parallel.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art As a conventional water heater of this type, a plurality of water heaters are connected to a single system controller (connection unit) which is an external device, as disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 11-18169, for example. 2. Description of the Related Art There is known a system in which a plurality of system controllers connected to a hot water supply device are connected to an upper system controller so that the respective hot water supply devices are connected and operated.

[0003] The above-described conventional water heater can use a burner or a heat exchanger incorporated in the water heater used alone, but it needs to communicate with a system controller and operate in accordance with an instruction from the system controller. Therefore, it is necessary to use a built-in control unit different from the control unit of the hot water supply device used alone.

[0004]

When a hot water supply device having a large hot water supply capacity is required, a single large hot water supply device is not installed, but a relatively small hot water supply is disclosed in the above-mentioned publication. By connecting the devices in parallel and performing the linked operation, the manufacturing cost of the entire hot water supply device can be reduced, and the range of the hot water supply amount can be expanded by lowering the minimum hot water supply amount.

However, the conventional hot water supply apparatus described in the above-mentioned publication cannot be completely shared with a single hot water supply apparatus used alone. Therefore, it must be manufactured separately from the hot water supply device used alone,
There are limits to reducing manufacturing costs.

[0006] In view of the above problems, an object of the present invention is to provide a hot water supply device used for a connection operation, which can reduce the manufacturing cost as compared with the conventional one.

[0007]

In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, a water heater according to the present invention has a built-in microcomputer type control unit having a communication terminal capable of connecting an external device and having a communication function. In a water heater that can be used, when a connection unit is connected to a communication terminal as an external device, the control unit detects that the connection unit is connected, switches the operation mode from the standalone operation mode to the connection operation mode, and And performs a connection operation in accordance with a command from the connection unit in cooperation with another hot water supply device connected to the water supply device.

According to the above arrangement, if a water heater that can be used alone can be connected to the connection unit, the control unit of the water heater is automatically detected to be connected to the connection unit, and the connection operation is performed. Switch to mode. Therefore, it is not necessary to separately manufacture a hot water supply device used alone and a hot water supply device used for the connection operation when manufacturing the hot water supply device.

A communication terminal for connecting the connecting unit must be provided in the hot water supply device. However, at the time of shipment or maintenance, an inspection device, which is an external device that communicates with the control unit and inspects the inside of the hot water supply device, is connected. If the connection unit is connected to the communication terminal to be connected, it is not necessary to newly add a communication terminal.

[0010] In the above-mentioned connecting unit, a master unit is set from a plurality of water heaters connected thereto, and a remote controller functioning in the connecting operation mode may be attached to at least one of the connecting unit and the master unit.

[0011]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Referring to FIG. 1, reference numeral 1 denotes a hot water supply device, which has a built-in gas burner 2 connected to a gas supply pipe 20. The gas burner 2 heats a heat exchanger 3. A water supply pipe 4 is connected to the heat exchanger 3, and water is supplied from the water supply pipe 4.
Is supplied to the heat exchanger 3, is heated while circulating through the heat exchanger 3, becomes hot water, and is discharged from the tapping pipe 5.

A safety valve 21 and a thermal power control valve 22 are mounted in series between the gas supply pipe 20 and the gas burner 2. A pilot burner 2a is attached near the gas burner 2, and is branched from between the safety valve 21 and the thermal power control valve 22 so as to supply gas to the pilot burner 2a. When the operation switch is turned on, the safety valve 21 opens and the pilot burner 2a is ignited.

A flow sensor 51 is attached to the tapping pipe 5. When the flow rate in the tapping pipe 5 exceeds a preset minimum flow rate, the thermal power control valve 22 opens and the gas burner 2 is ignited. Further, a temperature sensor 52 is attached to the tapping pipe 5, and the opening of the thermal power control valve 22 is adjusted so that the temperature of tapping water from the tapping pipe 5 becomes a set temperature. Faucet 30 attached to the tip of tapping pipe 5
Is closed and the flow rate in the tapping pipe 5 drops below the minimum flow rate, the thermal power control valve 22 closes and the gas burner 2 is extinguished.

These series of controls are performed by a control unit 6 built in the hot water supply device. An opening / closing valve 41 is attached to the water supply pipe 4, and this opening / closing valve 41 is also opened / closed by the control unit 6. However, when one hot water supply device 1 is used alone, that is, when the control unit is operated in the single operation mode. During operation, the on-off valve 41 always remains open and does not close.

Referring to FIG. 2, the control unit 6 includes a microcomputer 61, and can communicate with an external device connected to the communication terminal 62. The external device includes, for example, an inspection device 7. The inspection device 7 is used when the hot water supply device 1 is shipped from a factory or when the hot water supply device 1 is inspected at a mounting location. The inspection device 7 performs mutual communication with the control unit 6 to determine whether or not the entire hot water supply device 1 is abnormal. It is a device to be inspected. The inspection device 7 is connected to the communication terminal 62 via a detachable connector 71 and a cable 72. When the connector 71 is attached to the communication terminal 62, the microcomputer 61 detects that the inspection device 7 is connected, and shifts from the normal operation mode to the inspection mode. When the inspection is completed and the connector 71 is disconnected from the communication terminal 62, the operation returns to the normal operation mode.

The water heater 1 can be used alone, but a plurality of water heaters 1 can be connected in parallel to perform a linked operation. Since all the water heaters 1 are controlled in conjunction with each other during the linked operation, each water heater 1 is connected to the connection unit 8.
Connected to. The connection unit 8 and the control unit 6
The conversion unit 82 is interposed between the connector 81 and the connection unit 8 because the communication between them does not require a large number of codes.

When the connector 81 is attached to the communication terminal 62, the control unit 6 detects the connection to the connection unit 8, and automatically switches from the normal operation mode to the connection operation mode.

Referring to FIG. 3, when a plurality of water heaters 1 are connected to connecting unit 8 as shown in the figure, connecting unit 8 uses one of the plurality of water heaters 1 as a master unit. After setting, the remaining hot water supply device 1 is set as a slave unit. When there is a water heater 1 to which the remote controller 11 is connected among a plurality of water heaters 1 as in the present embodiment, the water heater 1 is preferentially set as the parent device. When the remote controller 11 is connected to each of the plurality of water heaters 1 or when the remote controller 11 is not connected to any of the water heaters 1, a serial number is set to the connection port of the connection unit 8, and The hot water supply device 1 connected to the connection port with the smallest serial number is set as the parent device.

The plurality of water heaters 1 connected to the connecting unit 8 operate in the same manner as a single large water heater. In the present embodiment, remote controller 11 is connected to one hot water supply device 1, but remote controller 80 is further connected to connecting unit 8. However, it is not always necessary to attach a remote controller to both, and a remote controller may be attached to one of the connection unit 8 and the hot water supply device 1 that is the parent machine.

As shown in the figure, a plurality of hot water heaters 1 are connected to a connecting unit 8, and one or more open / close valves 41 of the connected plurality of hot water heaters 1 are open. When the faucet 30 is opened and hot water flows through the tapping pipe, the control unit 6 of each hot water supply device 1
, The flow rate detected by the flow rate sensor 51 is transmitted.
The hot water supply amount of each hot water supply device 1, that is, the range of the flow rate detected by the flow rate sensor 51 is, for example, “low” or “medium” in the present embodiment.
Three levels of “high” are set. Assuming that five water heaters 1 are connected to the connecting unit 8,
When the on-off valves 41 of the two hot-water supply devices 1 are opened and the on-off valves 41 of the remaining two hot-water supply devices 1 are closed, the three hot-water supply devices 1 that are open are operated. Become. Assuming that the flow rates of the three operating units are all within the “medium” range, the state in which the three units are operating is maintained.

When the amount of hot water supplied from the faucet 30 decreases and any of the flow rates of the three hot water heaters 1 decreases and enters a "low" range, the connecting unit 8 operates the three hot water heaters 1 that are operating. Are stopped, and two water heaters 1 are operated. When the flow rates of the two water heaters 1 are both "medium", the state in which the two water heaters are operating is maintained. One of them is stopped, and only one hot water supply device 1 is operated.

Conversely, if the flow rate of any of the hot water heaters 1 in operation increases to "high" in a state where some of the hot water heaters 1 are operating, the hot water heaters 1 out of the idle hot water heaters 1 are stopped. Activate one. The operation and stop of the water heater 1 are performed by opening and closing the on-off valve 41. That is, when the open / close valve 41 is opened, the hot water supply device 1 is in an operating state, and when the open / close valve 41 is closed, the hot water supply device 1 stops operating.

As described above, the number of operating hot water heaters 1 varies, but the connecting unit 8 accumulates the operating time of each hot water heater 1, and only some of the hot water heaters 1 continue to operate. In order to prevent the hot water supply device 1 from deteriorating, the hot water supply device 1 that operates so that the accumulated operation time becomes substantially constant for each hot water supply device 1 is rotated. That is, the hot water supply device 1 having a short cumulative operation time is positively operated, and the hot water supply device 1 having a long cumulative operation time is controlled so as to be preferentially stopped.

[0024]

As is apparent from the above description, according to the present invention, the hot water supply device that operates alone and the hot water supply device that is connected to operate can have exactly the same specifications. The manufacturing cost can be lower than the manufacturing cost of the conventional hot water supply device.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a configuration of an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing connection of an external device to a control unit.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a configuration during a linked operation;

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Hot-water supply apparatus 2 Gas burner 3 Heat exchanger 4 Water supply pipe 5 Hot-water supply pipe 6 Control unit 7 Inspection apparatus 8 Connecting unit

 ──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continued on the front page (72) Inventor Ikuo Adachi 2-26 Fukuzumi-cho, Nakagawa-ku, Nagoya-shi, Aichi

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. A microcomputer type control unit having a communication terminal capable of connecting an external device and having a communication function,
In a water heater that can be used alone, when a connection unit is connected to a communication terminal as an external device, the control unit detects that the connection unit is connected and changes the operation mode from the single operation mode to the connection operation mode. A hot water supply device which performs switching operation in accordance with a command from the connection unit in cooperation with another hot water supply device connected to the switching unit. 2. The hot water supply device according to claim 1, wherein the communication terminal is connected to an inspection device that is an external device that performs an inspection inside the hot water supply device by communicating with a control unit at the time of shipping or maintenance. . 3. The connection unit according to claim 1, wherein a base unit is set from a plurality of water heaters connected thereto, and a remote controller functioning in a connection operation mode is attached to at least one of the connection unit and the base unit. The hot water supply apparatus according to claim 1 or 2, wherein