JP2003161436A - Hot water supply device - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To realize stable combustion causing no excessive air nor air shortage even if different kinds of gases are used. <P>SOLUTION: A combustion proportional control system type gas hot water supply device has: a gas proportional valve 14; a storage device 20 for storing the relationship between opening of the gas proportional valve 14 and a rotating speed of a combustion fan 11 by every gas kind; and an external input means for inputting a gas kind to be used. The system is constituted so as to control the gas proportional valve 14 and the fan 11 in response to the inputted gas kind. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2003,JPO

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a gas type determination method in a gas water heater.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art FIG. 3 shows the configuration of a conventional technique. In the figure, a water supply pipe 2 is connected to the upstream side of the heat exchanger 1, and the water supply pipe 2 is provided with a water inlet thermistor 3 for detecting the water supply temperature and a flow rate sensor 4 for detecting the water supply amount. Has been. A hot water outlet pipe 5 is connected to the downstream side of the heat exchanger 1, and the hot water outlet pipe 5 is provided with a water amount control valve 6 of a flow rate control means whose valve opening amount is controlled by a gear motor, and a hot water outlet thermistor 7 for detecting the hot water outlet temperature. It is provided.

Below the heat exchanger 1, a burner 8 as a heating means, an igniter electrode 9 for igniting the burner 8,
A flame rod electrode 10 for detecting ignition and a fan 11 as an air supply means for supplying / exhausting air are arranged, a gas nozzle 12 is arranged at a gas introduction portion of the burner 8, and a gas pipe 13 leading to the gas nozzle 12 is arranged. A gas proportional valve 14 that controls the gas supply amount by the valve opening amount, and a gas solenoid valve 15 that opens and closes the pipeline are provided.

This kind of hot water supply device is provided with a control device 16, and a remote controller 17 is connected to the control device 16. The remote control 17 displays an operation button 21 for setting the hot water supply temperature and a set hot water temperature. A section 18 is provided. The control device 16 controls the operation of the hot water supply device, and when the hot water tap 19 is opened, the flow rate sensor 4 detects the amount of water input, and the amount of water input is a certain amount or more (more than the minimum operating water amount).
Then, the control device 16 rotates the fan 11 in response to the signal from the flow rate sensor 4. And fan 1
When the rotational speed of 1 enters a predetermined rotational speed range, the gas solenoid valve 15 and the gas proportional valve 14 are opened to supply the gas to the burner 8 and the ignition operation by the igniter electrode 9 is performed.
When the flame rod electrode 10 detects the ignition of the gas, the controller 16 changes the opening of the gas proportional valve 14 so that the hot water discharge temperature becomes the set temperature. In addition, the proportional valve 1 as shown in FIG.
The relationship between the opening degree of 4 and the rotation speed of the fan 11 is stored in the storage device 20, and the rotation speed of the fan 11 is adjusted according to the stored value.

[0005]

However, when the hot water supply device is installed at the destination and the combustion operation is performed, the gas species used are different depending on the region (for example, 12A and 13A), and this unit heat generation is performed. Even if the amount was subtly different, the water heater was controlling combustion without determining the gas type. That is, even if the type of gas is different, the combustion control is performed at an eclectic point where those gases burn to some extent without changing the relationship between the proportional valve opening and the fan rotation speed. Therefore, FIG.
As shown in Fig. 2, when a gas species with a large unit calorific value is used, combustion control is performed with a lack of air, and when a gas species with a small unit calorific value is used, combustion control is performed with an excess of air. However, the combustion performance was not always satisfactory.

[0006]

A combustion burner, a heat exchanger for exchanging heat with water by the combustion burner, a water supply pipe connected to the upstream side of the heat exchanger, and water in the water supply pipe. A water temperature sensor that detects the temperature, a hot water outlet pipe connected to the downstream side of the heat exchanger, a hot water temperature sensor that detects the temperature of the hot water in the hot water pipe, and a flow rate sensor that detects the flow rate of water flowing through the hot water pipe. A fan that sends air to the combustion burner, a control unit that adjusts the rotation speed of the fan, a proportional valve that adjusts the amount of fuel that is sent to the burner, a control unit that controls the opening of the proportional valve, and the opening of the proportional valve. Degree and the number of rotations of the fan are stored for each gas type more than once, and a storage means for storing more than one relationship between the combustion amount for each gas type and the opening of the proportional valve, and the temperature detected by the feed water temperature sensor. And the temperature detected by the hot water temperature sensor and the flow detected by the flow sensor. From the calculation device for calculating the gas combustion amount from the calculation device, the calculation value calculated by the calculation device, and the relationship between the combustion amount for each gas type and the opening of the proportional valve are compared to self-determine the gas type used. The fan and the proportional valve are controlled according to the determined gas type.

[0007]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS The invention according to claim 1 is a heat exchanger for exchanging heat with water by a combustion burner, a control means for adjusting the rotational speed of a fan for sending air to the combustion burner, and a combustion burner. Control means for controlling the opening of the proportional valve for adjusting the amount of fuel to be supplied, storage means for storing a plurality of relationships between the opening of the proportional valve and the rotation speed of the fan for each gas type, and the gas type used An external input means for inputting is provided, and the fan and the proportional valve are controlled according to the input gas type. According to this means, when a hot water supply device is installed at the destination and a combustion operation is to be performed, optimal combustion control is performed according to the gas even if the type of gas used varies depending on the region. be able to.

The invention according to claim 2 is a heat exchanger for exchanging heat with water by a combustion burner, and a feed water temperature sensor for detecting the temperature of water in a feed pipe connected upstream of the heat exchanger. A hot water outlet pipe connected to the downstream side of the heat exchanger, a hot water outlet temperature sensor for detecting the temperature of the hot water in the hot water outlet pipe, a flow rate sensor for detecting the flow rate of water flowing through the water supply pipe, and air for the combustion burner. Control means for adjusting the rotation speed of the fan for sending the
Control means that controls the opening of the proportional valve that adjusts the amount of fuel sent to the combustion burner, and stores the relationship between the opening of the proportional valve and the number of revolutions of the fan for each gas type, and stores the combustion amount for each gas type. A storage unit that stores a plurality of relationships between the opening of the proportional valve and the opening of the proportional valve; an arithmetic unit that calculates the gas combustion amount from the detected temperature of the feed water temperature sensor, the detected temperature of the hot water temperature sensor, and the detected flow rate of the flow rate sensor. A self-determined gas type used by comparing the calculated value calculated by the arithmetic unit with the combustion amount for each gas type and the opening of the proportional valve, and the fan and the proportional valve according to the determined gas type. And control. According to this means, since the hot water supply device determines the gas type by itself, it can be set without knowing the gas type at the installation location.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, the comparison between the calculated value calculated by the calculation device and the relationship between the combustion amount for each gas type and the opening of the proportional valve is the first first hot water supply operation. By doing so, the gas type can be reliably set during the trial run after installation and construction at the destination.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, when the calculated value calculated by the arithmetic device is compared with the relationship between the combustion amount for each gas type and the opening of the proportional valve, the opening of the proportional valve is compared. And the number of rotations of the fan is adjusted to a predetermined constant value. According to this means, it is possible to reduce the amount of relational data between the calculated value and the opening of the proportional valve stored for the determination. The capacity of can be reduced.

Further, the invention according to claim 5 is provided with a flow rate control means capable of arbitrarily changing the incoming water flow rate in the water supply pipe or the hot water discharge pipe, and the calculated value calculated by the arithmetic unit, the combustion amount for each gas type, and the proportional valve. When comparing the relationship with the opening degree, the opening degree of the flow rate control means is adjusted to a predetermined constant value. According to this means, even if the gas with the largest calorific value flows,
By limiting the amount of water supply to a fixed value that does not boil,
By increasing the difference between the temperature detected by the water supply temperature sensor and the temperature detected by the hot water temperature sensor as much as possible, the determination error can be reduced.

The invention according to claim 6 compares the calculated value calculated by the calculation device with the relationship between the combustion amount for each gas type and the opening of the proportional valve in the first first hot water supply operation. Even after that, if a signal is input from the external input means, the comparison between the calculated value calculated by the calculation device and the relationship between the combustion amount for each gas type and the opening of the proportional valve is executed again. , According to this means, when the owner of the hot water supply device moves home,
It is possible to determine the gas type again at the installation site.

Further, the invention according to claim 7 is provided with an informing means for informing that when the determination of the gas type is not successful. According to this means, for example, during the determination of the gas type. Since the user is informed that noise could be introduced and the detection value of the sensor may be misaligned and the normal determination could not be made, the user can quickly respond.

Further, the invention according to claim 8 is provided with notifying means for notifying that the gas type is being determined, so that other users can be alerted that the gas type is being determined. It is possible to prevent erroneous operations such as turning off the operation switch of the device.

Further, the invention according to claim 9 comprises notifying means for notifying the determined gas type, and the user can confirm later that the hot water supply device has completed the determination of the gas type reliably and normally.

[0016]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. The hot water supply apparatus of this embodiment is intended for the hot water supply apparatus having the configuration shown in FIG. 3, and the same parts as the original names shown in FIG. 3 are designated by the same reference numerals and duplicate explanations thereof will be omitted.

(Embodiment 1) In the hot water supply apparatus of the first embodiment, after the installation and construction, the type of gas used at the installation location of the hot water supply apparatus can be input from the operation button 21 of the remote controller 17. The input gas type is stored, and the combustion from the next operation is controlled by using this gas type in the relationship between the proportional valve opening and the fan rotation speed that is stored in advance. For example, as shown in FIG.
Of the gas types A, B, C
Is remembered. When the type of gas used at the installation site is C, it is input from the operation button 21 of the remote controller 17 that the gas used is C. Since the subsequent combustion control uses the relationship between the opening degree of the proportional valve 14 of the gas type C and the rotation speed of the fan 11, the combustion control can be performed with the optimum gas amount and air amount.

(Embodiment 2) Next, referring to Embodiment 2, FIG.
Will be described with reference to. FIG. 2 is a flowchart of the control means of the hot water supply device according to the second embodiment of the present invention. When the hot water tap 19 is opened in S1, the controller controls the fan 11, the gas solenoid valve 15, the gas proportional valve 14, and the igniter electrode 9 by using the signal of the water amount sensor 4 as an input as shown in S2 to S7. After the ignition is detected by the signal of the frame rod electrode 10, the discharge of the igniter electrode 9 is stopped. In S8, the number of combustions of the hot water supply device is checked, and if it is the second or later, the normal combustion mode is entered.

In the case of the first combustion, the process proceeds to S9, and the display section 18 of the remote controller 17 displays that the gas type is being determined. Next, in S10, one hot water supply combustion count is counted. Gas proportional valve 1 in S11 to S14
4, the fan 11 and the water volume control valve 6 have predetermined opening degrees,
The rotation speed and the amount of water supplied are adjusted and maintained for a predetermined time. In S15, the amount of heat Qout obtained by the combustion of gas is calculated from the incoming water temperature Tw detected by the incoming water thermistor 3, the outgoing hot water temperature To detected by the outgoing hot water thermistor 7, and the water supply amount Qwin detected by the flow rate sensor 4. When the efficiency of the water heater is η, the calorific value Qg of the gas is calculated by the following equation.

Qg = Qout / η = K × (To-Tw)
× Qwin / η Here, K is a constant for unit conversion.

Next, in S16, the relationship between the calorific value Qg of the gas, the combustion amount for each gas type stored in the storage device, and the opening of the proportional valve 14 is compared to determine the gas type. For example,
Assuming that the gas flow rate is 0.80 L / Sec when the proportional valve 14 has a predetermined opening, the combustion amount when the gas type is 13 A is about 35 kW / h, and when it is 12 A, about 22 K.
W / h, and these values are stored for each gas type. The value detected by each sensor is the incoming water temperature Tw = 20 ° C.,
Hot water temperature To = 60 ° C., water supply amount Qwin = 10 L / mi
n, and the efficiency (fixed value) of the water heater is η = 80%,
The calculation result of the calorific value of gas is approximately Qg = 34.6KW
/ H. The gas type is determined by comparing this calculated value with the stored value for each gas type. In addition, the determination is made to have a certain range with respect to the stored value in consideration of reading errors of various sensors.

For example, the calculated value is 34 to 36 kW / h
If so, it is determined to be 13A, 21 to 23 kW / h, and 12A. Therefore, it can be determined from the above calculation result that the gas species used is 13A. Next, in S17, "determining gas type" displayed on the display unit 18 of the remote controller 17 is turned off. Next, in S18, it is checked whether the gas type determination has been normally performed.

For example, the sensor may be noisy for some reason and the calculation result may not be calculated correctly.
When g = 11 KW / h, it can be seen that some abnormality has occurred because the stored values do not match. In this case, the number of times of hot water supply and combustion is cleared in S19, and "Gas type determination error" is displayed on the display unit 18 of the remote controller 17 in S20. If the determination is correctly made, the process proceeds to S21, the determined gas type is stored in the storage device, and the combustion from the next time is stored in advance from the relationship between the proportional valve opening degree and the fan rotation speed stored in advance. Combustion control is performed using the determined gas species. In S22, the determined gas type is displayed on the display unit 18 of the remote controller 17.

Next, when the hot water tap 19 is closed in S23, S
When the signal for re-determining the gas type is input from the operation button 21 of the remote controller 17 in S25, the number of combustions of the hot water is cleared in S26, and the gas is restarted in S26. Determine the species.

[0025]

As is apparent from the above description, the hot water supply apparatus of the present invention has the following effects.

That is, when a hot water supply apparatus is installed at a destination and a combustion operation is to be performed, even if the unit heat amount is slightly different because the type of gas used varies depending on the area, Since the type of gas used is determined and optimal combustion control is performed, air shortage or excess air can be avoided, and incomplete combustion products such as carbon monoxide can be reduced.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a conceptual diagram of a storage device in a gas water heater according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a flow chart of a gas water heater according to a second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram of a conventional gas water heater.

FIG. 4 is a conceptual diagram of a storage device of the same device.

[Explanation of symbols]

2 Water entry thermistor 4 Flow rate sensor 6 Flow control valve 11 fans 14 gas proportional valve 16 Control device 17 Remote control 18 Display 19 Hot water tap 20 storage 21 Operation buttons

   ─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continued front page    (72) Inventor Yoshimitsu Fujiwara             1006 Kadoma, Kadoma-shi, Osaka Matsushita Electric             Sangyo Co., Ltd. (72) Inventor Seiichi Okawa             1006 Kadoma, Kadoma-shi, Osaka Matsushita Electric             Sangyo Co., Ltd. F-term (reference) 3K003 AA03 AB02 AC01 CA03 CA05                       CB03 CB05 DA03

Claims (9)

[Claims] 1. A combustion burner, a heat exchanger for exchanging heat with water by the combustion burner, a fan for sending air to the combustion burner, a control means for controlling the rotation speed of the fan, and the combustion burner. A proportional valve that adjusts the amount of fuel supplied to the valve, a control unit that controls the opening of the proportional valve, and a memory that stores the relationship between the opening of the proportional valve and the rotation speed of the fan for each gas type. A gas hot water supply device comprising means and external input means capable of inputting a gas type to be used, and controlling the fan and the proportional valve in accordance with the input gas type. 2. A combustion burner, a heat exchanger for exchanging heat with water by the combustion burner, a water supply pipe connected to an upstream side of the heat exchanger, and a temperature of water in the water supply pipe is detected. A water supply temperature sensor, a hot water outlet pipe connected to the downstream side of the heat exchanger, a hot water temperature sensor for detecting the temperature of hot water in the hot water outlet pipe, and a flow rate sensor for detecting the flow rate of water flowing through the hot water supply pipe. A fan that sends air to the combustion burner, a control unit that controls the rotation speed of the fan, a proportional valve that adjusts the amount of fuel supplied to the combustion burner, and a control unit that controls the opening degree of the proportional valve. A storage means for storing the relationship between the opening of the proportional valve and the rotation speed of the fan for each gas type, and storing a plurality of the relationships between the combustion amount for each gas type and the opening of the proportional valve, The temperature detected by the water supply temperature sensor and the hot water temperature sensor Of the combustion amount from the sensor detection temperature and the flow rate detected by the flow rate sensor, the calculated value calculated by the calculation device, and the relationship between the combustion amount for each gas type and the opening of the proportional valve. A gas hot water supply apparatus that self-determines the type of gas used and controls the fan and the proportional valve according to the determined type of gas. 3. The comparison between the calculated value calculated by the calculation device and the relationship between the combustion amount for each gas type and the opening of the proportional valve is as follows:
The gas hot water supply apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the first hot water supply operation is performed. 4. When the calculated value calculated by the calculation device is compared with the relationship between the combustion amount for each gas type and the opening of the proportional valve, the opening of the proportional valve and the rotation speed of the fan are compared. The gas water heater according to claim 2, which is adjusted to a predetermined constant value. 5. A water supply pipe or a hot water discharge pipe is provided with a flow rate control means capable of arbitrarily changing a flow rate of incoming water, and a comparison between a calculated value calculated by a calculation device and an opening of a combustion amount proportional valve for each gas type. The gas hot water supply apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the opening degree of the flow rate control means is adjusted to a predetermined value when performing. 6. A comparison between a calculated value calculated by a calculation device and a relationship between a combustion amount for each gas type and an opening of a proportional valve,
Even after the first hot water supply operation, if a signal is input from the external input means, the calculated value calculated by the calculation device, the combustion amount for each gas type, and the relationship between the opening of the proportional valve The gas water heater according to claim 3, wherein the comparison is performed again. 7. When the gas type cannot be determined well,
The gas hot water supply apparatus according to claim 2, further comprising an informing means for informing that effect. 8. The gas hot water supply apparatus according to claim 2, further comprising an informing means for informing that the gas type is being determined. 9. The gas hot water supply apparatus according to claim 2, further comprising an informing means for informing the determined gas type.