JP2006118804A - Electric water heater - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an electric water heater that levels loading in the initial operation, and can realize miniaturization, weight reduction, reduction in standby power requirement, and cost reduction of a power supply section. <P>SOLUTION: The electric water heater comprises a water stop valve 10 for supplying un-heated water, a hot water storage tank 1 that has a heating means 2 and stores heated water obtained by heating the un-heated water with the heating means 2, a plurality of mixing valves 4 and 7 for controlling the heated water and/or un-heated water from the hot water storage tank 1 and sending them to a plurality of desired parts, respectively, a control section 12 for controlling the opening and closing of the water stop valve 10 and each of mixing valves 4 and 7, and the power supply section 11 for supplying power to the water stop valve 10 and each of mixing valves 4 and 7. The electric water heater further comprises a timing means 16 for setting the timing of power supply from the power supply section 11 to the water stop valve 10 and each mixing valve in the initial operation of the electric water heater so that peaks of respective operations of the water stop valve 10 and each of mixing valves 4 and 7 do not synchronize with each other. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2006,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to an electric water heater that supplies hot water by controlling the temperature of heated water, and in particular, can reduce the power supply capacity during initial operation such as when the electric water heater is installed or when power is turned on after a power failure.

  Conventionally, in a hot water supply system using an electric water heater using midnight power, when hot water is supplied to a bathtub and a kitchen, the water set to a predetermined temperature is supplied from a hot water outlet of the bathtub or a kitchen faucet. ing. That is, in this electric water heater, the tap water supplied from the water pipe is heated in the hot water storage tank of the electric water heater, and the heated water is mixed directly or with tap water from another water pipe. Thus, the water is adjusted to the set temperature, and the water adjusted to the set temperature is supplied to the hot water supply port or the faucet through the pipe. And the heater that heats the water in the hot water tank mainly uses midnight power, the electric hot water mixing valve that mixes the water heated in the hot water tank and unheated water, and the controller that controls the hot water temperature It operates on a power system that does not use midnight power.

  In the initial operation such as when the electric water heater is installed or when the power is turned on after a power failure, the electric water heater has a controller that controls the temperature of the water and a plurality of electric motors that mix the heated and unheated water in the hot water tank. A power supply is simultaneously applied to a hot and cold water mixing valve or the like to check operation (for example, see Patent Document 1).

JP 2003-269997 A

  Since the conventional electric water heater is configured as described above, the power supply capacity of the power supply unit supplying power to all control valves during initial operation is the normal operation of the electric water heater. Commercial transformers and regulators that are significantly larger than the required power supply capacity and must be equipped with a large-capacity control power supply. Conventional electric water heaters can handle temporary overloads. Although a dropper control power supply using an IC is generally used, there is a problem that power supply efficiency is low and standby power is large.

  The present invention has been made to solve the above-described problems, leveling the load during the initial operation of the electric water heater, and reducing the size, weight, low standby power, and low power supply. The object is to obtain an electric water heater capable of realizing cost reduction.

  The present invention relates to a water stop valve for supplying unheated water, a hot water storage tank having heating means for storing heated water heated by the heating means, heated water from the hot water tank and / or unheated. A plurality of control valves that control and send water to a plurality of desired locations, a control unit that controls opening and closing of the water stop valve and each control valve, and a power supply unit that supplies power to the water stop valve and each control valve, respectively In the electric water heater with an electric water heater, the peak of each operation of the water stop valve and each control valve is not synchronized with the timing of power supply from the power supply unit to the water stop valve and each control valve during the initial operation of the electric water heater It is provided with timing means for performing.

  The electric water heater of the present invention includes a water stop valve that supplies unheated water, a hot water tank that has heating means and stores heated water that has been heated by the heating means, heated water from the hot water tank, and And / or a plurality of control valves that control unheated water and send it to a plurality of desired locations, a control unit that controls the opening and closing of the water stop valves and the control valves, and a power supply to the water stop valves and the control valves, respectively. In the electric water heater provided with the power supply unit, the timing of the power supply from the power supply unit to the stop valve and each control valve during the initial operation of the electric water heater has a peak in each operation of the stop valve and each control valve. Since the timing means for performing synchronization is provided, the maximum load of the power supply can be reduced.

Embodiment 1 FIG.
Embodiment 1 of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. 1 is a block diagram showing a configuration of an electric water heater according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention. In the figure, a hot water storage tank 1 that has heating means 2 and stores the heated water heated by the heating means 2, and a water stop valve that supplies the unheated water to an electric water heater system such as in the hot water storage tank 1. 10. The electric water heater is variously equipped with a plurality of control valves for controlling the heated water and unheated water from the hot water tank 1 and sending them to each of a plurality of desired locations. In the first embodiment, two control valves are illustrated.

  In order to mix the heated water and the unheated water from the hot water tank 1 so as to reach a desired temperature as a control, the first mixing tap 6 for kitchen which is one of a plurality of desired locations. For mixing the first mixing valve 4 as a control valve for feeding to the heating water and the unheated water from the hot water tank 1 so as to achieve a desired temperature as a control, and a plurality of desired The second mixing valve 7 serving as a control valve for feeding to the second mixing plug 9 for bath, which is one of the locations, and the opening and closing of the water stop valve 10 and the mixing valves 4 and 7 are controlled. The control unit 12, the water stop valve 10 and the mixing valves 4 and 7, the power supply unit 11 for supplying power to the control unit and each remote control unit described later, and the water stop valve 10 and the mixing valves at the initial operation of the electric water heater 4 and 7, the timing of power supply from the power supply unit 11 to the stop valve 10 and each mixing And a timing means 12 which peaks in the operations of 4 and 7 to control the first switching means 151 and the second switching means 152 and a power supply unit 11 so as not to synchronize.

  Furthermore, a switch 14 for turning the heating means 2 ON and OFF, a first temperature sensor 2 provided on the outer periphery of the lower part of the hot water tank 1 for detecting the temperature state of the heated water in the hot water tank 1, and a first mixing valve 4 The second temperature sensor 5 for detecting the temperature of the hot water produced in the above, the third temperature sensor 8 for detecting the temperature of the hot water produced by the second mixing valve 7, and installed in the kitchen and supplied to the kitchen Kitchen remote controller 130 for setting the temperature of hot water, etc., bathroom remote controller 131 for setting the temperature of hot water installed in the bathroom and supplied to the bathroom, and output values of the temperature sensors 3, 5, 8 The controller 12 is provided with a controller 12 that inputs the hot and cold water set temperatures from the remote controllers 130 and 131 and controls the mixing valves 4 and 7.

  Next, the operation of the electric water heater according to Embodiment 1 configured as described above will be described. First of all, the initial operation of the electric water heater here refers to the state in which the function of the electric water heater is stopped, for example, when the electric water heater is installed or when the electric water heater is stopped and restarted due to a power failure. This operation is performed at the time of starting, and is an operation for confirming the operation of all control valves after the power is turned on. Therefore, the initial operation time refers to an operation time for performing the operation, and usually requires about several tens of seconds. In the electric water heater, all control valves cannot operate during normal operation other than during initial operation. In the first embodiment, for convenience, an example in which this control valve is used at two locations has been shown. Usually, however, various control valves such as a two-way valve for controlling the water delivery direction and a flow rate adjustment valve are mixed. Until now, during this initial operation, all the control valves were turned on and off all at once and the operation of all the control valves was confirmed.

  However, in order to power on all the control valves at once, it is necessary to set the capacity of the power supply unit 11 to a capacity that takes into account the peak in the operation of all the control valves. This capacity is not required during normal operation, and the capacity of the power supply unit 11 is unnecessarily increased. Therefore, in the first embodiment, control is performed so that the peaks in each operation of the water stop valve and each control valve are not synchronized during the initial operation of the electric water heater. Specifically, as shown in FIG. 2, the water stop valve and the control valve have a peak time required for the drive current flowing at the time of start-up to the rated current value, for example, a water stop valve, and FIG. Thus, there are those having a peak of the braking time that flows when trying to stop the valve, such as the first mixing valve. These peaks are eigenvalues in the water stop valve and the control valve and can be grasped in advance. Therefore, the timing means 16 adjusts the power ON / OFF timing as shown in FIG. 4 so that these peaks do not overlap.

  Further, here, the timing means 16 first turns on the power to the water stop valve 10 which is absolutely necessary in the electric water heater, and then turns on the other control valves. Thus, the most important operation of the water stop valve 10 can be confirmed first. Further, in each control valve, a priority order is determined according to a desired location sent out by the control valve, and a power-on order is determined based on the priority order. Specifically, when the kitchen is compared with the bathroom, the order is determined based on the fact that the priority order comes first because the kitchen is used more frequently. Then, the operation can be confirmed from the one with the highest priority.

  The electric water heater of the first embodiment configured as described above includes a self-excited ringing choke converter (RCC) from the conventional dropper system to reduce the size of the power supply unit and reduce standby power. In the case of reconsidering an inexpensive flyback method, the reduction of the power supply capacity of the power supply unit greatly contributes to the reduction of the circuit cost of the power supply unit and the reduction of standby power.

  In the first embodiment, the timing means has shown an example in which the timing of turning on the power of each control valve is shifted by the peak time, and is not limited to this. For example, as shown in FIG. Even if control is performed so that the operation times of the control valves do not overlap, control can be performed so that the peaks in the operation of the control valves are not synchronized as in the first embodiment. In this way, although the time for the initial operation is slightly longer than in the case of the first embodiment, precise control of shifting by the peak time is not necessary, and the control itself is simplified. Similar effects can be achieved.

It is a block diagram which shows the structure of the electric water heater of Embodiment 1 of this invention. It is a figure which shows the drive current of the water stop valve of the electric water heater shown in FIG. It is a figure which shows the drive current of the 1st mixing valve of the electric water heater shown in FIG. It is the figure which showed the state transition of the electric water heater shown in FIG. It is the figure which showed the other state transition of the electric water heater shown in FIG.

Explanation of symbols

1 hot water tank, 2 heating means, 4 first mixing valve, 7 second mixing valve, 10 water stop valve,
11 power supply unit, 12 control unit, 17 timing means.

Claims (5)

A water stop valve for supplying unheated water, a hot water storage tank having heating means for storing heated water heated by the heating means, heated water from the hot water tank and / or the unheated water A plurality of control valves that control and send water to a plurality of desired locations, a control unit that controls opening and closing of the water stop valves and the control valves, and a power supply to the water stop valves and the control valves, respectively. In the electric water heater provided with the power supply unit, the timing of power supply from the power supply unit to the water stop valve and each control valve during the initial operation of the electric water heater is set to the water stop valve and each control valve. An electric water heater comprising timing means for preventing the peaks in each operation from being synchronized. 2. The electric water heater according to claim 1, wherein the timing means powers on the water stop valve first. The timing means is configured so that the time required for the drive current flowing when starting the water stop valve and each control valve to drop to the rated current value or the braking time of each control valve does not overlap. The electric water heater according to claim 1 or 2, wherein a power-on of the valve is set. The electric water heater according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the timing means sets power-on so that the operations of the control valves do not overlap. 5. The timing unit according to claim 1, wherein the timing unit determines a priority order according to a desired location to be transmitted by each control valve, and determines a power-on order based on the priority order. The electric water heater according to crab.

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