JP2007136048A - Mist sauna device - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a mist sauna device in which a liquid-liquid heat exchanger 10 is interposed on a flow passage 9 for spraying connected to a spray head 6, and water supplied to the spray head is heated by a heat medium supplied to the liquid-liquid heat exchanger from a heat source machine 4 via a heat medium circulation passage 11; and to surely prevent the residual water in the liquid-liquid heat exchanger from jetting out from the spray head without being sufficiently heated without using a heat medium temperature sensor in the one in which a spray temperature sensor 15 for detecting the temperature of the spraying flow passage part in the downstream of the liquid-liquid heat exchanger. <P>SOLUTION: When a start command for mist operation is issued, preheating operation is performed by supplying the heat medium to the liquid-liquid heat exchanger 10 while closing spray valves 13, 14. After the temperature of the residual water in the liquid-liquid heat exchanger 10 is judged to be raised above a prescribed preheating termination temperature from the detection temperature of the spraying temperature sensor 15, the spray valves 13, 14 are opened and mist operation is started. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2007,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a mist sauna device in which hot water is ejected from a spray head in a mist shape to obtain a sauna effect.

  Conventionally, as this type of mist sauna device, a liquid medium heat exchanger is provided in a spraying channel connected to the spray head, and the heat medium is supplied from the heat source unit to the liquid heat exchanger via the heat medium circuit. Thus, there is known one that heats water supplied to the spray head (see, for example, Patent Document 1). In this case, a spray valve that shuts off the water supply to the spray head by closing the valve is provided in the spray channel, and also detects the temperature of the spray channel downstream of the liquid-heat exchanger. A temperature sensor is provided, and temperature control is performed so that the temperature detected by the spray temperature sensor is maintained at a constant temperature during a mist operation in which the spray valve is opened to spray from the spray head.

  In the above conventional example, a heat medium temperature sensor for detecting the temperature of the portion of the heat medium circuit near the liquid heat exchanger is provided, and a heat medium is transferred from the heat source to the liquid heat exchanger in response to a mist operation start command. When the temperature detected by the heat medium temperature sensor rises to a predetermined heating setting temperature, it is determined that the preheating of the liquid heat exchanger has been completed, the spray valve is opened, and the mist operation is started. I am doing so. According to this, it is possible to prevent the residual water of the liquid heat exchanger from being ejected from the spray head at a low temperature at the start of the mist operation.

However, this requires a heat medium temperature sensor in order to determine the preheating completion time of the liquid-to-liquid heat exchanger, which increases the cost. In addition, since water is not passed through the liquid-liquid heat exchanger before the mist operation starts, the heat exchange efficiency between the heat medium and water in the liquid-liquid heat exchanger is poor, and the heat The temperature detected by the temperature sensor may rise to the heating set temperature, and residual water is ejected from the spray head at a comparatively low temperature at the start of the mist operation.
JP 2003-334230 A (0035-0042, FIG. 3, FIG. 5)

  In view of the above, the present invention is a low-cost mist that can reliably prevent the residual water of the liquid-liquid heat exchanger from being ejected from the spray head without being sufficiently heated without using a heat medium temperature sensor. The object is to provide a sauna device.

  In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, the present invention comprises a heat source device, a spray head, and a liquid-to-heat exchanger provided in a spray flow path connected to the spray head, from the heat source device via a heat medium circuit. A mist sauna device in which water supplied to the spray head is heated by a heat medium supplied to the liquid-to-liquid heat exchanger, and is connected to the spray flow path with a valve closed to the spray head. Start of mist operation for spraying from the spray head in a spray valve that shuts off the water supply and a spray temperature sensor that detects the temperature of the spray passage downstream of the liquid heat exchanger After starting the supply of the heat medium from the heat source unit to the liquid heat exchanger according to the command, the temperature of the residual water in the liquid heat exchanger has risen above the predetermined preheating completion temperature based on the detected temperature of the spray temperature sensor Determination means for determining whether or not the liquid heat After the temperature of the residual water exchanger is determined to have risen to completion of preheating temperature, the spray valve is opened, characterized in that to start the mist operation.

  Although the temperature of the residual water in the liquid-liquid heat exchanger cannot be detected directly by the spray temperature sensor, the liquid temperature is reduced by heat transfer through the pipe and water from the liquid-heat exchanger to the installation part of the spray temperature sensor. As the residual water in the heat exchanger is heated, the detection temperature of the spray temperature sensor rises with a correlation with the temperature of the residual water. And according to the present invention, in order to start the mist operation when it is determined that the temperature of the residual water of the liquid heat exchanger has risen above the predetermined preheating completion temperature based on the detection temperature of the spray temperature sensor, Residual water in the liquid heat exchanger can be reliably prevented from being ejected from the spray head without being sufficiently preheated. Therefore, it is possible to appropriately determine the preheating completion timing of the liquid heat exchanger only by the spray temperature sensor, and the heat medium temperature sensor is not necessary, and the cost can be reduced.

  By the way, the temperature detected by the spray temperature sensor rises with a delay from the temperature of the residual water in the liquid heat exchanger. Therefore, when the temperature detected by the spray temperature sensor rises to the preheating completion temperature, the mist operation is started when it is determined that the temperature of the residual water in the liquid heat exchanger has risen above the preheating completion temperature. At the beginning, the residual water in the liquid-to-liquid heat exchanger is preheated to a temperature well above the preheating completion temperature, resulting in wasted energy due to excessive preheating. Therefore, when the detection temperature of the spray temperature sensor rises to a temperature set lower than the preheating completion temperature by the delay in the increase in the detection temperature of the spray temperature sensor with respect to the temperature of the residual water of the liquid heat exchanger, the liquid heat exchanger It is also conceivable to determine that the temperature of the remaining water has risen above a predetermined preheating completion temperature. However, if the temperature of the spray temperature sensor rises to some extent when the temperature of the spray temperature sensor rises to a certain extent when the heat insulation of the piping of the spray passage downstream of the spray temperature sensor is insufficient, the temperature from the liquid heat exchanger increases. The heat is taken away by the piping of the spray flow path downstream from the installation part of the spray temperature sensor, the rise in the detection temperature of the spray temperature sensor is suppressed, and it takes a long time for the detection temperature to rise to the above temperature. Therefore, the residual water in the liquid heat exchanger is preheated excessively.

  In order to solve such a problem, the discriminating means is configured such that when the state in which the temperature detected by the spray temperature sensor is equal to or higher than a predetermined determination temperature set lower than the preheating completion temperature continues for a predetermined determination time, It is desirable to be configured to determine that the temperature of the residual water has risen above the preheating completion temperature. Here, if the determination temperature is set to a temperature lower than the temperature at which the increase in the detection temperature of the spray temperature sensor is suppressed when the piping temperature of the spray channel on the downstream side of the installation portion of the spray temperature sensor is low, The detection temperature of the spray temperature sensor rises to the judgment temperature relatively quickly even when the piping temperature is low, and even if the rise in the detection temperature is suppressed thereafter, the detection temperature remains as long as the residual water in the liquid heat exchanger continues to be heated. Continue to be above the judgment temperature. The duration of the state in which the temperature detected by the spray temperature sensor is equal to or higher than the determination temperature is a parameter that represents the temperature of residual water in the liquid heat exchanger. Therefore, if the determination means is configured as described above, even when the pipe temperature is low, it is possible to appropriately determine the preheating completion timing and effectively prevent excessive preheating.

  In the embodiment described later, the step corresponding to the determination means is step S3 in FIG.

  With reference to FIG. 1, 1 has shown the bathroom heater arrange | positioned in the ceiling part BRa of bathroom BR. The bathroom heater 1 includes a circulation fan 2 and a radiator 3 that circulate the air in the bathroom BR. The radiator 3 is connected to a heat source device 4 arranged outside the bathroom BR (outdoors and the like) via a heat medium circulation path 5. And when the heating switch provided in the remote controller for bathroom heaters (not shown) is turned on, the heat source unit 4 is operated, and the heat valve 3a for the radiator 3 interposed in the heat medium circulation path 5 is opened. The heat medium (water, antifreeze liquid, etc.) heated by the heat source device 4 is supplied to the radiator 3. Thereby, the air heated with the heat radiator 3 is circulated to bathroom BR, and bathroom BR is heated.

  A spray head 6 is provided on the lower surface of the bathroom heater 1 facing the bathroom BR. Water is supplied to the spraying head 6 through a spraying channel 9 connected to the water pipe 7 through a check valve 8. A liquid heat exchanger 10 is interposed in the spraying channel 9. Then, the heat medium heated by the heat source device 4 is supplied to the liquid heat exchanger 10 via the heat medium circulation path 11 for the liquid heat exchanger 10 branched from the heat medium circulation path 5 for the bathroom heater 1. In addition, the water supplied to the spray head 6 can be heated by the heat medium in the liquid heat exchanger 10. A heat medium valve 12 capable of adjusting the flow rate of the heat medium is interposed in the heat medium circulation path 11.

  A first spray valve 13 located upstream of the liquid-liquid heat exchanger 10 and a second spray valve 14 located downstream of the liquid-liquid heat exchanger 10 are interposed in the spray channel 9. Yes. These spray valves 13 and 14 are both closed to shut off the water supply to the spray head 6 and are supplied to the spray head 6 when both the first and second spray valves 13 and 14 are opened. . Further, a spray temperature sensor 15 made of a thermistor is provided in the vicinity of the second spray valve 14 in the portion of the spray flow path 9 on the downstream side of the liquid heat exchanger 10.

  The liquid heat exchanger 10, the heat medium valve 12, the first spray valve 13, the second spray valve 14, and the spray temperature sensor 15 are built in a spray unit 16 installed on the upper surface of the bathroom heater 1. Then, the detection signal of the spray temperature sensor 15 is input to the spray controller 17 provided in the spray unit 16, and the heat medium valve 12, the first spray valve 13 and the second spray valve 14 are controlled by the spray controller 17. Yes. The spray controller 17 is communicably connected to a bathroom heater remote controller, and spray control by the spray controller 17 is performed when a spray switch provided on the remote controller is turned on.

  Details of the spray control are as shown in FIG. 2. First, it is determined whether or not the spray switch is turned on in step S1, that is, whether or not a mist operation start command is issued. When the spray switch is turned on, the process proceeds to step S2, and only the heat medium valve 12 is opened while both the first and second spray valves 13 and 14 are closed. When the spray switch is turned on, the operation of the heat source unit 4 is started by a signal from the bathroom heater remote control. Thereby, the heat medium heated by the heat source unit 4 is supplied to the liquid-liquid heat exchanger 10 via the heat medium circulation path 11, and liquid-liquid heat exchange is performed in a state where water flow to the liquid-liquid heat exchanger 10 is stopped. The preheating operation for heating the residual water in the vessel 10 is started. The heat medium is heated to a predetermined heating set temperature (for example, 80 ° C.) by the heat source unit 4.

  Next, the process proceeds to step S3, and whether or not the temperature of the residual water in the liquid heat exchanger 10 has risen above a predetermined preheating completion temperature (for example, 70 ° C.) based on the detection temperature Tf of the spray temperature sensor 15. Is determined. This determination process will be described in detail later. When it is determined that the temperature of the residual water is equal to or higher than the preheating completion temperature, the completion of the preheating operation is notified by a buzzer or the like at a step S4 for a predetermined time (for example, 10 seconds), and then the first and first at the step S5. The two mist valves 13 and 14 are opened to supply water to the spray head 6, and a mist operation for performing hot water spray from the spray head 6 is started. After starting the mist operation, temperature control is performed in step S6. The temperature control is performed by controlling the flow rate of the heat medium with the heat medium valve 12 so that the detected temperature Tf of the spray temperature sensor 15 becomes a predetermined spray set temperature (for example, 70 ° C.). Next, the process proceeds to step S7, where it is determined whether or not the spray switch is turned off or the timer time has elapsed and a mist operation stop command is issued, and the process returns to step S6 until a stop command is issued. Continue temperature control. When a stop command is issued, the heat medium valve 12 is closed in step S8, and both the first and second spray valves 13 and 14 are closed to stop the mist operation.

  Next, the discrimination process in step S3 will be described. Before that, the relationship between the residual water in the liquid heat exchanger 10 and the detected temperature Tf of the spray temperature sensor 15 is shown in FIGS. The description will be given with reference. 3A shows the case where the temperature (initial temperature) before the preheating operation of the residual water is about 25 ° C., and FIG. 3B shows the case where the initial temperature of the residual water is about 10 ° C. The a line indicates the actual temperature of the residual water in the liquid heat exchanger 10, and the b line indicates the detection temperature Tf of the spray temperature sensor 15. When the preheating operation is started, the detection temperature Tf of the spray temperature sensor 15 is delayed with respect to the temperature of the residual water due to heat transfer from the liquid heat exchanger 10 to the installation portion of the spray temperature sensor 15 via the water and water. It rises with a correlation with the temperature of residual water. When the temperature of the residual water rises to 70 ° C., which is the preheating completion temperature, the detection temperature Tf of the spray temperature sensor 15 rises to about 60 ° C. regardless of the initial temperature of the residual water. Therefore, when the detection temperature Tf of the spray temperature sensor 15 rises to 60 ° C., it is possible to determine that the temperature of the residual water in the liquid heat exchanger 10 has risen above the preheating completion temperature.

  However, in the case where the insulation of the pipe of the spray passage 9 downstream from the installation portion of the spray temperature sensor 15 is insufficient and the pipe temperature is low, the detection temperature Tf of the spray temperature sensor 15 has increased to some extent. The heat from the liquid heat exchanger 10 is taken away by the piping of the spray passage 9 downstream from the installation portion of the spray temperature sensor 15, and the rise in the detected temperature Tf of the spray temperature sensor 15 is suppressed, and the detected temperature. It takes considerable time for Tf to rise to 60 ° C. When the detected temperature Tf rises to 60 ° C., the residual water in the liquid-liquid heat exchanger 10 reaches a temperature considerably higher than 70 ° C., and energy is wasted due to excessive preheating of the residual water.

  Here, even when the piping temperature of the spray flow path 9 downstream from the installation portion of the spray temperature sensor 15 is low, the detected temperature Tf of the spray temperature sensor 15 rises relatively quickly to about 40 ° C. The initial male temperature of the residual water is compared with the time t required for the temperature of the residual water in the liquid heat exchanger 10 to rise to 70 ° C. after the detection temperature Tf of the spray temperature sensor 15 rises to 40 ° C. In the case of FIG. 3 (a), the initial temperature is approximately 50 seconds, and in the case of FIG. If the duration of the state in which the detected temperature Tf of the spray temperature sensor 15 is 40 ° C. or higher is about 60 seconds, the temperature of the residual water in the liquid heat exchanger 10 will be 70 ° C. or higher under any normal conditions. Become.

  Therefore, in the present embodiment, in the determination process in step S3, the detection temperature Tf of the spray temperature sensor 15 is determined using the determination temperature YT1 set to 40 ° C. and the determination time Yt1 set to 60 seconds. When the temperature YT1 or higher continues for the determination time Yt1, it is determined that the temperature of the residual water in the liquid-to-liquid heat exchanger 10 has become equal to or higher than the preheating completion temperature, and the process proceeds to step S4 and subsequent steps. According to this, it is possible to reliably prevent the residual water from being ejected from the spray head 6 at a relatively low temperature by starting the mist operation before the residual water in the liquid-to-liquid heat exchanger 10 becomes equal to or higher than the preheating completion temperature. . In addition, when the piping temperature of the spray passage 9 on the downstream side of the installation portion of the spray temperature sensor 15 is low, the increase in the detected temperature Tf of the spray temperature sensor 15 is excessive even if suppressed in a region exceeding the determination temperature YT1. Can be effectively prevented from being preheated.

  Further, until it is determined in step S3 that the temperature of the residual water in the liquid-to-liquid heat exchanger 10 has become equal to or higher than the preheating completion temperature, the process proceeds to step S9, where the detected temperature Tf of the spray temperature sensor 15 is greater than the determination temperature YT. It is determined whether or not a predetermined time Yt2 (for example, 5 minutes) has elapsed without increasing to a failure determination temperature YT2 (for example, 30 ° C.) that is set low. When Yt2 has elapsed with Tf <YT2, it is determined that a failure has occurred in the heat source unit 4, the heat medium valve 12, etc., and an abnormal stop process is performed in step S10. In the abnormal stop process, the abnormality is notified, and the heat medium valve 12 is closed and the heat source unit 4 is stopped.

  By the way, it is possible to set the determination temperature YT1 to a temperature lower than 40 ° C. However, if it is set too low, the detected temperature Tf of the spray temperature sensor 15 exceeds the determination temperature YT1 before the start of the preheating operation in summer or the like. In some cases, it becomes impossible to determine the preheating completion time. Further, if the determination temperature YT1 is set too high, when the pipe temperature is low, an increase in the detection temperature Tf is suppressed before the detection temperature Tf of the spray temperature sensor 15 increases to the determination temperature YT1. Therefore, it is desirable to set the determination temperature YT1 to about 40 to 50 ° C. The determination time Yt needs to be set appropriately according to the length of the pipe between the liquid heat exchanger 10 and the installation part of the spray temperature sensor 15.

  Moreover, in this embodiment, although the preheating completion temperature is set to 70 degreeC equal to spray setting temperature, it is also possible to set lower than this. However, if the preheating completion temperature is set to 70 ° C. or higher, even if miscellaneous bacteria propagate in the residual water while the mist operation is stopped, the miscellaneous bacteria are sterilized by heating before the mist operation starts and are hygienic. Accordingly, even when the spray setting temperature is set lower than 70 ° C., it is desirable to set the preheating completion temperature to 70 ° C. or higher and to determine the determination time YT and the determination time Yt accordingly. In addition, the sterilization time can be secured by performing the preheating completion notification for a predetermined time in step S4.

  Further, the water remaining in the portion of the spray channel 9 on the downstream side of the spray temperature sensor 15 is likely to be ejected from the spray head 6 at a low temperature, but the spray channel on the downstream side of the spray temperature sensor 15. The amount of residual water in the portion 9 is about 30 cc at most, and is extremely small compared to the residual water in the liquid-to-heat exchanger 10 which becomes 200 cc or more, so there is no practical problem. In addition, the drainage channel is branched from the portion of the spraying channel 9 on the downstream side of the spray temperature sensor 15, and the drain valve provided in the drainage channel is opened at the end of the mist operation. It is also conceivable to drain the water remaining in the spray channel 9. However, this requires a drainage work when installing the mist sauna apparatus, which makes the work troublesome. Therefore, in the present embodiment, since the residual water in the portion of the spraying channel 9 on the downstream side of the spraying temperature sensor 15 is extremely small and does not cause a problem, the drainage is omitted and the installation work is facilitated. Yes.

  In addition, when the length of the pipe in the spray passage 9 on the downstream side of the spray temperature sensor 15 is long and the amount of residual water in this part becomes so large that it cannot be ignored, the heat medium circulation for the bathroom heater 1 What is necessary is just to tie the path 5 and the part of the flow path 9 for spraying downstream of the spray temperature sensor 15 together. According to this, when the residual water of the liquid-to-liquid heat exchanger 10 is preheated, the water remaining in the portion of the spray channel 9 on the downstream side of the spray temperature sensor 15 is used as the heat medium circuit for the bathroom heater 1. 5 can be pre-heated with a heat medium circulated in 5.

  As mentioned above, although embodiment of this invention was described with reference to drawings, this invention is not limited to this. For example, in the above embodiment, the first and second spray valves 13 and 14 located on the upstream side and the downstream side of the liquid heat exchanger 10 are provided in the spray channel 9. Any one of 13 and 14 may be omitted. Moreover, in the said embodiment, although the spray head 6 and the spray unit 16 were combined with the bathroom heater 1, it is also possible to isolate | separate from the bathroom heater 1 and to provide the spray head 6 and the spray unit 16. FIG.

The typical sectional view showing the whole mist sauna device composition of an embodiment of the present invention. The flowchart which shows the content of the spray control performed with the mist sauna apparatus of embodiment. The graph which shows the change characteristic of the temperature of the residual water of a liquid heat exchanger, and the detection temperature of a spray temperature sensor.

Explanation of symbols

  DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 4 ... Heat source machine, 6 ... Spray head, 9 ... Spray path, 10 ... Liquid heat exchanger, 11 ... Heat-medium circulation path, 13, 14 ... Spray valve, 15 ... Spray temperature sensor, 17 ... Spray controller.

Claims (2)

A heat medium provided with a heat source device, a spray head, and a liquid-to-liquid heat exchanger provided in a spray channel connected to the spray head, and supplied from the heat source device to the liquid-to-liquid heat exchanger via a heat medium circuit Is a mist sauna device that heats the water supplied to the spray head by a spray valve that is interposed in the spray flow path and shuts off the water supply to the spray head with a liquid heat exchange In what is provided with a spray temperature sensor for detecting the temperature of the portion of the spray flow path downstream of the vessel,
After starting the supply of the heat medium from the heat source unit to the liquid-liquid heat exchanger with the start command of the mist operation for spraying from the spray head, the residual water of the liquid-liquid heat exchanger is based on the detected temperature of the spray temperature sensor A determination means for determining whether or not the temperature has risen above a predetermined preheating completion temperature; and after the determination means determines that the temperature of the residual water in the liquid heat exchanger has risen above the preheating completion temperature, A mist sauna device characterized by starting a mist operation by opening a valve.   The determination means is configured to detect a temperature of residual water in the liquid-to-liquid heat exchanger when a state in which the temperature detected by the spray temperature sensor is equal to or higher than a predetermined determination temperature set lower than the preheating completion temperature continues for a predetermined determination time. The mist sauna apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the mist sauna apparatus is configured to discriminate that the temperature has risen to a preheating completion temperature or higher.

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