JP2007152001A - Steam generating apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a steam generating apparatus which improves efficiency to generate steam by effectively diffusing hot water in a prescribed region of a heat exchanger and easily achieves the most appropriate humidification amount or the like. <P>SOLUTION: The steam generating apparatus is equipped with the heat exchanger disposed in a housing and a diffusing pipe which is disposed in the neighborhood of the heat exchanger in the housing and generates steam by diffusing hot water on the heat exchanger heated by a heating means and controls the amount of the steam generated, the output, or the like by diffusing hot water of a prescribed amount in a region, set in advance, on the heat exchanger from the diffusing pipe. The region is set by at least either a position in the direction of the height and/or in the direction of the width of the diffusing pipe to the heat exchanger or an angle of a jetting opening of the diffusion pipe to the heat exchanger. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2007,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a steam generator that is installed on, for example, a ceiling portion of a bathroom such as a system bathroom and generates steam in the bathroom.

Conventionally, as a steam generator installed on the ceiling of a bathroom, for example, Patent Document 1 discloses. In the mist device (steam generating device) disclosed in Patent Document 1, a heat exchanger is disposed in an inclined state in a horizontally long apparatus main body, and a suction port is provided on the primary side of the heat exchanger and on the secondary side. A circulation fan is provided, and hot air heated to high temperature by the heat exchanger is blown into the bathroom from the outlet through the operation of the circulation fan, and hot water is supplied to the outside in the vicinity of the grill inlet that closes the opening of the main unit. A mist spraying means composed of a pipe and a plurality of spray nozzles is arranged, and mist (steam) is directly jetted from the mist spraying means into the bathroom.
JP 2002-336327 A

  However, in such a steam generator, since the heat exchanger arranged in the main body of the apparatus does not generate steam, the hot water supplied from the water heater to the hot water supply pipe is ejected from the ejection nozzle as a mist. It is necessary to provide the mist jetting means to be protruded into the bathroom at the opening end of the apparatus main body, and it is inferior in terms of steam generation efficiency, and also generates a mist by simply jetting hot water from the jet nozzle Therefore, it is difficult to set the humidification amount and output by the steam generator to an optimal value.

  The present invention has been made in view of such circumstances, and an object thereof is to effectively diffuse hot water in a predetermined region of a heat exchanger, thereby improving steam generation efficiency and optimal humidification amount. It is an object of the present invention to provide a steam generator that can be easily obtained.

  In order to achieve such an object, the invention according to claim 1 of the present invention is a state in which the heat exchanger disposed in the housing and the heat exchanger disposed in the housing near the heat exchanger are heated by the heating means. And a diffusion pipe for generating steam by diffusing hot water on the heat exchanger, wherein a predetermined amount of hot water is diffused from the diffusion pipe to a preset region of the heat exchanger. By doing so, the amount and output of the generated steam are controlled.

  And, as in the invention according to claim 2, the region is at least one of a position in the height direction and / or width direction of the diffusion pipe with respect to the heat exchanger, or an angle of the discharge hole of the diffusion pipe with respect to the heat exchanger. Is preferably set by: Moreover, it is preferable that the said area | region is preset according to the indoor form in which an apparatus is installed like invention of Claim 3.

  According to the first aspect of the present invention, the amount of generated steam is controlled by diffusing a predetermined amount of hot water from the diffusion pipe to a preset region of the heat exchanger. The amount of hot water diffused in the heat exchanger can be set to a desired amount while improving the steam generation efficiency by the method, and the optimum output, humidification amount, etc. can be easily obtained.

  According to the invention described in claim 2, in addition to the effect of the invention described in claim 1, whether the region where the hot water is diffused is a position in the height direction and / or the width direction of the diffusion pipe with respect to the heat exchanger. Since it is set by at least one of the angles of the ejection holes of the diffusion pipe with respect to the heat exchanger, a desired diffusion region can be easily obtained with a simple configuration of position and angle setting.

  According to the invention described in claim 3, in addition to the effect of the invention described in claim 1 or 2, the area where hot water is diffused is set in advance according to the indoor form. Correspondingly, the diffusion pipe can be arranged at the optimum position, and for example, it is possible to obtain a device with excellent versatility by suppressing the variety of devices.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.
1 to 5 show one embodiment of a steam generator according to the present invention, FIG. 1 is a basic configuration diagram thereof, FIG. 2 is a longitudinal sectional view of a specific structure, and FIG. 3 is a view of a heat exchanger and a diffusion pipe. FIG. 4 is a schematic side view showing the arrangement relationship, and FIG. 5 is an explanatory view of the diffusion region.

  As shown in FIG. 1, a steam generator 1 according to the present invention includes a heat exchanger 3 disposed in a substantially vertical state with a predetermined interval in a housing 2, and a predetermined temperature on the heat exchanger 3. Diffusion pipe 5 for diffusing (including divergence, discharge, jetting, jetting, spraying, spraying, etc.) hot water, a buffer tank 6 for collecting hot water diffused by this diffusion pipe 5, and hot water in the buffer tank 6 The circulation pump 7 that pumps up the air and supplies it to the diffusion pipe 5 through the pipe 8, the blower fan 9 that blows the steam and warm air generated by the heat exchanger 3 into the bathroom 12, and the casing 2 is opened and closed by a damper motor 11 a A ventilation fan 10 connected via a damper 11 and a control board 13 are provided.

  The heat exchanger 3 is used for generating steam. As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, a large number of fins 3a arranged in parallel at regular intervals, and support plates disposed at both ends of the fins 3a. 3b and a hot water supply pipe 3c as a heating means bent and formed in a meandering shape to support the fins 3a and the support plate 3b. As shown in FIG. 1, the circulation pipe 15 a and the circulation return pipe 15 b connected to the water heater with a circulation function are connected to the hot water supply pipe 3 c of the heat exchanger 3 through an electromagnetic valve 16. Yes.

  The diffusion pipe 5 for diffusing hot water on the heat exchanger 3 is formed of, for example, a metal pipe. As shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, the distal end of the diffusion pipe 5 is closed to connect the pipe 8 to the base. In addition, a large number of ejection holes 18 are formed in a predetermined form (for example, a constant pitch) on the peripheral surface facing the heat exchanger 3.

  And this diffusion pipe 5 is arrange | positioned with a predetermined space | interval on the primary side (intake | emission side) upper part of the heat exchanger 3, and the magnitude | size (volume) of the bathroom 12 in which the steam generator 1 is installed previously. The hot water is diffused in a predetermined diffusion region Mi of the heat exchanger 3 by being fixedly arranged at a predetermined height position hi in the height direction of the heat exchanger 3 according to the bathroom form such as ventilation capacity. It has become. At this time, the maximum diffusion region M where the diffusion pipe 5 is set at the highest position h corresponds to the substantially maximum output (substantially maximum humidification amount) of the steam generator 1. In addition, when the diffusion pipe 5 is disposed in the housing 2, a mark or the like indicating a height position hi at which a stepwise desired diffusion region can be obtained is given in advance to the housing 2, the heat exchanger 3, or the like. The steam generator 1 according to the bathroom form may be provided and installed easily.

  The diffusion pipe 5 is connected to one discharge port of the circulation pump 7 through an electromagnetic valve 19, and the electromagnetic valve 19 is connected to the control board 13. As a result, as will be described later, hot water is diffused from the diffusion pipe 5 to the diffusion region Mi of the heat exchanger 3 by the electromagnetic valve 19 being opened and closed while the circulation pump 7 is in operation, according to the control signal of the control board 13. It has come to be.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the circulation pump 7 is a switchable pump that discharges hot water drawn from the buffer tank 6 in two directions. One of the discharge pumps is connected via a pipe 8 and the electromagnetic valve 19. The diffusion pipe 5 is connected, and a drain pipe 20 is connected to the other discharge port. As a result, the circulating pump 7 is rotated forward and switched to the diffusion side by the control signal of the control board 13, whereby the hot water pumped up is diffused from the diffusion pipe 5 onto the heat exchanger 3 as will be described later. Is reversed and switched to the drainage side, so that the hot water pumped up is drained to the outside through the drainage pipe 20.

  As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the buffer tank 6 is disposed below the heat exchanger 3, connected to a water supply pipe 22 connected to a water supply electromagnetic valve 23, and hot water in the buffer tank 6. A float switch 24 for detecting the water level and a temperature sensor 25 for detecting the temperature of hot water are arranged. In addition, a heater 26 is disposed on the bottom wall of the buffer tank 6 to heat the hot water in the buffer tank 6 and prevent germs from growing.

  The blower fan 9 is formed of, for example, a sirocco fan, a cross flow fan, or the like, and, as shown in FIG. 2, the housing 2 between the air inlet 28a and the air outlet 28b of the grill plate 28 by the rotation of the fan motor. It is comprised so that a ventilation path may be formed in an inside. The ventilation fan 10 is formed of, for example, a sirocco fan or the like, and is configured to form a ventilation passage in the housing 2 between the air inlet 28a and the ventilation fan 10 by rotation of the fan motor. . Note that a louver 29 is disposed at the outlet 28b of the grill plate 28 so as to be opened and closed by the rotation of the louver motor 29a.

  And these each components are arrange | positioned in the flat thin housing | casing 2, The steam generator 1 itself is formed in flat thin shape as shown in FIG. 2, and the bathroom 12 is shown in FIG. For example, the casing 2 and the ventilation fan 10 are installed on the ceiling panel 12 a so as to be located outside the bathroom 12. The control board 13 includes a microcomputer, a power supply circuit, and the like (not shown). Various sensors such as the float switch 24 and the temperature sensor 25 are connected to the input side, and the circulation pump 7 is connected to the output side. And various solenoid valves are connected. The control board 13 is connected to a power cord 30, a signal line 31, and the like, and is connected to a ventilation fan 32, an indoor remote controller 33, an outdoor remote controller 34, and the like that are different from the ventilation fan 10 as necessary.

  Next, an example of operation | movement of the steam generator 1 comprised in this way is demonstrated. First, the steam generator 1 is configured to be operable in, for example, four operation modes of “mist heating”, “dry heating”, “drying”, and “ventilation”. When the “mist heating” operation mode in which hot water is diffused from the diffusion pipe 5 is selected among these operation modes, the operation is performed as follows. That is, water is supplied into the buffer tank 6 from the water supply pipe 22, and the water in the buffer tank 6 is operated by the operation of the circulation pump 7. Is pumped up from the diffusion pipe 5 to the heat exchanger 3 and is supplied from the water heater to the hot water supply pipe 3c of the heat exchanger 3 by the circulation return pipe 15a and the circulation return pipe 15b. Hot water (for example, 80 ° C. or higher) is supplied.

  By circulating and supplying hot water to the hot water supply pipe 3c of the heat exchanger 3, the fins 3a of the heat exchanger 3 are heated to a predetermined temperature, and the inside of the housing 2 is sucked from the intake port 28a by the operation of the blower fan 9 The air in the ventilation path is heated by the heat exchanger 3 to become hot air. Moreover, the water diffused on the heat exchanger 3 by the operation of the circulation pump 7 flows between the fins 3a of the heat exchanger 3 and flows down, so that the heat is efficiently exchanged in the heat exchanger 3 for a short time. At a predetermined temperature.

  Due to the diffusion of the hot water at the predetermined temperature to the heat exchanger 3, a pressure difference is generated between the air supplied between the fins 3 a of the heat exchanger 3 through the ventilation path in the housing 2. A part of the hot and cold water diffused becomes steam, and this steam passes through the blower fan 9 and is blown into the bathroom 12 from the outlet 28b, so that a "mist heating" state in which the bathroom 12 is filled with steam is obtained. Become.

  And at the time of the diffusion of the hot water by the diffusion pipe 5 in this "mist heating" state, the diffusion area of the hot water is set to the optimum diffusion area according to the bathroom form by the height position hi of the diffusion pipe 5. That is, as shown in FIG. 5, when the diffusion pipe 5 is set to the maximum height position h, the maximum diffusion region M is obtained. In the case of the diffusion pipe 5, the height position hi is greater than the maximum height h. Since it is set at a low position, the diffusion region of hot water to the heat exchanger 3 is reduced and set to the diffusion region Mi. Mist of an amount corresponding to the diffusion region Mi is generated from the steam generator 1 and blown into the bathroom 12 from the outlet 28b, so that the interior of the bathroom 12 is set to an optimum mist heating operation state.

  That is, in the case of this example, the diffusion pipe 5 having the same length as the width of the heat exchanger 3 and the maximum diffusion region M for diffusing hot water over substantially the entire area of the heat exchanger 3 is obtained according to the bathroom form. A predetermined amount (a constant amount) of hot and cold water is diffused by arranging the heat exchanger 3 at a predetermined height position hi in advance. Thereby, it can reduce from the maximum diffusion area | region M to the optimal diffusion area | region Mi according to a bathroom form, and can operate | move the steam generator 1 efficiently with a comparatively low output.

  As described above, in the steam generator 1 of the above embodiment, the diffusion pipe 5 having substantially the same length as the width of the heat exchanger 3 is arranged in advance at a predetermined height position hi of the heat exchanger 3. Therefore, the diffusion area Mi of hot water from the diffusion pipe 5 to the heat exchanger 3 can be set according to, for example, the bathroom form, and the humidification amount in the bathroom 12 can be easily set to a desired amount. . In particular, since the hot water diffusion region Mi is set by the height position hi of the diffusion pipe 5, the desired diffusion region Mi can be easily obtained with a simple configuration. The output can be set to an optimum value according to the bathroom form, and it is possible to provide a steam generator 1 with excellent versatility, such as being able to cope with one form of steam generator 1 regardless of the size of the bathroom 12. Become.

  Further, since the steam generator 1 generates steam by diffusing hot water from the diffusion pipe 5b onto the heat exchanger 3, a desired amount of steam is generated as compared with the generation of steam by the conventional mist ejecting means. Can be generated in a short time, and the steam generation efficiency can be greatly increased, and even the bathroom 12 having a relatively large volume can be suitably installed.

  Furthermore, since a pump having two discharge ports is used as the circulation pump 7, a pump for draining hot water in the buffer tank 6 becomes unnecessary, and the configuration of the steam generator 1 can be simplified. The hot water in the buffer tank 6 can be circulated and used effectively. By these, the steam generator 1 with a simple structure can be obtained, and it can be suitably applied to the steam generator 1 installed on the ceiling portion of the bathroom 12, for example.

  FIGS. 6-8 has shown 2nd and 3rd embodiment of the steam generator which concerns on this invention. Hereinafter, the same parts as those in the above embodiment will be described with the same reference numerals. First, the feature of the steam generator 1 of the second embodiment shown in FIGS. 6 and 7 is that the diffusion pipe 5 is set to a length shorter than the width of the heat exchanger 3 by a predetermined dimension, and the diffusion pipe 5 is The heat exchanger 3 is disposed at a predetermined height position hi and diffuses a predetermined amount (a constant amount) of hot water and water, thereby setting the diffusion region Mi.

  That is, as shown in FIG. 6, for example, the diffusion pipe 5 having a length approximately half the width of the heat exchanger 3 is disposed at the maximum height position h as indicated by a solid line or indicated by a two-dot chain line. In this way, it is arranged at a predetermined height position hi lower than the maximum height position h. As a result, as shown in FIG. 7, a diffusion region Mi1 lower than the maximum diffusion region M by a predetermined amount indicated by a solid line is obtained, or a diffusion region Mi2 indicated by a two-dot chain line lower than the diffusion region Mi1 is obtained. It will be. In the case of this embodiment, the position of the diffusion pipe 5 is not limited to the height direction, and a desired diffusion region is obtained depending on the position of the heat exchanger 3 in the width direction, for example, as shown by a three-dot chain line in FIG. It can also be configured. Also in this embodiment, at least three stages of diffusion regions can be obtained, and the same effects as the above embodiment can be obtained, such as being applicable to various types of bathrooms.

  Further, the steam generator 1 of the third embodiment shown in FIG. 8 is characterized in that the diffusion pipe 5 is set to have substantially the same length as the width of the heat exchanger 3, and the diffusion pipe 5 is set to the heat exchanger 3. The predetermined position is set at a predetermined angle and a predetermined amount (a constant amount) of hot water is diffused. That is, as shown in FIG. 8B, the angle of the ejection hole 18 of the diffusion pipe 5 with respect to the heat exchanger 3 is directed downward from the angle α with respect to the angle at which the maximum diffusion region M shown in FIG. Then, the diffusion pipe 5 is arranged. Depending on the angle of the ejection hole 18, the position of the ejected hot water relative to the heat exchanger 3 changes in the vertical direction, and a diffusion region Mi lower than the maximum diffusion region M is obtained, and the same effect as the above embodiment is obtained. Can do.

  The present invention is not limited to each of the above-described embodiments. For example, the diffusion pipe 5 having a predetermined length such as a diffusion pipe 5 shorter than the width of the heat exchanger 3 can be adjusted in angle. An appropriate configuration in which a desired diffusion region Mi can be obtained with respect to the maximum diffusion region M can be adopted by appropriately combining the vertical position and angle. Further, the number of diffusion pipes 5 is not limited to one, and a plurality of diffusion pipes 5 are arranged, and in addition to adjusting the diffusion region, the diffusion amount is set to a predetermined amount (a constant amount), whereby the diffusion amount of the heat exchanger 3 as a whole is set. Can be set to a desired amount.

  Moreover, in each said embodiment, although the heat exchanger 3 was arrange | positioned in the housing | casing 2 in the substantially perpendicular | vertical state, for example, as shown by the dashed-two dotted line of FIG. It is also possible to increase the steam generation efficiency by increasing the contact time of the hot water heat exchanger 3 with the fins 3a. Furthermore, the overall configuration of the steam generator 1 in each of the above embodiments, the arrangement of the heat exchanger 3 and the blower fan 9 in the housing 2 are examples, and the part of the bathroom 12 in which the housing 2 is installed It is possible to make appropriate changes within a range not departing from the gist of each invention according to the present invention, such as using an optimal form according to the above.

  The present invention is not limited to the steam generator installed in the ceiling portion of the bathroom, but can also be applied to, for example, a steam generator installed inside the bathroom wall panel, counter, or bathtub apron.

1 is a basic configuration diagram showing an embodiment of a steam generator according to the present invention. Longitudinal sectional view showing the same structure Front view showing the arrangement of the heat exchanger and diffusion pipe Same side view Explanatory drawing of diffusion area of hot water The same front view as FIG. 3 which shows 2nd Embodiment of the steam generator concerning this invention. Figure showing the diffusion region The schematic side view similar to FIG. 4 which shows 3rd Embodiment of the steam generator concerning this invention

Explanation of symbols

  DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Steam generator, 2 ... Housing, 3 ... Heat exchanger, 3a ... Fin, 3b ... Support plate, 3c ... Hot water supply pipe, 5 ... Diffusion pipe , 6 ... Buffer tank, 7 ... Circulation pump, 9 ... Blower fan, 10 ... Ventilation fan, 12 ... Bathroom, 12a ... Ceiling panel, 13 ... Control board, 18 ... Ejection holes, 19a, 19b ... Solenoid valves, 20 ... Drain piping, 22 ... Water supply piping, M, Mi ... Diffusion region.

Claims (3)

A heat exchanger disposed in the housing, a diffusion pipe for generating steam by diffusing hot water on the heat exchanger disposed in the housing near the heat exchanger and heated by the heating means, A steam generator comprising:
A steam generating device characterized in that the amount of steam generated, the output, and the like are controlled by diffusing a predetermined amount of hot and cold water from the diffusion pipe to a preset region of the heat exchanger.   2. The steam generation according to claim 1, wherein the region is set by at least one of a position in a height direction and / or a width direction of the diffusion pipe with respect to a heat exchanger, or an angle of an ejection hole of the diffusion pipe. apparatus.   The steam generator according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the area is set in advance according to an indoor form in which the apparatus is installed.

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