JP2007263418A - Steam generator - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a steam generator capable of efficiently spreading hot water spread from a spreading means to an heat exchanger without inclining the heat exchanger, and miniaturizing the device by eliminating a dead space by the inclination. <P>SOLUTION: In this steam generator comprising the heat exchanger disposed in a housing, an air distributing means disposed in a ventilation flue formed in the housing and the spreading means disposed at an upper portion of the heat exchanger, a guide means for recovering the hot water spread from the spreading means and guiding the same to the heat exchanger, is disposed at a lower portion of the spreading means. The guide means is composed of a gutter of which a bottom surface has falling gradient toward the heat exchanger. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2008,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a steam generator that is installed, for example, in a ceiling portion of a bathroom and that can blow out steam into the bathroom and perform mist heating and bathing.

Conventionally, for example, Patent Document 1 discloses a steam generator that is installed inside a bathroom counter and that allows steam to be blown into the bathroom to enable mist heating and bathing. As shown in FIG. 4, the steam generator 101 (mist device) includes a heat exchanger 103 having fins 103a, a hot water supply pipe 103b, and the like disposed in the housing 102 at a predetermined angle α. A diffusion pipe 104 is disposed at the upper front of the heat exchanger 103, and a blower fan 105 is disposed at the lower rear of the heat exchanger 103. Then, steam is generated when hot water having a predetermined temperature is diffused from the diffusion pipe 104 to the upper part of the heated heat exchanger 103, and this steam is blown out at the lower part of the casing 102 by the operation of the blower fan 105. It was made to blow out into the bathroom.
Japanese Patent No. 3406967

  However, in such a steam generator 101, the direction of the ejection hole 14a of the diffusion pipe 104 is provided toward the upper part of the heat exchanger 103, and hot water is ejected from the diffusion pipe 104 toward the heat exchanger 103. However, depending on the amount of hot water, the hot water may hang down along the outer peripheral surface of the diffusion pipe 104 as indicated by the arrow B in FIG. 4, and the hot water may fall directly below the diffusion pipe 104. Therefore, by arranging the heat exchanger 103 in an inclined state, the heat exchanger 103 receives hot water falling directly below the heat exchanger 103. Therefore, the dimension L corresponding to the inclination angle α of the heat exchanger 103 tends to be a dead space in the housing 102, and it is difficult to reduce the size of the housing 102. In particular, when the steam generator 101 is installed on the ceiling of a bathroom, there is a demand for downsizing and weight reduction of the apparatus itself due to the space behind the ceiling, the ceiling strength, and the like. It is difficult to respond accurately.

  The present invention has been made in view of such circumstances, and an object of the present invention is to efficiently diffuse hot water diffused from the diffusing means into the heat exchanger without tilting the heat exchanger, and dead due to the tilt. An object of the present invention is to provide a steam generator capable of reducing the size of the apparatus by eliminating space.

  In order to achieve such an object, the invention according to claim 1 of the present invention includes a heat exchanger disposed in a housing, a blower disposed in a ventilation path formed in the housing, A steam generator provided with a diffusing means disposed on an upper portion of the heat exchanger, and a guiding means for recovering hot water diffused from the diffusing means and guiding it to the heat exchanger below the diffusing means. It is provided.

  And as for the said guidance | induction means, it is preferable like the invention of Claim 2, It is preferable that the bottom face is formed with the ridge which has a downward slope toward a heat exchanger, Moreover, The said spreading | diffusion means is a claim. As in the invention described in No. 3, it is preferable that the ejection hole is provided in the upper part of the heat exchanger. Further, as in the invention described in claim 4, the heat exchanger is arranged in a substantially vertical state on the upstream side of the ventilation path, and a first heat exchanger in which a diffusion means is arranged on an upper portion thereof, and the first heat exchanger. And a second exchanger disposed in a substantially vertical state at a predetermined interval on the downstream side of the one heat exchanger.

  According to the first aspect of the present invention, since the guiding means is provided below the diffusing means, hot water diffused from the diffusing means can be efficiently guided to the heat exchanger by the guiding means, It is also possible to arrange the heat exchanger in a substantially vertical state in the casing, and it is possible to reduce the size of the apparatus by eliminating dead space due to the inclination of the heat exchanger.

  Further, according to the invention described in claim 2, in addition to the effect of the invention described in claim 1, since the bottom surface of the guiding means is formed of a ridge having a downward slope toward the heat exchanger, the diffusing means The hot water dripping from the water can be recovered with a firewood and reliably guided to the heat exchanger.

  According to the invention described in claim 3, in addition to the effect of the invention described in claim 1 or 2, since the ejection hole of the diffusion means is provided in the upper part of the heat exchanger, the diffusion means Most of the hot water diffused from the hot water can be diffused directly to the heat exchanger, so that the hot water can be more efficiently diffused to the heat exchanger.

  Further, according to the invention described in claim 4, in addition to the effects of the invention described in claims 1 to 3, the first heat exchanger in which the heat exchangers are arranged in a substantially vertical state at a predetermined interval and the first heat exchanger are provided. Since two heat exchangers are provided, steam and hot air can be efficiently generated by the two heat exchangers, and various operating states such as a mist heating state can be easily obtained in the bathroom.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.
1 to 3 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 showing a specific structure thereof, and FIG. 3 is a diffusion pipe portion thereof. It is an expanded sectional view.

  As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the steam generator 1 includes two heat exchangers 3 and 4 arranged in a substantially vertical state within a housing 2 with a predetermined interval, and one heat exchanger. 3, a diffusion pipe 5 (diffusion means) for diffusing hot water at a predetermined temperature (including diffusion, discharge, jetting, jetting, spraying, spraying, etc.) and a buffer tank 6 for collecting the hot water diffused by the diffusion pipe 5 And a circulating pump 7 that pumps up hot water in the buffer tank 6 and supplies it to the diffusion pipe 5 through a pipe, a blower fan 9 disposed in a ventilation path 8 in the housing 2, and a damper motor 11a. A ventilation fan 10 connected to the housing 2 via a damper 11 and a control board 12 are provided.

  The heat exchanger 3 is mainly used for steam generation, and includes a large number of fins 3a (see FIG. 2) arranged in parallel at regular intervals, and support plates and fins 3a disposed at both ends of the fins 3a. It is composed of a hot water supply pipe 3b and the like bent in a meandering manner to support the support plate. Further, the heat exchanger 4 is used for generating hot air, and, like the heat exchanger 3, is constituted by fins 4a, a support plate, a hot water supply pipe 4b, and the like. The hot water supply pipes 3b and 4b of the heat exchangers 3 and 4 are provided with a circulation forward pipe 15a and a circulation return pipe 15b connected to a heat source device (not shown) with a hot water circulation function, and the thermal valves 16a and 16b. Connected through.

  As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the diffusion pipe 5 is formed of, for example, a metal pipe having a predetermined diameter. The diffusion pipe 5 has a predetermined diameter with respect to the front surface of the heat exchanger 3 on the side opposite to the heat exchanger 4 on the heat exchanger 3. For example, two circular upper and lower circular ejection holes 5a directed to the front surface of the heat exchanger 3 are formed on the heat exchanger 3 side of the peripheral wall. In addition, an induction rod (induction means) 30 is disposed below the diffusion pipe 5 over the entire length thereof, and the inner surface (bottom surface) of the induction rod 30 faces the front surface of the heat exchanger 3. The bottom wall 30a has a downward slope, and is formed into a bowl shape by the end of the bottom wall 30a on the side opposite to the heat exchanger 3 and the side walls 30b standing at both ends in the longitudinal direction. Then, the hot water dripping from the ejection hole 5 a of the diffusion pipe 5 is collected by the induction rod 30 and guided (supplied) to the upper front surface of the heat exchanger 3. The upper part of the side wall 30b of the guide rod 30 is fixed to a pair of ribs 31 provided on the housing 2 so as to be positioned at both ends of the diffusion pipe 5, and is configured so that air passes between the pair of ribs 31. Has been.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the circulation pump 7 uses a switching pump that discharges hot water drawn from the buffer tank 6 in two directions, and the diffusion pipe 5 is connected to one discharge port via a pipe. The drainage pipe 17 is connected to the other discharge port. Then, according to the control signal of the control board 12, the circulation pump 7 is rotated forward and switched to the diffusion side, and the circulation pump 7 is rotated at a predetermined rotation speed, so that the pumped hot water is diffused from the diffusion pipe 5 to the heat exchanger 3. In addition, the circulating pump 7 is reversed and switched to the drain side, and is rotated at a predetermined rotational speed, so that the pumped hot water is drained outside the bathroom 13 through the drain pipe 17.

  The buffer tank 6 is disposed below the heat exchangers 3 and 4, is connected to a water supply pipe 18 to which a water supply electromagnetic valve 19 is connected, and also includes a float switch 20 that detects the level of hot water in the buffer tank 6, A water temperature sensor 21 for detecting the temperature of hot water in the buffer tank 6 is disposed, and a heater 22 for drying the remaining water in the buffer tank 6 is disposed on the outer surface of the bottom wall of the buffer tank 6. .

  The blower fan 9 is formed of, for example, a crossflow fan or a sirocco fan whose rotation speed is variable, and is between the air inlet 23a and the air outlet 23b of the grill plate 23 attached to the bathroom side opening of the housing 2. Is arranged in the ventilation path 8 in the housing 2, and the fan motor rotates to generate (blow) air flow in the ventilation path 8. 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 23a and the ventilation fan 10 by rotation of the fan motor. .

  In addition, a louver 24 is disposed at the air outlet 23b of the grill plate 23 so as to be opened and closed by rotation of a louver motor 24a, and an intake air temperature sensor 25 is disposed in the vicinity of the air inlet 23a. A heating / warming water sensor 27 is disposed in the warm water supply pipe of the heat exchanger 3, and an outside air temperature sensor 26 is disposed at a predetermined position outside the housing 2. And each component, such as the heat exchangers 3 and 4 and the buffer tank 6, the circulation pump 7, and the ventilation fan 9, is arrange | positioned in the said flat and thin housing | casing 2, The steam generator 1 itself becomes flat and thin shape. The housing 2, the ventilation fan 10, and the like are formed on a ceiling panel 13 a of the bathroom 13 so as to be positioned behind the ceiling of the bathroom 13.

  The control board 12 includes a microcomputer having a storage unit and a calculation control unit (not shown), a drive circuit for operating various loads of the steam generator 1, a power circuit connected to an external power source by a power cable, and the like. . On the input side of the control board 12, an in-bathroom remote controller 28 and an out-of-bathroom remote controller 29, the float switch 20, a water temperature sensor 21, an intake air temperature sensor 25, an outside air temperature sensor 26, a heating hot water sensor 27, and the like shown in FIG. Connected to the output side are various loads such as a circulation pump 7, a motor for the blower fan 9 and the ventilation fan 10, a damper motor 11 a, a louver motor 24 a, various valves 16 a, 16 b and 19, and a heater 22.

  Based on the operation information input by the remote controls 28 and 29, the various loads connected to the output side of the control board 12 perform a predetermined operation according to a program stored in advance in the microcomputer of the control board 12, For example, each operation such as “mist heating”, “dry heating”, “drying”, and “ventilation” is performed. Among these, when the “mist heating” operation is selected, the water supply electromagnetic valve 19 is opened and water is supplied from the water supply pipe 18 into the buffer tank 6, and the circulation pump 7 is operated to operate the inside of the buffer tank 6. Water is pumped up by the circulation pump 7 and diffused from the diffusion pipe 5 onto the heat exchanger 3, that is, hot water circulates in a circulation path including the buffer tank 6, the circulation pump 7, the diffusion pipe 5, and the like.

  Most of the hot water diffused from the diffusion pipe 5 during the circulation of the hot water is ejected from the ejection hole 5a of the diffusion pipe 5 toward the upper front surface of the heat exchanger 3 as shown by the arrow A in FIG. The hot water dripping from the ejection hole 5a as shown by the arrow b in FIG. 3 falls directly below the diffusion pipe 5 and is collected by the guide rod 30. The hot water collected in the induction rod 30 flows down along the inner surface of the inclined bottom wall 30a of the induction rod 30 and is guided to the front surface of the heat exchanger 3, whereby hot water or dripping diffused from the diffusion pipe 5 is obtained. All the hot and cold water is diffused or guided to the upper part of the heat exchanger 3.

  When the circulating hot water reaches a predetermined temperature and is diffused in the heat exchanger 3, steam is generated. This steam flows through the ventilation path 8 by the operation of the blower fan 9, and flows from the outlet 23 b of the grill plate 23 to the bathroom 13. The mist heating operation is performed by this. During the mist heating operation, as described above, all of the hot water diffused from the diffusion pipe 5 to the heat exchanger 3 is directly diffused or guided to the upper part of the heat exchanger 3, so that the diffused hot water is reduced. It is used without waste, and the generation efficiency of steam by the heat exchanger 3 is increased.

  Thus, in the steam generator 1 of the above embodiment, since the induction rod 30 is provided below the diffusion pipe 5, hot water diffused from the diffusion pipe 5 without tilting the heat exchanger 3. The hot water that diffuses directly into the heat exchanger 3 or falls from the diffusion pipe 5 can be efficiently guided to the heat exchanger 3 by the induction rod 30, and the hot water in the diffusion pipe 5 is supplied to the heat exchanger 3 without waste. be able to.

  In addition, since the induction wall 30 has a bottom wall 30a having a downward slope toward the heat exchanger 3, the hot water dripping from the diffusion pipe 5 is recovered by the bottom wall 30a of the induction wall 30 and heated. Hot water diffused from the diffusion pipe 5 can be reliably guided to the exchanger 3 and the two rows of ejection holes 5a of the diffusion pipe 5 are formed toward the upper front surface of the heat exchanger 3. Can be diffused directly onto the heat exchanger 3. As a result, hot water in the diffusion pipe 5 can be effectively diffused (supplied) to the upper portion of the heat exchanger 3, steam generation efficiency can be increased, and the heat exchanger 3 of the related art can be improved. It is also possible to eliminate the dead space due to the inclination, and it is possible to reduce the size of the apparatus 1 by reducing the width dimension of the ventilation path 8 in particular, and to suitably install it on the ceiling panel 13a of the bathroom 13. .

  Furthermore, since almost all of the hot water diffused from the diffusion pipe 5 can be diffused to the heat exchanger 3 without waste, for example, in the case of a mist heating operation with a small amount of diffusion from the diffusion pipe 5, the hot water is likely to drip from the ejection hole 5 a portion. Can be reliably guided to the heat exchanger 3 so that the amount of steam corresponding to the amount of diffusion can be generated, and the control range of the amount of steam generated by the steam generator 1 can be maintained or controlled with high accuracy. The width itself can be increased. In addition, since the heat exchangers 3 and 4 are arranged at a predetermined interval and in a substantially vertical state, steam and hot air are efficiently generated by the two heat exchangers 3 and 4 and mist is generated in the bathroom 13. Various operating states such as a heating state can be easily obtained.

  In the above embodiment, the diffusion pipe 5 is disposed on the upper front surface of the heat exchanger 3 and hot water is diffused on the front surface side of the heat exchanger 3. However, the present invention is not limited to this configuration. The hot water may be diffused to the rear surface side of the heat exchanger 3 by being arranged on the upper rear surface of the vessel 3. In the above embodiment, the guide means is configured by the guide rod 30 having the bottom wall 30a and the side wall 30b and covering the lower side of the diffusion pipe 5. However, for example, the guide means having a shape covering the entire circumference of the diffusion pipe 5 It may be. Further, for example, induction grooves corresponding to the fins 3a of the heat exchanger 3 can be provided in the bottom wall 30a of the induction rod 30, and the form of the ejection holes 5a formed in the diffusion pipe 5 is also limited to, for example, two rows. It can be changed as appropriate without departing from the spirit of each invention according to the present invention, such as perforation in a single row state.

  The present invention is not limited to a steam generator provided with two heat exchangers and installed on a ceiling panel of a bathroom, but includes, for example, only one heat exchanger for generating steam, or a ceiling of a bathroom wall panel. The present invention can also be applied to other appropriate steam generators disposed on the side or inside the counter.

1 is a basic configuration diagram showing an embodiment of a steam generator according to the present invention. Longitudinal sectional view showing the specific structure The enlarged sectional view of the diffusion pipe A longitudinal sectional view showing a conventional steam generator

Explanation of symbols

  DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Steam generator, 2 ... Housing, 3, 4 ... Heat exchanger, 3a, 4a ... Fin, 3b, 4b ... Hot water supply pipe, 5 ... Diffusion pipe, 5a ... ejection hole, 6 ... buffer tank, 7 ... circulation pump, 8 ... ventilation path, 9 ... blower fan, 10 ... ventilation fan, 12 ... control board, 13 ... Bathroom, 13a ... Ceiling panel, 23 ... Grill plate, 23a ... Air intake, 23b ... Air outlet, 30 ... Guide, 30a ... Bottom wall, 30b ... -Side wall, 31 ... rib.

Claims (4)

A steam generator comprising: a heat exchanger disposed in a housing; a blower disposed in a ventilation path formed in the housing; and a diffusing device disposed in an upper portion of the heat exchanger. There,
A steam generator characterized in that a guiding means for collecting hot water diffused from the diffusing means and guiding it to the heat exchanger is provided below the diffusing means.   The steam generator according to claim 1, wherein the guide means is formed of a ridge having a bottom surface facing the heat exchanger.   The steam generating apparatus according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the diffusing means has a jet hole directed toward an upper portion of the heat exchanger.   The heat exchanger is arranged in a substantially vertical state on the upstream side of the ventilation path and has a predetermined interval on the downstream side of the first heat exchanger. The steam generator according to any one of claims 1 to 3, further comprising a second exchanger disposed in a substantially vertical state.

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