JP2009121790A - Heat pump water heater - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a heat pump water heater capable of making a device compact without reducing a volume of a hot water storage tank. <P>SOLUTION: This heat pump water heater includes a main hot water storage tank 6-a having a roughly circular cross section, and a sub-hot water storage tank 6-c of a capacity smaller than that of the main hot water storage tank 6-a is disposed at a corner portion formed by a side plate of an external facing member of the main hot water storage tank 6-a and a front plate 101-d or a back plate 101-a, near the main hot water storage tank 6-a. A volume of the tank (filling density of tank) per a unit volume of a device body can be increased, the device body can be made compact, and the installation performance can be improved. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2009,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a refrigeration cycle and a heat pump water heater equipped with a hot water storage tank and a water circuit.

  As a conventional heat pump water heater, there is a separation type heat pump water heater constituted by a heat pump unit having a refrigeration cycle and a tank unit having a tank circuit.

  Hereinafter, a conventional separation type heat pump water heater will be described. FIG. 4 is an external view of a conventional separated heat pump water heater, and FIG. 5 is a circuit configuration diagram of the conventional heat pump water heater.

As shown in FIG. 5, the conventional separated heat pump type hot water heater is a heat pump unit having a refrigeration cycle including a compressor 1, a water-refrigerant heat exchanger 2, a decompression means 3, an air-refrigerant heat exchanger 4, and the like. And a tank circuit composed of a hot water storage tank 6, mixing valves 7-a and 7-b, an electromagnetic valve 8, a hot water supply circulation pump 9, a pressure reducing valve 10, a three-way valve 11, a relief valve 12, and a drain valve 13. The tank unit is configured to generate hot water in a refrigeration cycle, store the hot water in a hot water storage tank, and supply the hot water to a faucet or a bathtub (for example, see Patent Document 1).
JP 2006-78041 A

  However, the above-described conventional heat pump water heater is efficient and has a low running cost (electricity cost), but has a problem that the tank unit is large and difficult to install in a narrow space. In order to solve the problem, in order to secure the hot water resistance and make the tank unit smaller, it is necessary to reduce the size of the hot water storage tank and increase the heating capacity of the heat pump unit. There was a problem that running cost was higher than night electricity.

  Further, when the heating capacity of the heat pump unit is increased, it is necessary to increase the power consumption and increase the current capacity, and there is a problem that the workability is deteriorated due to an increase in the contract power consumption and electric work.

  This invention solves such a conventional subject, and it aims at providing the heat pump water heater which implement | achieves size reduction of an apparatus, without reducing the volume of a hot water storage tank.

  In order to solve the conventional problem, a heat pump water heater of the present invention includes a refrigeration cycle formed by connecting a compressor, a water-refrigerant heat exchanger, a decompression unit, and an air-refrigerant heat exchanger in an annular shape, A main hot water storage tank connected to a water-refrigerant heat exchanger and having a substantially circular cross section, a corner formed by a side plate and a front plate or a rear plate of an exterior member of the main hot water tank, and the main hot water storage A sub hot water storage tank having a capacity smaller than that of the main hot water storage tank is provided in the vicinity of the tank, so that the tank unit can be downsized with the same tank volume and the installation of the tank unit is improved. Can be achieved.

  ADVANTAGE OF THE INVENTION According to this invention, the heat pump water heater which implement | achieves size reduction of an apparatus can be provided, without reducing the volume of a hot water storage tank.

  The first aspect of the present invention is a refrigeration cycle formed by annularly connecting a compressor, a water-refrigerant heat exchanger, a decompression means, an air-refrigerant heat exchanger, and a cross section connected to the water-refrigerant heat exchanger. A main circular hot water storage tank having a smaller volume than the main hot water storage tank at a corner formed by a side plate and a front plate or a rear plate of an exterior member of the main hot water storage tank and in the vicinity of the main hot water storage tank The sub hot water storage tank is provided, and the tank volume per unit volume (filling density of the tank) can be increased, and the equipment body can be downsized and installed. It is possible to improve the performance.

  The second invention is characterized in that the cross-sectional shape of the sub hot water storage tank is substantially circular, and the pressure resistance of the sub hot water storage tank can be improved and can be manufactured at low cost. In addition, the tank volume per volume of the device main body can be increased, the tank unit can be reduced in size, and the installability can be improved.

  The third aspect of the invention is characterized in that the cross-sectional shape of the sub hot water storage tank is substantially rectangular, which can improve the filling efficiency of the tank rather than making it substantially cylindrical, and reduce the size of the equipment body. It is possible to improve the installability.

  The fourth invention is characterized in that the sub hot water storage tank is arranged along a corner formed by the side plate and the front plate or the rear plate of the exterior member of the main hot water storage tank. The filling density of the tank can be increased as compared with the rectangular shape, the apparatus main body can be further reduced in size, and the installation property can be improved.

  The fifth invention is characterized in that at least one of the main hot water storage tank and the sub hot water storage tank has a latent heat storage material, and the heat storage amount per unit volume of the tank can be increased from water, It is possible to reduce the size of the device main body and improve the installability.

  The sixth invention is characterized in that the main hot water storage tank and the sub hot water storage tank are integrally insulated, which can efficiently insulate and reduce the size of the device body. Thus, it is possible to improve the installation property.

  The seventh invention is characterized in that the refrigeration cycle is filled with carbon dioxide. The global warming coefficient can be reduced with respect to conventional chlorofluorocarbons such as R410A, and the hot water storage tank is made smaller and downsized. It is possible to provide an environmentally friendly heat pump water heater.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. Note that the present invention is not limited to the embodiments.

(Embodiment 1)
FIG. 1 is a sectional view of a tank unit of a heat pump water heater in the first embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a circuit configuration diagram of the heat pump water heater.

  The heat pump water heater in the first embodiment shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 is formed by connecting the compressor 1, the water-refrigerant heat exchanger 2, the decompression means 3, the air-refrigerant heat exchanger 4 and the like in a ring shape. Pump main body storage tank 6-a, brother 1 sub hot water storage tank 6-b, second sub hot water storage tank 6-c, mixing valves 7-a, 7-b, electromagnetic The tank unit is configured by connecting the valve 8, the circulation pump 9, the pressure reducing valve 10, the three-way valve 11, the relief valve 12, and the drain valve 13 by piping.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the tank unit 101 includes at least a space partitioned by a main hot water storage tank 6-a, a tank unit exterior member rear plate 101-a, and side plates 101-b and 101-c. On either one of them, substantially cylindrical sub-tanks 6-b and 6-c having a smaller volume than the cylindrical main hot water storage tank 6-a are provided in parallel with the main hot water storage tank 6-a.

  Further, the main hot water storage tank 6-a is insulated by a heat insulating material 20-a, the sub hot water storage tank 6-b is insulated by a heat insulating material 20-b, and the sub hot water storage tank 20-c is insulated by a heat insulating material 20-c.

  The blower 5 functions to send air to the air-refrigerant heat exchanger 4, the water-refrigerant heat exchanger 2 functions as a condenser, and the air-refrigerant heat exchanger 4 functions as an evaporator.

  The operation of the heat pump water heater configured as described above will be described below with reference to FIGS.

  First, the case where hot water is stored in the hot water storage tank 6 (hot water storage operation) will be described.

  A thermistor (not shown) or the like detects the amount of remaining hot water in the hot water storage tanks 6-a, b, c, and when the remaining hot water amount decreases, the compressor 1, the blower 5 and the hot water supply circulation pump 9 are operated to start the hot water storage operation. To do. In the refrigeration cycle, the refrigerant compressed in the compressor 1 dissipates heat and condenses in the water-refrigerant heat exchanger 2, flows into the decompression means 3, expands, and in the blower 5 in the air-refrigerant heat exchanger 4. It exchanges heat with the sent air and evaporates to become a gas refrigerant.

  This gas refrigerant is sucked into the compressor 1 and compressed again. In the tank circuit, water is heated by the water-refrigerant heat exchanger 2 to generate hot water, and the hot water is stored from the upper part of the main hot water storage tank 6-a via the three-way valve 11 switched to the hot water storage side.

  Next, the case of hot water supply (outflow) (hot water supply operation) will be described.

  When the faucet 14 is opened, the water pressure in the tank / water circuit decreases, water flows in from the lower part of the main hot water storage tank 6-a, hot water is pushed out from the upper part of the main hot water storage tank 6-a, and is mixed by the mixing valve 7-a. It is mixed with water to reach a target temperature, and hot water is discharged from the faucet 14. Here, when the amount of remaining hot water in the hot water storage tank 6 decreases, the hot water storage operation is opened by operating the compressor 1 and the blower 5 in parallel with the hot water supply. And if the faucet 14 is closed, the compressor 1 etc. will be stopped and hot water supply operation will be complete | finished.

  Next, the case of bath pouring (bath pouring operation) will be described.

  When the bath pouring switch (not shown) on the remote control is pressed, the solenoid valve 8 is opened, and the water pressure in the tank / water circuit is lowered and water flows from the lower part of the main hot water storage tank 6-a as in the hot water supply operation. Then, hot water is pushed out from the upper part of the hot water storage tank 6-a, mixed with water by the mixing valve 7-b to reach the target temperature, and hot water is poured from the bath 15. Here, when the amount of remaining hot water decreases, the hot water storage operation is started by operating the compressor 1 and the blower 5 in parallel with the bath pouring.

  When the bath 15 has been filled with a certain amount of hot water, the solenoid valve 8 is closed, the compressor 1 and the like are stopped, and the bath pouring operation is terminated.

As described above, in this embodiment, at least one of the two spaces behind the main hot water storage tank 6-a having a substantially circular cross section has a smaller capacity and a cross section than the main hot water storage tank 6-a. By adopting a configuration in which the substantially circular sub hot water storage tanks 6-b and 6-c are provided, the sub hot water storage tank can be manufactured at a relatively low cost. Further, the tank volume per volume of the device main body can be increased, the device main body can be reduced in size, and the installability can be improved.

In the present embodiment, the sub tank 6 is located at the corner formed by the side plate 101-c and the rear plate 101-a of the exterior member of the main hot water storage tank 6-a and in the vicinity of the main hot water storage tank 6-a. -C is provided, but a sub tank is provided at a corner formed by the side plate 101-c and the front plate 101-d of the exterior member of the main hot water storage tank 6-a and in the vicinity of the main hot water storage tank 6-a. May be.
(Embodiment 2)
FIG. 3 is a sectional view of the tank unit of the heat pump water heater in the second embodiment of the present invention.

  The heat pump water heater in the second embodiment of the present invention is only partially different in configuration from the first embodiment, and only the differences will be described, and the description of the operation will be omitted.

  As shown in FIG. 3, the difference from the first embodiment is that the sub hot water storage tanks 60-b and 60-c are shaped like cylindrical main hot water storage tanks 6-a and side plates of exterior members of the tank unit 101. 101-b, 101-c and the rear plate 101-a are configured to match the shape of the two spaces behind the main hot water storage tank 6-a.

  Further, a heat insulating material 20-d is wound around the main hot water storage tank 6-a and the sub hot water storage tanks 60-b, 60-c.

  As described above, in the embodiment of the present embodiment, the sub hot water storage tank is configured as described above, so that the tank can be filled more efficiently than a cylindrical or substantially rectangular parallelepiped, and the tank unit can be further downsized. It is possible to improve the installation property.

  As described above, in the embodiment of the present embodiment, the sub hot water storage tank has the above-described configuration, so that the tank can be filled more efficiently than the cylindrical or substantially rectangular parallelepiped. Can further reduce the size of the main body of the water heater and improve the installation.

  In the above description, the hot water storage system in which water is boiled and stored in the sub hot water storage tank has been described, but if the sub hot water storage tank is filled with a latent heat storage material, the tank filling efficiency can be further improved, the tank circuit can be made smaller, and the main body can be made smaller. Can be achieved.

  In the above description, the type using one main hot water storage tank has been described. However, the present invention may be applied to a so-called twin tank using two main hot water storage tanks.

  As described above, the present invention is applied to a heat pump water heater that generates and supplies hot water by a heat pump cycle, and is suitable for, for example, a domestic water heater or a commercial water heater.

Sectional drawing of the tank unit of the heat pump water heater in Embodiment 1 of this invention The circuit block diagram of the heat pump water heater in Embodiment 1 of this invention Sectional drawing of the tank unit of the heat pump water heater in Embodiment 2 of this invention (A) Overview of heat pump unit of conventional heat pump water heater (b) Overview of tank unit of conventional heat pump water heater Circuit diagram of a conventional heat pump water heater

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Compressor 2 Water-refrigerant heat exchanger 3 Pressure reducing valve 4 Air-refrigerant heat exchanger 5 Blower 6 Hot water storage tank 7 Mixing valve 8 Solenoid valve 9 Hot water circulation pump 14 Faucet 15 Bathtub 20 Thermal insulation 101 Tank unit

Claims (7)

A refrigeration cycle formed by annularly connecting a compressor, a water-refrigerant heat exchanger, a decompression means, and an air-refrigerant heat exchanger, and a main hot water storage tank connected to the water-refrigerant heat exchanger and having a substantially circular cross section A sub hot water storage tank having a capacity smaller than that of the main hot water storage tank is disposed at a corner formed by a side plate and a front plate or a rear plate of the exterior member of the main hot water storage tank, and in the vicinity of the main hot water storage tank. A heat pump water heater characterized by being installed. The heat pump water heater according to claim 1, wherein the sub hot water storage tank has a substantially circular cross-sectional shape. The heat pump water heater according to claim 1, wherein the sub hot water storage tank has a substantially square cross-sectional shape. The sub hot water storage tank is disposed along a corner formed by a side plate and a front plate or a rear plate of an exterior member of the main hot water storage tank. Heat pump water heater. The heat pump water heater according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein at least one of the main hot water storage tank and the sub hot water storage tank has a latent heat storage material. The heat pump water heater according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein the main hot water storage tank and the sub hot water storage tank are integrally insulated. The heat pump water heater according to any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein the refrigeration cycle is filled with carbon dioxide.

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