JP2010181101A - Water heater - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a water heater having superior energy-saving performance and comfort by detecting a person in a bathroom with high accuracy and properly heating bathtub water on the basis of the detection. <P>SOLUTION: This water heater includes a bathtub 3, a human body detecting means 9 detecting entering of a person to have a bath into a bathroom, a bathtub water heating means 4 for heating hot water/water in the bathtub 3, and a control means 10. The control of a heating operation of hot water/water in the bathtub 3 by the bathtub water heating means 4 is changed on the basis of a result of the detection of the human body detecting means 9, and a detection range in the vertical direction, of the human body detecting means 9 is determined so that an upward detection angle is larger than a downward detection angle. As the bathtub water is heated only when necessary by improving accuracy in detecting the person to have a bath, the water heater having superior energy-saving performance and comfort can be provided. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2010,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a water heater having a means for heating bathtub water and provided with a bathroom remote controller installed in the bathroom.

  Conventionally, this type of water heater is, for example, as shown in FIG. 5 (see, for example, Patent Document 1).

As shown in FIG. 5, for the purpose of improving safety, a human detection sensor is provided in the bath remote controller, and this human detection sensor detects a bather's abnormality and automatically notifies the outside.
JP 2001-133040 A

  However, although it is described in the conventional configuration that a human sensor for detecting a bather is provided in the remote control, the configuration of the sensor for ensuring detection accuracy in a special environment such as a bathroom. Consideration is not fully described.

  In other words, it should be considered when detecting a bather in the bathroom, such as a narrow space for comparison, a short distance from the bather as an object, and frequent movement, such as crossing the front. There is a unique condition that there is little movement to pass, and there is a possibility that it will remain in the blind spot as seen from the remote control.

  In order to satisfy these conditions, a wide viewing angle is required. However, since the sensitivity of an infrared sensor generally decreases when the viewing angle is increased, the viewing angle must be minimized. In addition, depending on the position of the remote control, it may sense minute shaking on the surface of the hot water stretched on the bathtub.

  In this way, the infrared sensor mounted on the bathroom remote control takes into account the space in the bathroom and the behavioral characteristics of the bather. There was a problem of preventing false detection due to surface shaking.

  The present invention solves the above-mentioned conventional problems, and accurately detects a resident in the bathroom and appropriately heats the bath water based on the detected water heater, which is excellent in energy saving and comfort. The purpose is to provide.

  In order to solve the above-described conventional problems, the water heater of the present invention includes a bathtub, a human body detecting means for detecting a bather entering the bathroom, a bathtub water heating means for heating the hot water in the bathtub, and a control. The hot water heating operation control in the bathtub by the bathtub water heating means is changed based on the detection result of the human body detection means, and the detection range in the vertical direction of the human body detection means is increased. The direction detection angle is configured to be larger than the downward detection angle.

As a result, by narrowing down the viewing angle of the human body detection means, it becomes possible to direct the detection range to the required space while ensuring the sensitivity as a whole. By heating water, a water heater excellent in energy saving and comfort can be provided.

  ADVANTAGE OF THE INVENTION According to this invention, the hot water heater excellent in energy saving property and comfort can be provided by detecting the occupant in a bathroom accurately and heating the bathtub water appropriately based on it.

  1st invention is equipped with the bathtub, the human body detection means which detects the bather's entrance to a bathroom, the bathtub water heating means which heats the hot water in the said bathtub, and a control means, By the said bathtub water heating means The hot water heating operation control in the bathtub is changed based on the detection result of the human body detection means, and the detection range in the vertical direction of the human body detection means is detected with the detection angle in the upward direction being lower. It is characterized by being configured to be larger than the angle, and in accordance with the usage condition that the bathroom remote control is installed at a relatively low position near the upper end of the bathtub, sensitivity is reduced by narrowing the viewing angle of unnecessary parts. A hot water heater excellent in energy saving and comfort can be provided by appropriately heating the bath water in accordance with the detection of the presence or absence of a high-precision bather while ensuring the detection range toward the necessary space.

  2nd invention is equipped with the hot water storage tank and the hot water tank water heating means which heats the water of the said hot water tank, and the hot water in a bathtub is heated by the said hot water tank water heating means, and is stored in the said hot water tank. The hot water is used for hot water supply, and the heat can be effectively used to replenish the bath.

  In the third invention, the human body detection means is configured to detect infrared rays emitted by the bather, and the design of the viewing angle for ensuring accuracy is facilitated.

  The fourth invention is characterized in that the hot water storage tank water heating means is configured to use a heat pump cycle, and it is possible to provide a water heater with improved energy use efficiency and excellent energy saving.

  The fifth invention is characterized in that the heat pump cycle is a supercritical refrigerant circuit in which the high side pressure is larger than the critical pressure during operation, and since the boiling temperature can be increased, the amount of heat that can be used is increased. The ability to prevent running out of hot water can be improved.

  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 diagram showing a configuration of a water heater in the first embodiment of the present invention.

  In FIG. 1, a hot water tank 1, a heat pump unit 2 as a hot water tank water heating means for heating water in the hot water tank 1, a bathtub 3, hot water in the hot water tank 1 and hot water in the bathtub 3 are exchanged. Provided in the heat exchanger 4 as a bath water heating means for retreating the bath, the first circulation pump 5, the second circulation pump 6, the thermistor 7 for measuring the bath water temperature, and the bathroom remote control 8. The infrared sensor 9 as a human body detecting means for detecting the presence or absence of a person in the bathroom, and the operation of the first circulation pump 5 and the second circulation pump 6 are controlled based on the output of the infrared sensor 9 And control means 10 for performing the operation.

  FIG. 2 shows the appearance of the bathroom remote control 8. An infrared sensor 9 is provided. About the hot water heater comprised as mentioned above, the operation | movement and an effect | action are demonstrated below.

  As a basic function, hot water heated by the heat pump 2 is stored in the hot water tank 1, and this hot water is used for heating hot water and bath water. The bath water is heated by supplying hot water stored in the hot water tank 1 to the primary flow path of the heat exchanger 4 by using the first circulation pump 5 and also by the second circulation pump 6. Is circulated through the secondary flow path of the heat exchanger 4.

  FIG. 3 is a view showing the viewing angle of the infrared sensor 9 provided in the bathroom remote controller 8 installed in the bathroom 10. 3A is a plan view of the bathroom 10, FIG. 3B is a cross-sectional view thereof, and the bathroom remote controller 8 is installed on a wall surface slightly above the bathtub 3. The viewing angle of the infrared sensor 9 is the same in the left-right direction.

  Here, the plane direction cannot be specified as the attachment position of the bathroom remote control 8, but the height direction is almost constant in order to enable operation in the state of sitting in the bathtub 3 or in the washing place. For this reason, the viewing angle of the infrared sensor 9 must be the same in the left-right direction, while the mounting position in the height direction is low and almost constant, so the viewing angle in the downward direction may be small (∠α > ∠β).

  Therefore, even if the upward viewing angle is relatively large, the overall viewing angle can be reduced, and the sensitivity can be increased accordingly. Further, when the lower viewing angle is taken, depending on the installation position of the bathroom remote controller 8 when the bathtub 3 is not covered, the surface of the hot water stretched on the bathtub 3 is caught in the field of view and the shaking is detected. Sometimes. If the downward viewing angle is kept small, this erroneous detection can be prevented. 12 is a bather.

  The operation of heating the bath water will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG.

  When the mode is set to automatically keep warm (step 1), when the infrared sensor 9 reacts to the infrared rays emitted from the body surface of the bather, the bather's entrance to the bathroom 10 is detected (step) 2) The second circulating pump 6 is activated, the water temperature in the bathtub 3 is measured by the thermistor 7, and if this is below the set value (step 3), the first circulating pump 5 is activated to heat The hot water in the hot water tank 1 is circulated in the flow path on the primary side of the exchanger 4 to heat the bath water (step 4). When the temperature of the bath water reaches the set temperature, the first and second circulation pumps 5 and 6 are stopped (step 5), and the bath water heating operation is terminated.

  That is, instead of repeating the bath water heating operation at regular intervals as in the conventional automatic heat retention, the heating operation is performed when the bather 11 enters the room, and the heat is kept despite the absence of the bather 11. Energy saving is improved by eliminating unnecessary heating operation.

  As described above, in adopting a method of controlling the bath water heating operation according to the output of the infrared sensor 9 that detects entry of the bather 11 into the bathroom for the purpose of improving energy saving and convenience, The viewing angle of the infrared sensor 9 is set to be larger in the vertical direction than the lower side, maintaining the required range while reducing the viewing angle as a whole, and removing the surface of the hot water stretched on the bathtub from the viewing angle. Thus, it is possible to prevent erroneous detection, and as a result, it is possible to increase the accuracy of detection of the bather 11.

  The refrigeration cycle of the heat pump unit 2 preferably uses carbon dioxide as a refrigerant and is operated at a pressure exceeding the critical pressure. Since the boiling temperature can be increased by using carbon dioxide as a refrigerant, it is possible to increase the amount of heat that can be used and to prevent the hot water from running out.

  As described above, since the water heater according to the present invention can realize a control method that achieves both high efficiency and convenience, it can be applied to a household water heater as described above, and has a large scale for business use. It can also be applied to applications and provide high convenience to facility managers.

Configuration diagram of a water heater in Embodiment 1 of the present invention External view of the bathroom remote control (A) Upper sectional view of the bathroom in the first embodiment of the present invention (b) AA sectional view of FIG. 3 (a) Flowchart of operation of heating bath water in Embodiment 1 of the present invention Configuration of a conventional water heater

1 Hot water storage tank 2 Heat pump unit (hot water storage tank water heating means)
3 Bath 4 Heat exchanger (tub water heating means)
5 1st circulation pump 6 2nd circulation pump 8 Bathroom remote control 9 Human body detection means 10 Control means

Claims (5)

A bathtub, a human body detecting means for detecting a bather entering the bathroom, a bathtub water heating means for heating the hot water in the bathtub, and a control means, and the hot water in the bathtub by the bathtub water heating means. The heating operation control is changed based on the detection result of the human body detection means, and the detection range in the vertical direction of the human body detection means is such that the detection angle in the upward direction is larger than the detection angle in the downward direction. A water heater characterized by having a structure. A hot water storage tank and hot water storage tank heating means for heating the water in the hot water storage tank are provided, and the hot water in the bathtub is heated by the hot water storage tank water heating means and heated by the hot water stored in the hot water storage tank. The water heater according to claim 1. The water heater according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the human body detecting means is configured to detect infrared rays emitted by a bather. The hot water heater according to claim 2, wherein the hot water tank water heating means is configured to use a heat pump cycle. The water heater according to claim 4, wherein the heat pump cycle is a supercritical refrigerant circuit in which the high side pressure exceeds the critical pressure during operation.