JP2017096549A - Hot water storage type water heater - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To allow users to bathe easily according to a recommended bathing order, in an environment where the plurality of users bathe sequentially.SOLUTION: A water heater includes: a hot water storage tank 1; a heat pump unit 2; a three-way valve 14; a mixing valve 15 for hot water supply; a heat exchanger 19 for reheating; a three-way valve 20 for hot water filling; a three-way valve 25 for reheating; bathing water reheating means 27; a bathroom remote controller 30; a kitchen remote controller 40; and a control device 100. The control device 100 includes functions of: storing bathing water information which each of a plurality of users likes during bath time as bather information of each of the users individually; and determining a recommended bathing order on the basis of the bather information of individual user when the plurality of users bathe sequentially. Also, the control device 100 displays at least one out of the bathing order before the user and the bathing order after the user with respect to the user in bathing.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 5

Description

  The present invention relates to a hot water storage type hot water heater having a function of heating hot water and supplying hot water, and more particularly, to a hot water storage type hot water heater that performs hot water filling of a bathtub.

  In general, in an environment in which a plurality of users bathe in sequence, convenience may be lowered due to a difference in favorite bath water temperature for each user. For this reason, as a prior art, for example, a hot water supply apparatus as described in Patent Document 1 has been proposed. This hot water supply apparatus is configured to previously input and store a favorite bath water temperature corresponding to each user. At the time of bathing, the user calls the user's favorite setting pattern, so that the bath water is automatically heated or cooled to be adjusted to the desired temperature. Further, in the prior art, even when each user bathes in a favorite setting pattern, a recommended bathing order is calculated so that the amount of hot water or heat used as a whole is minimized. When the advice switch is operated, the calculated bathing order is displayed.

JP 2008-145089 A

  However, the conventional technique of Patent Document 1 has a problem that the user's convenience is low because the current order in the recommended bathing order cannot be known unless the advice switch is operated. Moreover, in the prior art, the display method when the recommended bathing order is different from the actual bathing order is not considered. For this reason, when a user unintentionally takes a bath in an order different from the recommended bathing order, there is a problem that the state is not recognized by the user and the efficiency at the time of bathing is reduced.

  The present invention has been made to solve the above-described problems, and in an environment in which a plurality of users sequentially take a bath, a hot water storage type hot water heater that allows each user to easily take a bath according to a recommended bathing sequence. The purpose is to provide.

  The hot water storage type water heater according to the present invention sets a hot water storage tank for storing hot water, a bathtub in which hot water is filled using the hot water stored in the hot water storage tank, and a bath water condition when the hot water is filled in the bathtub. The hot water condition setting means operated by the user and the means for storing the bath water information including at least the hot water temperature among the bath water conditions, and each of the bath water information that a plurality of users prefer at the time of bathing Storage means that can be stored for each user as bather information of the user, storage execution means that the user operates when storing current bath water information in the storage means as bather information of a specific user, and storage means A control means for controlling at least the temperature of the bath water so as to satisfy the stored bather information, and a recommended bathing order based on individual user bather information when a plurality of users bathe in sequence. A bathing order determining means for determining the bathing order, and a means for displaying the bathing order determined by the bathing order determining means to the user, the bathing order before the user and the bathing order after the user for the bathing user. Display means for displaying at least one of them.

  ADVANTAGE OF THE INVENTION According to this invention, the bathing order of the user who has already taken a bath and the bathing order of the user who bathes in the future can be notified to the user who is taking a bath. Thereby, a some user can take a bath easily according to the recommended bathing order, and a user's convenience can be improved.

It is a block diagram which shows the heat pump type water heater by Embodiment 1 of this invention. It is a flowchart which shows an example of the automatic adjustment control performed at the time of hot water filling of a bathtub. It is explanatory drawing which shows the switching procedure when switching the display of bather information with a bathroom remote control. It is explanatory drawing which shows the operation | movement which displays the bathing order after the next with a bathroom remote control, while the user is bathing sequentially. It is a flowchart which shows an example of bathing order display control.

  Hereinafter, embodiments for carrying out the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. In the drawings, the same components are denoted by the same reference numerals, and redundant description is omitted. Further, the present invention is not limited to the following embodiments, and various modifications can be made without departing from the spirit of the present invention.

Embodiment 1 FIG.
In the present embodiment, a heat pump type water heater will be described as an example of a hot water storage type hot water heater. FIG. 1 is a configuration diagram showing a heat pump type hot water heater according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention. As shown in this figure, the water heater of the present embodiment is mainly used in general households, and includes a hot water storage tank 1, a heat pump unit 2, a control device 100 described later, and the like. The water heater supplies hot water for hot water stored in the hot water storage tank 1 and hot water heated by the heat pump unit 2 to a hot water supply target. Examples of the hot water supply target include a hot water faucet such as a shower, a currant, a hand-washing tap, and the bathtub 50 arranged in a kitchen, a washroom, a bathroom, and the like.

  The hot water storage tank 1 is a vertically long container for storing hot water serving as hot water, and is formed of a metal material having excellent corrosion resistance such as stainless steel. A heat insulating material (not shown) is provided on the outer peripheral portion of the hot water storage tank 1 so as to keep hot water for hot water supply for a long time. Further, a discharge port 3 and an introduction port 10 are provided in the lower part of the hot water storage tank 1, and a suction port 4 and a discharge port 11 are provided in the upper part of the hot water storage tank 1.

  A plurality (for example, seven in FIG. 1) of water temperature thermistors 38 are attached to the hot water storage tank 1 side by side in the height direction. These water temperature thermistors 38 detect the temperature in the hot water storage tank 1 at each part in the height direction, and output the detection result to the control device 100. Based on the temperature detected by each water temperature thermistor 38, the control device 100 detects the boundary position between the hot water after boiling in the hot water storage tank 1 and the low temperature water before boiling, and further the hot water storage tank 1. It is possible to detect the amount of hot water stored and the temperature of stored hot water.

  The heat pump unit 2 includes a heat pump cycle configured by annularly connecting a compressor, a water / refrigerant heat exchanger, a decompressor, and an evaporator (not shown). In the heat pump cycle, carbon dioxide having a low critical temperature is used as a refrigerant. The heat pump unit 2 exchanges heat between the high-temperature and high-pressure refrigerant flowing through the refrigerant flow path of the water / refrigerant heat exchanger and the hot water flowing through the water flow path of the water / refrigerant heat exchanger of the evaporator. Is heated (boiling). The heated hot water is stored from the upper side with respect to the hot water storage tank 1.

  As a result, hot water is stored in the hot water storage tank 1 in a temperature-laminated state so that the upper side is hotter than the lower side. In addition, when the heat pump unit 2 is configured by a supercritical heat pump, hot water having a temperature higher than that of a general heat pump cycle, for example, about 85 ° C. to 90 ° C. can be stored in the hot water storage tank 1. Moreover, the heat pump unit 2 performs a boiling operation for boiling the hot water in the hot water storage tank 1 as described later.

  On the other hand, the water heater includes a circulation channel 5, a city water channel 8, a water supply channel 9, a hot water channel 13, 16, a three-way valve 14, a hot water mixing valve 15, a bath inflow channel 21, and the like. The circulation flow path 5 connects the discharge port 3 and the suction port 4 of the hot water storage tank 1 via the water / refrigerant heat exchanger of the heat pump unit 2. Hot water flowing out from the discharge port 3 of the hot water storage tank 1 flows through the circulation channel 5 and is heated by the heat pump unit 2 and then returns to the hot water storage tank 1 from the suction port 4.

  The circulation channel 5 includes an incoming temperature thermistor that detects the temperature of water flowing into the water / refrigerant heat exchanger, a check valve, and a circulation pump that circulates hot water in the circulation channel 5 (none of which are shown). Is provided. Further, a boiling temperature thermistor (not shown) for detecting the temperature of water heated by the water / refrigerant heat exchanger is provided at the outlet of the water / refrigerant heat exchanger. The temperatures detected by these thermistors are also output to the control device 100.

  The city water channel 8 supplies city water (tap water) from an external water source to the hot water storage tank 1, and is connected to the inlet 10 of the hot water storage tank 1 through the water supply channel 9. The city water flow path 8 is provided with a water supply thermistor 6 for detecting the temperature of the city water and a pressure reducing valve 7. The pressure reducing valve 7 adjusts the water pressure supplied to the hot water storage tank 1 and prevents back flow of hot water when water is shut off. The water supply channel 9 may be provided with a drain valve for draining. The city water flow path 8 is connected to a hot water supply mixing valve 15 described later.

  The hot water supply passage 13 is for leading high temperature water from the upper part of the hot water storage tank 1, and the base end side is connected to the outlet 11. The distal end side of the hot water supply channel 13 is connected to the three-way valve 14. The three-way valve 14 is a temperature adjustment valve that adjusts the temperature of the hot water supplied to the hot water filling three-way valve 20 and the hot water mixing valve 15. The three-way valve 14 is feedback controlled by the control device 100 based on the temperature detected by the hot water temperature thermistor 12 and the water temperature thermistor 38. The hot water temperature thermistor 12 detects the temperature of hot water discharged from the upper part of the hot water storage tank 1.

  The hot water supply mixing valve 15 is a temperature adjustment valve that adjusts the hot water temperature of hot water discharged from the end of the hot water supply channel 16. The hot water mixing valve 15 mixes the high temperature water supplied from the three-way valve 14 and the low temperature water supplied from the city water flow path 8, and changes the mixing ratio between the hot water and the hot water discharged to the hot water supply flow path 16. Adjust the temperature. The hot water supply mixing valve 15 is feedback-controlled by the control device 100 based on temperatures detected by the hot water supply thermistor 6, the hot water temperature thermistor 12 and the hot water supply thermistor 18.

  The hot water supply channel 16 supplies hot water whose temperature is adjusted by the hot water mixing valve 15 to hot water taps such as showers, currants, and hand-washing taps. One end side of the hot water supply channel 16 is connected to the three-way valve 14, and the other end side of the hot water supply channel 16 is connected to a hot water tap. Thus, the hot water supply channels 13 and 16 constitute a hot water flow channel from the outlet 11 of the hot water storage tank 1 to the hot water tap. A hot water supply mixing valve 15, a flow rate counter 17, and a hot water supply thermistor 18 are connected to the hot water supply flow path 16. The hot water supply thermistor 18 detects the temperature of the hot water flowing through the hot water supply passage 16. The flow rate counter 17 is a sensor that detects the flow rate of hot water flowing through the hot water supply passage 16. These detection results are output to the control device 100.

  The bath inflow channel 21 is a channel for supplying hot water, hot water, adding hot water, etc. of the bathtub 50 by supplying hot water to the bathtub 50. The bath inflow channel 21 branches from the middle of the hot water supply channel 13 and is connected to the bathtub 50. The bath inflow passage 21 connects the hot water filling three-way valve 20 and the downstream end bathtub 50. The bath inflow channel 21 constitutes a return channel of the recirculation circuit 26.

  In addition, the water heater according to the present embodiment includes bath water purging means 27 for chasing the bathtub water stored in the bathtub 50. The bath water replenishing means 27 includes a reheating heat exchanger 19 disposed in the hot water storage tank 1 and a recirculation circuit 26 for reheating. The reheating heat exchanger 19 is formed of, for example, a pipe material curved in a coil shape, and is disposed on the upper side of the hot water storage tank 1, that is, at a portion where the hot water temperature becomes high, for example, about 85 ° C. to 90 ° C. Yes. The reheating heat exchanger 19 is fixed so that the lower end portion in the vertical direction becomes an inflow port and the upper end portion becomes an outflow port. In this state, the reheating heat exchanger 19 heats (reheats) the bath water by exchanging heat between the bath water flowing through the pipe material and the high-temperature water in the hot water storage tank 1. . Thereby, the bath water replenishing means 27 can perform hot water filling of the bathtub 50 using the hot water stored in the hot water storage tank 1.

  The tracking circulation circuit 26 connects the tracking heat exchanger 19 and the bathtub 50 in an annular shape, and circulates the bathtub water between the two. That is, the recirculation circuit 26 is connected to the forward flow path from the bathtub 50 toward the inlet of the reheating heat exchanger 19 and the return flow path from the outlet of the reheating heat exchanger 19 to the bathtub 50. And. A water pressure switch 22 that detects the amount of hot water, a circulation pump 23 that circulates bathtub water in the recirculation circuit 26, a bath water temperature thermistor 24 that detects hot water temperature, and a reflow three-way valve 25 are provided in the forward flow path. And a flow rate counter (not shown). On the other hand, a hot water filling three-way valve 20 and a chasing thermistor (not shown) are provided in the bath inflow passage 21 constituting the return flow passage.

  The water pressure switch 22 is a sensor that detects the water pressure in the bathtub 50 in order to obtain a water level corresponding to the amount of hot water in the bathtub 50. The control device 100 can calculate the water level in the bathtub 50 based on the difference in water pressure between the time of bathing and the time of non-bathing detected by the water pressure switch 22, and can use this water level as the amount of hot water in the bath 50. In addition, in this Embodiment, although the case where the amount of hot water in the bathtub 50 was calculated | required based on the water pressure was illustrated, this invention is not restricted to this, For example, based on the flow volume etc. of the hot water flowing into / out of the bathtub 50, etc. You may ask for the amount of hot water.

  The flow counter of the forward flow path is a sensor that detects the flow rate of bathtub water flowing through the forward flow path. The bath water temperature thermistor 24 is a water temperature sensor that detects the hot water temperature of the bath water flowing through the forward flow path. Here, the water pressure switch 22, the flow rate counter, and the bath water temperature thermistor 24 detect the flow rate, volume, and temperature of the bathtub water flowing through the forward flow path, and output the detection results to the control device 100. The circulation pump 23 and the tracking three-way valve 25 are controlled by the control device 100.

  In addition, a midway portion of the outgoing flow path of the recirculation circuit 26 is connected to the bath inflow path 21 via the reflow 3-way valve 25. The chasing thermistor is composed of a water temperature sensor or the like, and detects the bath water flowing through the bath inflow passage 21, that is, the bath water returned from the chasing heat exchanger 19 into the bath 50. The three-way valve 25 for reheating is one path through which the bathtub water is circulated to the heat exchanger 19 for reheating, and the other is to distribute the bathtub water to the inflow path 21 for the bath by bypassing the heat exchanger 19 for reheating. This is a switching valve for switching the actual flow path to either one of the paths.

  During the reheating operation, when the circulation pump 23 is driven, the bathtub water in the bathtub 50 passes through the forward flow path of the recirculation circuit 26, the circulation pump 23 and the reheating three-way valve 25, and heat for reheating. The bath water flows into the exchanger 19 and is heated by exchanging heat with the hot water in the hot water storage tank 1 in the reheating heat exchanger 19, and then returned through the hot water filling three-way valve 20. And then returned to the bathtub 50. In addition, when detecting the hot water temperature in the bathtub 50, the chase three-way valve 25 is switched to connect the outgoing flow path and the bath inflow path 21. Accordingly, the bath water in the bathtub 50 is returned to the bathtub 50 via the forward flow path, the circulation pump 23, the bath water temperature thermistor 24, the follow-up three-way valve 25, and the bath inflow channel 21, so that the bath water temperature thermistor 24 makes it possible to detect the hot water temperature in the bathtub 50.

  Moreover, the water heater of this Embodiment is provided with the drainage means 28 which drains bathtub water. The drainage means 28 is constituted by, for example, an electromagnetic valve provided in a drain pipe connected to the bathtub 50. This electromagnetic valve is controlled by the control device 100. The drainage means 28 is held in a closed state except when draining the bathtub water. Moreover, at the time of drainage, the control apparatus 100 opens a solenoid valve, and bath water is discharged | emitted from the bathtub 50 by gravity. The control device 100 can control the drainage means 28 to reduce the amount of hot water in the bathtub 50 when it is necessary to reduce the bathtub water in the process of sequentially bathing a plurality of users.

  Next, a control system and an operation system of the water heater will be described. The control device 100 controls the water heater, and is configured mainly with a microcomputer. The control device 100 includes, for example, a storage unit having a ROM, a RAM, a nonvolatile memory, etc., a processor that executes various controls based on a program stored in the storage unit in advance or updatable, and a signal to the processor Input / output ports for input / output The control device 100 includes detection signals from sensors including the thermistors 6, 12, 18, 24, 38, a water pressure switch 22, flow rate counters (only the flow rate counter 17 is shown), and operations from the bathroom remote control 30 and the kitchen remote control 40. Based on the signal, actuators such as the heat pump unit 2, the valves 14, 15, 20, 25, and the circulation pump 23 are controlled.

  The control device 100 has a function of storing bather information of a plurality of users individually for each user. Here, the bather information is information representing a bath water state that the user likes during bathing, and includes at least the hot water temperature and the hot water amount in the bathtub 50. The bather information of a plurality of users is stored in the storage unit of the control device 100 as a bather information list. When the hot water filling of the bathtub 50 is performed, the control device 100 makes the bath water state including the hot water temperature and the hot water amount in the bathtub 50 coincide with the bather information of a specific user or a set value set during bathing. The automatic adjustment control to be described later is performed. In addition, the control apparatus 100 is corresponded to an example of the memory | storage means which can memorize | store the bather information of a some user separately for every user.

  Moreover, the control apparatus 100 can control a bath water state automatically based on bather information, a setting value, etc. also with respect to the 2nd and subsequent bather in the situation where a some user bathes sequentially. . The above-described bather information, setting values, and the like are set and stored by a user operation on either the bathroom remote controller 30 or the kitchen remote controller 40. The user means not only a bather who is actually taking a bath but also a person who can operate any one of the remote controls 30 and 40 including a family of the bather and the like.

  The bathroom remote controller 30 is a remote controller (remote controller) installed in the bathroom, and the kitchen remote controller 40 is a remote controller installed in a kitchen, a living room or the like. These remote controllers 30 and 40 are connected to the control device 100 so that they can communicate with each other by wire or wirelessly. The user can switch the operation of the water heater, change the setting, etc. by operating one of the remote controllers 30 and 40, and can obtain information on the state of operation and setting from the remote controllers 30 and 40. it can.

  The bathroom remote control 30 displays various information including a plurality of operation units including, for example, a power switch, a hot water supply temperature setting unit, a hot water setting unit, a hot water temperature setting unit, a reheating operation switch, a reheating temperature setting unit, and the like. And a display unit. The bathroom remote controller 30 includes an automatic adjustment switch 31, a user switch 32, a setting switch 33, and a storage switch 34. On the other hand, the kitchen remote controller 40 includes the plurality of operation units, the display unit, an automatic adjustment switch 41, a user switch 42, a setting switch 43, and a storage switch 44, like the bathroom remote control 30.

  Here, the automatic adjustment switches 31 and 41 are switches that are operated when hot water filling is automatically performed by automatic adjustment control. When either of the automatic adjustment switches 31 and 41 is in the ON state, automatic adjustment control is performed even when the user is bathing. The user switches 32 and 42 are switches that are operated when selecting a user to bathe from the bather information list and when setting bather information of any user.

  The setting switches 33 and 43 are switches that are operated when a user is selected from a bather information list stored in the control device 100 in order to set or change bather information. The setting switches 33 and 43 have, for example, two switch units. The user can select a desired user by operating these switch sections while sending the display portion of the bather information list in the forward direction and the reverse direction.

  The storage switches 34 and 44 are switches that are operated when the user causes the current bath water information to be stored in the control device 100 as bather information. Here, the current bath water information refers to the hot water temperature and amount set by the user when the hot water is filled with the bath water currently stored in the bathtub 50, and the hot water temperature read from the control device 100. And the current hot water amount and hot water amount detected by the bath water temperature thermistor 24 and the water pressure switch 22. When the user operates one of the storage switches 34 and 44, the control device 100 stores the current bath water information as bather information and updates the bather information.

  Thereby, when the user who is taking a bath likes the current bathtub water information, the user can store the bathtub water information as his / her bather information by operating the storage switches 34 and 44. Therefore, at the time of the next bathing, the user's bather information can be called up and hot water filling can be easily performed, and the user's comfort can be improved. The storage switches 34 and 44 correspond to a specific example of storage execution means that is operated when the current bath water information is stored as bather information of a specific user.

  Next, the operation of the water heater will be described. First, the control device 100 performs the boiling operation, for example, when the amount of hot water stored in the hot water storage tank 1 is insufficient or when it is time when inexpensive midnight power can be used. In the boiling operation, the hot water in the hot water storage tank 1 is heated by operating the heat pump unit 2 based on the detected temperature of each water temperature thermistor 38, time information set by the remote controllers 30 and 40, and is about 85 ° C., for example. Store hot water in the hot water storage tank.

  In addition, when hot water is to be supplied to a hot water supply target such as a hot water faucet and a bathtub 50, hot hot water extracted from the hot water storage tank 1 and city water are mixed by the operation of the valves 14 and 15, and the medium temperature water at a desired temperature And supply this hot water to the hot water supply target. In the reheating operation, bath water is reclaimed using the amount of hot water and the bath water replenishing means 27.

  Subsequently, among various operations executed by the control device 100, automatic adjustment control for controlling the hot water temperature and the amount of hot water in the bathtub 50 for each user during hot water filling, and a recommended bathing order for a plurality of bathers The bathing order display control for displaying “” is described. First, automatic adjustment control will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 2 is a flowchart showing an example of automatic adjustment control performed when the bathtub is filled.

  In the routine shown in FIG. 2, first, in step S10, it is determined whether or not any of the automatic adjustment switches 31, 41 is ON. If this determination is satisfied, the process proceeds to step S20. In step S20, a temperature difference obtained by subtracting the current hot water temperature in the bathtub 50 (current hot water temperature) detected by the bath water temperature thermistor 24 from the target hot water temperature is calculated, and the absolute value of this temperature difference is preset. It is determined whether the temperature is greater than a temperature determination value (for example, 1.5 ° C.). Here, the target hot water temperature is the hot water temperature set by the user or the hot water temperature stored in the storage unit of the control device 100, and corresponds to the user bather information.

  When the determination in step S20 is established, the process proceeds to step S30. If the determination in step S20 is not established, the process returns to step S10. When the target hot water temperature is manually changed during execution of the automatic adjustment control, the automatic adjustment switches 31 and 41 are turned off, and the automatic adjustment control is stopped.

  Next, in step S30, it is determined whether or not the temperature difference obtained by subtracting the current hot water temperature from the target hot water temperature is smaller than zero, that is, whether or not the current hot water temperature in the bathtub 50 is higher than the target hot water temperature. To do. And when determination of step S30 is materialized, it judges that the hot water temperature in the bathtub 50 became higher than a user's hope, and transfers to step S40. In step S <b> 40, a water feed operation is performed in which city water is mixed into the bathtub water in the bathtub 50. In the water feeding operation, the hot water mixing valve 15 is controlled so that the city water flows from the city water flow path 8 into the hot water supply flow path 13, and further, the three-way valve 14 so that the city water flows into the bath inflow path 21. It is the driving | running which flows in city water in the bathtub 50 by controlling.

  On the other hand, if the determination in step S30 is not established, it is determined that the desired hot water temperature has not yet been reached, and the process proceeds to step S50 to perform a chasing operation. In the chasing operation, as described above, the bath water in the bathtub 50 is circulated in the chasing circulation circuit 26 by the driving force of the circulation pump 23 to heat the bath water. In step S50, a hot water operation for supplying hot water into the bathtub 50 may be executed instead of the chasing operation.

  The control apparatus 100 returns to step S10 after performing the process of step S40 or S50. Then, for example, the water-feeding operation or the reheating operation is repeated until the absolute value of the temperature difference in step S20 becomes equal to or less than the hot water temperature determination value. Note that the hot water temperature determination value may be set to an appropriate value according to the allowable range of deviation between the current hot water temperature and the target hot water temperature. In FIG. ℃.

  According to the automatic adjustment control, at least the hot water temperature of the bath water can be controlled so as to satisfy the user bather information. Thereby, hot water filling suitable for a user's liking can be performed, and a comfortable bathing environment can be realized for each user having different liking at the time of bathing. The control device 100 and the routine shown in FIG. 2 correspond to specific examples of control means for controlling the hot water temperature so as to satisfy bather information.

  Next, various operations performed by the bathroom remote controller 30 will be described. First, FIG. 3 is explanatory drawing which shows the switching procedure when switching the display of bather information with a bathroom remote control. When displaying the stored bather information list, first, when the user switch 32 is pressed, the bather information of the user A to be displayed first is read from the control device 100 to the bathroom remote controller 30, and the display unit of the bathroom remote controller 30 is displayed. The user A bather information is displayed on the screen. In this state, when the setting switch 33 is pushed down, the next bather information of the user B is read and displayed. Further, when the setting switch 33 is pushed down, the bather information of the users C, D,. With such an operation configuration, the number of operation switches can be reduced, and even when the number of storable users is increased, software for displaying bather information can be easily handled. .

  Next, a procedure for the user to change and store his / her bather information will be described. In this case, first, the user switch 32 is operated to display his / her bather information. As a result, the hot water temperature is displayed, and the set value of the hot water temperature is changed by depressing or pushing the setting switch 33. After the change is completed, a confirmation operation is performed by pressing the storage switch 34. As a result, the changed content is stored in the control device 100 as own bather information.

  In this manner, the user can set the bath water condition (in this case, bather information) when the user fills the bathtub by operating the user switch 32 and the setting switch 33. The user switch 32 and the setting switch 33 correspond to a specific example of the hot water filling condition setting means operated by the user in order to set the bath water condition.

  Next, a recommended method for determining the bathing order by the control device 100 will be described. The hot water heater heats hot water by the heat pump unit 2 and stores it in the hot water storage tank 1 in a time zone in which inexpensive late-night power can be used, and sequentially uses the stored hot water in the day time. For this reason, when a plurality of users sequentially bathe using their bather information as in the present embodiment, the efficiency of the system changes according to the bathing order.

  As a specific example, if there are many patterns where two bathers who have different favorite hot water temperatures bathe before and after, the bathing operation or hot water bathing operation is frequently performed when the bathers change. become. Since these operations consume the amount of heat in the hot water storage tank 1, the control device 100 is more likely to perform a boiling operation outside the midnight power hours in order to prevent running out of hot water during operation. Decreases the efficiency.

  For this reason, the control apparatus 100 determines the recommended bathing order in which power consumption becomes the minimum when these users bathe sequentially based on the bather information of each user memorize | stored now. Specifically, the control device 100 calculates the number of hot water operations and reheating operations required when each user sequentially bathes in accordance with a certain bathing order, the amount of heat consumed (hot water amount), and the like, and from this calculation result The power consumption when the bathing order is selected is estimated.

  Here, the necessity of the hot water operation and the chasing operation can be determined, for example, by comparing bather information (hot water temperature) of two bathers whose sequences are adjacent to each other. This power consumption estimation process is executed for all bathing sequences that can be realized by a plurality of bathers. Next, the control apparatus 100 determines the bathing order in which power consumption becomes the minimum among all the bathing orders as a recommended bathing order.

  Note that the recommended bathing order may be determined as a bathing order in which the execution time of the boiling operation in the time zone in which midnight power is not available is the shortest. In addition, when determining the bathing order, for example, each parameter such as the number of hot water poured, the number of times of water pouring, the amount of heat consumed, the amount of hot water used, the number of replenishment, etc. are weighted according to their respective importance points. The bathing order may be determined according to the total value of points. As described above, the control device 100 is a specific example of the bathing order determination unit that determines a recommended bathing order (recommended bathing order) based on the bather information of individual users when a plurality of users bathe in sequence. It corresponds to an example.

  Next, with reference to FIG. 4, the screen which displays the recommended bathing order is demonstrated. FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram illustrating an operation of displaying the next and subsequent bathing orders by the bathroom remote controller while the user is sequentially bathing. In the example shown in FIG. 4, the bath temperature information of users A, B, C, and D is stored as 43 ° C., 40 ° C., 38 ° C., and 42 ° C., respectively. Further, the recommended bathing order is determined in the order of users A, D, B, and C so that the number of chasing operations is minimized, for example.

  The control apparatus 100 displays the screen of the display state 1 on the bathroom remote controller 30 from the time when hot water filling is started at the start of bathing, for example. As shown on the left side in FIG. 4, a plurality of bather information stored or set in the control device 100 is displayed on the screen in the display state 1 in an order corresponding to the recommended bathing order. In this state, the user A selected as the first recommended bathing order is displayed with the mark “in setting”, and the hot water temperature of the hot water is 43 ° C. corresponding to the user A bather information. Is set. The user D selected as the second recommended bathing order is displayed with a “next recommended” mark. Thereby, the user D who takes a bath next can prepare for bathing beforehand.

  Next, bathing order display control for displaying a recommended bathing order will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing an example of bathing order display control. In the routine shown in this figure, when the hot water filling of the bathtub 50 is started, the recommended bathing order is determined and displayed on the bathroom remote controller 30 according to the above-described procedure (step S1). Here, it is assumed that the recommended bathing order is the order of the users A, D, B, and C as in the case described above. Step S1 corresponds to a specific example of the bathing order determination means.

  When the user A finishes bathing according to the recommended display of the bathroom remote controller 30, the user D takes a bath according to the recommended display. At this time, the user D operates the user switch 32 to change the bathtub temperature setting, that is, the hot water temperature in the bathtub 50 to a set value of his / her preference (step S2). In the above example, the user D desires a hot water temperature of 42 ° C., and performs an operation for changing to this hot water temperature. On the other hand, the control device 100 sets the user's set hot water temperature displayed as “next recommended” in the recommended bathing order in which the changed hot water temperature is calculated in advance, that is, “next recommended”. It is determined whether or not it matches the hot water temperature set by the displayed bather information of the user (step S3).

  In the above example, the bath temperature setting of the user D who recommended the second bathing according to the recommended bathing order is 42 ° C., and this temperature matches the hot water temperature changed in step S2. The process proceeds to step S4 in order to permit the update. In step S4, the bath temperature setting is actually updated from the original 43 ° C. to 42 ° C., and temperature control is started by automatic adjustment control so that the bath temperature becomes 42 ° C.

  Accordingly, it is assumed that the user is bathing now, and the display in the column of the second recommended bathing order (user D) is changed from “next recommended” to “during setting”. Also, the display of the first recommended bathing order (user A) column is changed from “setting” to “bathing completed” so that user A has already taken a bath. Further, “next recommended” is newly displayed in the column of the third recommended bathing order (user B) (step S5). After the above process is completed, the process returns to step S1, and the processes of steps S1 to S5 are repeated until the input of all users described in the bathing order is completed. Step S5 corresponds to a specific example of display means for displaying the bathing order before the user and the bathing order after the user for the user who is bathing.

  On the other hand, in step S3, when the bathtub temperature setting changed by the user does not coincide with “recommended next”, the process proceeds to step S6. Such a case is, for example, a case where the recommended bathing order is the user D (hot water temperature 42 ° C.), whereas the user B wants to bathe first, so the bath temperature setting is changed to 40 ° C. In this case, the change of the setting may be accepted as it is, but assuming that the user does not want the efficiency to deteriorate by changing the order from the recommended bathing order, a process for confirming the change is performed. Is preferred.

  Specifically, for example, a confirmation message “The bath temperature setting you entered is different from the recommended bathing sequence. Do you want to change the bathing sequence?” Is displayed, and “Yes” is displayed for this guidance. Alternatively, processing such as “No” is performed. Next, in step S <b> 7, it is determined whether or not the user has selected “Yes” to approve the change operation for the guidance. When this determination is established, the process proceeds to step S8, and the second and subsequent portions of the recommended bathing order are calculated again.

  In this case, since the users A and B are determined in the above example, the third and fourth users in the bathing order are determined by prioritizing the remaining users by the method described above. As a result, the new recommended bathing order is displayed in the order of users A, B, D, and C. In addition, the displayed marks are “completed bathing” by user A, “during setting” by user B, and “next recommendation” by user D. Then, after step S8 is completed, the process proceeds to step S4. On the other hand, if “No” is selected in step S7, the change operation to 40 ° C. by the user B is discarded, and the process returns to step S1.

  Next, in step S4, the bath temperature setting is updated from the original 43 ° C. to 40 ° C., and automatic adjustment control is started so that the hot water temperature in the bath 50 becomes 40 ° C. Then, as described above, the process proceeds to step S5. In addition, if there is at least one kind of display indicating the bathing order such as “completed bathing”, “during setting”, and “recommended next”, it is possible to determine who the next user should bathe. Therefore, it is not always necessary to prepare three types of indications indicating the bathing order, and they may be selected as necessary. As the number of types of display decreases, the number of processes in software decreases, so that the system can be realized at low cost.

  As described above in detail, according to the present embodiment, when a plurality of users sequentially bathe under their favorite bath water conditions, for example, the recommended bathing order in which energy efficiency is the best is notified to the user. be able to. Moreover, it is possible to notify the user who is taking a bath the bathing order of the user who has already taken a bath and the bathing order of the user who will take a bath in the future. Thereby, each user can take a bath easily according to a recommended bathing order, and the convenience of the user can be improved.

  Moreover, in this Embodiment, when the user performed the change operation for changing the setting value (bath temperature setting) of the hot water temperature in the bathtub 50 to a value different from a bathing order, the said change operation was performed. A guide for confirming this is notified, and the change operation is accepted when an operation for accepting the guide is performed. Thereby, the user can know the recommended bathing order, and an environment where a plurality of users can easily take a bath in the recommended bathing order can be realized. The value different from the bathing order means a set value different from the set value of the hot water temperature used in the bathing order.

  Moreover, in this invention, you may prohibit the change operation for changing bathtub temperature setting to the value different from bathing order. That is, when the user performs a change operation for changing the bathtub temperature setting to a value different from the bathing order, the user refuses to accept the change operation and the change operation different from the bathing order is performed. It is good also as a structure to alert | report. According to this configuration, the change of the bathing order by the user can be prohibited. For example, a plurality of users can be bathed in the recommended bathing order in which the energy efficiency is the best.

  Moreover, in this Embodiment, when a user bathes in the state which changed bathtub temperature setting into the value different from a bathing order, the bathing order after the user in the said bathing can be calculated again and can be displayed. Thereby, even when the bathing order is changed for the convenience of the user, for example, the bathing order after the user who changed the order can be changed so that the energy efficiency is the best. Therefore, it is possible to adapt flexibly to changes in bathing order and maintain high energy efficiency.

  In addition, when calculating the bathing order after the user who is bathing again, based on the bather information of the remaining users excluding the user who has already bathed, for example, the amount of heat used in the chasing operation is minimized. The bathing order may be determined as described above, or the bathing order may be determined so that the number of times of chasing operation is minimized. As a result, even when the bathing order is calculated again for the convenience of the user, the amount of heat used or the number of executions of the chasing operation can be minimized, and the remaining user's bathing order can be optimized.

  Moreover, in this Embodiment, the case where the setting and display of the recommended bathing order were performed with the bathroom remote control 30 was illustrated. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and the kitchen remote controller 40 may be configured to set and display the bathing order. In this case, necessary switches, menus and the like may be provided on the kitchen remote controller 40. According to this configuration, the bathing order can be set, changed, and confirmed using the kitchen remote controller 40 without going to the bathroom, and the next recommended bathing order can be confirmed. Therefore, user convenience can be further improved.

  In the present invention, the remote controllers 30 and 40 do not always need to display the recommended bathing order. That is, since there are situations where it is better to display other information including the time, operation mode, etc. in the remote control of the water heater, the bathing order may be displayed only at a specific timing. More specifically, the timing for displaying the recommended bathing order may be, for example, when a predetermined time (for example, about 20 minutes) has elapsed since the user switch 32 was pressed to change the bath temperature setting. Thereby, since the recommended bathing order is displayed on the remote controllers 30 and 40 at the timing before and after the user who has changed the bath temperature setting finishes bathing, for which user should the bath temperature setting be changed next? Can be easily grasped. Therefore, it is possible to perform other displays during normal times while improving user convenience.

  Moreover, in this invention, you may grasp | ascertain the timing which displays a bathing order using a sensor etc. Specifically, for example, a human sensor that detects a person present in the bathroom may be provided, and the bathing order may be displayed when a human is detected by the human sensor. According to this configuration, it is possible to detect the timing when the user starts bathing by the human sensor and display the bathing order at this timing. At the timing when the user starts bathing, there is a high possibility of changing the bath temperature setting for the next user to bathe, so the recommended bathing order can be displayed at a suitable timing.

  In addition, in step S40 in FIG. 2, the water supply driving | operation was illustrated as a means to cool bathtub water. However, the present invention is not limited to this. In step S40, for example, in the heat exchanger 19 for reheating, heat exchange between the hot water stored in the hot water storage tank 1 and water having a temperature lower than that of the bathtub water is performed. By removing the heat from the bathtub water, the heat in the hot water storage tank 1 may be recovered and the bathtub water may be cooled. Thereby, the heat which became unnecessary with bathtub water can be returned in the hot water storage tank 1, and this heat can be used again for hot water supply, reheating, etc. Therefore, the efficiency of the water heater can be further improved.

  Moreover, in the said Embodiment 1, the heat pump type hot water heater was illustrated. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and as a heating means of the water heater, for example, an apparatus that heats hot water by burning a fuel such as gas or oil may be adopted. In the first embodiment, the confirmation guidance in step S6 in FIG. 5 is displayed by display. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and confirmation guidance may be performed by voice. Moreover, in the said Embodiment 1, the case where the bathing order before the user during bathing and the bathing order after the user during bathing were displayed by step S5 in FIG. 5 was illustrated. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and any one of the bathing orders may be displayed.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Hot water storage tank, 2 Heat pump unit, 3 Discharge port, 4 Suction port, 5 Circulation flow path, 6 Water supply thermistor, 7 Pressure reducing valve, 8 City water flow path, 9 Water supply flow path, 10 Inlet port, 11 Outlet port, 12 Hot water Hot thermistor, 13, 16 Hot water supply flow path, 14 Three-way valve, 15 Hot water mixing valve, 17 Flow counter, 18 Hot water thermistor, 19 Heat exchanger for reheating, 20 Three-way valve for hot water filling, 21 Inflow passage for bath, 22 Water pressure switch, 23 Circulation pump, 24 Bath temperature thermistor, 25 Three-way valve for reheating, 26 Circulation circuit for reheating, 27 Bath replenishing means, 28 Drain means, 30 Bathroom remote control, 31, 41 Automatic adjustment switch, 32, 42 User switch (hot water filling condition setting means), 33, 43 Setting switch (hot water filling condition setting means), 34, 44 Memory switch (memory execution means) ), 38 Water temperature thermistor, 40 Kitchen remote control, 50 Bathtub, 100 Control device (storage means, control means, bathing order determination means)

Claims (8)

A hot water storage tank for storing hot water,
A bathtub in which hot water filling is performed using hot water stored in the hot water storage tank;
The hot water filling condition setting means operated by the user to set the bath water condition when hot filling the bathtub,
A means for storing bath water information including at least hot water temperature among the bath water conditions, and a plurality of users can store bath water information that each user prefers when taking a bath as individual user bather information for each user. Storage means,
Storage execution means operated by a user when storing current bath water information in the storage means as the bather information of a specific user;
Control means for controlling at least the temperature of the bath water so as to satisfy the bather information stored in the storage means;
A bathing order determination means for determining a recommended bathing order based on the bather information of each user when the plurality of users bathe in sequence;
Display means for displaying a bathing order determined by the bathing order determining means to a user, and displaying at least one of a bathing order before the user and a bathing order after the user for the user who is taking a bath When,
Hot water storage water heater equipped with.   The hot water storage type hot water supply apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the display means displays the bathing order when a predetermined time has elapsed since the set value of the hot water temperature in the bathtub is changed. It has a human sensor that detects people in the bathroom,
The hot water storage type water heater according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the display means displays the bathing order when a person is detected by the human sensor.   When the user bathes in a state where the set value of the hot water temperature in the bathtub is changed to a value different from the bathing order, the bathing order after the user during the bathing is again calculated and displayed. The hot water storage type hot water supply device according to any one of the above.   When calculating the bathing order after the user during the bathing again, based on the bather information of the remaining users excluding the user who has already bathed, the amount of heat used in the chasing operation is minimized. The hot water storage type water heater according to claim 4, wherein the bathing order is calculated again.   When calculating the bathing order after the bathing user again, the bathing is performed so that the number of times of the chasing operation is minimized based on the bather information of the remaining users excluding the user who has already bathed. The hot water storage type water heater according to claim 4, wherein the order is calculated again.   When the user performs a change operation for changing the set value of the hot water temperature in the bathtub to a value different from the bathing order, the change operation different from the bathing order is rejected and the acceptance of the change operation is rejected. The hot water storage type hot water supply device according to any one of claims 1 to 3, which notifies that the operation has been performed.   When the user performs a change operation for changing the set value of the hot water temperature in the bathtub to a value different from the bathing order, a notification for confirming that the change operation has been performed is notified, and this The hot water storage type hot water supply device according to any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein the change operation is accepted when an operation for accepting the guidance is performed.

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