JP2018071851A - Bath system - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a bath system capable of efficiently and rationally executing pipe cleaning and bathtub cleaning at a timing desired by a user.SOLUTION: When one of pipe cleaning operation of a bath hot water supply pipe portion 5 and a bathtub cleaning operation utilizing a bathtub cleaning device 8 is executed by operating an operation switch or on the basis of a control program, a control portion 7 of a bath system BS determines whether the other operation is executed in advance in a prescribed period or not, and controls to execute both of the pipe cleaning operation and the bathtub cleaning operation in this order when it determines that the other operation is not executed in the prescribed period.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

  The present invention relates to a bath system capable of pipe cleaning operation and bathtub cleaning operation.

There exists a thing of patent document 1 as a specific example of a bath system.
The bath system described in the document includes a hot water supply device that can fill a bathtub with a hot water, a bathtub cleaning device, and a control unit that controls the operation of both the devices. In this bath system, when the water level of the bathtub drops below a predetermined level after the hot water filling to the bathtub is performed, a pipe cleaning operation is performed in which hot water flows into the interior of the bath hot water piping section connecting the hot water supply apparatus and the bathtub. Executed. Further, within a predetermined time thereafter, the bathtub cleaning device is driven to perform the bathtub cleaning operation. These series of operations are performed under the control of the control unit.
According to such a configuration, the bath cleaning operation and the bath cleaning operation are automatically executed every time when bathing after filling the bathtub is finished and the hot water in the bathtub is drained, the bath hot water supply piping section and It is possible to make the bathtub hygienic.

  However, the prior art still has room for improvement as described below.

  That is, the pipe cleaning operation and the bathtub cleaning operation are only automatically performed under the control of the control unit on condition that the water level of the bathtub drops below a predetermined level after filling the bathtub. On the other hand, the user may desire to perform the pipe cleaning operation and the bathtub cleaning operation individually or continuously at a timing intended by the user by operating an operation switch. On the other hand, in the prior art, it is defined only that the pipe cleaning operation and the bathtub cleaning operation are continuously executed at a specific time by the control using the control program. Therefore, flexibility is lacking and it is difficult to appropriately respond to the user's needs as described above.

  Note that if each of the pipe cleaning operation and the bathtub cleaning operation is simply performed individually, two operation switches for executing them may be provided. However, in this case, the pipe cleaning operation and the bathtub cleaning are performed. There is a possibility that the operations may frequently occur in association with each other and cannot be performed efficiently and appropriately. For example, there may be a case where the user performs a switch operation after the bathtub cleaning operation to execute the pipe cleaning operation. However, in this case, the hot water used in the pipe cleaning operation flows into the bathtub that has been cleaned. Problems such as getting dirty.

JP 2011-83478 A

  The present invention has been conceived under the circumstances as described above, and provides a bath system capable of efficiently and rationally performing pipe cleaning and bathtub cleaning at a timing requested by a user. And that is the challenge.

  In order to solve the above problems, the present invention takes the following technical means.

  The bath system provided by the present invention supplies hot water to a bathtub through a bath hot water supply piping section, and can perform each of a hot water filling operation to the bathtub and a pipe cleaning operation of the bath hot water supply piping section. A bath cleaning device capable of performing a bath cleaning operation of the bathtub, and a control unit that performs operation control of the hot water supply device and the bathtub cleaning device, wherein the control unit is operated When one of the pipe cleaning operation and the bathtub cleaning operation is executed by operating a switch or based on a control program, it is determined whether the other operation is already executed in a predetermined period. And when it is determined that the other operation is not executed during the predetermined period, both the pipe cleaning operation and the bathtub cleaning operation are executed in this order. It is characterized by being configured to control the so that.

According to such a configuration, the following effects can be obtained.
1stly, when one operation | movement is performed among piping washing operation | movement and bathtub cleaning operation | movement, when the other operation | movement is not performed during the predetermined period, only one operation | movement is performed independently. It is appropriately avoided that the other operation is left unexecuted. In the present invention, unlike Patent Document 1, the pipe cleaning operation and the bath cleaning operation are not always executed continuously at a specific time, but the execution time is flexible, and the timing requested by the user. Therefore, it is possible to perform the bathtub cleaning operation efficiently and appropriately.
Second, since the pipe cleaning operation and the bathtub cleaning operation are executed in this order, the hot water used for cleaning the bath hot water supply piping flows into the bathtub after the bathtub cleaning is completed, and the bathtub remains dirty. There is no problem that becomes.
Third, when one of the pipe cleaning operation and the bathtub cleaning operation is executed, if the other operation is already executed during the predetermined period, the other operation is not executed. It is possible to adopt a configuration in which only the above operation is executed. Therefore, it is possible to appropriately eliminate the wasteful execution of the pipe cleaning operation or the bathtub cleaning operation.

  In the present invention, preferably, the bathtub cleaning device includes a detergent-based cleaning operation in which a detergent liquid is sprayed from a cleaning nozzle to the bathtub, and a rinse in which no detergent is mixed from the cleaning nozzle into the bathtub as the bathtub cleaning operation. A rinsing cleaning operation for injecting hot water is performed, and when the detergent use cleaning operation is performed in the predetermined period prior to the pipe cleaning operation, after the pipe cleaning operation, The detergent cleaning operation is not executed, and the rinsing operation is executed.

  According to such a configuration, the detergent-based cleaning operation is performed after the pipe cleaning operation is performed after the cleaning operation using the detergent is performed during the predetermined period and the bathtub is already cleaned. Re-execution is avoided. Therefore, it is possible to prevent unnecessary consumption of the detergent liquid and reduce the running cost. On the other hand, if the cleaning operation using the detergent has already been performed within the predetermined period, even if the bathtub cleaning operation after the subsequent pipe cleaning operation is only the rinsing cleaning operation, it is possible to appropriately clean the bathtub. Is possible.

  In this invention, Preferably, the said predetermined period is after the time of hot water filling to the said bathtub performed most recently.

According to such a configuration, neither the pipe cleaning operation nor the bathtub cleaning operation has been performed since the last hot water filling to the bathtub, and both the bath hot water supply piping section and the bathtub are dirty. Only when there is a high possibility of being present, the pipe cleaning operation and the bathtub cleaning operation can be performed together. Therefore, it is possible to appropriately prevent the pipe cleaning operation and the bathtub cleaning operation from being performed wastefully.

  In the present invention, preferably, the temperature of the hot water used for the pipe cleaning operation and the bathtub cleaning operation is set in advance separately from the set temperature for general hot water supply and the set temperature for filling the bathtub. In this case, the temperatures are the same.

  According to such a configuration, it is possible to raise the temperature of hot water used in the pipe cleaning operation and the bathtub cleaning operation to a higher temperature (for example, about 48 ° C.), thereby improving the cleaning performance. Further, when the pipe cleaning operation and the bathtub cleaning operation are continuously performed, the hot water temperature only needs to be maintained constant, so that the temperature control of the hot water can be facilitated.

  Other features and advantages of the present invention will become more apparent from the following description of embodiments of the present invention with reference to the accompanying drawings.

It is a schematic explanatory drawing which shows an example of the bath system which concerns on this invention. It is a flowchart which shows an example of the operation control performed in the bath system shown in FIG. It is a flowchart which shows the other example of the operation control performed in the bath system shown in FIG.

  Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the present invention will be specifically described with reference to the drawings.

  The bath system BS shown in FIG. 1 includes a hot water supply device A capable of supplying heated hot water to the bathtub 1 and a bathtub cleaning device 8.

  The hot water supply device A is, for example, an instantaneous gas hot water supply device, and has a general hot water supply function, a hot water filling function to the bathtub 1, a bath replenishment function, and a pipe cleaning function for cleaning the interior of the bath hot water supply pipe section 5 described later. I have. This hot water supply apparatus A is a hot water heating unit 3A for heating hot water supplied from the outside to the water inlet 20 and flowing into the water inlet 2, and a bath capable of supplying hot water heated in the hot water heating unit 3A to the bathtub 1. There are provided a hot water supply pipe section 5, a general hot water supply pipe section 6, a hot water heating section 3B for bathing, a control section 7, and kitchen and bathroom remote controls 70A and 70B. In the figure, reference numeral 90 denotes an exterior case.

  The hot water heating unit 3A includes a heat exchanger 30 whose inlet side is connected to the water inlet 2, a burner 31 for heating the hot water in the heat exchanger 30, and a fan 32 attached thereto. When the hot water heated by the hot water heater 3A flows through the hot water outlet 22 connected to the outlet side of the heat exchanger 30, it has flown through the distribution valve 4 and the bypass channel 21 in the hot water mixer 40. The temperature is adjusted by mixing with hot water. The temperature-adjusted hot water is supplied to the bathtub 1 through the bath hot water supply piping section 5 or supplied to the hot water tap 60 and the bathtub cleaning device 8 through the general hot water supply piping section 6.

  The bath hot water supply pipe section 5 constitutes an auxiliary flow path 50 that is branched and connected to the hot water supply path 22 and a circulation path 51 for bath reheating. The bath recirculation circulation channel 51 includes external channels 51a and 51b and internal channels 51c and 51d located outside and inside the outer case 90, respectively, and is heated by the burner 34 of the hot water heater 3B. The heat exchanger 33 and the circulation adapter 10 of the bathtub 1 are connected to each other. The bath reheating operation is performed by operating the circulation pump P1, returning hot water from the bathtub 1 to the heat exchanger 33 and heating it, and then returning to the bathtub 1.

  The bath recirculation circulation channel 51 and the auxiliary channel 50 are connected to each other, and the auxiliary channel 50 is provided with an on-off valve V1 such as an electromagnetic on-off valve. By opening this on-off valve V1, a hot water filling operation to the bathtub 1 and a pipe cleaning operation for cleaning the inside of the bath hot water supply piping section 5 are possible. More specifically, when the on-off valve V1 is opened, the heated hot water flows from the outlet channel 22 to the auxiliary channel 50, and further flows through the bath recirculation circulation channel 51 in a so-called both-transport state to the bathtub 1. Supplied. The drain plug 11 provided at the bottom of the bathtub 1 can be opened and closed by the control of the control unit 7 and a predetermined switch operation using the remote controls 70A and 70B. The hot water filling operation to the bathtub 1 is executed in a state where the drain plug 11 is closed, whereas the pipe cleaning operation of the bath hot water supply piping unit 5 is executed in a state where the drain plug 11 is opened. However, the path through which the hot water flows in both of these operations is the same.

  The bathtub cleaning device 8 includes a bathtub cleaning unit 80 connected to the branch piping unit 61 of the general hot water supply piping unit 6, and a cleaning nozzle connected to the bathtub cleaning unit 80 and spraying a cleaning liquid onto the inner wall of the bathtub 1. 83. In the bathtub cleaning unit 80, when the on-off valve V <b> 2 is opened, the detergent in the detergent tank 81 flows into the venturi 82 to generate detergent liquid, and this detergent liquid is supplied to the cleaning nozzle 83. It is like that. However, in the bathtub cleaning device 8, as a bathtub cleaning operation, a detergent-based cleaning operation in which a detergent liquid is sprayed from the cleaning nozzle 83, and a rinsing cleaning operation in which rinsing hot water in which no detergent is mixed is sprayed from the cleaning nozzle 83. And can be selectively executed.

  The control unit 7 executes operation control of each part of the hot water supply device A and the bathtub cleaning device 8 and various data processing. The control unit 7 is connected to remote controllers 70A and 70B for kitchen and bathroom. ing. These remote controllers 70A and 70B include a plurality of operation switches 72 in addition to a display unit 71 for displaying various data. As the plurality of operation switches 72, an operation switch for starting a hot water filling operation to the bathtub 1, an operation switch for starting a pipe cleaning operation of the bath hot water supply piping unit 5, and a bathtub using the bathtub cleaning device 8 An operation switch for starting the cleaning operation is provided. The control unit 7 is configured to perform operation control as will be described later by operating those operation switches. Each of the operation switches described above may not be configured as a dedicated operation switch. For example, a plurality of operation switches may be operated in combination to generate a desired operation command. It may be.

  Next, the operation of the hot water supply apparatus A will be described. In addition, an example of operation control by the control unit 7 will be described with reference to the flowcharts shown in FIGS.

  First, in any of the remote controllers 70A and 70B for the kitchen and bathroom, when a switch operation is performed to execute the pipe cleaning operation of the bath hot water supply piping unit 5, the precondition for performing such a pipe cleaning operation is as follows. It is determined whether or not it is established (start in FIG. 2, S1). A specific example of the precondition is that the drain plug 11 of the bathtub 1 is in an open state. When the drain plug 11 is in the closed state, for example, an error is displayed on the operated remote controller of the remote controllers 70A and 70B, and the user is prompted to perform a switch operation for opening the drain plug 11 A notification operation is executed. When the drain plug 11 of the bathtub 1 is in an open state or is in an open state, among the previously performed hot water filling operations to the bathtub 1, the period after the hot water filling operation to the latest bathtub 1 ( It is determined whether or not the bathtub cleaning operation is being performed during the hot water filling operation to the present time (S1: YES, S2). Here, the period “after the hot water filling operation to the latest bathtub 1” corresponds to an example of the predetermined period in the present invention.

Next, in the above determination, when it is determined that the bathtub cleaning operation has not yet been performed after the hot water filling operation to the latest bathtub 1, the pipe cleaning operation of the bath hot water supply piping unit 5 is started (S2: YES, S3). As described above, the pipe cleaning operation is an operation of flowing hot water heated by the hot water heating unit 3A to the bath hot water supply piping unit 5, and the hot water flows into the bathtub 1 from the circulation adapter 10. When the bath replenishment operation is performed after the hot water filling operation to the latest bathtub 1, the bath recirculation circulation channel 51 may be contaminated. It is possible to eliminate or reduce 51 dirt.

  After the above-described pipe cleaning operation is completed, it is determined whether or not the drainage condition of the bathtub 1 is satisfied, and when it is determined that this condition is satisfied, the bathtub cleaning device 8 is used. Bathtub washing operation is executed (S4: YES, S5: YES, S6, S7: YES, end). Here, as a specific example of the drainage conditions of the bathtub 1, the drain plug 11 of the bathtub 1 remains in the open state, and the water level of the bathtub 1 is substantially zero (the drain plug 11 is in the open state). It is possible to substitute that a predetermined time or more has passed since the application). One condition is that the lid of the bathtub 1 is closed. The bathtub cleaning operation is a normal bathtub cleaning operation in which a detergent cleaning operation for spraying a detergent solution from the cleaning nozzle 83 is followed by a rinsing cleaning operation for spraying hot water for rinsing from the cleaning nozzle 83.

  According to the above-described operation control, when the user performs a switch operation for performing the pipe cleaning operation when the bathtub cleaning operation is not executed after the hot water filling operation to the latest bathtub 1, this is not triggered by this. The actual pipe cleaning operation and bathtub cleaning operation are continuously performed. Such an operation is in line with the intention of the user to maintain the bath system BS in a clean or hygienic state, which is preferable. In addition, since the bathtub cleaning is performed after the pipe cleaning, even if a situation in which dirty hot water remains in the region from the circulation adapter 10 to the drain outlet of the bathtub 1 after the pipe cleaning, It can be eliminated by washing the bathtub.

  Preferably, in the pipe cleaning operation and the bathtub cleaning operation in steps S3 to S7 described above, the temperature of the hot water supplied to the bath hot water supply piping unit 5 and the temperature of the hot water supplied to the bathtub cleaning device 8 are those for general hot water supply. Apart from the set temperature (temperature of hot water supplied to the hot water tap 60) and the set temperature for filling the bathtub 1, the temperature is set in advance by operating the operation switch 72 of the remote controllers 70A and 70B. The temperatures are the same. This temperature is about 48 ° C., for example, and is a relatively high temperature. When the temperature of the hot water is increased, the cleaning ability can be increased. Moreover, if the hot water temperature is made the same temperature, the hot water heating temperature control in the hot water supply apparatus A can be facilitated. This also applies to other pipe cleaning operations and bathtub cleaning operations described later. However, the present invention is not limited to such a configuration.

  On the other hand, unlike the above, when the bathtub cleaning operation has already been performed after the hot water filling operation to the latest bathtub 1, the bath cleaning operation is performed after the pipe cleaning operation for the bath hot water supply piping unit 5 is performed. Although the operation is executed, the bathtub cleaning operation is only the rinse cleaning operation (S2: NO, S8, S9: YES, S10: YES, S11). The drainage conditions in step S10 are the same as the drainage conditions in step S5. By performing this rinsing and cleaning operation, it is possible to appropriately eliminate contamination generated in the region from the circulation adapter 10 to the drain outlet of the bathtub 1 after pipe cleaning. In the bathtub cleaning operation, the normal cleaning operation using the detergent liquid is not performed. Therefore, the normal bathtub cleaning operation using the detergent liquid is excessively performed several times after the hot water filling operation to the latest bathtub 1. It is also possible to avoid such a waste that the amount of detergent consumed is increased.

Next, in any of the remote controllers 70A and 70B in the kitchen and bathroom, when a switch operation for performing the bathtub cleaning operation is performed, it is determined whether or not the drainage condition for the bathtub 1 is satisfied. (Start of FIG. 3, S21). Here, the said drainage conditions are the same as the drainage conditions of step S5, S10 mentioned above, for example, the water level of the bathtub 1 is substantially zero, etc. correspond.

  If the drainage condition is satisfied, it is determined whether or not the pipe cleaning operation has already been performed after the hot water filling operation to the latest bathtub 1 (S21: YES, S22). In this determination, if it is determined that the pipe cleaning operation has not yet been executed, the bathtub cleaning operation is executed after the pipe cleaning operation is executed (S22: YES, S23, S24: YES, S25, S26). : YES, end). Here, the bathtub cleaning operation is a normal bathtub cleaning operation, and the rinse cleaning operation is executed after the detergent-using cleaning operation.

  According to such operation control, when the user performs a switch operation for performing the bathtub cleaning operation when the pipe cleaning operation is not performed after the hot water filling operation to the bathtub 1, the operation is triggered by this. An unexecuted pipe cleaning operation and bathtub cleaning operation are continuously performed. Such an operation is also preferable because it is in line with the intention of the user to maintain the bath system BS in a clean or hygienic state. Further, since the bathtub cleaning is performed after the pipe cleaning, it is also appropriately avoided that the inside of the bathtub 1 remains dirty due to the remaining hot water used for the pipe cleaning.

  Unlike the above, when the pipe cleaning operation has already been executed after the hot water filling operation to the latest bathtub 1, the bathtub cleaning operation is executed without executing the pipe cleaning operation (S22: NO). , S25, S26: YES, end). According to such operation control, only the cleaning operation intended by the user is appropriately executed, and there is no waste of repeating the pipe cleaning operation unnecessarily many times.

  As described above, according to the present embodiment, even when a switch operation for performing either one of the pipe cleaning operation and the bathtub cleaning operation is performed, both of these operations are performed under specific conditions. The bath system BS can be brought into a clean state or a sanitary state so as to meet the user's intention. Since the pipe cleaning operation and the bathtub cleaning operation can be appropriately eliminated, the running cost can be kept low.

  The present invention is not limited to the contents of the above-described embodiment. The specific configuration of each part of the bath system according to the present invention can be variously modified within the range intended by the present invention.

  In the above-described embodiment, the case where both the pipe cleaning operation and the bathtub cleaning operation are started by the user operating the operation switch has been described. In addition to or instead of this, both or one of both operations is performed. It can also be configured to start based on a control program stored in the control unit. In the present invention, the pipe cleaning operation and the bathtub cleaning operation are not always executed continuously for a certain period, and at least one of the pipe cleaning operation and the bathtub cleaning operation may be executed based on the control program. The execution timing can be set to a timing corresponding to the user's request. For example, the pipe cleaning operation may be configured to start at the timing when the drainage of hot water from the bathtub is started and the water level is lowered to a predetermined level or less.

The “predetermined period” as used in the present invention is not limited to the time when the hot water is applied to the bathtub recently performed. Other periods such as the following can also be set.
The hot water supply device used in the present invention is not limited to the instantaneous hot water supply device. For example, it is also possible to use a hot water storage tank type hot water supply device that stores hot water heated by a heat pump in a hot water storage tank and supplies hot water from the hot water storage tank to a bathtub or bathtub cleaning device. Moreover, the bathtub washing | cleaning apparatus should just be able to wash | clean a bathtub, and the specific washing | cleaning method etc. are not limited.

BS Bath system A Hot water supply apparatus 1 Bathtub 3A, 3B Hot water heating part 5 Bath hot water supply pipe part 50 Auxiliary flow path (bath hot water supply pipe part)
51 Circulation channel for bathing (bath hot water supply piping)
7 Control unit 8 Bathtub cleaning device

Claims (4)

A hot water supply device that supplies hot water to the bathtub via a bath hot water supply piping section, and that can perform each of a hot water filling operation to the bathtub and a pipe cleaning operation of the bath hot water supply piping section,
A bathtub cleaning device capable of a bathtub cleaning operation of the bathtub;
A control unit that performs operation control of the hot water supply device and the bathtub cleaning device;
A bath system comprising:
When the control unit executes one of the pipe cleaning operation and the bathtub cleaning operation by operating an operation switch or based on a control program, the other operation is already executed in a predetermined period. And when it is determined that the other operation is not performed during the predetermined period, control is performed so that both the pipe cleaning operation and the bathtub cleaning operation are executed in this order. A bath system characterized by being configured. The bath system according to claim 1,
The bathtub cleaning device uses a detergent-based cleaning operation for spraying a detergent solution from a cleaning nozzle to the bathtub as the bathtub cleaning operation, and a rinsing for spraying hot water for rinsing in which no detergent is mixed into the bathtub from the cleaning nozzle. The cleaning operation can be executed,
When the detergent use cleaning operation is executed in the predetermined period prior to the pipe cleaning operation, the detergent use cleaning operation is not executed after the pipe cleaning operation, and the rinse cleaning operation is executed. The bath system is configured to. The bath system according to claim 1 or 2,
The bath system, wherein the predetermined period is after the last hot water filling to the bathtub. The bath system according to any one of claims 1 to 3,
The temperature of the hot water used for the pipe cleaning operation and the bathtub cleaning operation is a temperature set in advance separately from the set temperature for general hot water supply and the set temperature for filling the bathtub, and is the same as each other. A bath system that is considered to be temperature.

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