JP2598629B2 - Bathtub hot water controller - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a bathtub hot water control apparatus for controlling hot water in a bathtub , and more particularly, to a remote control of a water amount using a temperature rise caused by heating the hot water in the bathtub.
The present invention relates to a control device that performs water amount control and the like .

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In an automatic bath, detection of the amount of water in a bathtub is indispensable when controlling the amount of water in the bathtub.
In order to detect the amount of water, a water level detection device, such as a pressure switch or a water level switch, for directly detecting the water level in the bathtub was required.

[0003]

By the way, a method of transferring hot water heated on the side of the appliance body provided with heating means and the like to the bathtub side by using a pump has been adopted for the automatic bath kettle. Some have a reheating function that returns the hot water in the bathtub to the appliance body side and reheats it. In such an automatic bath kettle, there is a case where the appliance main body on which the heating means is installed is separated from the bathtub, for example, the appliance main body is installed on the first floor side of a house, and the bathtub is installed on the second floor side. In such a case, the control signal line connecting the water level detecting device installed in the bathtub to the control device for controlling the instrument body and the installation position of the control device are complicated, which requires time and effort.

[0004] In addition, there is an automatic bath kettle in which the amount of water to be supplied to the bathtub is optimized by measuring the amount of water on the side of the appliance body for detecting the water level at the bathtub side. Such a bath can supply an appropriate amount of water to the volume of the bathtub. However, since the water level in the bathtub is calculated indirectly by the appliance body, naturally the amount of water reduced by bathing etc. Cannot be detected on the instrument body side.

[0005] In any of the baths, a water level detecting device must be installed, and wiring for that is necessary.

[0006] For this reason, in such a bath kettle is automatically impossible to add an appropriate amount of water, because it does not have the control function, deficient amount of water bather and water cock as appropriate There was an inconvenience that it had to be operated and compensated.

[0007] Therefore, the present invention is tub hot water to achieve automation of water control bathtub by detecting the amount of water in the bathtub remotely from the hot water temperature increase in the bathtub by the heating means
It is an object to provide a water control device .

[0008]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Bath water control according to the present invention.
As illustrated in FIG. 1, the apparatus includes a bath (20) for storing hot water (water 4c), a heating unit (heat exchanger for additional heating 22) for heating the hot water in the bath, and the bath. A circulation path for taking out hot water and returning it to the bathtub through the heating means (additional heating circulation pipe 60); and installing the hot water in the bathtub through the circulation path and feeding the hot water into the bathtub through the circulation path. A pump (5) for stirring the hot water in the bathtub
6), a water supply channel (11) for supplying clean water to the circulation path, and a flow rate detecting means (water) provided in the water supply path and detecting a flow rate of the clean water supplied to the circulation path side. A flow rate sensor 47), a temperature detecting means (temperature sensor 70) provided in the circulation path for detecting the temperature of the hot or cold water in the bathtub, and driving the pump prior to supplying water to the bathtub. The hot water in the bath tub is slightly higher than a set temperature through the circulation path by the heating means while the hot water in the bath tub is pressure-fed into the bath tub through the circulation path to stir the hot water in the bath tub. The amount of water remaining in the bathtub is calculated using the time and the amount of heat applied to the hot water by the heating means, and the difference between the amount of water and the set amount of water is measured. Is calculated, and By supplying the clean water through the circulation path from the upper water passage only insufficient amount of water relative to the amount of water in the bath to control the amount of water in the bathtub to the setting amount of water, the hot water by operating said heating means and said pump
Control means for controlling water to the set temperature (hot water supply control device,
Main device 72).

The hot and cold water in the bathtub can be circulated through a circulation path. That is, the hot and cold water in the bathtub is drawn out to the circulation path and then sent to the bathtub side under pressure. As a result, the hot and cold water in the bathtub is stirred. The hot water in the bathtub is heated by the heating means.

As a result of this heating, the temperature of the hot and cold water in the bathtub becomes
If the temperature rises by the specific temperature ΔT, the specific temperature ΔT
Assuming that the heating time required for increasing the temperature is t, and the heating capacity of the heating means is No, as the amount of heat added to the hot and cold water, the amount of water Q in the bathtub is as follows: Q = No · t / ΔT (1) From this equation (1), the amount of water Q in the bathtub is calculated indirectly.

In this case, the amount of water Q in the bathtub can be calculated by measuring the rising temperature ΔT of the hot water in the unit time t.

[0012] The amount of water Q, the current amount of water in the bathtub, immediately
That is , the remaining water amount is represented. When this water amount Q is compared with the set water amount Qo in the bathtub, the difference becomes a shortage water amount ΔQ, and the shortage water amount ΔQ is ΔQ = Qo−Q (2). Then, the clean water of the insufficient water amount ΔQ is supplied to the bathtub from the clean water channel through the circulation channel.

As described above, in the bathtub hot water control apparatus of the present invention, the hot water in the bathtub is stirred by being circulated through the circulation path, heated by the heating means, and the rising temperature of the hot water with respect to the heating time is reduced. Based on the detection, the current water amount in the bathtub, that is, the remaining water amount is calculated prior to hot water supply. The difference between the remaining water amount and the set water amount, that is, the shortage water amount is calculated, and the shortage water amount is supplied from the water channel to the bathtub through the circulation path, and the set water amount can be controlled as quickly as possible. Also, operate the pump and heating
Can be controlled to the set temperature.

[0014]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Hereinafter, the present invention will be described in detail with reference to embodiments shown in the drawings.

FIG. 1 shows an embodiment of a bathtub hot water control apparatus according to the present invention. Water 4a as tap water supplied from a water supply or the like passes through a hot water supply water flow switch 26 provided in the water supply channel 11, whereby the water flow is electrically detected, and Dw1 is obtained by the hot water supply water flow switch 26. Indicates the hot water flow detection signal. The water 4a is heated by the heat exchanger 28 and the hot water supply burner 30 as first heating means.

In the hot water supply burner 30, a combustion gas 32 is provided.
Supplied via a base valve 34 and a hot water supply valve 36 whose opening and closing are controlled electrically, Cv1 represents an opening and closing control signal of the base valve 34, and Cv2 represents an opening and closing control signal of the hot water supply valve 36. The gas 32 supplied to the hot water supply burner 30 is ignited by an igniter 38 that is electrically ignited as ignition means, and Sf1 represents the ignition signal. The presence / absence of ignition of the gas 32 is detected by a flame detector 40 called a flame rod for electrically detecting the presence / absence of a flame, and Df1 represents an ignition detection signal.

The hot water 4b as the tap water heated by passing through the heat exchanger 28 is supplied to a hot water supply temperature sensor 42 which is provided as a hot water supply temperature detecting means and which electrically detects a hot water supply temperature and the like. And its temperature is detected. At1 represents the hot water supply temperature detection signal.
The hot water 4b that has passed through the hot water temperature sensor 42 is guided to a hot water / hot water switching valve 44, which electrically switches the hot water / hot water direction, and receives a hot water / hot water switching signal Sh1 to supply a hot water port 46.
The supply to the side a and the pouring to the bathtub 20 b are switched. That is, the hot water supply / pour switching valve 44 forms a water injection valve for supplying clean water to the circulation path side.

The flow rate of the hot water 4b guided to the pouring side b via the hot water supply / pour switching valve 44 is detected by a water flow rate sensor 47 for electrically detecting the flow rate, and Dm is the water flow rate detection signal. Express. The hot water 4b passing through the water flow sensor 47 passes through a hopper 48 as a shutoff means for shutting off the water supply side, and is led to a reheating / pour-in switching valve 50 for electrically switching a hot water supply direction, and reheating. -It is switched to the reheating side or the pouring side according to the pouring switch signal Sh2.

In this case, on the pouring side c, the hot water 4b is supplied from a pipe 52 directly connected to the bathtub 20 via a pump 56 for electrically circulating water to the bathtub 20 in the direction indicated by the arrow B. Supplied. Dr represents a pump drive signal for driving the pump 56.

On the additional heating side d, the additional heating / pouring switching valve 5 is provided.
0, the pouring is prohibited, and the water 4c as hot water in the bathtub 20 for reheating the bathtub 20 is reheated in the direction shown by the arrow A through the circulation port 54 in the bathtub 20. A pump 56 circulates the pressure by a pump 56 in a reheating circuit 60 as a circulation path including a reheating side passage of the pouring switch valve 50. That is, the supplementary heating / pouring water switching valve 50 constitutes a water pouring valve for supplying clean water to the circulation path side similarly to the hot water supply / pouring water switching valve 44. Then, as a result of pumping the water 4c toward the bathtub 20 by the pump 56, a water flow is generated in the bathtub 20, and as a result, stirring is performed.

The water 4c passing through the reheating line 60 is
Dw2 is detected by a water flow sensor 62 that electrically detects the presence or absence of a water flow, and Dw2 represents the detection signal.

The reheating circuit 22 is provided with a reheating heat exchanger 22 and a reheating burner 24 as second heating means, and the water 4c in the bathtub 20 is heated by the reheating.
In this case, the combustion gas 32 is supplied to the reburning burner 24 via a reburning gas valve 64 whose opening and closing are controlled electrically.
Opening / closing of the supplementary gas valve 64 is controlled by an opening / closing control signal Cv3. The gas 32 supplied to the reheating burner 24 is ignited by an igniter 66 that is electrically ignited as ignition means, as in the case of the hot water supply burner 30, and Sf2 represents the ignition signal. The presence or absence of ignition of the gas 32 is detected by a flame detector 68 that electrically detects the presence or absence of a flame, and Df2 represents an ignition detection signal.

Then, the bathtub 20 heated by reheating is used.
The internal water 4c is detected by a temperature sensor 70 composed of a thermistor or the like for electrically detecting the water temperature on the side of the additional heating circulation line 60, and At2 represents the temperature detection signal.

The heating system for the water 4a, the system for supplying the hot water 4b to the bathtub 20, or the reheating circuit of the water 4c in the bathtub 20 is controlled by a hot water supply control device for heating, supplying or reheating shown in FIG. Controlled.

This hot water supply control device is composed of a main device 72 and a remote controller 74. The main device 72 is installed on the appliance body side where the heat exchangers 22, 28, etc. are installed. Numeral 74 is installed in the bathtub 20 in a bathroom or the like that can be arbitrarily adjusted by a bather.

Digital data of the hot water supply water flow detection signal Dw1, the hot water supply side ignition detection signal Df1, the hot water supply side water flow rate detection signal Dm, the reheating water flow detection signal Dw2, and the reheating heating side ignition detection signal Df2 are input to the input circuit 721. Via the central processing unit (CP
U) 722. Also, hot water temperature detection signal A
Since the t1 and the reheating temperature detection signal At2 are analog signals, the analog-to-digital conversion circuit 72 is alternately time-divisionally divided by the multiplexer 724 provided at the input unit.
3, after being converted from analog to digital,
It is taken into PU722.

The CPU 722 performs arithmetic processing according to a heating, supply or reheating control program written in a write-only storage element (ROM) 725. In addition, the various types of data and data on the arithmetic processing are written to a storage element (RAM) 726 that can be freely written and read.

A command for heating, supply or reheating control is performed by operating a switch of a remote controller 74, and the command signal is applied to a remote control transmission / reception circuit 727 and taken in by a CPU 722.

Then, the hot water supply side ignition signal Sf1, the open / close control signal Cv1, the hot water supply side open / close control signal Cv2, and the additional heating side open / close control signal C, which are various control outputs as calculation results of the CPU 722, are provided.
v3, the additional firing side ignition signal Sf2, the hot water supply / hot water switching signal Sh1, the additional heating / hot water switching signal Sh2, and the pump drive signal Dr are added to the control target from the output circuit 728.

[0030] described in the bathtub hot water control device of the present invention, the hot water control in add焚時in the bathtub 20 in order of steps.

(A) The hot water supply / pour-over switching valve 44 is switched to the hot water supply side a and the additional heating / pouring-off switching valve 50 is switched to the additional heating side d, and the additional heating mode is set with the additional heating circulation line 60 as a closed loop. I do.

(B) After setting the reheating mode, the pump 56 is driven to set the temperature of the water 4c in the bathtub 20 to a uniform temperature T. In that case, the water temperature T of the bathtub 20 is detected by the temperature sensor 70.

(C) The water temperature in the bathtub 20 is kept at a constant temperature T
After that, the main valve 34 and the reheating gas valve 64 are opened, and the ignition signal Sf2 is given to the igniter 66 to supply a current to generate heat and ignite the reheating burner 24.

(D) While the water 4c is circulated by the pump 56, the temperature of the water 4c in the bathtub 20 is uniformly heated to an appropriate temperature T, that is, a temperature ΔT slightly higher than the set temperature, by reheating combustion. And from the temperature T to ΔT
Is measured and written into the RAM 726.

(E) Assuming that the reburning combustion capacity N by the combustion of the reburning burner 24 is measured in advance and stored in the ROM 725, the amount of water Q in the bathtub 20 becomes CP
In U722, Q = N · t / ΔT is calculated from equation (1). For example, when ΔT = 1 ° C., the water amount Q in the bathtub 20 is Q = N · t.

The calculation of the amount of water Q in the bathtub 20 is as follows.
The temperature rise ΔT may be detected for a certain time t, and the temperature rise ΔT may be stored in the RAM 726 and calculated from the equation (1).

[0037] (f) The lack of water in advance, since the volume from the setting water Qo tub 20 is determined, it is placed by setting the remote controller 74, the bath tub 2 and their settings water Qo
From the detected water amount Q within 0, the difference water amount ΔQ is calculated by equation (2).

(G) Therefore, the hot water 4 having the difference ΔQ
b in order to supply b into the bathtub 20.
The hot water 4 b is supplied into the bathtub 20 by switching the pouring side b and the reheating / pouring switching valve 50 to the pouring side c.

(H) Next, the hot water supply / pour switching valve 44 is switched to the hot water supply side a and the additional heating / pouring switching valve 50 is switched to the additional heating side d to boil the hot water 4b in the bathtub 20 to the appropriate temperature T. To complete the pouring and reheating to the appropriate water volume and temperature.

When the heat retention and the hot water control are performed by using the steps (a) to (h), the pouring into the bathtub 20 and the reheating are automatically repeated at regular time intervals. Thereby, optimal control for keeping the water amount Q and the temperature T in the bathtub 20 constant can be performed.

Further, the boiling time t due to the reheating combustion measured in the step (d) is affected by the thermal efficiency. Factors that reduce the thermal efficiency include the material of the bathtub, the reheating piping, the outside air temperature, and the equipment. There is an error in the inherent gas pressure set value. Therefore, the thermal efficiency eta by the following equation, and η = Qo × (T2 -T1) / S × to ··· (3). Calculated by the CPU 722 for each additional firing, and R
The value is stored in the AM 726, and the value is updated each time additional heating is performed. Here, Qo is the set water amount (= pouring water amount), T1 is the uniform temperature of the water supplied to the bathtub 20 by the pouring operation, T2 is the uniform boiling temperature (= the boiling set temperature), and to is the boiling time. , S is the reheating input capacity.

In this case, the reheating input capacity S is set to R
The reheating combustion capacity N is stored in the OM 725, and is given by the product of the reheating input capacity S and the thermal efficiency η (N = S · η).

In the detection and control of the amount of water in the bathtub 20, if the water level hw is lower than the circulation port 54 in the bathtub 20, as shown in FIG. Since the water does not circulate in the circulation line 60, it can be determined from the water flow detection signal Dw2 of the water flow sensor 62. In this case, the mode does not shift to the reheating mode.

In this case, the hot water supply / pour switching valve 44 is switched to the pouring side b and the additional heating / pouring switching valve 50 is switched to the pouring side c, which corresponds to 1/2 of the set appropriate water level hwo of the bathtub 20. After raising the water level above the circulation port 54 by supplying the water amount, the operations of the steps (a) to (h) are performed, but the water amount corresponding to 1/2 of the set appropriate water level hwo of the bathtub 20 is reduced. Even if you supply
When the additional heating water flow sensor 62 does not detect a water flow, 設定 (= １ ／ × １ ／) of the set appropriate water level hwo is further supplied. Still, when the water flow sensor 62 does not detect the water flow, 1/8 (= 1/2 × 1/2) of the set appropriate water level hwo.
× 1/2). Such a supply operation is tried sequentially until the water flow sensor 62 detects a water flow.

[0045]

As described above, according to the present invention, without installing a water amount detector or a signal line on the bathtub side,
The amount of water in the bathtub can be remotely calculated from the temperature rise of the water in the bathtub using the heating by the existing heating means, and the amount of water in the bathtub can be controlled to the set water amount as quickly as possible based on the calculation result. Even when the appliance body and the bathtub are separated from each other, the amount of hot water can be accurately controlled, and the bather can comfortably take a bath without having to add necessary hot water.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an embodiment of a bathtub hot water control device of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a hot water supply control unit of the bathtub hot water control device shown in FIG.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a relationship between a circulation port of a bathtub and a water level.

[Explanation of symbols]

 4c Water (hot water) 11 Upper water channel 20 Bath tub 22 Heat exchanger for additional heating (heating means) 44 Hot water supply / pouring switching valve (water injection valve) 47 Water flow sensor (flow rate detecting means) 50 Additional heating / pouring switching valve ( Water injection valve) 56 Pump 60 Reheating line (circulation line) 70 Temperature sensor (temperature detection means) 72 Main device (control means)

Claims (1)

(57) [Claims] 1. A bath for storing hot water, a heating means for heating the hot water in the bath, a circulation path for taking out the hot water from the bath and returning the hot water to the bath through the heating means, A pump for pumping the hot and cold water in the bathtub into the bathtub through the circulation path to agitate the hot and cold water in the bathtub; a water supply path for supplying clean water to the circulation path; A flow rate detecting unit that is installed in a water channel and detects a flow rate of the clean water supplied to the circulation path side; a temperature detection unit that is provided in the circulation path and detects a temperature of the hot water in the bathtub; Prior to supplying water to the circulating path, the pump is driven to feed the hot water in the bath tub through the circulating path into the bath tub to stir the hot water in the tub, Through the The hot water in the bath is raised by a temperature slightly higher than a set temperature, the time required for the temperature rise is measured, and the remaining water amount in the bath tub is calculated using this time and the amount of heat added to the hot water by the heating means. By calculating the difference between this water amount and the set water amount, by supplying the clean water to the bath tub from the clean water passage through the circulation path by the insufficient water amount with respect to the set water amount, the water amount in the bath tub is calculated. Control to the set water volume and
By operating the pump and the heating means, the hot water is
A control device for controlling a constant temperature, comprising: a bathtub hot water control device .