JP2608019B2 - Bath equipment - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

2. Description of the Related Art In a recent bath apparatus, a water heater (4)
And a bathing device for automatically filling the bath from the bath device with a so-called bathing device.
The configuration is as shown in FIG. In this case, it is necessary to detect whether there is residual water (up to the reference water level) up to the outlet in the bathtub (B) of the hot water circuit (3a) prior to hot water filling. If there is no remaining water, the water is once filled to the reference water level and then to a predetermined water level. Conversely, if there is remaining water, after the detection of the remaining water, the water is directly filled to the predetermined water level (or Fill with water continuously (predetermined amount).

When the residual water is detected, a forced circulation circuit (J) having both ends opened into a bathtub (B) is circulated by a pump (P ₀ ). Then, the water flow switch (17) detects whether or not a water flow has occurred in the forced circulation circuit (J), so that the presence or absence of residual water can be detected. However, in the above-described conventional apparatus, the mouth at the upstream end of the forced circulation circuit (J) for detecting residual water is lower than that at the downstream end. Therefore, when the remaining water is detected through the forced circulation circuit (J), there remains a problem that the remaining water sucked from the lower mouth spouts into the bathtub from the upper mouth and scatters. on the other hand,
In recent years, health consciousness has increased, and so-called bubble baths have attracted attention. A bubble bath is provided with a circulation circuit that absorbs hot water from a bath with a pump, mixes air into the hot water, and discharges the mixed air into a bathtub. Therefore, a water suction port and a discharge port for a bubble bath are required, but if these are provided separately from an opening for a forced circulation circuit for detecting residual water in the bath tub, the opening in the bath tub increases, resulting in cost reduction. It is not desirable from the standpoint of both appearance and aesthetics. or,
If the position of the discharge port for the bubble bath is carelessly installed, there is a possibility that the jet jet may be jetted into the bathtub from a position above the water surface and scattered when functioning as a bubble bath after detecting residual water.

[0003] The present invention has been made to solve the above-described problems, and the residual water and the jet do not scatter from the discharge port both when detecting the residual water and when discharging the jet after detecting the residual water. The task is to do so.

[0004]

Technical Solution In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, the invention according to claim 1 is to provide at least two connection ports provided in a bathtub and to detect residual water in the bathtub connected to each of the connection ports. In the case where the connection port on the side with the higher mounting height or the mounting position is the same among the connection ports, one of the connection ports is used as a water intake port and the other connection port is used as a discharge port for detecting residual water circulation. A circuit, a part of a circulation circuit for residual water detection connected to each of the connection ports as a common part, a water circulation circuit for absorbing water from one of the connection ports, and discharging a jet from the other of the connection ports, and a common part. In response to a command for residual water detection, a circulating circuit for residual water detection is provided so that water circulates, and in response to a command for jet discharge, a circulation circuit for jet flow is provided. A control circuit for controlling the switching valve so that water circulates, The connecting port has a first connection port and a second connection port of the same mounting height provided on the opposite wall of the bathtub, and a third connection provided in the bathtub below the first and second connection ports. One of the first and second connection ports serves as a water intake port of the circulation circuit for detecting residual water, and the other serves as a discharge port of the circulation circuit for detecting residual water. Are also the discharge ports of the jet circulation circuit, and the third connection port is the water suction port of the jet circulation circuit.

[0005]

As described above, according to the first aspect of the present invention, the number of openings provided in the bathtub is required because the circulation circuit for detecting residual water and the circulation circuit for jet flow share the connection port of the bathtub. Can be minimized. Since the water suction port of the residual water detection circuit is the highest among the plurality of connection ports, when residual water is detected, a water level exists above the discharge port. Therefore, at the time of detecting residual water using the residual water detecting circuit, water does not scatter to the bathtub from the discharge port.

Further, since the discharge port of the jet of the jet circulation circuit is one of the connection ports of the circulation circuit for detecting residual water, the jet using the circulation circuit for jet after detecting the presence of residual water is used. A comfortable jet operation can be performed without the risk of the jet splattering into the bathtub at the time of discharge. In addition, since the jet can be discharged from the opposite wall of the bathtub, comfortable jet operation can be performed. In addition, since a large amount (strong) suction force from the water suction port at the time of jetting is applied below the bathtub, the bather does not feel uncomfortable.

[0007]

[0008]

According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the configuration of the first aspect of the invention, a heat exchanger is incorporated in the circulation circuit for detecting residual water, and the control circuit includes a reheating unit. Activate the heat exchanger in response to the above command. With this configuration,
In addition to the effect of the invention described in claim 1, hot water does not scatter in the bathtub during the reheating operation.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the configuration of the first or second aspect of the present invention, the air circulation path is connected to the jet circulation circuit, and the control circuit includes the jet discharge. In response to the above command, air is mixed into the jet circulation circuit via the air mixing path. With such a configuration, in addition to the effect of the invention described in claim 1 or 2, a comfortable bubble bath operation in which air is mixed in the jet can be performed.

[0011]

Next, an embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to FIG. In this embodiment, the method of the present invention is applied to a bubble bath apparatus, and the bubble bath apparatus of this embodiment employs the configuration shown in FIG. In the bathtub (B), the foot-side discharge port (12a) and the back-side discharge port (1
2b), and each outlet is provided with a forward path (1) of the circulation circuit (1).
The branch circuits of a) are individually connected. Bath (B) of the suction port (B ₁₎ backward from (1b) is a circulation pump of a large capacity non-self-priming
(P ₁₎ is connected to the inlet side of the forward path to be connected to the outlet side of the circulation pump (P ₁₎ (1a) is branched at a branch point (Q) while the foot-side discharge port (12a) The other is the back outlet (12b)
Are connected to each other to form a circulation circuit (1).
A branch circuit on the downstream side of the air suction circuit (13) is separately connected to the discharge ports (12a) and (12b).
The path to the discharge port of (13) is opened and closed by an on-off valve (14) inserted upstream of the branch point.

A filtration circuit provided in parallel with the circulation circuit (1)
(2) is a configuration in which a filtration vessel (20) is inserted, and both ends of the filtration vessel (20) are connected to the inlet side and the exit side of the circulation pump (P ₁ ), and the filtration direction of the filtration vessel (20) is circulated. This coincides with the forward direction of the circulation circuit by the pump (P ₁ ). A switching valve (31) is provided at the outlet side of the filtration vessel (20) in the filtration circuit (2).
A switching valve (32) is provided on the inlet side of (20), a backwash circuit (3b) is connected to the switching valve (31), and a discharge circuit (3c) is connected to the switching valve (32). Have been.

The bubble bath apparatus includes a water heater (4) and a bath heat exchanger (11). The water heater (4) is
The bypass circuit (4) from the water supply pipe (41) on the inlet side to the heat exchanger
3) is combined with a circuit to be heated (42) via a heat exchanger, which is a so-called bypass mixing method. Therefore,
By controlling the distribution amount by the control valve (46) inserted at the branch point of the water supply pipe (41) and the bypass circuit (43), the temperature of the hot water from the hot water circuit (44) is maintained at the set temperature. In this embodiment, the branch circuit (45) from the water supply pipe (41) is also joined to the filling circuit (3a) branched from the tapping circuit (44), and the switching control valve (33) is connected to this junction. ) Is inserted.
The opening of the switching control valve (33) is controlled by a servo motor (M).
(3a) the amount of hot water can be controlled, and a filling circuit (3a),
The tapping circuit (44) side or the branch circuit (45) side can be selectively communicated. Therefore, the filling circuit (3a)
And the branch circuit (45) only, and tap water as it is
(B), in which case the heated circuit (42)
Is not filled with cold water, so that the cold water sand phenomenon is unlikely to occur at the time of re-water supply.

The filling circuit (3a) includes a filling valve (30), a flow counter (34) for measuring the filling flow rate, and a pressure feeding hopper (5).
Are inserted in this order, and the downstream end thereof is connected to the upstream side of the self-priming pump (P ₂ ) of the forced circulation circuit (1c) for circulation heating described later. A switching valve (35) is provided at the junction of the filling circuit (3a) and the forced circulation circuit (1c). This switching valve (35) is in a state in which the filling circuit (3a) is shut off and only the forced circulation circuit (1c) is connected, and the filling circuit (3a) is in a forced circulation circuit (1c). In this configuration, the pump (P ₂ ) and the circulation switching valve (15) are connected to both sides.

The pressure feed hopper (5) includes a valve device (52) housed in a valve chamber (51) in a casing (50), and an air chamber (53) connected to the valve chamber and opened to the atmosphere. ). An air suction port (54) is opened in a partition wall between the valve chamber (51) and the air chamber (53), and a valve seat port (55) is provided at a position facing the air suction port (54) and at an inlet of the valve chamber (51). ) Opens, during which time
A valve device (52) including a valve body facing the air suction port (54) and the valve seat port (55) is incorporated. The valve device (52) is always operated by a spring (not shown).
(55) is closed and the air suction port (54) is urged to open, and the water seat circuit (3a) opens the valve seat port (55) and closes the air suction port (54). Is a form that works as follows.

A downstream circuit (3a ₁ ) of the filling circuit (3a) is connected to the side wall of the valve chamber (51).
a ₁ ) and the air chamber (53) are connected to the communication pipe (57) into which the drain valve (56) is inserted.
Are connected to each other. The forced circulation circuit (1c) is a self-priming pump between the circulation switching valve (15) inserted in the back circuit of the circulation circuit (1) and the circulation switching valve (16) inserted in the foot circuit.
(P ₂ ) and a bath heat exchanger (11) are inserted.The inlet side of the self-priming pump (P ₂ ) is connected to the circulation switching valve (15), and the self-priming pump (P The outlet side of ₂ ) is connected to the bath heat exchanger (11), and a switching valve (35) is inserted between the self-priming pump (P ₂ ) and the circulation switching valve (15). A water flow switch (17) is inserted on the outlet side of the self-priming pump (P ₂ ), and a pressure type water level sensor (18) is provided between the circulation switching valve (16) and the discharge port (12a). Is inserted. Therefore, the forced circulation circuit (1c) has a circulation switching valve (15) → a switching valve (35) → a self-priming pump (P ₂ ) → a water flow switch (17) → a bath heat exchanger (11) → a circulation switching valve. The route is (16).

The water level sensor (18) detects the pressure corresponding to the water level in the bathtub (B) communicating via the discharge port (12a). The operation of the bubble bath apparatus having the above configuration will be described below. In this embodiment, each unit is controlled by a microcomputer, and the operation of each main unit will be described with reference to the flowchart shown in FIG.

[Regarding Hot Water Operation] Hot water operation is performed.
And a circulation pump (P₁) And self-priming pon
(P _Two) Is stopped and the filling valve (30) is opened
In both cases, the switching control valve (33) shuts off the branch circuit (45) and
When the road (44) is in communication with the filling circuit (3a), the switching valve
(35) is the circuit to both sides of the filling circuit (3a) and the forced circulation circuit (1c).
The circulation switching valve (15) is connected to the forward path (1a) while the
Cut off the junction (Q) side and discharge port (12b) and forced circulation circuit (1c)
And the circulation switching valve (16) is connected to the discharge port (12a).
Shut off the side and branch point (Q) between the forced circulation circuit (1c) and the forward path (1a)
Are set in a state where the sides are connected, and the switching valve (3
1) (32) is a state where the filtration circuit (2) and the return path (1b) side are connected.
Is set to As a result, as shown in FIG.₁)
Is filled with water from the discharge port (12b) side. At the time of this hot water,
The valve device (52) in the pressure feed hopper (5) is operated by hot water supply pressure.
To open the valve seat port (55) and close the air suction port (54).
Since the valve is in a valved state, hot water flows outside the pressure feed hopper (5).
It is not discharged and the hot water circuit (3a) is discharged from the valve chamber (51).
Downstream circuit (3a₁). In addition, at the time of this hot water filling, circulation
Circuit (1) and filtration circuit (2), and also forced circulation circuit (1c)
The whole is filled with hot water from the hot water circuit (3a)
Then, air purging of each circuit is performed.

At the initial stage of the filling, a flow counter (3
4), and as shown in FIG.
Liters) of hot water is supplied to the bathtub (B). Thereafter, the filling valve (30) is closed to stop the filling operation, and as shown in FIG. 4, the switching valve (35) closes the filling circuit (3a) side and the forced circulation circuit (1c ), The circulation switching valve (15) connects the forced circulation circuit (1c) side and the discharge port (12b) side, and
With the branch point (Q) side of (1a) closed and the circulation switching valve (1
6) are connected to the forced circulation circuit (1c) side and the discharge port (12a) side so that the branch point (Q) side of the outward path (1a) is closed, and each is set, and the self-priming pump (P ₂ ) Is in operation. As a result, hot water in the bathtub (B) is sucked from the discharge port (12b) and discharged from the discharge port (12a), thereby detecting the presence or absence of residual water. That is, the forced circulation circuit (1c)
When the state in which the water flow switch (17) is "ON" is continued for a predetermined time (30 seconds) in the circulating state, the discharge ports (61) and (62) in FIG. If it is determined that there is residual water up to the water level of 12b), and conversely, if the water flow switch (17) is “OFF”, it is determined that there is no residual water.

When it is determined that there is no residual water,
In the same procedure as described above, the filling operation of a fixed amount (10 liters) is performed again, and the remaining water determination is performed. And when it is determined that there is no residual water in this determination,
The above operation is repeatedly performed until the water level in the bathtub (B) reaches the height of the discharge port (12b) and the water flow switch (17) is turned on. In other words, a fixed amount of hot water is intermittently filled until there is remaining water.

When it is determined that there is residual water in the residual water determination, after the first to third air bleeding operations described in detail below are performed, the filling level is detected by the water level sensor (18). Meanwhile, the continuous filling operation is executed in the state of FIG. 3, and when the filling water level in the bathtub (B) reaches the set water level, the filling operation is completed. [First to third air bleeding operation] When it is determined that there is residual water during the above-mentioned intermittent filling, the circulating pump (P ₁ ) is set to an operating state, and the _first circulating circuit including the circulating pump (P ₁ ) is operated. (1) The air bleeding operation is executed, and it is checked whether or not the air bleeding is completed.

Therefore, steps (63) to (6) in FIG.
The operations up to 5) are performed. First, a water filling operation of a fixed amount (10 liters) is executed to further raise the water level in the bathtub (B) by a fixed amount. Thereafter, as shown in FIG. 5, the circulation pump (P ₁ ) is turned on, the return path (1b) communicates with the filtration circuit (2), and the outward path (1a) communicates with the forced circulation circuit (1c) side. At the same time, each part is set so that the discharge port (12b) side is shut off and the discharge port (12a) side is in communication with the return path (1b) and the forced circulation circuit (1c), and the first air bleeding operation is performed. Is done.

Thus, a circulation path of the suction port (B ₁ ) → return path (1b) / circulation pump (P ₁ ) → filtration circuit (2) is formed, and the outward path (1a) is connected to the discharge port (12a). Circuit, and the outward path (1a) and the discharge port (12b) are shut off, and the suction port (B
₁ ) → Circulation pump (P ₁ ) → Outgoing path (1a) → Circulation switching valve (15) → Forced circulation circuit (1c) → Circulation switching valve (16) → Discharge port (12a) . At this time, the circulation switching valve (16) is in a state where the flow rate from the outward path (1a) to the discharge port (12a) is reduced, and the circuit from the forced circulation circuit (1c) to the discharge port (12a) is set to a fully open state. Have been.

Therefore, when the hot water in the bathtub (B) is smoothly circulating through the circulation circuit shown in the figure by the operation of the circulation pump (P ₁ ), the circulation switching valve (1c) is connected to the forced circulation circuit (1c). A certain water flow from 15) to the circulation switching valve (16) is reliably generated. After the circulating pump (P ₁ ) is operated for a fixed time (10 seconds) and the first air bleeding operation is executed, steps (64) and (65) in FIG.
Is checked for air release for a certain period of time (20 seconds)
If the water flow switch (17) continues to be in the “ON” state, it is determined that the air bleeding of the circulation circuit has been completed, and then the above-described continuous filling operation is performed in the mode shown in FIG. 3, and the water level sensor (18) ), The continuous filling operation is stopped and filling is completed when the detected water level becomes higher than the water discharge ports (12a) (12b).

In the air release check, if the water flow switch (17) is turned "OFF", there is an air bite in a part of the circulation circuit. So, in this case,
The circulation pump (P ₁ ) is stopped, the second air bleeding operation is performed, and then the third air bleeding operation of FIG. 7 using the self-priming pump (P ₂ ) is performed. The second air bleeding operation is, as shown in FIG. 6, a backwashing operation of the filtration vessel (20) of the filtration circuit (2) for a certain period of time, and the filtration inside the filtration vessel (20) where air tends to remain. By backwashing the member, air bleeding at this portion is ensured.

As shown in FIG. 6, the second air bleeding operation connects the backwashing circuit (3b) branched from the hot water filling circuit (3a) with the filtration circuit (2), and also connects the filtration circuit (2). ) And return
(1b) The switching valves (31) and (32) are set in a state where the side is shut off, and the filling valve (30) is opened to generate a backflow in the filtration circuit (2), and the discharge circuit (3c ) To drain water.

As shown in FIG. 8, this second air bleeding operation is performed when the air bleeding is determined to be defective in step (64) after the first time of the first air bleeding operation (water flow switch ( 17) is turned off). The third air bleeding operation is performed as shown in FIG.
(1b) and the filtration circuit (2), and the circulation switch valve (1
5) communicates only with the forward path (1a) and the forced circulation circuit (1c), and the switching valve (35) is set in a position that allows only the forced circulation circuit (1c) to communicate.The foot-side circulation switching valve (16) ) Is the forced circulation circuit (1
c) is set in a state where only the discharge port (12a) is communicated,
This is an operation for operating the self-priming pump (P ₂ ) with the circulation pump (P ₁ ) stopped. As a result, the entire circulation path is forcibly circulated, and the inside of the non-self-priming circulation pump (P ₁ ) and the inside of the filtration vessel (20) where backflow occurs are evacuated.

In the third air bleeding operation, the control operations from step (66) to step (68) in FIG. 8 are executed. In step (66), both the 15-second timer and the 5-minute timer are used. Turned on, then steps (67) (68)
The output state of the water flow switch (17) is monitored, and if the "on" state of the water flow switch (17) continues for 15 seconds during 5 minutes, it is determined that the third air release has been completed, and step (63) The following first air release operation is executed again.

When the first air bleeding operation is repeated a set number of times (20 times), it is determined that an abnormality has occurred and an error is displayed. If the water flow switch (17) is not continuously turned on for 15 seconds during the execution of the third air release, the operation is continued for 5 minutes after the timer for 15 seconds is stopped and reset. When the switch (17) is turned “ON”, the 15-second timer is turned “ON” again, and the checks in steps (67) and (68) are executed.

If the water flow switch (17) does not turn on for 5 minutes, it is determined that there is something wrong with the circulation circuit and the self-priming pump (P ₂ ) is turned off. It is. As described above, by selectively using the circulating pump (P ₁ ) and the self-priming pump (P ₂ ), air biting and air bleeding in each part of the circulating path are eliminated, and as a result, the accuracy of the water level sensor (18) is reduced. High water level detection becomes possible,
The water is filled to a predetermined water level, and the non-self-priming circulating pump (P ₁ ) can reliably function in the additional heating operation after the completion of the filling and the bubble operation operation.

[Others] In the above embodiment, when the residual water is detected, the forced circulation circuit (1c) side and the discharge port (12b) side are connected to close the branch point (Q) side of the outward path (1a). In addition, the circulation switching valve (16) is set in a state where the forced circulation circuit (1c) side and the discharge port (12a) side are connected and the branch point (Q) side of the forward path (1a) is closed. Then, the self-priming pump (P ₂ ) is operated, whereby the hot water in the bathtub (B) is sucked from the discharge port (12b) and discharged from the discharge port (12a), and the water flow switch is turned on.
The presence or absence of residual water is detected from the output from (17). Accordingly, the forced circulation circuit (1) for reheating the bath tub (B) by activating the bath heat exchanger (11).
There is an advantage that c) can be used as a circuit for detecting residual water.

In the above embodiment, the foot-side discharge port (1) of the bathtub (B) serving as the discharge side of the forced circulation circuit (1c) when detecting residual water is used.
2a) and the back discharge port (12b) on the suction side are set at the same height, but the discharge port (12b) on the suction side of the forced circulation circuit (1c) is connected to the other discharge port. If set slightly higher than (12a), the water flow switch (17)
When it is determined that residual water is present by the operation of the above, the other discharge port (12a) is surely positioned lower than the water level in the bathtub, and the residual water detection accuracy is improved. Further, when the remaining water is detected, the jet water is discharged from the discharge port (12a) located below the bathtub water surface, so that the jet water can be reliably prevented from being scattered. In short, the above effect can be obtained by setting the suction side of the forced circulation circuit (1c) for detecting residual water to be slightly higher than the other discharge side.

In the automatic filling of the above embodiment, when it is determined that there is residual water, since the air purging of the forced circulation circuit has been completed, the remaining water level is detected or measured, and the continuous filling operation is performed. The accuracy of detection or measurement of the stored water level at the time is improved. In addition, although the residual water detection method of the present invention is applied to the bubble bath apparatus in the above embodiment, it goes without saying that the method can be applied to other types of bath apparatuses.

In the above embodiment, the discharge ports (12a) and (12b) for discharging the bubbles in the bubble bath apparatus are the ports at both ends of the forced circulation circuit (1c) for detecting residual water. and an outlet (12a) while the above embodiment of the suction opening of (12b) forced circulation circuit (B ₁₎ for residual water detecting that connects (1c), said suction port (B ₁₎ side residual water detection At the time of the forced circulation circuit. Further, when the pump in the bathtub (B) and the pump in the forced circulation circuit (1c) are at the same water level, this pump does not need to be a self-priming pump. This is because when there is stored water in the bathtub (B), the inside of the pump is filled with water.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is an explanatory view of a conventional example.

FIG. 2 is an overall view of a configuration according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a state diagram of each part during a filling operation.

FIG. 4 is a state diagram of each part during a residual water detection operation.

FIG. 5 is a state diagram of each part during a first air release operation.

FIG. 6 is a state diagram of each part during a second air release operation.

FIG. 7 is a state diagram of each part during a third air release operation.

FIG. 8 is a flowchart of a control device according to this embodiment.

[Explanation of symbols]

(B) ... bathtub (12) ... discharge port (B ₁₎ ... suction port (P ₁₎ ... circulation pump (1) ... circulation circuit (P ₂₎ ... Self-priming Type pump (1c) ・ ・ ・ Forced circulation circuit (15) (16) ・ Circulation switching valve (1c) ・ ・ ・ Forced circulation circuit

Claims (3)

(57) [Claims] At least two connection ports provided in a bathtub, each of the connection ports being connected to each of the connection ports to detect residual water in the bathtub, and having a high mounting height among the connection ports. If one of the connection ports or the mounting height is the same, one of the connection ports is used as a water intake port and the other connection port is used as a discharge port, and a circulation circuit for detecting remaining water, and the residual water detection is performed on each of the connection ports. A part of the circulation circuit is connected as a common part, and water is absorbed from one of the connection ports,
A jet circulation circuit for discharging a jet from the other of the connection ports, a switching valve provided at each end of the common portion, and a water circulation circuit for water in response to a residual water detection command. And a control circuit that controls the switching valve so that water circulates through the jet circulation circuit in response to a jet discharge command.The connection port is provided on an opposite wall of the bathtub. A first connection port and a second connection port provided at the same mounting height, and a third connection port provided in the bathtub below the first and second connection ports; One of the first and second connection ports is the water suction port of the residual water detection circuit, the other is the discharge port of the residual water detection circuit, both the first and second connection ports. The discharge port of the jet circuit is used as the discharge port, and the third connection port is connected to the suction port of the jet circuit. And mouth, bath equipment. 2. The bath according to claim 1, wherein a heat exchanger is incorporated in the circulation circuit for detecting residual water, and the control circuit activates the heat exchanger in response to a reheating command. apparatus. 3. The air circulation path is connected to the jet circulation circuit, and the control circuit responds to a jet discharge command to mix air into the jet circulation circuit via the air circulation path. The bath apparatus according to claim 1 or 2.