JP2766636B2 - Hot water and reheating method - Google Patents

Description

Description: BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a method for supplying hot water to a bathtub and heating the hot water in the bathtub by additional heating. 2. Description of the Related Art In an automatic bath kettle capable of hot water supply and additional heating, when controlling the amount of water in a bathtub, it is indispensable to detect the amount of water in the bathtub. Water level detection devices, such as switches, for directly detecting the water level in a bathtub have been used. [0003] By the way, in the automatic bath-cooker, a method is adopted in which hot water heated on the side of the appliance provided with heating means and the like is transferred to the bathtub side by using a pump. It has a reheating function that returns hot water to the appliance body side and reheats it. In such an automatic bath kettle, the appliance main body provided with the heating means and the bathtub are installed at separate places. For example, the appliance main body may be installed on the first floor side of a house and the bathtub may be installed on the second floor side. In this case, a control signal line and a control device for connecting the water level detection device installed in the bathtub to the control device for controlling the appliance body are complicated, and the installation is troublesome. [0004] There is also an automatic bath kettle in which the amount of water is measured on the appliance body side to optimize the amount of water to be supplied to a bathtub. This bath kettle can supply an appropriate amount of water to the volume of the bathtub, but since the water level in the bathtub is calculated indirectly on the appliance body side, the amount of water reduced by bathing etc. is reduced by the appliance body side. It cannot be detected. [0005] In any bath kettle, a water level detecting device and its wiring are required. SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is an object of the present invention to provide a hot water supply / reheating method which realizes heat retention control as well as simple control of the amount of water in a bathtub. [0007] In the hot water supply / reheating method of the present invention, the amount of water in the bath tub is calculated using the temperature information, the time information, and the respective amounts of heat using the existing reheating function. By doing so, the amount of water in the bathtub is remotely detected, and the hot water supply for the insufficient water amount and the heat retention control of the hot water in the bathtub are realized. As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, a hot water supply / reheating method according to the present invention is a method for supplying water to a bathtub and heating the hot water in the bathtub by additional heating. 20) The hot water in the bathtub is stirred by circulating the hot water (4c) in the circulation path (additional heating circulation pipe 60) by the pump (56), and the temperature of the hot water detected by the temperature sensor (70) is detected. After taking in, the first heating means (the additional heat exchanger 22 and the additional heating burner 24) are operated to heat the hot water from the detected temperature by a predetermined temperature, and the heating time required for the increase of the predetermined temperature is reduced. The amount of water in the bathtub is calculated by measuring and multiplying the product of the heating time and the amount of heat applied to the hot water by the first heating means by the predetermined temperature, and comparing the detected amount of water with the set amount of water. To determine the amount of water shortage By detecting the shortage of clean water by the water amount sensor (water flow sensor 47) and heating by the second heating means (heat exchanger 28 and hot water supply burner 30) to supply the water from the circulation path to the bathtub. The amount of water in the bathtub is maintained at the set water amount, and the pump is operated at predetermined time intervals to circulate through the circulation path to stir the water in the bathtub. When the temperature is lower than the set temperature, the hot water in the bathtub is heated to the set temperature by the first heating means. In the hot water supply / reheating method of the present invention, the hot water (4c) in the bathtub (20) is pressure-fed by a pump (56) through a circulation path (reheating combustion circulation line 60) to perform first heating. The hot and cold water in the bathtub is heated by passing through the means (the additional heat exchanger 22). Assuming that the time required for the water temperature in the bathtub to rise by a specific temperature ΔT in response to the heating is t, and the heating capacity of the first heating means is No, the amount of water Q in the bathtub is Q = No · t / ΔT (1) As a result, the amount of water Q in the bathtub can be calculated. [0010] Therefore, in a bath kettle in which the hot water is circulated through the first heating means to heat the actual bath tub, the water quantity Q in the bath tub is determined by the heat quantity of the first heating means (the reburning burner). 24), that is, the combustion capacity N (= No),
From the time t required to raise the temperature by the specific temperature ΔT, the water amount Q (= N · t / ΔT) can be detected by equation (1). [0011] The amount of heat applied to the hot water through the first heating means is given by the product of the calorific value of the first heating means and the thermal efficiency. In this case, the thermal efficiency is determined by calculating the product of the constant amount of water in the bathtub and the temperature rise obtained by heating the amount of water with the first heating means, the time required to reach the temperature rise, and the time required for the first heating means. For example, it is obtained by dividing by the product of the calorific value of the burner, and this value is obtained, for example, at the time of reheating. Therefore, the thermal efficiency can be calculated based on a detection value obtained at each additional heating, and the value can be updated. That is, the amount of water in the bathtub can always be calculated using the latest data by using the thermal efficiency obtained for each additional firing at the next additional firing. A shortage amount is obtained by comparing the detected water amount thus obtained with the set water amount, and the shortage amount of the clean water is detected by the water amount sensor and heated by the second heating means to be discharged from the circulation path. By supplying the water to the bathtub, the water content in the bathtub is maintained at the set water amount, and the pump is operated every predetermined time to circulate the water through the circulation path, thereby stirring the water in the bathtub, and detecting the temperature of the hot water detected by the temperature sensor. Is lower than the set temperature, the hot water in the bathtub is heated to the set temperature by the first heating means. As a result, the set temperature and the set hot water amount can be controlled, and a comfortable bathing environment is realized. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS The present invention will be described below in detail with reference to embodiments shown in the drawings. FIG. 1 shows an embodiment of a hot water supply / reheating method according to the present invention, which is an automatic bath kettle. As shown in FIG. 1, water 4a composed of clean water supplied from a water supply or the like to a clean water supply pipe 25 serving as a clean water supply passage passes through a hot water supply water flow switch 26 so that the water flow is changed to an electric current. Dw1 represents a hot water flow detection signal obtained by the hot water flow switch 26.
The water 4a is heated by the heat exchanger 28 and the hot water supply burner 30 as second 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. Then, the hot water 4b obtained by passing through the heat exchanger 28 passes through a hot water supply temperature detector 42 which is provided as a temperature detecting means and is constituted by a thermistor for electrically detecting the hot water supply temperature. , Its temperature is detected. At1
Represents the hot water temperature detection signal. The hot water 4b that has passed through the hot water temperature detector 42 is guided to a hot water / hot water switching valve 44 in which the direction of hot water and hot water is switched electrically, and is sent to the hot water supply port 46 side by a hot water / hot water switching signal Sh1. Supply and pouring to the bathtub 20 are switched. 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 that has passed through the water flow sensor 47 is guided to a reheating / pouring switching valve 50 that electrically switches the hot water supply direction via a hopper 48 that shuts off the water supply side, and receives a reheating / pouring switching signal. It is switched to the reheating or pouring side according to 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 hot water 4c in the bathtub 20 for reheating the bathtub 20 is switched between the reheating and pouring in the direction shown by the arrow A through the circulation port 54 in the bathtub 20. The valve 50 is circulated through a pump 56 by a reheating line 60 as a circulation path including a reheating side passage. Hot water 4c passing through the additional heating circulation line 60
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. A reheating heat exchanger 22 and a reheating burner 24 as first heating means are installed in the reheating circuit 60, and the hot water 4c in the bathtub 20 is heated by the reheating. In this case, the combustion gas 32 is
Is supplied via a reheating gas valve 64 whose opening and closing are controlled electrically, and the opening and closing of the reheating gas valve 64 is controlled by an opening and closing control signal Cv3. The combustion gas 32 supplied to the reburning 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 combustion gas 32 is determined by a flame detector 68 that electrically detects the presence or absence of a flame.
, And Df2 represents an ignition detection signal. Then, the tub 2 heated by the additional heating
The hot / cold water 4c within 0 is detected by a temperature sensor 70 such as a thermistor that electrically detects 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 circulation system for the hot water 4c in the bathtub 20 is controlled by a hot water supply control device shown in FIG. Controlled. This hot water supply control device comprises a main device 72 as a control means and a remote controller 74. The main device 72 is installed on the side of the appliance body where the heat exchangers 22 and 28 are installed. The remote controller 74 is installed in a bathroom or the like that can be arbitrarily adjusted by a bather from within the bathtub 20. 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 processed by the central processing unit via the input circuit 721. The data is taken into the processing unit (CPU) 722. Further, since the hot water supply temperature detection signal At1 and the reheating temperature detection signal At2 are analog signals, they are alternately added to the analog / digital conversion circuit 723 by time division by the multiplexer 724 provided at the input unit, and the analog / digital conversion is performed. After that, it is taken into the CPU 722. 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 the remote controller 74, and the command signal is applied to a remote control transmission / reception circuit 727, and the
2 Then, the hot water supply side ignition signal Sf1, the open / close control signal Cv1, the hot water supply open / close control signal Cv2, and the additional heating side open / close control signal C which are various control outputs as the calculation results of the CPU 722.
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. In such a bath, detection of the amount of water in the bathtub 20 will be described in the order of steps, taking the case of additional heating as an example. (A) The hot water supply / pour-in switching valve 44 is switched to the hot water supply side a, and the additional heating / pouring-in 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 hot and cold water 4c in the bathtub 20 to the uniform temperature T. In that case, the water temperature T of the bathtub 20 is detected by the temperature sensor 70. (C) After the water temperature in the bathtub 20 is set to a constant temperature T, the main valve 34 and the reheating gas valve 64 are opened,
The ignition signal Sf2 is supplied to the igniter 66 to cause a current to flow to generate heat, and the reburner 24 is ignited. (D) While the hot water 4c is circulated by the pump 56, the hot water 4
b is uniformly heated by a temperature ΔT slightly higher than the temperature To, and a time t required from the temperature To to ΔT.
Is measured and written into the RAM 726. (E) If 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, if ΔT = 1 ° C., the amount of water 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). (F) Since the set water amount Qo is determined in advance from the volume of the bathtub 20, the set water amount is set in the remote controller 74, and the set water amount Qo and the detected water amount in the bathtub 20 are determined. From Q, the difference water amount ΔQ is calculated as follows: ΔQ = Qo−Q (2) (G) Then, 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. In this case, the hot water supply burner 30 may be ignited to heat the water 4a to obtain and supply hot water 4b, or the hot water supply burner 30 may be supplied with unheated water 4a without being ignited. (H) After supplying or pouring an appropriate amount of hot water, the hot water / hot water switching valve 44 is switched to the hot water supply side a, and the reheating / pouring water switching valve 50 is switched to the reheating side d, and hot water is supplied into the bathtub 20. 4b is boiled up to an appropriate temperature T, and pouring and reheating to an appropriate amount and an appropriate temperature are completed. When controlling the temperature and adding hot water, the water quantity Q and the temperature T in the bathtub 20 are kept constant by repeatedly pouring and reheating the bathtub 20 at regular time intervals. Optimal control can be maintained. The boiling time of the reheating combustion 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 error of the gas pressure set value specific to the appliance. There is. Therefore, the thermal efficiency η is calculated by the following equation using the following formula: η = Qo × (T2−T1) / S × to (3)
And the value is updated each time reheating is performed. However, Q
o is a set water amount (= pouring water amount), T1 is a uniform temperature of the water supplied to the bathtub 20 in the pouring operation, T2 is a uniform boiling temperature (= a boiling set temperature), to is a boiling time, and S is a boiling time. Is the reheating input capacity. That is, Qo × (T2−T1
) Is the amount of heat added to the hot and cold water, and S × to is the amount of heat generated on the burner side. In this case, the reheating input capacity S, which is the amount of heat generated on the reheating burner 24 side, is stored in advance in the ROM 725, and the reheating combustion capacity N, which is the amount of heat added to the circulating hot and cold water 4c, is calculated. It is given by the product of the firing input capacity S and the thermal efficiency η (N = S · η). As described above, according to the present invention, the amount of water in the bathtub is detected by using the additional heating function, the amount of water shortage with respect to the set amount of water is obtained by calculation, and the amount of water shortage is calculated. The water can be supplied to the bathtub while heating it, and the temperature of the hot water in the bathtub is monitored every predetermined time and refired, so that the amount of hot water in the bathtub can be controlled to the set hot water amount and the hot water temperature in the bathtub can be adjusted to the set hot water temperature. It can keep warm and maintain and set a comfortable bathing environment.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a view showing an automatic bath kettle which is an embodiment of the hot water supply / reheating method of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a hot water supply control device for the automatic bath kettle shown in FIG. [Description of Signs] 4c Hot Water 20 Bath 22 Reheating Heat Exchanger (First Heating Means) 24 Reheating Burner (First Heating Means) 28 Heat Exchanger (Second Heating Means) 30 Hot Water Supply Burner (No. 2 Heating means) 47 Water flow rate sensor 56 Pump 60 Additional firing circulation pipe (circulation path) 70 Temperature sensor

──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continued on the front page (58) Field surveyed (Int.Cl. ⁶ , DB name) G01G 17/04-17/06 F24H 1/00 302 F24H 1/00 306

Claims (1)

(57) [Claims] This is a hot water supply / reheating method in which hot water is supplied to the bathtub and the hot water in the bathtub is heated by additional heating. After taking in the detected hot water temperature, the hot water is heated from the detected temperature by a predetermined temperature by operating the first heating means, and the heating time required for the rise of the predetermined temperature is measured. The amount of water in the bathtub is calculated by dividing the product of the amount of heat added to the hot water and the hot water by the first heating means by the predetermined temperature. Water in the bath tub is maintained at the set water amount by detecting the amount of clean water by the water amount sensor and heating the water by the second heating means and supplying the water from the circulation path to the bath tub, and By operating the pump at predetermined time intervals and circulating through the circulation path to stir the hot water in the bathtub, and when the temperature of the hot water detected by the temperature sensor is lower than a set temperature, the first A hot water supply / reheating method, wherein the hot water in the bathtub is heated to a set temperature by a heating means.