JP2813827B2 - Water heater - Google Patents

Description

Description: TECHNICAL FIELD The present invention relates to a hot water supply device which can be controlled from a hot water utilization device at a hot water supply destination.

<Prior Art> As a hot water supply apparatus, a bathroom is a main hot water supply destination, and a hot water supply function for a kitchen or the like is generally added thereto. In this case, a remote controller may be provided in the bathroom in order to be able to adjust the temperature of the hot water from the bathroom or to remove it from the bathroom, separately from the main controller placed in the appropriate place in the room. In many cases, the user directly operates these main controllers and remote controllers to set the temperature, and hot water at that temperature is supplied to a hot water supply destination such as a kitchen.

<Problems to be Solved by the Invention> In recent years, not only hot water supplied from a hot water supply device is used out of a curan but also used for a dishwasher, a washing machine, and the like. These devices (hereinafter referred to as hot water utilization devices) generally operate according to a predetermined sequence unique to the device. In order to exhibit predetermined functions and performance, not only the start and stop of hot water supply but also It is necessary to change the temperature of the hot water according to the progress of the sequence.
For this reason, there is a problem that the operation of the water heater of the type in which the temperature is manually set as described above is troublesome, and if the setting is forgotten or mistaken, the performance cannot be sufficiently exhibited. Was.

The present invention has been made in view of such a point, and an object of the present invention is to provide a hot water supply device that can be controlled from a hot water utilization device connected to a hot water supply destination.

<Means for Solving the Problems> In order to achieve the above-described object, the present invention relates to a water heater configured to control a water heater main body in accordance with a direct operation on a control unit of the water heater main body. When a hot water utilization device operating in a predetermined sequence is connected to a hot water supply destination, a control signal including at least a hot water supply on / off signal and a temperature setting signal is transmitted from a controller of the hot water utilization device to a control unit of the water heater main body. The control unit can also control the water heater body.

The control signal from the controller of the hot water utilization equipment is transmitted wirelessly, and particularly, infrared rays can be used.

Examples of hot water appliances include a dishwasher and a washing machine.

<Operation> When the hot water utilization device is connected to the hot water supply destination, the controller provided in the hot water utilization device controls the water heater main body.

In particular, by transmitting the hot water supply on / off signal and the temperature setting signal from the hot water utilization device, it becomes possible to supply hot water having a required temperature in accordance with a predetermined sequence of the hot water utilization device.

In the case where a control signal is transmitted wirelessly such as by using infrared rays, wiring for connection is not required.

When a dishwasher or washing machine is connected to the hot water supply destination, hot water of a predetermined temperature according to the operation sequence is supplied and its function and performance are exhibited. The performance is fully demonstrated even with such devices.

<Example> Next, one example shown in the drawings will be described. Although the embodiment has three hot water supply destinations of a dishwasher, a washing machine and one hot water tap, the number of hot water supply destinations can be further increased as required.

In the figure, 1 is a water heater main body, 2 is a main controller comprising an operation section 21 and a control section 22 in the water heater main body 1, 3 is a dishwasher, 4 is a washing machine, 5 is a hot water tap, and 6 is a hot water pipe. In the dishwasher 3, the hot water supply pipe 6 is directly connected, and the washing machine 4 is supplied with hot water from a hot water tap 61 for the washing machine.

The operation unit 21 of the main control unit 2 includes an operation switch 21a, a temperature setting switch 21b, a display unit 21c such as an operation lamp, a combustion lamp, and a temperature display, and a reception unit 21d for an infrared signal. 21e, a display circuit 21f, a receiving circuit 21g, an input / output circuit 21h, and the like are provided. Burner control unit 22
Has an input / output circuit 22a, a combustion / temperature control circuit 22b to which actuators and sensors for controlling the burner are connected,
A power supply circuit 22c and the like are provided, and the operation unit 21 and the burner control unit 22 are mutually connected by a wiring 24 in a wiring duct 23. The operation unit 21 controls the operation of the water heater main body 1 by transmitting a control signal corresponding to various settings by manual operation and the content received by the reception unit 21d to the burner control unit 22, and displays the display unit.
The configuration is such that the operation and temperature are displayed by driving the 21c, a priority display of a temperature control function according to a signal from the burner control unit 22, and the like. 25 is a gas pipe, 26 is a water supply pipe, and 27 is a power supply line.

The main parts of the operation unit 21 and the burner control unit 22 can be configured by using a microcomputer, respectively.

The dishwasher 3 has a built-in control circuit 31, and a front operation panel 32 has a power switch 32a, switches for performing various setting operations, an operation unit 32b such as a push button, and the like.
A transmitting unit 32c using an infrared LED is provided. Control circuit
31 controls the dishwasher 3 according to the operation of the operation unit 32b,
Further, the infrared signal 3a according to the control content is transmitted from the transmission unit 32c. 33 is a drain pipe.

The washing machine 4 has a built-in control circuit 41. The operation panel 42 on the upper surface includes an operation unit 42a such as a switch and a push button for performing various setting operations, and a transmission unit 42b using an infrared light emitting LED. It has. The control circuit 41 is configured to control the washing machine 4 in accordance with the operation of the operation unit 42a, and to transmit an infrared signal 4a according to the control content from the transmission unit 42b. Four
3 is a hot water supply pipe and 44 is a drain pipe.

The operation unit 21, the dishwasher 3 and the washing machine 4 of the main controller 2 are installed in a kitchen, for example, and the infrared signal 3a output from the transmitter 32c of the dishwasher 3 and the transmitter 42b of the washing machine 4 is provided. , 4a are arranged to be able to be received by the receiving section 21d of the operation section 21.

This embodiment is configured as described above and operates as follows.

That is, when the dishwasher 3 is operated, first, a signal indicating “the dishwasher is on”, “water heater operation is on”, and “the set temperature is repeated” are transmitted from the transmitter 32c. You. This signal is, for example, a serial signal appropriately combined with a malfunction preventing signal such as parity and transmitted in the form of an infrared signal of about 40 kHz modulated by this. Also, when the washing machine 4 is operated, a signal is transmitted in a similar manner.

The infrared signals 3a and 4a are received and demodulated by the receiving section 21d of the main controller 2, and when it is confirmed that there is no malfunction such as parity detection, the serial signal is decoded and the burner control section is decoded.
Then, the operation of the water heater main body 1 is turned on. And the burner output is adjusted so that the hot water temperature becomes the set value,
Predetermined displays such as operation and temperature are displayed on the display unit 21c. When the operation temperature of the dishwasher 3 or the washing machine 4 advances and the set temperature is changed, the burner output is adjusted accordingly, and hot water at the temperature required at that time is always supplied.

When the operation of the dishwasher 3 or the washing machine 4 is completed after a series of sequences, a signal of “water heater operation off” is sent, and the operation of the water heater main body 1 is turned off. This operation-off signal does not send a special off signal, but may simply stop the operation-on signal to turn off the operation of the water heater main body 1. When stopped, the system may return to the state immediately before the signal is transmitted.

It should be noted that the water heater main body 1 is of course controlled by direct manual operation of the operation unit 21 without relying on the infrared signals 3a and 4a from the dishwasher 3 or the washing machine 4 as described above. In addition, the operation of the operation unit 21 and the priority of the signal from the dishwasher 3 or the washing machine 4 are provided, and when these coexist, the water heater main body 1 is controlled according to the higher priority. Is also good.

In this embodiment, the control signals from the dishwasher 3 and the washing machine 4, which are hot water utilization devices, are transmitted by a wireless method using infrared rays. It is also possible. In addition, a wired system in which the hot water utilization device and the main controller 2 are directly connected by an electric wire can be adopted. In the case of a radio wave or a wired system, restrictions on the arrangement of the devices are greatly reduced.

<Effects of the Invention> As is clear from the above embodiment, the hot water supply apparatus of the present invention can control the hot water heater main body also by the control signal transmitted from the hot water utilization device, so that the main control of the hot water heater main body is performed. The operation is simple and convenient because it is only necessary to operate the hot water utilization equipment without operating the section.

In addition, since the on / off of the water heater and the set temperature are controlled, hot water can be supplied according to the operation sequence of hot water appliances such as a dishwasher and a washing machine, so that the temperature setting can be forgotten or mistaken. There are no mistakes, and it becomes easy to make full use of the performance of hot water utilization equipment.

In the case where a control signal is transmitted wirelessly such as by using infrared rays, wiring for connection is not required and installation is easy.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic configuration diagram of an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a block diagram of a main controller of a water heater main body in the embodiment. 1 ... hot water heater main unit, 2 ... main controller, 3 ... dishwasher, 3a ... infrared signal, 4 ... washing machine, 4a ... infrared signal, 21 ... operation unit, 21a ... operation switch , 21b ... temperature setting switch, 21d ... receiving unit, 22 ... control unit, 22b ...
Combustion / temperature control circuit, 31 ... Control circuit, 32a ... Power switch, 32b ... Operation unit, 32c ... Transmission unit, 41 ... Control circuit, 42a ... Operation unit, 42b ... Transmission unit.

Claims (4)

(57) [Claims] In a water heater configured to control a water heater main body in response to a direct operation on a controller of the water heater main body, a hot water utilization device that operates in a predetermined sequence is connected to a hot water supply destination. In this case, the water heater is configured to be controlled by a control signal including at least a hot water on / off signal and a temperature setting signal transmitted from a controller of the hot water utilization device. 2. The hot water supply apparatus according to claim 1, wherein a control signal from a controller of the hot water utilization device is transmitted wirelessly. 3. The hot water supply apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the control signal is transmitted by infrared rays. 4. The hot water supply apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the hot water utilization equipment is a dishwasher and a washing machine.