JP4329778B2 - Hot water storage water heater - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a hot water storage type hot water supply apparatus that automatically boils hot water and stores it in a tank.

Conventionally, when the amount of remaining hot water in the tank is small, it was possible to boil up manually. (For example, see Patent Document 1)
JP 2004-138299 A

  However, in the hot water storage type hot water heater of Patent Document 1, the amount of increase in boiling is fixed, and if it is insufficient, it must be increased again. On the other hand, even if only a small amount of boiling is required, the amount of boiling increases more than necessary, so that the electricity bill is wasted.

  SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is to provide a hot water storage type hot water supply apparatus that can increase an appropriate amount when a user wants to boil hot water and avoid running out of hot water and excess hot water.

The hot water storage type hot water heater according to the first aspect of the present invention includes heating means, a hot water supply device, and a control device. The hot water storage device stores hot water boiled by the heating means in a predetermined tank. The control device controls the operation of the heating means and the hot water storage device. The control device has a boiling level selection means and a remaining hot water amount detection means. The boiling level selection means manually selects the boiling level when the user wants to boil the amount of hot water in the tank. The remaining hot water amount detecting means detects the amount of hot water remaining in the tank. The boiling level selection means provides a selection range in which the number of options is changed according to the remaining hot water amount detected by the remaining hot water amount detection means so that the user selects the boiling level, and the selected boiling level is selected. An increase level and a guideline indicating an amount of hot water that can be used corresponding to the increase level are displayed. The selection range includes a full tank option for selecting a full tank state where the tank is filled with hot water. The full tank option is selected based on the amount of time that the full tank state is maintained.

In this hot water storage type water heater, from the selection range in which the number of options is changed according to the amount of remaining hot water, the boiling level corresponding to the amount of hot water that the user wants to increase is selected, and whether or not the boiling level is appropriate, Since the user himself / herself makes a judgment while looking at the guideline, the necessary additional heating level can be set without hesitation. Furthermore, the user can select not only the boiling up but also the full tank by the amount of time. For this reason, since the user only selects, it is easy to use, prevents selection mistakes, and avoids running out of hot water and excess water.

  The hot water storage type hot water heater according to the second aspect of the present invention is the hot water storage type hot water supply system according to the first aspect of the present invention, and the selection range includes a plurality of additional level options with different target levels of the additional level.

  In this hot water storage type water heater, since the user can select an appropriate boiling level from a plurality of options, it becomes easy to match the amount of hot water required by the user, and hot water runs out and excess hot water are avoided.

A hot water storage type hot water heater according to a third aspect of the present invention is the hot water storage type hot water supply apparatus according to the first aspect of the present invention, wherein the control device further includes remote control means. A boiling level selection means is provided on the remote control means.

  In this hot water storage type hot water heater, the user can select the required level of boiling increase from a remote location, so it is easy to use.

In the hot water storage type hot water heater according to the first aspect of the invention, the user can select and set the boiling level corresponding to the amount of hot water that the user wants to increase, and the user can select not only the boiling but also the full tank by the amount of time. it can. For this reason, since the user only selects, it is easy to use, prevents selection mistakes, and avoids running out of hot water and excess water.

  In the hot water storage type hot water heater according to the second aspect of the invention, the user can select an appropriate boiling level from a plurality of options, so that it becomes easy to match the amount of hot water required by the user and avoids running out of hot water and excess water. The

In the hot water storage type hot water supply apparatus according to the third aspect of the invention, the user can select a necessary boiling level from a distant position, which is convenient.

<Configuration of hot water storage type water heater>
FIG. 1 shows a schematic configuration diagram of a hot water storage type water heater according to the present embodiment. The hot water storage type water heater 1 includes a heat pump unit (heating means) 2 and a hot water storage device 3. The heat pump unit 2 includes a muffler 21 a, a compressor 21, a refrigerant pipe 22 a in the water heat exchanger 22, an expansion valve 23 as a decompression unit, and an air heat exchanger 24 that are annularly connected by a refrigerant pipe 25. The refrigeration circuit 20 is provided.

  The refrigeration circuit 20 is provided with a liquid gas heat exchanger 26 for heat exchange between the high-pressure and high-temperature refrigerant coming out of the water heat exchanger 22 and the low-pressure and low-temperature refrigerant coming out of the air heat exchanger 24. Has been. Specifically, heat exchange is performed between the refrigerant passage connecting the water heat exchanger 22 and the expansion valve 23 and the refrigerant passage connecting the air heat exchanger 24 and the compressor 21.

  The hot water storage device 3 includes a water circulation circuit 30 in which a hot water storage tank 31, a water pipe 22 b in the water heat exchanger 22, and a water circulation pump 32 are annularly connected by a water circulation pipe 35. The control device 4 controls the operation of the heat pump unit 2 and the hot water storage device 3.

<Hot water storage device>
FIG. 2 is a circuit diagram of piping that communicates a hot water storage device and a load of the hot water storage type hot water supply apparatus according to the present embodiment. In addition, the load described here refers to hot water supply and a bath. The hot water supply pipe 71 communicates the head of the tank 31 with the hot water supply mixing valve 73. The hot water supply pipe 71 includes hot water supply branch pipes 71 a and 71 b, the hot water supply branch pipe 71 a connects the water supply pipe 71 and the hot water beam mixing valve 74, and the hot water supply branch pipe 71 b includes the water supply pipe 71 and the relief valve 75. I'm in touch.

  The water supply pipe 72 connects the water supply source and the hot water supply mixing valve 73. The water supply pipe 72 has water supply branch pipes 72 a and 72 b, the water supply branch pipe 72 a connects the water supply pipe 72 and the hot water mixing valve 74, and the water supply branch pipe 72 b is connected to the water supply pipe 72 and the tank 31. It communicates with the bottom. A pressure reducing check valve 76 is connected upstream of the water supply branch pipe 72a and the water supply branch pipe 72b. Further, a water temperature sensor 41 is provided at a position away from the tank 31 of the water supply branch pipe 72 b, so that the water temperature sensor 41 is not affected by the temperature from the tank 31.

  The hot water circulation pipe 77 communicates the top of the tank 31 and the bottom of the tank 31, and a memorial heat exchanger 78 and a circulation pump 79 are connected midway.

  The second hot water supply pipe 81 connects the hot water supply mixing valve 73 and the hot water supply port 82, and a hot water supply water amount sensor 42a is disposed on the way. The third hot water supply pipe 83 communicates the hot water beam mixing valve 74 and the bath water circulation pipe 91, and a composite water valve 84 is disposed in the middle. The composite water valve 84 includes a hot water solenoid valve 84a, a drain valve 84b, and a hot water volume sensor 42b.

  The bath water circulation pipe 91 exits from the bathtub 92 and returns to the bathtub 92, and a bath water circulation pump 93 is connected on the way. It should be noted that heat is exchanged between the bath water circulation pipe 91 and the hot water circulation pipe 77 in the memory heat exchanger 78.

  On the side wall of the tank 31, temperature sensors 44a to 44e are provided as remaining hot water amount detection means 44 at a constant interval from the head to the bottom. The temperature of hot water and the amount of remaining hot water are calculated by detecting the hot water temperature at each height position of the tank 31 with the temperature sensors 44a to 44e.

<Control device>
FIG. 3 is a block diagram of the control device 4. Here, a schematic configuration will be described, and details of each unit will be described as needed in the second half.

  The control device 4 includes a control unit 6, a water temperature sensor (water temperature detecting means) 41, a hot water supply water amount sensor 42a as a flow rate detecting means 42, a hot water supply water amount sensor 42b, temperature sensors 44a to 44e as remaining hot water amount detecting means, and a boiling level. It has selection means 43, eco-stop setting means (temporary stop setting means) 45 and remote control (remote operation means) 46. The boiling increase setting means 43 and the eco stop setting means 45 are provided on the remote controller 46.

  The remote controller 46 includes a display unit 46a, a hot water supply temperature selection button 46b, a hot water amount setting button 46c, a reheat setting button 46d, and an eco stop setting button 46e.

  The control unit 6 includes a CPU, a memory, and the like, and stores a selection range 43a necessary for operating the boiling level selection means 43. The selection range 43a includes boiling level options A1 to A5 (see FIG. 6) and full tank options A6 to A8 (see FIG. 6).

  The controller 6 is programmed with an automatic mode (full automatic mode) 6a and a non-automatic mode (semi-automatic mode) 6b. The first automatic boiling function 60a and the non-automatic mode 6b corresponding to the automatic mode 6a are programmed. A corresponding second automatic boiling function 60b is also programmed.

(Random mode and non-automatic mode)
In the present embodiment, a hot water supply performance by a past time zone is learned, an amount of hot water is set and the hot water is automatically boiled (fully automatic mode) 6a, and the amount of hot water is set by the user to automatically boil the hot water. A non-automatic mode (semi-automatic mode) 6b is programmed in advance. When the control device 4 is turned on and there is no setting by the user, the automatic mode 6a is automatically selected, and when the amount of hot water is set by the user's operation, the non-automatic mode 6b is set.

(Automatic boiling function)
In any case, the automatic heating function 60 for automatically boiling hot water is installed in the automatic mode and the non-automatic mode, and the first automatic boiling function 60a is installed in the automatic mode 6a. A second automatic boiling function 60b corresponding to the automatic mode 6b is installed.

(Water temperature detection control)
The valve openings of the hot water supply mixing valve 73 and the hot water mixing valve 74 are determined based on the hot water temperature and the water temperature. For example, when the water temperature is high, the valve opening greatly increases toward the water side. For this reason, if the water temperature is not correctly detected, the hot water at the temperature required by the user cannot be provided. In the present embodiment, the water temperature sensor 41 is installed in the water supply pipe 72 or the water supply branch pipe 72b that is away from the tank 31 so as not to be affected by the temperature from the tank 31. Further, in order not to employ the temperature of the water that remains, the value detected after it is confirmed that the water in the place where the water temperature sensor 41 is installed has flowed for a predetermined amount or more and for a predetermined time or more is adopted as the water temperature. is doing.

  In the present embodiment, the water temperature sensor 41 is installed in the water supply branch pipe 72b, and the flow of water in the water supply branch pipe 72b includes a hot water supply amount sensor 42a connected to the second hot water supply pipe 81, and a third hot water supply. It is detected indirectly by the hot water volume sensor 42b connected to the pipe 83. When hot water is discharged from the tank 31, the water is replenished to the tank 31. Therefore, the amount of water detected by the hot water supply amount sensor 42 a and the hot water supply amount sensor 42 b can be regarded as the amount of water replenished to the tank 31. it can.

  The detected water temperature is stored in the control unit 6, and when a water temperature lower than the currently stored water temperature is detected, the detected water temperature is updated to a lower water temperature. The water temperature data stored in the control unit 6 is initialized at a predetermined time. In this embodiment, the water temperature data is initialized at 5 am.

<Configuration of remote control>
The user can set the hot water supply temperature, the amount of hot water, and other conditions using the remote controller 46. FIG. 4 is a front view of the remote controller of the hot water storage type hot water heater 1 according to the present embodiment. The remote controller 46 has various setting buttons such as a display unit 46a, a hot water supply temperature setting button 46b, a hot water amount setting button 46c, a reheating setting button 46d, and an eco stop setting button 46e. The display unit 46a displays the hot water supply temperature, the remaining hot water amount, the set conditions, and the like. For example, FIG. 4 shows that the hot water supply temperature is 42 ° C. and the remaining hot water amount is the maximum of five levels. The heating increase setting button 46d and the eco stop setting button 46e will be described later as needed.

(Increase boiling setting)
When the user wants to increase the amount of hot water in the tank, he can select five levels of boiling level and three levels of full tank by pressing the boiling setting button 46d of the remote controller 46. FIG. 5 is a front view of the remote controller at the time of setting the reheating of the hot water storage type hot water heater according to the present embodiment, and FIG. 6 is an explanatory diagram showing the selection range at the time of setting the reheating.

  As shown in FIG. 6, when the remaining hot water amount is 0 level, the user sets the boiling level to 5 (+1 to 5) (A1 to A5) and full tank [6 hours]. , Full tank [12 hours] and full tank [24 hours] can be selected from a selection range 43a having a total of eight options (A6 to A8). Therefore, the user can press the boiling increase setting button 46d eight times, and the setting is canceled when the user presses nine times. For example, referring to FIG. 5, when the reheat setting button 46d of the remote controller 46 is pressed once, the selected level such as “reheated [1]” is displayed on the display unit 46a, and “shower: + approx. The standard 6c is displayed as “100L”. This is to inform the user that if the reheat [1] is selected, about 100 L can be used in the shower. If the user feels that this is insufficient, the reheat setting button can be pressed to increase the reheat level. it can.

  The amount of remaining hot water is the amount of hot water of 45 ° C. to 85 ° C. remaining in the tank 31, and hot water is mixed with water when actually used. Therefore, it is easier for the user to see the amount of hot water supplied at the actual temperature used than to see the amount of remaining hot water. Therefore, in addition to “shower: + approx. 100 L”, the standard 6c may be expressed in a manner that is easy to understand for the user, such as “shower: +15 minutes”, “bath hot water: approx. 200 L / time”.

  Next, the setting for increasing boiling when the amount of remaining hot water is 2 will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 7 is an explanatory view showing a setting method at the time of setting the boiling increase, and shows the order of setting and releasing when the remaining hot water amount is 2 levels. The user has three (A1 to A3) of boiling [+1] to boiling [+3] and three of full tank [6 hours], full tank [12 hours] and full tank [24 hours] (A6 To A8) can be selected from the selection range 43a having a total of six options (see FIG. 6). Therefore, the user can press the boiling increase setting button 46d 6 times, and the setting is canceled when the user presses it 7 times.

  On the other hand, when the remaining hot water amount is 5 levels and the remaining hot water amount is sufficient, the user has three tanks (A6 to A8): full tank [6 hours], full tank [12 hours] and full tank [24 hours]. Can be selected from the selection range 43a having the following options (see FIG. 6). Therefore, the user can press the heating increase setting button 46d three times, and is released when the user presses it four times. For example, when the boiling increase setting button 46d is pressed twice to select the full tank [12 hours], the hot water amount in the tank 31 is maintained at the full tank state for 12 hours. Driving will continue until the tank is full.

(Eco stop setting)
When the user looks at the remaining hot water amount displayed on the remote controller 46 and determines that the remaining hot water amount can cover until the start of the midnight time zone, the user presses the eco-stop setting button 46e to activate the automatic boiling function 60. It can be stopped until the start of the midnight time period to prevent unnecessary boiling. In this embodiment, the midnight time zone starts at 23:00. In the present embodiment, pressing the eco stop setting button 46e to stop the automatic boiling function 60 until the start of the midnight time zone is referred to as “eco stop”.

  When the user presses the eco-stop setting button 46e, the amount of hot water that can be used at a predetermined temperature is calculated based on the amount of hot water in the tank 31 and displayed on the display unit 46a of the remote controller 46. Below that, a predicted hot water supply amount predicted to be used from the time when the eco-stop setting button 46e is pressed until the start of the midnight time zone is displayed. The predicted hot water supply amount will be described later.

  For example, referring to FIG. 8, if the user presses the eco-stop setting button 46e at 4 pm, if the remaining hot water amount at that time is the maximum (display level 5), the display unit 46a displays 42 A guideline 6c suggesting that about 300 L of hot water can be supplied in a shower at ℃ is displayed, and then it is suggested that about 250 L of hot water may be supplied in a shower at 42 ℃ for 7 hours from 4 pm to 11:00 pm A guide 6c is displayed. If the user does not cancel the eco stop setting, as shown in FIG. 8B, 4:00 pm, which is the start time of the eco stop setting, is displayed.

  On the contrary, if the remaining hot water amount is at the display 2 level as shown in FIG. 8 (c), the display unit 46a displays a standard 6c that suggests that about 150 L of hot water can be supplied by a shower at 42 ° C. In addition, a guideline 6c is displayed, which suggests that there is a possibility of supplying about 250 L of hot water in a shower at 42 ° C. for 7 hours from 4 pm to 11 pm. At this time, since the predicted hot water supply amount exceeds the usable hot water supply amount, the user is informed that hot water may be insufficient, and is prompted to cancel the eco stop setting.

(Predicted amount of hot water supply)
In the present embodiment, past hot water supply results by time period are stored in the control unit 6, and based on the hot water supply results, the amount of hot water required from an arbitrary time in the day to the start of the midnight time zone is calculated. Can be predicted. In addition, the past hot water supply performance according to the time zone is memorize | stored in the calorie | heat amount unit (kcal), and is converted into the hot water supply amount (L) in predetermined temperature as needed.

  FIG. 9 is an image diagram of a data group stored in the control unit 6 and showing the actual hot water supply amount by time zone from 7:00 am to 6:00 am of the next seven days and the predicted hot water supply amount by time zone predicted therefrom. It is. For example, when the eco-stop setting button is pressed at 16:00 (4 pm), the control unit 6 is based on the data group, and the time zone from 16:00 to 23:00 (11:00 pm) when the midnight time zone starts. Add the estimated hot water supply amount and compare it with the hot water supply possible amount.

  FIG. 10A is a comparison graph when the possible hot water supply amount exceeds the predicted hot water supply amount, and FIG. 10B is a comparison graph when the possible hot water supply amount falls below the predicted hot water supply amount. In this embodiment, when the possible hot water supply amount exceeds the predicted hot water supply amount as shown in FIG. 10A, the hot water supply possible amount and the predicted hot water supply amount are only displayed on the display unit 46a. If the possible hot water supply amount falls below the predicted hot water supply amount as in (), the hot water supply possible amount and the predicted hot water supply amount are displayed on the display unit 46a and at the same time the user is told, “There is not enough hot water. . "Is issued.

(Time setting)
Although the present embodiment has a time function for setting and recording time, when power supply is stopped due to a long-time power failure or the like, the time cannot be recorded and is reset. When the time is reset, the automatic boiling function is inconvenient, and the time setting navigation function is programmed in case there is a reset due to a power failure for a long time.

  In the time setting navigation function, when power is supplied after the time is reset, the display on the display unit 46a of the remote controller 46 notifies the user that the time is not set. Further, the operation becomes invalid for all the setting buttons of the remote controller 46, and when the setting button is operated, the time setting is required to be notified by voice, and the time setting mode for setting the time is forcibly entered. Transition. As a result, even when the time is reset, the user only has to set according to the instruction of the remote controller 46 without checking the instruction manual, thereby avoiding an operation mistake or forgetting operation.

<Features>
(1)
The hot water storage type water heater 1 includes a heating means 2, a hot water supply device 3, and a control device 4. The hot water storage device 3 stores hot water boiled by the heating means 2 in a predetermined tank 31. The control device 4 controls the operation of the heating means 2 and the hot water storage device 3. The control device 4 has a boiling level selection means 43 for manually selecting the boiling level when the user wants to boil the amount of hot water in the tank 31. For this reason, it is possible to select and set the boiling level corresponding to the amount of hot water that the user wants to increase. Further, the reheating level selection means 43 displays the selected reheating level and a guideline 6c that suggests a usable hot water supply amount corresponding to the reheating level. For this reason, the user himself / herself can determine whether or not the heating level selected by the user is appropriate. Further, the boiling level selection means 43 provides a selection range 43a for the user to select a boiling level, and the selection range 43a has a plurality of boiling level options A1 having different target values for the boiling level. -A5 is included. For this reason, since the user can select an appropriate boiling level from a plurality of options, it becomes easy to match the amount of hot water required by the user, and hot water runs out and excess water are avoided.

(2)
In this hot water storage type water heater 1, the selection range 43a further includes full tank options A6 to A8 for selecting a full tank state in which the tank 31 is filled with hot water. The full tank options A6 to A8 are selected based on the amount of time for maintaining the full tank state. For this reason, if the user selects the full tank, the hot water shortage is avoided at least. In addition, it is easy to use because the tank can be selected by the amount of time.

(3)
In this hot water storage type water heater 1, the control device 4 further includes a remaining hot water amount detection means 44 that detects the amount of hot water remaining in the tank 31. The boiling increase level selection means 43 changes the selection range 43 a according to the remaining hot water amount detected by the remaining hot water amount detection means 44. Therefore, the user can select the necessary level of extra boiling without hesitation depending on the amount of remaining hot water, so that selection mistakes are prevented and hot water runs out and excess hot water are avoided.

(4)
The control device 4 further includes remote operation means 46. A boiling level selection means 43 is provided on the remote control means 46. Therefore, the user can select a necessary level of heating from a remote location, which is convenient.

  As described above, according to the present invention, it is possible to set an appropriate boiling level and avoid running out of hot water and remaining hot water. Therefore, the present invention is useful for a hot water storage type hot water heater that automatically boils hot water and stores it in a tank.

The schematic block diagram of the hot water storage type water heater which concerns on this embodiment. The circuit diagram of the piping which connects the hot water storage apparatus and load of the hot water storage type water heater. The block diagram of the control apparatus of the hot water storage type water heater. It is a front view of the remote control of the hot water storage type water heater. The front view of the remote control at the time of the heating increase setting of the hot water storage type water heater. Explanatory drawing showing the selection range at the time of boiling increase setting. Explanatory drawing showing the setting method at the time of boiling increase setting. (A) The front view of the remote control at the time of the eco-stop setting of the hot water storage type water heater which concerns on this embodiment. (B) Display example of the display unit of the remote controller when the eco stop is set. (C) Display example of the display unit of the remote controller when the eco stop is set. The image figure of the data group which shows the past hot water supply amount performance according to the time slot | zone memorize | stored in the control part, and the predicted hot water supply amount according to time slot | zone estimated from it. (A) Comparison graph in the case where the possible hot water supply amount exceeds the predicted hot water supply amount. (B) A comparison graph when the possible hot water supply amount is lower than the predicted hot water supply amount.

1 Hot water storage type water heater 2 Heat pump unit (heating means)
3 Hot water storage device 4 Control device 6c Guideline 31 Tank 43 Heating level selection means 43a Selection range 44 Remaining hot water amount detection sensor 46 Remote control (remote operation means)

Claims (3)

A hot water storage device (3) for storing hot water boiled by the heating means (2) in a predetermined tank (31);
A control device (4) for controlling operation of the heating means (2) and the hot water storage device (3);
With
The control device (4)
A boiling level selection means (43) for manually selecting a boiling level when the user wants to boil the amount of hot water in the tank (31);
A remaining hot water amount detecting means (44) for detecting the amount of hot water remaining in the tank (31);
Have
The boiling level selection means (43)
Providing a selection range (43a) for changing the number of options according to the amount of remaining hot water detected by the remaining hot water amount detecting means (44) so that the user selects the increased boiling level,
Displaying the selected boiling level and a guideline (6c) indicating the amount of hot water that can be used corresponding to the boiling level ;
The selection range (43a) includes full tank options (A6 to A8) for selecting a full tank state in which the tank (31) is filled with hot water.
The full tank option (A6 to A8) is selected based on an amount of time for maintaining the full tank state.
Hot water storage water heater (1). The selection range (43a) further includes a plurality of boiling level options (A1 to A5) each having a different target value of the boiling level.
The hot water storage type water heater (1) according to claim 1. The control device (4) further comprises remote control means (46),
The boiling level selection means (43) is provided on the remote control means (46).
The hot water storage type water heater (1) according to claim 1.

Images