JP5485107B2 - Bath water heater - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a bath hot-water supply apparatus that tracks bath water.

  Conventionally, in this kind of bath hot water supply apparatus, as in Patent Document 1, the heat source for heating the bath water, the bath circulation circuit for connecting the bathtub and the heat source so that the bath water can circulate, and the heat source in an operating state Switching means for switching between non-operating state and non-operating state, a bath circulation pump provided in the middle of the bath circulation circuit for circulating the bath water, and a bath water temperature provided upstream of the heat source of the bath circulation circuit A bath temperature sensor is provided, and the bath circulation pump is operated and the bath water is circulated while the switching means is kept in the non-operating state at predetermined intervals, and the temperature of the bath water is checked, and the target temperature is not reached. Then, it has been known that the switching means is switched to the heat source operating state to perform the reheating operation for heating the bath water.

Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 10-2606

  However, in this conventional one, since the reheating is always started after confirming the bath water temperature, when the bath water temperature is clearly lowered, it takes time to start the temperature rise, Since the bath circulation circuit is circulated without heating the bath water, if the bath water temperature has not dropped, the bath water will be cooled by the bath circulation circuit, and there is a problem that the feeling of bathing is not good. .

  As a countermeasure, it is possible to reduce the time required to start the temperature rise by immediately starting additional heating without checking the temperature of the bathtub water, but also when the temperature of the bathtub water has not decreased so much. Therefore, it was overtaken by exceeding the target temperature, which also had a problem that the feeling of bathing was not good.

  Then, an object of this invention is to provide the bath hot-water supply apparatus which can improve the feeling of bathing of rebirth.

  In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, the present invention provides a heat source for heating bathtub water, a bath circulation circuit that connects the bathtub and the heat source so that the bathtub water can circulate, and the heat source is in an activated state or inactive state. Switching means for switching between, a bath circulation pump for circulating bath water provided in the middle of the bath circulation circuit, and a bath temperature sensor for detecting bath water temperature provided upstream of the heat source of the bath circulation circuit And at each predetermined interval time, the switching means is set to the heat source inactive state, the bath circulation pump is operated to circulate the bath water, and the temperature of the bath water is confirmed. Confirmation chasing operation in which bath water is heated by switching to the heat source operating state, or the bath circulating pump is operated and the bath is operated after the switching means is in the heat source operating state at every predetermined interval time. A control means for performing any one of the immediate follow-up operation for heating the bath water before confirming the temperature of the water, and a discriminating means for discriminating whether or not the bath water is easily cooled; The means performs the immediate follow-up operation when it is determined that the determination means is in a state of being easily cooled, and the confirmation follow-up is performed when it is determined that the determination means is not in a state of being easily cooled. I started driving.

  Moreover, the said discrimination means discriminate | determines that it is in the condition which is not easy to cool bathtub water when the temperature of bathtub water is more than predetermined temperature higher than target temperature at the said immediate pursuit operation.

  In addition, the determination means determines that the bath water is not easily cooled when a water supply request is made by operating a water supply switch within a predetermined time from the start or end of the immediate chasing operation. did.

  In addition, the determining means determines that the bath water is in a state of being easily cooled when the temperature of the bath water is not more than a predetermined temperature lower than the target temperature at the start of the confirmation chasing operation.

  The discriminating means discriminates that the bath water is in a state of being easily cooled when there is a chasing request by operating the chasing switch.

  In addition, season determination means for determining the winter season and other seasons is provided, and the determination means determines that the bath water is easily cooled when the season determination means determines that it is winter.

  Further, the season determination means determines the winter season and other seasons according to any one of the outside air temperature, the water supply temperature, and the calendar function.

  According to the present invention, if the bathtub water is easy to cool, the immediate follow-up operation is performed. Therefore, the temperature rise is started immediately after the start of the follow-up, and if the bathtub water is not easy to cool, the confirmation follow-up operation is performed. Therefore, the bath water temperature is not increased unnecessarily, and the bathing feeling of renewal can be improved.

Schematic configuration diagram of one embodiment of the present invention State transition diagram for explaining the operation of the same embodiment Flow chart for explaining the operation of the chasing operation of the same embodiment

One embodiment of the bath hot water supply apparatus of the present invention will be described based on the hot water storage type bath hot water supply apparatus shown in FIG.
1 is a hot water storage tank for storing hot water, 2 is a water supply pipe for supplying water to the hot water storage tank 1, 3 is a pressure reducing valve provided in the water supply pipe 2 for reducing the supply water pressure, 4 is a hot water discharge pipe for discharging hot water from the upper part of the hot water storage tank 1, An overpressure relief valve provided in the tapping pipe 4 for relieving overpressure, 6 is a feed water bypass pipe branched from the feed water pipe 2 on the downstream side of the pressure reducing valve 3, and 7 is hot water from the tapping pipe 4 and water from the feed water bypass pipe 6. , 8 is a hot water supply pipe for supplying hot water from the hot water supply mixing valve 7, 9 is a hot water temperature sensor provided in the hot water supply pipe 8, and 10 is a hot water flow rate sensor provided in the hot water supply pipe 8, 11 Is a hot water storage temperature sensor that is provided in plural above and below the side surface of the hot water storage tank 1 to detect the hot water storage temperature, 12 is a hot water temperature sensor that detects the hot water temperature, and 13 is a hot water tap.

  Reference numeral 14 is a bathtub, 15 is a bath heat exchanger (corresponding to a heat source for heating the bath water) provided in the upper part of the hot water storage tank 1, and 16 is connected to the bathtub 14 and the bath heat exchanger 15 so that the bath water can circulate. 17 is a bath circulation pump provided in the middle of the bath circulation circuit 16, and 18 is a bath heat exchanger branched from the upstream side of the bath heat exchanger 15 and the downstream side of the bath circulation pump 17 of the bath circulation circuit 16. 15 is a bath heat exchanger bypass pipe connected to the downstream side, 19 is a switching valve for switching whether the bath water is circulated to the bath heat exchanger 15 or the bath heat exchanger bypass pipe 18, and 20 is a bath heat exchanger from the bathtub 14 15 is a bath temperature sensor for detecting the temperature of the bath water, 21 is a hot water pipe branched from the hot water supply pipe 8 and connected to the bath circulation circuit 16, and 22 is a hot water solenoid valve for opening and closing the hot water pipe 21. is there. Here, the bath circulation circuit 16, the bath heat exchanger bypass pipe 18, and the switching valve 19 constitute switching means for switching the heat source between the operating state and the non-operating state.

  23 is a compressor for compressing the refrigerant, 24 is a hot water supply heat exchanger for exchanging heat between the refrigerant and hot water, 25 is a pressure reducing means for depressurizing the refrigerant, 26 is an air heat exchanger as an evaporator for evaporating the low-temperature refrigerant, and 27 is A blower fan that blows outside air to the air heat exchanger 26. The compressor 23, the hot water supply heat exchanger 24, the decompression means 25, and the air heat exchanger 26 are connected in a ring shape with a refrigerant pipe 28, The heat pump heating means 29 which boils hot water is comprised.

  A heating circulation circuit 30 connects the lower part of the hot water storage tank 1 and the inlet of the hot water supply heat exchanger 24, connects the outlet of the hot water supply heat exchanger 24 and the upper part of the hot water storage tank 1, and 31 is the inlet side of the hot water supply heat exchanger 24 A heating circulation pump provided in the heating circulation circuit 30 for circulating hot water extracted from the lower part of the hot water storage tank 1 to the upper part of the hot water storage tank 1 through the hot water supply heat exchanger 24, and 32 indicates the temperature of the hot water flowing into the hot water supply heat exchanger 24. An incoming water temperature sensor 33 to detect, a boiling temperature sensor 33 to detect the temperature of hot water flowing out from the hot water supply heat exchanger 24, and an outside air temperature sensor 34 to detect the outside air temperature.

  Reference numeral 35 denotes a remote controller for performing hot water supply temperature and various necessary settings, a display unit 36 for displaying hot water set temperature and bath set temperature, a temperature setting switch 37 for setting hot water set temperature and bath set temperature, and bathtub 14. A flow switch 38 for performing a heat retaining operation for a predetermined heat retaining time following the filling of a predetermined amount of hot water to the water, a reheating switch 39 for performing a reheating operation for heating the bath water, and a water pouring operation for the bathtub 14 A water supply switch 40 is provided.

  Reference numeral 41 denotes a control means for controlling the operation of the hot water storage bath water heater, which stores a program for controlling the operation in advance and has a clock function with calculation, comparison, storage function, calendar function, Values detected by the sensor 9, the hot water supply flow rate sensor 10, the hot water storage temperature sensor 11, the water supply temperature sensor 12, the bath temperature sensor 20, the incoming water temperature sensor 32, the boiling temperature sensor 33, and the outside air temperature sensor 34 are input. Controls the drive of the mixing valve 7, bath circulation pump 17, switching valve 19, hot water solenoid valve 22, compressor 23, decompression means 25, blower fan 27, and heating circulation pump 31, and can communicate with the remote controller 35. It is connected.

  The control means 41 is provided with a determination means 42 for determining whether or not the bathtub water is easily cooled, and a season determination means 43 for determining the winter season and other seasons. If the bath water is easy to cool down after the hot water filling is done, immediately follow up the bath water before checking the bath water temperature every predetermined interval time. If the bath water temperature is not easy to cool, the bath water temperature is checked every predetermined interval time (for example, every 20 minutes), and if the bath water temperature does not reach the bath set temperature (target temperature), it is chased This is intended to carry out the confirmation tracking operation.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the discrimination means 42 discriminates the situation by transitioning between a state that is easy to cool and a state that is not easy to cool by satisfying certain conditions. When the water temperature is equal to or lower than a predetermined temperature α ° C. (for example, 1.5 ° C.) lower than the bath set temperature, or when the reheating switch 39 of the remote controller 35 has been turned on, or the season determination means When it is determined that 43 is in the winter season, the determination means 42 determines that the bath water is in a state of being easily cooled, and the bath water temperature is predetermined from the bath set temperature between the start and end of the immediate chasing operation. When the temperature becomes higher than β ° C (for example, 1.5 ° C) or within a certain time (for example, 5 minutes) from the start or end of the immediate follow-up operation, When it is detected that the switch 40 is turned on a plurality of times, the determination means 42 determines that the bath water is not easily cooled.

  The season determination means 43 determines that the average temperature for one week of the outside temperature at a specific time detected by the outside temperature sensor 34 is lower than a predetermined temperature (for example, 10 ° C.), and determines that it is winter. It is determined that there is. Here, the specific time is preferably, for example, a specific time in the midnight time zone (for example, 3 o'clock midnight) when the blower fan 27 will be operated by the heating operation of the heat pump heating means 29, and the same condition every day by the operation of the blower fan 27. Can detect the outside air temperature. This seasonal determination means 43 is the average value for one week of the feed water temperature detected by the feed water temperature sensor 12 as well as the one week average of the temperature that can be regarded as the feed water temperature detected by the lowest hot water storage temperature sensor 11 in addition to the outside air temperature. The winter season may be determined based on the value or the current date of the calendar function.

  Then, at the start time of a predetermined time zone in the night, the control means 40 drives the compressor 23, the pressure reducing means 25, the blower fan 27, and the heating circulation pump 31 so as to start boiling the amount of hot water corresponding to the hot water supply load amount up to the previous day. The hot water taken out from the lower part of the hot water storage tank 1 is heated to the boiling temperature set by the hot water heat exchanger 24 and returned to the upper part of the hot water tank 1, and the hot water at the heated temperature set from the upper part of the hot water tank 1 is stored in a stacked manner. When the lowermost hot water storage temperature sensor 11 detects a predetermined boiling end determination temperature, the boiling operation is ended.

  When the hot-water tap 13 is opened and the hot water supply flow rate sensor 10 detects a flow rate that is greater than or equal to the amount that hot water supply can be started, the control means 41 sets the hot water supply temperature detected by the hot water supply temperature sensor 9 to the hot water supply set temperature set by the remote controller 35. The opening degree of the hot water supply mixing valve 10 is adjusted so that the hot water from the hot water supply pipe 4 and the water from the water supply bypass pipe 9 are mixed to supply hot water at a hot water supply set temperature.

  Next, the case where the flow switch 38 of the remote controller 35 is turned on will be described. The control means 41 opens the hot water solenoid valve 22, and the hot water temperature detected by the hot water temperature sensor 9 is the bath set temperature set by the remote controller 35. The flow rate integrated value after opening the hot water solenoid valve 22 detected by the hot water supply flow rate sensor 10 is adjusted in advance by adjusting the opening of the hot water supply mixing valve 10 so that the hot water of the bath set temperature is filled. When the predetermined amount of hot water set in the above is reached, the hot water solenoid valve 22 is closed.

  When the bath circulating pump 17 is driven with the switching valve 19 in the state of the bath heat exchanger bypass pipe 18 and the bath water temperature detected by the bath temperature sensor 20 is lower than the bath set temperature, the switching valve 19 is set to the bath heat exchanger 15. When the bath water is heated as a side state and a temperature equal to or higher than the bath set temperature is detected, the bath circulation pump 17 is stopped and the hot water filling operation is completed.

  Next, when the hot water filling operation is completed, the control means 41 performs a heat insulation operation for a predetermined heat insulation time (for example, 2 hours). In addition, when the predetermined heat retention time has elapsed since the completion of the hot water filling operation, the bath water heat insulation operation is not performed.

  If this thermal insulation operation is demonstrated based on the flowchart of FIG. 3, the control means 41 will start counting time with an interval timer simultaneously with completing a hot water filling operation, and if predetermined interval time passes (Yes in step S1), In step S2, the interval timer is reset, and in step S3, it is confirmed whether or not the determination means 42 determines that the bath water is likely to cool.

  If the determination means 42 determines that the bath water is likely to cool (Yes in step S3), the heat source is activated in step S4 with the switching valve 19 set in the state of the bath heat exchanger 15 in order to perform an immediate follow-up operation. In step S5, the bath circulation pump 17 is started to drive, and the chasing is started before the bath water temperature is confirmed.

  When the operation of the bath circulation pump 17 is stabilized after the start of the bath circulation pump 17 and the time (30 seconds in this case) during which the bath water in the bathtub 14 will circulate has elapsed, step S6 is performed. In step S7, it is determined whether or not the bath water temperature detected by the bath temperature sensor 20 is equal to or higher than the bath set temperature, and it is confirmed that the bath water temperature is equal to or higher than the bath set temperature. Stop and end the chasing and return to step S1 again.

  On the other hand, if the bath water is not easily cooled in step S3, the switching valve 19 is set in the bath heat exchanger bypass pipe 18 side state in step S8 to perform the confirmation reheating operation, and the heat source is inactivated, and in subsequent step S8. Then, the bath circulation pump 17 starts to be driven, and the bath water temperature is confirmed by the bath temperature sensor 20 (step S10).

  If the bath water temperature is equal to or higher than the bath set temperature, the process proceeds to step S7, the bath circulation pump 17 is stopped and the process returns to step S1 again. If the bath water temperature is lower than the bath set temperature, the switching valve 19 is set to the bath heat in step S11. Switch to the state of the exchanger 15 side to set the heat source operation state, start chasing, determine whether the bath water temperature detected by the bath temperature sensor 20 in step S12 is equal to or higher than the bath set temperature, and the bath water temperature is If it is confirmed that the temperature is equal to or higher than the bath set temperature, the driving of the bath circulation pump 17 is stopped in step S7, the chasing is finished, and the process returns to step S1 again.

  Here, the determination unit 42 is configured so that the bath water temperature at the start of the confirmation chasing operation, preferably when the bath water temperature is confirmed (at the time of Step S10) is equal to or lower than a temperature lower than the bath set temperature by a predetermined temperature α ° C. Since the bath water temperature has decreased more than expected due to the passage of a predetermined interval time, it can be reliably determined that the bath water is in a state of being easily cooled, and if the reheating switch 39 is turned on, the bath water temperature is predetermined. Since it is considered that the bather thinks that the temperature of the bath water is insufficient in the tracking at every interval time, it can be estimated that the bath water is easily cooled.

  Further, the discriminating means 42 is configured so that the bath water temperature is a predetermined temperature β ° C. from the bath set temperature between the start and end of the immediate chasing operation (between step S4 and step S7, preferably at the time of step S6). If the temperature is higher than the high temperature, the bath water temperature is too high in the immediate follow-up operation at a predetermined interval time, so it can be reliably determined that the bath water is not easily cooled. In addition, if it is detected that the water supply switch 40 is turned on within a predetermined time from the start or end of the immediate chasing operation within a predetermined period (for example, three days) a plurality of times (for example, three times) In the chasing operation at the interval time, the bather thinks that the bath water temperature is high, so it can be estimated that the bath water is not easily cooled.

  In this way, the determination means 42 can reliably determine whether the bath water is easily cooled or not easily cooled in consideration of the intention of the bather by operating the chasing switch 39 or the water supply switch 40. Is.

  Furthermore, since the season determination unit 43 can reliably determine the winter season, the determination unit 42 determines that the bath water is difficult to cool due to other conditions when the season determination unit 43 determines that it is winter. Even if it is, since it is a situation where the bathtub water is easy to cool, it is determined that the bathtub water is easy to cool in preference to other conditions.

  In this way, if the bath water is easy to cool down, immediate chasing operation is performed. The heat loss due to checking the temperature of the bath water in the state can be reduced, and the driving power of the bath circulation pump 17 can be saved.

  In addition, if the bath water is not easy to cool, the confirmation chasing operation is performed, so the temperature of the bath water is not increased unnecessarily, and the bathing feeling of chasing can be improved, If the bath water is not cooled, no reheating operation is performed, so that wasteful heat and electricity are not lost.

  The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and can be modified without changing the gist of the invention. For example, in this embodiment, the bath heat exchanger 15 in the hot water storage tank 1 is used as a heat source. However, the heat source may be configured with a known configuration in which a bath heat exchanger is disposed outside the hot water storage tank or a known configuration of a burner system that is heated by combustion with gas fuel or petroleum fuel. Operation and non-operation can also be realized by a known configuration.

14 Bath 15 Bath heat exchanger (heat source)
16 Bath circulation circuit 17 Bath circulation pump 18 Bath heat exchange bypass pipe (switching means)
19 Switching valve (switching means)
20 Bath temperature sensor 39 Reheating switch 40 Water supply switch 41 Control means 42 Determination means 43 Season determination means

Claims (7)

  A heat source for heating the bathtub water, a bath circulation circuit for connecting the bathtub and the heat source so that the bathtub water can circulate, and a switching means for switching the heat source between the operating state and the non-operating state; A bath circulation pump provided in the middle of the bath circulation circuit for circulating the bath water, a bath temperature sensor provided upstream of the heat source of the bath circulation circuit for detecting the bath water temperature, and the switching at every predetermined interval time The temperature of the bath water is checked by operating the bath circulation pump with the heat source inactive state and circulating the bath water, and if the target temperature is not reached, the switching means is switched to the heat source operating state to remove the bath water. Checking and heating operation for heating or setting the switching means to a heat source operation state every predetermined interval time and then operating the bath circulation pump to check the temperature of the bath water before checking the bath water temperature. A control means for performing any one of the heating operation immediately after heating and a determination means for determining whether or not the bath water is easily cooled; and the control means is configured so that the determination means is easily cooled. If it is determined that there is, the immediate follow-up operation is performed, and if it is determined that the determination unit is not easily cooled, the confirmation follow-up operation is performed. Bath water heater.   The determination means is configured to determine that the bath water is not easily cooled when the temperature of the bathtub water is equal to or higher than a target temperature during the immediate chasing operation. The bath water heater according to 1.   The determination means determines that the bath water is not easily cooled when there is a water supply request by operating a water supply switch within a predetermined time from the start or end of the immediate follow-up operation. The bath hot-water supply apparatus of Claim 1 or 2 characterized by these.   The determining means determines that the bath water is in a state of being easily cooled when the temperature of the bath water is not more than a predetermined temperature lower than a target temperature at the start of the confirmation tracking operation. The bath hot-water supply apparatus as described in any one of Claims 1-3 to do.   The said discrimination | determination means discriminate | determines that it is in the condition where a bath water is easy to cool, when there is a follow-up request | requirement by operation of a follow-up switch. The bath water heater described.   Season determining means for determining a winter season and other seasons is provided, and the determining means determines that the bath water is easily cooled when the season determining means determines that it is winter. The bath hot-water supply apparatus as described in any one of Claims 1-5.   The bath hot water supply apparatus according to claim 6, wherein the season determination means determines the winter season and other seasons according to any one of an outside air temperature, a water supply temperature, and a calendar function.

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