JP5629706B2 - Drain discharge device - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a drain discharge device that is provided in a heat source device including a latent heat exchanger and discharges drain generated by the latent heat exchanger with a pump.

  Conventionally, in a heat source device equipped with a latent heat exchanger that recovers latent heat from combustion exhaust gas from a burner, acidic drain generated in the latent heat exchanger is neutralized by a neutralizer and stored in a drain tank. . And when the high water level drain accumulates in the drain tank, the drain pump is operated and the drain in the drain tank is discharged (for example, refer to Patent Document 1).

  In the heat source device described in Patent Document 1, when a decrease in the drain water level in the drain tank is not detected within a predetermined time from the start of operation of the drain pump, the drain pump is temporarily stopped and then restarted. Intermittent driving is performed. This intermittent drive causes pressure fluctuations in the drain tank and the piping path to eliminate minor clogging and discharge the air that has flowed into the drain pump, thereby restoring the drain pump capacity. Yes.

JP 2007-54780 A

  In the heat source apparatus described in Patent Document 1, the drain pump is recovered by intermittently driving the drain pump. In this case, the drain discharge time is reduced by stopping the drain pump. Has the disadvantage of becoming longer. In addition, there is an inconvenience that the life of the drain pump is shortened by increasing the number of times the drain pump starts and stops due to intermittent driving.

  The present invention has been made in view of such a background, and provides a drain discharge device capable of preventing the drain discharge time from becoming long and the drain pump life from being shortened, and recovering the capacity of the drain pump. The purpose is to provide.

  The present invention has been made to achieve the above object, and relates to a drain discharge device provided in a heat source apparatus including a latent heat exchanger that recovers latent heat from combustion exhaust gas of a burner.

And
A neutralizer for neutralizing the drain generated in the heat exchanger;
A drain tank for storing drainage neutralized by the neutralizer;
A water level detector for detecting the level of the drain stored in the drain tank;
A drain pump for discharging the drain in the drain tank;
When the water level detected by the water level detection unit is equal to or higher than a predetermined upper limit water level, a first discharge operation for operating the drain pump with a predetermined initial capacity is performed, and the first discharge operation is performed for a first predetermined time or more. However, when the water level detected by the water level detection unit does not fall below the first discharge determination water level set below the upper limit water level, the drain pump capacity is increased stepwise without stopping the drain pump. A drain discharge control unit for performing a discharge operation ,
In the second discharge operation, the drain discharge control unit temporarily decreases the capacity of the drain pump when gradually increasing the capacity of the drain pump (first invention).

According to the first invention, the drain discharge control unit performs the first discharge operation when the drain water level in the drain tank becomes equal to or higher than the upper limit water level. When the drain level in the drain tank does not fall below the first discharge determination water level even when the first discharge operation is performed for the first predetermined time or longer, the drain discharge control unit is configured to have a capacity of the drain pump. The second discharge operation is performed to increase the amount in steps. In this case, since the transition from the first discharge operation to the second discharge operation is performed without stopping the drain pump, an increase in the discharge time of the drain tank by stopping the drain pump, and frequent The drain pump is designed to eliminate clogging of the drain pump and to discharge the air flowing into the drain pump by increasing the capacity of the drain pump while preventing the drain pump from shortening the life of the drain pump. You can restore your ability.
Further, according to the first aspect of the present invention, when the capacity of the drain pump is increased stepwise, the capacity of the drain pump is temporarily decreased to cause a pressure change in the drain pump. The exhaust of the air flowing into the pump can be promoted.

In the first invention,
In the second discharge operation, the drain discharge control unit is detected by the water level detection unit even if the drain pump is operated for a second predetermined time or more at each stage where the capacity of the drain pump is increased stepwise. Only when the water level does not fall below the second discharge judgment water level set below the first discharge judgment water level, the capacity of the drain pump is increased to the next stage (second invention).

  According to the second invention, the stepwise increase in the capacity of the drain pump can be limited to a level necessary for discharging the drain tank, so that the operation sound of the drain pump in the second discharging operation can be reduced. Energy consumption can be reduced.

In the first invention or the second invention,
The drain discharge control unit has a predetermined reference discharge from the time when the first discharge operation is started until it is determined that the discharge of the drain in the drain tank is completed by the detected water level of the water level detection unit. When it is less than or equal to the time, the initial capacity in the next first discharge operation is set to a capacity lower than the capacity of the drain pump set when the drain discharge is completed ( Third invention).

According to the third invention, when the drain in the drain tank is discharged by the first discharge operation or the second discharge operation, the discharge time is equal to or shorter than the reference discharge time, and there is a margin in the capacity of the drain pump. When it is assumed that there is, it is possible to reduce the operating noise and energy consumption of the drain pump by reducing the initial capacity in the next first discharge operation.

The block diagram of a heat source machine. The operation | movement flowchart of the drain discharge apparatus shown in FIG. The timing chart of the 1st discharge operation and the 2nd discharge operation.

  An embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS.

  Referring to FIG. 1, the heat source apparatus of the present embodiment is a hot water supply apparatus, and a burner 2 (consisting of a large burner unit 2 a, a middle burner unit 2 b, and a small burner unit 2 c) is provided on a main body 1 of the heat source apparatus. A built-in can body 3 is provided. The can body 3 forms a combustion chamber 3a that accommodates the burner 2 and an exhaust passage 3b that extends above the combustion chamber 3a and rises the combustion exhaust gas. The exhaust port 3c opens at the upper end of the exhaust passage 3b. It has.

  The combustion chamber 3 a is provided with a spark plug 4 for igniting the burner 2 and a frame rod 5 for detecting ignition of the burner 2. A combustion fan 7 for supplying combustion air for the burner 2 is provided in the combustion chamber 3 a at the lower portion of the can 3. Furthermore, the main body 1 is provided with a controller 8 that controls the overall operation of the heat source machine.

  The controller 8 is an electronic circuit unit configured by a CPU, a memory, and the like (not shown). The controller 8 controls the operation of the heat source unit by executing a control program for the heat source unit held in the memory. It functions as a drain discharge control unit 80 for forcibly discharging the drain inside.

  A remote controller 33 for remotely operating the heat source device is connected to the controller 8 via a remote control cable 34. The remote controller 33 is provided with a display unit 35 and an operation switch group (not shown) such as a temperature setting switch for setting a hot water supply temperature.

  The large burner unit 2a, the middle burner unit 2b, and the small burner unit 2c constituting the burner 2 have different maximum combustion amounts, and the burner 2 as a whole is adjusted by changing the combination of burner units to be burned. Be able to. Fuel gas is supplied to the burner 2 through a fuel gas supply pipe 9. The fuel gas supply pipe 9 is provided with an original gas solenoid valve 10 and a gas proportional valve 11 in order from the upstream side.

  The fuel gas supply pipe 9 is branched into three paths downstream of the gas proportional valve 11. The first path is connected to the large burner unit 2a via the large burner gas electromagnetic valve 12a, the second path is connected to the middle burner unit 2b via the medium burner gas electromagnetic valve 12b, and the third path Is connected to the small burner unit 2c via the small burner gas solenoid valve 12c.

  Inside the can 3, a sensible heat exchanger 13 is provided immediately above the burner 2, and a latent heat exchanger 14 is provided inside the exhaust passage 3 b that is located above the sensible heat exchanger 13. ing. A drain pan 15 is provided at a position above the sensible heat exchanger 13 and below the latent heat exchanger 14 to collect acidic drain that is generated and dropped by the latent heat exchanger 14.

  A neutralizer 40 is connected to the drain tray 15 via a drain outlet pipe 16, and the drain neutralized by the neutralizing agent in the neutralizer 40 is stored in the drain tank 41. The drain tank 41 is connected to the drain discharge pipe 43 via the drain pump 42, and the drain stored in the drain tank 41 is forcibly discharged to the drain discharge pipe 43 by the operation of the drain pump 42. The drain pump 42 is, for example, a DC motor whose capacity (output) can be changed, and the operation of the drain pump 42 is controlled by a control signal output from the controller 8.

  Further, the neutralizer 40 is provided with discharge clogging electrodes 54 and 55 for detecting discharge clogging due to a rise in the water level of the neutralizer 40, and the drain tank 41 has an earth electrode for detecting the water level of the drain tank 41. 51, a low water level electrode 52 and a high water level electrode 53 are provided. The ground electrode 51, the low water level electrode 52, and the high water level electrode 53 constitute the water level detection unit of the present invention.

  The discharge clogging electrodes 54 and 55, the ground electrode 51, the low water level electrode 52, and the high water level electrode 53 are connected to the controller 8, and the controller 8 changes the resistance value between the discharge clogging electrodes 54 and 55 by changing the resistance value between them. The rise in the water level of the summer 40 is detected. Further, the controller 8 detects the water level (low water level, high water level) of the drain tank 41 based on changes in resistance values between the ground electrode 51, the low water level electrode 52, and the high water level electrode 53.

  The drain discharge pipe 43 is provided with a check valve 44 for prohibiting a back flow from the drain discharge pipe 43 to the drain pump 42. The drain tank 41 is connected to an overflow discharge pipe 45 for discharging overflowed drain.

  The neutralizer 40, the drain tank 41, the ground electrode 51, the low water level electrode 52, the high water level electrode 53, the drain pump 42, and the drain discharge control unit 80 constitute a drain discharge device E.

  Further, the heat source device includes a water supply channel 19 connected to a water supply (not shown) and supplied with water. The sensible heat exchanger 13 and the latent heat exchanger 14 are connected in series to a part of the water supply channel 19. The sensible heat exchanger 13 absorbs sensible heat from the combustion exhaust gas in the can 3 and heats water flowing through the water supply channel 19. The latent heat exchanger 14 is connected to the upstream side of the sensible heat exchanger 13 in the water supply channel 19, collects latent heat from the combustion exhaust gas that passes through the sensible heat exchanger 13, and recovers the sensible heat exchanger 13. Prior to this, the water flowing through the water supply channel 19 is heated.

  The water supply channel 19 includes a water inlet pipe 20 that supplies water to the latent heat exchanger 14 and a hot water outlet pipe 21 from which hot water heated through the sensible heat exchanger 13 is discharged. The water intake pipe 20 is provided with a water quantity servo 22 for adjusting the opening degree of the water intake pipe 20 and a water quantity sensor 23 for detecting a water supply flow rate from the water intake pipe 20. In the vicinity of the outlet of the sensible heat exchanger 13 in the tapping pipe 21, a first tapping temperature sensor 24 that detects a tapping temperature immediately after heating by the sensible heat exchanger 13 is provided.

  Further, between the water inlet pipe 20 and the hot water outlet pipe 21, a bypass pipe 25 that mixes a part of hot water supplied to the water inlet pipe 20 into the hot water outlet pipe 21, and bypass mixing that adjusts the opening degree of the bypass pipe 25. A valve 26 is provided. The first hot water pipe 21 provided downstream of the bypass pipe 25 includes a second hot water temperature sensor 27 that detects the temperature of the hot water from the hot water pipe 21 and an overpressure safety valve that depressurizes when the excessive pressure is received. A drain plug 28 is provided, and further, for example, a hot water tap (not shown) that is operated by the user (not shown) is provided downstream.

In addition, a latent heat exchanger drain pipe 29 is connected to a water supply passage 19 between the sensible heat exchanger 13 and the latent heat exchanger 14 via a trap 30. A second drain plug 31 is provided at the downstream end of the latent heat exchanger drain pipe 29. By opening the second drain plug 31, the water inside the latent heat exchanger 14 can be easily drained.

  Further, in the water supply channel 19 between the sensible heat exchanger 13 and the second drain plug 31, the water temperature (hot water temperature) between the sensible heat exchanger 13 and the latent heat exchanger 14 is detected. An inter-heat exchanger water temperature sensor 32 is provided.

  The controller 8 receives detection signals from the frame rod 5, the water amount sensor 23, the first hot water temperature sensor 24, the second hot water temperature sensor 27, and the inter-heat exchanger water temperature sensor 32. Further, according to the control signal output from the controller 8, the ignition plug 4, the combustion fan 7, the original gas solenoid valve 10, the gas proportional valve 11, the gas solenoid valve 12a for the large burner, the gas solenoid valve 12b for the medium burner, and the small burner The operations of the gas solenoid valve 12c, the water amount servo 22, and the bypass mixing valve 26 are controlled.

  The controller 8 is opened by the user with a hot water tap such as a hot water caloron connected downstream of the hot water pipe 21 in a state where the power is turned on, and in response to this, the water amount sensor 23 exceeds the hot water supply lower limit flow rate. When the water flow is detected, the hot water supply operation is executed.

  The controller 8 opens the original gas solenoid valve 10 and the small burner gas solenoid valve 12c with the combustion fan 7 rotated, and drives the spark plug 4 to ignite the small burner unit 2c. Thereafter, the controller 8 sets the hot water temperature to the hot water pipe 21 to the hot water temperature set by the remote controller 33 based on signals from the first hot water temperature sensor 24, the second hot water temperature sensor 27, and the water amount sensor 23. In addition, the operation of the gas proportional valve 11 and each gas solenoid valve 12a, 12b, 12c is controlled.

  When the hot water tap such as hot water currant is closed by the user and the amount of water detected by the water amount sensor 23 becomes less than the hot water supply lower limit flow rate, the controller 8 controls the original gas solenoid valve 10 and the gas solenoid valves 12a and 12b. , 12c are closed and the burner 2 is extinguished.

  Next, the drain discharge processing from the drain tank 41 by the drain discharge control unit 80 will be described according to the flowchart shown in FIG.

  The drain discharge control unit 80 determines whether or not both the high water level electrode 53 and the low water level electrode 52 are ON in STEP 1, that is, whether the water level of the drain in the drain tank 41 is equal to or higher than the detected water level of the high water level electrode 53. Judge whether or not. And when both the high water level electrode 53 and the low water level electrode 52 are ON, it progresses to STEP2.

  The detected water level by the high water level electrode 53 corresponds to the upper limit water level of the present invention. The detected water level by the low water level electrode 52 corresponds to the first discharge determination water level and the second discharge determination water level of the present invention.

  At STEP 2, the drain discharge control unit 80 starts a failure detection timer (for example, the time setting time is set to 2 minutes) for detecting a failure of the drain pump 42, and at STEP 3, it is necessary to increase the pump capacity. A pump-up timer (for example, the timer set time is 40 seconds. The timer set time of the pump-up timer corresponds to the first predetermined time and the second predetermined time of the present invention) is started. In STEP 4, the drain discharge controller 80 starts the “first discharge operation” by operating the drain pump 42 with the initial capacity.

  The drain discharge control unit 80 switches the capacity of the drain pump 42 in 14 stages of capacity 1 (minimum capacity) to capacity 14 (maximum capacity). The initial capacity of the drain pump 42 in STEP 4 is set to, for example, capacity 1 when the heat source device is installed, but is changed by processing in STEP 11 to STEP 12 described later.

  The drain discharge control unit 80 repeatedly executes the subsequent loop of STEP5 to STEP8 and STEP30 until the low water level electrode 52 is turned OFF in STEP8, that is, until it is determined that the drainage of the drain tank 41 is completed.

  Then, when the high water level electrode 53 is turned OFF in STEP 6, the drain discharge control unit 80 proceeds to STEP 7 and stops the failure detection timer. Further, when the failure detection timer expires in STEP 5 before the failure detection timer is stopped in STEP 7, that is, until the timer set time of the failure detection timer elapses after the operation of the drain pump 42 is started in STEP 4. On the other hand, when the high water level electrode 53 is not turned OFF, the process branches to STEP 20, and the drain discharge control unit 80 performs error processing. As an error process, the drain discharge control unit 80 stops (OFF) the drain pump 42 and displays an error code indicating a drain discharge failure on the display unit 35 of the remote controller 33.

  Further, the drain discharge control unit 80 determines whether or not the pump-up timer is up. Then, when the pump-up timer is up (when the low water level electrode 52 is not turned off even after the timer set time (40 seconds) of the pump-up timer has elapsed), the process proceeds to STEP 31 and the pump-up timer is up. If not, return to STEP5.

  In STEP 31, the drain discharge control unit 80 determines whether or not the capacity of the drain pump 42 is set to the maximum (capability 14). Then, when the capacity of the drain pump 42 is not set to the maximum, the process branches to STEP 40, and the drain discharge control unit 80 increases the capacity of the drain pump 42 by one stage (increases by one stage) to “second discharge operation”. To start. In the next STEP 41, the drain discharge control unit 80 restarts the pump-up timer and returns to STEP 5.

  Here, when the pump-up timer expires in STEP 30, it is assumed that the discharge capacity of the drain pump 42 is reduced due to the inflow of air into the drain pump 42 or the like. Thus, by increasing the capacity of the drain pump 42 by STEP 40, the air flowing into the drain pump 42 can be discharged, and the drain capacity of the drain pump 42 can be recovered.

  On the other hand, when the capacity of the drain pump 42 is set to the maximum in STEP 31, since the capacity of the drain pump 42 cannot be increased, the process proceeds to STEP 32, where the drain discharge control unit 80 sets the forced end timer (for example, Timer set time is 40 seconds).

  Then, through the subsequent STEP 33 to STEP 34 loop, the drain discharge control unit 80 determines whether or not the low water level electrode 52 has been turned OFF in STEP 34 while determining the time-out of the forced termination timer in STEP 33.

  When the forced end timer expires in STEP 33, that is, when the low water level electrode is not turned off even if the drain pump 42 is operated for the set time of the forced end timer with the maximum capacity (capability 14), the process proceeds to STEP 50. The drain discharge control unit 80 performs error processing similarly to STEP 20. In STEP 34, when the low water level electrode 52 is turned OFF, the process proceeds to STEP 35, and the drain discharge control unit 80 stops the drain pump 42 and returns to STEP 1.

  Next, when the low water level electrode is turned OFF in STEP 8, the process proceeds to STEP 9, and the drain discharge control unit 80 stops the drain pump 42. In subsequent STEP 10, the drain discharge control unit 80 determines that the drain discharge time (the time from when the drain pump 42 is turned ON in STEP 4 until the low water level electrode is turned OFF in STEP 8) is 20 seconds (the reference discharge time of the present invention). It is determined whether or not the following.

  When the drain discharge time is 20 seconds or less, the process proceeds to STEP 12 via STEP 11, and the drain discharge control unit 80 determines the initial capacity of the drain pump 42 in the next “first discharge operation”. The capacity is set one step lower than the setting of the drain pump 42 that was set when the operation was stopped, and the process returns to STEP1.

  Specifically, the drain discharge control unit 80 stores in the memory data indicating a capability that is one step lower than the setting of the drain pump 42 that was set when the drain pump 42 was stopped in STEP 9, and This data is read when the “1 discharge operation” is executed, and the initial capacity of the drain pump 42 is set.

  FIG. 3A is a timing chart when the “first discharge operation” and the “second discharge operation” are performed by the process of the flowchart of FIG. 2 described above, and the vertical axis is set to the capacity of the drain pump 42. The horizontal axis is set to time.

  In FIG. 3A, the first pumping operation is started with the initial capacity of the drain pump 42 as capacity 1 (minimum capacity) at t10, and the drain pump 42 is stopped at t11 and t12 when the pump-up timer expires. Without this, the capacity of the drain pump 42 is increased by one stage (capacity 1 → capacity 2, capacity 2 → capacity 3).

  In this way, by increasing the capacity of the drain pump 42 stepwise without stopping the drain pump 42, the drain discharge time becomes longer, and the drain pump 42 is increased by increasing the number of ON / OFF times of the drain pump 42. It is possible to prevent the life of the battery from being shortened. In addition, since the increase in the capacity of the drain pump 42 can be suppressed to a level necessary for drainage, it is possible to avoid the operating noise and power consumption of the drain pump 42 from increasing more than necessary.

  Next, FIG. 3B is a timing chart for other embodiments of the “first discharge operation” and the “second discharge operation”. Like FIG. 3A, the vertical axis represents the pump capacity. Is set and the horizontal axis is set to time. The embodiment of FIG. 3B is different from the embodiment of FIG. 2 described above in that the capacity of the drain pump 42 is temporarily reduced when the capacity of the drain pump 42 is increased. It is the same as that of embodiment by.

  In FIG. 3B, the “first discharge operation” is started with the initial capacity of the drain pump 42 as the capacity 2 at t20, and the drain pump 42 is not stopped at t21 and t22 when the pump-up timer expires. The capacity of the drain pump 42 is increased after operating for a short time ΔT (for example, 0.1 second) as the capacity 1 (capacity 2 → capacity 1 (ΔT) → capacity 3 → capacity 3 → capacity 1 (ΔT) → Ability 4).

  As described above, when the capacity of the drain pump 42 is increased stepwise, the capacity of the drain pump 42 is temporarily decreased to cause a pressure change in the drain pump 42 and flow into the drain pump 42. Air discharge can be promoted.

  In the present embodiment, the hot water supply device is shown as the heat source device. However, if the heat source device is equipped with a latent heat exchanger and collects drain, the heat source device for hot water heating, the heat source device for bathing, etc. The present invention can also be applied to this.

  Further, in the present embodiment, the discharge port 42a of the drain pump 42 is arranged upward in the vertical direction to facilitate the discharge of the air that has flowed into the drain pump 42. However, the discharge port 42a of the drain pump 42 is arranged in the vertical direction. Even when the orientation is other than upward, the effect of the present invention can be obtained.

  Further, in the present embodiment, the timer set time for the discharge determination in “first discharge operation” (STEP 3 in FIG. 2) and the timer set time for the drain discharge determination in “second discharge operation” (in FIG. 2) STEP 41) is the same, but it may be set at a different time.

  In the present embodiment, the water level of the drain tank 41 is detected in two stages by the high water level electrode 53 and the low water level electrode 52, but may be detected in three or more stages. In this case, the drain level in the “first discharge operation” (first discharge determination water level of the present invention) and the drain level in the “second discharge operation” (second discharge determination water level of the present invention). ) May be different water levels.

  DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Heat source machine main body, 2 ... Burner, 8 ... Controller, 13 ... Sensible heat exchanger, 14 ... Latent heat exchanger, 15 ... Drain tray, 40 ... Neutralizer, 41 ... Drain tank, 42 ... Drain pump, 42a (discharge pump), 43 ... drain discharge pipe, 52 ... low water level electrode, 53 ... high water level electrode, 80 ... drain discharge control unit.

Claims (3)

A drain discharge device provided in a heat source machine equipped with a latent heat exchanger that recovers latent heat from combustion exhaust gas of a burner,
A neutralizer for neutralizing the drain generated in the heat exchanger;
A drain tank for storing drainage neutralized by the neutralizer;
A water level detector for detecting the level of the drain stored in the drain tank;
A drain pump for discharging the drain in the drain tank;
When the water level detected by the water level detection unit is equal to or higher than a predetermined upper limit water level, a first discharge operation for operating the drain pump with a predetermined initial capacity is performed, and the first discharge operation is performed for a first predetermined time or more. However, when the water level detected by the water level detection unit does not fall below the first discharge determination water level set below the upper limit water level, the drain pump capacity is increased stepwise without stopping the drain pump. A drain discharge control unit for performing a discharge operation ,
In the second discharge operation, the drain discharge control unit temporarily decreases the capacity of the drain pump when the capacity of the drain pump is increased in a stepwise manner . The drain discharge device according to claim 1,
In the second discharge operation, the drain discharge control unit is detected by the water level detection unit even if the drain pump is operated for a second predetermined time or more at each stage where the capacity of the drain pump is increased stepwise. The drain discharge device characterized by increasing the capacity of the drain pump to the next stage only when the water level is not lower than the second discharge determination water level set below the first discharge determination water level. In the drain discharge device according to claim 1 or 2 ,
The drain discharge control unit has a predetermined reference discharge from the time when the first discharge operation is started until it is determined that the discharge of the drain in the drain tank is completed by the detected water level of the water level detection unit. When it is less than or equal to the time, the initial capacity in the next first discharge operation is defined as a capacity that is lower than the capacity of the drain pump that was set when the discharge of the drain was completed. Discharging device.

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