JP5750028B2 - Freezing prevention control device for bath equipment - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a freeze prevention control for a bath apparatus that can reliably prevent the bath circulation pump of the bath apparatus from freezing.

  Conventionally, in this kind of thing, anti-freezing operation when there is water in the bathtub was prevented by driving the bath circulation pump so that the bath water circulates in the bath circulation circuit, When the bathtub stopper was removed and the bathtub water was drained and there was no bathtub water, the freeze prevention operation was not performed.

JP-A-5-187714

  By the way, with this conventional one, when the bathtub tap is removed, the water in the bath circulation circuit is also drained at the same time, but residual water remains in the bath circulation pump, and the residual water drops to the freezing temperature. Then, it had the subject that a bath circulation pump will be damaged by freezing and volume expansion.

The present invention pays attention to this point and solves the above-mentioned problems. In particular, the structure is connected to a bathtub provided with a bathtub plug and a bath heat exchanger by a bath circulation circuit having a bath circulation pump, and the bathtub water is circulated. In the one that is heated up, at least one of the inlet and the outlet of the bath circulation pump is provided with an on-off valve that opens and closes the inlet or the outlet according to a control signal from the control means, In the state where the bathtub tap is removed and the bathtub water is drained, when the outside air temperature drops to the freezing danger temperature, the control means closes the on-off valve and at least one of the inlet and outlet of the bath circulation pump It closes the one to drive the bath circulation pump, stop the flow of cold air passing from the discharge port flows into the inlet of the bath circulation pump, cooling the residual water in the bath circulation pump Thereby preventing Succoth, it is intended to prevent freezing and heating the remaining water and stirred by the air-fuel operation of the bath circulation pump in the heat.

  As described above, according to the present invention, when the outside air temperature is lowered to the freezing temperature in the state where the bathtub tap is removed and the bathtub water is drained, at least one of the entrance and the outlet of the bath circulation pump. By closing the on-off valve and driving the bath circulation pump, the air flow in the bath circulation circuit stops when the on-off valve is closed, and cool air flows into the bath circulation pump and cools it. The residual water in the bath circulation pump is heated by the heat generated by the operation of the bath circulation pump itself and the temperature rises, so that the risk of freezing is avoided and the bath circulation pump is not damaged. It can be used with peace of mind.

The schematic block diagram of the bath apparatus which shows one Embodiment of this invention. Explanatory drawing of the bath circulation pump. Explanatory drawing of the bath circulation pump which shows other embodiment. The explanatory view of the bath circulation pump which shows other embodiments.

Next, an embodiment of the present invention will be described based on a hot water storage type hot water supply apparatus shown in the drawings.
1 is a cylindrical hot water storage tank that uses heating means 2 composed of a heat-pump unit using carbon dioxide refrigerant to boil hot water in the midnight hours when the unit price of contract power by time is low and store hot water. The lower part is connected to a water supply pipe 3 for supplying water, and the upper part is connected to a hot water discharge pipe 4 for discharging hot water stored in a hot water tap (not shown).

  5 is composed of a hot water supply pipe 4 on one side, a first water supply bypass pipe 6 branched from the water supply pipe 3 on the other side, and a SAM type (shape memory alloy built-in type) electric three-way valve with a hot water supply pipe 7 connected to the center. The hot water mixing valve mixes the hot water from the hot water supply pipe 4 with the water supplied from the first water supply bypass pipe 6 and supplies the hot water at a set hot water temperature set by the kitchen remote controller 8. The hot water side opening degree of the tapping pipe 4 and the water side opening degree of the first water supply bypass pipe 6 are adjusted by feedforward control from the hot water supply temperature, the hot water temperature, and the hot water set temperature by the hot water supply thermistor 9 provided in the pipe 7. .

  10 is connected to a hot water discharge pipe 11 branched from the hot water discharge pipe 4 on one side, a second water supply bypass pipe 12 branched from the first water supply bypass pipe 6 on the other side, and a hot water filling circuit 13 connected to the center. A bath mixing valve composed of a three-way valve mixes high-temperature water from the bath outlet pipe 11 and water from the second water supply bypass pipe 12 so that the set temperature set by the bathroom remote controller 14 is reached. The hot water side opening of the bath hot water discharge pipe 11 and the water side opening of the second water supply bypass pipe 12 are adjusted by feedforward control from the hot water temperature, the hot water temperature, and the bath set temperature. Hot water at a preset bath temperature is supplied to the hot water filling circuit 13, and a set amount of hot water or additional hot water is applied to the bathtub 16 at a preset temperature via a bath circulation circuit 15 communicated with the hot water filling circuit 13.

  A hot water flow sensor 17 is provided in the hot water filling circuit 13 and counts the flow rate of hot water filling. The hot water filling electromagnetic valve 18 is provided downstream to start counting. Further downstream, two check valves 19 and 20 that allow flow in the hot water filling direction but prevent reverse flow are provided, and between the two check valves 19 and 20 and the bath mixing valve 10. A drain pipe 22 having a drain valve 21 communicating with the hot water flow sensor 17 is provided.

  The bath circulation circuit 15 that connects the bathtub 16 and the bath heat exchanger 23 provided in the upper part of the hot water storage tank 1 includes a bath thermistor 24 that detects the bath water temperature in the vicinity of the hot water filling circuit 13 connected thereto, A bath flow sensor 25 that detects the presence or absence of residual water is provided. 26 is a bath circulation pump that circulates and heats bathtub water between the bathtub 16 and the bath heat exchanger 23, 27 is a water level sensor that detects the water level in the bathtub 16, and 28 is a bypass path 29 that bypasses the bath heat exchanger 23. The bath three-way valve provided in is used to switch between passing the bath water through the bath heat exchanger 23 side or passing through the bypass path 29 without passing through the bath heat exchanger 23 side.

  The bath circulation pump 26 drives the bath circulation pump 26 from a state in which drainage is frequently performed by removing the bathtub plug 30 provided at the bottom of the bathtub 16 and air still remains in the bath circulation circuit 15. In relation to this, it is composed of a self-priming pump that drives without problems even if air is present, and at least one of the inlet 31 and the outlet 32 of the bath circulation pump 26, here the outlet 32. Is provided with an on-off valve 33 that is controlled to be opened and closed by a control means described later, and this on-off valve 33 is used when the outside air temperature is lowered to a freezing dangerous temperature with the bathtub plug 30 removed and the bathtub water drained. By closing the flow of cold air to the bath circulation pump 26, the remaining water A is stirred and heated by driving the bath circulation pump 26.

  Reference numeral 34 denotes a control means comprising a microcomputer connected to the kitchen remote control 8 and bathroom remote control 14 for controlling hot water supply, bath filling, adding hot water, etc. Various sensors are connected to the input side and external temperature is detected. The outside air temperature sensor 35 is connected, the bathtub plug 30 is pulled out, the bathtub water is drained, and the bath circulation circuit 15 is also empty. The on-off valve 33 is closed, and the bath circulation pump 26 is repeatedly turned on for a predetermined time, here for 4 minutes / 16 minutes until the outside air temperature rises to −6 ° C., thereby preventing the bath circulation pump 26 from being damaged by freezing. To do.

A water supply thermistor 36 is provided in the water supply pipe 3 to detect the water supply temperature, and 37 is a pressure reducing valve for reducing the water supply pressure.
Reference numeral 38 denotes a heating circulation circuit including an outward pipe 39, a return pipe 40, and a heating circulation pump 41 that connect the hot water storage tank 1 and the heating means 2 so that hot water can circulate.
Reference numerals 42, 43, 44, 45, 46 are hot water storage temperature sensors provided above and below the outer peripheral surface of the hot water storage tank 1, and 47 is a pressure relief valve provided in the hot water discharge pipe 4.

Next, the operation of this embodiment will be described.
In the midnight time zone of the contract power now, the low-temperature water in the lower part of the hot water tank 1 is boiled by the heating means 2 by the heating circuit 38 and the hot water is returned to the upper part of the hot water tank 1, and this circulation is repeated sequentially from 23:00. The hot water is stored in the entire hot water storage tank 1 by 7 o'clock the next morning.

  And the hot water in this hot water storage tank 1 is mixed with the hot water from the hot water discharge pipe 4 and the hot water from the 1st hot water bypass pipe 6 with the hot water supply mixing valve 5, and is utilized for hot water supply as hot water of hot water supply preset temperature. Is.

  Next, when performing hot water supply such as hot water filling, the control means 34 opens the hot water solenoid valve 18 and drives the bath mixing valve 10 by instructing hot water filling with the kitchen remote control 8 or the bathroom remote control 14. By gradually opening the bath discharge pipe 11 in a closed state, hot water from the upper part of the hot water storage tank 1 is supplied through the bath discharge pipe 11, while water is supplied from the second water supply bypass pipe 12. The hot water and the water supply are bath mixing valves 10, and the hot water side opening of the bath water discharge pipe 11 and the water side opening of the second water supply bypass pipe 12 are determined by the control means 34 from the hot water temperature, the water supply temperature, and the bath set temperature. Is adjusted by feedforward control, and hot water filling is performed at a set temperature to the bathtub 16 via the hot water filling circuit 13 and the bath circulation circuit 15 at a sufficient flow rate for both high-temperature water and water supply.

  Next, the freezing prevention operation of the bath circulation pump 26 will be described. The bathtub tap 30 is removed, the bathtub water is drained, the bath circulation circuit 15 is also empty, and the outside air temperature detected by the outside air temperature sensor 35 is the freezing danger temperature. By detecting a certain −10 ° C., the control means 34 closes the opening / closing valve 33 provided in the discharge port 32 of the bath circulation pump 26, flows in from the inlet 31 of the bath circulation pump 26, and discharge port 32. The flow of cold air coming off from the water is stopped, the remaining water A remaining in the bath circulation pump 26 is prevented from being cooled, and the self-priming bath circulation pump 26 is idled to prevent freezing. Residual water A is heated with heat to prevent freezing. Here, the bath circulation pump 26 repeats ON for 4 minutes / 16 OFF until the outside air temperature rises to −6 ° C. Noise suppression While is to reliably prevent damage to the bath circulation pump 26 due to freezing.

  Next, another embodiment shown in FIG. 3 will be described. The same parts as those in the first embodiment are denoted by the same reference numerals, the description thereof will be omitted, and only the differences will be described. The open / close valve provided at the inlet 31 of the circulation pump 26, as with the open / close valve 33 described above, is detected by the outside air temperature sensor 35 with the bathtub plug 30 removed, the bathtub water drained, and the bath circulation circuit 15 empty. When the outside air temperature is detected as −10 ° C. which is a freezing danger temperature, the control means 34 closes the opening / closing valve 48 provided at the entrance 31 of the bath circulation pump 26, and from the entrance 31 of the bath circulation pump 26. The flow of cold air flowing out to the discharge port 32 is also stopped to prevent the cooling of the residual water A in the bath circulation pump 26, and the bath circulation pump is instructed by the control means 34 by detecting the open / close valve 48 and subsequently detecting the freezing temperature. 26 The idling operation is started and the remaining water A is heated by the agitation and driving heat of the idling operation to prevent breakage due to freezing. The driving of the bath circulation pump 26 at this time is ON for 4 minutes and OFF for 16 minutes Is repeated until the outside air temperature rises to −6 ° C., and by providing an opening / closing valve at the inlet 31 from the discharge port 32, the inflow of cold air can be reliably prevented.

  Next, still another embodiment shown in FIG. 4 will be described. This is provided with on-off valves 33 and 48 at the discharge port 32 and the entrance 31 of the bath circulation pump 26, respectively. When the outside air temperature detected by the outside air temperature sensor 35 is −10 ° C., which is a freezing danger temperature, in the state where the bath circulation circuit 15 is drained and empty, the control means 34 detects the discharge port 32 and the entrance of the bath circulation pump 26. If the on-off valves 33 and 48 provided in each of the 31 are closed, the bath circulation pump 26 is completely sealed, and the bath circulation pump 26 is idled according to the instruction of the control means 34, this idle operation is performed. The residual water A is heated by stirring and driving heat to prevent breakage due to freezing. The driving of the bath circulation pump 26 at this time is ON for 4 minutes / 16 OFF until the outside air temperature rises to -6 ° C. Something to repeat , By providing an opening and closing valve 33,48 in each of the discharge ports 32 and inlet 31, cold air intrusion is reliably cut off, in which anti-freeze bath circulation pump 26 is performed accurately.

15 Bath circulation circuit 16 Bath 23 Bath heat exchanger 26 Bath circulation pump 30 Bathtub plug 31 Entrance 32 Discharge port 33, 48 Open / close valve 34 Control means A Residual water

Claims (1)

In a bath tub provided with a bath tub and a bath heat exchanger connected by a bath circulation circuit equipped with a bath circulation pump and heated by circulating bath water, the entrance of the bath circulation pump or At least one of the discharge ports is provided with an opening / closing valve that opens or closes the inlet or the discharge port according to a control signal from the control means, and the outside air temperature is a freezing dangerous temperature in a state where the bathtub tap is removed and the bathtub water is drained. The control means closes the on-off valve and closes at least one of the inlet or outlet of the bath circulation pump and drives the bath circulation pump to flow from the entrance of the bath circulation pump. In this way, the flow of cold air coming out of the discharge port is stopped to prevent the remaining water in the bath circulation pump from being cooled, and stirring and the Freeze prevention control device of the bath apparatus, characterized in that freeze prevention by heating the remaining water with heat.

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