JP7145095B2 - Hot water storage type water heater and its remote control device - Google Patents

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD The present invention relates to a hot water storage type hot water heater and a remote control device thereof.

Patent Document 1 discloses a calendar function that, in principle, boils water to the learned optimum amount of stored hot water, but can increase/decrease the amount of stored hot water by specifying the date of a visitor or trip in advance (0032-0034, 0041). -0043,0050).
Patent Document 2 discloses that it is possible to set the boiling pause and change the boiling pause period from a mobile phone (0128-0144).

JP 2013-130334 A JP 2007-127362 A

In Patent Documents 1 and 2, the amount of water to be boiled (the amount of hot water stored) can be changed by designating the date of a visitor or trip in advance, or even if you forget to change it and go out, you can change it from your mobile phone if you remember while you are out. is possible. However, if the user forgets that the change is necessary in the first place, the water heating amount will not be changed.

The first invention made in view of the above circumstances,
a hot water tank for storing hot water;
a heating source for generating hot water to be supplied to the hot water storage tank;
A hot water storage type water heater that outputs a warning guidance prompting the user to enter future boiling information ,
When the caution guidance is terminated without the boiling information being input, the caution guidance is not output again .

In addition, the second present invention made in view of the above circumstances,
a hot water tank for storing hot water;
and a heating source that generates hot water to be supplied to the hot water storage tank, and a remote control device for a hot water storage type water heater that outputs an attention guide prompting input of future boiling information ,
When the caution guidance is terminated without the boiling information being input, the caution guidance is not output again .

Configuration diagram of hot water supply system of embodiment 1 1 is an external view of the remote control device of Embodiment 1. FIG. Control flowchart of hot water supply system of embodiment 1 A diagram showing a warning guidance necessity designation screen in the first embodiment. FIG. 4 is a diagram showing screens that can be displayed on the display unit of the remote control device during the caution guidance display control of the first embodiment, (a) is the caution guidance screen, (b) is the boiling pause period designation screen, and (c) is the boiling pause period designation screen. Upper increase period specification screen, (d) is the standby screen A long-term vacation edit screen for a user to edit the start date of the long-term vacation in Example 1

Embodiments of the present invention will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings. In the following description, a hot water supply system (hot water heater) using a heat pump as a heat source for heating water to generate hot water will be described as an example, but a gas burner may be used as the heat source.

[Hot water system]
FIG. 1 is a configuration diagram of a hot water supply system including a water heater 11 of Embodiment 1. As shown in FIG. The water heater 11 includes a heat pump unit 13 that generates hot water, a hot water storage tank 12 that stores the generated hot water, a stored hot water amount detection unit that detects the amount of hot water in the hot water storage tank 12, a hot water supply heat exchanger 14, and reheating. and a heat exchanger 18 .
The water heater 11 also includes a remote control device 6 that receives input from a user and outputs information to the user, a main body side control board 10 as an example of a control unit that operates according to the input from the remote control device 6, It has an outside air temperature sensor 40 that detects the outside air temperature and a water level sensor 41 that detects fluctuations in the water level of the bathtub 15 .

The heat pump unit 13 can generate hot water by heating water supplied from a water pipe 19 , which is an example of a fresh water source, through a pipe 20 or the like, and supply the hot water to the hot water storage tank 12 . The heat pump unit 13 performs a boiling operation for supplying hot water to the hot water storage tank 12, for example, during a predetermined time period (late night time period, etc.) every day. The amount of boiling in the boiling operation may be such that the hot water storage tank 12 is filled up each time, or may be changed by learning the amount of hot water used each day.

The hot water in the hot water storage tank 12 can be supplied to the bathtub 15 arranged in the bathroom 50, for example. As the fresh water source, an external water supply source such as the water pipe 19 or well water can be used. Fresh water refers to water before use that has not yet passed through a state in which the user can come into direct contact with it, and includes water from the water supply source and water stored in the hot water storage tank 12. Not used water containing dirt as supplied. The hot water supply machine 11 includes a general hot water supply circuit 21 that supplies hot water to general hot water supply terminals (faucet, shower, mixed tap 17, etc.) and a hot water filling circuit having a hot water supply unit that supplies hot water to the bathtub 15. The flow rate during hot water supply is controlled by a flow rate adjustment valve 31 arranged in the middle of the general hot water supply circuit 21, and the flow rate can be varied according to instructions from the control board 10 on the main body side.

The hot water heat exchanger 14 heats the low-temperature water from the water pipe 19 by exchanging heat with the hot water in the hot water storage tank 12 to generate hot water for hot water supply that is used in a place other than the bathtub 15 . For example, it is possible to generate hot water for showers, faucets, etc. in the kitchen or bathroom 50 . The water heater 11 calculates the amount of residual hot water in the hot water storage tank 12 from each temperature sensor attached to the hot water storage tank 12, and uses heat for hot water supply or heat exchange based on the difference in the amount of residual hot water before and after that. It is possible to grasp an increase or decrease in the cumulative flow rate.
The water heater 11 can acquire current date and time information and calendar information via an internal clock, the Internet, or the like. When acquiring calendar information, it is preferable that information indicating whether each date is a weekday or a holiday is attached.

[Remote control device 6]
FIG. 2(a) is an external view of the remote controller 6. As shown in FIG.
The remote controllers 6 are arranged as a bath remote controller 6a in the bathroom and a kitchen remote controller 6b provided in a room other than the bathroom (for example, the kitchen). Each remote control device 6 includes a sound generating/sound receiving section 33, an input section 4 for receiving input from a user, and a display section 5 as an output section for outputting various information.
The input unit 4 has a hot water supply instruction unit 41 , a water amount setting unit 42 , a target bath temperature setting unit 43 , a hot water filling instruction unit 44 , a reheating instruction unit 45 , a selection unit 46 and a menu button 48 .
The display section 5 can display various characters and images (screens), and in FIG. 2, a hot water supply temperature display section 51 and a target bath temperature display section 53 are displayed.

When the hot water supply instruction unit 41 is operated, a predetermined amount of hot water at a temperature indicated by the hot water supply temperature display unit 51 is supplied to the bathtub 15 .
When the water amount setting unit 42 is operated, for example, the target bath temperature display unit 53 disappears and the hot water filling amount display unit is displayed.
When the target bath temperature setting section 43 is operated, the target bath temperature display section 53 is displayed, and through the operation of the level setting section 49, the target temperature at the hot water supply command and the reheating command can be changed.
When the hot water supply command unit 44 is operated, hot water having a temperature about the target bath temperature is supplied to the bathtub 15 in an amount displayed on the hot water supply amount display unit 52 .
When the reheating command part 45 is operated, part of the hot water stored in the bathtub 15 is supplied to the reheating heat exchanger 18, heat exchanged with the high-temperature water in the hot water storage tank 12 to be warmed, and returned to the bathtub 15. .

By operating the up, down, left, right buttons (direction buttons) belonging to the selection unit 46 and the enter button, if a parameter whose setting can be changed is displayed on the display unit 5, the parameter can be adjusted. For example, in the example shown in FIG. 2, the hot water supply temperature displayed on the hot water supply temperature display section 51 and the target bath temperature displayed on the target bath temperature display section 53 can be adjusted. Through the operation of the selection unit 46, it is possible to select an option, etc., which will be described later.

When the menu button 48 is operated, the display unit 5 can display a menu screen (not shown) that transitions to a screen for changing various settings. By appropriately operating the selection unit 46 while the menu screen is displayed, it is possible to transition to various setting screens. Examples of setting screens that can be changed include a boiling pause period designation screen and a boiling increase period designation screen, which will be described later.

The input unit 4 and the output unit do not necessarily have to be arranged in the remote control device 6, and can be the CPU of the water heater 11 or the like. For example, the CPU of the water heater 11 receives an input via an input unit (such as a touch panel) provided in a terminal device (such as a smart phone) that can exchange information directly with the water heater 11 or indirectly via a remote control device 6 or the like. Alternatively, the CPU of the water heater 11 may output the information to an output unit (such as a liquid crystal screen) provided in the terminal device.
Further, the input unit 4 and the output unit may receive user's voice input by the sound generating/sound receiving unit 33 and output information from the water heater 11 by voice.

[Precautions before long holidays (before the specified period)]
FIG. 3 is a flow chart of caution guidance display control for reminding the necessity of changing the boiling amount during a predetermined period in the water heater of this embodiment.
FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a caution guidance necessity designation screen. FIG. 5 is a diagram showing screens that can be displayed (output) on the display unit 5 of the remote control device 6 during caution guidance display control. c) shows a boiling-up increase period specification screen, and (d) shows a standby screen.
FIG. 6 shows a long vacation edit screen output when the user edits (inputs) the start date of the long vacation.

The display unit 5 as an output unit may output voice guidance or the like in place of or in addition to the screen display shown in FIG. 4-6. In addition, the input unit 4 may perform input by voice response or the like in place of or in addition to the input through the operation of options displayed on the screen. Also, the "long vacation" is an example of the "predetermined period".

(Precaution guidance necessity designation screen)
The user of the water heater 11 of the present embodiment can first display a caution guidance necessity designation screen for designating ON/OFF of the caution guidance function by operating the menu button 48 and the selection unit 46 (step S100). . On the caution guidance necessity specification screen, it prompts you to set whether it is necessary to output the setting guidance (caution guidance) before the start of the long vacation, such as "Do you want to notify the setting guidance before the long vacation?" Content is output.
When the warning guidance (reminder) before the long vacation is designated as "yes" (step S100, Y), the warning guidance function is enabled. As a result, when the first day of the long vacation is approaching, the caution guidance screen as an example of the caution guidance output is notified. The first day of the long vacation can be, for example, the first day of consecutive holidays of three days or more obtained from the calendar information, or the date set through the long vacation editing screen, which will be described later.

((a) Caution guidance screen)
The water heater 11 confirms whether the current date is approaching the first day of the long vacation. Specifically, it is confirmed whether the current date is between "N days before the first day of the long vacation" and "the first day of the long vacation" (step S200). N can be a natural number of 1 or more, and may be set in advance by the manufacturer of water heater 11, or may be set by the user. For example, if the first day of a certain long vacation is December 20th and N=15 is set, it is checked whether the current date is between December 5th and December 20th. The dates in this range are hereinafter referred to as "advisory dates". Instead of "the first day of the long vacation", "the day before the long vacation" may be used. In this case, in the above example, it is checked whether the current date is between December 5th and December 19th.

If the current date belongs to the caution guidance date (step S200, Y), a caution guidance prompting the user to set information on the amount of hot water used during the long vacation (welling information) is output. In this embodiment, a caution guidance screen is displayed as an example of caution guidance (step S300). This screen is displayed after the current date belongs to the advisory date. Preferably, the user is near the remote control device 6, such as by pressing some button on the remote control device 6. It is displayed as a trigger that it is detected. Also, if the water heater 11 is configured to be able to exchange information with another device such as a smartphone, such a display may be made on the other device.

On the attention guidance screen, it is output to inquire whether there is information about boiling during the long vacation.
The heating information can be, for example, the number of people who use the building (household, etc.) in which the water heater is installed, or the expected increase or decrease in the amount of hot water used over a certain period of time. It is also possible to input only the beginning or end of the period. If only one of the start time and the end time is input, the one that is not input can be estimated using, for example, calendar information.
Inquiring about the presence or absence of boiling information preferably includes information that is the premise of the inquiry, for example, ``it is almost the first day of a predetermined period'', and furthermore, ``during a predetermined period, the amount of boiling is changed from normal It can be a message or the like that includes the message "Ask whether there is a factor (probable)".

In this embodiment, among the boiling information on the warning guidance screen, first, it is possible to input (set) the expected increase or decrease in the number of people or the amount of hot water used. This facilitates input of boiling information.

When the estimated increase/decrease is entered, a transition to a screen for inputting the expected period of increase/decrease in the number of people or the amount of hot water used can be made.
In this way, the warning guidance screen can be changed to a screen that can start inputting information (either or both of the possibility of an increase or decrease and the period of increase or decrease), or a screen that can be used to enter the warning information with a single screen transition from the caution guidance screen. to be able to transition to

As will be described later, if the user wishes to input the information to be triggered without going through the caution guidance screen, the user can operate the operation unit 4 such as the menu button 48 or the selection unit 46 a plurality of times to enter the standby screen or the menu screen. , the screen transitions to a state in which boiling information can be input (a boiling pause period designation screen or a boiling increase period designation screen). This operation is likely to give a complicated impression to the user. For this reason, in the present embodiment, it is possible to input information (such as "I will be absent") on the caution guide screen.
In this regard, if the number of operations of the selection unit 46 and the number of screen transitions necessary for transitioning from the standby screen or the like to a state in which information can be input can be reduced, the complicated impression that may be given to the user can be reduced to some extent. Therefore, it is sufficient to allow the transition from the caution guide screen to be performed by operating the selection unit 46 or the like less than the number of operations required to transition from the standby screen to the state in which it is possible to input the boiling information.

Now, in this embodiment, as the options for the excitement information, the option "I will be absent" as an example indicating that the number of people will decrease, the option "Visitors will come" as an example indicating that the number of people will increase, and the number of people The display unit 5 includes a “no increase or decrease” option as an example indicating that there is no change, and a “re-notification in 1 week” option as an example indicating that the caution guidance is to be output again at a later date (postpone the caution guidance) because it is unclear. etc. The user can select an option using the operation unit 4 or the like, for example.

((b) Boiling pause period designation screen)
When the expected decrease such as "be absent" is selected as the expected increase/decrease in the number of people or the amount of hot water used belonging to the heating information (step S400, Y), the water heater 11 does not perform the heating operation during the long vacation. It can be determined that there is a period of time when it becomes unnecessary or less necessary. Therefore, the screen changes to the boiling pause period designation screen (step S410), and the period during which the boiling operation is not performed or the boiling amount is reduced can be designated.
In this embodiment, the screen sequentially transitions to a screen for inputting the first day and the last day of the boiling pause period. FIG. 5(b) exemplifies a screen for inputting the first day. Since the boiling operation is not performed or the amount of boiling is reduced during the boiling pause period, an energy saving effect can be expected. When reducing the boiling amount, it should be 50% or less, preferably 40% or less, 25% or less, or 10% or less of the normal amount of boiling (full tank or learned boiling amount). can. When the water is not heated at all, the most energy-saving effect can be expected, and when the amount of water is reduced, the user's inconvenience can be suppressed even when the first day of absence is postponed due to sudden circumstances.
The user may be allowed to specify whether the boiling should not occur at all or should be reduced.

The first day and last day of the period entered on the boiling break period designation screen do not necessarily have to match the first day and last day of the long vacation specified by the long vacation edit screen and calendar information described later. The long vacation edit screen or the first day of the long vacation specified by the calendar information may be used to determine the timing of outputting the caution screen. Of course, a long vacation period obtained from a long vacation edit screen or calendar information, which will be described later, may be set as the rest period for the excitement through user settings or the like. In this case, for example, if only the input of the expected increase or decrease in the number of people or the amount of hot water used is received on the attention guide screen, the screen may return to the standby screen described later.

Further, it is preferable that the screen for inputting the first day of the vacation period initially displays the first day of the long vacation specified on the long vacation editing screen described later or obtained from the calendar information.

((c) Boiling increase period designation screen)
If the expected increase, such as "visitors will come" is selected as the expected increase or decrease in the number of people or the amount of hot water used, which belongs to the heating information (step S500, Y), the water heater 11 will not use the amount of hot water during the long vacation. can be determined to increase. Therefore, the screen transitions to the boiling increase period designation screen (step S510), and the period for filling or increasing the boiling amount in the boiling operation can be designated. In this case, similarly to the boiling pause period designation screen, the screen sequentially transitions to a screen in which the first day and the last day of the period for increasing the boiling amount can be entered. FIG. 5(c) shows a screen for inputting the first day. The user may be allowed to specify whether to fill up the boiling amount or to what extent to increase the amount.

The first day and last day of the period entered on the increased boiling period specification screen do not necessarily have to match the first day and last day of the long vacation specified by the long vacation edit screen and calendar information, which will be described later. The long vacation edit screen or the first day of the long vacation specified by the calendar information may be used to determine the timing of outputting the caution screen. Of course, a long vacation period acquired from a long vacation editing screen or calendar information, which will be described later, may be set as the boiling increase period through user settings or the like. In this case, for example, if only the input of the expected increase or decrease in the number of people or the amount of hot water used is received on the attention guide screen, the screen may return to the standby screen described later.

((d) Standby screen)
If "no increase or decrease" is selected as the expected increase or decrease in the number of people or the amount of hot water used belonging to the boiling information (step S600, Y), there is no need to change the amount of boiling in the boiling operation at least at the present time. Transition to the standby screen (step S610). The standby screen can be the same as the screen normally displayed on the water heater 11 .

In addition, when "re-notify in one week", which is an example of an input to the effect of postponing the expected input, is selected as an expected increase or decrease in the number of people or the amount of hot water used (step S700, Y), caution is required. The guidance screen disappears once and transitions to the standby screen (step S710). In this case, the caution guidance date in step S200 is postponed to a date in the future and before the first day of the long vacation. When the current date belongs to the advisory date again, the process proceeds to step S300. The number of days to postpone may be determined by the water heater 11 or may be determined by the user.

Note that the user may be allowed to transition to the standby screen without selecting any option on the caution guidance screen. For example, when the menu button 48 is selected on the caution guide screen, the screen may transition to the standby screen. In this case, the same control as when no increase/decrease is selected can be performed. In this way, when none of the options is selected, the attention guidance screen is not output again. This is because there is a risk that the user will feel annoyed if the guidance is given many times.

It should be noted that, even without waiting for the display of the attention guide screen, it is possible to switch to the boiling pause period designation screen or the boiling increase period designation screen by operating the menu button 48 or the selection button 46 of the remote controller 6 arbitrarily.

(Long vacation edit screen (predetermined date edit screen))
By operating the menu button 48, the selection button 46, etc. of the remote control device 6, the user can input in advance information related to the first day of the long vacation period as illustrated in FIG. In this embodiment, the names of long vacations and their first days can be added, changed, and deleted (edited). is currently designated as from December 20th, and GW holidays from April 20th.

Further, in this embodiment, calendar information can be obtained automatically, but the vacation period depends on the user's occupation, etc., and does not necessarily match the calendar. Therefore, when information is input through the long vacation edit screen, this information is used with priority over the calendar information. Of course, the calendar information may not be used in order to prevent the control from becoming complicated.

(Another example of the long vacation edit screen)
The date specified on the long vacation edit screen may be set as the first day of the advisory date. For example, it is assumed that according to the calendar information, August 10th is the first day of "Bon holiday". The user can grasp the same information as the calendar information by appropriately browsing the calendar. For this reason, for example, when it is desired to output guidance nine days before August 10th, August 1st is specified. As a result, the caution guidance screen is displayed on the date desired by the user.

4 ... display unit (output unit)
5 Operation unit (input unit)
6 Remote control device 6a Bath remote control 6b Kitchen remote control 10 Main body side control board 11 Water heater 12 Hot water storage tank 13 Heat pump unit 14 Hot water supply heat Exchanger 15...Bathtub 16...Tank unit 17...Mixing tap 18...Reheating heat exchanger 19...Water pipe 20...Piping 21...General hot water supply circuit 28... Hot water supply circulation pump 29 Hot water supply temperature sensor 30 Tank upper part temperature sensor 31 Flow control valve 33 Sound generator 40 Outside air temperature sensor 41 Water level sensor (bathing detector)

Claims (8)

a hot water tank for storing hot water;
a heating source for generating hot water to be supplied to the hot water storage tank;
A hot water storage type water heater that outputs a warning guidance prompting the user to enter future boiling information ,
The hot water storage type hot water supply machine does not output the warning guidance again when the warning guidance is terminated without inputting the boiling information . 2. The hot water storage type water heater according to claim 1, wherein said boiling information includes information relating to the number of users of said hot water storage type hot water heater or information relating to an increase or decrease in the amount of hot water used in the future. 3. The storage-type water heater according to claim 1, wherein said boiling information includes information relating to the first day of a predetermined future period. 4. The storage-type water heater according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein a predetermined date editing screen is output on which information relating to the timing of outputting the warning guidance can be edited. It is possible to input the boiling information on the output screen of the caution guidance,
It is possible to transition from the warning guidance output screen to a screen where the boiling information can be input, or
5. The hot water storage type water heater according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein voice input of said boiling information is possible in response to output of said warning guidance. 6. The hot water storage type water heater according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein a postponement input for re-outputting the caution guidance is performed to once terminate the caution guidance. The hot water storage type hot water heater according to any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein it is possible to specify whether or not to output the warning guidance. a hot water tank for storing hot water;
and a heating source that generates hot water to be supplied to the hot water storage tank, and a remote control device for a hot water storage type water heater that outputs an attention guide prompting input of future boiling information ,
A remote control device that does not output the warning guidance again when the warning guidance is terminated without inputting the boiling information .

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