JP7331459B2 - Hot water supply device and hot water supply cooperation system - Google Patents

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD The present invention relates to a hot water supply apparatus and a hot water supply cooperation system.

There is known a home equipment control system that stores a time zone in which a resident is scheduled to take a bath in a storage unit and causes a bathroom dryer to start heating operation 30 minutes before the scheduled bathing start time (for example, patent Reference 1). In Patent Document 1, the target value of the temperature difference between the room temperature in the living room and the room temperature in the bathroom is set to the temperature difference when the risk of heat shock is considered to be small, and this temperature difference is the target value. It is stated that by controlling the air conditioner and the bathroom dryer so that the air conditioner and the bathroom dryer are controlled to reduce the risk of heat shock for the resident who moves from the living room to the bathroom.

JP 2017-042275 A

However, in the system disclosed in Patent Document 1, when both the room temperature in the bathroom and the room temperature in the living room are low, the temperature difference between the room temperature in the bathroom and the temperature of the hot water in the bathtub increases. There is a risk that the bather's body temperature will suddenly change and heat shock will occur when the bather soaks in the hot water of the bathtub from the relatively low-temperature bathroom.

The present invention has been made to solve such problems. It is an object of the present invention to provide a hot water supply apparatus and a hot water supply cooperation system that can reduce the risk of heat shock when a bather soaks in hot water in a bathtub when the room temperature of the bathroom is low.

A hot water supply apparatus according to the present invention comprises room temperature detection means for detecting a room temperature of a bathroom, hot water temperature storage means for storing a hot water temperature setting value of a bathtub in the bathroom, and a room temperature of the bathroom equal to or higher than a preset reference room temperature. when the temperature of the hot water in the bathtub is adjusted to the set temperature of hot water, and when the room temperature of the bathroom is lower than the reference room temperature, the temperature of the hot water in the bathtub is adjusted to be lower than the set temperature of hot water. and body temperature detection means for detecting a person's body temperature, wherein the hot water temperature adjustment means is such that the room temperature of the bathroom is less than the reference room temperature and the person's body temperature is set in advance. If the temperature is less than the set reference body temperature, the hot water temperature of the bathtub is adjusted to be lower than the hot water temperature set value.
Alternatively, the hot water supply apparatus according to the present invention comprises room temperature detection means for detecting a room temperature of a bathroom, hot water temperature storage means for storing a hot water temperature setting value of a bathtub in the bathroom, and a reference in which the room temperature of the bathroom is preset. When the room temperature is higher than the room temperature, the hot water temperature of the bathtub is adjusted to the hot water temperature set value, and when the room temperature of the bathroom is lower than the reference room temperature, the hot water temperature of the bathtub is lowered to a temperature lower than the hot water temperature set value. bathing start time storage means for storing a bathing start time; bathing detection means for detecting the start of bathing in the bathroom; bathing learning means for learning a bathing start time, wherein the hot water temperature adjusting means adjusts the hot water temperature of the bathtub before the bathing start time, and the bathing start time storage means is learned by the bathing learning means. The bathing learning means arranges and ranks the detection times at which the bathing detection means detected the start of bathing in the same day in chronological order, and ranks the detection times in the same order for a plurality of days in the past. are used to obtain and learn the bathing start time for each rank.
Alternatively, the hot water supply apparatus according to the present invention comprises room temperature detection means for detecting a room temperature of a bathroom, hot water temperature storage means for storing a hot water temperature setting value of a bathtub in the bathroom, and a reference in which the room temperature of the bathroom is preset. When the room temperature is higher than the room temperature, the hot water temperature of the bathtub is adjusted to the hot water temperature set value, and when the room temperature of the bathroom is lower than the reference room temperature, the hot water temperature of the bathtub is lowered to a temperature lower than the hot water temperature set value. bathing start time storage means for storing a bathing start time; bathing detection means for detecting the start and end of bathing in the bathroom; and based on the detection result of the bathing detection means. and bathing learning means for learning the bathing start time, wherein the hot water temperature adjusting means adjusts the hot water temperature of the bathtub before the bathing start time, and the bathing start time storage means is configured to perform the bathing learning. The bathing learning means stores the learned bathing start time, and the bathing learning means further learns the bathing time from the bathing start time to the bathing end time based on the detection result of the bathing detection means, and adjusts the hot water temperature. The means adjusts the hot water temperature of the bathtub according to the bathing time.

A hot water supply cooperation system according to the present invention includes the hot water supply apparatus configured as described above, and an air conditioner provided in a living room for performing air conditioning so that the room temperature of the living room reaches a target temperature, the air The harmony device lowers the target temperature when the room temperature of the bathroom is lower than the reference room temperature.

According to the hot water supply apparatus and the hot water supply cooperation system of the present invention, it is possible to reduce the risk of heat shock when a bather soaks in the hot water of the bathtub when the room temperature of the bathroom is low.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS Fig. 1 is a diagram schematically showing the overall configuration of a water heater according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention; 1 is a block diagram showing a functional configuration of a water heater according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention; FIG. FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating a method of learning a bathing start time of the hot water supply apparatus according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention; FIG. 4 is a diagram showing the relationship between hot water temperature and bathing time when the degree of warming of the body of the hot water supply apparatus according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention is regarded as sufficient. FIG. 2 is a flow chart showing an operation example of the hot water supply apparatus according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention; FIG. 2 is a flow chart showing an operation example of the hot water supply apparatus according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention; FIG. 2 is a flow chart showing an operation example of the hot water supply apparatus according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention; FIG. 2 is a flow chart showing an operation example of the hot water supply apparatus according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention; FIG. 2 is a flow chart showing an operation example of the hot water supply apparatus according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention; FIG. 2 is a flow chart showing an operation example of the hot water supply apparatus according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention; FIG. 2 is a flow chart showing an operation example of the hot water supply apparatus according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention; FIG. 2 is a flow chart showing an operation example of the hot water supply apparatus according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention; FIG. 10 is a diagram schematically showing the overall configuration of a hot water supply cooperation system provided with a hot water supply apparatus according to Embodiment 2 of the present invention; FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing a functional configuration of a hot water supply cooperation system including a hot water supply apparatus according to Embodiment 2 of the present invention; FIG. 10 is a flowchart showing an operation example of a hot water supply cooperation system including a hot water supply apparatus according to Embodiment 2 of the present invention;

Embodiments for carrying out the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings. In each figure, the same or corresponding parts are denoted by the same reference numerals, and overlapping descriptions are appropriately simplified or omitted. The present invention is not limited to the following embodiments, and can be modified in various ways without departing from the scope of the present invention.

Embodiment 1.
Embodiment 1 of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 to 12. FIG. FIG. 1 is a diagram schematically showing the overall configuration of a water heater. FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing the functional configuration of the water heater. FIG. 3 is a diagram for explaining how the water heater learns the bathing start time. FIG. 4 is a diagram showing the relationship between the bathing time and the temperature of the hot water deemed sufficient for warming the body of the hot water supply apparatus. 5 to 12 are flow charts showing an operation example of the water heater.

Hot water supply device 200 according to this embodiment is a device that supplies hot water to bathtub 11 . As shown in FIG. 1, bathtub 11 is installed in bathroom 10 . A bathroom 10 is a room where a user takes a bath. A bathroom heater 100 is installed in the bathroom 10. - 特許庁The bathroom heater 100 is a device that heats the bathroom 10 . The bathroom heater 100 is arranged above the bathtub 11 in the ceiling portion of the bathroom 10, for example, as shown in FIG.

The bathroom heater 100 can perform a heating operation of blowing warm air, a blowing operation of blowing normal temperature air, and the like. Moreover, the bathroom heater 100 has a function of exhausting air from the inside of the bathroom 10 to the outside. The bathroom heater 100 has a fan 121 , an air outlet 122 and an air outlet 123 . The fan 121 is for generating wind. The air outlet 122 is an opening for blowing out the wind generated by the fan 121 to the bathroom 10 . The exhaust port 123 is an opening for exhausting air as described above. Bathroom heater 100 may be, for example, a bathroom air conditioner having a function of blowing out cold air.

A water heater 200 is connected to the bathtub 11 via a reheating pipe 220 as shown in FIG. The water heater 200 has, for example, a heat pump unit or an electric water heater. Reheating pipe 220 is a pipe for circulating water in bathtub 11 between bathtub 11 and water heater 200 . The reheating pipe 220 is provided with a pump (not shown). By driving this pump, water circulates in the bathtub 11 , the reheating pipe 220 , and the water heater 200 .

Water heater 200 heats water guided from bathtub 11 to water heater 200 via reheating pipe 220 . Water heater 200 supplies heated water to bathtub 11 through reheating pipe 220 . Hot water supply apparatus 200 may once store the water introduced from bathtub 11 to hot water supply apparatus 200 after heating the water. Water heater 200 may supply hot water (hot water) stored in water heater 200 to bathtub 11 . Hot water supply device 200 may be a hot water type device or a hot water storage type device.

Further, an operation display unit 230 is provided in the bathroom 10 . This operation display unit 230 is for the user to operate hot water supply apparatus 200 . As an example, the operation display unit 230 is attached to the wall of the bathroom 10 . The operation display unit 230 may be a wireless communication terminal or the like detachable from the wall of the bathroom 10 .

An operation display unit 230 provided in the bathroom 10 is communicably connected to the hot water supply device 200 wirelessly or by wire. Operation display unit 230 has a display unit such as a liquid crystal screen for displaying the state of water heating apparatus 200 and an operation unit such as buttons for operating water heating apparatus 200 . Note that the operation display unit 230 may include a touch panel that serves as both a display unit and an operation unit. Moreover, the operation display unit 230 may have components and functions for operating the bathroom heater 100 .

As shown in FIG. 1, a dressing room 20 is provided adjacent to the bathroom 10 . The dressing room 20 is a room for a bather to undress before bathing and to put on after bathing. A bather enters and exits the bathroom 10 from the dressing room 20.例文帳に追加

Next, the configuration of the bathroom heater 100 and the water heater 200 of this embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. 2 as well. As shown in the figure, the bathroom heater 100 includes a heater communication unit 110 . Water heater 200 also includes water heater communication unit 210 . The bathroom heater 100 and the water heater 200 can communicate with each other via the heater communication unit 110 and the water heater communication unit 210 by a wired method or a wireless method.

As shown in the figure, the bathroom heater 100 further includes a bathroom room temperature sensor 101 and a heater controller 102 . The bathroom room temperature sensor 101 is room temperature detection means for detecting the room temperature of the bathroom 10 . The bathroom room temperature sensor 101 is installed, for example, inside the bathroom 10 so as to detect the room temperature of the bathroom 10 . The heater control unit 102 controls the heating operation and air blowing operation of the bathroom heater 100 according to the room temperature of the bathroom 10 detected by the bathroom room temperature sensor 101 .

Further, heater communication unit 110 transmits the room temperature of bathroom 10 detected by bathroom room temperature sensor 101 to hot water supply device 200 . Water heater communication unit 210 of water heater 200 receives the room temperature of bathroom 10 transmitted from bathroom heater 100 .

As shown in the figure, hot water supply apparatus 200 further includes hot water temperature sensor 201, hot water temperature control unit 202, warming estimation unit 203, bathing learning unit 204, notification control unit 205, immersion detection unit 206, bathing detection unit 207, A hot water temperature storage unit 208 , a bathing start time storage unit 209 and a body temperature sensor 231 are provided.

The temperature of hot water supplied from hot water supply device 200 to bathtub 11 can be set by operating operation display unit 230 described above. A hot water temperature set value, which is a set value of the temperature of hot water supplied from the hot water supply device 200 to the bathtub 11 , is stored in the hot water temperature storage unit 208 . That is, the hot water temperature storage unit 208 is hot water temperature storage means for storing the hot water temperature setting value of the bathtub 11 in the bathroom 10 .

The hot water temperature control unit 202 is hot water temperature adjusting means for adjusting the hot water temperature of the bathtub 11 . That is, hot water temperature control unit 202 controls the heating of water by hot water supply device 200 to adjust the temperature of the hot water supplied from hot water supply device 200 to bathtub 11 to a target hot water temperature. Hot water temperature control unit 202 refers to the hot water temperature set value stored in hot water temperature storage unit 208 and the room temperature of bathroom 10 received by hot water supply device communication unit 210 when adjusting the hot water temperature of bathtub 11 .

Then, when the room temperature of the bathroom 10 is equal to or higher than the preset reference room temperature, the hot water temperature control unit 202 sets the target hot water temperature to the hot water temperature setting value described above. That is, when the room temperature of the bathroom 10 is equal to or higher than the reference room temperature, the hot water temperature control unit 202 adjusts the hot water temperature of the bathtub 11 to the hot water temperature setting value. On the other hand, when the room temperature of the bathroom 10 is lower than the above-described reference room temperature, the hot water temperature control unit 202 sets the target hot water temperature to a temperature lower than the above-described hot water temperature setting value. That is, when the room temperature of the bathroom 10 is lower than the reference room temperature described above, the hot water temperature control unit 202 adjusts the hot water temperature of the bathtub 11 so as to be lower than the hot water temperature set value. Note that the reference room temperature is specifically set to 18° C., for example.

By doing so, when the room temperature of the bathroom 10 is low, the temperature difference between the room temperature of the bathroom 10 and the water temperature of the bathtub 11 can be reduced. Therefore, when the room temperature of the bathroom 10 is low, it is possible to reduce the risk of heat shock when the bather soaks in the hot water of the bathtub 11 .

The hot water temperature sensor 201 is a sensor that detects the hot water temperature of the bathtub 11 . A hot water temperature control unit 202 controls water heating by the hot water supply device 200 so that the hot water temperature of the bathtub 11 reaches a target hot water temperature while confirming the hot water temperature of the bathtub 11 detected by the hot water temperature sensor 201. - 特許庁.

The notification control unit 205 controls the notification operation by the liquid crystal display of the operation display unit 230, for example. When the hot water temperature control unit 202 adjusts the hot water temperature of the bathtub 11 to be lower than the hot water temperature set value stored in the hot water temperature storage unit 208, the notification control unit 205 operates a message to that effect. It is displayed on the liquid crystal display of the display unit 230 . The notification control unit 205 and the operation display unit 230 configured as described above are configured so that the hot water temperature control unit 202 sets the hot water temperature of the bathtub 11 to a temperature lower than the hot water temperature set value stored in the hot water temperature storage unit 208. is an informing means for informing when the adjustment is made to

By doing so, the bather can know from the operation display unit 230 or the like that the hot water temperature of the bathtub 11 is lower than the hot water temperature set by the control of the hot water supply device 200 . Therefore, it is possible to prevent misunderstanding that the difference between the installed hot water temperature and the hot water temperature of the bathtub 11 is due to the abnormality of the hot water supply device 200 . In addition, it is possible to alert bathers by notifying them that heat shock is likely to occur.

Note that the mode of notification by this notification means is not limited to displaying a message on the liquid crystal display of the operation display unit 230 described here. Alternatively, for example, a lamp such as an LED may be lit or blinked, or a voice message may be sounded by a speaker.

The bathing start time storage unit 209 is bathing start time storage means for storing the bathing start time in the bathroom 10 . The bathing start time stored in the bathing start time storage unit 209 is input in advance by, for example, the user operating the operation display unit 230 . Alternatively, the bathing start time storage unit 209 stores a bathing start time obtained as a result of learning by the bathing learning unit 204, which will be described later.

Then, the hot water temperature control section 202, which is the hot water temperature adjusting means described above, may adjust the hot water temperature of the bathtub 11 before the bathing start time stored in the bathing start time storage section 209. FIG. By doing so, the temperature difference between the room temperature of the bathroom 10 and the hot water temperature of the bathtub 11 can be reduced before starting bathing, and the risk of heat shock when the bather soaks in the hot water of the bathtub 11. can be further reduced.

The immersion detection unit 206 detects the amount of water that the bather in the hot water in the bathtub 11 is immersed in. For example, the immersion detector 206 has a water level sensor that detects the water level of the bathtub 11 . Then, the immersion detection unit 206 detects the difference between the water level when there is no person in the bathtub 11 and the water level when there is a person in the bathtub 11. Find the amount of At this time, for example, the body surface area of the bather is calculated from the height and weight of the bather previously input by operating the operation display unit 230 or the like. It may be reflected in the amount a person is immersed in hot water.

The bathing detection unit 207 is bathing detection means for detecting the start of bathing in the bathroom 10 . The bathing detection unit 207 detects the start of bathing in the bathroom 10, for example, when it is detected from the detection result of the immersion detection unit 206 that the bather is in hot water in the bathtub 11. FIG. In addition, a human detection sensor such as an infrared sensor or an ultrasonic sensor for detecting the presence or absence of a person in the bathtub 11 is provided, and when the human detection sensor detects that a person has entered the bathtub 11, bathing in the bathroom 10 is started. may be detected by the bathing detection unit 207 . In addition, for example, the bathroom 10 and the dressing room 20 are provided with human sensors such as infrared sensors and ultrasonic sensors, and when it is detected that a person in the dressing room 20 has moved into the bathroom 10, bathing in the bathroom 10 is started. may be detected by the bathing detection unit 207 .

The bathing detection unit 207 of this embodiment also detects the end of bathing in the bathroom 10 . The detection of the end of bathing is opposite to the detection of the start of bathing described above. That is, the bathing detection unit 207 detects completion of bathing in the bathroom 10 when, for example, it is detected from the detection result of the immersion detection unit 206 that the bather has left the hot water in the bathtub 11 . In addition, a human sensor is provided to detect the presence or absence of a person in the bathtub 11, and when the human sensor detects that a person has left the bathtub 11, the bathing detector 207 detects the beginning of the end of bathing in the bathroom 10. may At this time, in consideration of the case where the person leaves the bathtub 11 once to wash the body and hair during bathing, the time from the time when the person leaves the bathtub 11 to the time when the person enters the bathtub 11 again is shorter than the standard value. In this case, it is better not to detect the end of bathing by judging that the bathing is continued. In addition, for example, a human detection sensor such as an infrared sensor or an ultrasonic sensor is provided in the bathroom 10 and the dressing room 20, and when it is detected that a person in the bathroom 10 has moved into the dressing room 20, the bathing in the bathroom 10 is finished. may be detected by the bathing detection unit 207 .

The bathing learning unit 204 is bathing learning means for learning the above-described bathing start time based on the detection result of the bathing detection unit 207 . The bathing learning unit 204 learns the above-described bathing start time by using, for example, times when the bathing detection unit 207 has detected the start of bathing over a plurality of days in the past.

An example of a method for learning the bathing start time by the bathing learning unit 204 will be described with reference to FIG. First, the bathing learning unit 204 arranges and ranks the detection times at which the bathing detection unit 207 detects the start of bathing in the same day. The ranking is "first person", "second person", and "third person" shown in FIG. Then, the bathing learning unit 204 obtains the bathing start time for each order by using the above-described detection times of the same order in the past multiple days. By doing so, when a plurality of people bathe on the same day, the bathing start time for each individual can be learned. Also, at this time, the bathing learning unit 204 may learn the median value of the detection times of the same order in the past multiple days as the bathing start time. By doing so, the learning result of the bathing start time can be made less likely to be affected by irregular bathing times such as when traveling, going out, on a business trip, or staying out overnight.

Furthermore, when the number of bathers on one day is less than on other days, as shown in "3rd day" in the same figure, the detection time on the other days in the same time slot is calculated by considering the time slot of the detection time. When present, the ranking may be moved down or moved up. In the example of "3rd day" in the figure, the time zone of the detection time of the "2nd person" is close to the time zone of the detection time of the "3rd person" on other days. Therefore, the detection time of the "second person" on the "third day" is moved down to the "third person" to learn the bathing start time. If the user takes a bath only once a day, the bathing start time may be learned from the time when the bathtub 11 is filled with hot water.

Also, the bathing learning unit 204 identifies the bathing end time using the time when the bathing detection unit 207 detects the end of bathing. The bathing end time can be specified by the same method as the learning of the bathing start time described above. Then, the bathing learning unit 204 learns bathing time based on the detection result of the bathing detection unit 207 . The bathing time is the duration of one bathing from the bathing start time to the bathing end time.

The bathing start time storage unit 209 stores the bathing start time learned by the bathing learning unit 204 as described above. Then, as described above, hot water temperature control unit 202 adjusts the hot water temperature of bathtub 11 before the bathing start time stored in bathing start time storage unit 209 . Therefore, the hot water temperature control unit 202 adjusts the hot water temperature of the bathtub 11 based on the bathing start time learned by the bathing learning unit 204 . By doing so, even if the bather does not input the bathing start time on the operation display unit 230 or the like, the hot water temperature can be adjusted according to the bather's life pattern.

The hot water temperature control section 202 may adjust the hot water temperature of the bathtub 11 according to the bathing time learned by the bathing learning section 204 . An example of hot water temperature adjustment according to bathing time will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 4 shows an example of the relationship between hot water temperature and bathing time at which a person can be considered sufficiently warmed. In addition, it is generally said that a person can be regarded as sufficiently warmed when the deep body temperature rises by 1° C. due to bathing. The hot water temperature control unit 202 identifies the hot water temperature corresponding to the bathing time learned by the bathing learning unit 204 from the relationship shown in FIG. 4 before the next bathing start time. Then, the hot water temperature control unit 202 sets the specified hot water temperature as the target hot water temperature.

The warming estimating unit 203 is a warming estimating means for estimating the degree of warming of the person taking a bath from the hot water temperature of the bathtub 11 and the bathing time. The hot water temperature of the bathtub 11 can be obtained from the detection result of the hot water temperature sensor 201, for example. Alternatively, the hot water temperature of bathtub 11 may be obtained from hot water temperature control unit 202 . The bathing time is obtained, for example, by counting the elapsed time after the bathing detection unit 207 detects the start of bathing.

Then, the warm-up estimation unit 203 estimates the degree of warm-up of the person from, for example, the relationship between the hot water temperature at which the person can be considered sufficiently warmed and the bathing time as shown in FIG. 4 . That is, first, the warm-up estimation unit 203 applies the hot water temperature of the bathtub 11 obtained from the detection result of the hot water temperature sensor 201, etc., to the relationship shown in FIG. Identify. Then, if the bathing time reaches the recommended bathing time, the warming estimation unit 203 estimates that the degree of warming of the person in the bath is sufficient. If the bathing time does not reach the recommended bathing time, the warming estimation unit 203 estimates that the degree of warming of the person in the bath is insufficient. Note that if the bathing time exceeds the recommended bathing time by a predetermined time or more, the warming estimation unit 203 estimates that the degree of warming of the person during bathing is too warm and that there is a possibility of "hot flashes". may

The notification control unit 205 may cause the liquid crystal display of the operation display unit 230 to display the estimation result of the degree of warming by the warming estimation unit 203 . In addition, when the degree of warming reaches a sufficient bathing time, the notification control unit 205 may perform notification by lighting a lamp, sounding a speaker, or the like.

The body temperature sensor 231 is body temperature detection means for detecting the body temperature of a person taking a bath in the bathroom 10 . As shown in FIG. 1, the body temperature sensor 231 is provided in the operation display section 230, for example. The body temperature sensor 231 includes, for example, a thermopile in which infrared sensors are arranged in an array. A thermopile can detect the surface temperature in a matrix. A biosensor 111 including a thermopile can detect a person's skin temperature and body temperature without contact. Also, the body temperature sensor 231 may be a wearable sensor worn by the bather.

Hot water temperature control unit 202 adjusts the hot water temperature of bathtub 11 when the room temperature of bathroom 10 is lower than the reference room temperature described above, and when the human body temperature detected by body temperature sensor 231 is lower than the preset reference body temperature. The temperature may be adjusted to be lower than the hot water temperature set value stored in the storage unit 208 . By doing so, even if the air in the bathroom 10 is cold, if the bather's body is sufficiently warm, the temperature of the hot water in the bathtub 11 can be maintained as initially set without lowering. can. Note that the reference body temperature is set to 36° C., for example.

Note that when the hot water temperature control unit 202 adjusts the hot water temperature of the bathtub 11 to be lower than the hot water temperature set value stored in the hot water temperature storage unit 208, the hot water temperature control unit 202 adjusts the hot water temperature of the bathtub 11 step by step. The temperature may be raised to the hot water temperature set value stored in the hot water temperature storage unit 208 . By doing so, the hot water temperature can be raised to the initial hot water temperature set value while keeping the load on the bather small according to the rise in body temperature of the bather after bathing. At this time, considering the body temperature of the bather detected by the body temperature sensor 231, the hot water temperature may be within +2° C. of the body temperature of the bather.

As described above, the temperature of hot water supplied from hot water supply device 200 to bathtub 11 can be set by operating operation display unit 230 . Regarding the setting of the water temperature, the temperature may be designated by a specific numerical value, or may be selected from a plurality of ranks such as "warm", "hot", and "hot". When selecting from a plurality of ranks such as “warm”, “hot”, and “hot”, specific temperatures corresponding to these ranks may be fixed or may be changed according to the body temperature of the body.

Specifically, for example, if the bather's body temperature is between 35.0 and 35.9°C, the water temperature will be set to 37°C if it is lukewarm, 39°C if it is hot, and 39°C if it is hot. is set to 40°C. If the bather's body temperature is between 36.0 and 36.9°C, the water temperature should be set to 38°C for lukewarm, 40°C for hot, and 41°C for hot. set to If the bather's body temperature is between 37.0 and 37.9°C, the water temperature should be set to 39°C for lukewarm, 41°C for hot, and 42°C for hot. set to

In addition, in the configuration example described here, the bathroom 10 is provided with the bathroom heater 100 . Therefore, the bathroom room temperature sensor 101 of the bathroom heater 100 is used. However, the bathroom room temperature sensor 101 may be provided in the hot water supply device 200 instead of the bathroom heater 100 . Even when water heater 200 includes bathroom room temperature sensor 101 , bathroom room temperature sensor 101 is installed inside bathroom 10 so that the room temperature of bathroom 10 can be detected.

Next, several operation examples of hot water supply apparatus 200 configured as described above will be described with reference to FIGS. 5 to 12 . The flow chart of FIG. 5 shows an example of the operation of hot water supply apparatus 200 when bathing is performed once. First, in step S11, when the bathing detection unit 207 detects that bathing has started in the bathroom 10, the process proceeds to step S12.

In step S12, the bathing learning unit 204 stores the time when the bathing detection unit 207 detects the start of bathing as the bathing start time. After step S12, the process proceeds to step S13. In step S13, the hot water temperature control unit 202 checks whether or not the body temperature of the bather detected by the body temperature sensor 231 before bathing is below the reference body temperature described above. If the bather's body temperature is less than the standard body temperature, the process proceeds to step S14.

In step S14, hot water temperature control unit 202 adjusts the temperature of hot water in bathtub 11 to be lower than the hot water temperature set value stored in hot water temperature storage unit 208, and then adjusts the temperature of hot water in bathtub 11 step by step. Adjust the temperature to high. After step S14, the process proceeds to step S15. If the body temperature of the bather is equal to or higher than the standard body temperature in step S13, the process proceeds to step S15 without going through step S14.

In step S15, when the bathing detection unit 207 detects that the bathing has ended, that is, the bathing in the bathroom 10 is completed, the process proceeds to step S16. In step S16, the bathing learning unit 204 stores the time when the bathing detection unit 207 detects the end of bathing as the bathing end time. When the process of step S16 is completed, the series of operations is finished.

Next, the flow chart of FIG. 6 shows processing during learning by the bathing learning unit 204 . First, in step S21, the bathing learning unit 204 confirms whether or not a preset learning process start time has come in one day. The learning process start time should be set to a time period when bathing is rare (for example, late at night, early in the morning, etc.). Then, when the learning process start time comes, the process proceeds to step S22.

In step S22, the bathing learning unit 204 learns the bathing start time of each bathing from the bathing start time of each bathing in the past that has been saved. In subsequent step S23, the bathing learning unit 204 identifies the bathing end time of each bathing from the bathing end time of each bathing in the past that has been saved. Then, the bathing learning unit 204 learns the bathing time of each bathing from the bathing start time and the bathing end time of each bathing.

In subsequent step S24, water heater communication unit 210 transmits the bathing start time learned in step S22 to bathroom heater 100. FIG. When heater communication unit 110 receives the bathing start time transmitted from hot water supply device 200, heater control unit 102 sets a certain time (N minutes, for example, 10 minutes) before the received bathing start time as the preliminary heating start time. set. When step S24 is completed, a series of processing ends.

The flow chart of FIG. 7 shows an example of heating control and hot water temperature control prior to bathing. First, in step S31, the heater control unit 102 confirms whether or not the preliminary heating start time set in step S24 of FIG. 6 has passed. If the preliminary heating start time has passed, the process proceeds to step S32.

In step S32, it is confirmed whether or not the room temperature of bathroom 10 detected by bathroom room temperature sensor 101 is less than the reference room temperature described above. If the room temperature of bathroom 10 is lower than the reference room temperature, the process proceeds to step S33. In step S<b>33 , bathroom heater 100 heats bathroom 10 under the control of heater controller 102 . Then, in subsequent step S<b>34 , the hot water temperature control section 202 controls the hot water temperature of the bathtub 11 according to the body temperature of the bather detected by the body temperature sensor 231 . When the process of step S34 is completed, the series of operations is finished.

The flow chart of FIG. 8 shows an example of hot water temperature control operation between bathing. First, in step S41, the hot water temperature control unit 202 checks whether or not the bathtub 11 is filled with hot water, that is, whether or not the hot water in the bathtub 11 is above a certain water level. Then, if the bathtub 11 is filled with hot water, the process proceeds to step S42.

In step S42, the hot water temperature control unit 202 confirms whether or not the next bathing start time stored in the bathing start time storage unit 209 is a predetermined time (M minutes, for example, 10 minutes) before. Then, if it is a predetermined time (M minutes) before the next bathing start time, the process proceeds to step S43. At step S43, the hot water temperature control unit 202 controls the hot water temperature of the bathtub 11 in accordance with the next bathing start time. When the process of step S43 is completed, the series of operations is finished.

Flow charts of FIGS. 9 to 12 show various notification control operations by the notification control unit 205. FIG. First, FIG. 9 shows the operation for notifying that heating control and hot water temperature control have been performed prior to bathing. In step S51, the notification control unit 205 confirms whether or not the preliminary heating control and the preliminary hot water temperature control shown in FIG. 7 have been performed. And if these preliminary controls are performed, a process will progress to step S52. In step S52, notification control unit 205 notifies that heating control of bathroom heater 100 and hot water temperature control of water heater 200 have been performed prior to bathing. When the process of step S52 is completed, the series of operations is terminated.

FIG. 10 shows the operation of alerting the possibility of heat shock at the start of bathing. In step S61, the notification control unit 205 confirms whether or not the bathing start time stored in the bathing start time storage unit 209 has come. Then, when the bathing start time comes, the process proceeds to step S62.

In step S62, the notification control unit 205 determines that the temperature difference between the temperature of the bathing person before bathing detected by the body temperature sensor 231 and the room temperature of the bathroom 10 detected by the bathroom room temperature sensor 101 is a preset reference temperature difference. Confirm whether or not the above is satisfied. The reference temperature difference is set to 10° C., for example. Then, if this temperature difference is greater than or equal to the reference temperature difference, the process proceeds to step S63.

In step S63, the notification control unit 205 performs notification to call attention to the possibility of heat shock. At the same time, advice such as that taking a low-temperature shower may lead to prevention of heat shock may be notified. When the process of step S63 is completed, the series of operations is terminated.

FIG. 11 shows the operation of notifying the bather of the degree of body warming during bathing. In step S71, when the bathing detection unit 207 detects the start of bathing, the process proceeds to step S72. In step S<b>72 , the notification control unit 205 confirms the degree of warming of the bather's body estimated by the warming estimation unit 203 . In this operation example, the warming estimation unit 203 estimates the degree of warming of the bather's body using the following equation (1).

(Body warming degree) = α x (hot water temperature) x (bathing time) (1)

Here, α is a coefficient determined by the body temperature of the bather before bathing. The coefficient α takes a larger value as the bather's body temperature before bathing is lower, and conversely takes a smaller value as the bather's body temperature before bathing is higher. The notification control unit 205 confirms whether or not the degree of warming of the bather's body estimated by the warming estimation unit 203 using equation (1) is equal to or greater than a preset reference value. Then, if the degree of warming of the bather's body is equal to or greater than the reference value, the process proceeds to step S73.

In step S73, the notification control unit 205 notifies that the bather's body is warming up and the degree of warming is sufficient, and prompts the bather to take a bath. When the process of step S73 is completed, the series of operations is finished.

FIG. 12 shows the operation of notifying the bather of the degree of body warming during bathing. In step S81, when the bathing detection unit 207 detects the bathing, that is, the end of bathing, the process proceeds to step S82. In step S<b>82 , the notification control unit 205 confirms the degree of warming of the bather's body estimated by the warming estimation unit 203 . In this operation example, as in the case of FIG. 11, the warming estimation unit 203 estimates the degree of warming of the bathing person's body by the above equation (1).

The notification control unit 205 confirms whether or not the degree of warming of the bather's body estimated by the warming estimation unit 203 using equation (1) is equal to or less than a preset reference value. Then, if the degree of warming of the bather's body is equal to or less than the reference value, the process proceeds to step S83.

In step S83, the notification control unit 205 issues a notification to call attention to heat shock, hot water, etc., since there is a possibility that the bather's body is not yet warmed up. In addition, the notification control unit 205 may also notify that the degree of warming of the body of the bathing person is insufficient, and encourage the continuation of bathing. When the process of step S83 is completed, the series of operations is terminated.

Embodiment 2.
Embodiment 2 of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 13 to 15. FIG. FIG. 13 is a diagram schematically showing the overall configuration of a hot water supply cooperation system including hot water supply apparatuses. FIG. 14 is a block diagram showing a functional configuration of a hot water supply cooperative system including hot water supply apparatuses. FIG. 15 is a flow chart showing an operation example of the hot water supply cooperation system provided with the hot water supply apparatus.

Embodiment 2 described here is a hot water supply cooperation system in which the water heater of Embodiment 1 described above and an air conditioner installed in a living room operate in cooperation with each other. The hot water supply cooperation system according to the second embodiment will be described below, focusing on differences from the first embodiment. The configuration whose description is omitted is basically the same as that of the first embodiment.

As shown in FIG. 13, the hot water supply cooperation system according to this embodiment includes a room air conditioner 300 in addition to the bathroom heater 100 and the hot water supply device 200 . The living room air conditioner 300 is provided in the living room 30 . The living room 30 is a room such as a living room, a dining room, a children's room, etc., in which people usually work. For example, as shown in FIG. 13, living room 30 is connected to dressing room 20 via another room or corridor. The living room air conditioner 300 is an air conditioner that air-conditions the living room 30 . The living room air conditioner 300 can perform a heating operation that blows hot air, a cooling operation that blows cold air, and an air blowing operation that blows normal temperature air.

An air conditioner operation unit 320 is provided in the living room 30 . The air conditioner operation unit 320 is for the user to operate the room air conditioner 300 . The air conditioner operation unit 320 is communicably connected to the living room air conditioner 300 wirelessly or by wire. The air conditioner operation unit 320 has a display unit such as a liquid crystal screen for displaying the status of the living room air conditioner 300 and an operation unit such as buttons for operating the living room air conditioner 300 . By operating the air conditioner operation unit 320 , the user can set the target temperature, which is the room temperature of the living room 30 that is the target of air conditioning by the living room air conditioner 300 . Note that the air conditioner operation unit 320 may include a touch panel that serves as both a display unit and an operation unit.

Next, with reference to FIG. 14 as well, the description of the configuration of the hot water supply cooperation system of this embodiment will be continued. As shown in the figure, the living room air conditioner 300 includes an air conditioner communication unit 310 . The living room air conditioner 300 and the bathroom heater 100 can communicate with each other by a wired system or a wireless system via the air conditioner communication unit 310 and the heater communication unit 110 . In addition, the room air conditioner 300 and the water heater 200 can communicate with each other via the air conditioner communication unit 310 and the water heater communication unit 210 by a wired system or a wireless system.

The room air conditioner 300 includes a room room temperature sensor 301 and an air conditioner controller 302 in addition to the air conditioner communication unit 310 and the air conditioner operation unit 320 described above. The living room room temperature sensor 301 is room temperature detection means for detecting the room temperature of the living room 30 . The living room temperature sensor 301 is installed, for example, inside the living room 30 so as to detect the room temperature of the living room 30 .

According to the room temperature of the living room 30 detected by the living room temperature sensor 301, the air conditioner control unit 302 controls the heating operation, the cooling operation, the ventilation operation, etc. of the living room air conditioner 300 so that the room temperature of the living room 30 reaches the above-described target temperature. Control. Thereby, the living room air conditioner 300 performs air conditioning so that the room temperature of the living room 30 becomes the target temperature.

In this embodiment, heater communication unit 110 transmits the room temperature of bathroom 10 detected by bathroom room temperature sensor 101 not only to water heater 200 but also to living room air conditioner 300 . The air conditioner communication unit 310 of the living room air conditioner 300 receives the room temperature of the bathroom 10 transmitted from the bathroom heater 100 . The air conditioner control unit 302 refers to the room temperature of the bathroom 10 received by the air conditioner communication unit 310 when controlling the operation of the living room air conditioner 300 . Then, when the room temperature of bathroom 10 is lower than the reference room temperature described above in Embodiment 1, air conditioner control section 302 lowers the above-described target temperature.

By doing so, when the room temperature of the bathroom 10 is low, the temperature difference between the room temperature of the bathroom 10 and the room temperature of the living room 30 can be reduced. Therefore, in addition to being able to achieve the same effects as in the first embodiment, the risk of heat shock when a bather moves from living room 30 to bathroom 10 when the room temperature of bathroom 10 is low can be reduced. can be reduced.

Next, an operation example of the room air conditioner 300 before taking a bath will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. 15 . First, in step S91, the air conditioner control unit 302 confirms whether or not the preliminary air conditioning start time has passed. The preliminary air-conditioning start time is set, for example, in the same manner as the preliminary heating start time set in step S24 of FIG. 6 of the first embodiment. If the preliminary air-conditioning start time has passed, the process proceeds to step S92.

In step S92, it is confirmed whether or not the room temperature of bathroom 10 detected by bathroom room temperature sensor 101 is less than the reference room temperature described above. If the room temperature of bathroom 10 is lower than the reference room temperature, the process proceeds to step S93. In step S<b>93 , under the control of the air conditioner control unit 302 , the living room air conditioner 300 performs air conditioning to lower the room temperature of the living room 30 . When the process of step S93 is completed, the series of operations ends.

10 bathroom 11 bathtub 20 dressing room 30 living room 100 bathroom heater 101 bathroom room temperature sensor 102 heater control unit 110 heater communication unit 121 fan 122 outlet 123 exhaust port 200 hot water supply device 201 hot water temperature sensor 202 hot water temperature control unit 203 warming estimation Part 204 Bathing learning part 205 Information control part 206 Immersion detection part 207 Bathing detection part 208 Hot water temperature storage part 209 Bathing start time storage part 210 Water heater communication part 220 Reheating pipe 230 Operation display part 231 Body temperature sensor 300 Living room air conditioner 301 Living room Room temperature sensor 302 Air conditioner control unit 310 Air conditioner communication unit 320 Air conditioner operation unit

Claims (11)

room temperature detection means for detecting the room temperature of the bathroom;
hot water temperature storage means for storing a hot water temperature set value of a bathtub in the bathroom;
When the room temperature of the bathroom is equal to or higher than a preset reference room temperature, the hot water temperature of the bathtub is adjusted to the hot water temperature setting value, and when the room temperature of the bathroom is lower than the reference room temperature, the hot water temperature of the bathtub is adjusted. hot water temperature adjusting means for adjusting the hot water temperature to be lower than the hot water temperature set value;
a body temperature detecting means for detecting a person's body temperature ,
The hot water temperature adjusting means adjusts the hot water temperature of the bathtub to a temperature lower than the hot water temperature set value when the room temperature of the bathroom is lower than the reference room temperature and the body temperature of the person is lower than a preset reference body temperature. A water heater that adjusts to be Further comprising bathing start time storage means for storing bathing start time,
2. The hot water supply apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said hot water temperature adjusting means adjusts the hot water temperature of said bathtub before said bathing start time. bathing detection means for detecting the start of bathing in the bathroom;
bathing learning means for learning the bathing start time based on the detection result of the bathing detection means;
3. The water heater according to claim 2, wherein said bathing start time storage means stores said bathing start time learned by said bathing learning means. The bathing learning means arranges and ranks the detection times at which the bathing detection means detected the start of bathing in the same day in chronological order, and uses the detection times of the same order in a plurality of days in the past to determine the 4. The water heater according to claim 3, wherein the bathing start time is obtained and learned. room temperature detection means for detecting the room temperature of the bathroom;
hot water temperature storage means for storing a hot water temperature set value of a bathtub in the bathroom;
When the room temperature of the bathroom is equal to or higher than a preset reference room temperature, the hot water temperature of the bathtub is adjusted to the hot water temperature setting value, and when the room temperature of the bathroom is lower than the reference room temperature, the hot water temperature of the bathtub is adjusted. hot water temperature adjusting means for adjusting the hot water temperature to be lower than the hot water temperature set value;
bathing start time storage means for storing bathing start time;
bathing detection means for detecting the start of bathing in the bathroom;
bathing learning means for learning the bathing start time based on the detection result of the bathing detection means;
The hot water temperature adjusting means adjusts the hot water temperature of the bathtub before the bathing start time,
The bathing start time storage means stores the bathing start time learned by the bathing learning means,
The bathing learning means arranges and ranks the detection times at which the bathing detection means detected the start of bathing in the same day in chronological order, and uses the detection times of the same order in a plurality of days in the past to determine the A water heater that learns by obtaining the bathing start time. The bathing detection means detects completion of bathing in the bathroom,
The bathing learning means learns the bathing time from the bathing start time to the bathing end time based on the detection result of the bathing detection means,
6. The water heater according to any one of claims 3 to 5, wherein said hot water temperature adjusting means adjusts the hot water temperature of said bathtub according to said bathing time. room temperature detection means for detecting the room temperature of the bathroom;
hot water temperature storage means for storing a hot water temperature set value of a bathtub in the bathroom;
When the room temperature of the bathroom is equal to or higher than a preset reference room temperature, the hot water temperature of the bathtub is adjusted to the hot water temperature setting value, and when the room temperature of the bathroom is lower than the reference room temperature, the hot water temperature of the bathtub is adjusted. hot water temperature adjusting means for adjusting the hot water temperature to be lower than the hot water temperature set value;
bathing start time storage means for storing bathing start time;
bathing detection means for detecting the start and end of bathing in the bathroom;
bathing learning means for learning the bathing start time based on the detection result of the bathing detection means;
The hot water temperature adjusting means adjusts the hot water temperature of the bathtub before the bathing start time,
The bathing start time storage means stores the bathing start time learned by the bathing learning means,
The bathing learning means further learns the bathing time from the bathing start time to the bathing end time based on the detection result of the bathing detection means,
The hot water temperature adjusting means is a hot water supply device that adjusts the hot water temperature of the bathtub according to the bathing time. 8. The water heater according to claim 6, further comprising warming estimation means for estimating a degree of warming of a person taking a bath from the hot water temperature of said bathtub and said bathing time. 2. The hot water temperature adjusting means increases the hot water temperature of the bathtub stepwise to the hot water temperature set value when the hot water temperature of the bathtub is adjusted to be lower than the hot water temperature set value. The water heater according to claim 8 . 10. The apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 9 , further comprising notification means for notifying when said hot water temperature adjusting means adjusts the hot water temperature of said bathtub to be lower than said hot water temperature set value. water heater. a water heater according to any one of claims 1 to 10 ;
an air conditioner provided in a living room and performing air conditioning so that the room temperature of the living room reaches a target temperature;
The air conditioner is a hot water supply cooperation system that lowers the target temperature when the room temperature of the bathroom is lower than the reference room temperature.

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