JPH02267460A - Setting of water level for automatic bath device - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To enable a hot water of specified depth to be supplied into a bath tub by a method wherein a specified amount of hot water is supplied into the bath tub to detect an increased amount of water level and to calculate a depth up to a bottom surface of the bath tub at the present water level as well as to calculate an amount of water from the bottom surface of the bath tub to the set water level. CONSTITUTION:An amount of water dropped into a bath tub 2 is detected by a flow rate sensor 15 and a dropped water amount Q=(q0+q1) is stored in a control part. A closing valve 12 is opened, a specified amount of hot water q2 is dropped from a hot water supply circuit 4 into the bath tub 2 and then an increased water level (h) across the dropping operation is detected by a pressure sensor 9. Thus, at the control part, a sectional area of the bath tub 2, S=q2/h is calculated in reference to an amount of water q2 and an increased water level (h), and in addition, the water amount q+q2 is divided by the bath tub sectional area S to cause a depth (h2) up to the bottom surface of the bath tub to be calculated. In turn, since the depth of the bath tub 2 is substantially constant, if the bottom surface of the bath tub is applied as a reference level, it is possible to define a distance H0 up to the set water level LS. If it is assumed that the hot water is supplied into the bath tub 2 from the bottom surface to the water level (h), a dropping of hot water with an amount of q3=(H0-hx)XS into the bath tub 2 enables the hot water to be supplied up to the set water level LS.

Description

[Detailed Description of the Invention] [Field of Industrial Application] The present invention relates to a water level setting method for automatic bath equipment, and specifically, a method for setting the optimum water level of hot water (or water) to be poured into a bathtub. Regarding the method.

[Background technology]

Known methods for setting the water level of hot water supply in automatic bath equipment include a water level switch method and a water flow sensor method.

Among these, the one type that has traditionally been used as a water flow sensor is the bath adapter (circulation port) installed in the bathtub.
In this method, a certain level of hot water is dropped into the bathtub based on the level of .

For example, as shown in FIG. 9, a hot water supply circuit 101 is connected to a reheating circuit 102, and hot water supplied from the hot water supply circuit 101 passes through the reheating circuit 102 and is dropped into a bathtub 103. The reheating circuit 102 is provided with a water amount sensor 1.4 and a pressure sensor 105. Then, when the automatic button is turned on, a certain amount (for example, 10jI) of hot water is supplied from the hot water supply circuit 1°1, and hot water is poured into the bath adapter 106 of the bathtub 103 at a level LBt. That is, the pressure sensor 105 of the reheating circuit 102 detects the level LB of the bath adapter 106, and when hot water is dropped to the bath adapter level LB, the hot water supply is stopped. In the bathtub 103, hot water is poured to a set depth H based on the bath adapter level LB.

[Problem to be solved by the invention]

In conventional automatic bath equipment with one type of water sensor, the desired water level LS' is set using the bath adapter level LB as a reference so that the depth from this bath adapter level LB is a constant depth H. It is set.

However, when constructing a bathtub, an opening for attaching a bath adapter is drilled in the bathtub on site, so the position of the bath adapter is slightly different for each bathtub. Therefore, when hot water is poured into the bathtub based on the bath adapter level, there is a drawback that the depth of the hot water in the bathtub varies. In particular, if the bath adapter is positioned too low, there will be a shortage of hot water in the bathtub, and if the bath adapter is positioned too high, in extreme cases, there will be a problem that hot water will overflow outside the bathtub.

In addition, as disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. 63-259347, in order to prevent variations in the desired water level due to construction errors at the bus adapter level as described above, a trial run is conducted to set the water level immediately after construction. In some models, the desired water level is manually set at this time, and the microcomputer in the control unit memorizes the depth from the bus adapter level to the desired water level selected during the trial run. However, even in this conventional example, the installer visually checks the amount of hot water while pouring hot water into the bathtub and selects the desired water level at an appropriate point, so it is not possible to eliminate variations in the water level depending on the installer, and it is difficult to actually take a bath. There was a risk that it would cause some inconvenience. Also,
This method requires work to set the desired water level at the time of installation, and there is a problem in that the water level cannot be set automatically.

However, the present invention was made in view of the drawbacks of the conventional example of soft soil, and its purpose is to drop a constant amount of hot water into the bathtub regardless of the installation position of the bath adapter. The objective is to be able to automatically set the desired water level.

[Means to solve the problem]

For this reason, the first water level setting method for an automatic bath device of the present invention uses indirect water level detection means such as a pressure sensor for detecting the water level in the bathtub, and detects the amount of hot water supplied into the bathtub. A water level setting method for an automatic bath device equipped with a flow rate detection means and a control unit includes the steps of supplying a certain amount of hot water into a bathtub and detecting an increase in the water level, and repeating the above steps as necessary. a step of calculating the depth to the bottom of the bathtub at the current water level; and a step of calculating the amount of water from the bottom of the bathtub to the set water level based on the pre-stored distance to the set water level with reference to the bottom of the bathtub. It has become.

Further, the second method of setting the water level of an automatic bath device of the present invention is as follows:
Water level setting for an automatic bath device that includes an indirect water level detection means such as a pressure sensor for detecting the water level in the bathtub, a flow rate detection means for detecting the amount of hot water supplied into the bathtub, and a control unit. In this method, a certain amount of hot water is supplied into the bathtub and the increase in the water level is detected.
A step of calculating the cross-sectional area of the bathtub from the hot water supply amount and the increase in water level, and from the determined water bath cross-sectional area and the pre-stored depth from the bottom of the bathtub to the set water level with reference to the bottom of the bathtub. The process consists of a step of calculating the amount of water.

Furthermore, the third water level setting method for an automatic bath device of the present invention includes indirect water level detection means such as a pressure sensor for detecting the water level in the bathtub, and a method for detecting the amount of hot water supplied in the bathtub. A water level setting method for an automatic bath device equipped with a flow rate detection means and a control unit includes the steps of: dropping a certain amount of hot water into the bathtub and detecting the amount of increase in the water level; and repeating the above steps at least twice to increase the water level. a step of calculating a ratio of the amounts, and a step of calculating the depth to the bottom of the bathtub at the current water level from the amount of water already supplied, the amount of water dropped in the fixed amount, and the ratio of the amount of water level rise;
The method includes a step of calculating the amount of water from the bathtub bottom to the set water level based on a previously stored distance from the bathtub bottom to the set water level.

[Effect]

In the first method of the present invention, by repeating the step of supplying a certain amount of hot water into the bathtub and detecting the amount of rise in the water level as necessary, the cross-sectional area of the bathtub can be adjusted unless the bathtub is a special bathtub. If we can know how the cross-sectional area of the bathtub changes, we can know the depth from the amount of water that has been supplied to the bathtub up to that point to the bottom of the bathtub. The position of the bottom of the bathtub can be detected.

Furthermore, if the change in the cross section of the bathtub is known and the distance from the bottom of the bathtub to the set water level is given, the amount of water needed to supply hot water to the set water level can be determined.

The second method is a method for setting the water level that is suitable for bathtubs with a uniform cross-sectional area, and the cross-sectional area of the bathtub can be determined by dividing the amount of hot water dropped by the amount of rise in the water level. By multiplying the cross-sectional area by the depth to the set water level, the amount of water needed to fill the tank to the set water level can be obtained.

The third method is also suitable for bathtubs with varying cross-sectional areas, and by comparing the amount of water level rise when a fixed amount of water is poured into the bathtub, unless the bathtub is a special one,
Since we can know how the cross-sectional area of the bathtub changes, we can find out the depth of the hot water in the bathtub by integrating the cross-sectional area of the bathtub at each water level and making it equal to the amount of water that has fallen so far. . That is, the position of the bottom of the bathtub can be detected. Furthermore, if you know the distance from the bottom of the bathtub to the set water level and how the cross-sectional area of the bathtub changes, you can also know the amount of water up to the set water level.

However, since either method can automatically detect the amount of water from the bottom of the bathtub to the set water level, during normal operation, for example, if the flow rate is detected by the flow rate detection means and hot water is supplied at the relevant amount into the bathtub, the water level can be detected automatically. It is possible to automatically fill the water up to the water level.

Furthermore, since this amount of water is determined based on the bottom of the bathtub, it is possible to fill the bathtub with hot water to a constant depth, regardless of variations in the mounting position of the bath adapter level, as in the conventional example. Furthermore, the water level can be set automatically without the need for the builder or the like to manually set the water level after construction.

〔Example〕

Embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

FIG. 1 is an overall configuration diagram showing an embodiment of the present invention, in which 1 is an automatic bath device, 2 is a bathtub having a substantially constant cross-sectional area, and 3 is a bathtub having a substantially constant cross-sectional area.
4 is a reheating circuit, and 4 is a hot water supply circuit. Reheating circuit 3 is
An outgoing path 6a connects the pump 10 to the bath adapter 5 of the bathtub 2 via the bath heat exchanger 7, and the bath adapter 5.
to the pump 10, and an outgoing path 6b.
A pressure sensor 9 and a water flow switch 8 are provided in the middle of the return path 6b, and a thermistor 21 is provided in the middle of the return path 6b.

The hot water supply circuit 4 includes a flow rate sensor 22, a thermistor 17, a hot water supply heat exchanger 11, a flow rate adjustment valve 18, a thermistor 19,
It is connected to the reheating circuit 3 via a flow rate adjustment valve 14, a flow rate sensor 15, a vacuum breaker 20, a shutoff valve 12, and a check valve 13. Reference numeral 16 denotes a branch hot water supply path that branches off from the middle of the hot water supply circuit 4 and reaches an appropriate hot water supply point. Further, a control section (not shown) of the automatic bath device 1 includes a microcomputer, and performs various calculations, judgments, controls, storage, and the like.

The flow rate sensor 15 detects the flow rate of hot water supplied from the hot water supply circuit 4 into the bathtub 2 through the reheating circuit 3, and the flow rate detection signal is sent to a control section (not shown). In the lIJg1 section, this flow rate value is integrated to obtain the water amount (integrated flow rate).

Moreover, the pressure sensor 9 indirectly detects the water level in the bathtub 2 as water pressure. The relationship between the output P of the pressure sensor 9 and the amount of water g is shown in FIG. Pressure sensor 9
The output P increases until the outgoing path 6a is filled with hot water (amount of hot water supplied until the outgoing path 6a is filled with hot water; 41
t), after filling the outward route 6a with hot water until the water level reaches the bus adapter level LB (the amount of water when the hot water reaches the bus adapter level LB: 12) shows a constant value P, and at the bus adapter level LB. The output P increases proportionally to the output P2 at the set water level. In addition, J2. is the amount of water when the set water level is reached.

Next, the water level setting operation upon completion of construction of the automatic bath device 1 having the above configuration will be described with reference to the flowcharts of FIGS. 3 and 5 and the explanatory diagram of FIG. 6.

First, confirm that the inside of the bathtub 2 is empty, and then turn on the power as shown in FIG. Sarabanko turns on the automatic switch, opens the shutoff valve 12, and pumps a certain amount of water from the hot water supply circuit 4 so that the water level is below the bus adapter level LB.
o (For example, 10 J) of hot water is retransferred into the bathtub 2, then the shutoff valve 12 is closed, the pump 10 is operated, and the water flow switch 8 performs a circulation judgment to determine the presence or absence of residual water. After determining the circulation, the pump 10 is stopped. Circulation judgment is based on the bath adapter level LB in the bathtub 2.
If there is hot water above the bath adapter level LB, it is determined that there is water, and if it is below the bath adapter level LB, it is determined that there is no water. If the circulation judgment is "water present", it is judged that water remained in the bathtub 2, and, for example, the trial run is stopped and a "check message" is issued, and if the circulation judgment is "no water",
The shutoff valve 12 is opened again, and a certain amount q1 is supplied from the hot water supply circuit 4.
(For example, 80 J) of hot water is dropped into the bathtub 2.Then, the shutoff valve 12 is closed, the pump 10 is operated, and the water flow switch 8 is used to determine the circulation.The result of this circulation determination is "no water". If so, further qll(
Pour the hot water (201 to 401) into the bathtub 2 and repeat the circulation judgment again. If the result of this circulation judgment is also "no water", for example, the drain valve of the bathtub 2 may be open, so try running it for a trial run. It stops and outputs a "check message" or the like. If the circulation judgment is "water present", hot water is filled above the bath adapter level LB, so when the pump 10 is operated at the time of circulation judgment, the hot water circulates through the reheating circuit 3 and enters the circuit. After the circulation judgment becomes [Water present J], the pressure sensor 9 is able to detect the water level because there is hot water at the bath adapter level LB or higher in the bathtub 2. n(P≧PI),
In this way, when it is determined that there is water, the reference water level (bottom of the bathtub) is detected.

Detection of the reference water level is performed as shown in FIG.

The amount of water dropped into the bathtub 2 is detected by the flow rate sensor 15, and the amount of water dropped into the bathtub 2 before the reference water level is detected is Q = (qo + qt) or (Qo
+Qt +qtt) is stored in the control unit. The shutoff valve 12 is opened, and a certain amount q2 flows from the hot water supply circuit 4 into the bathtub 2.
(For example, 201 to 401) of hot water is poured in, and the pressure sensor 9 detects the rise in the water level before and after dropping the hot water of q2. Therefore, the control unit calculates the cross-sectional area S = q 2 / h of the bathtub 2 from the water volume q2 and the water level rise, and further divides the water volume Q + q a by the bathtub cross section WS to calculate the water level after q2 hot water supply. The depth to the bottom of the bathtub is required. The cross-sectional area S is stored in the control section.

On the other hand, the cross-sectional area of the bathtub 2 differs depending on the type of bathtub,
Except for special bathtubs, the depth of bathtub 2 is almost constant (approximately 550mm)
mm), so if the bottom of the bathtub is used as a reference, it is possible to determine the distance HO to the appropriate set water level LS (for example,
He should be 450 mm or slightly deeper) This HO should be prepared in advance as numerical data (for example, in ROM
(transformed) and stored in the control unit. Now, the bathtub 2 is filled with hot water from the bottom to the water level, so qs = (Hohx) x 5 = (Ho - h
w) If the amount of hot water qa / h is dropped into the bathtub 2, it is possible to fill the bathtub 2 with hot water at the set water level LS. When the additional water amount q3 is determined by the control unit, the shutoff valve 12 is opened (returning to FIG. 3), and q of hot water is dropped into the bathtub 2 from the hot water supply circuit 4, and the hot water is raised to the set water level LS. Tighten it. On the other hand, in the control section, the total water amount Qtot = Q + Qa + qs up to the set water level LS is stored and held (at least until the power is turned off).

If the cross-sectional area of the bathtub is constant, the water level setting operation may end here, but after this, hot water may be further supplied to correct errors in the shape of the bathtub 2. In other words, the pressure sensor 9 may The water level is determined whether the detected water level has reached the set water level LS, and if it has not reached the set water level LS, the corrected water volume 94 is calculated by multiplying the rainwater level difference by the bathtub cross-sectional area S.
You can also pour some hot water into it.

In this way, the amount of water from the bottom of the bathtub to the set water level LS is stored in the control unit, so during normal operation, the amount of water stored is Q,
, (including the corrected water amount q4) to the bathtub, it is possible to supply hot water up to the set water level.

In the above example, after determining the bathtub cross-sectional area S, q3
When water is actually poured into the bathtub, the total amount of water that actually flows is Q.
sat is detected by the water flow sensor 15 and stored in the control unit, but in cases where the cross-sectional area of the bathtub is known to be uniform or when high accuracy is not required, the actual water flow q
3 into the bathtub, you can simply calculate the amount of water up to the set water level LS. In other words, after finding the cross-sectional area S of the bathtub, multiply this by the height HO up to the set water level LS to find the total water volume. Q. t=)1. There is no problem even if it is xs.

Further, the amount of water up to the set water level LS is not limited to being stored as the amount of water passing through the flow rate sensor 15 as described above, but may be stored indirectly as the corresponding output P2 of the pressure sensor 9, for example.

Next, the operation during normal operation will be briefly explained according to the flowchart shown in FIG.

When the automatic switch is first turned on, the pump 10 is operated and the water flow switch 8 determines whether the water is circulating. If the result of the circulation judgment is "water present", the bath water remains above the bath adapter level LB, so the pressure sensor 9 detects the remaining water level and sets the set water level H, and the remaining water level. Water level difference (H.

- the amount of water equivalent to h, ) qa = s x (HOhr) ”　Q tot　-8X　h.

An additional amount of water, q, is supplied to the bathtub, and the water is filled up to the set water level LS.

On the other hand, if there is no water, the hot water supply circuit 4 - fixed quantity qo
(For example, 101) of hot water is dropped into the bathtub 2.Then, the pump 10 is operated to perform a circulation judgment to determine the remaining water.If the circulation judgment is "water present", the bath adapter level LB or higher Since water remains in the bathtub 2, the pressure sensor 9 detects the remaining water level, calculates the additional water amount q, and drops it into the bathtub 2.

Furthermore, if the circulation determination is "no water", a certain amount of hot water (ql (for example, 801)) is dropped into the bathtub 2 from the hot water supply circuit 4, the pump 10 is operated, and the water flow switch 8 is used to determine the circulation. If the result of the circulation judgment is “no water”, Qtt (201 to 40j
Pour the hot water in step I) into bathtub 2 and repeat the circulation judgment again. If the result of this circulation judgment is also "no water," for example, the drain valve of bathtub 2 may be open, so stop the operation. and outputs a "check message" etc. - way,
If the circulation judgment is "water present", detect the remaining water level h1,
An additional amount of water q is poured into the bathtub 2. If the additional amount of water 91 is lower than the set water level, an additional amount of water may be calculated and poured into the bathtub 2.

In this way, when hot water is supplied into the bathtub 2 up to the set water level LS, the hot water in the bathtub 2 is reheated to the set temperature by the bath heat exchanger 7.

What is shown in FIGS. 7 and 8 is another embodiment of the invention. The bathtub 2 actually does not have a constant cross-sectional area, and therefore, in the first embodiment, there is a risk that the error in the set water level LS may become large. The embodiment described here is a method for reducing this error.

The water level setting operation in this embodiment is the same as that shown in FIG. The calculation method is different. Therefore, only this part is shown in FIG. According to Figure 3, the amount of water q1
Alternatively, the QLL is dropped into the bathtub 2, and if the result of the circulation determination is "water present", the reference water level is detected. That is, as shown in FIGS. 7 and 8, a fixed amount q22 (for example, 201 to 40 ft) of hot water is dropped into the bathtub 2 from the hot water supply circuit 4, and the amount of water level rise h1 before and after dropping the fixed amount of hot water q22 is calculated as follows. The pressure sensor 9 detects this, and then a fixed amount of hot water Q22 is poured into the bathtub 2 again, and the pressure sensor 9 detects the water level rise amount h2 before and after this second fixed amount of hot water is poured into the bathtub 2. Therefore, the water level rise amount ratio becomes k-touha/hs, and k is stored in the control section. If the change in the cross-sectional area of the bathtub is gradual, this k may be approximately constant.Here, if the water volume Q is converted into the number of fixed drops m, m = Q/ q22, so the second The water level h8 after dropping a fixed amount is calculated from the following formula.

h, = h2+ h2/+ hz/k"+...+h
2/kfi+1k”1 (k −1) Therefore, the depth from the current water level to the bottom of the bathtub.

is detected.

Next, after the second metered drop, the conditions for repeating the metered pouring n times to fill the water from the bottom of the bathtub to the set water level LS at the height of HO are as follows: H, -h, = kh, + k2h , +k3h2+
・+k''h2 is -1, so after obtaining the value of n from this formula, q, ==nQ
If hot water is supplied at ta, hot water can be filled up to the set water level LS.

As a result of the above operations, the control unit stores the total amount of water Qtat: Qtot = (m+n+2) q22 from the bottom of the bathtub to the set water level LS.

In addition, in this other embodiment, hot water may be supplied to correct errors in the shape of the bathtub at the end, and the total water volume Qtot may be converted into the number of fixed drops (m+n+2) and stored. No problem.

In the case of normal operation in this other embodiment, although not shown,
Do as follows. As in the case of the first embodiment, the circulation judgment is carried out from - degree to three times, and after it is judged that "water is present" in one of the circulation judgments, the remaining water level at that time is detected by the pressure sensor 9. do. Since the rate of increase in the cross-sectional area of the bathtub is already stored in the control unit, the formula is: % formula % [Here, h is the value of h2 and m in formula ■, ho= ha/k″″+1 is, ] using i
Find the value of and j, and calculate the additional water amount Qs”(i J)Q22
Calculate and drop into bathtub 2.

In addition, in this other embodiment, hot water may be supplied to correct the error in the shape of the bathtub 2 at the end.When the hot water is supplied to the set water level LS in this way, the hot water temperature is detected and the hot water is adjusted as necessary. The heat will be reheated to the set temperature.

〔Effect of the invention〕

According to the present invention, in short, it is possible to automatically detect the position of the bottom of the bathtub and detect the amount of water required to fill the bathtub to a set water level at a certain depth with the bottom of the bathtub as a reference. Therefore, there is an advantage that a constant depth of hot water can always be automatically supplied into the bathtub.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

Fig. 1 is an overall configuration diagram showing one embodiment of the present invention, Fig. 2 is a graph showing the relationship between the output of the pressure sensor and the amount of water, Fig. 3 is a flowchart when setting the water level as above, and Fig. 4 is as above. A flowchart during normal operation, FIG. 5 is a detailed flowchart showing the steps of standard water level detection and remaining amount calculation in FIG. 3, FIG. 6 is an explanatory diagram when setting the water level, and FIG. FIG. 8 is a detailed flowchart showing the steps of water level detection and remaining amount calculation, FIG. 8 is an explanatory diagram for setting the water level as described above, and FIG. 9 is a partially omitted configuration diagram of a conventional example. 2... Bathtub 3... Reheating circuit 4... Hot water supply circuit 9... Pressure sensor (indirect water level detection means) 15...
Flow rate sensor (flow rate detection means) Fig. 1- Fig. 2

Claims (3)

[Claims] (1) An automatic bath device equipped with an indirect water level detection means such as a pressure sensor for detecting the water level in the bathtub, and a flow rate detection means and control unit for detecting the amount of hot water supplied into the bathtub. The water level setting method includes a step of supplying a certain amount of hot water into the bathtub and detecting an increase in the water level, and a step of calculating the depth to the bottom of the bathtub at the current water level by repeating the above steps as necessary. A water level setting method for an automatic bath device, comprising the steps of: calculating the amount of water from the bathtub bottom to the set water level based on a previously stored distance from the bathtub bottom to the set water level. (2) An automatic bath device equipped with an indirect water level detection means such as a pressure sensor for detecting the water level in the bathtub, a flow rate detection means for detecting the amount of hot water supplied into the bathtub, and a control unit. In the water level setting method, a certain amount of hot water is supplied into the bathtub and an increase in the water level is detected,
The step of calculating the cross-sectional area of the bathtub from the amount of hot water supply and the amount of water level increase, and the step of calculating the distance from the bottom of the bathtub to the set water level based on the calculated cross-sectional area of the bathtub and the pre-stored distance from the bottom of the bathtub to the set water level. 1. A water level setting method for an automatic bath device, comprising the steps of: calculating the amount of water in the bath. (3) Automatic bath device equipped with indirect water level detection means such as a pressure sensor for detecting the water level in the bathtub, flow rate detection means for detecting the amount of hot water supplied into the bathtub, and a control unit. The water level setting method includes the steps of: dropping a certain amount of hot water into the bathtub and detecting the amount of rise in the water level; repeating the step at least twice to find the ratio of the amount of rise in the water level; a step of calculating the depth to the bottom of the bathtub at the current water level from the amount of water dropped and the water level rise ratio; and a step of determining the set water level from the bottom of the bathtub based on the pre-memorized distance from the bottom of the bathtub to the set water level. 1. A water level setting method for an automatic bath device, comprising the steps of: calculating the amount of water up to.