JPH025300Y2 - - Google Patents

Description

[Detailed Description of the Invention] (Field of Industrial Application) The present invention relates to a hot water storage device for a hot water supply system, a hot water heating system, etc.

(Prior Art) A typical conventional hot water storage device is, as shown in FIG. A circulation circuit 64 equipped with a circulation pump 63 capable of circulating hot water inside is provided, a heating source 65 is disposed in the circulation circuit 64, and a temperature-adjustable flow rate control valve 66 is disposed on the return side of the circulation circuit 64. . Note that the intake port 67 of the circulation circuit 64 was directly connected to the lower end of the hot water storage tank 62, and the return port 68 was directly connected to the upper end of the hot water storage tank 62.

The circulation circuit 6 is then operated by the circulation pump 63.
The hot water in the hot water tank 62 that is circulated through the hot water tank 4 is heated by the heating source 64 and then returned to the hot water tank 62 . The temperature control valve 66 adjusts the flow rate in response to the temperature of hot water (also referred to as hot water temperature), and the flow rate does not become 0 even when the hot water temperature is low, and keeps the hot water at a predetermined minimum level. It is designed to flow at a flow rate.

(Problem to be solved by the invention) However, in the conventional hot water storage device described above, regardless of the temperature of the hot water in the hot water storage tank 62, the circulation circuit 64
A considerable amount of the hot water flowing through the tank flows into the upper part of the hot water storage tank 62. Therefore, even if hot water with a predetermined temperature or higher is stored in the upper part of the hot water storage tank 62, hot water that has not been sufficiently heated by the heating source 65 (hot water with a predetermined temperature or lower) may flow into the hot water storage tank 62. There is a problem in that the hot water flowing through the circulation circuit 64 mixes with the high temperature hot water in the hot water storage tank 62, and the temperature of the hot water in the hot water storage tank 62 is lowered.

Further, when the heating capacity of the heating source 65 is low, the hot water in the hot water storage tank 62 has to be repeatedly circulated, resulting in a problem that it takes a long time to obtain hot water at a predetermined temperature or higher.

The above-mentioned problems are particularly noticeable when the heat source 65 is a heat source whose heating capacity changes depending on elapsed time, such as a solar heater or a gas engine heat pump (GHP).

(Means for Solving the Problems) The present invention aims to solve the problems in the conventional techniques described above. A hot water storage device is provided with a circulation circuit equipped with a circulation pump capable of circulating hot water, and a heating source is disposed in the circulation circuit, an auxiliary tank is provided at a return port of the circulation circuit, and the auxiliary tank and the hot water storage tank are connected to each other. The gist of the structure is that a plurality of communicating pipes are communicated between them, and hot water and water in the auxiliary tank are divided into the respective communicating pipes based on the difference in specific gravity.

(Function) According to the above-mentioned means, the hot water flowing through the circulation circuit is divided into the communication pipes in the auxiliary tank due to the difference in specific gravity and flows into the hot water storage tank, and the hot water passes through the upper communication pipe to the hot water storage tank. The hot water flows to the top of the tank, and the low-temperature hot water flows to the top of the hot water storage tank through the lower communication pipe, creating thermal stratification in the hot water in the hot water storage tank.

(Example) An example of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. In FIG. 1, which schematically shows a hot water storage device, a hot water storage tank 1 has a water supply port 2 at the bottom and a hot water outlet 3 at the top. The hot water in the hot water storage tank 1 is discharged by the water on the downstream side of the hot water outlet 3, and at the same time, water is supplied from the water supply port 2, so that it is always kept in a full state.

A circulation circuit 5 equipped with a circulation pump 4 capable of circulating hot water in the hot water tank 1 is connected to the hot water tank 1 . In the circulation circuit 5, a heating source 6 is connected to a circulation pump 4.
It is located downstream of the As the heat source 6, various types of heaters such as a solar heater, a gas engine heat pump, an electric heater, a kerosene heater, etc., can be used as appropriate.

The intake side of the circulation circuit 5 is a temperature-controlled three-way valve 7.
Two upper and lower intake ports 8 and 9 are provided via the upper and lower intake ports. The upper intake port 8 communicates with the upper part of the hot water storage tank 1, and the lower intake port 9 communicates with the lower end of the hot water storage tank 1. The temperature-adjustable three-way valve 7 is
It is controlled according to the temperature of hot water, and when the temperature of hot water is above a predetermined temperature, the upper intake port 8 side is closed and the lower intake port 9 side is opened. At times, the upper intake port 8 side is opened and the lower intake port 9 side is closed.

Therefore, the return port 10 of the circulation circuit 5 is not connected to the hot water storage tank 1, and the auxiliary tank 1 is connected to the return port 10.
1 is connected. The auxiliary tank 11 has a pipe shape having approximately the same height as the hot water storage tank 1, and is arranged in parallel with the hot water storage tank 1.

Between the auxiliary tank 11 and the hot water storage tank 1, four communication pipes 12 to 15 are installed horizontally, respectively.
Both tanks are in communication with each other. Each communication pipe 12-1
The position of the foil tube No. 5 is as follows. That is, the hot water storage tank 1 is divided into approximately five equal parts in the height direction, and from the top to the bottom, the first communicating pipe 12 is in the first stage, the second communicating pipe 13 is in the second stage, and the third stage is divided into five equal parts. A third communication pipe 14 is arranged at the fifth stage, and a fourth communication pipe 15 is arranged at the fifth stage.

The return port 10 of the circulation circuit 5 is connected to the auxiliary tank 11 at approximately the center between the second communication pipe 13 and the third communication pipe 14, and the upper intake port 8 is connected to the second communication pipe 14. It is connected to the hot water storage tank 1 at a position substantially horizontal to the pipe 13.

In the hot water storage device described above, hot water taken from the hot water storage tank 1 into the circulation circuit 5 by the operation of the circulation pump 4 is heated (temperature raised) by the heating source 6 and flows to the auxiliary tank 11 . The hot water flowing into the auxiliary tank 11 is
The water is divided into communication pipes 12 to 15 due to the difference in specific gravity.
In other words, the lower the temperature of hot water, the greater its specific gravity;
As the temperature increases, the specific gravity decreases, so hot water with low specific gravity (i.e. hot water) flows upward, and hot water with high specific gravity (i.e. low temperature hot water) flows downward. The water flows, and temperature stratification is formed in the hot water within the auxiliary tank 11.

Therefore, as shown in FIG. 2, the hot water HW flowing from the circulation circuit 5 to the auxiliary tank 11 flows to the hot water storage tank 1 through each of the communication pipes 12 to 15 according to its temperature. That is, if the hot water HW flowing from the circulation circuit 5 to the auxiliary tank 11 is slightly higher than the temperature of the existing hot water in the auxiliary tank 11, it flows into the hot water storage tank 1 through the second communication pipe 13 (Fig. Middle, arrow B
), and if the temperature is higher than that, the first
The water flows into the hot water storage tank 1 through the communication pipe 12 (in the figure,
(see arrow A), and if the temperature is slightly lower than the existing hot water temperature in the auxiliary tank 11, the hot water flows into the hot water storage tank 1 through the third communication pipe 14 (see arrow C in the figure), If the temperature is lower, the hot water flows into the storage tank 1 through the fourth communication pipe 15 (in the figure,
(See arrow D).

Therefore, hot water flowing from the auxiliary tank 11 through the communication pipes 12 to 15 into the hot water storage tank 1 causes
Temperature stratification is gradually formed due to the temperature difference, and each layer from the high temperature layer to the low temperature layer is formed in order from the top to the bottom of the hot water storage tank 1 in a short time.

As a result, if the temperature of the hot water HW flowing from the circulation circuit 5 to the auxiliary tank 11 is higher than the temperature of the existing hot water, it is passed through the first communication pipe 12 and the second communication pipe 13 to the hot water storage tank 1. Since the water flows to the inner upper part (see arrows A and B in the figure), high-temperature hot water is generated in the upper part of the hot water storage tank 1 in a short time. Note that the high-temperature hot water is discharged from the hot water outlet 3 by hot water supply on the downstream side of the hot water outlet 3.

Further, when the temperature of the hot water HW flowing from the circulation circuit 5 to the auxiliary tank 11 is lower than the temperature of the existing hot water, it flows to the lower part of the hot water storage tank 1 through the third communication pipe 14 and the fourth communication pipe 15. (In the figure, arrow C,
(see D), the hot water HW does not mix with the high-temperature hot water in the upper part of the hot water storage tank 1, and the temperature of the high-temperature hot water is stabilized.

Further, when the temperature of the hot water HW flowing from the circulation circuit 5 to the auxiliary tank 11 is lower than the temperature of the existing hot water, the hot water HW passes through the third communication pipe 14 and the fourth communication pipe 15 to the lower part of the hot water storage tank 1. (in the figure,
(see arrows C and D), when convection occurs between the auxiliary tank 11 and the hot water in the hot water storage tank 1, the hot water in the hot water storage tank 1 flows to the auxiliary tank 11 through the second communication pipe 13. (See arrow E in FIG. 3) Therefore, the flow of high temperature hot water in the upper part of the hot water storage tank 1 is prevented, and the high temperature state of the hot water can be maintained.

In addition, in this example, each intake port 8, 9 from the hot water storage tank 1
The temperature-adjustable three-way valve 7 is operated depending on the temperature of the hot water introduced into the circulation circuit 5. That is, when the hot water flowing through the three-way valve 7 is below a predetermined temperature, the upper intake port 8 is opened and the lower intake port 9 is closed, and the hot water in the upper part of the hot water storage tank 1 is allowed to flow into the circulation circuit 5. When the hot water in the upper part of the hot water storage tank 1 is heated in a short time by the heating source 6, and the hot water flowing through the three-way valve 7 is at a predetermined temperature or higher, the upper intake port 8 is closed and the lower intake port 9 is opened. Then, the circulation of the high temperature hot water in the upper part of the hot water storage tank 1 is stopped, and the low temperature hot water is circulated and heated by the heating source 6. Therefore, the temperature-adjustable three-way valve 7 actively generates high-temperature hot water in the upper part of the hot water tank 1, and also prevents wasteful circulation of high-temperature hot water, thereby preventing high-temperature hot water from entering the hot water tank 1. It is possible to generate it reasonably.

Note that the communication pipes 12 to 1 of the hot water storage device of the above embodiment
5 can be set to an appropriate number, and the arrangement positions of the communication pipes and the return port 10 can also be set as appropriate. For example, the third communication pipe 14 of the embodiment may be eliminated as shown in FIG. 4, and the return port 10 and the second communication pipe 13 may be arranged substantially horizontally.

Further, a branched second auxiliary tank 17 may be provided between the return port 10 of the circulation circuit 5 and the auxiliary tank 11 as shown in FIG. That is, the return port 10 of the circulation circuit 5 is communicated with the second auxiliary tank 17, and the second auxiliary tank 1
The upper side communication port 18 of 7 is connected to the auxiliary tank 11, and the lower side communication port 19 is connected to the auxiliary tank 11. Note that the upper communication port 18 is connected to the auxiliary tank 11 at a position that is almost horizontal between the first communication pipe 12 and the second communication pipe 13, and the lower communication port 19 is connected to the third communication pipe 13. It is connected to the auxiliary tank 11 at a position substantially horizontal to the upper position between the pipe 14 and the fourth communication pipe 15. According to this, the auxiliary tank 11 and the second auxiliary tank 17 generate two-step temperature stratification in the hot water flowing from the circulation circuit 5. It is possible to produce even better results.

Further, by reducing the circulating flow rate of hot water by the circulation pump 4 of the circulation circuit 5 as much as possible within the allowable range of the flow rate in the heating source 6, the temperature stratification of the hot water in the hot water storage tank 1 can be created even better.

(Effect of the invention) In other words, according to the invention, the hot water flowing through the circulation circuit is divided into the communicating pipes in the auxiliary tank due to the difference in specific gravity and flows into the hot water storage tank, and the hot water flows through the upper communicating pipe. The low-temperature hot water flows to the top of the hot water storage tank through the lower communication pipe, and temperature stratification is generated in the hot water in the hot water storage tank. The location where the hot water flows into the hot water storage tank is selected depending on the temperature of the hot water flowing through the circulation circuit, and if the hot water flowing through the circulation circuit is at a low temperature, mixing with the high temperature hot water in the upper part of the hot water storage tank is avoided, and the hot water is stored. This has the effect of keeping the hot water in the upper part of the tank at a high temperature without causing a drop in temperature.

In addition, as mentioned above, by creating temperature stratification in the hot water in the hot water storage tank, high temperature hot water can be stored preferentially in the upper part of the hot water storage tank, and the high temperature hot water required for hot water supply can be obtained in a short time. be able to.

In addition, by achieving the above-mentioned effects, the present invention can be applied to hot water heating systems and hot water heating systems that utilize heating sources whose heating capacity changes depending on the elapsed time, such as solar heaters and gas engine heat pumps (GHPs). exert a beneficial effect.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

1 to 3 show an embodiment of the present invention, in which FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of a hot water storage device, and FIGS.
4 and 5 are schematic diagrams each showing a modification of the embodiment, and FIG. 6 is a schematic diagram of a conventional hot water storage device. 1... Hot water storage tank, 2... Water supply port, 3... Hot water outlet,
4...Circulation pump, 5...Circulation circuit, 6...Heating source, 10...Return port, 11...Auxiliary tank, 12-1
5...Communication pipe.

Claims (1)

[Scope of utility model registration request] A hot water storage device in which a hot water tank has a water inlet at the bottom and a hot water outlet at the top, is equipped with a circulation circuit equipped with a circulation pump that can circulate hot water in the tank, and a heating source is placed in the circulation circuit. An auxiliary tank is provided at the return port of the circulation circuit, a plurality of communicating pipes are communicated between the auxiliary tank and the hot water storage tank, and hot water is transferred to each of the communicating pipes in the auxiliary tank by a difference in specific gravity. A hot water storage device characterized in that the water is divided.