JPH0311246A - Bathroom device and its controllers - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To allow the user to enjoy a comfortable and convenient bath life by allowing the device to previously detect bath filling from a temperature change of a bathtub and permitting the device to automatically start and operate various devices before bathing. CONSTITUTION:A controller 13 detects that hot water starts staying in a bathtub 1 by the use of the temperature of a temperature sensor 14 and a temperature detecting part 15 judges that hot water delivers or boiling operation starts by a circulation pipe 4, for instance, if the temperature becomes 38 deg.C or more to operate a heater driving part 16 and a cloud prevention heater driving part 18 to heat a heater 6 of a washing place 5 from the heater driving part 16 so as to heat a cloud prevention heater 8 attached to the rear of a bathroom mirror 7 from the cloudy prevention heater driving part 18. In addition, a electricity supply detection part 19 and a stop detection part 20 are provided in the temperature detection part 15 to drive each device when the temperature detector 4 attains equal to or higher than a constant temperature and the devices stop driving when the temperature sensor 14 attains equal to or less than the constant temperature.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION Field of Industrial Application The present invention relates to bathroom equipment such as an electric heater for heating the bathroom and defogging mirrors, and a control device for controlling the operation of this equipment. .

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION In recent years, as people's lives have become more affluent, in addition to the original purpose of bathing, which is not only to remove dirt but also to sweat, there is an increasing desire to enjoy bathing in a comfortable manner.

For example, as described in Japanese Utility Model Application Publication No. 59-117753, it has been proposed to install an operation switch in the bathroom so that the user can listen to the radio or talk on the intercom while taking a bath. This allows you to operate the operation switches according to your preference while bathing and enjoy your favorite devices while bathing.

In addition to this, you may want to heat your bathroom to make your bath more comfortable.
It would also be easy to consider taking anti-fogging measures to prevent the mirror from fogging up due to steam in the bathroom, and using a heater to satisfy the demand for more convenient bathing.

Figure 7 shows an example of a conventional bathroom system using these heaters.
Established in! Hot water is supplied from the hot water heater 2 through the hot water tap 3. In addition, the hot water in the bathtub 1 is guided to the water heater 2 through the circulation vibrator 4, and heated in the water heater 2 to create a bath Ff! ! Returning to step 1, a washing area 5 is provided next to the bathtub l in the bathroom A, and a heating heater 6 for heating the surface of the washing area 5 is provided at the bottom. Further, a mirror 7 is disposed above the washing area 5, and an anti-fog heater 8 is attached to the back surface of the mirror 7 to heat the mirror 7 and prevent the surface from fogging.

Here, the heater 6 and the anti-fog heater 8 are subjected to necessary temperature control and safety control, respectively, by a heater controller 9 and an anti-fog heater controller 10. The room 11 switch 11 and the anti-fog switch 12 are provided, for example, in a changing room, and are operated by the user as necessary.

If you want to take a bath now, you can either fill the bathtub l with water and heat it using the water heater 2 by circulating the water through the circulation pipe 4, or supply hot water from the hot water faucet 3 and fill the bathtub 1 with hot water. Either operation is required.

Further, the switch 12 of the anti-fog heater 8 is turned on to prevent the mirror from fogging, and the switch 11 of the heater 6 is turned on to heat the surface of the washing area 5 in winter.

In addition to this, a large number of operations are required, such as switching on lights and ventilation fans.Furthermore, it takes 10 to 20 minutes for these heaters to become effective after they start heating, so take this into account and start the heater as soon as possible. It is necessary to operate a switch in the eyes.

Unlike radios and interfon devices that start working as soon as the switch is operated as described above, they require the operator to turn on the switch a certain amount of time before taking a bath, which is cumbersome and can be difficult for elderly people and children to operate. Ta. For this reason, there has been a desire for a system that automates these operations as much as possible so that bathing can be easily enjoyed.

Problems that the invention aims to solve Bathing is a place used by the whole family, from the elderly to children, and it is necessary to make the equipment as easy to operate as possible, but bathrooms are already equipped with various equipment such as lighting and ventilation fans. Adding switches for heating and anti-fogging heaters to these devices makes operation complicated, and unlike lighting and ventilation fans, it is necessary to operate the switches before taking a bath in anticipation of the heater's temperature rise time. , it becomes difficult to use. Additionally, people sometimes forgot to turn off the swivel tip, leading to unnecessary electrical energy consumption and safety issues.

A first object of the present invention is to provide a control device for bathroom equipment that detects bathing in advance from changes in the temperature of the bathtub and automatically starts operating various equipment before taking a bath.

A second object of the present invention is to provide a bathroom heater system that does not require switch operation by applying the above-mentioned control device to a bathroom heater that takes a slow temperature rise after energization.

Furthermore, the above control device is applied to an anti-fog heater that prevents the surface of the mirror from fogging by energizing a heater installed in the mirror, thereby creating an anti-fog heater for a bathroom that is always fog-free and comfortable when taking a bath. The third purpose is to provide a system.

Furthermore, when the temperature sensor reaches a certain temperature or higher, each of the above-mentioned devices is activated, and when the temperature falls below a certain temperature, the devices are stopped, and when the bathtub temperature drops after bathing, the devices are automatically activated. A fourth object of the present invention is to provide a control device for bathroom appliances that stops the bathroom appliances.

In addition, a timer is installed to start timing the device operation at the same time.
A fifth object is to provide a control device for bathroom equipment that stops the equipment when the timer measures a predetermined time according to the bathing time and prevents wasteful energization of the equipment.

Means for Solving the Problems In order to achieve the first object of the present invention, the control device for bathroom equipment is connected to a bathtub provided in the bathroom and a heat source device that supplies or heats hot water to the bathtub. , consists of bathroom equipment operated by electricity and a controller that controls this operation.The controller includes a temperature sensor installed near the bathtub to detect the operation of the heat source equipment based on changes in water temperature, and a The configuration includes an equipment drive section that drives various bathroom equipment on the drive side j1 based on temperature signals.

In addition, in order to achieve the second objective, the bathroom heater is configured to heat the bathroom, and the controller is configured to control the power supply to the heater. The bathroom heater system includes a temperature sensor for detecting the temperature of hot water, and a heater drive section for driving and controlling the heater based on the temperature signal from the temperature sensor.

Furthermore, in order to achieve the third objective, the controller consists of an anti-fog heater that prevents the surface from fogging by heating the mirror installed in the bathroom, and a controller that controls the supply of electricity to the anti-fog heater. The configuration includes a temperature sensor for detecting the operation of a heat conduction device that supplies or heats hot water in a bathtub based on the water temperature, and an anti-fog heater drive unit that drives an anti-fog heater based on a temperature signal from the temperature sensor. This is an anti-fog heater system for bathrooms.

In addition, in order to achieve the fourth objective, the controller of the bathroom equipment control device is equipped with an energization detection section that detects when the temperature of the temperature sensor reaches a predetermined energization start temperature, and the temperature of the temperature sensor. The device is configured to include a stop detection section that detects that the current supply has become lower than a predetermined energization stop temperature, and an equipment drive section that drives and controls the bathroom appliances based on the signal from the energization detection section and the signal from the stop detection section.

Alternatively, in order to achieve the fifth objective, the controller of the bathroom equipment control device includes an energization detection section that detects when the temperature of the temperature sensor becomes equal to or higher than a predetermined energization start temperature; A configuration including an equipment drive unit that drives and controls bathroom equipment using signals, a timer that starts measuring time at the same time as the equipment drive unit operates, and an equipment stop unit that stops the operation of the equipment when the timer measures a predetermined time. And so.

Effects The present invention has the effect of detecting bathing in advance from changes in the temperature of the bathtub and automatically starting operation of various devices before bathing, due to the above-described first configuration.

In addition, as in the second configuration above, by applying the control device of the first configuration to a bathroom heater that takes a slow temperature rise after electricity is turned on, an automatic bathroom heater system that does not require switch operations can be created. It becomes realizable.

Alternatively, as in the third configuration, the control device of the first configuration can be applied to an anti-fog heater that prevents fogging of the surface of the mirror by energizing the heater installed in the mirror, so that the control device of the first configuration is always kept fog-free during bathing. A comfortable and convenient anti-fog heater system for bathrooms can be realized.

Furthermore, with the fourth configuration, when the temperature sensor reaches a certain temperature or higher, each of the above-mentioned devices is activated, and when the temperature falls below a certain temperature, the devices stop driving, and automatically when the bathtub temperature drops after bathing. This provides the effect of stopping the drive of the device automatically.

Furthermore, the fifth configuration provides the effect that the timer, which starts timing at the same time as the device is activated, stops the device when it measures a predetermined time according to the bathing time, thereby preventing unnecessary reverse current to the device. .

Embodiments Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be explained using FIGS. 1 to 6.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing an embodiment of the control device for bathroom appliances according to the present invention. FIG. are given the same symbol.

The controller 13 compares the signal of the temperature sensor 14 that detects the temperature of the circulation vibrator 4 of the bathtub l with a predetermined temperature in the temperature detection section 15, and when the temperature of the temperature sensor 14 exceeds this temperature, the heating is started. A signal is output to the heater drive section 16. Reference numeral 17 denotes an operation switch which is normally in an on state, and its operation will be explained later. Here, the temperature sensor 14
In addition to detecting the temperature of the circulation vibrator 4, it may be provided anywhere, such as at the bottom of the bathtub 1, as long as the temperature of the water in the bathtub can be detected.

Next, we will explain the operation.0 To take a normal bath, first, press the hot water tap 3.
Open the water heater 2 and pour hot water into the bathtub L to fill the bathtub 1, or fill the bathtub 1 with water and circulate the water to the water heater 2 through the circulation vibrator 4 to increase the heat of the water heater 2. It is necessary to heat the water with an exchanger (not shown) to boil the water in the bathtub 1 to hot water. Furthermore, after performing these operations, you have to wait 10 to 30 minutes before you can actually take a bath.The present invention focuses on this waiting time, and the time required for the heating heater 6 to start up is also used as this waiting time. This aims to shorten the time and simplify the operation.

The controller 13 detects that hot water has started to accumulate in the bathtub l based on the temperature of the temperature sensor 14, and when the temperature detected by the temperature sensor 14 reaches, for example, 38°C or higher, the temperature detection unit 15 stops the hot water from being poured or activates the circulation vibrator. It is determined that the boiling operation according to No. 4 has started, and a signal is output to the heating heater drive section 16 to start energizing the heating heater 6 as well. As a result, the heating heater 6 is
The temperature is also rising, so when you actually take a bath, wash area 5
The floor is warm enough to eliminate the discomfort of cold feet when bathing. Here, the heating heater drive section 16 includes a temperature control function that controls the supply of electricity to the heater so that the temperature of the floor is constant.

The operation switch 17 is used to turn off the switch after taking a bath to stop energizing the heater, and it is preferable to keep this switch off even in the summer when heating is not required.

Here, even if the heater 6 is a floor heating system such as a hot water circulation type or a warm air circulation type other than an electric heater, it takes time to raise the temperature of the floor, and the present invention can be easily applied.

FIG. 2 shows an example of Haku. Parts that operate in the same way as in FIG. The heater drive unit I6 and the anti-fog heater drive unit 18 operate,
An anti-fog heater 8 attached to the back surface of a bathroom mirror 7 is heated from an anti-fog heater drive unit 18 to prevent the surface of the mirror from fogging up.

With the above configuration, the heating heater drive section 16 and the anti-fogging heater drive section 18 start to operate based on the temperature change of the temperature sensor 14 at the same time as the bathtub begins to be filled with hot water as in FIG.
The floor heating heater 6 in the washing area and the anti-fog heater 8 on the mirror 7 begin to generate heat, and by the time the bathtub 1 is filled with hot water and the user takes a bath, each heater is sufficiently heated. The controller 13 may be configured to drive only the anti-fog heater instead of driving a plurality of heaters as shown in FIG.

FIG. 3 is a plot diagram showing an embodiment of the controller 13. Here, a configuration that drives the anti-fog heater drive unit 18 will be explained, but a configuration that drives the heating heater drive unit 16 and a second
The configuration may be such that a plurality of heaters are driven as shown in the figure.

In the figure, the temperature detection section 15 is provided with an energization detection section 19 and a stop detection section 20, and the energization detection section 19 compares the temperature of the temperature sensor 14 with the energization start temperature 21, and calculates the temperature T of the sensor 14.
outputs a signal a when the temperature becomes higher than the energization start temperature 21 (Tl), and in response to this signal a, the anti-fog heater drive unit 1
8 operates to start heating the anti-fog heater 8 shown in FIG.

The stop detection unit 20 compares the temperature of the temperature sensor 14 and the energization stop temperature 22, outputs an output when the temperature T of the temperature sensor 14 becomes lower than the energization stop temperature 22 (T2), and uses this output to prevent The fogging heater drive unit 18 stops operating,
Heating of the anti-fog heater 8 is also stopped.

This operation is shown in the operating characteristic diagram of FIG.

With the above configuration, the anti-fog heater 8 starts to operate at the same time as hot water starts to be supplied to the bathtub 1 and the temperature of the temperature sensor 14 rises without providing the operation switch 17 as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2. prevent fogging. Further, when bathing is finished and the hot water in the bathtub 1 is drained, the temperature of the temperature sensor 14 decreases to a value equal to or lower than the stop temperature 20, so that the power supply to the heater 8 is automatically stopped. Here, even if the hot water is not drained after bathing, the temperature of the temperature sensor 14 will also drop due to the drop in the water temperature, and the power supply to the heater 8 will be stopped. In order to take a bath again, it is necessary to reheat the water with the water heater 2 through the circulation pipe 4 shown in FIG. By the time reheating is completed, the temperature of the heater 8 has also risen.

FIG. 5 shows a specific example of the circuit shown in FIG. 3. The part numbers are marked in correspondence with FIG. 3, and a detailed explanation of the circuit design is omitted.

Here, an uncharacteristic temperature-sensitive resistance element is used as the temperature sensor 14, the potential eT is a value corresponding to the temperature of the temperature sensor 14, and the partial voltage potential eT+ of the current amount 'rA23 is the energization start temperature 2.
The potential corresponding to 1 and the potential eT2 indicate a value corresponding to the energization stop temperature 22, and 24.25 is a comparator for the generally known two-person open collector output. The anti-fog heater (not shown) is driven and controlled by the controller. Numeral 27 is a power switch. Various other circuit configurations are conceivable, and a configuration in which a microcomputer or the like is used to perform the same operation by a program is also possible.

To apply the configuration shown in Figure 5 to the heater shown in Figure 1, the power switch 27 may be used as a season changeover switch so that the heater does not operate in summer, or an additional temperature sensor may be added. , the temperature of the outside air or the temperature inside the bathroom is detected by this temperature sensor, and the season is determined based on the temperature of this temperature sensor. For example, if the outside air is low, it is assumed that it is winter and the operation switch 17 of FIG. 1 is automatically activated. If the operating switch 17 is turned on and the operating switch 17 is turned off automatically if the outside air temperature is high because it is summer, the usability will be further improved.

FIG. 6 shows still another embodiment of the controller 13, in which the operation of the energization detection section 19 of the temperature detection section 15 is the same as that in FIG. As soon as the output a is output, the timer 29 provided in the equipment stop section 28 starts measuring time. When the timer 29 reaches a predetermined time of 30 or more, output C is output and the operation of the anti-fog heater drive unit 18 is stopped. The predetermined time 30 may be configured such that the time from when hot water starts filling the bathtub l until the bathing is completed can be arbitrarily set according to the bathing situation of each household.

With the above configuration, when bathing is completed, the heater is de-energized in a timely manner without waiting until the temperature of the hot water drops as shown in FIG.

Furthermore, in addition to the embodiments described here, various applications are possible, such as a configuration in which a means for turning on by temperature and a means for manually forcibly turning on and off can be used together, a means for turning off by a combination of time and temperature signals, etc.

Furthermore, the temperature sensor 14 may be positioned to detect the temperature of the bottom or side of the bathtub 1 in addition to detecting the temperature of the circulation vibrator 4, or may be configured to directly detect the temperature of the water near the bottom of the bathtub. good.

Effects of the Invention The bathroom appliance and its control device of the present invention described above have the following various effects.

(1) The system detects the start of operation of heat source equipment based on changes in a temperature sensor installed near the bathtub, and controls the operation of various electrically operated bathroom equipment. It is now possible to predict a person's intention to take a bath and start operating various devices in the bathroom, so that when they actually start taking a bath, all the devices are in working order, making their bathing life more comfortable and convenient. You can enjoy it.

(2) In addition, by using the above-mentioned bathroom equipment as a bathroom heater that heats the bathroom, even if there is a time delay from when the heater starts energizing until the temperature rises to the appropriate temperature, the temperature will rise sufficiently by the time you start bathing. This makes it possible to enter a warm bathroom from the beginning, especially in winter, and prevent various accidents such as heart failure that can occur when suddenly entering a cold bathroom naked.

(3) Furthermore, by installing an anti-fog heater in the bathroom that heats the mirror installed in the bathroom to prevent the surface from fogging up, it is now possible to always have a fog-free mirror when taking a bath, which was difficult to do in the bathroom in the past. This creates an easy-to-use system that does not fog up the mirror when washing your face or shaving.

(4) In addition to this, when the temperature of the temperature sensor reaches a predetermined energization start temperature or higher, the bathroom unit 2; is activated, and when the temperature of the temperature sensor becomes lower than a predetermined energization stop temperature. By configuring the system to stop the drive of bathroom equipment, the power to the equipment is automatically stopped when it is not needed, such as when the bathtub area is drained or when the temperature of the water in the bathtub naturally drops after taking a bath. Therefore, there is no need to worry about forgetting to turn off the switch, making it safe and energy-saving.

(5) Alternatively, by providing a timer that starts measuring the time at the same time the device starts driving, and having a device stop section that stops the device operation using this timer, it is possible to adjust the bathing pattern according to the bathing pattern of each household. Since the equipment is automatically stopped after the specified time has elapsed, the drive of the bathroom equipment can be reliably stopped even if the system uses a water heater or a bath pot configured to keep the water temperature in the bathtub warm.

As described above, the present invention makes it possible to realize a gentle bathroom system that automatically controls equipment based on the user's feelings and provides more human consideration.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

Figure 1 shows 4! for bathroom use of the present invention! ! Fig. 2 is a system diagram showing the configuration of one embodiment of the gI control device of the device, Fig. 2 is a system diagram explaining another embodiment, Fig. 3 is a block diagram showing an example of the control system, and Fig. 4 shows this operation. A characteristic diagram to be explained, FIG. 5 is a circuit diagram showing an example of the specific circuit configuration, FIG. 6 is a block diagram showing another embodiment, and FIG. 7 is a system of a control device for bathroom equipment using the conventional concept. It is a diagram. 1... Bathtub, 2... Water heater (heat source equipment), 6... Bathroom heater (bathroom equipment), 8...
...Anti-fog heater (bathroom equipment), 13...
Controller, 14...Temperature sensor, 16...
...Heating heater drive unit (equipment drive unit), 18...
・・・Anti-fog heater drive part (equipment drive part), Engineering 9...
... Energization detection section, 20... Stop detection section, 21.
...Predetermined energization start temperature (TI), 22
・・・・・・Predetermined energization stop temperature (T2), 2
8...Equipment stop section, 29...Timer,
30...predetermined time, A...
Bathroom 8

Claims (5)

[Claims] (1) Consists of a bathtub installed in the bathroom, a heat source device that supplies or heats hot water in the bathtub, bathroom equipment that operates using electricity, and a controller that controls this operation. A control device for bathroom equipment, comprising: a temperature sensor for detecting the operation of the heat source equipment based on a change in water temperature; and an equipment drive section for driving and controlling the bathroom equipment based on a temperature signal from the temperature sensor. (2) It has a bathroom heater that heats the bathroom and a controller that controls power supply to this heater, and the controller has a controller that detects the operation of the heat source equipment that supplies or heats hot water to the bathtub based on the water temperature. A bathroom heater system comprising: a temperature sensor; and a heater drive section that drives and controls the heater based on a temperature signal from the temperature sensor. (3) It has an anti-fog heater that prevents the surface from fogging by heating the mirror installed in the bathroom, and a controller that controls electricity supply to the anti-fog heater, and the controller supplies or heats hot water in the bathtub. An anti-fog heater system for a bathroom, comprising: a temperature sensor for detecting the operation of a heat source device using water temperature; and an anti-fog heater drive section that drives and controls the anti-fog heater based on a temperature signal from the temperature sensor. (4) It consists of a bathtub installed in the bathroom, a heat source device that supplies or heats hot water in the bathtub, bathroom equipment that operates using electricity, and a controller that controls this operation. a temperature sensor that detects the operation of the heat source device based on a change in water temperature; an energization detection section that detects that the temperature of the temperature sensor has exceeded a predetermined energization start temperature; A bathroom configured to include a stop detection section that detects that the temperature has fallen below a predetermined energization stop temperature, and an equipment drive section that drives and controls the bathroom equipment based on a signal from the energization detection section and a signal from the stop detection section. control device for equipment. (5) Consists of a bathtub installed in the bathroom, a heat source device that supplies or heats hot water in the bathtub, bathroom equipment that operates using electricity, and a controller that controls this operation. a temperature sensor that detects the operation of the heat source device based on a change in water temperature; an energization detection section that detects that the temperature of the temperature sensor has exceeded a predetermined energization start temperature; and a signal from the energization detection section. an equipment drive unit that drives and controls the bathroom equipment, and a timer that starts measuring time at the same time as the equipment drive unit operates;
A control device for bathroom equipment configured to include an equipment stop section that stops the operation of the equipment when the timer measures a predetermined time.