JPH03204552A - Hot water supplying mechanism for instantaneous water heater - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To obtain hot water of suitable temperature at a small flow rate even if the temperature of the water is high by providing manual operation means for moving a valve body by a heat responsive element provided in a confluent passage to vary flow rate ratio of water passage to hot water passage in a mixing valve to bias the element. CONSTITUTION:Hot water heated by a heat exchanger 3 by burning of a burner 12 and fed through a hot water passage 1 is mixed with clean water fed through a water passage 5 in a mixing valve 4 to lower at its temperature, fed through a confluent passage, and output from a hot water supply outlet 18. In this case, since a heat responsive element 7 provided in the confluent passage moves a valve body 8 in response to hot water temperature in the confluent passage, the flow rate ratio of the passage 5 to the passage 1 is varied, and the hot water in the confluent passage can be regulated to a value response to the biasing amount of the element 7. The biasing amount can be varied by manual operation means 9, and hence hot water temperature can be regulated. Thus, since the hot water heated by the exchanger 3 is cooled with clean water and output from the outlet 18, hot water of low temperature can be supplied even if the minimum burning amount of the burner 12 is relatively large.

Description

[Detailed description of the invention] (Industrial application field) The present invention relates to a hot water supply mechanism for an instantaneous water heater.

(Prior art and its problems) In a conventional instantaneous water heater, the temperature of the hot water is adjusted by changing the amount of combustion of a burner for heating a heat exchanger. Efforts have been made to widen the combustion range of burners by using multiple burners, etc., but there are limits, and increasing the maximum combustion amount also increases the minimum combustion amount. When the temperature is high, it is difficult to obtain hot water at an appropriate temperature (for example, about 35° C.) with a small flow rate.

The present invention aims to solve this problem.

(Means for Solving the Problems) Means for solving the above problems will be described with reference to drawings corresponding to embodiments. In parallel with the hot water path 1 passing through the exchanger 3,
A water path 5 is provided which branches on the upstream side of the heat exchanger 3 and merges with the water through a mixing valve 4 on the downstream side. The structure is such that the ratio of flow rates between the water path 5 and the leakage path 1 is changed by moving the water path 5, and a manual operation means 9 is provided for biasing the thermally responsive element 7.

(Function) The hot water heated by the heat exchanger 3 due to combustion in the burner 12 and flowing through the production path 1 is mixed with the clean water flowing through the water path 5 at the mixing valve 4, and the temperature is lowered. When hot water flows through the confluence channel 6 and is tapped out from the hot water outlet 18, the thermally responsive element 7 provided in the confluence channel 6 moves the valve body 8 in response to the temperature of the hot water in the confluence channel 6. The flow rate ratio between the water path 5 and the production path 1 changes, and thus the temperature of the hot water in the confluence path 6 can be adjusted to a value corresponding to the bias amount of the thermally responsive element 7. This bias amount can be changed by the manual operation means 9, and therefore the water temperature can be adjusted. In this way, the hot water heated by the heat exchanger 3 is cooled down by tap water and then transferred to the hot water outlet 1.
Since hot water can be tapped from the hot water source 8, hot water can be supplied at a low temperature even when the minimum combustion amount of the burner 12 is relatively large. Therefore, even when the temperature of tap water is high in the summer, it is easy to obtain hot water at an appropriate temperature (for example, about 35° C.) with a small flow rate.

(Example) Next, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

First, since FIG. 1 shows the overall configuration of the present invention, reference numeral 1 is a production path passing through the heat exchanger 3 of the water heater 2. A drainage water path 5 is provided, which is branched on the side and merged via a mixing valve 4 on the downstream side. As shown in FIG. 2, the mixing valve 4 has a structure in which a valve body 8 is moved by a thermally responsive element 7 provided in a merging channel 6 to change the flow rate ratio between the water path 5 and the manufacturing path 1. A manual operation means 9 such as a knob mechanism for biasing the thermally responsive element 7 is provided. The thermally responsive element 7 is configured to thermally expand by enclosing wax, for example, and the movement direction of the valve body 8 due to the expansion is such that the amount of hot water in the production path 1 is decreased and the amount of water in the water path 5 is increased. The thermally responsive element 7 has a structure in which the amount of bias is adjusted by an actuating body 11 via a bias spring 10.
This operating body 11 is a manual operating means 9 such as a suitable knob mechanism.
The structure is such that it is activated and moved in the vertical direction in the figure. In the above configuration, Fig. 2(a) shows a state in which the amount of hot water in the manufacturing path 1 is large, and in this state, the wax expands and the thermally responsive element as shown in Fig. 2(b). 7 thermally expands, the valve body 8 is moved downward to reduce the amount of hot water in the production path 1, increase the amount of water in the water path 5, and move the valve body 8 downward to reduce the amount of hot water in the water path 5.
When the temperature of the hot water inside decreases, or conversely when the hot water temperature decreases too much and the thermally responsive element 7 contracts, the valve body 8 is moved upward to reduce the amount of water in the water path 5 and also to reduce the amount of hot water in the production path 1. By increasing the temperature of the water in the confluence channel 6, it is possible to control the temperature of the hot water flowing through the confluence channel. When the thermally responsive element 7 is biased downward by the manual operating means 9, the set hot water temperature can be lowered, and conversely, when the thermally responsive element 7 is biased upward, the set hot water temperature can be increased.

Reference numeral 12 denotes a burner for heating the heat exchanger 3, and this burner 12 controls the controller 14 based on the water temperature from a temperature sensor 13 such as a thermistor installed downstream of the heat exchanger 3 in the production path 1. The combustion amount is adjusted by the following.

Further, numeral 15 is a water flow switch, 16 is a water flow restriction valve, and 17
18 is a check valve, 18 is a spout, and 19 is a return spring, and these operations are the same as in the conventional case. In addition to the above configuration, the configuration of the water heater 2 and the configuration of the mixing valve 4 are appropriate, and their operation is also appropriate.

(Effects of the Invention) As described above, the present invention allows hot water heated by a heat exchanger to be cooled down by tap water and then discharged from the hot water outlet. This has the advantage that even when the temperature of tap water is high in the summer, it is easy to obtain hot water at an appropriate temperature (for example, about 35° C.) with a small flow rate.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

FIG. 1 is an explanatory diagram showing the overall configuration of an embodiment of the present invention, and FIGS. 2(a) and (b) are explanatory sectional views showing the configuration and operation of an embodiment of a mixing valve. . Code 1... Manufacturing route, 2... Water boiler, 3... Heat exchanger, 4... Mixing valve, 5... Water route, 6... Merging channel, 7
. . . thermal response element, 8 .
・Water switch, 16...Water flow restriction valve, 17...Check valve, 8...Tail outlet, 19...Return spring. Diagram

Claims (1)

[Claims] In parallel with a hot water path passing through a heat exchanger of a water heater, a water path is provided that branches on the upstream side of the heat exchanger and joins together via a mixing valve on the downstream side, and the mixing valve is provided in the merging path. An instantaneous water heater characterized in that the valve body is moved by a thermally responsive element to change the flow rate ratio between the water path and the hot water path, and manual operation means for biasing the thermally responsive element is provided. Hot water supply mechanism