JPH04350451A - Unit with automatic system for hot bath - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To make a sophisticated automatic system for hot bath available at low cost without making an existing hot-water supply source useless. CONSTITUTION:A unitized automatic system for hot bath 1, with which an existing hot-water supply source 2 can be supplemented, comprises a mixing channel 4 for mixing hot water from a hot-water supply source 2 with cold water into a mixture at a prescribed desirable temperature, a bathwater circulation channel 5 for heating bathwater as it circulates through a heat-exchanger 14 for a bath and through a pump 15, a dropping-in channel 6 for supplying hot water from the mixing channel 4 to the bathwater circulation channel 5 in a manner of dropping in the supply, and a control part 7 for controlling the operation of the above-mentioned three channels 5, and 6.

Description

[Detailed description of the invention]

0001

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a unit that can be retrofitted to an existing hot water supply source such as a water heater or an electric water heater to configure an automatic bath system.

0002

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, as an automatic bath system, there is a circulating type automatic hot water supply bath device. This is a single device,
It not only supplies hot water to the kitchen, washroom, etc., but also automatically heats water for the bath. Bathtub 45 by exchanger 43 and circulation pump 44
a bath circulation circuit 46 that circulates and heats hot water; and a hot water supply circuit 4.
2 and a drop-in circuit 47 that branches off from 2 and connects to a bath circulation circuit 46.

0003

[Problems to be Solved by the Invention] By the way, some ordinary households use single-function water heaters that only dispense high-temperature hot water or electric water heaters. When attempting to automate the system, it is difficult to configure a system that includes existing hot water sources such as water heaters, and usually a new set of automatic hot water bath equipment as described above must be installed. In that case, the existing hot water source can be left in its original state and used in a separate system, but it is not very useful and often has to be removed, which poses problems both in terms of resources and economics.

In view of the above-mentioned conventional problems, the present invention provides a retrofitted additional unit that incorporates an existing hot water source to form a system as a whole, thereby reducing the cost and eliminating the need to waste the existing hot water source. The goal is to realize an advanced bath automation system.

[0005]

[Means for Solving the Problems] In order to achieve the above-mentioned problems, the present invention provides a mixing circuit that mixes hot water and incoming water from a hot water supply source to a required set temperature, and a bath heat exchanger and a pump that provide bath water. An automatic bath system unit was constructed by comprising a bath circulation circuit that circulates and heats water, a drop-in circuit that supplies hot water from the mixing circuit to the bath circulation circuit, and a control section that controls the operation of each of the circuits.

[0006]

[Operation] When a unit with the above configuration is installed between an existing hot water source and a bathtub, the hot water from the hot water source is mixed with the incoming water from the water supply in the mixing circuit under the control of the control unit to reach the desired temperature. It becomes hot water and is supplied to the bathtub through the drop-in circuit and bath circulation circuit. Furthermore, the bath water is reheated by circulating and heating the bath water between the bathtub and the bath circulation circuit.

[0007]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS FIG. 1 is a circuit diagram of an automatic bath system unit according to an embodiment of the present invention.

In the figure, reference numeral 1 is an automatic bath system unit, 2 is a hot water supply source, and 3 is a bathtub. Hot water source 2
The hot water supply unit may be any type of water heater or electric water heater that has hot water supply capability, and in an apartment building that uses a centralized hot water supply system, it may be the hot water outlet of the system.

The unit 1 includes a mixing circuit 4, a bath circulation circuit 5, a dropping circuit 6, and a control section 7.

The mixing circuit 4 mixes the hot water from the hot water supply source 2 and the incoming water from the water supply to a required set temperature, and in this example, it is composed of a mixing valve 8 and a hot water temperature sensor 9 on the outlet side of the mixing valve 8. has been done. One inflow pipe 10 of the mixing valve 8 is connected to a hot water outlet of the hot water supply source 2, and the other inflow pipe 11 is connected to a water supply pipe of the water supply via check valves 12 and 13, respectively.

The bath circulation circuit 5 circulates and heats bath water using a bath heat exchanger 14 and a circulation pump 15, and is connected to the bathtub 3 through a suction pipe 16 and a discharge pipe 17. A water level sensor 18 and a bath temperature sensor 19 are provided.

The drop-in circuit 6 supplies the hot water from the mixing circuit 4 to the bath circulation circuit 5. The drop-in circuit 6 is provided in the middle of the pipe from the hot water outlet of the mixing circuit 4 to the discharge side of the pump 15 of the bath circulation circuit 5. Water amount sensor 20, water amount servo valve 21
, vacuum breaker 22, on-off valve 23 and check valve 2
4 is provided.

The control section 7 controls the operation of each of the circuits 4, 5, and 6, and receives operation signals from the operation section 25, and
Sensors for each circuit 4, 5, 6 (output hot water temperature sensor 9, dropping water amount sensor 20, water level sensor 18, bath temperature sensor 1
9), input the detection signal from mixing valve 8,
It controls the operation of movable parts such as the water volume servo valve 21 for dropping, the opening/closing valve 23, and the pump 15, and also controls the ignition and extinguishing of the burner of the bath heat exchanger 14.

Next, the operation of the above configuration will be explained.

First, when filling the bathtub with hot water, the control section 7 enters the drop-in mode, and the on-off valve 2 of the drop-in circuit 6 is activated.
3 is opened and the mixing circuit 4 leads to the bath circulation circuit 5. The hot water from the hot water supply source 2 is mixed with tap water in the mixing circuit 4, but since the mixing ratio of the mixing valve 8 is controlled by the control unit 7, the hot water is at the required temperature, and this is sent to the drop-in circuit 6 and bath circulation. The water is supplied by dropping into the bathtub 3 through the downstream part of the circuit 5, and the dropping ends when the set water level is reached.

In the case of the lukewarm mode, only incoming water is supplied from the mixing circuit 4 to the bathtub 3 through the drop-in circuit 6 and the downstream portion of the bath circulation circuit 5.

In the reheating mode, the on-off valve 23 of the drop-in circuit 6 is closed, and in this state, the pump 15 of the bath circulation circuit 5 is activated and the burner of the bath heat exchanger 14 is ignited. With this, the bathtub water is heated while being circulated between the bathtub 3 and the bath circulation circuit 5.

FIG. 2 shows another embodiment of the drop-in circuit. The drop-in circuit 6 is not limited to a closed circuit as shown in FIG. 1, but may be an open circuit as shown in FIG. The dropping circuit 6 shown in FIG.
The hot water from the mixing circuit 4 is temporarily stored in the hopper 26 through the hot water inlet pipe 27, and is supplied to the bath circulation circuit 5 through the hot water outlet pipe 28. The hot water inlet pipe 27 is provided with a dropping water amount sensor 29, a water amount servo valve 30, and an on-off valve 31, the hopper 26 is provided with a water level sensor 32, and the hot water outlet pipe 28 is provided with a check valve 33. There is. The hot water outlet pipe 28 is connected to the suction side of the pump 15 of the bath circulation circuit 5 via a three-way valve 34.

[0019]

[Effects of the Invention] By retrofitting the unit to an existing hot water source, it is possible to configure a system that includes the hot water source, and the unit is inexpensive and does not waste the existing hot water source. It is possible to realize an advanced bath automation system.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a circuit diagram of an automatic bath system unit according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a circuit diagram of a drop-in circuit portion of another embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a schematic configuration diagram of a conventional automatic hot water supply bath device.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 Bath automatic systemization unit 2 Hot water source 3 Bathtub 4 Mixing circuit 5 Bath circulation circuit 6 Drop-in circuit 7 Control section 14 Bath heat exchanger 15 Pump

Claims (1)

[Claims] Claim 1: A unit that is interposed between a hot water supply source (2) and a bathtub (3) to automate hot water supply, water supply, and reheating to the bathtub (3), the unit comprising: A mixing circuit (4) that mixes outgoing water and incoming water to a required set temperature, a bath circulation circuit (5) that circulates and heats bathtub water using a bath heat exchanger (14) and a pump (15), and a mixing circuit ( 4
) is provided with a drop-in circuit (6) for dropping and supplying hot water into the bath circulation circuit (5), and a control section (7) for controlling the operation of each of the circuits (4, 5, 6). An automatic system unit for baths.