JPH0468259A - Thermal insulating method for hot water in bath tub - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To prevent the occurrence of too early additional burning and useless additional burning by a method wherein an and after completion of first automatic additional burning, a temperature reduction predicting time is measured from a completion point of time each time automatic additional burning at each time is completed, and automatic addition burning is started each time a temperature reduction predicting time elapses. CONSTITUTION:A temperature reduction predicting time tx in which an actual hot water temperature Kn is reduced from a set temperature Ks to an additional burning starting temperature Km preset as temperature at which additional burning is to be started is computed. When first automatic additional burning is completed after the starting of a repeating automatic additional burning mode, measurement of the temperature reduction predicting time tx computed from the point of time is started, and at a point of time when measurement is completed, second automatic additional burning is produced. In following, each time when automatic additional burning at each time is completed, measurement of the temperature reduction prediction time tx is started from a point of time when current addition burning operation is completed. After a lapse of the temperature reduction predicting time tx, the automatic additional burning at a subsequent time is started.

Description

[Detailed Description of the Invention] [Industrial Application Field] The present invention provides a method for keeping a bathtub warm over time;
In particular, the present invention relates to an automatic heat retention method that automatically repeats reheating at time intervals, and to an improvement that allows the time interval to be optimally set according to the environment at the site of use.

[Prior Art] There have been attempts to keep the bathtub warm by repeatedly and automatically reheating it at time intervals as described above, but this method has also not been developed particularly recently. It can be said that the combination of this technology with automatic water heaters has brought it to a level where it can be put to practical use.

Therefore, when explaining this conventional automatic heat retention method, first, the hot water supply system itself using such a recent automatic water heater will be explained with reference to FIG.

The illustrated automatic water heater has two heat exchangers 11 and 21, one of which is used to dispense hot water from a normal faucet 15 or shower 16 as needed, or to automatically fill hot water into a bath a23. The other is a heat exchanger 11 for hot water supply, and the other is a heat exchanger for reheating or reheating when the hot water in the bathtub 23 does not reach the set temperature or cools down over time. It is the vessel 21.

Water from the water pipes is passed through the hot water supply heat exchanger 11, as indicated by the arrow "water" in the figure, and this water is heated by heating the heat exchanger 11 with the burner 12. Be warmed.

Naturally, fuel for combustion is supplied to the burner 12, but the illustrated water heater uses the most common gas as the fuel. However, kerosene and other fuels can be used in almost the same hot water system configuration, and if gas is replaced with such other fuels, the following explanations in this book can be applied as is.

After the gas from the gas pipe passes through the original Ti solenoid valve 13, it is controlled to the optimum supply amount at any given time by a dedicated gas flow rate regulating solenoid valve (so-called proportional valve) 14 on the hot water supply side, and is sent to the burner 12. Also, the amount of air to the burner 12 is
8.

The actual amount of water passing through the heat exchanger 11 selectively heated by the burner 12 is detected by a liquid level sensor 28, and the temperature of the water before entering the heat exchanger 11 is determined by a feed water temperature sensor. 19, the temperature of the hot water discharged from the heat exchanger 11 is detected by the hot water temperature sensor 20.

In addition, although not shown, for safety purposes, a flame is generated by a flame rod, etc. to detect whether or not the burner 12 has been ignited as specified or whether or not the burner 12 is currently burning. A detection sensor and a high limit switch that detects when the temperature of hot water from the heat exchanger 11 becomes abnormally high are also provided, and in order to further improve controllability, as necessary, A sensor or the like for detecting the air flow rate or the actual rotational speed currently output by the fan 18 and performing feedback control is also incorporated.

On the other hand, this type of automatic water heater has a control device (not shown), which has recently become common to include a microcomputer, and determines the optimal hot water supply based on detection signals from the various sensors mentioned above. Measure to form the splinter.

For example, the user operates switches attached to a remote unit (not shown) that is provided separately from the main body of the control device, sets the temperature at which he or she wants hot water, and then turns on the faucet 15 or shower 16. When the water flow sensor 28 is opened and a water flow passing through the heat exchanger 11 is generated, the flow rate sensor 28, which had previously issued a water flow stop signal, first sends a signal indicating that water has started flowing (the liquid volume signal is a water flow ON/OFF signal). (which can also serve as an off detection signal) is sent to the microcomputer.

Upon receiving this, the microcomputer creates the gas proportional valve 1.
4 to supply a predetermined amount of valve opening to supply the corresponding flow rate of gas to the burner 12, and also sends an air amount adjustment signal (rotation speed control signal) to the fan 18 to control combustion. While supplying an appropriate amount of air to the burner 12, an ignition mechanism (not shown) is operated.

When combustion in the burner 12 starts in this way,
The heat exchanger 11 is heated, and the water that passes through the heat exchanger 11 is warmed and discharged from a faucet etc., but the actual hot water temperature is also detected by the hot water temperature sensor 20,
If there is an error between this temperature and the set temperature set by the user, the microcomputer adjusts the opening degree of the proportional valve 14, the rotation speed of the fan 18, etc. in a direction that eliminates the error. and control combustion energy.

When the user closes the faucet that was supplying hot water and quenches his/her thirst,
The gamma quantity sensor 28 sends a water flow stop signal (zero flow signal) to the microcomputer, and the microcomputer receives this signal.
Gas proportional valve in computer! The burner 12 functions to quickly extinguish the burner 12 by sending a full close signal to the burner 12. However, in some cases, a flow sensor 2 that outputs the actual flow rate in real time
In addition to 8, a water flow switch is sometimes installed that specifically detects whether or not a water flow is occurring, and even if the flow rate is not completely zero, if it becomes very small, it may indicate an abnormality in the hot water temperature. Combustion may be stopped to prevent overheating.

Furthermore, for safety, if a high limit switch is attached to the heat exchanger 11, when this detects overheating to an abnormal temperature and sends an overheating signal to the microcomputer, the The burner 12 immediately enters a forced extinguishing operation or limits the amount of combustion, and similarly, although not shown, the flame, rod, etc.
Even when an appropriate combustion detection element detects a misfire in the burner 12, the microcomputer sends a forced closing signal to the gas proportional valve 14, and depending on the system, also sends a forced closing signal to the original solenoid valve 13. , to prevent the risk of raw fuel leaking out of the aircraft.

By the user's operation on a remote unit (not shown), the bath I! If you choose automatic filling of hot water inside 23,
A thirst request is made to the microcomputer built in the control device, and in response, the microcomputer opens the switching solenoid valve 17 so that the thirst from the heat exchanger 11 can be directed to the bathtub 23. However, it is more convenient to explain this automatic hot water filling operation in conjunction with the automatic reheating operation for automatic heat retention, which is the focus of this book, so I will leave it later.

Next, to explain the system including the reheating heat exchanger 21, the hot water in the bathtub 23 is guided from the hot water inlet to the circulation flow path,
After passing through the reheating heat exchanger 21, this circulation flow path is again connected to a hot water outlet that opens toward the inside of the bathtub 23.

The heat exchanger 21 for reheating is also selectively heated by a burner 22 like the one for hot water supply described above, but the burner 22 is also controlled by a so-called proportional valve 24 dedicated to the reheating side. Gas whose supply amount is controlled to be optimal at each time and air which is also controlled to an optimal flow rate from time to time are sent by the fan 18.

When heating the reheating heat exchanger 21 in the reheating mode, the circulation pump 25 naturally operates and the bathtub 2
The hot water in 3 is passed through a heat exchanger 21 while being circulated.

The temperature of the hot water in the bathtub that is reheated is detected by a temperature sensor 27 provided in the circulation flow path, and as explained later, the actual hot water temperature (actual hot water temperature) xn in the bathtub 23 is detected by the user. When the temperature reaches the set temperature of 8, reheating combustion ends.

Of course, although not shown in the drawings, it is preferable to use a flame sensor for detecting whether or not the reheating burner 22 has been ignited as specified, or whether or not the burner 22 is currently burning. A flame detection sensor such as a rod is provided, and the heat exchanger 21 is also preferably provided with a high limit switch or the like to detect when the temperature of the heat exchanger 21 becomes abnormally high.

However, using such an automatic water heater system, the bathtub 23
The conventional method of automatically keeping hot water warm after it has been automatically filled inside the container can be explained using the chronological operation chart shown in the fourth figure and the flow chart shown in the fifth figure. In order to point out some of the shortcomings of the conventional method later, Figure 4 shows the heat retention operations in winter (A in the figure) and summer (B in the figure), respectively.
Both charts can be used for the basic automatic warming operation itself.

When the user selects automatic filling of hot water into the bathtub 23 by operating a remote unit (not shown), a water filling request is made to the microcomputer built in the control device, and the microcomputer responds to this request. The switching solenoid valve 17 is adjusted so that the water from the heat exchanger 11 can be directed to the bathtub 23.

However, for this automatic water filling operation, preset water level data is given to the microcomputer as a type of necessary data.

The set water level data is data that specifies the height of the bathtub 23 to which hot water should be filled according to the user's preference, but this is actually the data that specifies the height of the bathtub 23 to which hot water should be poured. It is expressed as the total amount of hot water required to reach the set water level. This is because if the set water level is expressed simply by the geometric height inside the bathtub, it will not be possible to accommodate changes in the shape of the bathtub. If you use an old float-type liquid level detector that floats in the bathtub, you can determine the water level simply by looking at the geometric height of the water in the bathtub, but this is a newer product. Not liked.

Therefore, at the beginning of use, the control device learns and stores, for each bathtub 23 in use, how much total hot water (total water volume) is required for that bathtub 23 to reach the set water level set by the user. In the case of the illustrated device system, this is due to the pressure sensor 26 installed in the circulation path around the reheating heat exchanger 21 and close to the outlet position to the bathtub 23 side. Pressure value to detect (water pressure value in the bathtub)
It is calculated using, for example, the following method.

First, in the case shown in the diagram where xJl of hot water or water (hereinafter referred to as "filling") is poured into the empty bathtub 23, the pressure sensor 26 is located at a certain height from the bottom of the bathtub 23. Therefore, even if the body is drained x1 at a time, the pressure value detected by the pressure sensor 26 at the beginning is τ. The amount of poured molten metal itself can be controlled based on the detection signal from the flow rate sensor 28.

However, if the pressure sensor 26 becomes immersed in water after y times of hydration for each xft and a significant detection output is output, at least in that bath 4!23, the pressure sensor 26 is removed from the bottom of the bathtub. It can be seen that the amount of hot water required to fill the water to a certain height is xy(f) (some errors are within the allowable range).

Then, once a significant detection output is output from the pressure sensor 26, the actual water level that increases each time xlL is filled into the bathtub 23 and the detection pressure of the pressure sensor 26 at that time. There will be a one-to-one correspondence with the value (water pressure).

Therefore, the total amount of hot water (42) required until the user reaches the desired water level and stops pouring is the pressure value detected by the main pressure sensor 26, and the x-
y(Il), and this pressure value is given to the microcomputer as the set water level data, and by this learning, the microcomputer will be able to know it from now on even if the user changes the set water level. The total amount of hot water required to reach the changed water level can be immediately calculated.

In this way, the microcomputer converts and stores the user's preferred set water level data into set pressure value data, so that after opening the switching solenoid valve 17 as described above, the pressure sensor When the switching solenoid valve 17 is closed again when the detected pressure value of 26 reaches this set pressure value, the bathtub 23 is filled with hot water up to the set water level.

Of course, the temperature of the hot water supplied into the bathtub during automatic hot water filling can also be set by the user, and can be set by the flow rate sensor 28, water supply temperature sensor 19, and outlet hot water temperature sensor 20, just as when hot water is supplied to the faucet 15, etc. Based on each piece of information, combustion control in the heat exchanger 11 is performed by optimally controlling the opening degree of the proportional valve 14 and the rotation speed of the fan 18.

However, after the automatic filling of hot water started, the temperature detected by the outlet hot water temperature sensor 2° reached the set temperature S. As a result, while controlling combustion as much as possible until the pressure sensor 26 detected a predetermined pressure value, as shown in FIG. When the water level reaches the set level at time T0, the switching solenoid valve 17 closes, the burner 12 extinguishes, and the automatic water filling operation ends, the actual water temperature in the bathtub 23 at that time (actual water temperature) . Even if the temperature of hot water discharged from the heating heat exchanger 11 correctly matches the set temperature, the temperature will generally be slightly lower than the set temperature.

Therefore, in the conventional automatic heat-keeping method, before entering the automatic heat-keeping mode, the temperature at the time T following the stop of pouring the molten metal is determined. Immediately perform auxiliary reheating.

That is, when the switching solenoid valve 17 closes at time T0, the circulation pump 25 starts rotating in its place, stirring the hot water in the bath 4@23 appropriately to make it uniform in temperature, and then discharging the hot water in the bath. The actual hot water temperature Kn is taken into the control device side via the temperature sensor 27, and if the temperature difference α between the set temperature 3 and this actual hot water temperature Kn is greater than a predetermined value, the reheating burner 2 is activated.
2 is ignited, and the hot water in the bathtub 23 is heated while being circulated by the reheating heat exchanger 21.

As a result, as shown at time T1 in FIG. 4, as a result of repeatedly comparing the actual hot water temperature Kn detected by the temperature sensor 27 with the set temperature, the actual hot water temperature has a value of 7. When it is determined that the set temperature has exceeded 8, the burner 22
The combustion of the water is stopped, and although it is not shown in the equipment system in Figure 3, in order to notify the user that the automatic filling mode has been completed, that is, the water level has reached the set temperature. For example, a notification means such as a buzzer is activated.

Conventional automatic keep-warm operation may occur from the point at which auxiliary reheating, applied as needed as part of the automatic hot water filling mode, has ended, and thereafter follows the flow chart shown in FIG.

First, from the boiling time TI in FIG. 4, measurement for a predetermined period of time tc begins. Specifically, this time tc is selected to be about 30 minutes, but after the specified time tc has elapsed from the first boiling point time T1, the time Tc
2, the circulation pump 25 shown in FIG. 3 is rotated for a predetermined short period of time (usually 20 to 30 seconds) to stir the water in the bathtub 23 and make the hot water almost uniform everywhere in the bathtub. The actual temperature K in the bathtub is determined by the temperature sensor 27 at a time when the temperature reaches a certain temperature. Measure.

Then, the temperature of the actual water inside this bath 4123. is lower than the set temperature Ks by more than the temperature difference α°C, which is set at a predetermined value of, for example, about 1°C to 2°C, the flow chart shown in Figure 5 indicates YES in the judgment step. burner 22 to heat the reheating heat exchanger 21.
combustion begins.

Naturally, during this reheating combustion, the circulation pump 25 continues to rotate, and the temperature sensor 27 measures the actual hot water temperature K in the bathtub. continues to be detected.

As shown at time T3 in FIG. 4, as a result of such reheating combustion, the actual hot water temperature K in the bathtub. Set temperature K.

As I continued to compare the ribbons, I found out that the actual water temperature was K. When it is determined that the temperature has exceeded the set temperature Ks, the reheating combustion is stopped and the circulation pump 25 is also stopped, as shown in the flow chart in FIG. A measurement timer is set to a fixed time tc.

Furthermore, each time a certain period of time tc elapses, the difference between the actual hot water temperature in the bathtub and the set temperature is taken, and in the step of determining whether or not this is greater than a predetermined temperature difference α℃, even if there is not that much difference. In this case, as is clear from the flow chart in FIG. 5, reheating combustion is not performed this time, the circulation pump is stopped, and the timer is simply reset to the fixed time tc. Therefore, after a certain period of time tc has elapsed, the actual hot water temperature is again set to K. It is determined whether or not there is a difference of α°C or more between the set temperature and the set temperature 3.

However, depending on the conventional example, there are differences in the countermeasures taken when the user manually, so to speak, forcibly reheats the heat, in addition to the automatic repeated reheating in the automatic keep-warm mode.

In other words, the actual hot water temperature shown by the solid line in the ¥S4 diagram. The history characteristic of 7 is such that even if the user reheats the fire, this fact is ignored when measuring the fixed time tc, and while the timer is counting the fixed time tc, as shown by the virtual line, Even if the user reheats the fire himself between time T4 and T5, this will not be taken into account in the time measurement, and the reheat will be automatically reheated after the first boiling and after each automatic reheating is completed. Every time a certain period of time tc elapses, the operation according to the flow chart shown in FIG. 5 is performed.

Therefore, in this case, automatic reheating starts again at time T6 when a certain period of time tc has elapsed from the automatic reheating end time T before the reheating operation by the user.

On the other hand, there is a type that resets the timer when the user performs a reheating operation, and the history characteristics of the actual water temperature in that case are as shown by the imaginary line in Figure 4. becomes.

That is, while the timer is measuring a certain period of time tc, if there is additional firing as shown by the imaginary line between time T4 and time T5 in FIG.
, the timer is reset to tc again for a certain period of time,
Therefore, the next automatic reheating will not be performed from this time T until time T7, when a certain period of time tc has elapsed. If there is heating, the operation is performed in accordance with the flow chart shown in Figure 5 every time a certain period of time tc elapses from the time when the reheating is completed.

[Problems to be Solved by the Invention] As mentioned above, we have described in detail the conventional automatic water heating operation for hot water in a bathtub, including the automatic water heater or hot water system that is used in conjunction with it. Even if there is a difference in whether or not to reset the rice, in the conventional automatic warming operation, if we only consider the automatic reheating operation, reheating will be started if a predetermined period of time 1c has not passed since the previous reheating. does not start.

Therefore, as shown in Figure 4, which shows the case of winter (A in the same figure) and the case in summer (B in the same figure), the set temperature of 8 is for winter,
Even if the temperature is set at the same temperature in summer, the degree of decrease in the actual water temperature in the bath [23] after a certain period of time 1c has passed after reheating is completed is very different between winter and summer. Of course, it's easier to get cold in winter.

Therefore, they set their sights on the winter season, and created an automatic reheating and automatic repeat cycle to avoid making the user feel uncomfortable after the water has heated up and no matter when they take a bath. fixed time t.

If it is set to a short value, as shown in FIG. 4B, the repetition frequency of reheating becomes a little wasteful in the summer.

Considering that the circulation pump and the like are operated every time the heating is reheated, it cannot be said that satisfactory results are necessarily obtained from the viewpoint of energy consumption and noise.

On the other hand, if the fixed time 1c is set too long, it may be good in the summer, but in the winter the hot water may become too cold and the automatic heat retention function may become meaningless.

In addition, the degree of decrease in the actual hot water temperature K11 in the bath 4i123 is not only due to seasonal changes or atmospheric temperature fluctuations, but also to
It varies greatly depending on the shape, depth, material, heat transfer coefficient, etc. of the bathtub 23 used, and also greatly depends on the size, direction, sunlight, etc. of the bathtub. Strictly speaking, even changing the set water level changes the effective area of the bathtub's inner wall that is in contact with the water.
The amount of heat dissipated from the perspective of the hot water will also change.

Considering this, it is clear that the conventional automatic reheating repeated in units of a certain period of time tc cannot keep up with the fluctuations of these various parameters. There is no answer to the question of how best to specifically set the certain period of time tc, and a compromise must always be made.

The present invention has been developed in view of the conventional situation, and although it shares the concept of keeping the bathtub warm by automatically reheating it at regular intervals, it It can respond well to the changing parameters of the rice plants that affect the temperature drop characteristics of the hot water over time, and it can maintain as stable a heat retention operation as possible even with changes in these parameters, while preventing premature reheating as much as possible. The purpose is to provide a heat retention method that avoids unnecessary reheating.

[Means for Solving the Problems] In order to achieve the above object, the present invention automatically reheats the water in the bathtub repeatedly at time intervals, and automatically reheats the water inside the bathtub each time. We propose a method consisting of the following steps as a heat retention method that ends when the actual temperature of the hot water, which is the actual temperature of the hot water, reaches a predetermined set temperature. .

First, the actual temperature of the hot water in the bathtub is the set temperature,
The time when it is first determined that the temperature has been reached is the start of the repeated automatic reheating mode, and after a certain period of time tc has elapsed from the start of this repeated automatic reheating mode, the first automatic reheating is performed to relieve thirst in the bathtub. Let it start.

On the other hand, the actual water temperature at the start of repeated automatic reheating mode. Alternatively, reheating is preset as the temperature at which reheating should start from S to the set temperature based on the above set temperature, the actual hot water temperature after the elapse of the above specified time tc, and the specified time t. Calculate the expected temperature drop time tx that will be required for the starting temperature to drop to 1 and the actual hot water temperature to drop.

After doing so, as described above, when the first automatic reheating after the start of the repeated automatic reheating mode is completed, from that point on, the expected temperature drop time tx calculated above will begin to be measured, and the measurement will end. At that point, the second automatic reheating will occur.

From then on, each time the automatic reheating ends,
Estimated temperature drop time from the end of the reheating operation for that time 1.
The expected time for this temperature drop is 1. After this period has elapsed, the next automatic reheating is started.

Therefore, a certain period of time tc is required from entering the repeated automatic reheating mode until the first automatic reheating operation occurs, but after that, from the end of one automatic reheating operation to the next automatic reheating operation. The time interval until the start of automatic reheating is tx.

Although this is the most basic aspect of the present invention, another aspect of the present invention is that the previously calculated time interval 1. We also propose a method for rationally correcting this in response to changes in various situations.

In other words, the expected temperature drop time 1. It is detected whether or not there is a temperature difference of a predetermined size or more between the actual hot water temperature K11 in the bathtub and the reheating start temperature when . Actual water temperature in the bathtub. Or to the set temperature, and then the expected temperature drop time 1. Based on the actual hot water temperature that has a temperature difference between the reheating start temperature and the reheating start temperature after , and the expected temperature drop time tx, reheating should be started again from the set temperature at 6. Reheating The expected temperature drop time that would be required for the actual hot water temperature Kn to drop to the starting temperature is recalculated and a new time value of 1. Calculate this value, update the expected temperature drop time up to that point, and use the following as the time until the next automatic reheating operation starts:
Estimated temperature drop time adopted before update calculation 1. Instead, use the updated expected temperature drop time.

Furthermore, in another aspect of the present invention, the expected temperature decrease time 1. Measures to be taken in the event that reheating occurs during measurement will also be disclosed.

That is, if the reheating operation occurs during the measurement of the above-mentioned fixed time 1c or the expected temperature drop time tX, such time measurement is interrupted, and after the end of the reheating operation that occurred in the middle, the reheating operation is interrupted. Fixed time 1c or expected temperature drop time 1. Start the measurement from the beginning anew, and start automatic reheating at the end of the newly started time measurement. The actual hot water temperature at 0 or the set temperature Xs, and the actual hot water temperature after a certain period of time 1c at which measurement has newly started or the expected temperature drop time tx has elapsed. , and based on the specified time tc or the expected temperature drop time tx, the set temperature is changed to,
Recalculate and update the expected temperature drop time tx that would be required for □ to drop from the actual hot water temperature to the reheating start temperature that has been set in advance as the temperature at which reheating should start. After the automatic reheating operation started in this way, the expected temperature drop time is 1. In place of the fixed time or expected temperature drop time that was used at the time of interruption, the updated expected temperature drop time 1. Use.

Similarly, in addition to or in place of this aspect, attention is paid to fluctuations in the water level in the bathtub, and the fixed time 1c or the expected temperature drop time 1. If a change in the water level is detected during the measurement, the measurement is interrupted, and it is determined that the change in the water level has stopped, and it is then determined that the actual hot water temperature Kn has reached the set temperature of 5. The measurement of the fixed time 1c or the expected temperature drop time tx that was interrupted at the point in time is restarted from the beginning,
When the newly started time measurement is finished in this way, automatic reheating is started, and when it is determined that the set temperature has reached S after the water level change is completed, the hot water temperature Kn or the set temperature is set. and 1 to the actual hot water temperature after the elapse of the fixed time 1c or the expected temperature drop time tx when the measurement was newly started as described above, and based on the fixed time tc or the expected temperature drop time tx. Calculate the expected temperature drop time t x that would be required for the actual water temperature to drop from the set temperature to the reheating start temperature that is preset as the temperature at which reheating should start. After the automatic reheating operation started as above,
The updated expected temperature drop time is used as the expected temperature drop time tX.

Note that the reheating that occurs midway in the above naturally includes reheating operations that the user himself or herself commands, and also depends on the functions of the hot water supply system that incorporates the present invention, but it also includes reheating operations that are highly automated. If the system is a hot water system, it also includes reheating operations automatically started by the hot water system for other reasons, such as to match the actual hot water temperature with the changed set temperature.

[Function] In the present invention, first, the temperature is determined to be the actual temperature of the hot water filled in the bathtub. When the temperature reaches the set temperature of 5, the time when ↑ is cut off for the first time is considered as the start of the automatic reheating mode.

Here, the actual temperature of the hot water in the bathtub is set to 8.
For example, as already mentioned in the explanation of the conventional example, the point at which it is first determined that the water level has been reached means that the automatic filling function up to the set water level is provided, and the water pouring operation up to the set water level is performed. After finishing the process, the actual water temperature Kn is detected, and this becomes the set temperature.
If the present invention is applied to a type of hot water supply system that also has a function of performing auxiliary reheating if there is a temperature difference of more than a predetermined size between The temperature of the actual water is now the same. If the detection is completed and auxiliary reheating is not necessary, or in a system where auxiliary reheating is not required, the actual water temperature of the hot water that has been filled to the set water level in the bathtub. This is the point at which it is first determined that the temperature is higher than the set temperature.

Furthermore, regardless of whether or not it has such an automatic hot water refilling function, it is possible for the user to reheat the hot water by commanding the user to reheat it, for example, when using the hot water for another day without discarding the hot water that was filled the previous day. In this case, this is the time when it is first determined that the hot water in the bathtub has been heated to the set temperature S.

Of course, you can set a slight tolerance range above and below 3 for the set temperature, and when the actual water temperature falls within this range, it can be determined that the set temperature has been reached. As seen in the example, the actual hot water temperature was repeatedly detected at a predetermined cycle at high speed, and the previous temperature was below or below the set temperature Ks.
In this detection, the temperature is set.

If it exceeds or becomes equal to, the actual water temperature at that point. The latter method is common when a microcomputer is used as the control device.

In any case, when these requirements are satisfied and the system according to the method of the present invention enters the repeated automatic reheating mode, first, the system starts for a certain period of time t from the start of the repeated automatic reheating mode.
The first automatic reheating of the hot water in the bathtub starts after c has elapsed, and as a separate operation from this, the actual hot water temperature K at the start of the repeated automatic reheating mode. (For convenience of explanation, the actual hot water temperature at the past point in time is assumed to be M, -1 here), or to the set temperature, and to the actual hot water temperature after the elapse of the above-mentioned fixed time tc.

, and based on the certain period of time tc, the actual hot water temperature Kll, which was initially determined to be at 8 to the set temperature in the bathtub, reaches the reheating start temperature that has been set in advance as the temperature at which reheating should start. The expected temperature drop time tX that will be required for the temperature to drop to 1 is calculated.

The temperature at which reheating should be started can be defined, for example, as 1, which is a temperature lower than the set temperature by a predetermined temperature difference ΔKe than S. In other words, if the actual water temperature drops further, reheating must be performed. For example, it is a temperature that makes the user feel too cold, and the specific value itself can be determined arbitrarily.

However, the reheating start temperature K is set at the set temperature.

until the actual water temperature. The predicted time 1 during which K is expected to decrease is actually based on the three data mentioned above, namely, the actual hot water temperature K at the past point in time. -I or the set temperature, and the actual water temperature after a certain period of time 1c has passed. , and if there is the certain time tc, it can be calculated from them according to various arithmetic expressions.

However, the simplest method is a method that follows proportional calculation. For example, if the set temperature Ks is 42°C and the above constant time tc is set to 30 minutes, initially the set temperature Ks is 42°C. The actual water temperature, which was ℃, will change to 3 after 30 minutes
If the temperature was 39 degrees Celsius lower, then by dividing this temperature difference of 3 degrees Celsius by 30 minutes, we would get a coefficient of 0.1 degrees Celsius/sin, which is the actual water temperature per unit time. On the other hand, if you divide the constant time tc''30 minutes by the temperature decrease of 3℃, you will get 10mln/l, etc.
The time required for the temperature to decrease per unit temperature can be determined.

Mathematically, the two are simply in a reciprocal relationship, so no matter which one is used, the expected temperature drop time tx during which the actual hot water temperature Kl is expected to drop to the set temperature, to the reheating start temperature, is calculated. It can be easily determined, for example, as shown above, when the set temperature is M42℃, the temperature at which reheating should start is 1. In other words, even if the temperature drops to that extent, reheating is not necessary. If the temperature is set to 40°C at which the user does not feel too uncomfortable (this is just an example), the temperature drop characteristic obtained earlier will be 0.1°C/win.
Or 10sln/l: If so, the set temperature 4
The expected temperature drop time for the actual hot water temperature to drop from 2℃ to 40℃ by the temperature difference ΔKc = 2℃ is, if we apply the simplest proportional calculation here, Divide the 2℃ by 0.1℃/■in or the temperature difference is 2℃
By multiplying by 10sln/l, you can easily find 20 minutes. Note that these coefficients may hereinafter be collectively referred to as temperature reduction characteristic values.

In the present invention, after calculating the expected temperature drop time tx each time the repeated automatic reheating mode is started, once the first automatic reheating is finished, the above calculation is performed from that point onwards. Start measuring the expected temperature drop time t9, and when the measurement is finished, cause the second automatic reheating, and in the same way, every time the automatic reheating ends each time, the reheating for that time is started. Estimated temperature drop time from the end of the operation 1
．． The expected time for this temperature drop is 1. Each time the time elapses, the next automatic reheating is started.

Therefore, only for a certain period of time 1c from the time when the user enters the automatic reheating mode until the first automatic reheating operation occurs.
In the above example, this is 30 minutes, so the water that was initially boiled to the set temperature of 42°C will be boiled only once, especially in winter, after the 30 minutes have passed. It may be too cold, or conversely, in summer, the temperature may be maintained at a temperature that does not require reheating, but from the second time onwards, after each automatic reheating is completed, the calculation When you realize that the predicted temperature drop time tx has passed and the temperature has dropped to 40℃, which is the reheating start temperature! IJ&: At T degree, the next automatic reheating will start, and as a result of this being repeated, we can expect automatic heat retention operation over time to avoid premature reheating or unnecessary reheating as much as possible. I can do it.

Of course, since the first fixed time tc is for actually measuring the temperature drop characteristics as described above, an appropriate compromise time t is used for only this first time.

will be set.

However, in the operation of the present invention as described above, what is decisively different from the conventional example already explained, and is important and superior is that each time the automatic reheating mode is started,
Actual water temperature K from S to set temperature to reheating start temperature. This means that the expected temperature drop time of 1x has been actually measured.

Therefore, when actually installing a system that adopts the method of the present invention in each bath facility, it is necessary to take into account the shape and material of the bathtub used in each bath facility, the bathroom environment, etc. Even if the various variable parameters that greatly influence the reduction characteristics vary, according to the present invention, the expected temperature reduction time 1. Since it is calculated optimally, the actual water temperature before starting reheating will not be greatly affected by variations in parameters for each bath facility, and generally any facility can obtain satisfactory results. .

For example, if we take a general household as an example, as a result of actual measurements, the temperature drop characteristic of a bathtub in a certain household is lomin/l as shown in the previous value.
Therefore, if the reheating start temperature was set to 40°C, which is 2°C lower than the set temperature of 42°C, the expected temperature drop time was calculated to be 20 minutes as described above, whereas a similar Even under the installation conditions, if the temperature drop characteristic of a bathtub in another home is measured to be, for example, 11.8 in/l, the expected temperature drop time in that home is 1. is calculated to be approximately 23 minutes and 36 seconds, and based on this, rice burning will be repeated repeatedly. However, it is a matter of arbitrary design whether to truncate or round to the nearest minute, to round to the nearest ten seconds, or to set the expected temperature drop time 1 precisely to the second.

In addition, even in the same bathtub in the same household, the temperature reduction characteristics vary greatly due to changes in seasons, changes in sunlight, etc., but the method of the present invention can deal with this, so it can be used regardless of the season. Moreover, without increasing the number of times of reheating unnecessarily, it is as if the temperature of the actual water in the bathtub has dropped to the temperature at which reheating should be started.
Automatic reheating is repeated.

Furthermore, according to another aspect of the present invention, if the device also has a function of correcting the expected temperature drop time, a more satisfactory automatic heat retention function can be obtained.

In other words, the expected temperature drop time 1. Actual hot water temperature K in the bathtub after . It is detected whether there is a temperature difference of more than a predetermined size between 1 and the reheating start temperature, and if there is,
-1 to the actual water temperature in the bathtub at the end of the previous reheating or 8 to the set temperature, and then the expected temperature drop time: 1.
The actual water temperature that has a temperature difference between the reheating start temperature and the reheating start temperature. , and the expected temperature drop time 1. Based on the above, estimate the temperature drop time that will be required for the actual hot water temperature to drop again from the set temperature to the reheating start temperature at which reheating should start.1. is recalculated to obtain a new time value t8, and this value 1. The predicted temperature drop time t up to that point is updated. Therefore, it is expected that the operation will be similar to a kind of feedback control, and the time at which the next automatic reheating should start will be corrected according to changes in various conditions over time that occur during the repeated automatic reheating mode. No way.

For example, in the same example as before, initially the expected temperature drop time is 2.
0 minutes, but when the actual water temperature was detected 20 minutes after the end of the previous reheating, reheating should be started.If the paddy temperature is 40℃, the temperature is larger than a predetermined size, e.g. 0.6
If there is a difference in temperature and the actual water temperature is slightly lower at 39.4°C, then the predicted temperature drop time t, = 20 (minutes) used up until then is changed to the time immediately after the previous reheating. Dividing again by the temperature difference of 2.6°C between the actual water temperature or set temperature of 42°C and this 39.4°C, the temperature drop characteristic is calculated to be approximately 7.7 in/l. Expected temperature drop time during which the actual hot water temperature Kn will drop from ℃ to the reheating start temperature of 40t with a predetermined temperature difference ΔKc=2℃ 1. is newly determined to be approximately 15.4 minutes, and this is the new expected temperature drop time of 1. By closing the tub, you can create a condition where the thirst in the bathtub does not get too cold by the time you start reheating the next time.

Of course, in other words, the reheating start temperature is the actual hot water temperature when the expected temperature drop time Lx has elapsed.

If there is no problematic temperature difference, the predicted temperature drop time data used up until then will continue to be used.

In accordance with yet another aspect of the present invention, additional factors that may cause undesirable temperature fluctuations are addressed.

For example, in the hot water supply system shown in FIG. 3, which has already been described in connection with the conventional example, the user can naturally command reheating. The present invention can also be realized as an improvement of the conventional hot water supply system as typified by the example shown in FIG. 3 by using its control device or a built-in microcomputer.

Therefore, it is conceivable that the user himself issues a reheating command while the repeated automatic reheating mode according to the present invention is being executed. In such a case, in one aspect of the present invention, the measurement of the predetermined time tc or the expected temperature drop time t, l that has already occurred is interrupted, and once the reheating operation that occurred in the middle is finished, the measurement is continued. After the end of the measurement, the re-measurement of the time t or t× is started from the point when it is determined that the actual water temperature has reached the set temperature. Actual hot water temperature data and the remeasured time 1c or 1. Based on this, we are recalculating the expected temperature drop time 1x for the next time.

Therefore, it is a "disturbance" for the repeated automatic reheating mode.
Even if there is a reheating operation like this, after that,
The repeated automatic reburning mode of the present invention begins to operate effectively again.

In exactly the same way, as one of the other "disturbances", for a certain period of time tc
Or expected temperature drop time 1. According to another aspect of the present invention, even if a change in the water level in the bathtub is detected during the measurement of , similarly, the measurement of the predetermined time tc or the expected temperature drop time t8 that has already occurred is stopped. The system is then interrupted, and when the change in the water level has calmed down and it is determined that the actual water temperature has reached the set temperature Ks, re-measurement of the time tc or tx is started.
Since the expected temperature drop time t8 for the next time is recalculated from the actual water temperature data before and at the end of the measurement, and the remeasured time tc or 1x, the expected time t8 for the temperature drop for the next time will be calculated after the change in water level subsides. , you can return to the automatic reheating mode repeatedly.

Changes in water level are caused by pouring water, water pouring and draining operations (including when hot water in the bathtub is used for washing), and even people coming out to take a bath.As explained above, pressure sensors By using existing technology, water level changes caused by any of these causes can be detected electrically.
There is no difficulty in implementing the method of the invention according to the embodiments described above.

In addition, among the various aspects of the present invention described above, in the case of following the invention having a function of correcting the expected temperature drop time tx, the temperature drop characteristic changes as the temperature setting is changed by the user. Even if something like this happens, you can automatically deal with it.

This is because, regardless of whether it is a change in the set temperature, if the temperature drop characteristic itself changes as a result,
Since it is no longer possible to automatically start reheating at the appropriate point when the temperature drops to the reheating start temperature using the temperature drop prediction time that was used immediately before, as far as this aspect of the present invention is concerned, the actual water temperature at the end of the previous reheating ( You can update the expected temperature drop time from the current temperature (or the set temperature that has already been changed), the actual water temperature when you try to start automatic reheating, and the previously used expected temperature drop time. It is from.

[Example] Hereinafter, one example of the method of the present invention for automatically keeping the temperature in the bathtub over time will be explained, but in order to facilitate comparison with the conventional method, the method will not be limited. Although not included, the automatic water heater or water supply system to which this embodiment of the present invention is applied is the one shown in FIG. 3, which has already been described in detail with respect to the conventional example. Therefore, the explanation of the automatic water heater or hot water supply system shown in the third diagram will be omitted in the previous section, and the explanation in the explanation of the conventional example listed above will be used, and the symbols of each component will also be included. The symbols given in Fig. 3 are used.

FIG. 1 shows an example of the thermal insulation operation over time achieved by this embodiment in response to thirst in the bathtub, and FIG. 2 shows a flow chart in this embodiment. The following description will be made with reference to both of them, but in particular, in this embodiment, the target automatic warming operation of the hot water in the bathtub is carried out in series with the automatic hot water filling mode already explained with regard to the third illustrated device system. is set to .

First, if the user instructs the empty bathtub 23 to automatically fill with hot water, the microcomputer (not shown) that controls the system shown in the third figure enters the automatic hot water filling mode as shown in the second figure. The flow shown in diagram M2
A program according to the chart is repeatedly executed at a predetermined cycle.

To explain step by step, when the automatic hot water filling mode routine is entered, a determination is made as to whether or not the automatic warming mode is activated.

Here, as will be described later, the keep warm flag has not yet been set, so the determination step is negative and the process moves to the connector (node) ■, which is shown at the top of the second column from the left in Figure 2. Enter the subroutine that is currently in use.

Hereinafter, each column will be numbered from the left. In the subroutine for the second column, it is first determined whether or not reheating is in progress. Naturally, the answer is NO at this point, so next it is determined whether the actual water level (actual water level) in the bath [23] has reached the set water level. This judgment is
As already mentioned, this can be done based on the pressure value (water pressure value) detected by the pressure sensor 26 in FIG. 3, and the applicant is also considering a separate highly accurate method.

Of course, since pouring has not yet started, the answer is NO in this decision step, and the switching solenoid valve 17 in FIG. 3 is opened in the next Yuri step, and the bath a! 23
The operation of pouring hot water into the tank (drying operation) starts.

This water pouring operation or the first drying operation in this case is performed by the water supply temperature sensor 1 in FIG. 3, as already explained.
Water supply temperature data detected by 9, set temperature data that is 8 to the desired hot water temperature specified by the user, hot water heat exchanger 1
The temperature of the hot water actually output through the hot water temperature sensor 2
Based on the outlet hot water temperature data detected at 0, the actual flow rate data detected by the flow rate sensor 28, etc., a microcomputer with a built-in control device ff1l (not shown) calculates the optimum combustion amount, and calculates the optimum combustion amount for the proportional valve 14. Valve opening signal,
Furthermore, by giving an optimal rotational speed signal to the fan 18, combustion is performed in the burner 12 with optimal thermal energy.

Once the pouring operation has started, the microcomputer moves on to the next routine via the connector (2), and each time a predetermined time interval elapses, the program according to the flow chart shown in Figure 2 is executed from the beginning. , the same flow as before is repeated.

Before long, bath a! When the actual water level of the hot water in the tank 23 reaches the set water level, naturally, immediately after that, at the program execution stage according to the second illustrated flow chart, it is determined that the actual water level exceeds the set water level in the judgment step regarding the water level. It is determined that the actual water level on the upper side of the second row is equal to the set water level? Let's move on to the yes-side connector ■ regarding the judgment step number 1.

As shown in the upper part of the third column in Figure 2, the connector ■
In the subsequent processing step, the switching solenoid valve 17 is closed, and the pouring of hot water into the bathtub 23 is stopped, and combustion in the hot water heat exchanger 11 (not shown) is also stopped.

This time corresponds to time T0 in FIG. 1 showing the temporal operation of this embodiment, but in the next processing step, the circulation pump 25 in FIG. 3 is turned on, and as a result,
After the water in the bathtub begins to be forcibly stirred, in the subsequent processing step, when the circulation pump 25 continues to rotate for a certain period of time To, the temperature sensor 27 in FIG. To the actual water temperature, which is the actual water temperature in the bathtub 23. is detected and stored in the #l register. Including this #l register, #2 described below
, #3, when new data arrives, the previously stored data is updated with the new data.

In addition, the actual water temperature is reached after the circulation pump 25 continues to be rotated for a certain period of time or more. The purpose of detecting is to stir the hot water in the bathtub 23 and detect the temperature when the temperature of the hot water becomes uniform everywhere, and the temperature is detected at the time T. may be set arbitrarily, for example, from 20 seconds to 30 seconds. However, hereinafter, for the sake of simplicity, the existence of this stirring time T may be ignored in the explanation; for example, the actual water temperature detected after the time To from time T0 in the above. is treated as the actual hot water temperature at time T0.

After this processing step, the detected and stored actual water temperature Kn(
``The contents of the l register) and the set temperature set by the user are compared in the judgment step, and if the actual water temperature Kn (To) in the bathtub 23 at the end of thirst T is set. If the temperature is higher than S, the process moves from this judgment step to the subroutine on the right via the connector (2).

This flow will be followed later, so I will not continue here, but I will just state the results: What is the actual hot water temperature K11〉 set temperature? As explained above, if the determination step J is YES, it means that there is no need for auxiliary reheating after automatic hot water filling. Therefore, in this case, the relevant time To is This corresponds to the start of automatic reheating mode.

However, in this case, the actual water temperature is determined in the above judgment step. Suppose that it is determined that the temperature Ks is lower than the set temperature Ks. In fact, this is more normal. Even if hot water at a temperature equal to 8 is poured into the bathtub 23 from the hot water supply heat exchanger 11 while monitoring the temperature of the hot water in real time using the hot water temperature sensor 20, at least the tank wall of the bathtub 23 and the bathroom This is because heat radiation from the hot water side of the bathtub to the atmosphere inside the bathtub is unavoidable.

Therefore, in this case, reheating combustion is automatically started in the processing step following the determination step. This reheating combustion itself corresponds to the auxiliary reheating that is performed to bring the water up to the set temperature as the last step in the automatic filling mode, as already explained in connection with the conventional example with reference to Fig. 4. However, this auxiliary reheating operation
Similarly, the reheating heat exchanger 21 heated by the burner 22 is used according to the mechanism already explained with reference to FIG. . The circulation pump 25 continues to be rotated since the time of detection and storage.

In addition, the actual water level mentioned above is the set water level? What is the judgment step and the actual hot water temperature Kn〉 set temperature? The inequality sign “〉” is used in the judgment step 1, but in principle it could also be “≧” which includes the equality sign, but in practice, such a judgment is often made, and so There is no problem.As is well known, microcomputer programs generally run at extremely high speeds, so in the immediately previous judgment, for example, the actual water level is judged to be less than or below the set water level, and the next judgment is made to change the actual water level. This is because if it is determined that the water has exceeded the set water level, the latter judgment will act on the control system, and even if the hot water pouring is stopped, the water level of the hot water poured into the bathtub will remain almost the same as the set water level. . The exact same thing can be said about temperature judgment.

In any case, when auxiliary reheating, which is the last step of automatic hot water refilling mode, starts as described above, the program according to the flow chart in Figure 2 determines whether automatic hot water heating mode is active or not during the main routine. After determining no in the judgment of , the judgment step at the head of the subroutine in the second column determines whether or not reheating is in progress, and this time it is judged as yes and flows to the connector ■ side, and the process is executed again. Hot water temperature K. The process passes through the step of determining the set temperature, and as a result of the first determination being NO, the process returns to the next routine B, and the process is repeated.

Eventually, as shown at time T in Figure 1, as a result of continued auxiliary reheating, the water temperature reaches the actual temperature. exceeds the set temperature (in reality, it is almost the same temperature for the reason mentioned above), the judgment step regarding those two temperatures immediately after that is judged as YES, and the sub-temperature in the fourth column is passed through the connector ■. Move on to the routine.

In such a case, the above-mentioned time point T1 substantially corresponds to the start of the repeated automatic reheating mode, but in the fourth row subroutine, first, the circulation pump 25 is stopped and the However, the auxiliary reheating combustion using the burner 22 and the reheating heat exchanger 21 also ends here.

At this time, in the illustrated embodiment, the actual hot water temperature Kn is detected again and stored in the #2 register. That is, the temperature data stored in this #2 register becomes n(TI), which is the actual hot water temperature at T when the repeated automatic reheating mode starts.

After detecting the actual water temperature of 1 l (TI) at time T, a step begins to determine whether or not the timer is counting up.As will be described in detail later, this timer is It is a conceptual member for measuring a fixed time tc or a time Tx determined as a result of calculation, and is actually constructed by software processing using a microcomputer. However, in this embodiment, when the time tn is set to a certain value, the timer starts counting down from that time, and when it counts up, it holds the reset value "0" until the next time it is set. Since we are considering the type, in the judgment step here, the timer is in a state equivalent to the trunk when it has counted up.

Therefore, in this judgment step, YES is selected, and in the next judgment step, it is judged whether or not the automatic warming mode is currently in effect. At this point, the automatic warming mode has not yet been entered, so the flow goes to "No" and the following three processes are performed in the following processing steps.

One is the setting of a keep-warm flag, and after this keep-warm flag is set, the system is considered to have entered the automatic keep-warm mode.

The other is the data content of the #2 register already stored above, that is, the actual hot water temperature data K at the end of the automatic hot water filling mode. (T,) to the #3 register. If auxiliary reheating is not necessary,
Substantially time T in FIG. and time iIJ T + can be considered to be the same time, and in that case, the actual hot water temperature data transferred to register #3 is at this time T + (-To).
The actual hot water temperature Kn(T+) is.

The last step is to set the timer time 1n to a predetermined constant time 1c. This fixed time can be set arbitrarily, for example, 15 minutes or 30 minutes, and this initial fixed time 1c will change every time the automatic keep warm mode starts unless you intentionally change the setting. It will not be done.

When tll=Itc is set in the timer, the timer starts counting down the specified time tc from this point, but after this processing step, the flow chart shown in FIG. Returning to the top, this time the determination step as to whether or not the automatic warming mode is in effect is determined to be yes, so the process continues directly downward through this main routine.

This series of flows includes whether or not molten metal is being poured, whether or not water is being poured, whether or not it is being reheated, whether or not a molten metal pouring request has been made, and whether a water pouring request has been made. There are steps to determine whether or not a reheating request has been made, but as will be shown later, these are all considered "disturbances" for the automatic reheating mode that occurs during the automatic keep warm mode. If YES is selected at each judgment step to take countermeasures, the optimal processing will be performed for each step. Since only the reheating mode will be explained, it is assumed that there are no such disturbances.

Therefore, following the step of determining whether the automatic keep warm mode is present, the determination of whether the timer has counted up is repeated, as shown at the bottom of the main routine, and eventually , as shown by time T2 in FIG. 1, a certain period of time t after the timer is activated. When the timer reaches 1c, it is determined that the timer has counted up, and the process jumps into the middle of the subroutine on the upper side of the third column via the connector (2), where the circulation pump 25 is turned on again.

This is for the same reason as mentioned above, and is done in order to forcibly stir the hot water in the bathtub 23 for a certain period of time or more, although it can be done for a relatively short time of about 20 to 30 seconds, to equalize the water temperature. After that, the temperature sensor 27 measures the actual temperature of the water in the bathtub 23 at that time. is detected, and the actual water temperature at this time T2 is determined. (T,) is stored in the #l register.

This #l register previously contains the time T immediately before the start of auxiliary reheating. -(To) was stored in the actual hot water temperature data at this time, but at this point the contents have changed to the actual hot water temperature data. As a result of being updated to (T,), it is essentially erased.

Following the above processing step, again in the judgment step, is r the actual hot water temperature, l > the set temperature? A judgment J is made. Naturally, at time T2, when a predetermined time tc or more has elapsed since the automatic hot water filling was completed, the actual hot water temperature has cooled down, so the answer to this judgment step is generally no.

The result of such judgment is the time T in Figure 1.
As shown in Figure 2 and later, reheating combustion is started again, and then the microcomputer returns to the beginning of the flow chart shown in Figure 2 to determine whether or not it is in the automatic warming mode. As a result, since it is already in the automatic keep warm mode, it is judged as YES.Next, even if there is no other disturbance, it is already in the reheating mode, so the first step is to determine whether or not the reheating is in progress. It determines that the water is being heated, and in the middle of the subroutine on the upper side of the third row via the connector ■, it melts and becomes the actual temperature of the water. It is determined whether or not the set temperature exceeds 5.

This routine is the same as described above, and of course it will continue to be judged as no until the water boils, but as shown at time T in FIG. , when the temperature reaches the set temperature, S
At the comparative judgment step, the flow shifted to Jesus' side,
Move to the subroutine in the fourth column on the right via the connector ■.

Here, first, the circulation pump 25 is stopped, and after the reheating operation is completed, nTT3) is detected as the actual hot water temperature at this time T via the temperature sensor 27, and this is stored in the register.

Next, as will be described later, in order to distinguish whether the various disturbance operations have ended or the timer has counted up, it is detected whether the timer has counted up or not. Since this is the operation after counting up, it moves to the YES side, and in the same way, it is again asked whether or not it is currently in the keep warm mode, and since it is YES here as well, the , go to the subroutine shown in the fifth column on the far right.

Here, first, the difference ΔK11 between the actual hot water temperature data n ("3) stored in the #3 register and the actual hot water temperature data K. (#1) stored in the town register is taken.

However, at this point, the actual hot water temperature data K is stored in register 13. (3) is the actual hot water temperature data xn (Tl) at time T when the auxiliary reheating ends and the repeated automatic reheating mode starts in Fig. 1, and this is approximately equal to the set temperature of 8. On the other hand, in the actual hot water temperature data stored in the Lujistar, ('l) is the constant time tn=tc set in the timer from T1 at the start of the repeated automatic reheating mode. Actual hot water temperature data K. (T, ) at time T2 after passing.

Therefore, the value we are looking for here, Δ, = . C#3) - to. (1■) means ΔK11=Kn(Tl) -Kn(Tl), which means that, as shown in Figure 1, the boiling temperature will reach the set temperature at time T. bathtub 2
At time T, when the hot water in 3 has passed a predetermined period of time tc, it shows how much the temperature has decreased. t. =jc is, for example, 30 minutes, and if the hot water in the bathtub 23 is 39°C at time T after 30 minutes, ΔKn is determined to be 3°C in the above.

On the other hand, in the present invention, the temperature K at which reheating should be started.

It has also been set. For example, this is a range within which it is acceptable even if the actual water temperature drops, and there is no need to reheat the water.In other words, when the temperature drops below this temperature, it is automatically This is the temperature at which reheating should be started, and the set temperature can be set to a temperature that is lower by a predetermined temperature difference ΔKe than S, for example, ΔKc=2°C. In this case, the set temperature is 5=42°C, and the starting temperature is 40°C.

However, in FIG. 2, after the step of calculating the temperature drop ΔKn of the hot water that has decreased during a certain period of time tc, the calculated temperature difference Δ. becomes a predetermined temperature difference Δ. It is detected whether it is equal to or not.

However, as schematically shown in Figure 1, this time T
The fact that the actual hot water temperature in 2 happens to be equal to the reheating start temperature is unlikely unless it is a coincidence that all the culms are in the same state, and it is generally either low or high (low in the case shown), and Even if this coincidence occurs, such a coincidence will be tolerated by the operation described later, and automatic reheating will still continue. To the temperature of the water. (T1)
If it is determined that the temperature difference ΔKn between the actual water temperature and (Tl) is not equal to the predetermined allowable temperature difference Δ, and the next processing step is 8, then the actual water temperature in the bathtub 23 will be determined. temperature drop AKn and timer time t. From this, the temperature decrease characteristic tn/Jxn over time is calculated.

At this point, the timer time 1n is a constant time t.

If this is, for example, 30 minutes, the actual water temperature decreases ΔK from time T to time T2.

is determined to be, for example, 3°C as described above, the temperature drop characteristic Ln/JKn is calculated by dividing the 30 minutes by 3°C and calculating 10
It can be calculated as sin/°C.

However, in order to know the characteristics that are in this reciprocal relationship, that is, how many degrees Celsius the actual water temperature drops per unit time,
A temperature drop characteristic value of 0.1° C./lin may be obtained by dividing Δ=3° C. by the timer time jn′=tC=30 (minutes).

After this processing step, the actual water temperature reaches the set temperature The expected time t for the temperature to decrease until the temperature is lower (40°C in the above example) by the temperature difference AKe (also 2°C in this example).

is calculated.

In this case, the simplest way to apply proportional calculation is to use the predetermined temperature difference ΔKc as the temperature drop characteristic value 1n/Δ calculated based on the actual measured value above. All you have to do is multiply
In the above numerical example, the temperature drop characteristic value t is for AKc=2°C. / to Δ. = 10 min/l: Multiply (
Or 1Ke=2℃ is the temperature reduction characteristic value AKll/1r
The expected temperature drop time tx can be easily determined to be 20 minutes.

In this way, if we calculate the expected temperature drop time tx until the next time T4 when reheating should be started, it is already '3'.
Actual hot water temperature data Kn (at time T, which was in the register)
TI) is no longer necessary, so in the next processing step, in order to perform true correction processing for the expected temperature drop that may be required next time, the first reheating end time stored in the '2 register is used. For the actual water temperature data at T, (T3) is transferred to this #3 register, and while the #2 register is left essentially empty (a state that can be rewritten),
As a parallel operation, the calculated temperature drop expected time b+ is set in a timer.

However, if, by chance, the actual temperature difference AK, , becomes equal to the predetermined temperature difference AKe after the first fixed time tc has elapsed, then the decision in the above judgment step will be YES. Based on the judgment, the process jumps directly to the processing step via the connector [phase] in the rightmost subroutine in FIG. 1Actual hot water temperature data at JT3. (T,) is transferred to this #3 register, leaving the reregister in a substantially empty state, and in parallel, the constant time tc is converted into the expected temperature drop time 1 calculated as above. ．． This time tc is treated as tx and set in the timer. Of course, this is fine. Expected temperature drop time required for the actual hot water temperature Kn to drop from S to the set temperature by ΔKc1. However, this happens to be the same as the predetermined time tc in this case.

After this, the timer starts the corresponding time 1n=1. As a result of the microcomputer executing the program at high speed, this time actually starts as shown in Figure 1.
It can be considered that this time is approximately equal to the time T when the first automatic reheating was completed.

Next, when returning to the beginning of the flow chart shown in Figure 2 from the connector ■, the determination step of whether or not the automatic warming mode is in is determined to be YES, and the flow continues straight down through the main routine. However, if various disturbances are ignored as before, it is repeatedly determined from time T whether or not the timer has counted up.

Then, as indicated by time T4 in FIG. 1, a certain period of time t elapses after the timer is activated. =1. When , it is determined that the timer has counted up, and the circulation pump 25 is turned on again at 89 in the middle of the subroutine on the upper side of the third row via the connector (3).

Thereafter, the temperature sensor 27 detects I, (T4) as the actual hot water temperature in r6 [23 after a certain period of time T has passed, and stores this in #Lujistar. Until then, this #Lujistar had stored the actual hot water temperature Kn (T2) at time T2, but this was no longer necessary, and at this point the actual hot water temperature at time T4 was stored n( As a result of being rewritten to T4), the data is substantially erased.

Following the above processing step, again in the judgment step, t is the actual hot water temperature, , > is the set temperature s? A judgment J is made. Naturally, the actual hot water temperature has cooled down at time T4, after the expected temperature drop time has elapsed since the automatic hot water filling was completed, so the answer to this judgment step is generally no.

The result of such judgment is the time T in Figure 1.
As shown in Figure 4 and later, the reheating combustion is started again, and then the microcomputer returns to the beginning of the flow chart shown in Figure 2 to determine whether or not it is in the automatic warming mode. As a result, since it is already in automatic warming mode, it is judged as YES.Next, even if there is no other disturbance, it is already in reheating mode, so the step of determining whether or not reheating is in progress is performed. After determining that the water is being heated, the process moves to the middle of the sub-routine on the upper side of the third row via the connector ■, and the actual water temperature K is determined. is the set temperature K.

It is determined whether or not the limit has been exceeded.

This routine is the same as described above, and of course it continues to be judged as no until the water boils, but as shown at time T in FIG. 1, the actual temperature of the water in the bathtub 23 1 reaches the set temperature, it becomes the actual water temperature in the subroutine in the upper part of the third column in Figure 2 above. vs. set temperature,
At the comparative judgment step, I switched to Jesus' side,
Move to the subroutine in the fourth column on the right via the connector ■.

At this point, the circulation pump 25 is stopped, and after reheating is completed, the actual hot water temperature at time T5 is determined via the temperature sensor 27. (
T,) is detected and stored in register 9.

Next, as will be described later, in order to distinguish whether the various disturbance operations have ended or the timer has counted up, it is detected whether the timer has counted up or not. Since this is the operation after counting up, it moves to the YES side, and in the same way, it is again asked whether or not it is currently in the keep warm mode, and since it is YES here as well, the , moves to the subroutine shown in the fifth column on the far right.

Here again, the actual hot water temperature data K stored in the '3 register. The difference AKn between (#3) and ("l) is taken from the actual hot water temperature data stored in #Lujistar.

However, at this point, the actual hot water temperature data K is stored in register #3. (#3) is the actual hot water temperature data at time T, when the first reheating after entering the repeated automatic reheating mode was completed in Fig. 1. (T,), which can be considered to be approximately equal to the set temperature of 8, and on the other hand,
n('l) in the actual hot water temperature data stored in the town register
is the expected temperature drop time set in the timer from time T3. =1. This is the actual hot water temperature data Kn (T4) at time T4 after .

Therefore, the value we are looking for here, Δ, = K, l('3) -8,('l), is Δ. = 1 liter (T3) - 1 liter (74), which means that, as shown in Figure 1, the first automatic reheating will cause the set temperature to reach 5 liters at time T.
At time T4, when a predetermined expected temperature drop time tX has elapsed, the temperature in the bathtub 23 has actually decreased by how much.

Then, check whether the predicted temperature drop time 1° obtained earlier is correct, or whether the temperature drop characteristic 1n/ΔK obtained previously is correct. If there is no change in the rate of decrease in the actual hot water temperature with respect to the value of Estimated temperature drop time tx based on temperature drop characteristic value
The actual hot water temperature at time T4 after a time interval of 20 minutes (T4) is a temperature that is lower than the set temperature of 42°C by a predetermined temperature difference ΔKc = 2°C, that is, the predetermined reheating temperature. The starting temperature should be = 40°C.

And, since the probability of this happening is sufficiently high, if it is, in fact, the next step is ``to Δ.=
to Δ. ? '' (it is of course possible to set some tolerance in advance as the range to be considered equal), and in the rightmost subroutine in Figure 2, the connector [ [Phase] After jumping to the step connected by the same phase and transferring the contents of the re-register to the 13th register, the timer is again set to the same expected temperature drop time 1 as before, and then the sequence of operations described above is repeated. As shown in Figure 1, especially in the case of winter, the temperature is low and the expected time is 1. Automatic reheating in the repeated automatic reheating mode starts again at time T6, which has passed, and after that automatic reheating ends at time T, the timer is counted again as the expected temperature drop time tX is set.・When the down starts, the relevant time 1. The next automatic reheating starts at count-up time T8, and so on, and as a result, the actual hot water temperature Kr in Yu4!23 becomes as shown by the solid line in Figure 1. It shows a temperature history and is automatically kept warm within a temperature difference Δ, which is a predetermined allowable temperature drop range.

On the other hand, as shown by the temperature history characteristic of the virtual line after time T5 in FIG. Estimated temperature drop time used up to 1. Then, after the relevant time has passed (for example, time Tl1), the actual water temperature is reached. is the reheating start temperature, and the temperature difference is outside the allowable range (in Fig. 1, this is indicated by the symbol ΔK.゛ for distinction).
, rΔK when the program is executed according to the rightmost subroutine in FIG. =JK...? No is determined at the decision step J.

Then, the processing steps that had previously been skipped via the connector [stock] and [phase] become effective, and the latest temperature difference Δ at that time is added to l (ΔKn'' in Figure 1) and 5. From the timer time tn that caused this temperature difference (timer time 1n = 1., which was used until then, tn = tc in some cases), we can again calculate the temperature drop characteristic t./AKn (as mentioned above). You can also use the inverse of this value, but from now on, for simplicity,
(using this drop time value per unit temperature) is calculated.

In the above specific numerical example, the expected temperature drop time tIl=
Until then, tx has been set as 20 minutes, and when the time is counted up, the actual water temperature is K. should have been 40°C, but as shown at time T6 in Figure 1,
Immediately before reheating starts, the actual hot water temperature l (76) is 39.4°C with respect to the set temperature 5 = 42°C, and the temperature difference lK11' between them is larger than the predetermined temperature difference ΔXc = 2°C. If the temperature is 2.6°C, in this processing step, the predicted temperature reduction time used up to that point is again set to 1.6°C. Divide 20 minutes by this temperature difference of 2.6℃,
The temperature drop characteristic value is newly determined to be approximately 7.7 win/l.

Next, based on this newly determined temperature drop characteristic value, determine how long it takes for the actual hot water temperature Kn to drop from the set temperature of 42°C to the reheating start temperature of 40°C with a predetermined temperature difference ΔKe = 2°C. The expected temperature drop time 1 is determined to be approximately 15.4 minutes.

After that, the actual hot water temperature data at time T7, which is currently in the #2 register, is transferred to the register, and the time 1n is newly calculated as the predicted temperature drop time tx.
(Indicated as tx+ in Fig. 1 for distinction) After setting, the process goes to the next routine B.

After that, as is clear from following the flow chart described above, the sequence will be the same, and it will simply be
For example, 20 minutes, which is the expected temperature drop time tx up to now, has been newly calculated and recalculated as shown in the actual hot water temperature history characteristic from time T to time T6° by the virtual line in Figure 341. , for example, for 15.4 minutes, to maintain the set temperature as much as possible within the predetermined allowable temperature drop range Δ.
K. It will automatically keep you warm while protecting you.

Of course, to put the above in another way, the expected temperature drop time is 1. Toginomi hot water temperature Kn after passing
If there is no problematic temperature difference, continue using the previously used predicted temperature drop time data 1. will continue to be used as the latest temperature drop forecast time data, and the luck difference JK shown schematically in Figure 1 will continue to be used as is.
Unlike n°, if the actual hot water temperature has not reached the reheating start temperature after the expected temperature drop time tx that was used until the previous time, the temperature will be changed by the same recalculation process as above. The expected decline time x° is recalculated to a new longer time.

This embodiment is thus an embodiment that satisfies the second term of the claims of the present application. However, first, for the installed bathtub or bathtub conditions, the actual water temperature data immediately after the start of reheating and the actual water temperature data after a certain period of time 1c have passed, and these data and the certain period of time are compared. After calculating the expected temperature drop time t8, if there is no problem in continuing to use it or if it is permissible, as is clear, in the above embodiment, the required timer time 1 after the certain time 1c has elapsed. ．． If you have calculated - times, from now on, this time 1. You can simply memorize it and turn it into a flow chart that you can continue to use, making it much easier. In such a case, the embodiment basically satisfies only the first claim of the claims of the present application.

Although not shown, a time limit may be set for the repeated automatic reheating mode in the embodiment of the present invention described above from the start, for example, a time limit of 4 from the start.
After a certain period of time (this is just an example), a new automatic reheating operation cannot be started, or a limit is set on the maximum number of times automatic reheating can be repeated, and automatic reheating is not performed more than a predetermined number of times. You can also configure it so that it can be reset without having to do so.

This works effectively in cases where you forget to turn off the hot water system even though everyone in your family has finished taking a bath. However, on the other hand, as facilities such as golf course bathhouses, dormitories, and inns allow you to take a bath at any time, and with the recent luxuries in ordinary households, such time or number limit functions are no longer available. In many cases, it is no longer necessary to provide such a restrictive function, so whether or not to add such a restrictive function can be left to the user's request.

However, the embodiment of the present invention shown in the flowchart shown in the second figure provides an example for this type of automatic hot water supply system that is responsive to more practical requirements or added value as a product in a different sense. It shows.

For example, in Figure 2, the main line shown in the leftmost column
During the routine, due to a change in the set temperature, etc., the first
Estimated temperature drop time 1, such as between time T3 and T4 in the figure.
Suppose that a request for reheating is made during measurement of .

Then, the judgment of YES in this judgment step is transferred to the middle of the subroutine on the upper side of the third row via the connector (■), where the circulation pump 25 is turned on, and after a certain period of time T, the temperature sensor 27 detects , 0 is detected as the actual water temperature in the bathtub 23 at this time, and this is stored in the register.

Following the above processing step, again in the judgment step, the actual water temperature is determined as > set temperature tfiI? A judgment J is made.

Naturally, since reheating is required, the result of this determination is no, resulting in the initiation of reheating combustion, as shown in the following process steps.

When this happens, the process returns to the beginning of the flowchart shown in the second diagram, and as a result of the judgment as to whether or not it is in the automatic keep-warm mode, it is determined to be yes since the automatic keep-warm mode is already in effect, and then,
Even if there is no other disturbance, reheating is already in progress, so in the step of determining whether or not reheating is in progress, it is determined that reheating is in progress, and the Move to the middle of the upper sub-routine and check the actual water temperature. It is determined whether or not the set temperature exceeds 5.

This routine is the same as explained above, and of course it will continue to be judged as no until the water boils, but eventually, as a result of this reheating, the actual temperature of the water in the bath 41!23 will change. When the temperature reaches the set temperature, the flow shifts to the yes side in the comparison judgment step of 1 vs. set temperature S to the actual water temperature in the subroutine at the top of the third row in Figure 2 above, and the connector ■ B to the subroutine in the fourth column on the right.

After the circulation pump 25 is stopped and reheating is completed, the actual hot water temperature Kn at this time is detected via the temperature sensor 27 and stored in the register.

Next, as will be described later, in order to distinguish whether the various disturbance operations have ended or whether the timer has counted up, it is again detected whether or not the timer has counted up. Then, of course, the timer counts and
Since it is down, proceed to NO via the connector [phase], jump into the middle of the 5th column (rightmost column) in Figure 2, and record the actual water temperature data at the end of reheating. from#
After being moved to register 3, a new timer time 1n=1X is set for the timer.

In other words, after the timer's timing operation is interrupted due to the reheating, the counting starts when it is determined that the actual water temperature has reached the set temperature after the reheating ends. This means that a new measurement has been started for the same time tx as the timer time that was being used.

After this, when we return to the beginning of the second illustrated flow chart, we are again asked whether or not we are currently in automatic keep warm mode.The answer is yes, so we proceed down through the main routine and the timer starts counting.・A question is asked as to whether it has been uploaded or not, and this judgment operation is repeated at a predetermined period thereafter.

Eventually, when the timer counts up, the process moves from this judgment step to the middle of the third row upper subroutine via the connector (2), where the circulation pump 25 is turned on again, and after a certain period of time To has elapsed, The temperature sensor 27 determines the actual temperature of the water in the bathtub 23 at this time.

is detected and stored in the #l register.

Following the above processing step, a determination is made again in the judgment step that ``Actual hot water temperature Kn > set temperature? The answer in this decision step will generally be no since it has cooled down, which will cause the start of reheating again in the next processing step, and then
The microcomputer returns to the beginning of the flow chart shown in the second figure and determines whether or not it is in the automatic warming mode.As the result is that the microcomputer is already in the automatic warming mode, it determines yes, and then, even if there is no other disturbance, Here, reheating is already in progress, so in the step of determining whether or not reheating is in progress, it is determined that reheating is in progress, and the subroutine on the upper side of the third column via connector ■ is executed. It is determined whether the actual hot water temperature Kn exceeds the set temperature by 5 or not.

This routine is the same as explained several times before, and of course it will continue to be judged as no until the water boils, but the actual temperature of the water in the bathtub 23. When the temperature reaches the set temperature S, the actual water temperature K in the subroutine on the upper side of the third row in FIG. In the step of comparing and determining the set temperature Ks, the flow shifts to the YES side, and moves to the subroutine in the fourth column on the right via the connector .

Here, the circulation pump 25 is stopped, and after the reheating period ends, the actual hot water temperature KI is detected via the temperature sensor 27, and this is stored in the #2 register.

Next, as will be described later, in order to distinguish whether the various disturbance operations have ended or whether the timer has counted up, it is detected whether the timer has counted up or not. This is the operation after the timer started counting up, so it goes to the YES side, and in the same way, it is again asked whether it is currently in the keep warm mode, and since it is YES here too, via the connector ■, The process moves to the subroutine shown at the rightmost end in FIG.

Here again, the difference Δ between the actual hot water temperature data K11 ("3) stored in the #3 register and the actual hot water temperature data rl (#1) stored in the 'l register is taken. .

However, at this point, the actual water temperature data stored in register #3. (#3) is the actual hot water temperature just before the newly started timer starts or the actual hot water temperature after reheating, which is almost the set temperature.

On the other hand, the actual hot water temperature data Kn ('1) stored in the 'l register is equal to the expected temperature drop time t set in the restarted timer. =
=Actual hot water temperature data at time T4 after t× has elapsed. It is.

Therefore, even if the set temperature changes, if there is no change in the temperature drop characteristics, the value sought here, ΔK. = K, ('3) -K. It is quite possible that (#l) is equal to the predetermined temperature difference ΔKe, and in that case, the process jumps to the next processing step via the connector [phase], and the contents of register #2 are transferred to register 6. After that, set the timer again for the same expected temperature drop time as before. is set,
Thereafter, the sequence of operations returns to exactly the same as in the automatic reheating mode with no disturbance as described above.

On the other hand, as a result of changing the set temperature by 8, the temperature drop characteristic of the hot water in the bathtub 23 changes to 1.7Δ, and as a result, the expected temperature drop time tx that has been used so far does not change after the elapse of that time. When the actual hot water temperature Kn shows a temperature difference between the reheating start temperature and the allowable range ΔKc, the second
In the figure, when the program is executed according to the rightmost subroutine, 'AKc=ΔM,? No is determined at the decision step J.

Then, the processing steps that were skipped via the connectors [phase] and [phase] in the above become effective, and the latest temperature difference ΔKo at that time and the timer time t that caused this temperature difference are calculated.
As a result, the temperature reduction characteristic t is again determined. / to Δ. is calculated, and based on this newly determined temperature drop characteristic value, the expected temperature drop time 1. is re-required.

After that, the actual hot water temperature data stored in the register at this time is transferred to the #3 register, and the time tn is set to the newly calculated predicted temperature drop time 1. After setting to
Move on to the next routine.

After that, as is clear from following the flow chart described above, the sequence of operations that are exactly the same as those in the repeated automatic reheating mode when there is no disturbance is repeated, and the desired automatic heat retention is achieved. .

Next, we will consider the case where, for example, the user changes the set water level and wants to pour hot water, or the case where the controller or microcomputer in the hot water supply system commands hot water pouring in a mode in which the set water level is automatically maintained. .

In this case, first, during the main routine shown in the leftmost column in Figure 2, it is determined whether or not a pouring request has been issued since the automatic warming mode was entered. , and enters B in the middle of the subroutine on the upper side of the second column via the connector .

Here, it is determined whether the actual water level exceeds the set water level or not, and if the condition is suitable for issuing a pouring request, that is, if the actual water level has not reached the set water level, it is determined no and the state shown in Figure 1 is determined. The switching solenoid valve 17 is opened, and hot water whose outlet temperature is controlled to meet the set temperature is supplied into the bathtub 23 via the heat exchanger 11 by the hot water tapping operation described above.

When the pouring operation starts in this way, in the next execution cycle of the flow chart shown in the second figure, a determination step r is pouring in progress? ”, the result is YES, and the actual water level is judged again as to whether it is high or low relative to the set water level, and this process is repeated.

Eventually, when it is determined that the actual water level has exceeded the set water level, the process moves from the judgment step to the third row upper subroutine via the connector (2), and after the switching solenoid valve 17 is closed, the circulation pump 25 is turned on. It is turned on, and after the effective stirring time To in the bathtub for detecting the actual water temperature described above has elapsed, the actual water temperature is reached. is detected and stored in the #l register.

This is followed by the actual hot water temperature K. It is determined whether or not there are only 5 in the set temperature, and if there is not, reheating continues according to the sequence already explained, and if there is, the subroutine from the connector ■ to the fourth column is reached. In any case, as is clear from the flow chart shown in Figure 2, the subsequent operation is a reheating operation midway through the timer countdown, as mentioned earlier as one of the disturbances. The response is exactly the same as when a disturbance occurs, and ultimately the sequence of operations returns to exactly the same as in the repeated automatic reheating mode when there is no disturbance.

Therefore, in this embodiment, when a water level change called pouring is detected, the timer count is interrupted, and after the pouring operation is finished, the timer starts counting from the point when it is determined that the actual hot water temperature has reached 5 and the set temperature has reached 5. It will be restarted. This also applies to the water injection operation, which is another factor that causes water level changes and is also one of the other disturbances in the repeated automatic reheating mode of the present invention.

However, there are some differences between the pouring operation and the water pouring operation, although these are not directly related to the present invention, so I will mainly explain these parts below. In this case, this is equivalent to the action of filling the hot water with water, that is, issuing a water injection request, so the microcomputer performs the main routine in the flow chart shown in the second figure. When the program is executed, as a result of the step of determining whether or not the water injection request has been issued, the process goes to the subroutine at the bottom of the second column via the connector ■, and here, through a series of processing steps, The amount of water required to fill the hot water to the set temperature S is calculated.

First, let's look at the actual water temperature at this time. is taken in, and then the actual water amount Qn, which is the current total amount of hot water in the bathtub 23, is detected. As already mentioned regarding the conventional example, the detected value of the pressure sensor 26 is based not only on the actual water level data but also on the integrated flow rate based on the flow rate value obtained from the flow rate sensor 28 when learning the initial shape of the bathtub. Zuko, by then it's time to take a bath! 23
You can also know the amount of hot water required to pour into the tank.

On the other hand, since the set temperature is naturally known, if
As a result of the user performing an operation such as lowering 8 to the set temperature, the fruit temperature becomes higher than the set temperature,
If it is really necessary to fill the water with water, the temperature of the water that can be supplied at this time can be detected by the water supply temperature sensor 19, so the additional amount of water required to lower the actual hot water temperature Kn to the set temperature Ks ( The water injection amount) QP can be easily determined as, for example, QP=Qll.(ni.-ni.s)/(xi-KC). The set temperature Ks is the actual water temperature K. If it is higher, the above required water injection amount Qp will be a negative value,
Although not shown, a flow for ignoring the water injection request may of course be incorporated in that case, and if this is done, the repeated automatic reheating mode shown below will not be interrupted.

However, since the water injection amount Qp is generally obtained as a significant positive value, the switching solenoid valve 17 in FIG. 1 is then opened and the water injection operation is started. Of course, at this time, the burner 12 is not ignited, and the heat exchanger 11 simply becomes a water flow path.

When the water injection operation starts, the answer to the step of determining whether or not water is being poured in the main routine in Figure 2 becomes YES, and the process moves to the subroutine in the third column below via the connector ■, and performs the calculation. It is repeatedly detected whether water equal to the set fHp has already been supplied. Of course, data from the flow rate sensor 28 may be integrated and used for this purpose, or data regarding the pressure sensor 26 may be used.

Eventually, when the set amount of water has been injected, the determination step leads to the subroutine on the upper side of the third row via connector (2), and after the switching solenoid valve 17 is closed, the circulation pump 25 is turned on. The stirring time T in the bathtub is effective for detecting the actual water temperature as described above. After that, the actual water temperature is K. is detected and this is #
stored in the l register.

Following this, it is determined whether the actual hot water temperature Kn is much higher than the set temperature, and if not, reheating continues according to the sequence already explained, and if it is, the connector Moving on to the subroutine in the column, in any case, as is clear from the flow chart shown in the second figure, the operations from this point onwards will occur in the case where the above-mentioned reheating occurs as one of the disturbances. , the response is exactly the same as the response to the pouring operation, and ultimately the sequence of operations returns to exactly the same as in the repeated automatic reheating mode when there is no disturbance.

Therefore, in this embodiment, even if a change in the water level is detected, the timer is stopped counting, and the timer is restarted from the time when it is determined that the actual hot water temperature K11 has reached the set temperature Ks after the water filling operation ends. There will be.

In exactly the same way, if necessary, changes in water level due to other causes, such as changes in water level due to a person taking a bath, or conversely, changes in water level due to a person leaving the bathtub, are also detected by the pressure sensor 26 in Fig. 1. Therefore, if we consider these as disturbances for the repeated automatic reheating mode of the present invention, we can interrupt the timer measurement when these disturbances occur, and restart reheating after such disturbances have ended. If the timer is restarted when it is determined that the actual water temperature has reached the set temperature as a result of combustion, etc., it is possible to expect an automatic heat-retaining operation that is resistant to other disturbances.

The embodiments of the present invention have been described in detail above, and it can be seen that according to the present invention, very desirable results can be obtained with regard to the automatic warming operation, particularly regarding the reheating cycle of automatic reheating.

Each time you start automatic warming mode, and ultimately each time you start using a bath every day, estimate the temperature drop that will be required for the temperature in the bathtub currently in use to drop from the set temperature to the reheating starting temperature. Since the time is calculated and automatic reheating is repeated based on this calculated time, as mentioned at the beginning, there are various factors that affect the temperature drop characteristics of the hot water in the bathtub for each bath facility. However, even if the heating is different, reheating can be performed at the optimum repetition rate for the facility, greatly increasing the degree of freedom in installing the hot water system.

In addition, even if the bath facility is the same, for example, as shown in Figure 1, there is a typical change in winter (Figure A) and summer (Figure B). Expected temperature drop time calculated for each day 1. is automatically shorter in summer than in winter, and conversely, in summer it is automatically longer than in winter.

Therefore, if the automatic reheating repetition cycle is optimally fixed and set according to a certain season amid seasonal fluctuations, as in the past, the actual water temperature may cool down before reheating starts due to seasonal changes. You can avoid the problem of starting reheating just because the set time has arrived, even though the temperature has passed or the temperature has not yet cooled enough to require reheating. Harvest rice.

Furthermore, as shown in the above-mentioned preferred embodiment, according to an embodiment in which the predicted past temperature drop time determined by calculation can also be updated to a more appropriate time value, it is possible to update the predicted time of temperature drop in the past to a more appropriate time value. This makes it possible to deal with cases where there is a change in the temperature reduction characteristics of the hot water in the bathtub.

Modifications to the above-described embodiments of the present invention are made by taking various considerations into consideration.For example, at the end of each reheating operation, the actual water temperature K in the above-mentioned embodiments.

However, each reheating operation ends when it is determined that the actual water temperature has reached the set temperature of 5, so in reality, the actual water temperature K at the end of this reheating is . If it is within a range that can be considered to be equal to the set temperature, the actual hot water temperature is used in each judgment step and calculation step in the flow chart in FIG. may be replaced with the set temperature, but in the case of the second illustrated flow chart, it would be more reasonable to have the actual water temperature detected at the end of reheating. can. Further, as a matter of course, the automatic warming mode may be forcibly terminated by a user's command.

Furthermore, in the above embodiment, at the temperature at which reheating should start,
is defined as a temperature with a predetermined temperature difference from 8 to the set temperature, but the reheating start temperature may also be given as an absolute value for each specific value of the set temperature. In that case, depending on the value of the set temperature, the predetermined temperature difference Δ will be reached. may change, so when building a system that can update the expected temperature drop time, the temperature difference AKn between the actual hot water temperature Kn that has actually dropped from 3 to the set temperature is set from time to time. It is determined whether the temperature difference AKc matches or not. Of course, the user may be able to set the allowable drop temperature difference ΔKC from 8 to the temperature at which reheating should be started or to the set temperature according to his or her preference.

Regarding the calculation of the expected temperature drop time and the calculation of the temperature drop characteristics as an example for deriving this, in the above embodiment, as mentioned above, proportional calculation is adopted as the simplest case, but this also applies. Of course, if a more appropriate or highly accurate equation relationship is required in consideration of heat convection, etc., that may be used.

Regarding changes in the water level in the bathtub, among the hot water supply systems already provided, it is preferable to use a pressure sensor as shown in FIG. I used this, but as I mentioned earlier,
In principle, a classic liquid level detector may be used, and as for the heat exchanger, as shown in Figure 3, a heat exchanger 11 dedicated to hot water supply and a heat exchanger 21 dedicated to reheating may be installed separately. It is clear that the present invention can be applied to a type having only a single heat exchanger 11, although it is desirable to have a heat exchanger 11, but it is not a limiting element for the present invention. .

[Effects] As described above, the automatic hot water heating operation in the bathtub according to the present invention has been described in detail with respect to the applicable automatic water heater or hot water supply system. This is very different from the type where the next automatic reheating does not start until time tc has elapsed; for example, in the winter, it is set at an appropriate time interval, and in the summer, it is set at a longer time interval suitable for the summer. In this way, when the temperature of the hot water in the bathtub decreases over time, it responds sensitively to changes in the rate of decrease, and automatically starts reheating the next time from the end of one reheating session. You can optimally set the time until each start of daily use.

In addition to seasonal changes, the degree of drop in the actual water temperature in the bathtub varies greatly depending on the shape, depth, material, and heat transfer coefficient of the bathtub used. Although it is greatly influenced by the size, direction, sunlight, etc., by following the method of the present invention, such variable parameters can be absorbed, and automatic reheating can be performed in accordance with the actual bathtub and bathtub environment. This makes it possible to enjoy a comfortable bath at any bath facility, not only in an ordinary home, but also in dormitories, inns, and other bath facilities, without any defects that may make you feel good or bad.

In this way, while allowing the user to take a comfortable bath, there is no need to reheat the bath too quickly, which is advantageous in terms of energy consumption, resulting in so-called energy saving.

Furthermore, in addition to the basic aspects of the present invention, when an aspect having a function of correcting the expected temperature drop time and a function of countermeasure against disturbances is utilized, an excellent automatic heat retention function can be achieved.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

FIG. 1 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of temperature history characteristics of hot water in a bathtub under an automatic warming mode or a repeated automatic reheating mode operated according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram illustrating an embodiment of the present invention using a flow chart. FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram of an automatic water heater or automatic temperature heating system to which the method of the present invention can be applied. FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram of the conventional automatic warming operation. FIG. 5 is an explanatory diagram illustrating a conventional automatic warming operation using a flow chart. It is. 11... Heat exchanger for hot water supply. 12...Burna. 13... Former solenoid valve. 14...Proportional valve. 15...faucet. 16...Shower 17...Switching solenoid valve. 18 ... 19 ... 20 ... 21 ... 22 ... 23 ... 24 ... 25 ... - 26 ... 27 ... 28 ...Fan. Supply water temperature sensor. Hot water temperature sensor. Heat exchanger burner for reheating. Bathtub. proportional valve. circulation pump. pressure sensor. temperature sensor. flow rate sensor. Applicant Hanshin Electric Co., Ltd. No. 6

Claims (4)

[Claims] (1) The hot water filled in the bathtub is automatically reheated repeatedly at time intervals, and the automatic reheating each time is the actual temperature of the hot water, which is the actual temperature of the hot water filled in the bathtub. A method for keeping hot water in a bathtub that is terminated each time the temperature reaches a predetermined set temperature; The time when it is determined is the start of the repeated automatic reheating mode; after a certain period of time has elapsed from the start of the repeated automatic reheating mode,
While performing the first automatic reheating of the hot water in the bathtub; the actual hot water temperature or the set temperature at the start of the repeated automatic reheating mode; and the actual hot water temperature after the certain period of time has elapsed; and based on the certain period of time, calculate the expected temperature drop time that will be required for the actual hot water temperature to decrease from the set temperature to the reheating start temperature that is preset as the temperature at which reheating should start; After the first automatic reheating is completed, each time the automatic reheating is completed, including the first automatic reheating, the expected temperature drop time will begin to be measured from the end point. , starting the next automatic reheating every time the expected temperature drop time elapses; A method for keeping hot water in a bathtub warm. (2) further comprising the step of detecting whether or not there is a temperature difference of a predetermined magnitude or more between the actual hot water temperature in the bathtub and the reheating start temperature after the elapse of the expected temperature decrease time; If there is a temperature difference greater than , the actual water temperature in the bathtub at the end of the previous reheating or the set temperature above and the actual water temperature at which the reheating starts. Based on the temperature and the expected temperature drop time, recalculate and update the expected temperature drop time that would be required for the actual hot water temperature to drop from the set temperature to the reheating start temperature at which reheating should start; After the end of the currently started automatic reheating operation, the updated temperature drop forecast time is used as the temperature drop forecast time, instead of the previously adopted temperature drop forecast time. The method of keeping warm according to claim 1. (3) If the reheating operation occurs during the above measurement of the above fixed time or the above expected temperature drop time, the measurement will be interrupted; Measurement of time or the above expected temperature drop time is started from the beginning; automatic reheating is started at the end of the newly started measurement; while inside the bathtub after the reheating that occurred in the middle of the above Reheating should be started from the set temperature based on the actual hot water temperature or the set temperature in Recalculate and update the expected temperature drop time that will be required for the actual hot water temperature to drop to the reheating start temperature that has been set in advance as the temperature; After the automatic reheating operation started above ends, , the updated expected temperature drop time is used as the expected temperature drop time in place of the fixed time or the expected temperature drop time that was employed at the time of the interruption; or The heat retention method described in 2. (4) further comprising the step of detecting a change in the water level in the bathtub; interrupting the measurement if a change in the water level is detected during the measurement for the certain period of time or the expected temperature drop time; When it is determined that the change in water level that occurred midway has subsided and that the actual hot water temperature has reached the set temperature, the interrupted measurement of the certain period of time or the expected temperature drop time is restarted. Start from; Automatic reheating is started at the end of the newly started measurement; and the actual water temperature or the set temperature when it is determined that the set temperature has been reached after the end of the water level change. , Reheating that is preset as the temperature at which reheating should start from the set temperature based on the actual hot water temperature after the specified time or the expected temperature drop time, and the specified time or the expected temperature drop time. Recalculate and update the expected temperature drop time that it would take for the actual hot water temperature to drop to the starting temperature; From the time the automatic reheating operation started above ends, the above expected temperature drop time will be used as the above temperature drop time. The heat retention method according to claim 1, 2 or 3, characterized in that the updated expected temperature drop time is used in place of the fixed time or the expected temperature drop time that was used when the temperature was interrupted.