JPH0515466A - Shower device - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To provide a shower device with an optimum preparation function by allowing the device to start to discharge water a predetermined time after an indoor remote switch has been operated and to inform that the inside of a hot-water supply line has reached an appropriate temperature. CONSTITUTION:If a remote switch 81a, 81b, 81c, or 81d is pushed, then after a predetermined time, a hot water supply monitor 84 lights up, electric switch valves 5a through 5d are opened, hot water starts to be supplied, and a monitor lamp 9a begins flashing. When the temperature detection of a temperature sensor 4 indicates that an appropriate temperature has been reached, the electric switch valves 5a through 5d are closed and the monitor lamp 9a lights up to inform that it is good time to take shower. The user will not be showered upon by discharged water because he or she is outside the bathroom B. This constitution prevents inconveniences wherein the water is already cold when the user actually takes a shower although an appropriate temperature has been reached.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a shower device such as a body shower or a hand shower, and more particularly to a shower device suitable for being installed in a bathroom.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In a shower device, generally, when hot water is used, cold hot water remaining inside a hot water supply pipe or the like is ejected. Therefore, in order to prevent such cold hot and cold water from coming into contact with the body, it is usual to throw hot and cold water from the shower until it reaches an appropriate temperature, that is, to take so-called discarded water. ..

In order to collect such waste water, the following measures have been conventionally taken. The simplest measure is to open the hot water tap in a hand shower, etc., and then keep the shower head facing away from the shower while cold water is spouting, and sometimes check the shower temperature by hand. However, it is an artificial measure by the user that the shower head is directed toward the body after confirming that the temperature has reached an appropriate temperature.

In a body shower device provided with a remote control function and the like, a temperature sensor is provided in the hot water supply pipe, and an opening / closing valve (shower valve) for shower hot water supply / stop is provided on the hot water supply pipe. Separately, a drain opening / closing valve (drain valve) is installed in the preceding stage, and when the shower switch is pressed, the drain valve is opened with the shower valve closed, and the drain is opened when the temperature detected by the temperature sensor reaches an appropriate temperature. There is a configuration in which the valve is closed and the shower valve is opened.

Further, in the shower exclusively for the shower booth, a temperature sensor is similarly provided in the hot water supply pipe, and a preparation switch is provided outside the entrance of the shower booth. By pushing this, the shower hot water is started in the booth,
There is a configuration in which hot water is stopped when the temperature sensor senses an appropriate temperature. According to this structure, there is an effect that the shower booth is flushed with the waste water and the inside of the shower booth is warmed with hot water of an appropriate temperature before use.

[0006]

Among the above-mentioned conventional measures against waste water, in the artificial measures by the user in a hand shower or the like, the user needs to wait for the shower head toward the other until it reaches an appropriate temperature. At the same time, it is troublesome that it is necessary to investigate by hand whether or not the temperature has reached the appropriate temperature. Also, in the measures using the drain valve,
Since the inside of the pipe on the shower nozzle side does not get warmer than the drain valve, there is a drawback that the shower hot water at the beginning of tapping is cold even if this measure is taken.

Further, the measure using the preparation switch outside the shower room is convenient and has no problem when applied to a shower booth or the like, but when applied to a body shower device installed in a normal bathroom, There are the following problems. That is, even if you press the preparation switch placed outside the bathroom and enter the bathroom after preparation is complete, instead of taking a shower first, you can soak in the bathtub at the beginning of the room,
Alternatively, if the user's body or head is being washed, the temperature of the hot water in the hot water supply pipe drops during that time, and at the time of actually taking a shower, it becomes necessary to go out of the room again and press the preparation switch.

The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and an object of the present invention is to provide a shower device which is installed in a bathroom or the like and has an optimum preparation function without causing the above-mentioned problems. There is.

[0009]

Means for Solving the Problems A structure for achieving the above object will be described with reference to the basic conceptual diagram shown in FIG. 1. In the present invention, a hot water supply apparatus a and a shower nozzle b are provided as hot water supply piping c. In the shower device that communicates with each other via a hot water supply pipe c, an electric opening / closing valve d is provided, and temperature detecting means e for detecting the hot water temperature in the hot water supply pipe c is provided. A switch f is provided, and a time measuring means g for starting timekeeping with an operation of the remote switch f as a starting point and outputting an output after a preset time elapses, and first and second notification means h and i are provided, The first notification means h is a remote switch f.
Is operated until the output from the timing means g is generated, the electric on-off valve d is opened when the output from the timing means g is generated, and the second informing means i is operated by the electric on-off valve d. It is characterized by being configured to operate after the temperature detection result by the temperature detection means e after opening reaches a preset temperature.

[0010]

The electrically operated on-off valve d does not open until a certain period of time elapses after the remote switch f is operated.
The notification means h is activated. When the shower device is installed in the bathroom, the remote switch f is arranged in the bathroom, but a shower preparation command can be given in the bathroom and the remote switch f is discarded even if the switch f is operated. Since a certain waiting time is provided before the water jets, based on the notification by the first notification means h,
During this time, you can enter the bathtub or move to a place where it will not be drained. Also, after the motorized on-off valve d is opened,
When the temperature detecting means e senses an appropriate temperature, the second notifying means operates to notify that the preparation is completed.

[0011]

Embodiment FIG. 2 is an overall configuration diagram of an embodiment of the present invention, showing an example in which the present invention is applied to a body shower device installed in a bathroom. The mixing valve 1 is provided with water from the water supply pipe C,
Hot water from a hot water supply pipe H communicating with a hot water supply device such as a water heater is mixed at a predetermined ratio. The hot water mixed by the mixing valve 1 is supplied to the shower nozzles 3a.
supplied to e.

That is, the hot water supply pipe 2 has a shower nozzle 3a.
..Four hot water supply tributaries 2a..2d branched off upstream of 3d
Of these, one shower nozzle 3a ... 3c is provided at the tip of each of the tributary pipes 2a.
Two shower nozzles 3d and 3e are attached to the tip of d. In the figure, CV is a check valve. The hot water supply pipe 2 is provided with a temperature sensor 4 for detecting the temperature of the hot water in the pipe, and the hot water supply tributary pipes 2a ... 2d are provided with electric open / close valves 5a. There is. The electrically operated on-off valves 5a ... 5d may be valves that simply open and close, but adopting an electrically operated two-way valve in which the valve opening continuously changes from fully open to fully closed may prevent the occurrence of a water hammer or the like. It is desirable because it can be prevented.

The output of the temperature sensor 4 is the control circuit 6
In addition, the mixing valve 1 and the electric on-off valves 5a ... 5d are configured to be controlled by a drive signal supplied from the control circuit 6. The shower nozzles 3a ... 3e are mounted on a support body 7 built in the bathroom B, and a remote operation panel 8 for giving a command to the control circuit 6 is attached to the support body 7. ..

Further, outside the bathroom B, a preparation switch 9 is attached, for example, in the vicinity of the entrance, and a command from the preparation switch 9 is also inputted to the control circuit 6. A monitor lamp 9a is arranged near the preparation switch 9. The control circuit 6 is mainly composed of a microcomputer, and is composed of its input / output interface and drivers of various actuators placed under the control of the microcomputer via this input / output interface.
Has a built-in timer, an alarm buzzer 10 and a chime 1 that sound at the timing described later.
1 is connected.

FIG. 3 is a front view showing a configuration example of the remote operation panel 8. In this panel 8, remote switches 81a ... 81d for turning on / off the hot water from each shower nozzle 3a ... 3e, a switch group such as a shower temperature setting switch 82, a shower strength setting switch 83, etc. A monitor 84 and the like are provided. In the above embodiment of the present invention, when the user wants to take a shower, he pushes the remote switch 81a ... 81d or the preparation switch 9. As a result, the waste water is discharged by the procedure described below.

FIG. 4 is a flow chart showing the operation of each part when the remote switches 81a ... 81d are pressed. The operation of the embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to this figure.
When the remote switches 81a ... 81d are pressed, the control circuit 6
At the same time that the timer in the inside starts measuring the time, the alarm buzzer 10 starts to ring, and the hot water monitor 84 is shown in FIG.
As shown in (A), the left side starts blinking. When a preset time T elapses after the switch is operated, the alarm buzzer 10 stops sounding, and the hot water outlet monitor 84 turns on the left side as shown in FIG.・ ・ 5d opens. At the same time, the timer is reset.

In this state, the hot water temperature detection data by the temperature sensor 4 is taken in every moment, and when this temperature reaches the set temperature by the shower temperature setting switch 82, that is, an appropriate temperature, the electric on-off valves 5a ... 5d are closed, and As the chime 11 sounds, the hot water discharge monitor 84 turns off the left side and lights up the right side as shown in FIG. 5 (C) to inform the user of that fact.

By the above operation, the shower user can
After pressing the remote switch in the bathroom B, while the alarm buzzer 10 is sounding or the hot water monitor 84 is blinking, it is possible to enter the bathtub or move to a place where the shower is not taken. In this state, when the time T elapses, the shower hot water is automatically started, and the chime 11 is sounded or the hot water monitor 84 reaches the appropriate hot water temperature.
You will be notified by the appropriate temperature display, so you can take a shower bath after that time.

In this embodiment, the waste water operation can be performed also by operating the preparation switch 9 outside the bathroom B. The operation in this case is, for example, as illustrated in the flowchart in FIG. 6, when the preparation switch 9 is pressed, the electric open / close valves 5a ... When the hot water temperature detection result of 4 has reached an appropriate temperature, the electrically operated on-off valves 5a ... 5d are closed, and the monitor lamp 9a is turned on to inform that the preparation is completed. In this case, since the user is outside the bathroom B, no waste water is splashed.

When the remote switches 81a ... 81d are operated, the monitor lamp 9a outside the bathroom B also reaches the proper temperature and the monitor lamp 9a is ready until the preparation is completed.
It is preferable to blink a and to notify the preparation status by turning it on when the temperature reaches a suitable temperature. Further, the operation of the electrically operated on-off valves 5a ... 5d and the operation of the chime 11 after pressing the remote switches 81a ... 81d or the preparation switch 9 are not limited to those shown in FIGS. Is possible, for example in FIG.
As shown in (A) and (B), some of the shower nozzles perform waste water, and after a certain period of time after reaching an appropriate temperature, switching to hot water from other shower nozzles is performed.
No. 1 sounds after a predetermined time has passed (A), or all shower nozzles are used to dispose of water,
It is possible to employ any combination such as stopping the hot water discharge and chime sounding after a predetermined time has elapsed after reaching the appropriate temperature (B).

Further, the present invention does not necessarily require the preparation switch 9
Is not necessary, and the hot water may be prepared only by the remote switches 81a ... 81d. In this case, when preparing the hot water from outside the bathroom, it is sufficient to push the remote switches 81a ... 81d in the bathroom and go out of the bathroom until the time T elapses. Furthermore, the alarm buzzer 10 is provided as the first and second notifying means of the present invention, that is, means for notifying that the time T has elapsed and the waste water is started, and means for notifying that the appropriate temperature has been reached. It goes without saying that any combination or combination other than the combination of the chime 11 and the hot water discharge monitor 84 can be adopted.

[0022]

As described above, according to the present invention, the remote switch is provided in the room where the shower device is installed, and after the switch is operated, the remote switch is discarded after a predetermined time has elapsed. It is configured such that the water is started and the interval is notified by the first notification means, and after the waste water is started and the hot water temperature in the hot water supply pipe reaches an appropriate temperature, the second notification means is notified. Therefore, when I try to take a shower while taking a bath, it is not necessary to go out and operate the switch.
As in the past, when the preparation switch was pressed to complete the preparation, the user took a bath, washed the body, and so on. Such a problem does not occur. Further, since the drain valve is not used, there is no problem such that the initial shower temperature becomes low after preparation is completed.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a basic conceptual diagram showing the configuration of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is an overall configuration diagram of an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a front view showing a configuration example of the remote operation panel 8.

FIG. 4 shows remote switches 81a ... 8 according to an embodiment of the present invention.
Flowchart showing operation of each part when 1d is pressed

FIG. 5 is an explanatory diagram of an example of a display mode of the hot water monitor 84 when the remote switches 81a ... 81d are also pressed.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing the operation of each part when the preparation switch 9 of the embodiment of the present invention is pressed.

FIG. 7 is a time chart showing a combination of hot water discharge and notification method according to another embodiment of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 ... Mixing valve 2 ... Hot water supply pipe 2a ... 2d ... Hot water supply tributary pipe 3a ... 3e ... Shower nozzle 4 ... Temperature sensor 5a ... 5dd ... Electric open / close valve 6 ... Control circuit 7 ... Support 8 ... Remote operation panel 81a ... 81d ... Remote switch 82 ... Shower temperature setting switch 83 ... Shower Strength setting switch 84 ... ・ Hot water monitor 9 ・ ・ ・ Preparation switch 9a ・ ・ ・ ・ Monitor lamp 10 ・ ・ ・ ・ Alarm buzzer 11 ・ ・ ・ ・ ・ ・ Chime C ・ ・ ・ ・ Water supply pipe H ・ ・ ・ ・ Hot water Supply pipe

Claims (1)

Claims: 1. A shower device in which a hot water supply device and a shower nozzle communicate with each other via a hot water supply pipe, wherein an electrically operated on-off valve provided on the hot water supply pipe and hot water in the hot water supply pipe A temperature detecting means for detecting the temperature, a remote switch arranged in the installation room of the shower device, a time measuring means for starting the time counting from the operation of the remote switch, and outputting an output after a preset time elapses. , First
And a second notifying means, wherein the first notifying means is
It operates until the output from the timing means is generated after the remote switch is operated, the electric on-off valve is opened at the time when the output from the timing means is generated, and the second notification means is operated by the electric motor. A shower device configured to operate after a temperature detection result by the temperature detection means reaches a preset temperature after the opening / closing valve is opened.