JPH05157351A - Electric hot water supplier - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To provide an electric hot water supplier improved in safety capable of preventing any spread trouble owing to water leakage, sanitary and labor- saving, by automatically draining water in a can body when it is not used over a long time, and automatically interrupting or draining supplied water and supplied hot water when any abnormality such as water leakage is produced. CONSTITUTION:A control device is adapted such that a water supply motor- driven valve 20 is closed to interrupt water supply into a can body 1 or a drainage motor-driven valve 22 is opened to drain water in the can body 1 in the case where a non-used state of hot water reaches a period various germs are likely to be propagated in the can body 1 or in the case where water leakage from the inside of the can body 1 or from various pipings is produced or in the case where a flow rate meter 21 detects the amount of hot water exceeding the amount of ordinary use of the same owing to forgotten tightening of a hot water supply faucet provided on the tip end of a hot water supply pipe 4.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to heating of water in an electric water heater and control of automatic water supply / drainage.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a conventional electric water heater. In the figure, 1 is a can body for storing hot water, 2 is a heater provided in the can body 1, 3 is a water supply pipe provided at the bottom of the can body 1, 4 is hot water provided at the top of the can body 1. Pipes 5 are drainage pipes provided in the lower part of the can body 1, 6 are air vent valves provided directly above the can body 1 and in the middle of the piping of the hot water supply pipe 4, and 7 are safety valves provided in the middle of the piping of the hot water supply pipe 4. , 8 are drain pipes for discharging the expanded water in the can body 1 to the drain port 11 at the time of boiling.

Reference numeral 9 is a manual valve provided in the middle of the water supply pipe 3, 10 is a manual valve provided in the middle of the drain pipe 5, 11 is a drain port provided near the installation location of the electric water heater, and 12 is A controller provided on the outer shell of the can body 1 for controlling the detection of the boiling temperature and the power supply to the heater 2, 13 is a temperature sensor provided on the lower shell of the can body 1, and the controller 12
Connected to.

Here, the water supply pipe 3 is directly connected to a water pipe or the like serving as a water source, and the hot water supply pipe 4 is provided with a hot water supply faucet (not shown). Further, the ends of the drain pipe 5 and the drain pipe 8 are guided to the drain port 11.

Next, the operation will be described. When using a normal electric water heater, first, the manual valve 9 on the water supply side is opened and the manual valve 10 on the drainage side is closed, and the can body 1 is filled with water by the water pressure of the water source. Next, for boiling water in the can 1, the controller 12 supplies power to the heater 2 to heat the water. Then, the degree of boiling is detected by the temperature sensor 13, and if the temperature rises, the control device 1
Power supply to the heater 2 is stopped by 2.

Further, the air vent valve 6 exhausts the air in the can body 1 and each pipe as water flows in. Further, the safety valve 7 discharges the water, which is expanded due to the temperature rise of the water in the can body 1 at the time of boiling, to the drain port 11 via the drain pipe 8 so that an unnecessary pressure is not generated in the can body 1. Is. In this way, after the water in the can body 1 is boiled, when the faucet provided at the tip of the hot water supply pipe 4 is opened, the hot water in the can body 1 is discharged to the outside by the tap water pressure. At the same time as the hot water is supplied, the same amount of water as the hot water is supplied to the lower portion of the can body 1 via the water supply pipe 3.

When the electric water heater is not used for a long period of one month or more, the heating heater 2 is manually turned off, the water supply side manual valve 9 is closed, and the drainage side manual valve 10 is opened. Management is recommended to drain the water inside 1. For this drainage, if the power of the heater 2 is shut off and the water is retained in the can body 1 for a long time, various bacteria will propagate in the water in the can body 1 and become unsanitary. Is. Then, when the electric water heater is used again, the manual valve 10 on the drain side is closed, the manual valve 9 on the water supply side is opened, water is re-injected into the can body 1, and boiling is performed as described above.

[0008]

Since the conventional electric water heater is constructed as described above, when the hot water is not used for a long period of time or various troubles occur, the heater 2 is manually operated. The power supply is stopped and the manual valves 9 and 10 are operated to discharge the water in the can 1. Further, when it is used again, it is necessary to perform the reverse operation to supply water to the inside of the can body 1, so that there is a problem that the manual operation is troublesome and the usability is poor. In addition, the boiling water may be drained, and even at this time, if the drain port 11 is made of a material having a low heat resistant temperature such as a vinyl chloride pipe, the drain port 11 may be damaged. ..

The present invention has been made to solve the above problems, and automatically detects a long-term unused state, automatically drains water, and automatically when the hot water supply faucet is forgotten to be tightened. Hot water supply can be stopped at any time, and further, in case of water leakage, the purpose is to automatically prevent the spread damage. In addition, the remaining hot water inside the can can be displayed, moreover, hot water can be constantly supplied, and hot water can be constantly supplied.If water leaks in the middle of the pipe during initial water supply, or if you forget to tighten the hot water supply faucet, The purpose is to be able to automatically prevent water damage.

[0010]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An electric water heater according to the present invention comprises a can body for storing water, a heater for heating water in the can body, a water supply pipe for supplying water into the can body, and a water supply pipe in the water supply pipe. Flow meter that measures the flow rate of water passing through the pipe, an automatic water supply valve installed in the water supply pipe, a drain pipe that discharges water in the can body, an automatic drain valve installed in this drain pipe, and the time is measured. A timer and a controller for closing the automatic water supply valve and opening the automatic drain valve when the flow rate is not detected by the flow meter within a predetermined time measured by the timer.

Further, the automatic water supply valve is closed by the control unit when the flow rate detected by the flow meter exceeds the normal usage amount. Further, at the time of initial water supply into the can body by the water supply pipe, when the flow rate value of the flow meter exceeds the capacity value in the can body, the control unit closes the automatic water supply valve and opens the automatic drain valve.

Further, a hot water supply pipe for supplying the hot water in the can to the outside is provided, and the hot water boiled by the heater is supplied to the outside via the hot water supply pipe, and the same amount of water as the supplied water is supplied. When water is supplied into the can through the water supply pipe, if the amount measured by the flow meter reaches a predetermined value, the controller reheats the water with the heater.

Further, a water leakage sensor provided below the can body is provided, and when water leakage is detected by the water leakage sensor, the control unit closes the automatic water supply valve and opens the automatic drainage valve. Furthermore, the remaining hot water amount display unit for displaying the amount of remaining hot water in the can is provided, the amount of water supplied to the inside of the can due to hot water supply by the hot water supply pipe is measured by the flow meter, and the remaining hot water amount table is made by the control unit based on the measured value. This is to operate the time section.

[0014]

The electric water heater according to the present invention detects that there is no flow of water in the water supply pipe by the flow meter within a predetermined time,
By closing the automatic water supply valve and opening the automatic drain valve by the control unit, the water in the can is automatically discharged when it is not used for a long time. Also, when the flow meter detects a flow rate above the normal usage amount, the automatic water supply valve is closed to automatically stop the supply of hot water to the outside with the water supply into the can body,
Prevents the discharge of all the hot water in the can and prevents hot water shortage.

Further, if the flow rate value measured by the flow meter exceeds the capacity value in the can during the initial can water supply, the automatic water supply valve is closed,
By opening the automatic drain valve, water leakage will occur in the middle of various pipes, or if the hot water supply to the outside is in an open state, excessive water supply will not be performed and expansion damage will be prevented.

Further, when the hot water in the can body boiled by the heater is supplied to the outside, when the same amount of water as the supplied water is supplied into the can body through the water supply pipe, the flow meter When the amount of water supply measured by the method reaches a predetermined value, the heater reheats the water in the can, and if the amount of remaining hot water in the can decreases, the water is automatically reheated and boiled. Does not cause breaks.

Further, the water leak sensor can be used for the can body, the water supply pipe,
When water leakage from a drain pipe is detected, the automatic water supply valve is closed and the automatic water discharge valve is opened to stop the water supply and automatically drain the water inside the can to prevent the damage from spreading due to water leakage. Further, by displaying on the remaining hot water amount display section based on the detected value of the amount of water supplied by the flow meter, the accurate remaining hot water amount can be displayed from the beginning of using hot water.

[0018]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a configuration diagram showing an electric water heater according to an embodiment of the present invention. The same parts as those of the conventional example are designated by the same reference numerals and the description thereof will be omitted. In the figure, 20 is a water supply electric valve provided in the middle of the water supply pipe 3, 21 is a flow meter also provided in the middle of the water supply pipe 3, and 22 is a drainage electric motor provided in the middle of the drain pipe 5. A valve, 23 is a control device provided outside the can body 1, 24 is a switch for starting water supply, and 25 is the can body 1.
A remaining hot water amount display section 26 is a string-shaped water leakage sensor installed on the lower floor of the can body 1, and detects the presence or absence of water by a change in impedance between a pair of electrodes.

Here, the electric water supply valve 20, the flow meter 21,
Motor valve 22 for drainage, switch 24, remaining hot water display 25,
The water leak sensor 26 is connected to the control device 23. In addition,
The water supply motor-operated valve 21 is an automatic water supply valve, the drainage motor-operated valve 22 is an automatic drainage valve, the control device 23 is a control unit, and the control device 23
A timer is included inside.

Next, the overall operation will be described. First, the initial state of the motor-operated valves 20 and 22 is closed by the control device 23. Then, the first water supply to the can body 1 is started by pressing the switch 24. When the switch 24 is pressed, the control device 23 opens the electric water supply valve 20 and starts the water supply from the water supply pipe 3 into the can body 1. At this time, the control device 23 inputs the output signal from the flow meter 21 and measures the water supply amount. Then, as the water is supplied into the can body 1, the air inside the can body 1 escapes from the air vent valve 6. When the inside of the can body 1 is filled with water supplied from the water supply pipe 3 by the tap water pressure, the flow of water in the water supply pipe 3 is stopped, so that the output signal from the flow meter 21 to the control device 23 is stopped and the control device is 23 detects that the water is full.

Next, the control device 23 supplies power to the heater 2 and starts boiling water in the can 1. The expanded water in the can body 1 due to the boiling is discharged from the safety valve 7 to the drain port 11 via the drain pipe 8. When the temperature rises to a predetermined temperature desired by the user, the temperature sensor 1
3 detects the temperature, and the control device 23 detects the signal from the temperature sensor 13 to stop the power supply to the heater 2.

When the water in the can 1 is boiled to a predetermined temperature in this way, the control device 23 causes the remaining hot water amount display portion 25 to display the whole amount of hot water. After that, every time the hot water supply tap at the tip of the hot water supply pipe 4 is opened and hot water is used, water is supplied from the water supply pipe 3, and water accumulates upward from the lower part inside the can body 1, and the flow meter 21 determines the amount of water supplied. The signal is sent to the controller 23 as a signal, and the controller 2
3 changes the display of the remaining hot water amount display section 25 based on this signal,
Reduce the amount of remaining hot water display.

When a large amount of hot water is used from the hot water supply faucet and the amount of remaining hot water becomes smaller and falls below an arbitrary value required to supply power to the heating heater, the heating heater 2 is repowered by the control device 23. Then, the reheating is started, and when the water in the can body 1 reaches a predetermined temperature, the power supply to the heater 2 is stopped.

Next, various operations will be described. First,
If the hot water supply faucet at the tip of the hot water supply pipe 4 is open, or if water leakage occurs in the middle of the can body 1 and the water supply pipe 3, the hot water supply pipe 4, the drain pipe 5, etc., the water supply pipe 3 is used. Since water supply is continued without stopping when water is supplied into the can body 1, the flow meter 21 continues to output an output signal to the control device 23. Then, the control device 23 measures the water supply amount by the output signal from the flow meter 21. Therefore, when the water supply continues even if the measured water supply amount exceeds the capacity of the can body 1, the electric water supply valve 20 is automatically closed to stop the water supply, and unnecessary hot water is released or leaked. Prevent spread damage.

Further, when the hot water from the hot water supply tap is continuously used for a predetermined amount or more, the measured value by the flow meter 21 exceeds the normal usage amount, and it is assumed that the hot water tap is forgotten to be tightened and the control device 23 Closes the electric valve 20 for water supply,
By stopping the water supply to the inside, the hot water supply from the hot water supply pipe 3 is stopped to prevent hot water shortage.

Further, when water leaks from the can body 1 and various pipes, the water leak sensor 26 installed on the lower floor surface of the can body 1 detects the water leak during use of the electric water heater. Then, the control device 23 detects the detection signal from the water leak sensor 26 to close the electric motor valve 20 for water supply and open the electric motor valve 22 for drainage to drain the water in the can body 1 and soak the water around the electric water heater. Prevent the spread damage of

Further, in a normal use state, the control device 23 controls the water content in the can body 1 after boiling up to a predetermined temperature.
The output signal from the flow meter 21 is constantly monitored and time is counted. Then, when the unused state of the hot water in the can body 1 is a period in which various bacteria are easily propagated in the water in the can body 1, for example, when it continues for one month, the control device 23 closes the water supply motor operated valve 20 and the drainage motor operated valve 22. The water inside the can body 1 is opened to prevent the growth of various bacteria. After that, when the electric water heater is used again, the switch 24 is pressed and the same operation as described above is performed.

[0028]

As described above, according to the present invention, when the flow rate of the water in the water supply pipe is not detected within the predetermined period, the automatic water supply valve is closed and the automatic drain valve is opened, so that the electric water heater can be operated in a predetermined manner. When the water is not used for a period of one month or more, for example, the water in the can is automatically discharged, so that germs are not generated in the can, which is hygienic and labor-saving.

When a flow rate higher than the normal usage amount is detected, the automatic water supply valve is closed to automatically stop the hot water supply to the outside, for example, even after forgetting to close the hot water supply faucet after a predetermined amount of hot water is supplied. Therefore, even if the portion for supplying hot water to the outside is in an open state due to forgetting to tighten it, all the hot water in the can is not exhausted, and there is an effect that no hot water runs out.

Furthermore, when the flow rate value by the flow meter exceeds the capacity value in the can during the initial can body water supply, the automatic water supply valve is closed to forget to tighten the hot water supply part to the outside, such as forgetting to tighten the hot water supply faucet or in the middle of various pipes. Even if there is a water leak or the like, the water is not supplied unnecessarily, water can be saved and damage caused by expansion can be prevented, and there is an effect that usability and safety are improved.

When hot water is supplied to the outside by the hot water supply pipe and the water is supplied from the water supply pipe into the can body and the value measured by the flow meter reaches a predetermined value, the water in the can body is reheated by the heater. , When the amount of remaining hot water in the can becomes small, it is automatically reheated and boiled, and no hot water runs out,
This has the effect of obtaining a convenient product that can always use hot water.

When water leakage occurs, it is detected by a water leakage sensor, the automatic water supply valve is closed, and the automatic drain valve is opened, so that water in the can can be discharged to prevent further damage due to water leakage. There is an effect that a product with improved safety can be obtained.

Further, by displaying the amount of remaining hot water while detecting the amount of water supplied to the can body accompanying the hot water supply from the hot water supply pipe by the flow meter, the amount of remaining hot water can be accurately displayed from the beginning of using hot water, and the efficiency can be improved efficiently. The effect is that hot water can be used.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a configuration diagram of an electric water heater according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a configuration diagram of a conventional electric water heater.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 Can 2 Heater 3 Water supply pipe 4 Hot water supply pipe 5 Drain pipe 20 Water supply electric valve 21 Flow meter 22 Drainage electric valve 23 Control device 25 Residual hot water display 26 Water leak sensor

Claims (6)

[Claims] 1. A can body for storing water, a heater for heating water in the can body, and a water supply pipe for supplying water to the can body.
A flow meter that measures the flow rate of water passing through this water supply pipe,
An automatic water supply valve provided in the water supply pipe, a drain pipe for discharging the water in the can body, an automatic drain valve provided in the drain pipe, a timer for measuring time, and a predetermined time measured by the timer. An electric water heater comprising: a control unit that closes the automatic water supply valve and opens the automatic drain valve when a flow rate is not detected by the flow meter within a time period. 2. A can body for storing water, a heater for heating water in the can body, and a water supply pipe for supplying water to the can body.
A flow meter that measures the flow rate of water passing through this water supply pipe,
An electric water heater comprising: an automatic water supply valve provided in the water supply pipe; and a control unit that closes the automatic water supply valve when a flow rate exceeding a normal usage amount is detected by the flow meter. 3. A can body for storing water, a heater for heating water in the can body, and a water supply pipe for supplying water to the can body.
A flow meter that measures the flow rate of water passing through this water supply pipe,
An automatic water supply valve provided in the water supply pipe, a drain pipe for discharging water from the can body, an automatic drain valve provided in the drain pipe, and an initial water supply to the can body by the water supply pipe, An electric water heater comprising: a controller that closes the automatic water supply valve and opens the automatic drain valve when the flow rate value measured by a flow meter exceeds the capacity value in the can. 4. A can body for storing water, a heater for heating water in the can body, a water supply pipe for supplying water into the can body, and a flow meter for measuring the flow rate of water passing through the water supply pipe. , A hot water supply pipe for supplying the hot water in the can to the outside, the hot water in the can heated by the heater is supplied to the outside through the hot water supply pipe, and the same amount of water as the supplied water is supplied. An electric water heater comprising: a controller that reheats water by the heater when the amount measured by the flow meter reaches a predetermined value when the water is supplied into the can through the water supply pipe. 5. A can body for storing water, a heater for heating water in the can body, and a water supply pipe for supplying water to the can body.
An automatic water supply valve provided in the water supply pipe, a drainage pipe for discharging the water of the can body, an automatic drainage valve provided in the drainage pipe, and a water leakage sensor provided below the can body, An electric water heater including a control unit that closes the automatic water supply valve and opens the automatic drain valve when water leakage is detected by a water leakage sensor. 6. A can body for storing water, a heater for heating water in the can body, a water supply pipe for supplying water into the can body, and a flow meter for measuring the flow rate of water passing through the water supply pipe. , A hot water supply pipe for supplying hot water in the can to the outside, a residual hot water display unit for displaying the amount of remaining hot water in the can, and a flow meter for measuring the amount of water supplied to the can due to hot water supply by the hot water supply pipe An electric water heater including a control unit that operates the remaining hot water amount display unit based on the measured value.