JPH052889B2 - - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION Field of Industrial Application The present invention relates to a water heater that adjusts the mixing ratio of hot water and water to obtain an appropriate temperature and also varies the amount of mixed hot water.

Conventional Structure and Problems There has been a conventional water heater of this type as shown in FIG.

FIG. 1 shows a commonly used hot water mixer faucet with a shower. This hot water mixing faucet manually adjusts the mixing ratio of hot water and water by operating the hot water side operating knob 1 and the water side operating knob 2 to obtain the appropriate temperature, and the switching knob 3 allows the mixed hot water to be supplied to the faucet 4 side or to the shower 5 side. Hot water is supplied by switching to the side. The shower 5 has a built-in rotor 6 that is rotated by water flow, and when the shower is in use, the rotor 6 rotates to change the opening area of the mixed hot water supply path and change the amount of mixed hot water discharged from the shower 5. It is devised to produce a pine surge effect on the human body. The mixed water temperature can be set without manual operation of the hot water side operation knob 1 or the water side operation knob 2; just set the temperature, and the mixing ratio of hot water and water is automatically adjusted by the thermo element. It was hot, but in any case they just supplied hot water at a constant temperature.

The problems with this conventional water heater are as follows.

(1) Although the amount of mixed hot water discharged from the shower 5 is varied by the rotor 6, the temporal change in the amount of mixed hot water is a monotonous mode of strength and weakness, and a complicated mode cannot be realized.

(2) Temporal changes in the amount of mixed hot water are caused by the rotor 6 being rotated by the mixed hot water, so they are affected by the mixed hot water amount level, hot water pressure, and water pressure, and when the amount of mixed hot water is large, changes quickly,
When it is low, the change will be slow, and the speed of change will fluctuate due to fluctuations in hot water pressure and water pressure.

(3) Since changes in the amount of mixed hot water are caused by purely mechanical means, remote control or timed control is not possible, and the rotor 6, which requires power to continue the water flow, is not operated by a flow control valve. The pressure loss was large because it was required separately from the
The configuration is also complex.

Purpose of the Invention The present invention solves these conventional problems, and uses a flow rate detector and a flow rate control valve to control mixed hot water without being affected by mixed hot water volume level, hot water pressure, or water pressure fluctuations. It is an object of the present invention to provide a water heater that changes the flow rate over time within a predetermined flow rate range.

Composition of the Invention The present invention provides a mixing valve equipped with a mixing valve driving device controlled by a mixing controller based on signals from a temperature setting device that sets the temperature of the mixed water and a temperature detector that detects the temperature of the mixed water; A flow control valve that adjusts the amount of hot water;
A flow control valve drive device that drives the flow control valve, a flow rate detector that detects the amount of mixed hot water, and a signal generator that sends a signal that changes the amount of mixed hot water over time within a predetermined flow rate range to the flow control valve drive device. A hot water supply device is constructed from a flow rate controller with a mixing valve, and a predetermined temperature is obtained with a mixing valve, and the amount of mixed hot water is changed over time by driving and controlling the flow rate control valve based on signals from a signal generator and a flow rate detector. This makes it possible to create complex modes without being affected by the level of mixed hot water volume, hot water pressure, or water pressure.

DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS Examples of the present invention will be described below with reference to FIGS. 2 and 3.

FIG. 2 shows a water heater that integrally includes a mixing valve, a flow rate control valve, and a flow rate detector. The mixing valve 7 adjusts the mixing ratio of water and hot water supplied from the water side inlet 8 and the hot water side inlet 9 by changing the opening ratio of the water side valve body 10 and the hot water side valve body 11. The water side valve body 10 and the hot water side valve body 11 are driven by a mixing valve drive device 13 via a mixing valve shaft 12. The mixing valve drive device 13 includes a motor 14 and a gearbox 15.
and a linear motion conversion mechanism 16 that converts rotational motion into linear motion. The temperature of the mixed hot water, which is a mixture of hot water and cold water, is detected by a temperature sensor 17. Further, the temperature of the mixed water is set by a temperature setting device 18. The mixing valve 7 is driven and controlled by the mixing controller 19 via the mixing valve driving device 13 based on the signals from the temperature setting device 18 and the temperature detector 17 to a position where the temperature difference between the two becomes zero.

The flow rate of the mixed hot water is controlled by a flow control valve 20. This flow control valve 20 has a flow control valve shaft 21
It is driven by the flow rate control valve driving device 22 via. The flow rate control valve driving device 22 is controlled by a flow rate controller 24 having a signal generator 23 for generating a signal that changes the amount of mixed hot water over time within a predetermined flow rate range, and a flow rate detector described later. Note that the flow rate controller 2
4 has a switch section 25 for starting and stopping the signal generation of the signal generating section 23, and a storage section 26 for changing the flow rate, and is also capable of setting the integrated value of the flow rate and integrating the signal of the flow rate detector 28. The switch section 25 can also be opened and closed using a remote control 27. The flow rate detector 28 that detects the amount of mixed hot water includes a fixed impeller 29 that swirls the flow and a ball 30 that is rotated by the swirl flow.
and an outflow prevention plate 31 that prevents the ball 30 from outflowing.
and a magnetoresistive element 32 that detects the rotation of the pole. The signal from the flow rate detector 28 is transmitted to the flow rate controller 24 and the mixing controller 19.

Next, the operation will be explained. In FIG. 2, when the faucet or shower stop valve (not shown) is opened and hot water supply starts, the temperature sensor 17 mixes the mixed water until the temperature reaches the temperature indicated by the temperature setting device 18. It is controlled by a mixing controller 19 while monitoring the water temperature. That is, the mixing valve driving device 13 drives the mixing valve 7 to adjust the temperature until the temperature difference between the temperature setting device 18 and the temperature detector 17 becomes zero. Then, when the switch section 25 of the flow rate controller is turned "closed", a signal is taken out from the storage section 26, this signal is amplified, and a drive control signal is sent from the signal generator 23 to the flow rate control drive device 22. Based on this drive control signal, the flow rate control valve 20 changes the opening ratio of the mixed liquid flow path and changes the flow rate while checking the flow rate value based on the signal from the flow rate detector 28. The flow rate of this mixed hot water changes one after another according to the signal sent from the flow rate controller 24. As shown in FIG. 3, this state of change changes over time within a predetermined flow rate range. This temporal change in flow rate is set to provide a pleasant stimulus to the human body when using a shower, etc., and the change pattern, flow rate, cycle, etc. are influenced by the average level of flow rate. It is possible to set it so that it is not received. When the mixed hot water amount value changes due to fluctuations in the hot water pressure or water pressure, the flow rate detector 28 detects that the mixed hot water amount deviates from the flow rate value commanded by the flow rate controller 24, and the flow rate control valve 20 is activated. Control is performed to adjust and match the flow rate value as instructed. While the flow rate of the mixed hot water is being changed, the mixed hot water is supplied at the temperature specified by the temperature setting device 18. Switch section 25 is opened.
When this is done, the flow rate change of the mixed hot water stops, and normal hot water supply is performed at a constant flow rate and according to the hot water temperature indicated by the temperature setting device 18. Note that the flow rate controller 24 sets the cumulative flow rate, integrates the signal from the flow rate detector 28, and closes the flow rate control valve 20 when the set flow rate is reached.
A fixed amount of hot water can be supplied. In addition, the supply of mixed hot water starts and stops depending on the opening and closing of the faucet or shower faucet, and this is detected by the flow rate detector 28 and sent via the mixing controller 19 to the mixing valve driving device 1.
3 is controlled to start and stop. As a result, when hot water supply is stopped, the driving of the mixing valve drive device 13 is also stopped, thereby saving power consumption. In addition, by stopping the driving of the mixing valve, the temperature around the temperature detector 17 decreases due to natural cooling when hot water supply is stopped, and the mixing valve 7 opens the hot water side in an attempt to maintain the set temperature by the mixing controller 19. By closing the sides, you can prevent the risk of temporary hot water being supplied when refilling hot water.

In this embodiment, the driving of the mixing valve drive device 13 can be stopped when hot water supply is stopped using the signal from the flow rate detector 28, so that power consumption can be saved, and hot water is temporarily supplied when hot water supply is resumed. The danger of being exposed can be prevented.

In the above embodiment, the flow rate detector 28 is of the type in which the ball 30 rotates, but other types such as a hot wire type or an electromagnetic type may be used.

Effects of the Invention As described above, the present invention allows the mixed hot water whose temperature is adjusted by the mixing valve to be controlled by the flow rate control valve so that the signal value of the signal generator of the flow rate controller corresponds to the amount of mixed hot water detected by the flow rate detector. It has the following effects.

(1) Since the flow rate change of the mixed hot water can be set in patterns and cycles using the signal generator of the flow rate controller, complex modes can be obtained and a shower with a pine surge effect can be realized.

(2) Changes in the flow rate of mixed hot water are based on the level (average level) of the mixed hot water amount adjusted by faucets and shower stop valves.
Also, even if there are fluctuations in hot water pressure or water pressure, the flow rate detector constantly monitors the amount of mixed hot water and the flow rate control valve makes corrections, so the flow rate always changes in a fixed pattern or cycle. Is possible.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

Figures 1a and b are a perspective view and a cross-sectional view of essential parts of a conventional water heater, Figure 2 is a cross-sectional view of an embodiment of the water heater of the present invention, and Figure 3 is a flow rate change in the embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 7...Mixing valve, 13...Mixing valve drive device, 17
... Temperature detector, 18 ... Temperature setting device, 19 ...
Mixing controller, 20...Flow rate control valve, 22...Flow rate control valve drive device, 23...Signal generation unit, 24...
Flow rate control unit, 25...Switch unit, 26...Storage unit, 28...Flow rate detection unit.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A mixing valve that adjusts the mixing ratio of hot water and water, a mixing valve driving device that drives the mixing valve, a temperature detector that detects the temperature of the mixed water, and a temperature that sets the temperature of the mixed water. a setting device, a mixing controller that controls the mixing valve driving device based on signals from the temperature sensor and the temperature setting device, a flow control valve that controls the amount of mixed hot water, and a flow control that drives the flow control valve. a valve drive device;
It has a flow rate detector that detects the amount of mixed hot water, and a signal generating section that sends a signal that changes the mixed hot water amount over time within a predetermined flow rate range to the flow rate control valve driving device, and a signal of this signal generating section and the flow rate detection. A water heater comprising a flow rate controller that controls the flow rate control valve based on a signal from the water heater. 2. The hot water supply device according to claim 1, wherein the start and stop of supply of mixed hot water is detected by a flow rate detector, and the mixing valve driving device is controlled to start and stop.