JPH057624B2 - - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION Field of Industrial Application The present invention relates to an operation indicator that can be used with any heating source in a hot water storage type water heater of a push-up hot water supply type.

1. Configuration of conventional system and its problems FIG. 1 is an overall system diagram of a water heater, and FIG. 2 shows a control block diagram of the conventional system.

First, a compressor 1, a heat exchanger 2, an expansion valve 3, and a heat collector 4 are sequentially connected to form a heat collecting circuit for solar heat and atmospheric heat in which a refrigerant is sealed. This circuit becomes the heating section.

Next, hot water is circulated in the heat storage tank 5 through circulation ports 7 and 8 at the bottom and a circulation pump 6, and heat is exchanged in the heat exchanger 2 of the heating section. When the hot water supply faucet 11 is opened, hot water is supplied from the water supply port 9 and hot water is discharged from the water supply port 10 by being pushed up by the water pressure.

A lower sensor 12 such as a thermistor for detecting the temperature of the water in the lower part is provided at the lower part of the heat storage tank 5, and an upper sensor 13 for detecting the temperature of the water in the upper part is provided at the upper part.

Various signals are sent from the control circuit 14 to the operation display 15.

Therefore, the conventional control method will be described below.

First, the lower sensor 12 is connected to the heating control circuit 16 and controls the compressor 1 and the circulation pump 6 to be turned off if the water temperature is higher than the set temperature, and turned on if it is lower than the set temperature.

However, in this method, as shown in FIG. 3, the temperature of the upper sensor 13 (solid line) and the temperature of the lower sensor 12 (broken line) differ depending on the time. In other words, if all the hot water is used up and supplied to the heat storage tank 5 at 10pm the previous day, the temperature will continue to rise by collecting atmospheric heat until the next morning.

At 6 o'clock in the morning, the state is a, and the heat storage tank 5
The entire capacity of, for example about 300, is heated to 26°C. If we were to turn on hot water in the kitchen for morning cooking at this time, the water supply temperature would be 10°C for about 50°C at the bottom, and 26°C for the above 250°C, which would be condition b.

After this, state c continues, in which only the lower part is heated until the lower part, approximately 50°C, reaches the same temperature as the upper part, 250°C.

The problem here is that the water temperature displayed on the operation display 15 is the signal from the upper sensor 13.
Since the water temperature does not change at all from 6:00 a.m. to 9:00 a.m., it is unclear whether the heat collection operation is normal or not.

This phenomenon occurs every time a timed hot water supply pattern as shown in FIG. 3 appears. If a large amount of hot water is used at a time, or if the hot water temperature is high, the displayed water temperature may not change for a long time.

As described above, since the heating status inside the heat storage tank 5 cannot be determined from the operation display 15, a misunderstanding has occurred that may cause the user to mistake the system for failure.

Also, there is a feeling of anxiety and disbelief that if we wait until the evening, the temperature will rise, so instead of using economical solar-heated hot water, we replenish it using other equipment such as a gas water heater. There was a big problem in that it was not possible to save much on fuel consumption because it was stored away.

OBJECTS OF THE INVENTION It is an object of the present invention to provide an easy-to-use water heater that extracts information regarding the state of hot water inside a heat storage tank in a hot water storage type water heater using a small number of sensors.

Structure of the Invention In the present invention, by means of a comparison circuit that compares the temperature difference of hot water between the upper sensor and the lower sensor, when the temperature difference exceeds a certain value, the operation indicator displays a message indicating that "only the lower part is being heated". The system is configured so that in the following cases, the entire heat storage tank is displayed as "temperature rising uniformly from top to bottom".

DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS An embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. In FIGS. 4 and 5, the hot water temperature display circuit 17 and heating control circuit 16 are the same as the conventional ones.

The operation display 15 is provided with a digital display 18, an "in operation" lamp 19, a "lower part only heating up" lamp 20, and a "top and bottom uniform heating up" lamp 21.

The "in operation" lamp 21 blinks in synchronization with the start and stop of the compressor 1 and the circulation pump 6 in response to a signal from the heating control circuit 16.

A comparison circuit 22 that compares the temperatures of the upper sensor 13 and the lower sensor 12 determines the temperature difference between the two. As a result, when the current temperature difference is larger than the preset temperature difference e in FIG. 3, the heat storage tank 5 is in state b or c, so the "lower part only heating up" lamp 20 is turned on.

Further, if the temperature difference e between the two is less than the set value, the heat storage tank 5 is in the state a or d, so the "Temperature rising evenly above and below" lamp 21 is turned on.

Naturally, the value displayed on the digital display 18 hardly changes when the "Temperature rising only at the bottom" lamp 20 is lit. When the "Temperature rising evenly above and below" lamp 21 is on, the temperature rises at a rate of several degrees Celsius per hour, depending on the heat collection capacity at that time.

Effects of the invention (1) Even when the "In operation" lamp is lit and the hot water temperature display on the digital display is not changing, if the "Temperature rising only at the bottom" lamp is lit, the water temperature will rise normally. You can tell at a glance that the machine is warming up just by looking at the operation display.

(2) When the "Temperature rising evenly on top and bottom" lamp is lit, you can see that the hot water at the temperature displayed on the digital display has been stored to the full capacity of the heat storage tank, and the hot water is discharged in large quantities. When dispensing hot water, it can be determined whether or not it will become watery during the process, greatly improving usability.

(3) Information on all conditions of the hot water in the heat storage tank can be obtained just by using the signals from two temperature sensors, making it much easier for customers to use and making effective use of economical hot water generated by solar heat. Significant fuel savings can be achieved.

(4) Since it has a simple configuration, it is possible to provide a water heater with an operation indicator that is inexpensive and has fewer failures.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

Fig. 1 is a system diagram showing the overall configuration of the water heater, Fig. 2 is a block diagram showing the conventional control method, and Fig. 3 shows changes in hot water temperature and the state inside the heat storage tank. 4 is a block diagram showing an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 5 is a front view of a similar operation indicator. 5... Heat storage tank, 9... Water supply port, 10... Hot water supply port, 12... Lower sensor, 13... Upper sensor,
15... Operation indicator, 22... Comparison circuit.

Claims (1)

[Scope of Claims] 1. A water supply port and a heating section are provided at the bottom of the heat storage tank, a hot water supply port is provided at the top, a lower sensor for detecting the water temperature is provided at the bottom of the heat storage tank, and an upper sensor for detecting the water temperature is provided at the top of the heat storage tank. A water heater with an operation display, which uses a comparison circuit that calculates a temperature difference between the lower sensor and the upper sensor based on signals from the lower sensor and the upper sensor, and is configured to display the current boiling state of the heat storage tank on an operation display. 2. The hot water supply with operation display according to claim 1, which lights up a lamp indicating that "only the lower part is heating up" on the operation indicator when the temperature difference between the upper sensor and the lower sensor is equal to or higher than a set value. Device. 3. Claim 1, which lights up a lamp to indicate that the entire heat storage tank is being "heated up and down uniformly" on the operation indicator when the temperature difference between the upper and lower sensors is less than a set value. Water heater with operation display.