JPH0610624B2 - Bath kettle with water level detector - Google Patents

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD The present invention relates to a bath kettle with a water level detecting device.

Configuration of conventional example and its problems A conventional bath kettle with a water level detector is a diaphragm that converts water pressure directly or into air pressure through a thin tube for pressure introduction led from a water pipe connecting the bath kettle and the bathtub. Tell
When the mechanical displacement of the diaphragm caused thereby reaches a predesigned magnitude, the water supply valve or the electrical contact is operated to control the water supply to the bathtub. However, with such a conventional configuration, it is not possible to realize a variable water level automatic hot water filling function in which the user simply presses the automatic button to fill the hot water at the desired water level. The functionality was not sufficient, for example, it was not possible to simultaneously realize the water heating prevention function that determines whether or not the water level at which the water can be ignited in the water bath is controlled so that the water bath is not watered by only one water level detection device. Further, since the hot water is immersed in the pressure-introducing thin tube for transmitting the pressure to the diaphragm, there is a problem that the thin tube is clogged by the scale and the reliability is not sufficient.

OBJECT OF THE INVENTION It is an object of the present invention to provide a device which eliminates the above-mentioned drawbacks, that is, a bathtub equipped with a diaphragm-type water level detection device using means for detecting a water pressure proportional to the water level of a bathtub.

Structure of the invention The present invention connects two heat exchangers provided in the bathtub main body with the bathtub, and two water pipes for circulating and heating the water in the bathtub with the heat exchanger, The pressure detecting means is provided with being branched from a part of the circulation path including these water-flowing tubes, and has a communication tube forming an air reservoir and pressure detecting means connected to the tip of the communication tube. A diaphragm that begins to receive pressure from the state where the water pipe is blocked by the water in the bathtub via the air reservoir of the communication pipe, and receives a pressure proportional to it as the bath water level rises to cause mechanical displacement, and The diaphragm is composed of a mechanical-electrical converter for converting the mechanical displacement of the floating diaphragm into an electric signal, and the state in which the water pipe is closed is taken as the minimum water level, and the bath water level above it is detected.

Description of Embodiments FIG. 1 is a schematic configuration diagram showing an embodiment of the present invention. Normally, the water in the bathtub 2 passes through a water pipe 4b on the lower side and a heat exchange is provided in the bathtub body 1. After being sent to the vessel 3, where it is heated by the burner 6, it returns to the bathtub 2 again through the upper water pipe 4a.

The upper water pipe 4a is provided with a communication pipe 5 shunted so as to extend upward in the bath kettle body 1.
As shown in FIG. 2, the distal end portion 5b has a structure in which the tube 7 is inserted. The tube 7 is made of a flexible material such as vinyl chloride, so that the pressure detecting means 8 connected to the tip of the tube 7 can be installed at any place in the bath main body 1.

The pressure detecting means 8 may be a strain gauge type composed of a silicon semiconductor, or a capacitance type using a ceramic diaphragm as one of the electrode plates. In the embodiment, a rubber diaphragm 8a is used. Floating pressure spring 8
Balance with c and mechanical displacement at that time (△ x)
Is used as the pressure detecting means 8 of the formula. The diaphragm 8a receives pressure, and the displacement amount (Δx) of the diaphragm plate 8b is determined by the balance with the spring 8c.
This is transmitted to the mechanical-electrical converter 8d via the deviation rod 8e, and finally an electric signal proportional to the pressure is obtained. As the configuration of the mechanical-electrical converter 8d,
It is conceivable that the inductance of the winding is changed by the displacement amount of the displacement rod 8e made of a magnetic material.

In such a configuration, due to the difference h between the water level in the bathtub 2 and the water level in the communication pipe 5, the air reservoir 5 in the communication pipe 5
The water level in the bath can be obtained by utilizing the fact that the air pressure in the tube 7 and the pressure receiving chamber 8f of the pressure detecting means 8 changes.

That is, when the atmospheric pressure is _Po , the density of water is ρ, and the spring constant of the spring 8c is K, the air pressure P ₁ of the air reservoir 5a in the communication pipe 5 is expressed by the following equation.

P ₁ = P ₀ + ρgh (1) However, g is a weight acceleration coefficient of about 9.8 m / s ² . On the other hand, when the spring 8c is deformed by Δx, the pressure P ₂ that the diaphragm 8a receives from the spring side is calculated by the following equation.

P ₂ = P ₀ + K · Δx (2) The pressure expressed by the above equations (1) and (2) is the diaphragm 8a.
Because it is balanced in, when P 1 ₌ P _2, the relation of the following equation.

ρgh = K · Δx (3) That is, since ρ, g, and K are proportional constants, the displacement amount Δ
It is shown that the water level difference h between the bath 2 and the communication pipe 5 can be detected by measuring the amount of electricity corresponding to x.
On the other hand, the water level displacement amount Δh in the communication pipe 5 is much smaller than the water level difference h in the bathtub 2 and the communication pipe 5, and can be almost ignored. Therefore, the water pipe 4a is blocked by the water in the bathtub. If the water level h ₁ is calculated in advance, the water level H in the bathtub 2 can be calculated by the following equation.

H≈h + h ₁ Effects of the Invention By adopting such a configuration, the following remarkable operational effects are exhibited.

(1) Since the water level in the bathtub is measured via a water pipe that connects the bathtub and heat exchanger, a water level detection device such as a diaphragm or mechanical-electrical converter is installed inside the bathtub main body together with the heat exchanger. It was possible to provide a bath kettle that can be installed in a room and is easy to handle for installation work.

(2) Since an electric signal proportional to the water level in the bathtub can be obtained,
By transmitting the signal to the remote control at a remote location and displaying it, it became possible to grasp the water injection status from a remote location.

(3) When the water level signal reaches the preset water level that the user has set in advance, the water injection can be stopped automatically, so that an automatic bath with dramatically improved usability can be realized and the user It became possible to pour hot water into the bath at the desired water level with a simple operation.

(4) By configuring the pressure detection means so that the pressure starts to be applied to the diaphragm from the state where the entire water pipe is blocked by the water in the bathtub, only the presence or absence of the displacement of the diaphragm is detected to reliably prevent the water heating. Not only has it become possible to control the bath kettle, but it has also become possible to continuously and widely detect the level of the bathtub water level that is actually required for filling water from the water level that closes the water pipe to the full water level.

(5) Since the diaphragm of the pressure detecting means receives pressure via the air reservoir formed at the tip of the communication pipe, the water in the bathtub is immersed in the fine tube for introducing pressure to the pressure detecting means. It was possible to realize a highly reliable water level detection device that does not block the pressure transmission path due to clogging with scale.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic configuration diagram of a bath kettle with a water level detecting device showing an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a detailed sectional view of the same portion. 1 ... Bath pot main body, 2 ... tub, 3 ... heat exchanger, 4
a, 4b ... water pipe, 5 ... communication pipe, 7 ... tube,
8 ... Pressure detection means.

 ─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuation of the front page (56) References JP-A-55-75621 (JP, A) Actual public 54-37320 (JP, Y2) Actual public 55-50576 (JP, Y2) Actual public 54- 36694 (JP, Y2)

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A water exchanger provided in a bathtub main body and a bathtub are connected to each other, and two water pipes for circulating and heating the water in the bathtub with the heat exchanger, and these water pipes. The communication pipe is provided so as to be shunted from a part of the circulation passage including the water passage pipe to form an air reservoir, and the pressure detection means connected to the tip of the communication pipe. From the state where the water pipe is blocked by the water in the bathtub, pressure begins to be exerted through the air reservoir of the communication pipe, and a diaphragm that causes a mechanical displacement by receiving a pressure proportional to it as the bath water level rises, and this diaphragm A bath kettle with a water level detection device, which comprises a mechanical-electrical converter for converting the received mechanical displacement into an electric signal, and sets the state where the water pipe is blocked as the minimum water level and detects the water level above the bathtub.