JPH062951A - Bath apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To eliminate an erroneous detection of the remaining water in a bathtub due to drop of water of a circulation tube at the time of draining the bathtub in the case of filling the bathtub with hot water and to eliminate a deviation of a hot water filling level. CONSTITUTION:A water level monitor 17 is provided. When it detects in a predetermined sequence that a water level in a bathtub 7 is higher than a circulation adapter 8, it turns ON a water level signal, then monitors a water level, and turns OFF the water level signal when the level is lower than a reference level. At the time of filling with hot water, a hot water filling sequence corresponding to the state of the water level signal is selected depending on whether water remains in the bathtub. Accordingly, when the level in the bathtub becomes lower than a position of the adapter, accurate detection of the remaining water can be executed at the time of starting an operation of a timer even if an error occurs in the case of detecting the level in the bathtub due to drainage of the water fully filled in a circulation tube when the bathtub is drained by an installation work, and hot water filling, a timer operation can be accurately conducted.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a bath apparatus for automatically hot water supplying hot water set to a water level set in a bath with gas or oil as a heat source.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art A conventional bath apparatus, for example, as shown in FIG. 2, comprises a hot water supply channel 2 and a circulating water channel 3 via a heat exchanger 1. The hot water supply channel 2 is generally located on the secondary side of the heat exchanger 1. Hot water supply channel 4
The bath hot water supply channel 5 is provided with an opening / closing valve 6 for opening and closing the bath hot water supply, which is connected to the circulating water channel 3.

The circulating water channel 3 is connected to a circulating adapter 8 of the bathtub 7, and a circulating pump 9 for circulating the bath water, an opening / closing valve 10 for opening and closing the circulating water channel, and a pressure sensor indirectly detect the water level of the bathtub. A water level detector 11 is provided in order.

The heater 12 heats the water in the circulating water channel 3 and the hot water supply channel 2 via the heat exchanger 1. Water filling controller 13
Is the heater 12, the first by the signal from the water level detector 11.
The open / close valve 6, the second open / close valve 10, and the circulation pump 9 are controlled to supply hot water at a predetermined temperature to the bath to a predetermined water level.

The reheating controller 14 closes the first opening / closing valve 6 and opens the second opening / closing valve 10 to control the circulation pump 9 and the heater 12 to circulate and heat the water in the bath.

When the reference water level data is not stored in the reference value storage unit 15 at the start of the water filling, the water filling control unit 13 opens the first opening / closing valve 6 and closes the second opening / closing valve 10 to make the first opening / closing valve 10 closed. Bath hot water is supplied, and when the water level becomes higher than the circulation adapter 8, it is detected that the signal from the water level detector 11 starts to increase,
The circulation pump 9 is driven to release air in the circulation water channel 3 (hereinafter,
After performing the air purging), the water level detector 11 is stabilized for a predetermined time, the water level at that time is stored in the reference value storage unit 15 as the reference water level, and the first on-off valve 6 is opened again.
The second on-off valve 10 is closed and the second bath hot water is supplied to the predetermined water level based on the reference water level in the reference value storage unit 15. Further, when the reference water level data is stored in the reference value storage unit 15 at the start of tapping, the second bath hot water is supplied from the start time based on the reference water level data.

The timer operation control unit 16 includes a reference value storage unit 15
If the reference water level data is not stored in the table, it is assumed that there is no residual water, and the water filling control unit is started in advance at an earlier time than the set reservation time by the time required to fill the water. , Water filling is completed at the reserved time. When the reference water level data is stored in the reference value storage unit 15, the timer operation control unit 16 determines whether there is residual water from the water level data of the water level detector 11 based on the stored reference water level data. Then, when there is residual water with respect to the reserved time, and before the required time corresponding to the case when there is no residual water, the water filling controller 13
Alternatively, the reheating control unit 14 is activated and the filling of water is completed at the reserved time.

With this configuration, it has been attempted to shorten the filling time without unnecessarily establishing the reference water level or inserting an air purge sequence during filling.

Even when there is residual water in the bathtub even when the timer is operating, the completion of the filling is almost reserved by starting the filling operation earlier or later than the reserved time by a time corresponding to the state of the remaining water. It was designed to be ahead of time.

[0010]

However, in the conventional structure as described above, the first problem is that the water level detector 11 is attached after the hot water is filled once and the circulating water passage 3 is air-purged. The side (return pipe) must be filled with water at all times to detect the water level accurately. Further bathtub 7
When the water is below the bath device, when the hot water in the bathtub is drained, air enters the circulation pipe from the circulation adapter 8 and the water that fills the circulation pipe drops (hereinafter referred to as water drop), causing the detected water level. There is a problem in that the water level of the filling water will be greatly deviated from the setting when the next filling is made. In addition, in order to eliminate as much water as possible, it is necessary to provide a narrowed portion at the return pipe port of the circulation adapter 8 or to provide a trap on the return pipe side during piping, which impairs the degree of freedom in construction work. There was a problem.

As a second problem, when the user is trying to enter the bath at the reserved time during the timer operation, the case where the water stretched over the bath is boiled by reheating and the case where the bath is empty and the hot water is boiled Compared with the case, assuming that it takes longer time, there is a problem that the required time is wasted by starting the bath operation before the maximum required time with respect to the reserved time.

[0012]

In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, the bath device of the present invention comprises, as a first means, a heater,
A heat exchanger that transfers the heat of the heater to water to turn it into hot water, a circulating water passage formed by piping a bathtub and the heat exchanger with a forward pipe and a return pipe, and the heat exchanger that receives water supply from a water supply or the like. A hot water supply channel for supplying hot water to the bathtub through the circulation channel and a circulation channel for circulating the bathtub water from the first opening / closing valve for opening and closing the hot water supply to the bathtub via the circulation channel. A circulating pump, and a second opening / closing valve for opening / closing the circulating water channel,
A water level detector that indirectly detects the water level of the bath by detecting a pressure change in the circulating water channel connected to the bath, and a water level detector that controls the first opening / closing valve and the heater to determine the water level. The first bath hot water is supplied until the temperature rises by a fixed amount, the circulation pump is driven for a predetermined time with the second opening / closing valve open, and the first opening / closing valve and the heating with the second opening / closing valve closed. A hot water filling unit that controls the water heater to supply hot water to the second bath and keeps the second on-off valve closed when the circulation pump is not driven,
The reference value storage unit that stores the water level data when the second bath hot water supply is started, and the water level detector turns on the signal indicating that there is residual water when the water filling control unit starts the second bath hot water supply, The water level detector compares the water level data of the reference value storage unit, and when the signal of the water level detector becomes low, there is a residual water monitoring unit that turns off the signal with residual water. When the presence signal is ON, the first bath hot water supply is omitted and only the second bath hot water supply is performed, and the second bath hot water supply is performed up to a predetermined water level based on the water level data in the reference value storage unit. .

As a second means, a circulation is constituted by a heater, a heat exchanger for transferring the heat of the heater to water to make hot water, a bathtub, the heat exchanger, a forward pipe and a return pipe. A water channel and a first opening / closing valve for opening and closing the hot water supply to the bathtub via the heat exchanger to receive the water supply from the water pipe, and to the return pipe of the circulating water path,
A hot water supply channel for supplying hot water to the bathtub through the circulation channel;
A circulating pump that circulates bath water in the circulating water passage, a second opening / closing valve that opens and closes the circulating water passage, and a pressure change in the circulating water passage connected to the bath to indirectly detect the water level of the bath. With the water level detector, the first on-off valve and the heater controlled, the first bath hot water is supplied until the water level rises by the water level detector, and the second on-off valve is opened. After driving the circulation pump for a predetermined time, the second opening / closing valve is closed to control the first opening / closing valve and the heater to supply the second bath hot water, and the bath hot water and the circulation pump are not driven. At this time, the water filling control unit that keeps the second on-off valve closed, the reference value storage unit that stores the water level data when the second bath hot water supply is started, and the water filling control unit is the second bath hot water supply. When the signal starts, the signal with residual water is turned on, and the signal from the water level detector and the reference value The water level data of the storage unit is compared, and when the signal of the water level detector becomes low, the residual water monitoring unit that turns off the signal with residual water, the first opening / closing valve is closed, and the second opening / closing valve is opened. The heater and the circulation pump are controlled to circulate and heat the water in the bathtub, and a signal output from the residual water monitoring unit to measure the current time is used to count the reserved time. When the current time is before the required time corresponding to each of them, the timer operation control unit for controlling the water filling control unit and the reheating control unit is provided.

[0014]

With the above-described structure, the present invention constantly monitors the water level in the bathtub after filling with water, and when there is no residual water when the water level falls below the reference water level, the first action is to drain the bath water. Even if a water drop occurs and the signal from the water level detector rises artificially, the presence or absence of residual water is not erroneously determined. Therefore, when there is no residual water, it is possible to reliably perform air purging to perform hot water filling, and when there is residual water, the air purge can be omitted. Second
As a function of, it is possible to judge in advance whether to boil the bath by reheating with or without residual water, or to boil the bath by supplying hot water from the bath. The bath can be heated at the reserved time by starting the operation early or late.

[0015]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to FIG.

FIG. 1 is a functional block diagram of the present invention, in which a hot water supply channel 2 and a circulating water channel 3 are constituted via a heat exchanger 1, and the hot water supply channel 2 is a secondary side of the heat exchanger 1 and a general hot water channel 4. It branches to the bath hot water supply channel 5, and the bath hot water supply channel 5 is connected to the circulating water channel 3 with a first opening / closing valve 6 for opening and closing the bath hot water interposed.

The circulating water channel 3 is connected to the circulation adapter 8 of the bath 7, and the heat exchanger 1, the circulating pump 9 for circulating the bath water, the second opening / closing valve 10 for opening and closing the circulating channel, and the pressure sensor indirectly. Water level detector 11 for detecting the water level in the bathtub
And the circulation adapter 8 are provided in that order.

The heater 12 heats the water in the circulating water channel 3 and the hot water supply channel 2 via the heat exchanger 1.

The water filling controller 13 controls the heater 12, the first on-off valve 6, the second on-off valve 10 and the circulation pump 9 in response to the signal from the water level detector 11 so that hot water having a predetermined temperature is set in the bath 7. Supply hot water to the water level.

The reheating controller 14 closes the first opening / closing valve 6 and opens the second opening / closing valve 10 to control the circulation pump 9 and the heater 12 to circulate and heat the water in the bath 7.

The timer operation control unit 16 has a clock function,
The water filling controller 13 and the reheating controller 14 are controlled so that hot water having a predetermined temperature is filled to a predetermined water level by a preset reservation time.

The reference value storage unit 15 stores the water level after the water level of the bathtub 7 reaches the circulation adapter 8 when the water filling controller 13 fills the water and the air is purged in the circulation water channel as the reference water level.

The residual water monitoring unit 17 compares the water level signal with the reference water level and turns on / off the residual water signal when the circulation pump 9 is stopped. There are other components such as a temperature sensor for detecting the temperature of the bathtub 7, a temperature sensor for detecting the hot water supply temperature, a flow rate sensor for detecting the flow rate, and a setting unit for setting the temperature, but they are omitted because they are not related to the description of the present invention. To do.

Next, the operation of the present invention will be described. First, at the time of filling with hot water, the second opening / closing valve 10 is closed, the first opening / closing valve 6 is opened, and hot water is supplied to the bathtub 7. When the bathtub 7 is empty, the change in the water level is not transmitted to the water level detector while the water level in the bathtub 7 does not reach the circulation adapter 8, but when the water level reaches the position of the circulation adapter, the water level changes as the bath water is heated. The water level signal of the detector 11 also rises. After detecting this change and supplying hot water for a sufficient time to cover the circulation adapter, the first opening / closing valve 6 is closed, the second opening / closing valve 10 is opened, and the circulation pump 9 is driven to purge the air in the circulation water passage 3. To do. When the air purge is completed, the circulation pump 9 is stopped and the second opening / closing valve 10 is also closed to wait for the water level signal of the water level detector 11 to stabilize, and this value is stored in the reference value storage unit 15 as the reference water level. At this time, the residual water monitoring unit 17 turns on the residual water signal.

The first on-off valve 6 is opened again to start hot water supply to the bath 7. At this time, the pipe from the circulation adapter 8 to the on-off valve 10 via the water level detector 11 becomes a pipe having a relation between the circulation adapter and the opening, and the inside of the pipe is filled with water. Changes according to the bathtub water level. This water level signal is compared with the water level reference value and a preset water level setting value, and when the water level signal exceeds the set water level, the first on-off valve 6 is closed to stop hot water supply from the bath, and the reheating control section 14 The bath water is additionally heated to complete the filling.

The residual water monitoring unit 17 continues to compare the water level signal with the reference water level after this, and turns off the residual water signal when the water level signal falls below the reference water level.

When starting the filling of water, the filling controller 13 starts
When the signal with remaining water is ON, the reference value storage unit 1
Water filling is performed based on the reference water level stored in 5, and when the residual water signal is OFF, the water filling is performed according to the procedure described above.

Next, the timer operation operation will be described. Generally, the required time differs when the bathtub 7 is empty and the hot water supply function is used to fill the water, and when the bathtub 7 has the remaining cold water of the previous day and is boiled by additional heating. Therefore, in order to fill the bath with hot water of a predetermined temperature up to the predetermined water level at the reserved time, the timer operation control unit 16 causes the signal output from the residual water monitoring unit 17 to empty the bathtub and When there is the remaining hot water and it is filled with water, the hot water filling control unit 13 and the reheating control unit 1 are provided when the current time measured with respect to the reserved time is before the corresponding required time.
4 is controlled to fill water.

[0029]

As described above, according to the bath device of the present invention,
A residual water monitoring unit is provided to indicate that there is residual water when the water level of the bathtub reaches the position of the circulation adapter.After that, it is always monitored that the water level falls below the circulation adapter, and if it falls below it, there is no residual water. It is possible to obtain the following effects without erroneously determining that there is no residual water due to water dropping. (1) When there is residual water, the filling time can be shortened and the filling can be performed without passing through a sequence such as air purging. Further, it is possible to eliminate the deviation of the filling water level due to an erroneous determination when there is no residual water. In addition, it is possible to eliminate restrictions on installation work such as using a special circulation adapter and installing a trap at the time of piping to prevent water from falling. (2) When the timer is in operation, the filling of water is started before the time required for the reservation time that accurately corresponds to the presence or absence of residual water, so there is no possibility that filling will not be completed even when the reservation time is reached. You can take a bath at any time.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a functional block diagram showing an embodiment of a bath device according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a functional block diagram showing a conventional bath device.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 Heat Exchanger 2 Hot Water Supply Channel 3 Circulation Channel 6 First Opening / Closing Valve 7 Bath 8 Circulation Adapter 9 Circulation Pump 10 Second Opening / Closing Valve 11 Water Level Detector 12 Heater 13 Hot Water Control Section 14 Reheating Control Section 15 Reference Value Storage unit 16 Timer operation control unit 17 Residual water monitoring unit

 ─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuation of the front page (72) Inventor Toshishi Yamamoto 1006 Kadoma, Kadoma City, Osaka Prefecture Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd.

Claims (2)

[Claims] 1. A heater, a heat exchanger for transferring the heat of the heater to water to make hot water, a circulating water channel composed of a bathtub, the heat exchanger, a forward pipe and a return pipe, and water supply from a tap water. Receiving a hot water supply channel for supplying hot water to the bathtub through the circulation water channel from the first opening / closing valve for opening and closing hot water supply to the bathtub via the heat exchanger, A circulation pump that circulates bath water in the water passage, a second opening / closing valve that opens and closes the circulation water passage, and a water level detection that indirectly detects the water level of the bath water by detecting a pressure change in the circulation water passage connected to the bath. A vessel,
The first open / close valve and the heater are controlled to supply the first bath hot water until the water level rises by a predetermined amount by the water level detector, and the second open / close valve is opened for a predetermined time for the circulation pump. After driving, the second on-off valve is closed to control the first on-off valve and the heater to supply the second bath hot water, and the second on-off valve when the circulation pump is not driven. The water filling control unit that keeps the water closed, the reference value storage unit that stores the water level data when the second bath hot water supply is started, and the water level detection when the water filling control unit starts the second bath hot water supply The device turns on the signal with residual water, compares the signal from the water level detector with the water level data in the reference value storage unit, and turns off the signal with residual water when the signal from the water level detector becomes low. When the signal indicating that there is residual water is ON,
The bath hot water supply is omitted and only the second bath hot water supply is performed.
The bath hot water supply device is a bath device that controls the water filling by supplying hot water to a predetermined water level based on the water level data in the reference value storage unit. 2. A heater, a heat exchanger for transferring the heat of the heater to water to make hot water, a circulating water passage composed of a bathtub, the heat exchanger, a forward pipe and a return pipe, and water supply from tap water. Receiving a hot water supply channel for supplying hot water to the bathtub through the circulation water channel from the first opening / closing valve for opening and closing hot water supply to the bathtub via the heat exchanger, A circulation pump that circulates bath water in the water passage, a second opening / closing valve that opens and closes the circulation water passage, and a water level detection that indirectly detects the water level of the bath water by detecting a pressure change in the circulation water passage connected to the bath. A vessel,
The first open / close valve and the heater are controlled to supply the first bath hot water until the water level rises by a predetermined amount by the water level detector, and the second open / close valve is opened for a predetermined time for the circulation pump. After driving, the second open / close valve is closed and the first open / close valve and the heater are controlled to supply the second hot water for the bath. Water filling control unit that keeps the on-off valve closed, a reference value storage unit that stores water level data when the second bath hot water supply is started, and a time point when the water filling control unit starts the second bath hot water supply And turn on the signal with residual water, compare the signal from the water level detector with the water level data in the reference value storage unit, and turn off the signal with residual water when the signal from the water level detector becomes low. Closing the first on-off valve and opening the second on-off valve to close the heater and the circulation port. It has a reheating control unit that controls the temperature of the water in the bathtub to circulate and heat the water in the bathtub, and has a clock function.It measures the current time and the signal output from the residual water monitoring unit measures the reserved time. A bath device comprising a timer operation control unit for controlling the hot water filling control unit and the reheating control unit when the current time is before the corresponding required time.