JPH0629619Y2 - Automatic water heater for bathtub - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION (Industrial field of application) The present invention comprises a forced circulation heating device for heating hot water in a bathtub, and supplies new hot water from the hot water supply device to the bathtub via this forced circulation heating device. The present invention relates to an automatic hot water supply device for a bathtub in a bath device.

(Prior Art) As this type of bath device, for example, Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 63-214
As shown in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 42-42, a bath provided with a forward pipe from which water is fed from the return pipe side to the return pipe side while separating a return pipe and a return pipe by a pump provided with a circulation pipe line having both ends connected to a bathtub A forced circulation heating device for heating the hot and cold water in the bathtub by the kettle, and an electromagnetic valve for selectively communicating the suction side of the pump with the return pipe and the hot water supply pipe from the hot water supply device, and a hot water supply pipe in the middle of the hot water supply pipe There is a device provided with a hopper for dropping the hot water from the device and sending the accumulated hot water to the solenoid valve.

(Problems to be Solved by the Invention) In such a conventional technique, since the pump must be operated even when hot water is supplied from the hot water supply device to the bathtub, extra energy is required correspondingly and the suction side of the pump is required. Requires a solenoid valve that selectively communicates with the return pipe and the hot water supply pipe, which complicates the structure, and since hot water is mainly supplied to the bathtub only through the forward pipe, the pipe line resistance increases and the hot water supply flow rate increases. Therefore, even if the heating capacity of the hot water supply device has a margin, the hot water supply time cannot be reduced.

On the other hand, it is possible to install a vacuum breaker instead of the hopper in the middle of the hot water supply pipe. According to this, the water supply pressure applied to the water supply pipe of the hot water supply device is applied almost as it is to the circulation pipe except for some pressure drop. Therefore, it is not necessary to operate the pump when hot water is supplied.Therefore, there is no need for a solenoid valve that selectively connects the suction side of the pump to the return pipe and the hot water supply pipe. Since it can be performed from both sides at the same time, the pipeline resistance is reduced as a whole, and the hot water supply time can be reduced. However, since there is a pump with a large flow resistance on either the outflow side or the return side, the line resistance of that side is considerably large, so the decrease in the line resistance as a whole is limited, and the hot water supply is limited. The time cannot be reduced significantly.

An object of the present invention is not only to achieve each of the above effects by using a vacuum breaker as an automatic hot water supply device for a bathtub, but also to significantly reduce hot water supply time.

(Means for Solving the Problem) For this reason, the automatic hot water supply method for the bathtub according to the present invention is, as shown in the accompanying drawings, provided by a pump 24 provided with a circulation pipeline 21 having both ends connected to the bathtub 10 in the middle thereof. A forced circulation heating device 20 that is separated into a return pipe 22 and a forward pipe 23 and sends hot water from the return pipe side to the forward pipe side to heat the hot water in the bathtub 10 by a bath kettle 25 provided in the same circulation pipeline. In the bath apparatus including the hot water supply device 30 that supplies hot water to the bathtub 10 via the forced circulation heating device, a hot water supply pipe that connects a hot water outlet of the hot water supply device 30 to a part of the circulation pipeline 21. When the pressure in the hot water supply pipe is set to 53, it does not operate when the pressure in the hot water supply pipe is higher than the atmospheric pressure, but when it becomes lower than the atmospheric pressure, a vacuum breaker 55 that sucks outside air and maintains the pressure in the hot water supply pipe at approximately the atmospheric pressure, The pump 24 The bypass solenoid valve 51 provided in the communication pipe 50 that bypasses the return pipe 22 and the forward pipe 23, and the operation of the pump 24 when the hot water supply device 30 is supplying hot water to the bathtub 10. It is characterized by comprising a control device 60 for stopping and opening the bypass solenoid valve 51 and closing the bypass solenoid valve when the pump is operating.

(Operation) When hot water is supplied from the hot water supply device 30 to the bathtub 10, the control device 60 stops the pump 24 and opens the bypass solenoid valve 51. The hot water from the hot water supply device 30 is supplied to a part of the circulation pipeline 21 through the hot water supply pipe 53 while being supplied with the water supply pressure.
It is divided into the return pipe 22 side and the outward pipe 23 side and supplied to the bathtub 10 from both. A pump 24 having a large flow resistance is provided in either one of the return pipe 22 and the forward pipe 23. Since the pump 24 is bypassed by the bypass solenoid valve 51 in the open state, that pump 24 is The flow resistance of the pipeline also decreases, so that the resistance of the circulation pipeline 21 from the hot water supply pipe 53 to the bathtub 10 is significantly reduced, and the hot water supply flow rate is increased.

When circulating hot water in the bathtub 10, the control device 6
0 activates the pump 24 and closes the bypass solenoid valve 51. The hot and cold water in the bathtub 10 sucked through the return pipe 22 by the pump 24 is sent to the outward pipe 23, heated by the bathtub 25, and returned to the bathtub 10. When the water supply pressure to the hot water supply device 30 is extremely lowered due to some abnormality, the vacuum breaker 55 sucks the outside air to bring the inside of the hot water supply pipe 53 to almost atmospheric pressure. The hot water in the passage 21 does not flow back to the hot water supply device 30 side.

(Effect of the Invention) As described above, according to the present invention, since the pump is not operated during hot water supply, energy can be saved accordingly, and not only the structure is simplified, but also the circulation when supplying hot water from the hot water supply device to the bathtub. Since the conduit resistance of the conduit is significantly reduced and the hot water supply flow rate is increased, the hot water supply time can be significantly reduced.

(Embodiment) The present invention will be described below with reference to an embodiment shown in the accompanying drawings.

As shown in FIG. 1, both ends of the circulation pipeline 21 are connected to the bathtub 10 via a bus adapter 11 provided at the lower part of one side thereof. The circulation pipe 21 is separated into a return pipe 22 and a forward pipe 23 by a spiral pump 24 provided in the middle of the return pipe 2
Hot water is sent from the 2 side toward the outward pipe 23 side, and the heat exchanger 26 of the bath bath 25 is provided in the middle of the outward pipe 23.
These circulation lines 21 (return route 22 and outward route 23) and pump 2
The forced circulation heating device 20 configured to heat the hot and cold water in the bathtub 10 is constituted by 4 and the bath kettle 25.

As shown in FIG. 1, a circulation pipe 21 is provided with a communication pipe 50 that bypasses the pump 24 and communicates the return pipe 22 and the outward pipe 23, and the communication pipe 50 is provided with a bypass solenoid valve 51. ing. The return pipe 22 is provided with an opening / closing solenoid valve 59 slightly closer to the bathtub 10 side than the connecting portion with the communication pipe 50. The opening / closing solenoid valve 59 is located closer to the bathtub 10 than the valve body 59a of the opening / closing solenoid valve 59.
A pressure sensor 52 for detecting the water level inside is provided.
A bath burner 25 is provided with a gas burner 27 for heating hot water passing through the heat exchanger 26, and the fuel gas is supplied to the gas burner 27 through a gas pipe 28 provided with a gas valve 29 for only opening and closing. Has become.

Next, the hot water supply device 30 that supplies new hot water to the bathtub 10 will be described. As shown in FIG. 1, a water supply pipe 31 and a tap water pipe 32 are provided at the inlet side and the outlet side of the heat exchanger 46 of the instantaneous water heater 45, which is the main part of the water heater 30, and the tip of the tap pipe 32 is provided. Is connected to one inlet of the mixed water faucet 34, and the other inlet of the mixed water faucet 34 is connected to the tip of a connecting pipe 33 branched from the water supply pipe 31. The hot water supply device 30 of the present embodiment is configured by the instant water heater 45 and the mixed water faucet 34, and the outlet of the mixed water faucet 34, which is the hot water outlet of the hot water supply device 30, is connected to the pump 24 and the heat via the hot water supply pipe 53. It is connected to the outward pipe 23 between the exchangers 26. The hot water supply pipe 53 is provided with a vacuum breaker 55 at a portion above the maximum water level of the bathtub 10 with its intermediate portion rising upward, and the check valves 5 are provided at the front half 53a and the rear half 53b located before and after the vacuum breaker 55, respectively.
4a and 54b are provided. Vacuum breaker 55
Is a suction port 56 that is provided in the casing and opens to the atmosphere.
Is closed from the inside by the valve body 57 pressed by the spring 58, and does not operate when the pressure in the hot water supply pipe 53 is higher than the atmospheric pressure, but resists the spring 58 when it becomes lower than the atmospheric pressure. The valve body 57 returns to open the suction port 56 to suck the outside air and maintain the pressure in the hot water supply pipe 53 at almost atmospheric pressure. The vacuum breaker 55 prevents the hot and cold water in the bathtub 10 from being sucked into the water supply pipe 31 when the water supply pressure of the water supply pipe 31 is extremely reduced.

A water supply temperature sensor 36 and a water flow sensor 40 are provided in the water supply pipe 31, a hot water supply temperature sensor 37 is provided in the hot water supply pipe 32, and a hot water supply temperature sensor 38 and a hot water supply solenoid valve 39 are provided in the first half 53a of the hot water supply pipe 53. Is provided. The instantaneous water heater 45 includes a gas burner 4 for heating the water passing through the heat exchanger 46.
7 is provided, and the fuel gas is supplied to the gas burner 47 through a gas pipe 48 provided with an electromagnetic proportional gas valve 49. In the instant water heater 45 of the present embodiment, the opening degree of the proportional gas valve 49 is controlled by the electronic control unit 60, which will be described later, so that the temperature detected by the hot water temperature sensor 37 becomes a constant high temperature. , Mixed faucet 3
4 is also controlled by the electronic control unit 60, and the ratio between the amount of water supplied from the connecting pipe 33 and the amount of hot water discharged from the instantaneous water heater 45 is adjusted so that the hot water temperature detected by the hot water temperature sensor 38 becomes a predetermined set value. To control. The hot water supply device 30 may be a device that controls the hot water supply temperature by combining an instantaneous water heater and a mixing faucet as in the present embodiment, or an instantaneous water heater having a hot water temperature control function, or a hot water storage type hot water. A combination of a water heater and a water faucet may be used to control the hot water temperature. Further, in the present embodiment, the hot water supply temperature sensor 38 and the hot water supply solenoid valve 39 in the first half portion 53a of the hot water supply pipe 53 are provided.
A branch pipe 35a provided with a manual hot water tap 41 is provided between them.

The operation of this bath device is controlled by the electronic control unit 60. As shown in FIG. 1, the electronic control unit 60 includes sensors 36, 37, 38, 40, 52, etc.
9, 34, 39, 49, 51, 59, etc., and pump 24
Is also connected, and an operation panel 61 for setting the hot water supply temperature, the hot water supply water level, the boiling temperature, and the like and for instructing the operation is connected. The electronic control unit 60 includes the sensors 36, 37, 38,
The pump 24 and each solenoid valve 2 based on the detected values from 40, 52, etc. and the set values and commands input from the operation panel 61.
The bath device is operated by controlling 9, 34, 39, 49, 51, 59 and the like.

When the hot water in the bathtub 10 is heated by the forced circulation heating device 20, if the heating switch of the operation panel 61 is turned on,
The electronic control unit 60 opens the opening / closing solenoid valve 59, closes the bypass solenoid valve 51, operates the pump 24, and operates the return pipe 22.
Hot water is sent to the outward pipe 23 side, the gas valve 29 is further opened, and the fuel gas is supplied to the gas burner 27. Hot and cold water in the bathtub 10 is sucked into the return pipe 22 from the bath adapter 11 by the operation of the pump 24, and is returned from the bus adapter 11 into the bathtub 10 through the forward pipe 23 provided with the heat exchanger 26. Hot water returned to the bathtub 10 passes through the heat exchanger 26,
It is heated by the gas ejected from the gas burner 27 and burned, so that the temperature of the hot water in the bathtub 10 gradually rises. When the hot water temperature in the bathtub 10 detected by a temperature sensor (not shown) provided in the return pipe 22 reaches a predetermined set temperature, the electronic control unit 60 closes the gas valve 29 and the pump 24.
To stop heating. In the above state, since the bypass solenoid valve 51 is closed, hot water does not pass through the communication pipe 50, and the water level is not detected by the pressure sensor 52.

Next, an operation in the case of supplying new hot water from the hot water supply device 30 into the empty (or water level lowered) bathtub 10 will be described. When the hot water supply switch of the operation panel 61 is turned on, the electronic control unit 60 opens the hot water supply solenoid valve 39 and activates the hot water supply device 30 so that the hot water of the temperature set by the operation panel 61 is passed through the hot water supply pipe 53 to the circulation conduit. 21 and pump 24 again
Is stopped, the bypass solenoid valve 51 is opened, and the opening / closing solenoid valve 59 repeats an opening / closing cycle consisting of an open state for a relatively long time (for example, 2 minutes) and a closed state for a short time (for example, 15 seconds). When the open / close solenoid valve 59 is opened, the hot water from the hot water supply pipe 53 is divided into two directions, one is supplied to the bathtub 10 through the outward pipe 23, and the other is mainly supplied through the communication pipe 50 and the return pipe 22. In this state, the hot water is returned to the return pipe 2
Since the pump 24, which is supplied to the bathtub 10 from both the 2nd side and the forward pipe 23 side in parallel, and has a large resistance, is bypassed by the bypass solenoid valve 51 in the open state, the resistance of the hot water supply pipe line to the bathtub 10 is The hot water supply flow rate increases significantly. Further, when the open / close solenoid valve 59 is closed, the hot water from the hot water supply pipe 53 is supplied to the bathtub 10 only through the forward pipe 23, and the electronic control unit 60 causes the pressure sensor 52 in the return pipe 22 where the flow has stopped to cause the hot water to flow in the bathtub 10. The water level on the surface 12 is detected. In this state, the hot water supply flow rate is almost the same as before, but
Since the closed state of the opening / closing solenoid valve 59 is shorter than the open state, the average hot water supply flow rate is significantly increased and the hot water supply time is greatly reduced as compared with the conventional case. In the hot water supply state, the bypass solenoid valve 51 may be opened and closed simultaneously with the opening / closing solenoid valve 59.

In this embodiment, when the water level of the water surface 12 approaches the set water level (for example, 50 mm downward), the electronic control unit 60 sets the open / close solenoid valve 59 to the normally closed state and continuously detects the water level to detect the water level. When 12 reaches the water level set by the operation panel 61, the hot water supply solenoid valve 39 is closed to stop the hot water supply device 30.

Even when the water supply pressure of the water supply pipe 31 is extremely reduced due to some abnormality during the hot water supply from the hot water supply device 30, the hot water in the bathtub 10 and the circulation pipeline 21 may flow backward to the water supply pipe 31 side by two pieces. The check valves 54a, 54b and the vacuum breaker 55 are triple-prevented. Even if the check valve 54a (and 54b) does not block the reverse flow due to some failure, if the pressure of the water supply falls and the pressure in the upper portion of the hot water supply pipe 53 becomes lower than the atmospheric pressure, the vacuum breaker 55
The outside air is sucked in through the suction port 56 to maintain the inside of the hot water supply pipe 53 at substantially atmospheric pressure. Thereby, the bathtub 10 and the circulation line 21
The hot water inside is shut off from the hot water inside the hot water supply device 30, and does not flow back to the water supply pipe 31 side.

In the above embodiment, the hot water supply pipe 53 was connected to the forward pipe 23 of the circulation line 21, but the present invention is shown in FIG.
As shown in A, it can also be implemented by connecting to the return pipe 22 of the circulation line 21.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is an overall configuration diagram showing an embodiment of an automatic hot water supply apparatus for a bath according to the present invention. DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 ... Bathtub, 20 ... Forced circulation heating device, 21 ... Circulation pipe line, 22 ... Return pipe, 23 ... Outgoing pipe, 24 ... Pump, 25 ... Bathtub, 30 ... Hot water supply device, 50 ... Communication pipe, 51 ... Bypass solenoid valve, 53 ... Hot water supply pipe, 55 ... Vacuum breaker, 6
0 ... Control device (electronic control device).

Claims (1)

[Scope of utility model registration request] 1. A bath provided in the circulation pipe by separating water into a return pipe and a return pipe by a pump having a circulation pipe whose both ends are connected to a bath and provided in the middle of the pipe. A bath device comprising a forced circulation heating device for heating hot water in a bathtub by a kettle, and a hot water supply device for supplying hot water to the bathtub via the forced circulation heating device. Is provided on a hot water supply pipe that is connected to a part of the circulation pipe, and does not operate when the pressure inside the hot water supply pipe is higher than atmospheric pressure, but if it becomes lower than atmospheric pressure, the outside air is sucked in and the pressure inside the hot water supply pipe is reduced. A vacuum breaker that maintains the pressure at about atmospheric pressure, a bypass solenoid valve that is provided in a communication pipe that bypasses the pump and connects the return pipe and the outward pipe, and the hot water supply device is supplying hot water to the bathtub. Shuts down the pump Wherein when the bypass solenoid valve opens Toshikatsu the pump is operating the automatic hot water supply apparatus to the bathtub, characterized in that a control device to close the same bypass solenoid valve with.