JPH07294014A - Electric water heating appliance - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To obtain an electric water heating appliance equipped with a function making it possible to know early the abnormality of a time switch which limits a time of electrification by a midnight power. CONSTITUTION:A power supply time measuring means (g) which measures a time for which a power is supplied through a time switch (c) and a display means (i) which starts operating by an operation of a mode switching part (h) and displays the result of measurement by the measuring means (g) are provided. Moreover, a power non-supply time measuring means (j) for measuring a time for which the power is not supplied is provided and a measured value thereof and a measured value of the supply time are displayed in the display means (i). Besides, a means for generating an alarm when the measured value of the power supply time is a value set beforehand or below is provided.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a hot water storage type electric water heater provided in a general house or the like.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art As an electric water heater installed in a general house, a hot water storage tank having a water supply port at the bottom and a hot water outlet at the top, an electric heater mounted on the bottom of the tank, and the like, Generally, the structure is such that the water stored in the hot water storage tank is heated by a heater, and the convection of the water caused by this heating raises the entire water in the tank to the boiling temperature.

The above-mentioned boiling operation is configured so as to be performed in the energizing time zone of the midnight power (11:00 pm to 7:00 am), and the midnight power is usually a time switch and an integrating wattmeter. Through the electric water heater.

However, in such an energization control type electric water heater using the late-night power, when the energization is less than the specified time (8 hours) due to the failure of the time switch, the boiling is insufficient. The temperature may be low. Further, when the power is not supplied at all, the hot water is not boiled.

Therefore, in order to eliminate such inconvenience, an electric water heater having a protection function when the time switch fails is proposed (for example, Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 63-75).
440 publication).

[0006]

By the way, according to the electric water heater described in the above-mentioned publication, it is effective for the abnormality of the contact of the time switch such as cleaning the contact surface of the time switch by foreign substances or corrosion by arc discharge. There is. However, the failure of the time switch is not limited to only the abnormality of the contact, but it has various problems such as mechanical failure or electrical failure of the timer motor, so rather than having a structure equipped with all of those failure avoidance functions. It is more realistic to detect an abnormality in the time switch early and take countermeasures for it early.

In the time switch, the time setting may deviate with respect to the time zone of the midnight power, and if the amount of deviation is large, hot water may be used during the boiling operation. This causes a shortage of hot water.
Further, if there is such a large time difference in the time setting, the original meaning of the midnight power will be diminished.

[0008] Therefore, the present invention is to provide an electric water heater having a function of enabling early detection of an abnormality of a time switch for limiting the energizing time of late-night power.

[0009]

To achieve the above object, the first invention is, as shown in the basic conceptual diagram of FIG. 1, an electric heater a for heating water in a hot water storage tank, and a heater a thereof. In a water heater of an energization control type, which has a boiling control section b for controlling the energization of the electric heater b, and the time during which the electric heater b can be energized is limited to the midnight power time zone by the time switch c, the electric water heater through the time switch c. A measuring means d for measuring the time during which power is supplied to the device, a determining means e for determining whether or not the measured value is less than or equal to a preset value, and an abnormal effect when the determination result is less than or equal to It is characterized by the provision of a warning means f for reporting.

In order to achieve the same object, the second invention is an electric heater a as shown in the basic conceptual diagram of FIG.
In the water heater having the boiling control unit b and the time during which the heater a can be energized is limited to the midnight power time zone by the time switch c, electric power is supplied to the electric water heater through the time switch c. It is characterized by the provision of a power supply time measuring means g for measuring time and a display means i for starting the operation by operating the mode switching means h and displaying the measurement result by the measuring means g.

Here, in the second aspect of the invention, an electric power non-supply time measuring means j for measuring the time during which electric power is not supplied to the electric water heater is provided, and the electric power non-supply time measuring means j is provided on the display means i. The power supply time measuring means g
It is also possible to display two measurement results according to.

[0012]

First, according to the electric water heater of the first aspect of the invention, an alarm is issued when the energization time is equal to or less than a preset value (for example, 7h30min), so that the alarm can detect an abnormality of the time switch c. .

On the other hand, according to the electric water heater of the second invention,
When the phenomenon that the hot water temperature is low despite the completion of boiling has been performed and the mode switching means h is operated to enter the maintenance mode, the measured value of the energization time is displayed on the display means i. From the display, it is possible to know whether or not the energization time is normal, and thus it is possible to confirm whether or not the failure location is the time switch c.

In the second aspect of the present invention, if the power non-supply time measuring means j is added and the measured value is also displayed, the mode switching means h is operated after the boiling operation is completed. When the maintenance mode is entered, the measured value of the energization time and the measured value of the non-energization time up to the time when the mode switching operation is performed are displayed on the display means i. Even in this case, it is possible to know whether or not the time setting of the time switch c is normal.

That is, when the measured value of the non-energization time does not coincide with the actual elapsed time from the end time of the power supply of the midnight power to the time when the maintenance mode is set, there is a deviation in the time setting of the time switch c. I can judge.

[0016]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. First, the schematic structure of the electric water heater will be described with reference to FIG.

The hot water storage tank 1 is provided with a water supply port 1a at the bottom and a hot water outlet 1b at the top. An electric heater 2 is mounted below the hot water storage tank 1. Further, a control sensor (temperature sensor) 3 is arranged below the hot water storage tank 1, and its detection output is input to the microcomputer 4 (see FIG. 3).

As shown in FIG. 3, electric power of AC200V is supplied to the power supply circuit system of the electric heater 2 through the time switch 9 and the integrating wattmeter 10. A power relay 5 is connected to the power supply circuit system, and the power relay 5 is configured to turn on / off according to a drive signal from the microcomputer 4 to energize and stop the electric heater 2. There is. A 200V detection circuit 7 for detecting the presence / absence of power supply is connected to the power supply circuit system, and the detection output thereof is incorporated in the microcomputer 4.

The microcomputer 4 stores the boiling temperature set value set by the operation of the remote controller 8 and uses the stored set value and the temperature information such as the water temperature detection value by the control sensor 3 to perform the peak shift. Calculate. Also, the output of 200V detection circuit 7 is turned on.
When the power is turned on, that is, when the power is turned on, the measurement is started, and the power relay 5 is driven to control the energization of the electric heater 2 by using the measured value and the peak shift time obtained by the above calculation. It is configured to perform arithmetic control such as supplying a signal.

The remote controller 8 is generally used in this kind of electric water heater. In addition to the function of setting the boiling temperature described above, the remote controller 8 is a mode for setting the control system of the electric water heater in the maintenance mode. A changeover switch 8b and a segment display 8a for digitally displaying the hot water temperature and the like are provided (see FIG. 3).

Now, each embodiment of the first and second inventions will be described. First, what should be noted in the first embodiment of the present invention is that a program showing the control contents is added to the microcomputer 4 in the flowchart of FIG.

That is, in the embodiment of the first invention, 200V
Based on the output of the detection circuit 7, electric power is supplied to the time switch 9
Measured the time supplied through, the time measurement value,
A function is added to determine whether or not the value is a preset value, for example, 7 hours and 30 minutes or less, and when it is less than or equal to the value, an alarm for notifying the abnormality is issued.

By providing such a function, an alarm is issued when the energization time is shorter than the normal value (8 hours), so that the alarm immediately informs the abnormality of the time switch 9. You can

As the alarm generating means, a buzzer or the like for generating an electronic sound, which is generally built in an electronic device such as a microcomputer, is used. Here, in the above example, the set value for determination is a normal value; 7 for 8 hours
The time is 30 minutes, if the set value is 8 hours,
If there is a slight deviation (error) in the timekeeping operation of the time switch 9, an inconvenience will occur in that an alarm will be issued immediately even though the error is within the allowable range, so consider this point. Therefore, the setting value is set to allow for the allowable error of the time switch 9. The margin is not limited to 30 minutes, and may be arbitrarily selected according to the accuracy of the time switch 9.

On the other hand, what should be noted in the embodiment of the second invention is that the microcomputer 4 has a control function shown in the flow chart of FIG. 6, that is, a program for displaying the time on the segment display 8a of the remote controller 8.
There is a point added to.

In the second embodiment of the present invention, when the mode changeover switch 8b of the remote controller 8 is operated to select the maintenance mode after the boiling operation is completed, the energizing time before this operation is performed. That is 200V
The time measurement value measured based on the output of the detection circuit 7 is displayed on the segment display 8a, and it is possible to confirm from the displayed value whether the energization time is normal.

Here, in the second invention, as shown in the flowchart of FIG. 7, the power non-supply time is measured,
If a program that displays both the time measurement value and the power supply time measurement value described above on the segment display 8a is used,
In addition to checking whether the energization time is normal, it is possible to check whether the set time of the timer switch 9 is normal.

That is, in the control operation shown in the flowchart of FIG. 7, when the mode switch 8b is operated, the measured value of the non-supply time up to this point is displayed on the segment display 8a. If the operation is performed at 13:00, the actual time (13-7 = 6 hours) that has passed from the end time of power supply at midnight (7:00) to the time when the maintenance mode is selected, and the non-supply shown on the segment display 8a. If the measured value of time matches, the set time of the timer switch 9 is normal. On the other hand, if the elapsed time and measured value are different, the timer switch 9
There will be a difference in the set time of. However, this confirmation is limited to the case where the measured value of the energization time is normal.

As described above, in the embodiment of the second invention,
After the boiling operation is completed (after 7 o'clock), when there is an abnormality such as a low hot water temperature, by operating the mode changeover switch 8a of the remote controller 8, whether the failure location is on the electric water heater side, Or timer switch 9
Can be found early. It is also possible to confirm whether the set time of the timer switch 9 is normal or not.

[0030]

As described above, according to the electric water heater (energization control type) of the first invention, when the energization time supplied through the time switch is not normal, an alarm notifying that is generated. , It is possible to immediately know the abnormality of the timer switch by the alarm.

On the other hand, according to the electric water heater (energization control type) of the second invention, when the boiling operation is abnormal after the boiling is completed, such as when the hot water temperature is low or the hot water is not boiling. By simply operating the mode switching means, the measured value of the energization time is displayed on the display, so that it is possible to know at an early stage whether or not there is an abnormality in the timer switch by looking at this display. Further, in the second aspect of the invention, it is also possible to add a function of displaying the measured value of the non-supply time of electric power. In this case, from the display of the measured value, the set time of the timer switch is the midnight electric power of midnight electricity. It is possible to confirm whether there is a deviation with respect to the time zone.

Further, according to the first and second inventions, there is an advantage that the above-mentioned effect can be achieved without adding a new component only by adding a program of the microcomputer.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a basic conceptual diagram showing a configuration of a first invention.

FIG. 2 is a basic conceptual diagram showing the configuration of the second invention.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing a circuit configuration of an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a schematic configuration of an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is an explanatory diagram of the embodiment of the first invention, and is a flowchart showing the contents of a program added to the microcomputer 4.

FIG. 6 is an explanatory diagram of an embodiment of the second invention, and is a flowchart showing the contents of a program added to the microcomputer 4.

FIG. 7 is an explanatory diagram of another embodiment of the second invention, and is a flowchart showing the contents of a program added to the microcomputer 4.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 Hot water storage tank 2 Electric heater 4 Microcomputer 7 200V detection circuit 8 Remote controller 8a Segment display 8b Mode selection switch 9 Time switch

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. An electric heater for heating water in a hot water storage tank, and a boiling control section for controlling energization of the heater are provided, and an energizable time to the heater is limited to a midnight power time zone by a time switch. In the energization control type water heater, a measuring means for measuring the time during which electric power is supplied to the electric water heater through the time switch, and a determining means for determining whether or not the measured value is equal to or less than a preset value. An electric water heater characterized in that it is provided with an alarm means for reporting an abnormality when the judgment result is as follows. 2. An electric heater for heating water in a hot water storage tank, and a boiling control section for controlling energization of the heater are provided, and an energizable time to the heater is limited to a midnight power time zone by a time switch. In the energization control type water heater, power supply time measuring means for measuring the time during which electric power is supplied to the electric water heater through the time switch, and operation of the mode switching means to start the operation, and the measurement result by the measuring means. An electric water heater characterized in that display means for displaying is provided. 3. The power supply time measuring means and a power non-supply time for measuring a time during which no electric power is supplied to the electric water heater are provided, and the display means includes the power supply time and the power. The electric water heater according to claim 2, wherein the electric water heater is configured to display the measurement results of the two non-supply time measurement means.