JPH0737855B2 - Hot water filling control method for automatic bath equipment - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [Industrial field of application] The present invention relates to an automatic bath device in which the water level in the bathtub is automatically set, and in the normal operation, hot water is automatically supplied to the set water level in the bathtub based on the stored data. The present invention relates to a hot water filling control method.

BACKGROUND ART (Description of Automatic Bath Device) The automatic bath device according to the present invention is configured, for example, as shown in FIG. In FIG. 2, 1 is a bathtub, 2 is a reheating circuit for circulating and reheating hot water in the bathtub 1,
3 is a hot water supply circuit for dropping hot water into the bathtub 1,
The hot water supply circuit 3 is connected to the bathtub 1 via the reheating circuit 2. The reheating circuit 2 is connected to a bath adapter 4 provided at the bottom of the bathtub 1, and the reheating circuit 2 includes a pump 5 for forcibly circulating the hot water in the bathtub 1, a bath heat for heating the hot water. A exchanger 6, a pressure sensor 7 for detecting the water level in the bathtub 1, a water flow switch 8 for circulation determination, and a thermistor 9 for detecting the temperature of hot water in the bathtub 1 are provided.
Then, when the hot water temperature in the bathtub 1 detected by the thermistor 9 is lower than the set temperature, the pump 5 is operated to circulate the hot water in the bathtub 1 in the reheating circuit 2 for heat exchange for the bath. When the hot water is heated by the vessel 6 to reheat it and the thermistor 9 detects that the set hot water temperature has been reached, the reheating operation is stopped. Further, the pressure sensor 7 can detect a significant value of the water level when the water level in the bathtub 1 is equal to or higher than the bath adapter level, and the water flow switch 8 operates the pump 5 so that the water is added to the reheating circuit 2. If the water level is equal to or higher than the bath adapter level when the circulation is judged by circulating the bath water (this case is called circulation judgment OK), the judgment is OK when the circulation is judged (water flow switch 8 ON). For example, the pressure sensor 7 can detect the water level in the bathtub 1. The hot water supply circuit 3 is connected to the reheating circuit 2 from city water through the hot water heat exchanger 10 and the hot water supply heat exchanger 10 of the hot water supply circuit 3 is connected.
A hot water supply branch circuit 11 is branched from the downstream side. The hot water supply branching circuit 11 is connected to a shower, a currant, or the like, and supplies hot water to these devices. Hot water supply circuit 3
On the upstream side of the hot water supply heat exchanger 10, there are provided an incoming water flow rate sensor 12 for detecting the incoming water flow rate from the city water and a thermistor 13 for detecting the water temperature. Provided in the middle of the branch circuit 11 are a flow rate adjusting valve 14 for adjusting the incoming water flow rate, and a thermistor 15 for detecting the temperature of hot water heated by the hot water supply heat exchanger 10. Then,
The automatic bath device calculates the incoming water flow rate for supplying hot water of a set temperature from the temperature difference between the hot water or water before and after the hot water heat exchanger 10 and the heat quantity of the hot water heat exchanger 10, and the incoming water flow sensor
The flow rate adjusting valve 14 is controlled so that the flow rate becomes the calculated flow rate while being detected by 12. Further, on the downstream side of the hot water supply branch circuit 11, in order to open and close the flow rate adjusting valve 16 for controlling the flow rate of dropping, the drop flow rate sensor 17 for detecting the flow rate of dropping into the bathtub 1, the vacuum breaker 18, and the hot water supply circuit 3. Open / close valve 19 and check valve 20
Is provided. Then, when the hot water supply switch is pressed and turned on, or when the pressure sensor 7 detects that the water level in the bathtub 1 has dropped below the set water level, the drop opening / closing valve 19 is opened. A predetermined amount of hot water is dropped into the bathtub 1. At this time, the drop flow rate is detected by the drop flow rate sensor 17, and when the integrated value of the flow rate detected by the drop flow rate sensor 17 (dropped hot water amount) reaches a predetermined hot water supply amount, the drop opening / closing valve 19 is closed. Stop hot water supply.

In addition, the automatic bath device has a central processing unit (hereinafter referred to as CPU21), and each detecting means such as the water flow switch 8, the pressure sensor 7, the drop flow sensor 17, etc. is connected to the input side of the CPU 21. And a data signal is input from each to the CPU 21. Further, the CPU 21 can transfer the signal from the drop flow rate sensor 17 to the integrating circuit 22, and the integrating circuit 22 integrates the drop flow rate to calculate the drop hot water amount. The drop opening / closing valve 19 is controlled to be opened / closed by the CPU 21 in accordance with the procedure or the condition stored in the memory 23. Further, the memory 23 stores numerical data regarding the amount of dropped hot water required for the water level setting operation, numerical values regarding the amount of dropped hot water detected during the water level setting operation, the set water level, and the like.

(Operation When Setting Water Level) FIG. 5 shows a flowchart describing the operation when setting the water level of the automatic bath apparatus. After confirming that there is no residual water in the bathtub 1, when the water level setting button is pressed, the drop opening / closing valve 19 is opened, and hot water is dropped from the hot water supply circuit 3 into the bathtub 1 via the reheating circuit 2. . At this time, the flow rate flowing through the hot water supply circuit 3 is detected by the drop flow rate sensor 17, and when the drop hot water amount accumulated by the integrating circuit 22 reaches q ₁ (for example, 10 liters), the drop opening / closing valve 19 is closed. After that, hot water supply is stopped (step 31). Then, the pump 5 is operated, and the hot water in the bathtub 1 is circulated in the reheating circuit 2. At this time, the water flow switch 8 detects whether or not there is residual water in the bathtub 1 which is equal to or higher than the bath adapter level (step 32). At this time,
If the water flow switch 8 is on and the circulation determination is OK, it is determined that there is residual water. On the other hand, when the circulation determination is not OK and it is confirmed that there is no residual water in the bathtub 1, q ₂ (for example, 80 liters) of hot water is dropped into the bathtub 1. After that, the pump 5 is operated to determine the circulation, and the water level has not risen to the level of the bath adapter of the bathtub 1 or higher,
If the circulation determination is not OK, q ₃ (for example,
40 liters of hot water is dropped into the bathtub 1 and circulation is judged. In this way, hot water of q ₄ , ..., q _n (for example, 40 liters each) is dropped into the bathtub 1 until the water level rises above the bath adapter level and the circulation determination is OK (steps 33, 34). This q _n is the amount of hot water dropped when the water level exceeds the bath adapter level. In this way, when the water level exceeds the bath adapter level, the pressure sensor 7 can detect the water level in the bathtub 1. However, when the hot water of q _n is dropped, the water flow switch 8 is turned on in the air trapped state. because possibility also, q ₀ (e.g., 10 L) from the hot water supply circuit 3 for re-confirmation in the bathtub 1 darken the hot water, again performing circulation determination (step 35, 36). Here, when the circulation determination is not OK, the circulation determination OK in step 34 is determined to have occurred in an abnormal state such as an air trapped state, and an error message is output, for example. On the other hand, if the circulation determination is OK again in step 36 and the water level above the bath adapter level is reconfirmed, the water level detected by the pressure sensor 7 is read (step 37), for example, using the bottom surface of the bathtub 1 as a reference. The water level is set in the bathtub (step 38).
Then, the hot water supply amount (remaining amount) required to fill the set water level is calculated (step 39), the remaining amount of hot water is dropped into the bathtub 1 (step 40), and the flow is ended.

When setting this water level, the amount of each drop of hot water q ₁ , q ₂ , ..., q _n
(Or, the number of drops), the position of the set water level, and the numerical values such as the remaining amount are stored in the automatic bath device. Then, at the time of the next normal operation, hot water is automatically supplied by using these numerical data, and hot water is poured into the bathtub up to the set water level.

(Automatic Hot Water Supply Operation by Conventional Method) After the water level is set as described above, when the normal hot water supply operation is performed to pour hot water into the bathtub, in the conventional case,
It was operated according to the flowchart shown in the figure, and the same operation as when setting the water level was repeated until the step of reconfirming that the water level was above the bath adapter level.

That is, the same amount of hot water q ₁ as when setting the water level is dropped into the bathtub 1 to determine circulation (steps 101 and 102), and it is confirmed that there is no residual water above the bath adapter level. Then, the same amount of hot water q ₂ as when the water level was set is dropped into the bathtub 1 to determine the circulation (steps 103 and 104). Repeat steps 103 and 104 the same number of times as when setting the water level, and drop the same amount q ₃ , ..., q _n into the bathtub 1 as when setting the water level, the water level rises above the bath adapter level, and the circulation judgment is OK. After that, hot water of q ₀ is further dropped into the bathtub 1 for reconfirmation (step 105), and it is reconfirmed that the circulation determination is OK (step 106). Then, the water level is read by the pressure sensor 7 (step 107), the remaining amount is calculated from the water level difference from the set water level (step 108), and the calculated remaining amount of hot water is dropped into the bathtub 1 (step 109) to set. Pour hot water to the water level.

[Problems to be Solved by the Invention] In the related art, the operation at the time of setting the water level is repeated until the pressure sensor can be used after the circulation determination is turned on twice as described above. There were many, and automatic hot water supply operation took time. In particular, the circulation determination is performed by operating the pump to circulate the hot water in the bathtub in the reheating circuit, so the required time is long, and the hot water supply time is lengthened by the increase in the number of circulation determinations. It was

Therefore, the present invention has been made in view of the drawbacks of the above conventional examples, and its object is to reduce the number of steps during automatic hot water supply and shorten the time required during automatic hot water supply. is there.

[Means for Solving the Problem] Therefore, the method for controlling the filling of the automatic bath device according to the present invention is such that when the water level is set, the bath adapter in the bathtub is determined by dropping hot water (q ₁ ) into the bathtub and determining the circulation. It was confirmed that there was no residual water above the level, and hot water (q ₂ , ... q _n ) was dropped into the bathtub and the circulation was judged once or twice or more, and it was confirmed that the water level had risen above the bath adapter level. After that, the hot water (q ₀ ) is dropped into the bathtub and the circulation is judged to reconfirm that the water level is above the bath adapter level. After this, the water level is detected by the water pressure detection means and the set water level is determined. In the automatic bath equipment in which the amount of each of the above-mentioned dropped hot water (q ₀ , q ₁ , ... q _n ) and the set water level are stored, the same amount of hot water (q ₁ ) as that at the time of the determination of the remaining water is dropped into the bath and circulated Judgment By confirming that there is no residual water above the level of the bath adapter in the bathtub, then there is no residual water in the bathtub and the hot water is dropped and circulation is judged as many times as when checking the water level rise, and the bath adapter is checked. When dropping hot water above the level, except for the last drop, drop the same amount of hot water (q ₂ , ..., q _n-1 ) as when confirming the water level rise to make a circulation determination, and at the last drop drop the water level. It is confirmed that the water level is _{equal to} or higher than the bath adapter level by dropping the amount of hot water (q _n + q ₀ ) that is the _sum of the final amount of hot water dropped at the time of reconfirmation into the amount of hot water dropped when confirming the rise, and making a circulation determination. After that, the water level is detected by the water pressure detection means, and the hot water is dropped to the set water level in the bathtub.

[Operation] In the present invention, when the hot water is dropped into the bathtub based on the stored data of the amount of hot water dropped when the water level is set as described above, it is possible to cope with the drop when the water level exceeds the bath adapter level when the water level is set. At the time of the last drop, the hot water of the drop hot water amount for the purpose of reconfirmation at the time of setting the water level is dropped at the same time, so that the automatic hot water supply operation can be simplified as compared with the conventional case. In particular, the number of circulation determinations can be reduced by one compared with the conventional one, so that the time required for the automatic hot water supply operation can be shortened. Moreover, even if the circulation judgment is once omitted, it has been confirmed that the water level has exceeded the bath adapter level when setting the water level. Can be determined. In particular, when the water level is set, the circulation judgment is initially OK.Even if the air bites, it is possible to reliably raise the water level to above the bath adapter level by dropping the hot water added for reconfirmation at the time of hot water supply. be able to.

Also, when the water level is set, the total amount of hot water dropped is not dropped at the same time, but the same amount as when setting the water level is dropped, and the circulation is checked each time, so if there is residual water in the bath, Can be detected, in which case the operation can be stopped or the water level reading can be immediately started, and the hot water can be prevented from overflowing from the bathtub.
Moreover, since the hot water is dropped and circulation is judged the same number of times as when the water level is set and the hot water is dropped to the level above the bath adapter level, it is necessary to detect that there is almost no residual water in the bathtub, just as when setting the water level. Therefore, it is possible to detect the residual water in the bathtub without lowering the accuracy.

[Example] Regarding the configuration of the automatic bath device and the operation when setting the water level,
Since it has already been described, the description is omitted here.

FIG. 1 shows a schematic flowchart describing the operation during automatic hot water supply according to the present invention. First, when the hot water supply switch is pressed, the drop opening / closing valve 19 is opened, and hot water of the same quantity q ₁ as when the water level is set is dropped into the bathtub 1 from the hot water supply circuit 3 (step 41). Next, the pump 5 of the reheating circuit 2 is operated, and circulation determination is performed (step 42). At this time, when the water flow switch 8 is turned on and the circulation determination is OK, it is determined that there is residual water above the bus adapter level. If the circulation determination is not OK in step 42,
The amount of hot water dropped by the same amount q ₂ , q ₃ , ..., q _n-1 as when the water level is set and the circulation judgment are repeated only once less than when the water level was set (steps 43, 44, 45). There is no residual water in the bathtub, and the circulation judgment in step 44 is not OK.
When the hot water is dropped only a few times, when dropping the water, the drop amount q ₀ for reconfirmation was added when dropping the hot water of the drop amount q _n when the water level passed the bath adapter level. A quantity q _n + q ₀ of hot water is dropped into the bathtub 1 at a time (step 46a). After this, when the circulation determination is performed, the circulation level is OK because the water level exceeds the bus adapter level (step 47). Even if the remaining water is not in the bathtub 1, as has been confirmed at the time of water level setting, and should the water level at the time when dropped into a hot water q _n exceeds the bus adapter level, yu event q _n Even if the circulation judgment is OK when the water is dropped, it can be judged that the water level has definitely exceeded the bath adapter level when the hot water of q ₀ is dropped for reconfirmation even if the air is caught, and the circulation judgment is made once. There is no problem if omitted. In particular, the amount of hot water q ₀ for reconfirmation is relatively small, and there is no possibility that hot water will overflow from the bath 1 even if the circulation determination before dropping q ₀ is omitted. Therefore, the number of circulation determinations can be reduced by one compared to the conventional case, and the time required for hot water supply can be shortened.
If the circulation judgment (step 44) is OK in the process of dropping hot water less than once when setting the water level, drop only the reconfirmation hot water amount q ₀ (step 46b) and circulate. A judgment is made (step 47). In this way, after confirming that the pressure sensor 7 can detect the water level, the water level in the bathtub 1 is read by the pressure sensor 7 (step 48), and the remaining amount is calculated from the water level difference from the set water level (step 49). ), The remaining amount of hot water is dropped into the bathtub 1 (step 50).

FIG. 4 shows a more specific embodiment of the present invention, which is capable of preventing hot water from overflowing from the bathtub when there is residual water below the bath adapter level in the bathtub. is there. To briefly explain this, first of all,
The hot water of q ₁ is dropped (step 51), and the pump 5 is operated to determine the circulation (step 52). If the circulation determination is OK, there is residual water above the level of the bath adapter, so pump 5 is stopped (step 53), hot water of q ₀ is dropped for reconfirmation (step 54), and the circulation determination is performed again. (Step 55). At this time, if the circulation determination is not OK, since the circulation determination OK in step 52 is due to air entrapment or the like, for example, an error message or the like is output. On the other hand, if the circulation judgment is OK even at step 55, there is residual water above the level of the bus adapter, so the pump 5 is stopped (step 56) and the water level is read by the pressure sensor 7 to calculate the residual amount ( In step 57), the remaining hot water is dropped (step 58).

If the circulation determination is not OK in step 52, the pump 5 is stopped (step 59), and it is determined whether or not the amount of hot water dropped into the water level setting was q ₁ + q ₂ + q ₀ (step 60). Here, in the case of YES, the hot water of q ₂ + q ₀ containing hot water for reconfirmation is dropped (step 6
1) The circulation is judged (step 62). At this time, the circulation judgment is normally OK, so the pump 5 is stopped (step 6
3) Drop the remaining amount of hot water (steps 57 and 58). However, if the circulation determination is not OK in step 62, the hot water of q ₃ is further dropped (step 69a).

If the amount of hot water dropped at the time of setting the water level in step 60 is not q ₁ + q ₂ + q ₀ and is larger than that, there is a risk that the hot water will overflow from the bath if it is dropped into the bath at once. For example, when the water level is set, the total amount of hot water dropped is q ₁ + q ₂ +
In the case of q ₃ + q ₀ , if a large amount of hot water of q ₂ + q ₃ + q ₀ is dropped at once, if there is residual water in the bathtub 1, it may overflow from the bathtub 1. For this reason, if the determination in step 60 is NO, first, only q ₂ is dropped and the circulation determination is performed (step
64,65). And because of the remaining water, the circulation judgment is OK in step 65.
If so, stop pump 5 (step 66),
q ₀ hot water is dropped, the circulation judgment is confirmed again, and the remaining hot water is dropped (steps 54 to 58). If the circulation judgment is not OK in step 65 and the water level has not reached the bath adapter level, stop the pump 5 (step 67),
It is judged whether or not the total amount of hot water dropped when setting the water level was q ₁ + q ₂ + q ₃ + q _{0. If} it was q ₁ + q ₂ + q ₃ + q ₀ , the hot water of q ₃ + q ₀ is dropped at once. Rare (step 69),
After the circulation determination is OK, the water level is read and hot water is dropped to the set water level (steps 70, 71, 57, 58).

In step 68, the total pouring water amount at the time of setting is q ₁ +
If it is not q ₂ + q ₃ + q ₀ , for the same reason as in steps 64 to 66, first drop only the hot water of q ₃ and make a circulation judgment to check if there is a risk of hot water overflowing from the bathtub 1 due to residual water. , Is determined (steps 72 to 74).

In this embodiment, as described above, for example, the flow of steps 64-66 and the flow of steps 67-71, for example, are alternately performed to gradually approach the amount of hot water dropped when the water level is set. (Steps 75-82), gradually decrease the amount of hot water by deciding whether there is a risk that the hot water will overflow due to the residual water by the flow of steps 64-66, etc. If the water level exceeds the bath adapter level, the circulation is judged again and then hot water is poured to the set water level. Note that the repetition of step 81 and thereafter is stopped when the total amount of poured hot water exceeds 400 liters, for example.

[Effects of the Invention] According to the present invention, the operation during automatic hot water supply can be made simpler than in the past. In particular, the number of circulation determinations can be reduced by one compared with the conventional one, so that the time required for the automatic hot water supply operation can be shortened. Moreover, because it follows the operation when setting the water level,
It can be judged that the water level is definitely above the bus adapter level. Also, when the water level is set, the total amount of hot water dropped is dropped by the same amount, and the circulation is checked each time, so if there is residual water in the bathtub, it is possible to detect the residual water without degrading the accuracy. In this case, the operation can be stopped or the reading of the water level can be immediately started, so that the hot water can be prevented from overflowing from the bathtub.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic flow chart describing a method for controlling the filling of the automatic bath equipment according to the present invention, FIG. 2 is a schematic configuration diagram of the automatic bath equipment, FIG. 3 is a block diagram of the same as above, and FIG. 4 is the hot water of the present invention. FIG. 5 is a flow chart describing another embodiment of the tension control method, FIG. 5 is a flow chart describing the operation of the automatic bath apparatus when setting the water level, and FIG. 6 is a flow chart describing the conventional tension control method. 1 ... Bathtub 3 ... Hot water supply circuit 4 ... Bath adapter 5 ... Pump 7 ... Pressure sensor 8 ... Water flow switch 19 ... Drop opening / closing valve 41-49 ... Each step during hot water filling control operation

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. When setting the water level, it is confirmed that there is no residual water above the level of the bath adapter in the bathtub by dropping hot water into the bathtub to determine the circulation. Or two or more times to confirm that the water level has risen above the bath adapter level,
Furthermore, the hot water is dropped into the bathtub and the circulation is judged to reconfirm that the water level is above the bath adapter level.After this, the water level is detected by the water pressure detection means and the set water level is calculated, and the amount of each hot water dropped is set. In an automatic bath system that remembers the water level, drop the same amount of hot water into the bathtub as when determining the remaining water and make a circulation determination to confirm that there is no remaining water above the bath adapter level in the bathtub. After this, when there is no residual water in the bathtub and hot water is dropped and circulation is checked the same number of times as when checking the water level rise, and when dropping the water above the bath adapter level, check the water level rise except at the last drop. The same amount of hot water as when dropped was used for circulation determination, and the final amount of hot water dropped when confirming the rise in the water level at the last drop. At the time of reconfirmation, drop the amount of hot water added to make sure that the water level is above the bath adapter level, and then check the water level by the water pressure detection means, and put it in the bathtub. A method for controlling the filling of an automatic bath device, which is characterized by dropping hot water to a set water level.