JPH09112890A - Combustion apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a combustion apparatus which can rapidly and accurately judge whether igniting means is suitably driven or not as for as possible. SOLUTION: This apparatus comprises a gas shut-off valve 12 for switching a fuel supply passage to a burner, an ignition driver B for igniting the burner by applying a high voltage to an igniter 19 at each set period to discharge it, and a controller 22 for controlling the igniting operation of the driving means B and the opening operation of the valve 12 as to execute them based on a combustion starting command. A period detector C for detecting the period of the high voltage to be repeatedly applied to the igniter 19 is provided. The controller 22 is so constituted as to judge that the igniting operation is not normally conducted if the period detected by the detector C is longer than the set time.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an on-off valve that opens and closes a fuel supply passage for a burner, and a high voltage is applied to an ignition means every set period to discharge the fuel.
Ignition drive means for igniting the burner, and control means for controlling the operation of the ignition drive means so as to execute the ignition operation of the ignition drive means and the opening operation of the on-off valve based on a combustion start command. It relates to a combustion device provided.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In the above combustion apparatus, a control means controls the ignition operation of the ignition drive means on the basis of a combustion start command, and
By executing the valve opening operation of the on-off valve, the fuel is supplied to the burner, and the ignition means discharges the burner at every set cycle to ignite the burner. A thermocouple is provided near the burner, and based on the thermoelectromotive force generated by the heat of the combustion flame, the thermocouple is configured to determine whether or not the burner is reliably ignited. When ignition is not confirmed due to a mistake or the like, the control means does not execute the ignition operation and the valve opening operation to ensure safety in use.

[0003]

However, the thermocouple described above has a delay time of several seconds until a predetermined voltage is generated even if heat of flame is applied, and it takes time until ignition is confirmed. There was such a disadvantage. As a result, the ignition operation takes a long time, and when ignition cannot be performed satisfactorily due to, for example, an abnormality in the ignition drive means, the time during which the fuel gas (raw gas) is discharged from the burner becomes longer. There was a risk of it.

Further, even when the ignition operation is being performed by the ignition means, if the power supply voltage drops due to some cause or the operation abnormality occurs in the ignition drive means, the ignition drive means is operated. The high voltage generation cycle may become long. When the high voltage generation cycle becomes longer in this way, the cycle of the ignition operation of the ignition means becomes longer. Then, the supply amount of the fuel supplied to the burner becomes larger than the set amount by the time the ignition operation is performed by the ignition means.Therefore, when the ignition operation is performed by the ignition means, the ignition noise is generated when the burner is ignited. There were disadvantages such as the possibility of becoming larger.

Particularly, in this type of combustion device, if the power consumption is small, power may be supplied by a dry battery in consideration of maintainability, but in the case of such a battery driven type, as described above. There is a high possibility that a malfunction of the ignition operation may occur due to a decrease in the power supply voltage.

The present invention has been made by paying attention to such a point, and an object thereof is to provide a combustion apparatus capable of determining whether or not the ignition means is properly driven as quickly and accurately as possible. There is a point to provide.

[0007]

According to the characterizing feature of the first aspect, the ignition operating state detecting means detects the cycle of the high voltage repeatedly applied to the ignition means. Then, if the period detected by the ignition operation state detection means is longer than the set time, the control means determines that the ignition operation is not normally performed.

For example, when an abnormality occurs in the ignition drive means,
In the case of a non-ignition state in which a high voltage is not properly applied to the ignition means, the cycle becomes infinite, so the control means determines that the ignition operation is not normally performed. Become. If the high voltage generation cycle is longer than the set cycle due to an abnormality in the ignition drive means, a power supply voltage drop abnormality, or the like, the ignition operation is normally performed by the control means. It is determined that there is no such thing. Therefore, not only the non-ignition state, but also the disadvantage that the ignition noise increases due to the change of the ignition cycle can be avoided.

Moreover, since the cycle of the high voltage repeatedly applied to the ignition means is detected, it is possible to quickly determine whether or not the ignition operation is normally performed without causing a time delay. be able to.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, the ignition driving means is provided with a charging / discharging circuit which repeats charging / discharging operation for charging the capacitor and discharging when the charging voltage exceeds a set voltage. By repeating the charge and discharge of the capacitor in this charge and discharge circuit,
At every set cycle, the discharge is used to generate a high voltage to be applied to the ignition means.

The ignition operation state detection means is provided with a switch means for switching to a conductive state and outputting a pulse signal when the capacitor is discharged, and the discharge operation of the capacitor is directed to the ignition means. Since it corresponds to the ignition operation, the control means can accurately detect the cycle of the ignition operation by detecting the cycle on the basis of the rising timing of the input pulse signal.

According to the third aspect of the present invention, the control means is irrespective of the combustion start command if the ignition operation is not normally performed based on the detection information of the ignition operation state detection means. Since the ignition drive means does not perform the ignition operation and the opening / closing valve does not perform the valve opening operation, the ignition means does not properly perform the ignition operation, and the ignition occurs due to a change in the ignition cycle. If there is a risk of noise being increased, it is possible to avoid the risk of a large amount of fuel gas leaking out or ignition noise being increased by accidentally performing ignition operation and valve opening operation. It is possible to secure the sex.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, the operating power for each of the control means, the on-off valve, and the ignition drive means is supplied from a battery, and the voltage drop detection means causes the voltage of the battery to be changed. Is determined to be equal to or less than the set value. Then, the control means executes the ignition operation of the ignition drive means and the opening operation of the opening / closing valve when the voltage of the battery is less than or equal to a set value based on the detection information of the voltage drop detection means. Since it is configured so as not to operate, the operating state of the ignition drive means becomes abnormal due to the decrease in the voltage of the battery, and the appropriate ignition operation is not performed, or the high voltage is not applied. It is possible to avoid disadvantages such as a long cycle and a large ignition noise.

According to the fifth aspect of the present invention, when the control means determines that the ignition operation is not normally performed on the basis of the detection information of the ignition operation state detection means, the fact is notified. Since it is configured to operate the notifying means for notifying, the user can immediately recognize that, there is no disadvantage such as continuing to use as it is, and measures such as maintenance processing can be promptly performed. It will be possible.

[0015]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION A water heater as an example of a combustion apparatus according to the present invention will be described below. As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, a heat exchanger 1 for heating water and a gas combustion burner 2 as a heating means for heating the heat exchanger 1 are provided in a main body case. A water supply pipe 3 for supplying water to the heat exchanger 1 and a flexible hot water discharge pipe 5 for discharging heated hot water from the water discharge tool 4 are provided outside the main body case to form a water heater.

In the main body case, the water supply passage 6 connecting the water supply pipe 3 and the heat exchanger 1 has a manually operated water valve 7 for opening and closing the water supply passage 6, a water governor 8, and heat exchange. Each of the flow dividing valves 10 for adjusting the amount of water supplied to the vessel 1 and the amount of bypass water flowing through the bypass passage 9 is provided. In the fuel supply passage 11 to the burner 2, an electromagnetically operated gas cutoff valve 12 as an opening / closing valve for opening and closing the fuel supply passage 11, a water pressure responsive valve 13 interlocking with the water governor 8, a gas governor 14, and a fuel supply passage. Gas amount adjustment valve 1 for adjusting the amount
Each of the 5 is provided. The water valve 7 is provided on the front surface of the main body case, and is configured to be opened when the operation tool 16 that is urged to project toward the non-operating projection position is pushed in. Is configured to be held in position by a lock holding mechanism (not shown) at the push-in holding position, and the water valve 7 is maintained in the open state. When the water valve 7 is closed, the locking and holding state is released by pushing the operating tool 16 further from the holding position, and when the pushing operation is released as it is, the valve is closed. Also, the operation tool 1
When 6 is pushed to the holding position, the operation switch SW is turned on accordingly.

The gas amount adjusting valve 15 is constructed so as to be adjusted by a manually operated adjusting dial 17 provided on the front surface of the main body case, and by adjusting the gas amount, that is, the combustion amount of the burner 2. The hot water temperature can be changed and adjusted. In addition, in conjunction with the water pressure responsive valve 13, the water flow state, that is,
A water flow switch 18 for detecting that water is being supplied to the heat exchanger 1 is provided. An igniter 1 as an ignition means for igniting the burner 2 is provided near the burner 2.
9 and a thermocouple 20 for confirming that the burner 2 has been ignited.

The opening / closing operation of the gas cutoff valve 12 and
A controller H for controlling the ignition operation of the igniter 19 is provided, and the controller H is the operation switch SW.
The start of the combustion operation is instructed based on the ON operation of. As shown in FIG. 3, the controller H
Is supplied with electric power from a dry battery 21, and a control unit 22 as a control means for controlling the opening / closing operation of the gas cutoff valve 12 and the ignition operation of the igniter 19 and an operation switch SW are turned on. A voltage detection unit A as a voltage drop detection unit that detects the voltage of the dry battery 21 in an operated state, and an ignition drive unit that causes the igniter 19 to perform an ignition operation based on a control command from the control unit 22. Ignition drive B, ignition drive B
Each of the cycle detectors C for detecting the ignition cycle is configured.

An abnormality notifying section D is provided as a notifying means for notifying an abnormal state. This abnormality notification unit D
The voltage abnormality notification lamp L1 notifies that the power supply voltage is lower than the set voltage, and the operation abnormality notification lamp L2 notifies that the ignition operation is abnormal.

The ignition drive section B and the cycle detection section C are shown in FIG.
It is configured as shown in FIG. Explaining the ignition drive unit B, when the ignition output terminal 25 of the control unit 22 is switched to the low level, the transistor Tr ₂ is turned on, and the oscillation boosting transformer 26 having a well-known configuration in this type of circuit is used.
A voltage is applied to the capacitor 27 and the capacitor 27 provided on the secondary side of the oscillation boosting transformer 26 is charged. And, in this secondary side circuit, a 2-terminal thyristor 28
The two-terminal thyristor 28 maintains the non-conduction state when the terminal voltage is low, and the charging voltage of the capacitor 27 is the set voltage (breakover voltage) V.
_When it rises to _BO, it switches to the conductive state, and capacitor 2
The charged electric charge in 7 is rapidly discharged through the thyristor 28 and the primary coil of the step-up transformer 29. As a result, a very high voltage (1 to several KV) is output to the secondary coil of the step-up transformer 29, this high voltage output is guided to the igniter 19, and the igniter 19 is connected to the grounded burner 2. A spark discharge is generated between them to ignite the burner 2. In this way, the charging / discharging circuit JH is configured.

Since the charging of the capacitor 27 is continued while the ignition output terminal 25 of the control unit 22 is switched to the low level, it is charged again as shown in FIG. 5 even after the electric charge is discharged. The charging / discharging described above is repeated in a predetermined cycle. Therefore, the cycle detection unit C detects the spark generation cycle by the igniter 19, that is, the cycle of the high voltage repeatedly applied to the igniter 19, based on the voltage change accompanying the charging and discharging of the capacitor 27. It has become. Therefore, the cycle detecting section C constitutes the ignition operating state detecting means.

As shown in FIG. 4, the oscillation boosting transformer 26
The cycle detection unit C is connected to the secondary side of, and the detection information is input to the control unit 22. The cycle detection station C, a transistor Tr ₃ of the switch means is provided, the base terminal of the transistor Tr ₃ via the diode 30 and resistor 31, charging of the capacitor 27 on the secondary side of the oscillation boosting transformer 26 Discharge circuit J
H, the emitter terminal of the transistor Tr ₃ is connected to the positive electrode of the battery 21, and the collector terminal is connected to the control unit 22.
Is connected to the input terminal of

When the capacitor 27 discharges and the voltage in the charging / discharging circuit JH drops, the voltage at the base terminal drops and the transistor Tr ₃ turns on. When the voltage in the charging / discharging circuit JH rises to the set voltage V _{OFF as the} charging voltage rises, the transistor Tr ₃ turns off.
F will be done. As a result, the input terminal 3 of the control unit 22
For 0, as shown in FIG. 5, a pulse signal synchronized with the ignition spark generation period is input. This pulse signal becomes a signal in which the pulse rises when the capacitor 27 is discharged, that is, when spark discharge is performed in the igniter 29, and is a signal in which a low level and a high level are alternately repeated.

Here, when the power supply voltage for the ignition drive section B is lowered, the charging voltage for the capacitor 27 is lowered, so that the capacitor 27 is charged to the set voltage (breakover voltage of the thyristor). Therefore, the time required for the ignition becomes longer and the ignition (spark) cycle by the igniter 19 becomes longer (see the phantom line in FIG. 5). Then, the amount of fuel injected until the ignition operation in the burner 2 is increased, which is disadvantageous in that explosive ignition occurs. Therefore, the control unit 22 is configured to determine whether the period of this pulse signal is longer than the set period and such a disadvantage may occur.

Next, the control operation of the control unit 22 will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. When the operation switch SW is turned on as the operation tool 16 is operated to the holding position, the battery for the controller H is supplied and the control operation is started (step 1). Water flow switch 18 is ON
If it is not turned on, it is possible to heat the heat exchanger 1 in an anhydrous state by determining whether or not the water is being reliably supplied to the heat exchanger 1. Then, the operation abnormality notification lamp L2 is turned on and the processing is ended (step 2). If the water flow switch 18 is ON, an ignition signal is output (step 3). Specifically, the ignition output terminal 25 is switched to the low level to operate the ignition drive unit B. Then, the gas shutoff valve 12 is energized to open the valve (step 4). In this way, the ignition operation is started.

In the state in which each unit operates as described above and the battery 21 is electrically loaded, whether the power supply voltage V detected by the voltage detection unit A is lower than the set voltage Vs or not. If it is determined that the voltage is lower than the set voltage Vs, the gas cutoff valve 12 is closed and the output of the ignition signal is stopped (steps 6 and 7). The opening operation of the gas cutoff valve 12 and the ignition operation of the igniter 19 are not executed.

When it is determined that the power supply voltage is higher than the set voltage and is normal, the ignition cycle in the igniter is determined based on the cycle of the pulse signal input from the cycle detector C, and the ignition cycle t is set. Period ts (eg, 0.6
If it exceeds 10 seconds, the burner 2 may not be properly ignited. Therefore, the gas shutoff valve 12 is closed, the output of the ignition signal is stopped, and the operation abnormality notification lamp L2 is turned on. Turn it on (steps 5, 8 to 1)
1), end the process. As described above, the reason why the ignition cycle becomes long is, for example, due to an increase in the contact resistance of the operation switch SW or the like, even though the voltage of the dry battery 21 is equal to or higher than the set voltage, the power source for the ignition drive unit B is increased. It is possible that the voltage is lowered.

The ignition cycle t is shorter than the set cycle ts,
When the normal operation is being performed, it is determined whether or not the burner 2 is reliably ignited based on the voltage detected by the thermocouple 20 (steps 9 and 12), and 5 seconds or more from the start of the ignition operation. If ignition is not confirmed even after a lapse of time, it is determined that there is an ignition error, the gas shutoff valve 12 is closed, and the output of the ignition signal is stopped (steps 13, 1).
0,11). If ignition is confirmed, the output of the ignition signal is stopped, and the ignition process ends (step 1).
2, 14).

In the control unit 22, the power supply voltage V detected by the voltage detection unit A is lower than the set voltage Vs when the ignition process is completed and the combustion operation is executed. When the determination is made, the gas cutoff valve 12 is closed and the control for stopping the output of the ignition signal is continuously executed.

[Other Embodiments] (1) In the above embodiment, the water valve 7 is provided in a manually operated manner that opens and closes based on the operation of the operation tool, and the controller H is instructed to start the combustion operation. Operation switch S
Although W is configured to be turned on based on the pushing operation of the operation tool, it may be configured as follows instead of such a configuration.

As shown in FIG. 7, the water valve 7 is of an electromagnetic operation type controlled by a controller H, and
Switches S1 and S2 for instructing the controller H to open the combustion operation are provided on the front surface of the main body case and the water discharge tool 4, respectively, and the controller H is based on the ON operation of any switch. First, the water valve 7 may be opened, and after the water supply state is detected by the water flow switch, the igniter 19 may be ignited and the gas cutoff valve 12 may be opened. Good.

(2) In the above embodiment, the voltage detection unit A is provided to determine whether or not the voltage of the battery is reduced during the ignition process and during the combustion operation. However, the detection cycle detected by the cycle detection section C becomes longer as the power supply voltage decreases without providing a voltage detection section. Then, if the detection cycle exceeds the set time, it may be determined that the battery voltage is lowered. In the case of such a configuration, the control operation of the control unit 22 is such that steps 5 to 7 of the control flowchart in FIG. 6 are not executed.

(3) In the above embodiment, the case where the power source is composed of a battery has been exemplified, but the invention is not limited to such a battery-driven combustion apparatus, and a structure in which electric power is supplied by a commercial power source is also possible. Good.

(4) In the above embodiment, the case of a so-called original stop type water heater was illustrated, but the present invention is not limited to such a configuration, and may be a first stop type water heater. ,
Not only the water heater but also the table stove, the fan heater, and other combustion devices can be applied.

In the claims, reference numerals are provided to facilitate comparison with the drawings, but the present invention is not limited to the configuration shown in the attached drawings.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic configuration diagram of a water heater.

FIG. 2 is a front view of the water heater.

FIG. 3 is a circuit block diagram.

FIG. 4 is an electric circuit diagram of an ignition drive unit and a cycle detection unit.

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing a voltage waveform.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart of control operation

FIG. 7 is a schematic configuration diagram of a hot water supply device according to another embodiment.

[Explanation of symbols]

2 burner 11 fuel supply path 12 on-off valve 19 ignition means 21 battery 22 control means 27 capacitor A voltage drop detection means B ignition drive means C ignition operation state detection means D notification means JH charge / discharge circuit Tr ₃ switch means

Front page continued (72) Inventor Yuji Ichikawa 4-1-2, Hirano-cho, Chuo-ku, Osaka City, Osaka Prefecture Osaka Gas Co., Ltd. (72) Inventor Akira Takabayashi 1-52, Oka, Minami-shi, Osaka-shi, Osaka Harman Co., Ltd.

Claims (5)

[Claims] 1. A fuel supply path (1) for a burner (2).
An on-off valve (12) for opening and closing 1), and an ignition drive means (B) for igniting the burner (2) by applying a high voltage to the ignition means (19) at every set cycle to discharge. A control means (22) for controlling the ignition drive means (B) and the opening / closing valve (12) so as to execute the ignition operation and the valve opening operation based on a combustion start command.
And a ignition device (C) for detecting a cycle of a high voltage repeatedly applied to the ignition means (19), and the control means (22). Is a combustion device configured to determine that the ignition operation is not normally performed if the period detected by the ignition operation state detection means (C) is longer than a set time. 2. The ignition drive means (B) comprises a charging / discharging circuit (JH) for repeating a charging / discharging operation for charging a capacitor (27) and discharging when the charging voltage exceeds a set voltage. the ignition operation state detecting means (C), the condenser (27) of claim 1, wherein is configured to include a switch means for outputting a changeover pulse signal in a conductive state when a discharge (Tr ₃₎ Combustion device. 3. The control means (22), based on the detection information of the ignition operation state detection means (C), if the ignition operation is not normally performed, the ignition drive is performed regardless of a combustion start command. Ignition operation of the means (B),
The combustion device according to claim 1 or 2, which is configured not to perform the opening operation of the opening / closing valve (12). 4. The control means (22) and the on-off valve (1)
2), and a battery (21) for supplying the operating power of each of the ignition drive means (B) is provided, and a voltage drop detection for determining whether or not the voltage of the battery (21) is less than or equal to a set value Means (A) is provided, and the control means (22) is configured to detect the voltage drop (A).
If the voltage of the battery (21) is less than or equal to a set value based on the detection information of, the ignition operation of the ignition drive means (B),
The combustion apparatus according to claim 1, 2 or 3, wherein the opening / closing valve (12) is not opened. 5. The notifying means for notifying, when the control means (22) determines that the ignition operation is not normally performed based on the detection information of the ignition operation state detection means (B). The combustion apparatus according to claim 1, 2, 3, or 4, which is configured to operate (D).