JPH09144108A - Antifreezing device for tank - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To prevent the freezing of the water in a sub-tank. SOLUTION: A sub-tank 61 and a hot-water tank 13A are connected by a hot-water feed pipe 66 and a cold-water feed pipe 63. When the hot-water circulation mode is set to on via the operation of a switch 76, an opening/closing valve 74 is opened, the passage of the hot-water feed pipe 66 is opened, and a motor 71 is driven at every fixed time. The cold water stored in the sub-tank 61 is fed to the hot-water tank 13A through the cold-water feed pipe 63, and the hot water of the hot-water tank 13A is fed to the sub-tank 61 through the hot-water feed pipe 66. The freezing of the water in the sub-tank 61 is prevented even when it is used at a cold district.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a tank antifreezing device. More specifically, the present invention relates to a tank antifreezing device that prevents freezing of water in a sub tank by circulating hot water between the hot water tank and the sub tank.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, there has been known a sanitary washing apparatus for washing a local portion in a sanitary and comfortable manner by jetting washing water toward a local portion of a user. In general, there are two types of such sanitary washing devices: a type using a sub-tank in addition to a water storage tank and a type not using a sub-tank.

In a sanitary washing device that does not use a sub tank, water stored in an existing water storage tank is directly used as washing water. In this type of sanitary washing apparatus, buttocks or bidet washing is performed with water whose hands have been washed, which is not preferable in terms of sanitation.

On the other hand, a sanitary washing device using a sub tank is shown in FIG. In this sanitary washing device 10, a hand washing port 53
Since the water directly supplied from the tank is temporarily stored in the sub-tank 51 and this water is used as cleaning water, the above-mentioned sanitary problem does not occur.

[0005] The sanitary washing device 10 is of a type that is additionally attached to the existing toilet bowl 30 later.
Is mounted in a suspended state on the side surface of the water storage tank 2. A branch adapter 58 is attached to a hand washing port 53 of the water storage tank 2, and a water supply pipe 52 connected to an upper portion of the sub tank 51 is connected to the branch adapter 58. Sub tank 5
1 and the sanitary washing device 10 are connected by a water supply pipe 42.

When the water in the toilet 30 is flushed, tap water is sent from the water supply to the hand washing port 53, and a part of the tap water is guided from the branch adapter 58 into the sub tank 51 through the water supply pipe 52. At this time, the user can wash his / her hands with tap water discharged from the branch adapter 58. When the water level in the sub tank 51 exceeds the position of the overflow pipe 54, excess water is discharged from the overflow pipe 54,
The surplus water flows into the water storage tank 2 through the suction port 55B of the sink 55A.

The water stored in the sub-tank 51 is supplied to an internal tank (not shown) in the control unit 40 through a water supply pipe 42, where it is heated by a heater (not shown) and used as washing water. Is done.

When the sanitary washing device 10 is used,
The toilet seat 39 is lowered onto the main body 31 and is seated thereon, and the operating portion 41 uses the nozzle 43A for cleaning the iris and the nozzle 43B for bidet
Select Next, by adjusting the amount and pressure of the washing water, the washing water is ejected from the nozzles 43A and 43B.
The cleaning water is used to clean the local area in a sanitary and comfortable manner.

[0009]

By the way, when the sanitary washing device 10 using the sub-tank 51 is installed in a cold region, the water stored in the sub-tank 51 sometimes freezes. When the sanitary washing device 10 is used in such a case, there is a problem that washing water is not supplied and cannot be used.

Therefore, the present invention solves the above-mentioned problems and proposes a tank antifreezing device which can prevent freezing of water stored in a subtank.

[0011]

In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, in the present invention, a sub tank for storing water, a hot water tank for storing hot water having a heater, and cold water for supplying water from the sub tank to the hot water tank are provided. It is characterized by comprising a supply pipe, a hot water supply pipe for supplying hot water from the hot water tank to the sub tank, and a pump means for circulating the hot water between the sub tank and the hot water tank.

When the hot water circulation mode is turned on by the switching means, the pump means is driven at regular intervals,
The cold water stored in the sub tank is supplied to the hot water tank through the cold water supply pipe, and the hot water stored in the hot water tank is supplied to the sub tank through the hot water supply pipe at regular intervals. Therefore, the freezing of the water in the sub tank is prevented even when the sub tank is used in a cold region.

[0013]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION Next, a case where the first embodiment of the hot water supply device according to the present invention is applied to a sanitary washing device will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 shows a state in which the toilet seat 32 is raised when the sanitary washing device 1 to which the hot water supply device according to the present invention is applied is attached to an existing western style toilet 30. In the sanitary washing device 1, the control unit 13 including the hot water tank 13A
Is disposed beside the toilet bowl 30, the nozzle attachment portion 12 connected to the control portion 13 is attached to the back side (toilet seat attachment side) of the toilet body 31, and the side surface portion of the water storage tank 2 located behind the toilet bowl 30. A sub tank 61 is attached to the.

The control unit 13 and the sub tank 61 are connected by a hot water supply pipe 66 and a cold water supply pipe 63, and the sub tank 61 is connected with a water supply pipe 62 from the existing hand washing port 53. In this example, a nozzle cleaning portion 11A and a bidet nozzle 11B, which are arranged so that the positions where the cleaning water is ejected are different, are mounted on the nozzle mounting portion 12. FIG. 1 shows a state in which the nozzles 11A and 11B are stored, that is, a non-use state.

The nozzle mounting portion 12 is formed of, for example, a hard resin, and has a horizontally long flat plate-shaped upper plate portion 12A, and each nozzle 11 is bent downward from the front edge portion of the upper plate portion 12A.
A and a nozzle cover 12B that shields 11B. The upper plate part 12A of the nozzle attachment part 12 is
4 is mounted on the inner peripheral wall surface of the peripheral portion 34 on the toilet seat 32 side by a suction plate (not shown) provided on the back side of the nozzle cover 12B.

The nozzle cover 12B is formed in such a size that it shields the washing nozzle 11A, the bidet nozzle 11B and the pipes from the outside so that they cannot be seen. The bidet nozzle 11A and the bidet nozzle 11B are configured to expand and contract according to the pressure of the wash water, and the bidet nozzle 11B is set to project longer than the bidet nozzle 11A.

In order to supply the washing water to the nozzles 11A and 11B, the side surfaces of the control unit 13 arranged beside the toilet body 31 are connected to the connecting portions 12 provided at both ends of the upper plate portion 12A.
A connecting portion 13B that can be fitted into C and is adjustable in height is provided so as to project. The coupling portion 12B is connected to the coupling portion 12B.
The nozzle attachment portion 12 is attached to the control portion 13 by connecting C.

Further, the nozzle cover 12B of the nozzle mounting portion 12 is provided with cleaning nozzles 16 and 16 for cleaning the surface of the nozzle cover 12B at the upper portions on both sides.
The cleaning nozzles 16 and 16 are disposed one at a time on the upper left and right sides of the nozzle cover 12B.
Cleaning water is spouted toward the surface of 2B.

As shown in FIG. 2, the sub tank 61 is a substantially cylindrical hollow body having an open upper side, and is attached to the side surface of the existing water storage tank 2 in a suspended state. The opening 61A at the top of the sub tank 61 is provided with the sub tank lid 6
An overflow pipe 64 is obliquely extended downward at a predetermined angle so that the overflow pipe 64 is closed by 9 and located on the side surface of the sub tank 61 and below the sub tank lid 69.
A suction cup 65 is attached to the lower surface side of the overflow pipe 64 and near the tip thereof, and the suction disk 65 is pressure-bonded to the inclined surface of the sink portion 55A formed on the upper surface of the tank lid 55 for the water storage tank. When the water level of the sub tank exceeds the position of the overflow pipe 64, excess water is discharged from the overflow pipe 64, and this excess water is discharged from the suction port 55B to the water storage tank 2.
Flows into.

As shown in FIG. 3, a pipe storage groove 61B is provided in the vertical direction on the side surface of the sub tank 61, and a hot water supply pipe 66 is mounted therein. The upper end of the hot water supply pipe 66 is arranged in the vicinity of the edge of the opening 61A of the sub tank 61, and here, for example, a connecting portion formed in a reverse U shape with a hard resin or the like, one end side of the U-shaped pipe 70 in this example. The plug is connected.

The U-shaped pipe 70 is arranged so as to extend from the outside to the inside of the sub tank 61 so as to straddle the edge of the opening 61A, and the discharge port which is the other end of the U-shaped pipe 70 is located inside the sub tank 61. A cold water supply pipe 63 is connected to the bottom of the sub tank 61, while a water supply pipe 62 is connected to the upper side surface of the sub tank 61.

A branch adapter 58 is attached to the hand washing port 53 of the water storage tank 2, and a water supply pipe 62 from the sub tank 61 is connected thereto. When the water in the toilet 30 is flushed, tap water is sent from the tap water to the hand wash opening 53, and a part of this tap water is guided from the branch adapter 58 into the sub tank 61 through the water supply pipe 62. At this time, the user can wash his / her hands with tap water discharged from the branch adapter 58.

The control unit 13 shown in FIG. 1 is formed in a cylindrical shape, and has a warm water tank 13A having a heater (not shown) as shown in FIG. 4, and a microcomputer 73 for controlling various operations of the sanitary washing device 1. And are built in. The cold water supply pipe 63 is connected to the sub tank 61 via a pump 72 connected to the motor 71, and the hot water supply pipe 66 is connected to the hot water tank 13A via an electromagnetic opening / closing valve 74.
The on-off valve 74 is controlled by the microcomputer 73 according to the operation of the circulation mode setting switch 76.

Pipes 14A to 14C for supplying washing water to the washing nozzle 11A, the bidet nozzle 11B, and the cleaning nozzles 16 and 16 (FIG. 1) are connected to the hot water tank 13A via the switching valve 75, and the rotary knob. The flow path is switched by 15A.

As shown in FIG. 5, an operating section 15 is provided on the top of the control section 13, and a plurality of modes, in this example, "stop" mode, "oscillate cleaning" mode, "bidet" mode and "cleaning" are used. A relatively large rotary knob (rotary knob) 15A for selecting the mode, a water pressure adjustment knob 15B for adjusting the pressure and flow rate of the wash water, a water temperature adjustment knob 15C for adjusting the temperature of the wash water, and a hot water circulation mode. Slide type circulation mode setting switch 76 to select ON / OFF of
Is arranged. An instruction line 15D for mode setting is provided on the upper surface of the rotary knob 15A.

The rotary knob 15A and the water pressure adjusting knob 1
5B, water temperature control knob 15C, and circulation mode selection switch 76 are signals indicating the setting states of the microcomputer 7
3 (FIG. 4) to control the corresponding site.

Now, an example of use of the sanitary washing device 1 thus constructed will be described. As shown in FIG. 5, in this example, there are a cleaning mode and a hot water circulation mode. There are four types of washing modes, namely, "oscillation washing" mode, "bidet" mode, "cleaning" mode and "stop" mode, and there are two types of hot water circulation mode: on / off.

In FIG. 4, the circulation mode setting switch 76
When the hot water circulation mode is set to ON by the operation, the microcomputer 73 controls the opening / closing valve 74 to open the flow path from the hot water tank 13A. At the same time, the pump 72 is driven, and the cold water in the sub tank 61 is passed through the cold water supply pipe 63 to the hot water tank 1.
While being supplied to 3A, the hot water in the hot water tank 13A is forcibly forced by the supplied cold water pressure.
It is supplied to the sub tank 61 through 6. Therefore, if the motor 71 is driven at regular intervals, forced circulation is performed so that the hot water in the warm water tank 13A is supplied to the sub-tank 61 at regular intervals, and the sub-tank 61 in the cold tank is used. Freezing of water is prevented.

As shown in FIGS. 4 and 6, when the rotary knob 15A of the operating portion 15 is rotated to select either the "washing" mode or the "bidet" mode, the switching valve 75 is connected to the pipe 14A or 14B. The switching is performed and the pump 72 is driven, and the hot water for cleaning supplied from the hot water tank 13A in the control device 13 is sent to the oscillary cleaning nozzle 11A or the bidet nozzle 11B side.

After use, the rotary knob 15A is rotated into the "stop" mode. This stops the supply of hot water for cleaning,
The cleaning nozzle 11A or the bidet nozzle 11B returns to its original position.

When the nozzle cover 12B is dirty, the "cleaning" mode is selected by the rotary knob 15A. Then, the switching valve 75 operates and the cleaning nozzle 1
Cleaning water is sprayed from 6, 16 onto the surface of the nozzle cover 12B to clean the surface of the nozzle cover 12B.

When any one of the cleaning modes is selected while the warm water circulation mode is on, the microcomputer 73 closes the open / close valve 74 and each cleaning operation according to the set mode is performed. Then, when the "stop" mode is set by the rotary knob 15A, the open / close valve 74 is opened again and the hot water circulation is continued.

Next, the second sanitary washing device according to the present invention
An embodiment will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. In the sanitary washing device 20 shown in FIG. 7, the opening / closing valve 74 is omitted from the configuration of the sanitary washing device 1 (FIG. 4) according to the first embodiment, and the hot water supply pipe 66 is connected to the switching valve 77. When the rotary knob 15A is set to the "stop" mode described later, the switching valve 77 is set to open the flow path between the hot water tank 13A and the hot water supply pipe 66. In this sanitary washing device 20, the operations of the “oscillation washing” mode, the “bidet” mode, and the “cleaning mode” operate in the same manner as the sanitary washing device 1 described above.

When the hot water circulation mode is turned on by operating the circulation mode setting switch 76 while the rotary knob 15A is set to the "stop" mode, the pump 72 is driven and the cold water in the sub tank 61 becomes cold. Supply pipe 63
The hot water in the hot water tank 13A is forcibly supplied to the sub tank 61 through the hot water supply pipe 66 by the pressure of the supplied cold water. Therefore, if the motor 71 is driven at regular intervals, forced circulation is performed so that the hot water in the warm water tank 13A is supplied to the sub-tank 61 at regular intervals, and the sub-tank 61 in the cold tank is used. Freezing of water is prevented.

If any of the cleaning modes is selected while the hot water circulation mode is on, the hot water circulation is temporarily interrupted. This is because, when this mode is selected, the switching valve 77 is switched to any of the pipes 14A to 14C and the flow path of the hot water supply pipe 66 is closed, as described above.

As described above, in the sanitary washing device 1 equipped with the hot water supply device according to the present invention, the hot water is circulated between the hot water tank 13A and the sub tank 61, so that the sub tank 61 in the cold region is circulated. Freezing of water inside is prevented.

In this embodiment, the case where the tank antifreezing device is applied to the sanitary washing device has been described, but it can be applied to other various devices using the subtank.

[0039]

As described above, according to the present invention, a sub tank for storing water, a hot water tank for storing hot water having a heater, a cold water supply pipe for supplying water from the sub tank to the hot water tank, and hot water for the hot water tank are provided. And a pump means for circulating hot water between the sub tank and the hot water tank.

Therefore, according to the present invention, since the hot water is supplied from the hot water tank to the sub tank, it is possible to prevent the freezing of the water in the sub tank in a cold region, and the device equipped with the antifreezing device for this tank is always installed. There is an effect that it can be used comfortably.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a sanitary washing device 1 to which a tank antifreezing device according to a first embodiment of the present invention is applied.

FIG. 2 is a side view showing the shape of a sub tank 61.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing a method of mounting the sub tank 61.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a configuration of a tank antifreezing device in the sanitary washing device 1.

5 is a diagram showing a configuration of an operation unit 15. FIG.

FIG. 6 is a perspective view showing a usage state of the sanitary washing device 1.

FIG. 7 is a diagram showing a configuration of a tank antifreezing device according to a second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 8 is a perspective view showing a conventional sanitary washing device 10.

[Explanation of symbols] 1,10,20 Sanitary washing device 2 Water storage tank 13 Control section 13A Hot water tank 51,61 Sub tank 53 Hand wash port 58 Branch adapter 62 Water supply pipe 63 Cold water supply pipe 66 Hot water supply pipe 71 Motor 72 Pump 73 Microcomputer 74 Open / close valve 75, 77 Switching valve 76 Circulation mode setting switch

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. A sub-tank for storing water, a hot water tank for storing hot water with a heater, a cold water supply pipe for supplying water from the sub-tank to the hot water tank, and hot water for the hot water tank to the sub-tank. An anti-freezing device for a tank, comprising: a hot water supply pipe; and pump means for circulating hot water between the sub tank and the hot water tank. 2. The freeze prevention of the tank according to claim 1, wherein an opening / closing valve is interposed in the hot water supply pipe, and driving / stopping of the pump means is controlled according to opening / closing operation of the opening / closing valve. apparatus. 3. The tank antifreezing device according to claim 1, wherein the device is attached to a sanitary washing device.