JPH10132381A - Hot water feeder - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To reduce power consumption in cases where a hot water feeder does not perform substantially combustion operation. SOLUTION: When the operation of a main body 10 of a hot water feeder is stopped or when operation waiting continues more than a specified period of time, electrical energization of a main circuit 14 not required to electrically energized is stopped. In addition, a voltage V2 lower than a voltage V1 is supplied to a remote controlling device 20, resulting in that a fact that the main body side of the hot water feeder is under an electrical power saving control can be transmitted to the remote controlling device 20 and correspondingly electrical energization of a main circuit 25 not required to be electrically energized is stopped by the remote controlling control circuit 26. As a result, in a stopped state of the main body of the hot water feeder, it is possible to avoid useless consumption of electrical power by the main body of the hot water feeder and the remote controlling device and further an effect of saving electrical power can be attained and at the same time the electric bill is reduced. In addition, when the electrical power saving control is carried out, it is possible to transmit an instruction to cancel the electrical power saving control when required by the remote controlling device and thus this is convenient.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

[0001] The present invention relates to a water heater.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art
In the water heater, when the operation instruction is not issued, the operation is stopped, or even when the operation instruction is issued, the operation standby state in which the combustion operation is not started by turning on the water flow switch or the like continues for a predetermined time or more. The energization is performed even when it is not necessary to energize the main circuit as in
Along with this, a certain amount of power is consumed. However, such unnecessary energization is a waste of electric power, and the user of the water heater has increased the electricity bill and was very wasteful. An object of the present invention is to solve the above-described problem, and an object of the present invention is to provide a water heater that can suppress power consumption when a combustion operation is not substantially performed.

[0003]

Means for Solving the Problems and Effects of the Invention In order to achieve the above object, a structural feature of the invention according to claim 1 is that a water heater in which a water heater main body and a remote control device are connected by wire is provided. During operation of the water heater main body, the first voltage is supplied to the remote control device side, and when the operation of the water heater main body is stopped or operation standby for a predetermined time or more, a second voltage smaller than the first voltage is supplied to the remote control device side. In addition to the power supply control, the power supply control is performed by the main body control device to stop the power supply to a predetermined main body circuit that does not require power supply provided in the water heater main body.

[0004] With the configuration of the first aspect of the present invention, when the operation of the water heater main body is stopped or when the operation of the water heater main body is on standby for a predetermined time or more, the power supply to the main body circuit that does not require power supply is stopped, and By supplying the second voltage lower than the first voltage to the device side, it is possible to easily transmit to the remote control device side that the water heater main body side is in power saving control. As a result, when the operation of the water heater body that does not need to be energized is stopped or the like, unnecessary power consumption can be avoided, the power saving effect can be obtained, and the burden of the electricity rate can be reduced.

[0005] Further, the structural feature of the invention according to claim 2 is that in the water heater according to claim 1, the remote control device is provided with the second voltage in response to the second voltage being supplied to the remote control device. The present invention is provided with a remote control device for performing power saving mode control for stopping power supply to a predetermined remote control circuit that does not require power supply. By configuring the invention according to claim 2 as described above, in addition to the effect of the invention according to claim 1, power can also be saved on the remote control device side, and a large power saving effect can be obtained for the entire water heater. .

According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the water heater according to the first or second aspect, when the water heater main body is operated, the main body communication means on the water heater main body side is operated. A communication method in which a signal from the remote control communication means on the remote control device side is selectively received, and when the operation of the water heater main body is stopped or the operation of the water heater main body is on standby for a predetermined time or more, a signal can be transmitted from the remote control communication means to the main body communication means. It is to be. With the configuration according to the third aspect of the present invention, a command to cancel the power saving control can be transmitted from the remote control device as needed at the time of the power saving control, which is convenient.

[0007] Also, a structural feature of the invention according to claim 4 is that, in the water heater according to claim 2, the remote control device responds to the supply of the first voltage to the remote control device. In this case, the power supply to the remote control circuit is started. By configuring the invention according to claim 4 as described above, in addition to the effect of the invention according to claim 2, when the power saving control state of the water heater main body is released, the remote control device side responds accordingly. The power saving control state can be immediately released.

[0008] Further, the structural feature of the invention according to claim 5 is that in a water heater in which the water heater main body and the remote control device are connected by wire, when the operation of the water heater main body is stopped or when the operation is waiting for a predetermined time or more. A power control for stopping power supply to a predetermined main circuit which does not require power supply provided in the water heater main body, and a power control for transmitting power save control information to the remote controller through the main body communication means; There is provided a remote control device for receiving power by remote control communication means and performing power saving control for stopping power supply to a predetermined remote control circuit which does not need to be supplied and provided in the remote control device.

According to the invention of claim 5 described above, when the operation of the water heater main body is stopped or when the operation of the water heater main body is on standby for a predetermined time or more, the power supply to the main body circuit that does not require power supply is stopped, and The power control information is transmitted to the remote control device. According to the transmission result, the power supply to the remote control circuit that does not require power supply is also stopped on the remote control device side. As a result, when the operation of the water heater body that does not need to be energized is stopped or the like, unnecessary power consumption can be avoided, the power saving effect can be obtained, and the burden of the electricity rate can be reduced.

[0010]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS One embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a circuit configuration of a water heater according to the first embodiment. The water heater includes a water heater main body 10 and a remote control device 20 connected to the water heater main body 10 by a communication cable W. The water heater main body 10 has a first power supply 11 connected to an AC power supply S for generating a voltage V1, and a second power supply 12 for generating a voltage V2 lower than the voltage V1. The input side of the first power supply 11 is connected to the AC power supply S via the control switch 13. The output side of the first power supply 11 is connected to one end of the communication cable W via a diode D1 and an AC cutoff coil L1, and a main circuit 14 used for a combustion operation of a gas solenoid valve, a fan motor or the like. It is connected to the. The output side of the second power supply 12 is a diode D2
Also, it is connected to a communication cable connection terminal via an AC cutoff coil L1 and is connected to the main body control circuit 15. The main body control circuit 15 is connected to the control terminal 13 a of the control switch 13 and the main circuit 14. Also,
The main body communication section 16 is connected to the communication cable connection terminal and is connected to the main body control circuit 15 to exchange signals.

The remote controller 20 is connected to the other end of the communication cable W, and a diode bridge 21 for correcting the connection polarity is connected to the other end. Remote controller 20 has a third power supply 22 for generating voltage V3 and a fourth power supply 23 for generating voltage V4. Third power supply 2
The input side 2 is connected to the diode bridge 21 via the control switch 24 and the AC cutoff coil L2. The output side of the third power supply 22 is connected to a main circuit 2 such as a display circuit.
5 is connected. The input side of the fourth power supply 23 is connected to the diode bridge 21 via the AC cutoff coil L2, and the output side is connected to the remote control circuit 26. The remote control circuit 26 has a coil L
2, connected to the fourth power supply 23 and the operation switch 27, and the output side is connected to the control terminal 24 a of the control switch 24. The remote control communication unit 28 is connected to the diode bridge 21 and has the remote control control circuit 2 connected thereto.
6 for transmitting and receiving signals.

The main body control circuit 15 and the remote control circuit 26 are constituted by a microcomputer comprising a CPU, a ROM, a RAM, an I / O, and the like. The main body control circuit 15 corresponds to the flowchart shown in FIG. The “operation state determination program” is executed, and the “main body energization control program” corresponding to the flowchart shown in FIG.
Perform interrupt execution. The remote control circuit 26
Executes the “remote control energization control program” shown in FIG. 4 in cooperation with the main body control circuit 15.

Next, the operation of the first embodiment configured as described above will be described. First, the main body control circuit 15
Starts the execution of the "operating state determination program" shown in FIG. Here, when an operation request is input by the operation switch 27 of the remote control device 20, a signal is transmitted from the remote control communication unit 28 to the main body communication unit 16.
Based on this, the main body control circuit 15 moves the program to step 32 based on the determination of “YES” in step 31 and sets the power saving mode flag SDM to “0” indicating the normal mode. Note that SDM = 1 indicates the power saving mode.

On the other hand, the main body control circuit 15 starts the "main body energization control program" shown in FIG. 3 at step 50, and determines at step 51 whether the power saving mode flag SDM is "0". Here, since SDM = 0, the program proceeds to step 52 based on the determination of "YES", and the control switch 13 is turned on, whereby the voltage V1 from the first power supply 11 is supplied to the main circuit 14. The voltage V1 is supplied to the remote control circuit 26 of the remote control device 20 through the communication cable W. Further, in step 53, the communication system is controlled mainly by the water heater main body. That is, the main body communication unit 16 is
8 is sequentially selected and accepted.

At the same time, the remote controller control circuit 26 of the remote controller 20 starts the "remote control energization control program" shown in FIG. 4 at step 60, and at step 61, when the supply voltage is equal to or higher than VR (V1>VR> V2). It is determined whether there is. Since the supply voltage is equal to or higher than VR as described above, "YE
Based on the determination of "S", the program proceeds to step 62, where the control switch 24 is turned on, whereby the voltage V3 from the third power supply 22 is supplied to the main circuit 25. Further, in step 63, the communication system is controlled mainly by the water heater main body.

The operation switch 27 of the remote controller 20
After the operation request is input, the water flow switch is turned on, and the combustion control of the water heater is performed. In step 33 of the “operation state determination program”, a determination of “NO” is made according to the fact that the vehicle is not in the standby state. The program is based on step 3
Returned to 1. Here, when the control does not immediately proceed to the combustion control, the water heater shifts to a standby state. That is, based on the determination of "YES" in step 33, the program is moved to step 34, the timer is started, and
It is determined whether or not the time T1 has elapsed. Before the elapse of the time T1, the power saving mode flag SDM = 0, that is, the normal state, and it is determined whether the standby state has been completed during that time (step 36). Before the time T1 elapses, the standby state is ended by turning on the water flow switch or the like. Based on the determination of "NO" in step 36, the program is returned to step 31, and the processing of the following steps is performed.

If the standby state continues for the time T1 or more, the process proceeds to step 37 based on the determination of "YES" in step 35, and the power saving mode is set. That is, the power saving mode flag SDM is set to 1, and it is determined whether the standby state has been completed (step 38). When the water heater is set to the power saving mode, the main body control circuit 15
In step 51 of the “main body power supply control program”, “N
The program moves to step 54 based on the determination of "O",
The control switch 13 is turned off. Thereby, the first power supply 1
The supply of the voltage V1 from 1 to the main circuit 14 is cut off. Further, the path of the voltage V1 to the communication cable W is cut off, and the voltage V2 is supplied to the remote control circuit 26 of the remote control device 20 through the communication cable W. Further, in step 55, the communication system is controlled mainly by the remote controller. That is, a method is used in which a signal is sent from the remote control communication unit 28 to the main body communication unit 16 when necessary.

At the same time, the remote control circuit 26 of the remote control device 20 moves the program to step 64 based on the determination of "NO" in step 61 shown in FIG. , The control switch 24 is turned off, whereby the supply of the voltage V3 from the third power supply 22 to the main circuit 25 is cut off. Step 6
At 5, the communication system is controlled mainly by the remote controller.

The operation switch 2 of the remote control device 20
7, when the operation request is not input, the program proceeds to step 39 based on the determination of "NO" in step 31, and the power saving mode flag SDM
Is set to “1” indicating the power saving mode. As a result, power saving control is performed in the water heater main body 10 and the remote control device 20 as described above.

As described above, in the first embodiment, when the operation of the water heater main body 10 is stopped or when the operation of the water heater main body 10 is on standby for a predetermined time or more, the energization to the main circuit 14 that does not need to be energized is stopped. Further, by supplying a voltage V2 smaller than the voltage V1 to the remote control device 20, the fact that the water heater main body 10 is in power saving control can be transmitted to the remote control device 20 side. Unnecessary energization to the main circuit 25 is stopped. As a result, when the operation of the water heater main body 10 is stopped or the like, useless power consumption in the water heater main body 10 and the remote control device 20 can be avoided, so that a power saving effect is obtained and the burden of the electricity bill is reduced. Also, during power saving control,
A command to cancel the power saving control can be transmitted from the remote control device 20 when necessary, which is convenient. The remote control device 20
In response to the supply of the voltage V1 from the water heater main body 10, the power supply to the main circuit 25 can be started by the remote control circuit 26.

Next, a modification of the first embodiment will be described. In the first embodiment, when the water heater is in the power saving mode, the main body communication unit 17 is connected to the remote control communication unit 2.
8 is switched to a remote control-based communication system capable of transmitting a signal from the remote control communication unit 28 to the main body communication unit 17 when necessary. It may be adopted only.

Next, a second embodiment will be described. FIG. 5 is a block diagram showing a circuit configuration of a water heater according to the second embodiment. The water heater includes a water heater main body 70 and a remote control device 80 connected to the water heater main body 70 by the communication cable 30. The water heater main body 70 has a fifth power supply 71 connected to the AC power supply S to generate the voltage V5. The output side of the fifth power supply 71 is connected to one end of the communication cable W via an AC cutoff coil L3. The output side of the fifth power supply 71 is connected via a control switch 72 to a main circuit 73 used for a combustion operation of a gas solenoid valve, a fan motor or the like. Further, the output side of the fifth power supply 71 is connected to the main body control circuit 74. The main body control circuit 74 is connected to the control terminal 72a of the control switch 72. Also,
The main body communication section 75 is connected to the connection terminal of the communication cable W and is connected to the main body control circuit 74 to exchange signals.

The remote controller 80 is connected to the other end of the communication cable W, and a diode bridge 81 for correcting the connection polarity is connected to the other end. Remote controller 80 has a sixth power supply 82 for generating voltage V6. The sixth power supply 82 has an AC cutoff coil L4 on the input side.
Is connected to the diode bridge 81 via the. The output side of the sixth power supply 82 is connected via a control switch 83 to a main circuit 84 such as a display circuit. The output side of the sixth power supply 82 is connected to a remote control circuit 85. The remote controller control circuit 85 has an operation switch 86 connected to the input side, and a control switch 83 connected to the output side.
Is connected to the control terminal 83a. Further, the remote control communication section 87 is connected to the diode bridge 81 and connected to a remote control circuit 85 to exchange signals.

The main body control circuit 74 and the remote control circuit 85 are constituted by a microcomputer comprising a CPU, a ROM, a RAM, an I / O, and the like. The main body control circuit 74 corresponds to the flowchart shown in FIG. The "operation state determination program" is executed, and the interruption of the "second main body energization control program" corresponding to the flowchart shown in FIG. 6 is executed. Also, a remote control circuit 8
5 executes the “second remote control energization control program” shown in FIG. 7 in cooperation with the main body control circuit 74.

Next, the operation of the second embodiment configured as described above will be described. First, the main body control circuit 74
Starts the execution of the "operating state determination program" shown in FIG. When an operation request is input by the operation switch 86 of the remote control device 80, a signal is sent from the remote control communication unit 87 to the main body communication unit 75. Based on this, the main body control circuit 74 determines “YES” in step 31.
Based on the determination, the program proceeds to step 32, and the power saving mode flag SDM is set to "0" indicating the normal mode. Note that SDM = 1 indicates the power saving mode.

On the other hand, the main body control circuit 74 starts the "second main body energization control program" shown in FIG. 6 at step 90, and determines at step 91 whether the power saving mode flag SDM is "0". . In this case, since SDM = 0, the program proceeds to step 92 based on the determination of “YES”, and controls the main body communication unit 75 to transmit data indicating the normal state to the remote control communication unit 87.
Subsequently, at step 93, the control switch 72 is turned on, whereby the voltage V5 from the fifth power supply 71 is supplied to the main circuit 73.

At the same time, the remote controller control circuit 85 of the remote controller 80 starts the “second remote controller energization control program” shown in FIG. 7 in step 100, and determines whether or not the data of the power saving mode has been received in step 101. Is determined.
Since the data indicating the normal state is transmitted as described above, the program proceeds to step 102 based on the determination of “NO”, the control switch 83 is turned on, and the sixth power supply 82 Is supplied to the main circuit 84.

Operation switch 86 of remote controller 80
After the operation request is input, the water flow switch is turned on, and the combustion control of the water heater is started. In the "operation state determination program", "NO" The program returns to step 31 based on the determination. Here, when the control does not immediately proceed to the combustion control, the water heater shifts to a standby state. That is, the program proceeds to step 34 based on the determination of "YES" in step 33, the timer is started, and in step 35, it is determined whether or not the time T1 has elapsed.
Before the elapse of the time T1, the power saving mode flag SDM = 0
That is, it is in the normal state, during which it is determined whether or not the standby state has been completed (step 36). If the water flow switch is turned on before the time T1 elapses and the standby state ends, the program returns to step 31 based on the determination of "NO" in step 36, and the processing of the following steps is performed.

When the standby state continues for the time T1 or more, the process proceeds to step 37 based on the determination of "YES" in step 35, and the power saving mode is set. That is, the power saving mode flag SDM is set to 1, and it is determined whether the standby state has been completed (step 38). By setting the water heater to the power saving mode, the main body control circuit 74
The program proceeds to step 94 based on the determination of “NO” in step 91 of the “second main body energization control program”, and causes the main body communication section 75 to transmit data indicating that the power saving mode is set to the remote control communication section 87. Control.
Subsequently, at step 95, the control switch 72 is turned off, whereby the supply of the voltage V5 from the fifth power supply 71 to the main circuit 73 is cut off.

At the same time, the remote control circuit 85 of the remote controller 80 receives the data indicating that the mode is the power saving mode, and moves the program to step 103 based on the determination of “YES” in step 101. The control switch 83 is turned off, whereby the supply of the voltage V6 from the sixth power supply 82 to the main circuit 84 is cut off. afterwards,
The program returns to step 101, and the processing of the following steps is repeated.

The operation switch 8 of the remote controller 80
6, when the operation is not stopped, the program is moved to step 39 based on the determination of "NO" in step 31, and the power saving mode flag SDM
Is set to “1” indicating the power saving mode. As a result, power saving control is performed in the water heater main body 70 and the remote controller 80 as described above.

As described above, in the second embodiment, when the operation of the water heater main body 70 is stopped or when the operation of the water heater main body 70 is on standby for a predetermined time or more, the power supply to the main circuit 73 that does not require power supply is stopped, and By transmitting data indicating the power saving mode to the remote control device 80, the power supply to the main circuit 84 that does not require power supply of the remote control device 80 is stopped. Therefore, when the operation of the water heater body 70 is stopped or the like, the water heater body 70 and the remote controller 80
Wasteful power consumption can be avoided, a power saving effect can be obtained, and the burden of electricity bills can be reduced.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block circuit diagram schematically showing a circuit configuration of a water heater according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a flowchart of an “operating state determination program” executed by a main body control circuit of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a flowchart of a “main body energization control program” executed by interruption by a main body control circuit.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart of a “remote control energization control program” executed by the remote control circuit of FIG. 1;

FIG. 5 is a block circuit diagram schematically showing a circuit configuration of a water heater according to a second embodiment.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart of a “second main body energization control program” executed by the main body control circuit of FIG. 5;

FIG. 7 is a flowchart of a “second remote control energization control program” executed by the remote control circuit of FIG. 5;

[Explanation of symbols]

10 hot water heater main body, 11 first power supply, 12 second power supply,
13 control switch, 14 main circuit, 15 body control circuit, 16 body communication unit, 20 remote control device, 21
Diode bridge, 22 third power source, 23 fourth power source, 24 control switch, 25 main circuit, 26 remote control circuit, 27 operation switch, 28 remote control communication unit, 70 water heater body, 71 Fifth power supply, 72 control switch, 73 main circuit, 74 main body control circuit, 75
... Main body communication unit, 80 ... Remote control device, 81 ... Diode bridge, 82 ... Sixth power supply, 83 ... Control switch, 84
... Main circuit, 85 ... Remote control circuit, 86 ... Operation switch, 87 ... Remote control communication unit, S ... AC power supply, W ... Communication cable.

Claims (5)

[Claims] In a water heater in which a water heater main body and a remote control device are connected by wire, a first voltage is supplied to the remote control device side during operation of the water heater main body, and when the operation of the water heater main body is stopped. Alternatively, during standby for a predetermined time or longer, a second voltage smaller than the first voltage is supplied to the remote control device side, and a power supply unnecessary predetermined main body circuit provided in the water heater main body by the main body control device is supplied to the main body control device. A water heater characterized by power saving control for stopping energization. 2. The water heater according to claim 1,
A remote control device is provided for performing power saving control for stopping power supply to a predetermined remote control circuit that does not require power supply provided in the remote control device in response to the supply of the second voltage to the remote control device. A water heater characterized by the following. 3. The water heater according to claim 1 or 2, wherein when the water heater main body is operated, the main body communication means on the water heater main body transmits a signal from the remote control communication means on the remote control device side. A communication system that can selectively receive and transmit a signal from the remote control communication unit to the main body communication unit when the operation of the water heater main unit is stopped or when the operation is on standby for a predetermined time or more. vessel. 4. The water heater according to claim 2, wherein
The water heater according to claim 1, wherein the remote control device starts power supply to the remote control circuit in response to the supply of the first voltage to the remote control device. 5. In a water heater in which the water heater main body and the remote control device are connected by wire, when the operation of the water heater main body is stopped or when the operation of the water heater main body is on standby for a predetermined time or more, a predetermined non-energized predetermined water heater provided in the water heater main body is provided. A power saving control for stopping power supply to the main body circuit, and a main body control device for transmitting power saving control information to the remote control device side by main body communication means,
A remote control device for receiving power-saving control information by remote control communication means and performing power-saving control for stopping power supply to a predetermined remote control circuit that does not need to be supplied and provided in the remote control device; vessel.