JPH11211225A - Operation control method for bath unit - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To enhance durability of a bath unit by preventing inner pressure rise of inner piping for switching a circulation path from the heat exchanger side to the bypath side. SOLUTION: After additional heating operation is performed by circulating hot water through a bath side heat exchanger 4, a circulation pump 39 is stopped temporarily. Subsequently, a three-way valve 42 is driven to the bypath side and a delay timer is started when the three-way valve 42 passed through the intermediate position between the storage water heater body side and the bypath side. When the three-way valve 42 opens on the bypath side and the delay timer counts up, the circulation pump 39 is operated again and the three- way valve 42 is stopped at a target opening in order to check circulation.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an operation control method for a bath apparatus. For example, the present invention relates to an operation control method for a one-can-two-water-channel bath apparatus having a reheating function and a bubble generation function.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art A return pipe is connected between a circulation fitting of a bathtub and an inlet side of a heat exchanger, and an outgoing pipe is connected between a circulation fitting of a bathtub and an outlet side of a heat exchanger. The bypass line branched from the pipe line via the three-way valve and joined to the going pipe line 1
There is a bath device for the can 2 canal.

[0003] In such a bath apparatus, during a reheating operation or an anti-freezing operation, the three-way valve is operated to connect the upstream side of the three-way valve of the return line with the heat exchanger side. To operate the circulation pump to circulate hot water in the heat exchanger. Also, at the time of performing the circulation determination or dropping the hot water, the circulating pump is operated in a state where the three-way valve is operated to connect the upstream side and the bypass side of the return line with the three-way valve to circulate the hot water into the bypass path. Let it.

[0004]

In the bath apparatus having the above configuration, the three-way valve is switched from the heat exchanger side to the bypass path while the circulation pump is operated, or the three-way valve is operated while the circulation pump is operated. May be switched from the bypass to the heat exchanger. For example, when the reheating operation is completed, the circulation determination may be performed by circulating the bypass to monitor the bath water level, air purge, and stir the hot water in the bathtub. In that case, in the conventional bath apparatus, the three-way valve was switched from the heat exchanger side to the bypass path side while operating the circulation pump.

However, when the outlet side of the three-way valve is being switched from the heat exchanger side to the bypass side (or the outlet side of the three-way valve is being switched from the bypass side to the heat exchanger side), the outlet side of the three-way valve is blocked. Since the gas flows through the closed state (closed state of the three-way valve), there is a problem that the pump pressure increases the internal pressure of the piping in the instrument (that is, the portion of the return pipe upstream of the three-way valve). When such an increase in the internal pressure of the appliance piping is repeated, the bath apparatus may be damaged.

The present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned drawbacks of the prior art, and has as its object to prevent the internal pressure of the piping in the appliance from increasing during switching of the circulation path, and to improve the durability of the bath apparatus. To improve it.

[0007]

DISCLOSURE OF THE INVENTION According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method for controlling operation of a bath apparatus, comprising branching a bypass line from a return line provided between a circulation fitting of a bathtub and a heat exchanger via a three-way valve. A state where the upstream side of the three-way valve of the return line and the heat exchanger side are communicated with each other, and the return line is connected to the outgoing line arranged between the circulation fitting and the heat exchanger. The three-way valve can be switched to a state in which the upstream side and the bypass path side of the three-way valve communicate with each other, and in the bath apparatus provided with a circulation pump in the return pipe or the outgoing pipe, the three-way valve is heated. When switching between an operating state in which the circulation pump is operated by opening on the exchanger side and an operation state in which the three-way valve is opened on the bypass path to operate the circulation pump, the three-way valve is driven to drive the heat exchanger. To switch between In the course instead it is characterized by to temporarily stop the circulation pump.

[0008] In the operation control method of the bath apparatus according to the first aspect, the circulating pump is stopped during the switching of the three-way valve between the heat exchanger side and the bypass path side. Even when the three-way valve is closed, the pump pressure does not increase the internal pressure of the instrument piping. Therefore, damage to the piping in the appliance due to repeated increase in the internal pressure of the piping in the appliance can be prevented, and the durability of the bath apparatus can be improved. Therefore, in a closed state where at least the three-way valve is not open on the heat exchanger side or the bypass side,
It is necessary to stop the circulation pump.

[0009] In addition, the operation restart timing of the circulating pump is monitored by a timer, and the circulating pump is operated again after a longer time than the standby time necessary for stopping the operation of the circulating pump and restarting the circulating pump. This can prevent an excessive load from being applied to the circulation pump.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method for controlling the operation of a bath apparatus, wherein a bypass line is branched via a three-way valve from a return line piped between a circulation fitting of the bathtub and the heat exchanger to circulate the bathtub. A state where the upstream side and the heat exchanger side of the three-way valve of the return line are communicated with each other, and the three-way The three-way valve can be switched to a state in which the upstream side and the bypass path side communicate with each other with respect to the valve, and further, a bubble generation bypass path that can be opened and closed is provided between the return pipe and the going pipe,
In the bath apparatus provided with a circulation pump in the return pipe or the outgoing pipe, an operation state in which the three-way valve is opened on the heat exchanger side to operate the circulation pump, and a circulation pump in which the three-way valve is opened on the bypass path side. When the operation is switched between the operation state and the operation state, the three-way valve is driven to switch between the heat exchanger side and the bypass path side, and the bubble generation bypass path is opened during switching. And

In the operation control method of the bath apparatus according to the third aspect, the bubble generation bypass passage is opened during the switching of the three-way valve between the heat exchanger side and the bypass passage side. Therefore, even if the three-way valve is closed while the circulating pump continues to operate, the hot water flows through the bubble generation bypass passage, thereby releasing the internal pressure of the instrument piping. Therefore, damage to the piping in the appliance due to repeated increase in the internal pressure of the piping in the appliance can be prevented, and the durability of the bath apparatus can be improved.

[0012]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS (First Embodiment) FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a configuration of a water heater 1 according to one embodiment of the present invention.
A hot water supply-side heat exchanger 3 and a bath-side heat exchanger 4 are provided in the can 2, and an oil burner 6 and a blower fan 7 are provided below the heat exchangers 3 and 4. A heat discharge port 5 is opened on the upper surface of the.

In the oil burner 6, when an electromagnetic valve 9 provided in an oil supply path 8 is opened and an electromagnetic pump 10 is operated, oil (petroleum) circulates in the oil supply path 8 to form a mist from a nozzle 11. The mist oil discharged from the nozzle 11 is mixed with air and burns.
The oil burner 6 has an ignition device 12 for igniting oil discharged from the nozzle 11 and a combustion detection sensor (flame rod) 13 for monitoring combustion. The blower fan 7 forcibly supplies air to the oil burner 6 and is controlled so as to burn oil at an optimum air-fuel ratio.

A hot water supply path 14 and a hot water supply path 15 are connected to the hot water supply side heat exchanger 3 to constitute a hot water supply for hot water supply. Water (city water) introduced from the water supply passage 14 through the filter 17 is heated while passing through the hot water supply side heat exchanger 3 during the combustion of the oil burner 6, and is heated.
From the hot water supply path 15. Hot water supply bypass 16
Is connected between the hot water supply path 14 and the hot water supply path 15 so as to bypass the hot water supply side heat exchanger 3, and the hot water heated by the hot water supply side heat exchanger 3 and the water flowing through the hot water supply side bypass path 16 Are mixed and supplied to the hot and cold water mixing passage 25. The flow rate of the water flowing through the hot water supply side bypass passage 16 and the flow rate of the hot water discharged from the hot water mixing passage 25 are controlled by a water proportional valve 19 and a water amount servo valve 20, respectively. In addition, the water amount sensor 18,
Outputs (measurement signals) of the incoming water temperature sensor 21, the can body hot water temperature sensor 22, and the mixing temperature sensor 23 are input to a controller (not shown), and the hot water is supplied from the hot water supply side heat exchanger 3 to the hot water supply path 15. The thermal power of the petroleum burner 6 and the water proportional valve 19 are controlled so that the temperature of the hot water from the can and the temperature of the hot water mixed into the hot water mixing passage 25 become equal to the set values. The hot water adjusted to the set temperature in this way is discharged from the hot-water tap 24 or the like through the hot-water mixing passage 25.

The bath-side heat exchanger 4 forms a part of a bath apparatus. That is, the bath apparatus was connected to the bath-side heat exchanger 4 heated by the oil burner 6, the bath-side water inlet pipe 33 connected to the entrance side of the bath-side heat exchanger 4, and the circulation fitting 48 of the bathtub 47. A return pipe line including a return pipe 32 and a bath-side tapping pipe 34 connected to an outlet side of the bath-side heat exchanger 4.
And a branch line via a three-way valve 42 from a connection point between a bath pipe 37 and a return pipe 32, which is composed of a flow pipe 35 connected to a circulation fitting 48 of a bathtub 47, and a bath heat exchanger 4. , And a bypass path 36 which joins a connection point between the bath-side hot water pipe 34 and the outgoing pipe 35, and further communicates with the return pipe 32 and the outgoing pipe 35 by further bypassing the bath-side heat exchanger 4 and the bypass path 36. In addition, a bubble generation bypass path 37 having a two-way valve 44 is provided. Here, the bypass 36
Is mainly used for determining circulation and for dropping hot water, and the bubble generation bypass path 37 is mainly used for bubble bath operation.

The return pipe 32 is provided with a water level sensor 38, a circulation pump 39, a bath-side water flow switch 40, and a hot water temperature sensor 41 such as a thermistor. An air pipe 45 is connected to a circulation fitting 48 of the bathtub 47.
Reference numeral 5 communicates with the going pipe 35.

The return pipe 32, the bath-side inlet pipe 33, the bath-side heat exchanger 4, the bath-side tapping pipe 34, and the outgoing pipe 35 constitute a reheating circuit, and branch off from the hot-water mixing path 25. The pipe 26 is connected to a feed pipe 35 of a reheating circuit via a vacuum breaker 27, a drop water solenoid valve 28, a water quantity sensor 29, a check valve 30, and a connection pipe 31.

FIGS. 2A and 2B show the structure of the three-way valve 42. FIG.
Is shown in the sectional view. The three-way valve 42 has a casing 49 communicating with the return pipe 32, the bypass 36 and the bath-side water inlet pipe 33.
A valve body 51 having a cylindrical shape is rotatably housed therein, and a water passage 52 which is bent in a substantially L shape from the lower surface to the side surface is opened in the valve body 51. The water passage 52 opened on the lower surface of the valve body 51 is
The water passage 52 which communicates with the inside of the valve body 51 and opens on the side surface of the valve body 51 has a bath-side inlet pipe 33 side (hereinafter, referred to as a can body side) and a bypass path 36 side (hereinafter, bypass) as the valve body 51 rotates. Side).

The valve body 51 is mounted on a rotating shaft 50 of a stepping motor (pulse step motor) 43, and its rotation angle is controlled by designating the number of steps of the stepping motor 43, for example, from 0 ° to 315.
Rotation is possible at any angle within the range of °. Therefore, the present invention is not limited to a state in which the can body is fully opened and a state in which the bypass side is fully opened, and can be used in any half-open state. Further, the three-way valve 42 has a limiter (not shown) for electrically detecting the state where the rotation angle of the valve body 51 is 0 ° and the state where it is 90 °, and is fully opened on the can body side. It is configured such that a limiter (hereinafter, referred to as a reference limiter) arranged at a position of 0 ° is sometimes turned on.
The rotation angle of the valve body 51 is determined based on the ON position (0 ° position) of the reference limiter.
It is controlled by the number of steps of 3.

(Operation During Reheating Operation) Next, the operation during the reheating operation of the bath apparatus will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. FIGS. 4A to 4F show changes in the state of the three-way valve. When a reheating switch provided in a bathroom remote controller (not shown) or the like is turned on, the valve body 51 of the three-way valve 42 is initially set to the 0 ° position, and then driven to a predetermined half-open state. That is, when the operation signal of the reheating operation is output from the controller (S1), the flag F for the three-way valve control is turned off (= initial setting mode).
Is set to (S2). Next, set the valve body 51 to 0
The number of steps larger than the number of steps necessary for returning to the position is input to the stepping motor 43, and FIG.
As shown in (a), the three-way valve 42 is driven to rotate beyond the 0 ° position (S3).

At this time, at the same time, the abnormality timer is started (S4), and the initial setting operation is being performed (flag F = OFF) (S5), so that the three-way valve 42 returns to the 0 ° position and the reference limiter is turned on. It is monitored whether it is (S6).

If the reference limiter does not turn on even if the abnormal timer counts up after the specified time has elapsed (S
7), it is determined that the three-way valve 42 does not return to the 0 ° position due to the failure of the three-way valve 42, and an error display notifying the controller or the like of the abnormality of the three-way valve 42 is output (S8).

When the reference limiter is turned on within a specified time until the abnormality timer counts up, the stepping motor 43 is forcibly stopped, and the three-way valve 42 is moved to the position of the reference limiter as shown in FIG. (S9). When the three-way valve 42 stops, the flag F is turned on.
(= Half-open mode) and the three-way valve 42
The reference position is set such that the stop position (reference limiter position) becomes 0 ° (S10).

When the three-way valve 42 is set to the position of the reference limiter, the rotation angle of the three-way valve 42 is controlled by the number of steps of the stepping motor 43 based on the 0 ° position, and the three-way valve 42 is set at a predetermined position on the can body side. An angle (this angle can be set in several steps) is controlled to be in a half-open state. That is, the three-way valve 42
Is immediately driven to the bypass side (S11).
When the three-way valve 42 is driven to the bypass side, the abnormality timer is reset and started (S4). At this time, the flag is set to F = ON (S5), and it is monitored whether the three-way valve 42 rotates to the bypass side and the reference limiter is turned off (S12).

At this time, if the reference limiter is not turned off even after the specified time has elapsed and the abnormal timer counts up (S13), it is determined that the three-way valve 42 is stuck at the 0 ° position due to a failure. , Three-way valve 42 for controller, etc.
An error display notifying of the abnormality is output (S14).

If the reference limiter is turned off within a specified time until the abnormal timer counts up, the stepping motor 43 rotates by the number of steps instructed, and the three-way valve 42 as shown in FIG. Is driven to a predetermined half-open state and stopped (S15, S16). Then, the circulation pump 39 is operated (S17), and when the hot water having the minimum operating flow rate or more is detected, the oil burner is ignited, and the hot water in the bathtub 47 is returned to the return pipe 32, the bath-side water inlet pipe 33, as shown in FIG.
The hot water heated in the bath-side heat exchanger 4 is circulated through the bath-side heat exchanger 4, the bath-side tapping pipe 34 and the outgoing pipe 35, and the bathtub 47.
Return to At this time, the two-way valve 44 of the bubble generation bypass passage 37 is in a fully closed state, and the drop water solenoid valve 28 is in a fully closed state.

As described above, by making the three-way valve 42 half open in the direction of the bath-side heat exchanger 4 during the reheating operation, the flow rate of hot water flowing through the reheating circuit can be reduced to a small extent. It can be prevented that hot water is spouted vigorously to give a bather discomfort.

(Post-processing of the reheating operation) After that, when the reheating switch is turned off to stop the reheating operation, the bath water level is monitored, the air purge is performed, and the hot water in the bathtub is stirred according to the flow chart of FIG. Then, the circulation determination is executed by switching the three-way valve so as to be fully open on the bypass side.
That is, when the reheating operation is completed, the oil burner 6
Is extinguished. At this time, the circulation pump 39 is also stopped (S21), and the three-way valve 42 is driven to the bypass side (S2).
2). The three-way valve 42 is driven to the bypass side, and FIG.
When the three-way valve 42 reaches the position of the limiter (hereinafter referred to as the intermediate limiter) at the 90 ° position and the intermediate limiter is turned on (S23), the delay timer starts (S24). When the delay timer counts up after the elapse of a predetermined time (S25), the circulation pump 39 starts operating again (S26).

Here, the time from the start of the delay timer to the counting up is such that the valve body 1 of the three-way valve 42 rotates from the 90 ° position in FIG. 4D to a state where it is slightly opened on the bypass side. Is set to a time longer than the time required for Furthermore, the time of this delay timer is
The waiting time required before restarting the circulation pump is also taken into account. Therefore, while the three-way valve 42 is in the closed state in which it is not opened on the can body side or the bypass side, the circulation pump 39 is stopped, and the pressure from the circulation pump 39 is applied to the return pipe 32 to damage the return pipe 32 or the like. It is possible to prevent the durability from being lowered.

In order to stop the circulation pump 39 while the three-way valve 42 is in the closed state, it is necessary to change the position of the three-way valve 42 at the end of the reheating operation as shown in FIG.
2 determines the number of steps of the stepping motor 43 for rotating to a position slightly opened on the bypass side, converts the number of steps into a timer time, and drives the three-way valve 42 until the timer time elapses. 39 may be stopped. However, in this case, the timer time is not constant depending on the position of the three-way valve 42 at the end of the reheating operation, and the process becomes complicated. On the other hand, if the delay timer is started on the basis of when the intermediate limiter is turned on, the time until the delay timer counts up is kept constant regardless of the position of the three-way valve 42 at the end of the reheating operation. can do. Further, by monitoring the time until the operation of the circulating pump is resumed using the delay timer, the circulating pump can be operated after a lapse of time sufficient to eliminate the back electromotive force generated from the circulating pump. .

When a three-way valve without an intermediate limiter is used, the number of steps of the stepping motor 43 is 9
The delay timer may be started by detecting the position at 0 °.

After the operation of the circulation pump is restarted,
When the three-way valve 42 reaches the target position (for example, the fully open position on the bypass side) and stops as shown in FIG.
S28), circulation determination is performed in a circulation path as shown in FIG. 7, and air purging and stirring of hot water in the bathtub are performed. After the circulation pump is stopped, the three-way valve 42
With the closed state as shown in (d), the water level sensor 38 detects the water level in the bathtub.

(Operation during Antifreeze Operation) Next, the operation in the antifreeze operation will be described. In a cold region in winter, an antifreeze operation is performed at night or the like in order to prevent freezing in the heat exchanger and the piping. This is to operate the circulation pump 39 without burning the oil burner 6 and circulate hot water in the bathtub in the bath-side heat exchanger 4 to prevent freezing. This antifreeze operation is automatically repeated overnight at regular intervals determined by the outside air temperature.

When the switch for the antifreeze operation is pressed, the antifreeze operation is executed in the order shown in the flow chart of FIG. 3, similarly to the reheating operation, except that the oil burner 6 is not burned. At this time, when the three-way valve 42 is fully opened on the can body side, the flow rate increases and the air sucked from the air pipe 45 blows out from the circulation fitting 48, and when the hot water containing this air is sucked from the circulation fitting 48, Since air is caught in the firing circuit, the three-way valve 42 is half-opened on the can side to perform an antifreeze operation. However, when the first anti-freezing operation is completed and thereafter the anti-freezing operation is automatically repeated, the three-way valve 4 does not follow the flowchart of FIG.
The anti-freezing operation is repeated while 2 is fixed to the half open state on the can body side. That is, even when the first anti-freezing operation is completed or when the subsequent anti-freezing operation is completed, the three-way valve 42 is not driven so as to be in the fully open direction on the can side, and is in a half-open state on the can side. Will be maintained. Also, when the anti-freezing operation is repeated, the three-way valve 42 is not driven for the abnormality check and is maintained in the half-open state.

As described above, since the three-way valve 42 is not driven and fixed at a fixed opening while the anti-freezing operation is automatically repeated, it is possible to prevent the three-way valve 42 from being repeatedly driven. As a result, the failure rate of the three-way valve 42 can be reduced.

When performing the bubble bath operation, the two-way valve 44 is opened and the circulation pump is operated to discharge the jet water stream containing bubbles from the circulation fitting 48. At this time, the three-way valve is closed. The foam bath operation in various modes can be performed by opening the bypass side or the can side. Moreover, since the three-way valve 42 is driven by the stepping motor 43, the three-way valve 42 can be set to an arbitrary opening.

(Second Embodiment) In the above embodiment, while the three-way valve 42 is closed, the internal pressure of the return pipe 32 is prevented from rising by stopping the circulation pump 39. The two-way valve 44 may be opened to release the internal pressure.

FIG. 8 shows the operation of switching the three-way valve 42 from the can body side to the bypass side by this method. According to this, at the start of driving of the three-way valve 42, the two-way valve 44 is slightly opened without stopping the circulation pump 39 (S31).
The pump pressure is released to the bubble generation bypass path 37 side, and the three-way valve is driven in that state (S22 to S25). When the delay timer counts up, the two-way valve 44 is closed (S3).
2), stop the three-way valve 42 at the target position (S27, S
28) control the bath apparatus.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a configuration diagram illustrating a hot water supply device including a bath device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIGS. 2A and 2B are schematic sectional views showing the structure of a three-way valve.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart illustrating an operation during a reheating operation.

FIGS. 4A to 4F are cross-sectional views showing changes in the state of a three-way valve.

FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram showing an operation state of reheating by the bath apparatus according to the first embodiment;

FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing an operation when switching the three-way valve from the can body side to the bypass side.

FIG. 7 is a schematic diagram showing an operation state of circulation determination by the above bath apparatus.

FIG. 8 is a flowchart showing the operation when switching the three-way valve from the can body side to the bypass side in another embodiment of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

 4 Bath-side heat exchanger 32 Return pipe 33 Bath-side inlet pipe 34 Bath-side tapping pipe 35 Outgoing pipe 36 Bypass pipe 37 Bubble generation bypass path 39 Circulation pump 42 Three-way valve 44 Two-way valve

Continued on the front page (72) Inventor Kimiaki Asano 93 Edo-cho, Chuo-ku, Kobe-shi, Hyogo Pref.

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. A bypass pipe is branched from a return pipe piped between a circulation fitting of a bathtub and a heat exchanger via a three-way valve, and is piped between a circulation fitting of the bathtub and a heat exchanger. The bypass line is merged with the outgoing line, and the upstream side of the three-way valve of the return line communicates with the heat exchanger side, and the upstream side of the three-way valve of the return line communicates with the bypass line side. In the bath apparatus provided with a circulation pump in the return line or the outgoing line, the three-way valve can be switched between a state and an operation state in which the three-way valve is opened on the heat exchanger side to operate the circulation pump. When the operation is switched to an operation state in which the three-way valve is opened on the bypass path side to operate the circulating pump, the circulation is performed during the switching between the heat exchanger side and the bypass path side by driving the three-way valve. Stop the pump once Operation control method of the bath and wherein the to. 2. A timer for restarting the operation of the circulating pump so that the circulating pump is operated again after a longer time than a standby time necessary for stopping the circulating pump and restarting the circulating pump. 2. The operation control method for a bath apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the monitoring is performed by monitoring. 3. A bypass pipe is branched from a return pipe, which is provided between the circulation fitting of the bathtub and the heat exchanger, via a three-way valve, and is provided between the circulation fitting of the bathtub and the heat exchanger. The bypass line is merged with the outgoing line, and the upstream side of the three-way valve of the return line communicates with the heat exchanger side, and the upstream side of the three-way valve of the return line communicates with the bypass side. The three-way valve can be switched to a state, and further, an openable / closable air bubble generation bypass path is provided between the return pipe and the outgoing pipe, and a circulation pump is provided in the return pipe or the outgoing pipe. In the bath apparatus, when performing operation switching between an operation state in which the three-way valve is opened on the heat exchanger side to operate the circulation pump and an operation state in which the three-way valve is opened on the bypass path side to operate the circulation pump, Drive the three-way valve to In the course switching to switch between pass roadside, the operation control method of the bath apparatus being characterized in that to open the bypass passage for the bubble generation.