JPH1123055A - Bath reheating device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To fluctuate heating capacity and to improve a bathing feeling when hot water in a bath tub is reheated, and to improve bathing feeling by a method wherein a reheating means is provided to be arranged at a bath circulation circuit and reheat circulation hot water, and a heating amount heated by the reheating means is varied by a heating amount varying means. SOLUTION: When automatic operation for a bath is indicated, hot water the temperature of which is increased by a hot water supply circuit 4, having a heat-exchanger 11 for hot water supply, is poured in a bath tub 2 through a drop passage having an on-off valve 14 up to a set water level. After pouring of hot water, the hot water temperature of a bath tub 2 is lowered to a value lower than a set temperature, a circulation pump 18 is driven and a heat- exchanger 7 for reboiling is heated by a burner 13 for reheating and the hot water in the bath tub 2 is reheated. In this case, a heating amount fluctuation means 27 is provided and heating capacity of the burner 13 for reheating is regulated and fluctuated. This fluctuation of the heating capacity is effected by changing at random heating capacity of the burner 13 for reheating through proportional control, and this constitution improves a bathing feeling through reheating during bathing.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a flow reheating device, and more particularly to a flow reheating device having a further improved bathing feeling during reheating.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, as a flow reheating apparatus, a flow circulation circuit for taking out hot water from a bathtub and returning the hot water to the bathtub,
A circulation pump for circulating the hot water in the bathtub through the flow circulation circuit is provided on the flow circulation circuit, and the hot water in the bathtub is additionally heated by heating the hot water circulating in the flow circulation circuit, and the once cooled hot water is heated. Is raised to a desired hot water temperature.

[0003]

Conventionally, there is such a reheating device, but in the conventional device, the reheating operation for performing the reheating operation is constant and very monotonous.

Accordingly, the present invention has been made in view of the above-described problems, and has been made in consideration of the following problems.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a flow reheating device that changes the heating capacity to improve the bathing sensation of a bather.

[0005]

Means for Solving the Problems To achieve the above object, the invention according to claim 1 is provided on a bathtub, a flow circulation circuit for taking out hot water from the bathtub and returning it to the bathtub, and provided on the flow circulation circuit. It is characterized by comprising a reheating heating means for reheating the circulating hot and cold water, and a heating amount changing means for changing a heating amount to be heated by the reheating heating means.

The invention according to claim 2 is characterized in that a bathtub, dropping means for dropping hot water into the bathtub, a flow circulating circuit for taking out the hot water from the bathtub and returning it to the bathtub, and adding hot water circulated provided on the flow circulating circuit. Additional heating means for heating and heating,
A heating amount varying unit that varies a heating amount to be heated by the supplementary heating unit, and when filling the bathtub with the dropping unit, performs the supplementary heating with a predetermined amount without operating the heating amount varying unit. In the subsequent reheating operation after completion of hot water filling, the reheating operation is performed while changing the heating amount by the heating amount changing means.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, there is provided a bathtub, a flow circulation circuit for taking out hot water from the bathtub and returning the bathwater to the bathtub, and a reheating heating means provided on the flow circulation circuit for reheating the circulating hot water. A heating amount varying unit that varies a heating amount to be heated by the additional heating unit; and a bathing detection unit that detects bathing in the bathtub (or an additional heating switch that instructs additional heating). When bathing is detected (or when the reheating switch is operated)
During the reheating operation, the reheating operation is performed while the heating amount is varied by operating the heating amount changing means.

The invention according to claim 4 is characterized in that the heating amount changing means changes the heating amount for additional heating at random or at a constant cycle.

According to the first aspect of the invention, when reheating the hot water in the bathtub, the heating amount changing means performs the reheating operation while changing the heating amount. The way of changing the temperature of the hot water is not monotonous but can be changed, and the feeling of bathing is improved.

[0010] According to the second aspect of the present invention, during the reheating operation accompanying the filling of the bathtub, the bather is not usually taking a bath, and takes a bath after the completion of the filling operation. The heating amount varying means is operated during the additional heating operation after the completion of the hot water filling operation without operating the heating amount varying means during the accompanying additional heating operation.

According to the third aspect of the present invention, when the bathing is detected by the bathing detecting means (or when the reheating switch is operated), the bathing is normally performed, and the heating amount changing means is operated. Improve the feeling of bathing.

According to the fourth aspect of the present invention, when the heating amount varying means reheats, the heating amount is changed at random (or at a constant cycle) to improve the bathing feeling.

[0013]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS A preferred embodiment of the reheating apparatus according to the present invention will be described below. FIG. 1 is an overall configuration diagram showing an automatic bath apparatus using a flow reheating apparatus according to the present invention.
Is an automatic bath device, 2 is a bath tub having a substantially constant cross-sectional area,
3 is a flow circulation circuit, and 4 is a hot water supply circuit. Circulation circuit 3
Is composed of a forward path 6a connected from the circulation pump 10 to the bus adapter 5 of the bathtub 2 via the additional heat exchanger 7, and a return path 6b extending from the bus adapter 5 to the circulation pump 10. Water flow switch 8 for determining circulation,
A pressure sensor 9 for detecting a water level and a thermistor 21 for detecting the temperature of hot water in the bathtub 2 are provided. Hot water supply circuit 4
Is a flow rate sensor 22 for detecting an amount of incoming water from city water, a thermistor 17 for detecting an incoming water temperature, and a heat exchanger 1 for hot water supply.
1, a bypass passage 16 arranged in parallel with the hot water supply heat exchanger 11, a flow regulating valve 24 for controlling the amount of water flowing through the bypass passage 16, a flow regulating valve 18 for controlling the amount of water flowing to the hot water supply circuit 4, and the hot water supply circuit 4. A thermistor 19 for detecting the temperature of hot water, an on-off valve 14 for controlling the dropping of hot water from the hot water supply circuit 4 into the bathtub 2, and a flow sensor 15 for measuring the amount of hot water dropped from the hot water supply circuit 4 into the bathtub 2, and includes the on-off valve 14. It is connected to the circulation circuit 3 via a gate valve 12. Reference numeral 23 denotes a branch hot water supply path that branches from a point in the hot water supply circuit 4 and reaches an appropriate hot water supply point such as a curan. The control unit 25 of the automatic bath apparatus 1 includes a microcomputer, and performs various calculations and determinations based on signals from various sensors such as the pressure sensor 9, the flow sensor 15, and the water flow switch 8. Accordingly, the operation of the circulation pump 10 and the control of the combustion of the burner 13 of the additional heat exchanger 7 are controlled. The storage unit 26 stores various data necessary for additional heating control and flow control.

The heating amount varying means 27 is provided for the reburning burner 13.
The heating capacity is adjusted and fluctuated, and is a means for fluctuating driving at the time of reheating.

The flow control valves 18 and 24 adjust the valve positions by motors 18a and 24a.
The control unit 25 controls the burner 20 of the hot water supply fuel exchanger 11 together with the burner 20. The flow rate adjusting valve 18 adjusts the flow rate in order to prevent the hot water supply capacity from being higher than the hot water supply capacity, and to prevent the desired hot water temperature from being obtained.
The flow rate adjustment valve 24 adjusts the amount of water flowing through the bypass passage 16 in order to stably obtain a desired tapping temperature.

The flow rate sensor 15 detects the flow rate of hot water supplied from the hot water supply circuit 4 into the bathtub 2 through the circulation circuit 3, and the flow rate detection signal is sent to the control unit 25. The control unit 25 integrates the flow rate values to obtain the amount of hot water dropped into the bathtub 2 from the hot water supply circuit 4 (integrated flow rate).

The pressure sensor 9 indirectly detects the water level in the bathtub 2 as water pressure. Pressure sensor 9
Until the water level reaches the bus adapter level, the atmospheric pressure is detected, and the output voltage increases proportionally from the output voltage at the bus adapter level to the output voltage at the set water level.

The water flow switch 8 is for performing a circulation judgment for judging whether or not hot water having a bath adapter level or higher exists in the bathtub 2. That is, the on-off valve 14 is closed, the circulation pump 10 is operated, and the water flow switch 8 is turned on.
Is turned on, it is determined that there is hot water at or above the bath adapter level in the bathtub 2 ("water present"). If the water flow switch 8 is off, there is no hot water at or above the bath adapter level in the bathtub 2 ("water"). None "). Therefore, when it is determined that “water is present” by the circulation determination, the water level in the bathtub 2 can be detected by the pressure sensor 9.

Next, the operation of the flow reheating apparatus according to the present invention will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. 2 and the explanatory views of FIGS. As shown in FIG. 2, the operation is started when an automatic flow operation is instructed by a remote controller (not shown) (step S1). The automatic operation means that a flow operation such as a hot water filling operation, a heat retaining operation, and a water replenishing operation for the bathtub 2 is performed fully automatically. When the automatic operation is started, first, the hot water is poured into the bathtub 2 from the hot water supply side through the drop passage 30 at a desired temperature to a set water level (step S).
2). If the temperature of the bath after the pouring is lower than the set temperature, the circulating pump 10 is driven and the reburning burner 13 is activated.
Then, the heat exchanger 7 for additional heating is heated and the hot water in the bathtub is additionally heated to the set temperature (step S3).

When the set temperature is reached, the operation of keeping the hot water in the bathtub is started (step S4). In general, the heat retention operation is performed for a predetermined time (for example, 4 hours) after the start of the heat retention operation. In addition, when the temperature of the hot water in the bathtub falls during the heat retention operation, the actual heating up to the set temperature by additional heating is performed when the bathing is detected.
At the point of time when 0 minute has elapsed, it is the timing of the water replenishment operation for the decrease in the water level. At this time, the reheating operation is performed to keep the temperature. Specifically, first, it is determined whether or not the bathing detection means has detected a bath.
And reheating is performed (step S5). Thereby, it is not necessary to always perform the heat retention operation, but it is possible to keep the temperature when bathing is originally required. Further, the bathing detection at this time can detect that a person has entered the bathtub 2 by, for example, an increase in the pressure sensor 9 for detecting a water level.

In step S5, if the bathing detecting means does not detect bathing, it is determined whether a predetermined time (for example, 30 minutes) has elapsed since the last timer reheating operation (step S6). If 30 minutes have passed, step S
It returns to 3 and performs heat retention additional heating operation. This is 30
If the time has passed, the temperature of the water in the bathtub has dropped to some extent, and if the temperature is not further maintained, a comfortable temperature cannot be maintained at the time of bathing. ing.

If 30 minutes have not elapsed in step S6, it is next determined whether or not the water level has decreased from the predetermined water level by, for example, 3 cm (step S7). When it has decreased, the process returns to step S3 to perform the heat retention additional heating operation. When the water level decreases by a predetermined amount or more, although not shown, water replenishment is performed up to a set water level. Therefore, a heat retention and reheating operation is performed in consideration of a temperature decrease at that time. The monitoring of the water level such as the decrease of the water level is performed by the pressure sensor 9.

Here, the bathing detecting means in step S5, the timer means in step S6, and the water level monitoring in step S7 are performed by monitoring the pressure sensor 9, the timer, and the like, and controlling the software in the control unit 25 having a microcomputer. It is realized by a program.

Next, if NO in steps S5, S6, and S7, it is determined whether a predetermined time (for example, 4 hours) has elapsed since the start of the automatic operation (step S8). If the predetermined time has not elapsed, the process returns to step S5, and if the predetermined time has elapsed, the automatic operation including the heat retention operation is terminated (step S9).

Next, the reheating operation performed in step S3 will be described. As the reheating operation, besides performing with a constant heating capacity, for example, a reheating operation of the type shown in FIGS. 3 to 6 is performed.

In the reheating operation of the type shown in FIG. 3, the bathing feeling is improved by the heating amount changing means 27 randomly changing the heating capacity of the reheating burner by proportional control during the reheating on the flow side. Things. The heat retention additional heating operation of the type shown in FIG. 4 improves the bathing sensation by the heating amount varying means 27 changing the heating capacity of the additional heating burner at a constant cycle by proportional control during the additional heating on the flow side. It is. Performing this operation by the fluctuation (1 / f) operation is effective in improving comfort.

In the reheating operation of the type shown in FIG. 5, during the reheating of the flow side, the heating amount changing means 27 improves the bathing feeling by randomly changing the heating capacity of the reheating burner by on / off control. It was made. In the reheating operation of the type shown in FIG. 6, during the reheating on the flow side, the heating amount changing means 27 changes the heating amount of the reburning burner at a constant cycle to improve the bathing feeling. In the heat retention additional heating operation of the type shown in FIG. 7, during the additional heating on the flow side, the heating amount varying means 27 randomly controls and changes the heating ability of the additional heating burner in three stages of large capacity, small capacity, and off. This improves the feeling of bathing. Also in the case of changing with the three-stage ability of the type of FIG. 7, the changing may be performed at a constant cycle as in the types of FIGS. In the case of the type shown in FIG. 7, large capacity, small capacity, and off are used. However, a plurality of stages such as four stages, five stages, and the like may be used.

In these cases, as described with reference to FIG. 4, if the fluctuation (1 / f) operation is performed at a constant period, the bathing feeling can be further improved. In the above-described embodiment, the random and the fixed period are clearly distinguished from each other, but a combination of these may be used. For example, it may be changed randomly during a predetermined period, and may be repeated at a constant cycle.

Next, a second embodiment will be described.
In the above-described embodiment, the reheating operation is performed while changing the heating amount of the reheating by operating the heating amount changing means during the reheating operation in step S3. The heating amount changing means may not be operated during the additional heating operation when boiling, and the heating amount changing means may be operated from the subsequent additional heating operation. Because it is not usually bathed at the time of bathing, rather than improving the feeling of bathing,
Since it is more important to boil more quickly, boil it at a predetermined amount at the time of filling with hot water, and then operate by reheating to improve the feeling of bathing.

Next, a third embodiment will be described.
This embodiment, when a bather is bathing in the bathtub,
It is intended to improve the feeling of bathing by operating the heating amount varying means, and to not operate the heating amount varying means in the case of a reheating operation only for mere warming without bathing. . Specifically, when the bath detecting means detects bathing in the bathtub, the heating amount changing means is operated,
During the reheating operation without bathing, the heating amount changing means is not operated.

When a reheating switch (not shown) of the remote controller is operated, the heating amount changing means is operated in the same manner as the reheating operation when the bathing detection means detects a bath. This is because when the additional heating switch is operated, it is considered that the user is usually taking a bath. In addition,
There are many types of flow reheating devices, and some have a bath detection means but do not have a reheating switch, and some do not have a bath detection means but have a reheating switch, and Some have both, some do not. Therefore, the condition for operating the heating amount varying means may be determined according to the state of the equipment for each type.

[0032]

As described above, according to the flow reheating apparatus of the present invention, since the heating amount changing means performs the reheating operation while changing the reheating heating amount, the method of changing the hot water temperature is monotonous. Instead, the effect of improving the bathing sensation can be achieved without changing the taste.

Further, in the normal reheating operation, the reheating operation is performed with a combustion amount of a predetermined amount of heat, and the heating amount changing means is operated at the time of the reheating operation associated with bathing. In addition, the additional firing during bathing has the effect of improving the bathing feeling.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is an explanatory diagram for explaining a configuration of a flow reheating unit.

FIG. 2 is a flowchart for explaining the flow reheating operation.

FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram for explaining a state of fluctuation of flow additional heating.

FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram for explaining another variation of the flow reheating.

FIG. 5 is an explanatory diagram for explaining another variation of the flow reheating.

FIG. 6 is an explanatory diagram for describing another variation of flow reheating.

FIG. 7 is an explanatory diagram for explaining another variation of flow reheating.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Automatic bath apparatus 2 Bathtub 3 Circulation circuit 4 Hot-water supply circuit 7 Heat exchanger for additional heating 10 Circulation pump 13 Burner for additional heating 25 Control part 26 Storage part 27 Heating amount variation means

 ──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continued on the front page (72) Inventor Kazutoshi Matsuda 93, Edo-cho, Chuo-ku, Kobe-shi, Hyogo

Claims (4)

[Claims] 1. A bathtub, a flow circulation circuit for taking out hot water from the bathtub and returning it to the bathtub, a reheating heating means provided on the flow circulation circuit for reheating the circulating hot water, and the reheating heating means And a heating amount changing means for changing a heating amount to be heated. 2. A bathtub, dropping means for dropping hot and cold water into the bathtub, a flow circulation circuit for taking out the hot water from the bathtub and returning it to the bathtub, and additional heating for reheating the hot and cold water circulating provided on the flow circulation circuit. Means, and a heating amount changing means for changing a heating amount to be heated by the reheating heating means, and when filling the bathtub with the dropping means, reheating heating at a predetermined amount without operating the heating amount changing means. And performing a reheating operation while varying a heating amount by the heating amount varying means during a subsequent reheating operation after the completion of hot water filling. 3. A bathtub, a flow circulation circuit for taking out hot water from the bathtub and returning the bathwater to the bathtub, a reheating heating means provided on the flow circulation circuit for reheating heating the circulating hot water, and the reheating heating means A heating amount changing unit for changing a heating amount to be heated and a bathing detection unit for detecting bathing in the bathtub (or a reheating switch for instructing reheating) are provided, and the bathing detection unit detects bathing in the bathtub. In a reheating operation performed in a case (or when the reheating switch is operated), the reheating device operates the heating amount varying means to perform the reheating operation while varying the heating amount. 4. The flow reheating apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the heating amount changing means changes the heating amount for the additional heating at random or at a constant cycle.