JPS63105353A - Bath heater - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To make it possible to conduct a freezing preventing operation even when no water exists in a bathtub by connecting one end of a three-way changeover valve to an outlet pipe or an inlet pipe of a bathtub and causing the three-way valve to conduct a changeover operation by a water level sensor of a bathtub. CONSTITUTION:One end of a three-way changeover valve 11 is connected to a bathtub outlet pipe 5 immediately in the vicinity of a bathtub 3. A water circulation circuit in the case of water filling the bathtub 3 is formed in a route of bathtub 3 bathtub outlet pipe 5 hot water return pipe 6 pump 7 heat exchanger 8 hot water outgoing pipe 10 three-way changeover valve 11 bathtub inlet pipe 12 bathtub 3, and is used as a closed loop circulation circuit upon preventing freezing when no water is present in the bathtub 3. Further, in the case where no water is present in the bathtub 3, a circulation circuit is formed in the route of hot water return pipe 6 pump 7 heat exchanger 8 hot water outgoing pipe 10 three-way changeover valve 11 short-circuiting pipe 13 hot water return pipe 6, and is used as a closed loop circulation circuit at the time of the freezing preventive operation. Accordingly, regardless of the presence or absence of water within the bathtub 3, the water closed loop circulation circuit is formed constantly, and even when no water fills the bathtub 3, the freezing preventive operation becomes possible.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a bath heating device that circulates water in a bathtub to a heat exchanger using a pump and directly heats the water.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION In recent years, more and more bath heating devices have been installed in which water in a bathtub is circulated through a heat exchanger using a pump to directly heat the water. This is because the bathtub and the heating part do not have to be close to each other, so the device can be installed anywhere. and,
This is because the temperature distribution of the water in the bathtub becomes uniform, and the bathtub can be easily and automatically heated to an appropriate temperature.

An example of the above-mentioned conventional bath heating device will be described below with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 4 shows the configuration of a conventional bath heating device. 1 is a bathroom, and 2 is a heat source device. 3 is a bathtub, 6 is a bathtub outlet pipe, 6 is a hot water return pipe, 7a is a self-priming pump, 8 is a heat exchanger, 9 is a heater, 10 is a hot water supply pipe, 12 is a bathtub inlet pipe, 14 is a bathtub Show the pillars. Note that the hot water return pipe 6 and the hot water outgoing pipe 1o are long pipes that connect the bathtub 3 and the heat source device 2.

The operation of the bath heating device configured as described above will be explained below.

First, water in the bathtub 3 flows from the bathtub outlet pipe 5 to the hot water return pipe 6 to the self-priming pump 7a to the heat exchanger 8 by the action of the self-priming pump 7a. In the heat exchanger 8, water heated by the heater 9 circulates from the hot water inlet pipe 1° to the bathtub inlet pipe 12-+to the bathtub 3. The temperature distribution of the water in the bathtub 3 becomes uniform due to the agitation function of the water vigorously jetted into the bathtub 3. Then, a closed loop circulation circuit is formed in which the water in the bathtub 3 flows back to the bathtub outlet pipe 6 and repeats the circulation, thereby obtaining a bath heating function.

Problems to be Solved by the Invention However, in the above configuration, when the water in the bathtub is drained, the closed loop circulation circuit for water is broken.

That is, the bathtub outlet pipe 6. The inlet pipes 12 are each opened to the atmosphere, and a portion of the water in the pipes connecting the bathtub 3 and the heat source device 2 is drawn out and replaced with the atmosphere.

Therefore, when refilling the bathtub 3 with water and reusing it, a self-priming pump is always required because an ordinary pump will run idly due to the atmosphere within the pipe. In addition, this type of bath heating equipment usually requires a
Although this method is used to circulate water, the above configuration has a problem in that it is necessary to keep water in the bathtub even when not taking a bath.

In view of the above-mentioned problems, the present invention provides a bath heating device that does not require the use of a special pump and does not require filling the bathtub with water during freezing prevention.

Means for Solving the Problems In order to solve the above problems, the bath heating device of the present invention is provided with a three-way switching valve on either the outlet pipe or the inlet pipe of the bathtub, in the vicinity of the bathtub. One end of the valve is connected to the outlet pipe or inlet pipe of the bathtub so as to be short-circuited, and a water level sensor is provided to detect the water level of the bathtub, and the three-way switching valve is operated by the action of the water level sensor. .

Effects of the present invention With the above-described configuration, a closed loop circulation circuit of water can always be formed regardless of the presence or absence of water in the bathtub, so that the pump does not need to be a self-priming pump, and can Antifreeze operation is possible even when there is no water in the tank.

EXAMPLE Hereinafter, a bath heating device according to an example of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. Note that the same parts as those in the conventional example described above are given the same reference numerals, detailed explanations are omitted, and different parts will be mainly explained.

FIG. 1 shows the configuration of a bath heating device according to an embodiment of the present invention. A three-way switching valve 11 is provided on the bathtub inlet pipe 12 closest to the bathtub 3, and one end of the three-way switching valve 11 is connected to a short-circuit pipe 13.
It is connected to the nearest bathtub outlet pipe 5 of the bathtub 3 via.

The bathtub 3 is also equipped with a water level sensor 4 that operates at a slightly higher water level than the inlet pipe 12 and the outlet pipe 6, and is configured so that the three-way switching valve 11 is operated by its action.

The operation of the bath heating device constructed as described above will be described below with reference to FIGS. 1, 2, and 3. FIG. 2 and FIG. 3 show the detailed structure of the three-way switching valve of this embodiment, and the arrows thereof indicate the flow direction of water.

FIG. 2 shows a state in which the water level sensor 4 in the bathtub 3 senses that the water level in the bathtub 3 is higher than the bathtub outlet pipe 5 and the bathtub inlet pipe 12, and acts on the three-way switching valve 11.
FIG. 3 shows a state in which the water level in the bathtub 3 is the same as or lower than the bathtub outlet pipe 6 or the bathtub inlet pipe 12, and the water level sensor 4 is activated and acts on the three-way switching valve 11.

In other words, the water circulation circuit when the bathtub 3 is filled with water is shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 from the bathtub 3 to the bathtub outlet pipe 5.
→ Hot water return pipe e → Pump 7 → Heat exchanger 8 → Hot water outgoing pipe 1
It is formed as follows: o → three-way switching valve 11 → bathtub inlet pipe 12 → bathtub 3, and forms a closed loop circulation circuit when heating the bath or when preventing freezing when there is water in the bathtub 3. In addition, when there is no water in the bathtub 3, in FIGS. 1 and 3, the hot water return pipe 6→pump 7→heat exchanger 8→hot water outgoing pipe 10→three-way switching valve 11→
A circulation circuit is formed from the short-circuit pipe 13 to the hot water return pipe 6, and becomes a closed loop circulation circuit during antifreeze operation when there is no water in the bathtub 3.

As described above, according to this embodiment, the bathtub inlet pipe 12 closest to the bathtub 3 is provided with the three-way switching valve 11, one end of the three-way switching valve 11 is connected to the bathtub outlet pipe 5 via the short-circuit pipe 13, and By detecting the water level in the bathtub 3 and driving the three-way switching valve 11, a closed loop circulation circuit for water is always formed regardless of the presence or absence of water in the bathtub 3. Since the water is not replaced with the atmosphere, there is no need to use a self-priming type pump 7 of the bath heating device, and antifreeze operation is possible even when the bathtub 3 is not filled with water.

In this embodiment, the three-way switching valve 11 is connected to the bathtub inlet pipe 12.
However, it may be provided in the bathtub outlet pipe 6 and connected to the bathtub inlet pipe by a short-circuit pipe.

Effects of the Invention As described above, the present invention provides a three-way switching valve on either the outlet pipe or the inlet pipe of the bathtub in the vicinity of the bathtub, and short-circuits one end of the three-way valve with the inlet pipe or the outlet pipe. The water level sensor detects the water level in the bathtub, and by configuring the three-way switching valve to switch according to the action of this water level sensor, a closed loop water circulation circuit can be established regardless of the presence or absence of water in the bathtub. This eliminates the need to limit the pumps used to self-priming pumps, and enables the realization of an inexpensive and easy-to-use bath heating device that can perform antifreeze operation without filling the bathtub with water. can.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

Fig. 1 is a block diagram of a bath heating device according to an embodiment of the present invention, Fig. 2 is a sectional view of the three-way switching valve section when there is water in the bathtub, and Fig. 3 is a three-way switching valve section when there is no water in the bathtub. FIG. 4, a sectional view of the valve portion, is a configuration diagram of a conventional bath heating device. 3...Bathtub, 4...Water level sensor, 6
...Bathtub outlet pipe, 6...Hot water return pipe,
7...Pump, 8...Heat exchanger, 9.
... Heater, 10 ... Flooded pipe. 11... Three-way switching valve, 12... Bathtub inlet pipe, 13... Short circuit pipe. Name of agent: Patent attorney Toshio Nakao and 1 other person3-
Bathtub 4-Turn on the water level - 6-OI SoBIll] Pipe 6-2 Mitsuki\3 (Reaikai 7-Shin 7 fQ-Numa Kazuhito main de pipe fl-Work cut valve 12- Bath food inlet pipe Figure 2 Figure 3

Claims (1)

[Claims] A pump that sucks up and circulates the water in the bathtub, a heat exchanger that directly heats the water circulated by the pump, and a three-way switching valve located in the immediate vicinity of the bathtub on either the outlet pipe or the inlet pipe of the bathtub. One end of the three-way switching valve is connected to the inlet pipe or the outlet pipe of the bathtub in a short-circuit manner, and a water level sensor is provided to detect the water level of the bathtub, and the three-way switching valve operates by the action of the water level sensor. A bath heating device that operates by switching.