KR20220093611A - Water heating apparatus and control method of the same - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention is to provide a water heating apparatus and a control method thereof, in which a fan can be controlled by reflecting a user's hot water use pattern. A water heating apparatus according to an embodiment includes a control unit, wherein the control unit may be configured to obtain data on the time of hot water use, determine a first time period in which the frequency of hot water use is high and a second time period in which the frequency of hot water use is low based on the obtained data, set hot water waiting times for the first time period and the second time period, and control the rotational speed of a fan in the hot water waiting time of the first time period or the second time period. Various other embodiments identified through the specification are possible.

Description

WATER HEATING APPARATUS AND CONTROL METHOD OF THE SAME

Embodiments disclosed herein relate to techniques for controlling hot water standby time and fans.

A water heater is a device that heats water using a heat source and transfers heat to the heated water used for heating or direct water introduced from the outside. The water heater may be, for example, a boiler or a water heater, and this document describes the boiler as an example. A water heater generates a large amount of heat as it causes a combustion reaction using fuel and oxygen, and a burner that provides water through a heat exchanger can be used as a heat source. The water heated by the water heater is provided to a place requiring heating in the form of heating water, and after discharging the heat, it can return to the burner in the form of cooled return water. A part of the water heated by the water heater flows into the heat exchanger, and the direct water introduced from the outside may be further introduced into the heat exchanger. The water transferred from the burner transfers heat to the direct water and heats it, so that hot water can be produced from the direct water.

The water heater may use a hot water standby function to quickly heat hot water to a target temperature. For example, after the hot water is used, during the time before the hot water is reused again (ie, the hot water standby time), the water heater can quickly heat the hot water by setting the rotation speed of the fan to the ignition RPM. However, while the hot water usage pattern may vary depending on the user, time zone, or date, the hot water reuse time must be set separately by the user and the hot water standby time for the reuse time is a fixed value. It may not accurately reflect hot water usage patterns. In particular, when the fan operates at the ignition RPM, the fan noise is generated, so if the reuse frequency of hot water is low, the fan noise may occur for an unnecessary hot water standby time.

A water heater according to an embodiment disclosed in this document includes a control unit, wherein the control unit obtains data on a hot water use time, and based on the obtained data, a first time period with a high frequency of hot water use and determining a second time period in which the frequency of hot water use is low, setting a hot water standby time for the first time period and the second time period, and rotating the fan in the hot water standby time of the first time period or the second time period It can be set to control the number.

The operation method of the water heater according to an embodiment disclosed in this document, the operation of acquiring data on the hot water use time, based on the obtained data, the first time period and the hot water use frequency with a high frequency of hot water use The operation of determining the second low time period, the operation of setting the hot water standby time for the first time period and the second time period, and the number of fan rotations in the hot water standby time of the first time period or the second time period It may include an action to control.

According to the embodiments disclosed in this document, the water heater controls the fan by reflecting the user's hot water usage pattern, thereby rapidly heating the hot water to a target temperature in a time period where the hot water use frequency is high, and at the same time, the hot water use frequency is low. In the liver, hot water waiting time and fan noise can be minimized.

In addition, various effects directly or indirectly identified through this document may be provided.

1 illustrates a structure of a water heater according to various embodiments.
2 depicts a portion of a water heater structure in accordance with various embodiments.
3 is a block diagram of a water heater for controlling a hot water standby time and a fan rotation speed according to various embodiments of the present disclosure;
4 shows a graph for the frequency of hot water use.
5 is a graph illustrating an interval and a reference time between hot water use sections according to various embodiments of the present disclosure;
6 is a graph illustrating a hot water standby time according to various embodiments.
7 is a graph illustrating the number of fan rotations in a first time period and a second time period according to various embodiments of the present disclosure;
8 is a flowchart illustrating an operation of controlling a hot water standby time and a fan rotation speed according to various embodiments of the present disclosure;
9 is a flowchart illustrating an operation for controlling a standby time of hot water according to various embodiments of the present disclosure;
10 is a flowchart illustrating an operation of controlling a fan rotation speed according to various embodiments of the present disclosure;
In connection with the description of the drawings, the same or similar reference numerals may be used for the same or similar components.

Hereinafter, various embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings. However, this is not intended to limit the present invention to specific embodiments, and it should be understood that various modifications, equivalents, and/or alternatives of the embodiments of the present invention are included.

The various embodiments of this document and terms used therein are not intended to limit the technical features described in this document to specific embodiments, but it should be understood to include various modifications, equivalents, or substitutions of the embodiments. In connection with the description of the drawings, like reference numerals may be used for similar or related components. The singular form of the noun corresponding to the item may include one or more of the item, unless the relevant context clearly dictates otherwise. As used herein, "A or B", "at least one of A and B", "at least one of A or B", "A, B or C", "at least one of A, B and C", and "A , B, or C" each may include any one of the items listed together in the corresponding one of the phrases, or all possible combinations thereof. Terms such as "first", "second", or "first" or "second" may be used simply to distinguish the element from other elements in question, and may refer to elements in other aspects (e.g., importance or order) is not limited. It is said that one (eg, first) component is "coupled" or "connected" to another (eg, second) component, with or without the terms "functionally" or "communicatively". When referenced, it means that one component can be connected to the other component directly (eg by wire), wirelessly, or through a third component.

As used in various embodiments of this document, the term “module” or “unit” may include a unit implemented in hardware, software, or firmware, for example, logic, logical block, component, or circuit. terms may be used interchangeably. A module may be an integrally formed part or a minimum unit or a part of the part that performs one or more functions. For example, according to an embodiment, the module may be implemented in the form of an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC).

Various embodiments of the present document may be implemented as software (eg, a program) including one or more instructions stored in a storage medium (eg, an internal memory or an external memory) readable by a machine. For example, the device may call at least one of the one or more instructions stored from the storage medium and execute it. This makes it possible for the device to be operated to perform at least one function according to the called at least one command. The one or more instructions may include code generated by a compiler or code executable by an interpreter. The device-readable storage medium may be provided in the form of a non-transitory storage medium. Here, 'non-transitory' only means that the storage medium is a tangible device and does not include a signal (eg, electromagnetic wave), and this term is used in cases where data is semi-permanently stored in the storage medium and It does not distinguish between temporary storage cases.

According to various embodiments, each component (eg, module or program) of the above-described components may include a singular or a plurality of entities, and some of the plurality of entities may be separately disposed in other components. have. According to various embodiments, one or more components or operations among the above-described corresponding components may be omitted, or one or more other components or operations may be added. Alternatively or additionally, a plurality of components (eg, a module or a program) may be integrated into one component. In this case, the integrated component may perform one or more functions of each component of the plurality of components identically or similarly to those performed by the corresponding component among the plurality of components prior to the integration. . According to various embodiments, operations performed by a module, program, or other component are executed sequentially, in parallel, repeatedly, or heuristically, or one or more of the operations are executed in a different order, or omitted. or one or more other operations may be added.

1 illustrates a structure of a water heater according to various embodiments. The water heater may be a boiler or a water heater, but this document describes the boiler as an example.

Referring to FIG. 1 , the water heater 1 may include a burner 10 , a heat exchanger 20 , and a valve 30 in a housing 70 . A part of the water heated by the burner 10 is provided to the heat exchanger 20 in the form of supply water through the valve 60 and then discharged to be combined with the return water, and the other part requires heating in the form of heating water. can be provided on The direct water introduced into the heat exchanger 20 may become hot water through heat exchange with the supply water. The burner 10 may be set to heat water using heat generated through a combustion reaction. The water heated by the burner 10 may be supplied water for discharging heat by passing through the heat exchanger 20 , and water returning after discharging heat by heating. The heat exchanger 20 may be set to exchange heat with the introduced water. The heat exchanger 20 may serve as a medium to exchange only heat without directly mixing water. The temperature of the feed water flowing into the heat exchanger 20 may be higher than that of the direct water flowing into the heat exchanger 20 . Direct water may be discharged as hot water by exchanging heat with supply water through the heat exchanger 20 . The feed water that has passed through the heat exchanger 20 may be combined with the return water to be introduced into the burner 10 again. The valve 60 may be configured as a three-way valve to separate the water heated by the burner 10 into supply water and heating water.

Although not shown in FIG. 1, the water heater 1 is a temperature measuring sensor (eg, a thermometer) on a path through which the supply water, direct water, or hot water flows in order to measure the temperature of at least one of the supply water, direct water, or hot water. may further include. In addition, the water heater 1 may further include a flow rate measurement sensor on the path through which the direct water flows into the heat exchanger 20 in order to measure the flow rate of the direct water.

2 illustrates a portion of a water heater structure in accordance with various embodiments.

The structure 100 shown in FIG. 2 may be part of the water heater 1 of FIG. 1 . For example, the water heater 1 may include a burner 10 (eg, 10 in FIG. 1 ), a fuel valve 11 , and a fan 12 . The burner 10 may generate a flame F by causing a combustion reaction using air and fuel gas to heat the water of the water heater 1 . The burner 10 may include a spark plug (not shown) for ignition. A flame F may be generated as fuel gas and air are ignited by the operation of the spark plug. The fuel valve 11 may be set to control the amount of fuel gas delivered to the burner 10 . For example, the amount of fuel gas provided to the burner 10 may be adjusted by controlling the opening degree of the fuel valve 11 . The fan 12 may be set to pump air to the burner 10 . In an embodiment, the controller (eg, 220 in FIG. 3 ) of the water heater 1 may control the amount of air provided to the burner 10 by controlling the rotation speed of the fan 12 . Since oxygen is included in the air, the water heater 1 may control the fan 12 to control the ratio of the mass occupied by oxygen to the total mass in the mixed gas used for combustion (ie, oxygen fraction).

As the rotation speed (unit: RPM) of the fan 12 reaches the rotation speed for ignition faster, the time for the hot water to reach the target temperature may be shortened, but noise according to the rotation of the fan 12 may increase. . The water heater 1 according to the embodiments adaptively controls the number of rotations of the fan 12 according to the hot water standby time, so that the hot water is rapidly heated to a target temperature in a section where the hot water is used frequently and the hot water is used frequently. Fan noise can be minimized in the low section.

3 is a block diagram of a water heater that controls a hot water standby time and a fan rotation speed according to various embodiments.

Referring to FIG. 3 , the water heater 1 may include a user input unit 210 , a control unit 220 , a storage unit 230 , and a fan 240 . According to embodiments, the water heater 1 may further include at least one other component described in FIGS. 1 to 2 in addition to the configuration shown in FIG. 3 , and at least one of the components shown in FIG. can be omitted.

The user input unit 210 may be set to receive a user input for using hot water. For example, the user input unit 210 may receive a user input for turning on the hot water operation or a user input for turning off the hot water operation. The user input unit 210 may be a button attached to one side of the water heater 1 or a graphic user interface (GUI) displayed through a display.

The control unit 220 may, for example, execute software (eg, a program) to control at least one other component (eg, hardware or software component) of the water heater 1 connected to the control unit 220 and , various data processing or operations can be performed. According to an embodiment, as at least part of data processing or operation, the controller 220 controls a command or data received from another component (eg, the user input unit 210 , the storage unit 230 , or the fan 240 ). may be stored in the volatile memory, process commands or data stored in the volatile memory, and store the resulting data in the non-volatile memory. According to an embodiment, the control unit 220 is a main processor (eg, a central processing unit or an application processor) or an auxiliary processor (eg, a graphic processing unit, an image signal processor, a sensor hub processor, or a communication device that can be operated independently or together with the main processor) processor) may be included. For example, when the controller 220 includes a main processor and a sub-processor, the sub-processor may be set to use less power than the main processor or to be specialized for a specified function. The coprocessor may be implemented separately from or as part of the main processor.

According to embodiments, the controller 220 may perform the overall operation of the water heater 1 for controlling the hot water standby time and the fan rotation speed. To this end, the control unit 220 may include a data learning unit 222 , a time setting unit 224 , and a fan control unit 226 . Each of the data learning unit 222 , the time setting unit 224 , and the fan control unit 226 is an individual instruction set, software (program), or hardware configuration, or is an integrated one forming the control unit 220 . It may be a configured module.

The data learning unit 222 may acquire and learn data on the hot water usage time of the water heater 1 . Data on the hot water usage time may be obtained by, for example, a user of the water heater 1, a season, a month, a day, a day, or a time zone. The data learning unit 222 may determine a time period with a high frequency of hot water use (or hot water reuse frequency) based on the obtained data. For example, the data learning unit 222 may determine the number of hot water use sections generated during a specified time (eg, 1 hour), hot water use time (length of hot water use section), or time until the next hot water use after hot water use ( Based on at least one of the lengths of the intervals (intervals) between the hot water use sections, a time period in which the hot water use frequency is high may be determined. In this document, a time period in which the frequency of hot water use is high may be referred to as a 'first time period', and a time period in which the hot water use frequency is low may be referred to as a 'second time period'. According to embodiments, the data learning unit 222 may set a reference time and acquire only data for a time in which the interval between hot water use sections is within the reference time. The water heater 1 may minimize the time the fan 240 operates by setting the hot water standby time based on intervals that are within the reference time.

The time setting unit 224 may set a waiting time for hot water in the first time period or the second time period. The hot water standby time may refer to a time during which the fan 240 operates at a specified number of revolutions before the hot water use time in order to rapidly heat the hot water to a target temperature. According to embodiments, the time setting unit 224 may set the hot water standby time of the first time period and the hot water standby time of the second time period differently. For example, the time setting unit 224 may set the hot water standby time according to a maximum value among a plurality of hot water standby time candidates so that the hot water can be quickly heated in the first time period in which the hot water use frequency is high. Conversely, the time setting unit 224 may set a fixed value as the hot water standby time in order to minimize the operation time and fan noise of the fan 240 in the second time period in which the frequency of hot water use is low.

The fan controller 226 may control the rotation speed of the fan 240 . According to an embodiment, the fan controller 226 may differently control the fan rotation speed in the first time period and the fan rotation speed in the second time period. For example, in the first time period, the fan control unit 226 sets the rotation speed of the fan 240 to ignition RPM, and in the second time period, the fan control unit 226 sets the rotation speed of the fan 240 to greater than 0 It can be set to a value smaller than the ignition RPM. In this document, the rotation speed of the fan 240 greater than 0 and less than the ignition RPM may be referred to as 'standby RPM'. The water heater 1 can reduce the heating time compared to the state in which the fan 240 is stopped while reducing the fan noise compared to the ignition RPM by controlling the rotation speed of the fan 240 to the standby RPM in the second time period.

The storage unit 230 may store a command for controlling the water heater 1 , a control command code, control data, or user data. For example, the storage unit 230 may include at least one of an application program, an operating system (OS), middleware, and a device driver. The storage unit 230 may include one or more of volatile memory and non-volatile memory. Volatile memory includes dynamic random access memory (DRAM), static RAM (SRAM), synchronous DRAM (SDRAM), phase-change RAM (PRAM), magnetic RAM (MRAM), resistive RAM (RRAM), and ferroelectric RAM (FeRAM). may include The nonvolatile memory may include a read only memory (ROM), a programmable ROM (PROM), an electrically programmable ROM (EPROM), an electrically erasable programmable ROM (EEPROM), a flash memory, and the like. The storage unit 230 is a nonvolatile medium (medium) such as a hard disk drive (HDD), a solid state disk (SSD), an embedded multi media card (eMMC), and a universal flash storage (UFS). may further include.

According to embodiments, the storage unit 230 may store information about the hot water standby time and the fan rotation speed. For example, the storage unit 230 is the data acquired and learned by the data learning unit 222, information about the first time period and the second time period, the first time period and the hot water standby time of the second time period, respectively may store information about , and information about the number of fan rotations in each of the first time period and the second time period.

The fan 240 may operate to heat the water stored in the water heater 1 . As an example, the fan 240 may correspond to the fan 12 of FIG. 2 .

4 shows a graph for the frequency of hot water use.

Referring to FIG. 4 , the first time period 410 means a section in which the number of hot water use sections is greater than or equal to the specified number of times, the length of the hot water use section is equal to or greater than the specified length, or the interval between hot water use sections is less than the specified interval. can do. In the second time period 420, there is a hot water use section during the specified time, but the number of hot water use sections is less than the specified number of times, the length of the hot water use section is less than the specified length, or the interval between the hot water use sections is greater than or equal to the specified interval It can mean a section.

5 to 6 describe an operation of setting a standby time for hot water according to various embodiments of the present disclosure. 5 is a graph illustrating an interval and a reference time between hot water use sections. 6 shows a graph showing the hot water standby time.

Referring to FIG. 5 , the control unit 220 (or the data learning unit 222 ) may use a reference time 505 when acquiring data on an interval between hot water use sections. For example, the control unit 220 obtains data for intervals 511 , 512 , 513 that are less than the reference time 505 , and excludes data for intervals 550 that exceed the reference time 505 . can Intervals obtained based on the reference time 505 may be referred to as a 'hot water waiting time candidate group'.

Referring to FIG. 6 , the controller 220 (or the time setting unit 224 ) may set a maximum value (eg, 511 ) among the hot water standby time candidates as the hot water standby time in the first time period 501 . The water heater 1 may minimize the operation time and heating time of the fan 240 by setting the maximum value among the times not exceeding the reference time 505 as the hot water standby time. According to embodiments, the hot water standby time in the first time period 501 may be adjusted based on the interval between hot water use periods. For example, the time setting unit 224 may adjust the hot water standby time in the first time period 501 to the interval 512 or 513 between the actual hot water use periods according to the learned result.

Unlike the first time period 501 , in the second time period (not shown), an interval that does not exceed the reference time 505 among intervals between hot water use intervals may not exist. In this case, the time setting unit 224 may set a fixed minimum value as the hot water standby time in the second time period in order to minimize the fan noise while reducing the temperature heating time in the second time period.

7 is a graph illustrating the number of fan rotations in a first time period and a second time period according to various embodiments of the present disclosure; 7 shows an example in which the hot water standby time of the first time period 701 is variable, in another embodiment, the hot water standby time in the first time period 701 may be constant as the maximum value 711 or 713. have.

Referring to FIG. 7 , the controller 220 (or the fan controller 226 ) controls the number of rotations of the fan 240 in the hot water standby time (eg, 711 , 712 , 713 , or 714 ) of the first time period 701 . can be adjusted to the ignition RPM, and the rotation speed of the fan 240 in the hot water standby time (eg, 721 or 722) of the second time period 702 may be adjusted to a standby RPM that is smaller than the ignition RPM and greater than zero. For example, if the average number of times of hot water use is 4 times from 6:00 to 7:00 on Monday and the maximum value of the interval between hot water use sections is 4 minutes, the time setting unit 224 sets the hot water standby time to 4 minutes during that time. After setting, the fan control unit 226 may control the rotation speed of the fan 240 as ignition RPM in the hot water standby time. For another example, if the average number of times of hot water use is 0.3 times from 6:00 to 7:00 on Sunday and the maximum value of the interval between hot water use sections is 0 minutes, the time setting unit 224 during that time sets the hot water standby time to the specified minimum value. (eg, 30 seconds), and the fan control unit 226 may control the rotation speed of the fan 240 as standby RPM in the hot water standby time.

8 is a flowchart illustrating an operation of controlling a hot water standby time and a fan rotation speed according to various embodiments of the present disclosure; The operations included in the operation flowcharts of FIGS. 8 to 10 below may be implemented by the water heater 1 or by an individual component (eg, the controller 220) included in the water heater 1 . have. For example, when the controller 220 is a hardware configuration such as a processor, the controller 220 may perform the operation of the water heater 1 by executing instructions stored in the storage 230 .

Referring to FIG. 8 , in operation 805 , the water heater 1 may acquire data on the hot water usage time. The data on the hot water use time may represent the hot water use time according to the user, season, month, day, day, or time zone. The water heater 1 can recognize the usage pattern of the water heater 1 by learning the acquired data. According to the embodiment, the water heater 1 may set a reference time and acquire only data for a time in which the interval between hot water use sections does not exceed the reference time.

In operation 810, the water heater 1 may determine a first time period in which the frequency of hot water use is high and a second time period in which the hot water use frequency is low based on the obtained data. The first time period and the second time period may be determined based on at least one of a frequency of hot water use, a time period, the number of reuses, or an interval up to the number of reuses.

In operation 815 , the water heater 1 may set standby times for hot water in the first time period and the second time period. For example, the water heater 1 may set the maximum value that does not exceed the reference time among the intervals between the hot water use sections as the hot water standby time of the first time section. As another example, the water heater 1 may set the fixed minimum value as the hot water standby time in the second time period.

In operation 820, the water heater 1 may control the fan rotation speed in the hot water standby time of the first time period or the second time period. The fan rotation speed may include 0, ignition RPM for ignition of fuel gas and air, and standby RPM greater than 0 and less than ignition RPM.

9 is a flowchart illustrating an operation of controlling a standby time of hot water according to various embodiments of the present disclosure; The operation shown in FIG. 9 may be, for example, an embodiment of operation 815 of FIG. 8 .

Referring to FIG. 9 , in operation 905 , the water heater 1 may select one of the intervals between hot water use sections of the first time section. In operation 910 , the water heater 1 may determine whether the selected interval is less than a reference time. If the selected interval is less than the reference time, in operation 915 , the water heater 1 may determine the selected interval as a hot water standby time candidate group. If the selected interval is equal to or greater than the reference time, the water heater 1 may perform operation 920 .

In operation 920, the water heater 1 may determine whether there is a remaining interval in the first time period. If there is a remaining interval, the water heater 1 may repeatedly perform operations 905 to 920 . If there is no remaining interval, in operation 925 , the water heater 1 may set the hot water standby time in the first time period according to the maximum value among the hot water standby time candidate groups.

10 is a flowchart illustrating an operation of controlling a fan rotation speed according to various embodiments of the present disclosure; 10 may be an embodiment of operation 820 of FIG. 8 .

Referring to FIG. 10 , in operation 1005 , the water heater 1 may detect a hot water use input. For example, the water heater 1 may receive a user input for turning on or off the hot water operation.

In operation 1010 , the water heater 1 may determine whether the current time is included in the first time period. When the current time is included in the first time period, in operation 1015 , the water heater 1 may control the fan rotation speed to the first rotation speed (eg, ignition RPM) in the hot water standby time. If the current time is not included in the first time period or is included in the second time period, the water heater 1 controls the fan rotation speed to a second rotation speed (eg, standby RPM) smaller than the first rotation speed in the hot water standby time can do.

Claims (7)

In the water heater,
a control unit, the control unit comprising:
Acquire data on hot water usage time,
Based on the obtained data, determining a first time period in which the frequency of using hot water is high and a second time period in which the frequency of using hot water is low,
Set the hot water standby time of the first time period and the second time period,
Set to control the fan rotation speed in the hot water standby time of the first time period or the second time period, a water heater. The method according to claim 1,
The control unit is
a data learning unit configured to determine the designated first time period and the second time period by learning the acquired data;
a time setting unit set to set a standby time for hot water of the first time period based on a reference time; and
A water heater comprising a fan control unit configured to control the fan rotation speed. 3. The method according to claim 2,
a fan set to operate according to the fan rotation speed determined by the fan control unit; and
The water heater further comprising a storage unit configured to store data on the hot water use time, hot water standby time of the first time period and the second time period, and information on the number of rotations of the fan. The method according to claim 2, The time setting unit,
Among the intervals between the hot water use sections in the first time section, an interval less than the reference time is determined as a hot water standby time candidate group,
Set to determine the hot water standby time in the first time period according to the maximum value of the hot water standby time candidate group, a water heater. The method according to claim 4, The time setting unit,
set to determine a fixed value as the hot water standby time in the second time period. The method according to claim 1, wherein the control unit,
Detect input for hot water use,
Check whether the current time is included in the first time period,
When the current time is included in the first time period, controlling the fan rotation speed to a first rotation speed in the hot water standby time,
If the current time is not included in the first time period, the water heater is set to control the fan rotation speed at a second rotation speed smaller than the first rotation speed in the hot water standby time. In the method of operating a water heater,
acquiring data on hot water usage time;
determining, based on the obtained data, a first time period in which the frequency of hot water use is high and a second time period in which the frequency of hot water use is low;
setting a standby time for hot water for the first time period and the second time period; and
and controlling the fan rotation speed in the hot water standby time of the first time period or the second time period.

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