JPH04297751A - Automatic operation device for bath - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To complete heating of bath water at an appropriate temperature assuredly at a bathing planned time, regardless of the size of a bath tub. CONSTITUTION:An additional heating time is operated based on the water quantity when water is filled in a bath tub 2 up to a set water level, and a specified temperature difference; and automatic operation is started at the time going back from a bathing planned time by the said additional heating time. Also, after the automatic operation is completed, temperature retaining operation is performed going back from the bathing planned time by a specified period of time.

Description

[Detailed description of the invention]

0001

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an automatic bath operating device, and more particularly to a device that has an enhanced timer operation function and is more practical.

0002

2. Description of the Related Art The applicant has previously invented an automatic operating device for a bath shown in Japanese Patent Publication No. 2-53696. In this system, a scheduled time for bathing is reserved, automatic operation is started a predetermined period of time from the scheduled time, and after heating is completed, warming operation is started a certain period of time from the scheduled bathing time. I was letting it happen.

0003

[Problems to be Solved by the Invention] However, in the above-mentioned conventional example, automatic operation is started a certain amount of time before the scheduled bathing time, regardless of the size of the bathtub. In some cases, automatic operation may be completed, or in the case of large bathtubs, automatic operation may not be completed even after the scheduled bathing time.

[0004] An example of a method for solving the problems of the conventional example is disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. 147051/1983. In this system, the required time for automatic operation is calculated in advance, and automatic operation is started when the required time is before the scheduled bathing time.

[0005] In calculating the above-mentioned required time,
The current water level S2 and the hot water temperature T2 in the bathtub are detected from the water level sensor and the hot water temperature sensor, and using these detected values, the set water level S1, the set water temperature T1, and the preset bathtub bottom area A, the current Set water level S1 from water level S2
The sum of the time required to supply hot water up to the current water level S2 and the time required to heat the bath water up to the set water temperature to the current water level S2 is calculated, and the required time is calculated according to the size of the bathtub.

[0006] However, in such calculation of time, an incorrect required time may be calculated due to erroneous detection of the water level in the bathtub by the water level sensor, which still causes inconvenience.

The present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned drawbacks of the prior art, and provides an automatic operation device for a bath that ensures that heating is completed at the appropriate temperature at the scheduled time of bathing, regardless of the size of the bathtub. The purpose is to provide

[0008]

[Means for Solving the Problems] In order to achieve the above object, the bath automatic operation device of the present invention has an automatic operation function that automatically performs the process from supplying hot water to the heating of the bathtub, and In an automatic operation device for a bath that is equipped with a thermal operation function that maintains heat, by setting a scheduled time for bathing, additional water is added based on the amount of water and a predetermined temperature difference when the bathtub is filled with cold water up to the set water level. The bath is configured to include a control unit that calculates the heating time and starts the automatic operation retroactively by the reheating time from the scheduled time, and also starts the warming operation a predetermined time retroactively from the scheduled bathing time after the heating is completed. ing.

[0009]

[Operation] The present invention calculates the reheating time based on the amount of water when the water is filled to the set water level in the bathtub and the predetermined temperature difference that should be raised, and automatically calculates the reheating time from the time of bathing. Since the operation is started, the automatic operation is surely completed by the scheduled time of bathing, regardless of the size of the bathtub. In addition, since the warming operation is performed a certain period of time before the scheduled bathing time, the temperature will always be at the appropriate temperature at the scheduled bathing time.

0010

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS FIG. 1 is an overall configuration diagram showing an embodiment of the present invention. 1 is an automatic bath device, 2 is a bathtub having a substantially constant cross-sectional area, 3 is a reheating circuit, and 4 is a hot water supply circuit. The reheating circuit 3 consists of an outgoing path 6a that connects the pump 10 to the bath adapter 5 of the bathtub 2 via the bath heat exchanger 7, and a return path 6b that connects the bath adapter 5 to the pump 10. Thermistor 21 and water flow switch 8
is provided, and a pressure sensor 9 is provided in the middle of the return path 6b.

A hot water supply circuit 4, which will be described later, is connected to the return path 6b via a three-way valve 12, and a dropping path 14 is provided that communicates the upstream and downstream sides of the three-way valve 12. A check valve 13 is provided.

The hot water supply circuit 4 includes a flow rate sensor 22, a thermistor 17, a hot water supply heat exchanger 11, and thermistors 19 and 20.
, flow rate adjustment valve 18, flow rate sensor 15, backflow prevention device 2
6 to the three-way valve 12.

Reference numeral 16 denotes a branch hot water supply path that branches off from the middle of the hot water supply circuit 4 and leads to a suitable hot water supply point, and 25 represents a bypass path that communicates the upstream side and the downstream side of the hot water supply heat exchanger 11. A check valve 24 and a flow rate adjustment valve 23 are provided in the bypass path 25.
and is provided.

The part surrounded by the dotted line in FIG. 1 shows the backflow prevention device 26, in which 34 is a drop-in opening/closing valve, 35 is a backflow prevention chamber, and 36 is a check valve.

The backflow prevention chamber 35 has a structure capable of holding hot water or air therein, and a branch waterway 38 branches off from the backflow prevention chamber 35. A water reservoir hopper 39 having an overflow channel 40 communicating with the atmosphere is provided in the branch water channel 38 , and the volume below the overflow channel 40 of the water reservoir hopper 39 is the backflow prevention chamber 3 .
The volume is slightly larger than that in 5. Backflow prevention chamber 3
5 and the water reservoir hopper 39, there is a backflow prevention chamber opening/closing valve 31.
is provided, and when the backflow prevention chamber opening/closing valve 31 is closed,
The backflow prevention chamber 35 can be filled with hot water, and when opened, the hot water in the backflow prevention chamber 35 falls into the water sump hopper 39 and the inside of the backflow prevention chamber 35 is replaced with air flowing in from the overflow waterway 40. It has become.

A drainage on-off valve 32 is provided on the discharge side of the water sump hopper 39 of the branch waterway 38, and by opening the drainage on-off valve 32, hot water in the water sump hopper 39 is discharged to the reheating circuit 3 side. I have made it possible.

[0017] As shown in Fig. 2, the automatic operation device for the bath has a central processing unit (CPU) in the control section 60, and has a built-in automatic operation program based on timer reservation settings. Moreover, 50 is an operating device, and an automatic operation switch 51, a reheating operation switch 52, a heat retention operation switch 53, a reservation time setting switch 54, and a reservation operation switch 55 are provided.

Next, the operation of the above structure will be explained.

First, in the first hot water supply to the bathtub 2 after the power (not shown) of the above device is turned on, a predetermined hot water supply operation (for example, in Japanese Patent Application No. 1-87567) up to a set water level HS (set water level) is performed. (see specification) is performed, and the bathtub cross-sectional area S is calculated. Then, the set water level HS (hereinafter referred to as the initial set water level) and the set water level H at the time of initial hot water supply.
The total amount of water Q0 supplied into the bathtub 2 up to S is determined by the control unit 60.
stored within.

Next, when the automatic operation switch 51 is pressed, the drop-in opening/closing valve 34 is opened and the three-way valve 12 is switched so that the hot water supply circuit 4 and the pump 10 are communicated with each other. When the hot water supply to the bathtub 2 is started, the hot water from the hot water supply circuit 4 passes through the backflow prevention chamber 35 and the check valve 36 and enters the reheating circuit 3 downstream of the three-way valve 12, as shown by the arrow. ,
It is transported from both the outward path 6a, the bypass path 14, and the return path 6b, and is dropped into the bathtub 2.

When the water level H1 higher than the bath adapter 5 is detected by the pressure sensor 9, the water volume Q = (HS −H1)×S,
Hot water is supplied so that the integrated value of the flow rate sensor 15 becomes the water amount Q described above.

[0022]Finally, when the pressure sensor 9 detects the pressure at the initial set water level HS, the drop-in opening/closing valve 34 is closed and the hot water supply operation is completed. Next, the three-way valve 12
When the return path 6b and the outgoing path 6a are switched to communicate with each other, the pump 10 is driven, a burner (not shown) is ignited, and reheating of the bath starts. Hot water in the bathtub 2 is sucked in from the return path 6b, enters the pump 10 through the three-way valve 12, passes through the bath heat exchanger 7, and is returned into the bathtub 2 from the outgoing path 6a.

At this time, the bath water is heated by the burner as it passes through the bath heat exchanger 7, and when the temperature of the water reaches the set temperature, the thermistor 21 detects this, the burner is extinguished, and the heat-retaining operation is started. . In the heat retention operation, the pump 10 is operated at regular intervals, and if the temperature of the bathtub at that time is below the set temperature, the burner is ignited to heat the bathtub to the set temperature.

If the reheat operation switch 52 is selected, only the reheating of the bathtub 2 is performed. Further, when the heat retention operation switch 53 is selected, only the heat retention operation is performed.

[0025] Next, a reservation operation that allows the user to take a bath at a desired time will be explained. This reserved operation is performed by a central processing unit (CPU) provided in the control section 60 as shown in FIG.
This is done by adding the program shown in .

That is, in the control section 60, the required time T (minutes) for automatic operation is calculated in advance based on the initial setting water level HS according to the following equation 1 (S1).

[0027]

[Math 1]

Here, t is the temperature difference that should be raised by reheating, and is set to a predetermined value, such as 40° C., to allow for the temperature difference in winter. Q0 indicates the total amount of water dropped (l) up to the initial setting water level HS. I is the amount of heating per unit time (Kcal/h),
η is thermal efficiency (%). In other words, the calculation of the time T required for automatic operation is based on the assumption that the cold water in winter, which has a large temperature difference from the set temperature, is filled up to the initial set water level HS, and the time required to heat the cold water to the set temperature. Calculating time.

Next, the user sets a reserved time for bathing using the reserved time setting switch 54 (S2).
, when the reserved operation switch 55 is pressed (S3), it is checked whether the initial setting water level HS has been changed (
S4).

[0030] If the initial set water level HS has not been changed, the required time T is selected as the required time for automatic operation, and if the initial set water level HS has been changed, the set water level HS' after the change is selected. The required time T' (correction value) is calculated by calculating the reheating time for the amount of water corresponding to the difference between and the initial setting water level HS and adding (or subtracting) from the required time T.
is selected.

[0031]Subsequently, when the time obtained by subtracting the time T or T' required for automatic operation from the set reservation time matches the current time (S6), the hot water supply operation for automatic operation described above is started (S7). , set water level HS or HS'
When reaching this point, the hot water supply operation is terminated (S8). Subsequently, the reheating operation is started (S9), and when the set temperature is reached, the reheating operation is ended. (S10).

The horizontal axis in FIG. 4 is the remaining amount of cold water in the bathtub.
The vertical axis represents the time required to supply hot water to the set water level or the time required to reheat the water to the set temperature. Normally, the heating amount per unit time of a heat exchanger for a bath is less than that of a heat exchanger for hot water supply, and the fastest way is to supply hot water at the set temperature from an empty bathtub to the set water level. If there is cold water in the bathtub up to the set water level, it will take the longest time to heat it up to the set temperature, so assuming that the bathtub is filled with cold water up to the set water level HS or HS' as mentioned above, By calculating the required time T or T' for heating, it is possible to reliably complete the heating at the set temperature by the reserved time.

Moreover, since the time required for automatic operation is calculated using the set water level HS or HS' without using the detected value of the water level sensor, there is no fear of calculating an incorrect time.

[0034] Next, at a certain time before the set reservation time (S11), the warming operation is started (S12),
When the temperature of the water in the bathtub 2 has decreased, it is reheated to the set temperature. When the reserved time arrives (S13), a notification buzzer (not shown) provided on the controller sounds (S14).
, inform the user. The reservation operation ends with this, but
It is desirable to continue the heat retention operation even after this.

In the above embodiment, after the reserved operation switch 55 is pressed, the water level setting change is confirmed (S
4) If the time required for automatic operation has been changed, the operation is performed to correct the time required for automatic operation (S5), but this operation may be performed in advance before setting the reservation time (S2).

[0036]

[Effects of the Invention] As is clear from the above embodiments, the present invention has an automatic operation function that automatically performs everything from supplying hot water to the bathtub to heating it up, and a heat retention function that keeps the heated bath warm. In an automatic bath operating device, by setting a scheduled time for bathing, the reheating time is calculated based on the amount of water and a predetermined temperature difference when the bathtub is filled with cold water to the set water level, and the reheating time is calculated based on the amount of water when the bathtub is filled with cold water to the set water level and a predetermined temperature difference. Since the configuration includes a control unit that starts the automatic operation retroactively by the reheating time, and also starts the warming operation a predetermined time retroactively from the scheduled bathing time after the heating is completed, it can be adjusted according to the size of the bathtub. Regardless of the bathing time, the heating can be completed at an appropriate temperature at the scheduled bathing time. Further, since the reheating time is calculated without using the detected value of a sensor such as a water level sensor, the calculated time is accurate.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

FIG. 1 is an overall configuration diagram showing an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a control unit and an operating device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing the main sequence of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing the relationship between hot water supply time or reheating time and bathtub water volume.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 Automatic bath equipment 2 Bathtub 50 Operating device 60 Control section

Claims (1)

[Claims] [Claim 1] In an automatic operation device for a bath, which is equipped with an automatic operation function that automatically performs everything from supplying hot water to heating the bathtub, and a thermal operation function that keeps the heated bath warm, the scheduled bathing time can be reserved. By doing so, the reheating time is calculated based on the amount of water when the bathtub is filled with cold water up to the set water level and a predetermined temperature difference, and automatic operation is started retroactively by the reheating time from the scheduled time. The automatic operation device for a bath is further provided with a control unit that starts a heat-retaining operation a certain period of time before the scheduled bathing time after completion of heating.