JPH09329351A - Automatic bath kettle with heat retention function - Google Patents

Abstract

(57) [Abstract] [PROBLEMS] To prevent the human body during bathing from being uncomfortable by forcibly rotating the circulation pump at every set interval time even while bathing by the automatic heat retention function. To do. SOLUTION: In an automatic bath heater device having an automatic heat retaining function of detecting a bath temperature at each set interval time and heating or pouring water so that the bath temperature becomes a set temperature, a person can take a bath after the interval time elapses. When detected, the circulation pump in the circulation path connecting the bathtub and bathtub device at that time is not operated. Specifically, the following interval is entered during the bathing without performing the automatic heat retention process. Alternatively, it waits until the bathing is completed, and after the bathing is completed, an automatic heat retention step is performed.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an improvement of an automatic bath heater device having an automatic heat retaining function for reheating or pouring water so that the bath water temperature is kept at a set temperature at regular intervals.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art The bathtub hot water temperature is detected at regular intervals set by a heat retention timer. If the detected temperature is lower than the set temperature, additional heating is performed, and if the detected temperature is higher, water is injected to maintain the set temperature. Automatic bath kettles having an automatic warming function are well known.

In this heat retention mode, after the lapse of the interval time, the circulation pump provided in the circulation path connecting the bath kettle device and the bathtub is operated to circulate the hot water in the bathtub, and the temperature is controlled by the bath thermistor provided in the circulation path. Is detected, and reheating or water injection is performed so that the bath temperature reaches the set temperature Tc.

[0004]

However, when the circulation pump is rotated to detect the bath temperature, the cold water in the pair tube connecting the bath bath and the bath kettle, which is normally exposed to the outside air, enters the bath bath. Comes out. Therefore, if a person is taking a bath and does not actively command reheating operation, lukewarm mode, gather mode, etc., the cold water flowing out into the bathtub will unpleasantly feel uncomfortable, which is preferable. Absent.

Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide an automatic bath heater device that cancels the step of rotating the circulation pump for temperature measurement when a person is taking a bath after the elapse of the interval time.

It is a further object of the present invention to provide an automatic bathtub device which, when a person is taking a bath after the lapse of the interval time, waits for the rotation step of the circulation pump for temperature measurement until the bathing is completed. is there.

[0007]

According to the present invention, the above object is to provide an automatic heat insulation function for detecting the bath temperature at each set interval time and heating or pouring water so that the bath temperature reaches the set temperature. In the automatic bathtub device having the above, when the bathing of a person is detected after the lapse of the interval time, the circulation pump in the circulation path connecting the bathtub and the bathtub device at that time is not operated. This is achieved by providing an automatic bathtub device with a heat retention function.

More specifically, when the bathing of a person is detected after the elapse of the interval time, the circulation pump in the circulation path connecting the bathtub and the bathtub device at that time is operated to detect the bath temperature. Then, the next interval is entered without performing the automatic heat retention process of heating or pouring water to the set temperature. By doing so, it is possible to prevent cold water from flowing into the bathtub and giving discomfort during bathing.

In another specific example, when a person's bathing is detected after the interval time elapses, the system waits until the bathing is completed, and after the bathing is completed, a circulation for connecting the bathtub and the bathtub device. It is characterized by performing an automatic heat-insulating step of operating the circulation pump in the passage to detect the bath temperature and heating or pouring water to reach the set temperature.

In this case, since the bath temperature is usually lowered by taking a bath, it is possible to reheat without waiting for the next interval period.

As another specific example, in the above example, when a command accompanied by a change in bath temperature is issued during the interval time, an automatic heat-insulating process is performed regardless of whether or not the user is taking a bath when the interval time elapses. It is characterized by performing. This is because, if there is a positive command to change the bath temperature, the operation of the circulation pump is allowed even during bathing.

[0012]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. However, the technical scope of the present invention is not limited to the embodiment.

FIG. 1 is a schematic view of the entire structure of an automatic bath heater according to an embodiment of the present invention. Automatic bath kettle 100
Is provided with a bath combustion chamber 1 and a hot water supply combustion chamber 2, and each of the combustion chambers has a bath heat exchanger 10 and a hot water supply heat exchanger 2.
0 is provided. Further, in the combustion chamber, a bath burner 11 and a hot water supply burner 21 (three ports are provided in FIG. 1) as a heat input means, a bath igniter 13 and a hot water igniter 23, a bath frame rod 14 and a hot water supply frame rod 24 are provided. Have been. Also, both combustion chambers 1,
2 is provided with a common combustion fan 30, and the air burned by each is exhausted through an exhaust port.

A bath solenoid valve 12 for controlling on / off of gas supply to the bath burner 11 and the hot water supply burner 21 and a hot water supply solenoid valve 22 are provided, and a proportional valve 31 common to these solenoid valves 12 and 22, A source gas solenoid valve 32 is provided. The solenoid valve, the proportional valve, the igniter, the frame rod, the combustion fan, and various sensors are controlled by a control device 43 such as a microcomputer mounted on the electrical board 41. The control device 43 is connected to a remote controller 40 in a bathroom or a kitchen, receives an operation signal according to a program stored in a memory, and outputs a control signal.

Although not shown, the remote controller 40 is provided with various control switches such as an automatic heat retention mode switch, a temperature setting switch, a lukewarm mode switch, and an gathering mode switch, and controls in the control device 43 based on instructions from these switches. Control is performed according to the program.

The outline of the operation on the water heater side is as follows. First, when the hot-water tap is opened, the water quantity sensor 25 senses the flow rate of the hot-water supply 28, and after the pre-purge by the combustion fan 30, the original gas solenoid valve 32, the proportional valve 31, and the hot-water supply solenoid valve 22 are opened together with the discharge of the hot-water igniter 23. Then, hot water of a predetermined temperature is supplied from the hot water supply port 29. In order to keep the hot water supply temperature at the set temperature, the water input thermistor 26 and the hot water thermistor 27
The solenoid valve drive current of the proportional valve 31 is controlled to a value calculated from the output of the water amount sensor 25 and the output of the water amount sensor 25.

On the other hand, on the bath side, the main gas solenoid valve 32, the proportional valve 31, and the bath solenoid valve 12 are opened to burn the bath burner 11, and the circulation pump 17 causes the pair of tubes, the forward pipe 18 and the return pipe 19, to be burned. Also, the reheating operation is performed while circulating the hot water in the bathtub 47 through the circulation metal fitting 46. In the storage mode operation or the automatic hot water operation, the hot water obtained by the combustion on the hot water supply side is supplied to the circulation circuit on the bath side by opening the pouring solenoid valve 34, and the set amount of hot water is supplied at the set temperature. Is performed in a bathtub, and then, if necessary, a reburning operation is performed to a set temperature by burning the bath side. The check valve 35 is for preventing water in the bathtub from flowing into the pouring side.

In the circulation circuit on the bath side, a pressure sensor 45 for detecting the water level in the bath 47, a bath water flow switch 15 for detecting whether water is circulating in the circulation circuit, and a circulation circuit in the circulation circuit. A bath thermistor 16 and the like for detecting the temperature of is provided.

FIG. 2 is a flow chart in the heat retention mode of the above-mentioned automatic bathtub device. If the bath is being performed at the time when the interval time has elapsed, the heat retention mode function including the operation of the circulation pump for detecting the bath temperature. It shows a flowchart for entering the next interval without performing.

First, in the normal operation, the hot water is supplied or reheated so that the temperature of the bathtub becomes the set temperature Ts before the heat retention mode is set (S1). Therefore, the heat retention mode is set automatically or from the remote control (S
2) The temperature measurement for each set interval time and the heat retention function by reheating or water injection are repeated.

In the heat retention mode, it is determined whether or not a command for changing the bath temperature has been given from the remote controller or the like while the interval time has elapsed (S3). The bathtub temperature change command is, for example, a positive command such as a command to change the set temperature of the bath or a command to increase or decrease the bath temperature. When it is detected that such a command is issued from the remote controller during bathing, the command flag is set to 1 and stored in the memory in the microcomputer (S4). That is, when the command flag is 1, it means that there was a positive intention display by a person taking a bath.

When the interval time has passed (S5), the circulation pump 17 is turned on to circulate in the circulation path of the bath (S7), and the bath temperature Tc is detected by the bath thermistor 16 (S8). When the temperature Tc of the bathtub is lower than the set temperature Ts (S9), the bath burner 11 is burned and reheating is performed until the temperature of the bathtub reaches the set temperature Ts (S10). In addition, the bath temperature Tc is set to the set temperature T because the set temperature Ts is changed during the interval.
When the temperature is equal to or higher than s (S9), the pouring electromagnetic valve 34 is opened to pour water from the water heater side to set the temperature of the bath to the set temperature T.
s (S11).

However, when the bath is taking place after the lapse of the interval time, the steps of the heat retaining function of steps S7 to S11 are canceled (S6). In the process of the heat retention function of these steps, it is necessary to rotate the circulation pump 17 in order to detect the temperature of the bathtub, and accordingly cold water from the pair tubes 18 and 19 is injected into the bathtub to cause discomfort. Because it will be. When there is a positive command to change the temperature of the bathtub during the interval time (S6b), it is an intention of the bather to actively change the temperature. The heat retention function (S7 to S11) from turning on to reheating or pouring water is performed. The determination as to whether or not the user is taking a bath can be made from the output of the pressure sensor 45 provided in the circulation path.

Finally, the interval time is reset (S12), and if the heat retention mode is continuing, step S3
Return to (S13). If the heat retention mode has ended, this flowchart ends.

According to the above flow chart, if there is no instruction to positively change the temperature of the bathtub, the circulation pump is not operated during bathing even at the end of the interval time, so that the person is uncomfortable. Can be prevented.

FIG. 3 is another flow chart of the heat-retaining mode of the automatic bath heater. As in FIG. 2, when the interval time has elapsed (S5), if the bath is in the bath, the circulation pump is turned on (S7). However, this flowchart is different in that it waits until the bathing is completed, and after the bathing is completed, the heat retention function from turning on the circulation pump to reheating or pouring water is performed. That is, assuming that there is no active command to change the temperature of the bathtub in steps S6b and S6 after the lapse of the interval time and the bath is being bathed, the bathing is completed or the bath temperature is changed as shown in step S15. Wait until command is issued. Then, when the bathing is completed or a command for changing the bath temperature is issued, a heat retention function from turning on of the circulation pump to reheating or pouring water is performed.

Incidentally, it is preferable to judge whether or not the bathing is completed by, for example, the pressure sensor 17 to judge that the bathing is completed only after a predetermined time elapses after a person leaves the bath.

In this flowchart example, when the user is bathing after the interval time has elapsed, as soon as the bathing is finished, reheating, which is one of the heat retaining functions, is performed. Therefore, as shown in the flowchart of FIG. The bath temperature can be restored without waiting for time. Normally, when a person takes a bath, it falls below the set temperature of 42 to 44 ° C. by a difference from the body temperature of 37 ° C. Therefore, it is convenient to follow such a flow. The remaining part is the same as that of the flowchart of FIG. 2, and the description is omitted here.

FIG. 4 is another flowchart of the heat retention mode of the automatic bath heater. Basically Figure 2
The flow chart is the same as that of the above, but when the bath is inserted between the step of turning on the circulation pump (S7) and the step of actually measuring the bath temperature Tc (S8), the circulation pump is turned off immediately. The difference is that the interval time is reset and the next interval is entered. After turning on the circulation pump, the circulation of hot water in the circulation path is sufficiently performed (S
21) Since it takes about 2 minutes until the bath thermistor 16 in the circulation path can detect the bath temperature, if bathing is detected during that time (S20), the circulation pump 17 may be immediately stopped. Preferred (S22). The rest is
It is the same as in FIG. 2 and will not be described again.

The steps S20 to S22 of FIG. 4 may be inserted between steps S7 and S8 of the flowchart of FIG. In that case, if bathing is detected after the circulation pump is turned on in step S7, the process returns to step S15 in FIG. 3 and waits until bathing is completed, which is suitable for the purpose of the flowchart in FIG.

The control sequences shown in the flow charts of FIGS. 2, 3 and 4 are executed by a program stored in, for example, a microcomputer mounted on the electrical equipment board 41.

[0032]

As described above, according to the present invention, the circulation pump is forcibly rotated at every set interval time even during bathing in the heat retention mode,
It is possible to prevent the human body from taking a discomfort while taking a bath.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of the entire structure of an automatic bath apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a flowchart in the heat retaining mode of the automatic bath apparatus.

FIG. 3 is another flow chart of the automatic bath apparatus in a warming mode.

FIG. 4 is another flow chart of the automatic bath apparatus in a warming mode.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Bath combustion chamber 2 Hot-water supply combustion chamber 16 Bath thermistor 17 Circulation pump 40 Remote control 41 Electrical board 45 Pressure sensor 47 Bathtub

Claims (4)

[Claims] 1. An automatic bath heater device having an automatic heat retaining function for detecting a bath temperature at each set interval time and heating or pouring water so that the bath temperature reaches a set temperature. When a bath is detected, an automatic bathtub device with a heat retention function is characterized in that the circulation pump in the circulation path connecting the bathtub and bathtub device at that time is not operated. 2. An automatic bathtub device having an automatic heat retaining function for detecting a bath temperature at each set interval time and heating or pouring water so that the bath temperature reaches a set temperature. When bathing is detected, an automatic heat insulation process is performed to operate the circulation pump in the circulation path that connects the bathtub and bathtub device at that time, detect the bath temperature, and reheat or pour water to reach the set temperature. An automatic bathtub device with a heat retention function characterized by entering the next interval without performing the operation. 3. An automatic bathtub device having an automatic warming function of detecting the bath temperature at each set interval time and heating or pouring water so that the bath temperature reaches the set temperature. When bathing is detected, wait until the bathing is completed, and after the bathing is completed, the circulation pump in the circulation path that connects the bathtub and bath device is operated to detect the bath temperature and reach the set temperature. An automatic bathtub device with a heat retention function, which is characterized by performing an automatic heat retention step of reheating or pouring water. 4. The automatic bath heater according to claim 1, 2 or 3, wherein a command accompanied by a change in bath temperature is issued during the interval time even while the user is taking a bath after the interval time has elapsed. In this case, the automatic heat retention step is performed.