JPH11337162A - Hot water feeding device with bath furnace - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To avoid a combustion trouble caused by clogging at a filter arranged at a circulating port between a bathtub and a bath heater during reheating operation. SOLUTION: This hot water feeding device is constructed such that a lower circulating port 62 between a bathtub 60 and a bath heater is provided with a filter 63, a pressure sensor 58 acting as a water level sensing means for use in sensing a water level within the bathtub and a circulating pump 53 for circulating hot water in the bathtub to the bath heater. Then, a water level change between a time when the circulating pump 53 is stopped in its operation and another time when the circulating pump 53 is operated is measured and a safety action is carried out when it is judged that the change exceeds its reference value.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a water heater with a bath kettle, and more particularly to a water heater having a function of detecting a circulation abnormality caused by clogging of a filter attached to a circulation port between a bathtub and a bath kettle. It relates to a water heater with a bath kettle.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Heretofore, a so-called full-automatic natural circulation type bath water heater has been known. This is because when hot water is poured into the bathtub, the hot water heated by the heat exchanger of the general hot water supply system and the gas burner is poured into the bathtub by a remote controller or the like via a bath kettle provided in close proximity to the bathtub. When reheating the hot water, the hot water in the bathtub is circulated in the bath, heated by a heat exchanger and a gas burner provided in the circulation system, and maintained at a set temperature. .

[0003] In this natural circulation bath water heater, a filter is provided at a circulation port between the bathtub and the bathtub, and dust inclusions such as hair and cloth yarn contained in the hot water of the bathtub are reheated. At this time, care has been taken to prevent the water from flowing into the bath kettle and inadvertently adhering and accumulating on the inner wall surface of the jacket.

[0004]

However, as the bathtub is used for a long period of time, the filter gradually becomes clogged, and the water level in the bathtub becomes lower than the actual water level due to a signal from the water level detection sensor during additional heating. Will be detected.

[0005] Therefore, when reheating is performed in a state where the set water level is low and the filter is clogged,
In spite of the fact that there is actually a water level higher than the empty firing prevention water level, it is determined that the water level is below the empty firing prevention water level, and the empty firing prevention function is activated to stop the combustion for additional heating. Problems may occur.

Further, even when it is determined that the water level is equal to or higher than the empty boil prevention water level, the filter in the circulation port is clogged, so that the hot water in the bathtub is not smoothly circulated to the bath boiler at the time of additional heating, so that the bath boiler jacket is not heated. Because there is no convection inside
There is a problem that hot water stagnates in the bath kettle jacket, becomes too high in temperature than a set temperature, and a bather gets burned.

An object of the present invention is to provide a water heater with a bath kettle that can effectively detect clogging of a filter provided at a circulation port between a bathtub and a bath kettle. This prevents unnecessary stoppage of combustion due to the operation of the idling prevention function, and avoids dangers such as abnormal boiling heating and burns due to poor circulation in the bath during additional heating.

[0008]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In order to solve this problem, the present invention circulates hot water in a bathtub through a filter provided in a circulation port between the bathtub and the bathtub to the bathtub to reheat the bath. In a water heater with a bathtub, a water level detecting means for detecting a water level in a bathtub, a circulation pump for circulating hot water in the bathtub to the bathtub, and the water level detection means when the circulation pump is stopped and in operation are detected. The gist is that it is provided with a judgment means for judging whether or not the water level change amount has exceeded a certain value, and when the judgment means judges that the water level change amount exceeds a reference value, a safety operation is performed. .

[0009] According to the water heater with a bath kettle having the above configuration, when additional heating of the hot water in the bath tub is performed, the hot water in the bath tub is circulated through the filter provided in the circulation port of the bath tub. At that time, when it is determined that the amount of change in the water level of the bathtub exceeds a certain value based on a detection signal from the water level detecting means at the time of stopping and operating the circulation pump operating at the time of additional heating, a safe operation is performed. . Thereby, even if clogging of the filter occurs, before the malfunction of the empty heating prevention function due to the erroneous detection of the water level or the excessive heating of the hot water due to the obstruction of the circulation in the bathtub jacket, etc.,
The degree of clogging of the filter can be detected, and an appropriate replacement time can be grasped, so that safe and normal reheating can be performed.

In this case, a warning means for giving an alarm when the water level change amount exceeds the reference value is judged by the judging means, and the combustion is stopped when it is judged by the judging means that the water level falls below the idling prevention water level. It is preferable to provide a combustion stopping means for causing the combustion to stop. As a result, the user can recognize the clogging of the filter at an early stage and take measures such as replacing the filter, and when the water level actually falls below the water level for preventing empty burning, safety of the bath kettle is ensured by stopping the combustion. The Rukoto.

[0011]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Hereinafter, a preferred embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 shows a schematic configuration of a water heater with a bath in this embodiment.
As shown in the figure, a water heater 10 with a bath kettle is provided with a general hot water supply system 20 in which water flowing through a water supply pipe 21 is heated by a heat exchanger 22 and a gas burner 23 to supply hot water from a water supply pipe 24.
In addition, a bath tub pouring system 40 for pouring hot water heated by the general hot water supply system 20 into a bath tub 60 via a branch pipe 41 provided by branching from the tapping pipe 24, and the bath tub pouring system 4
0, and is configured by a bath-cooker additional heating system 50 that circulates hot water in the bathtub 60 and performs additional heating by the heat exchanger 51 and the gas burner 52.

In the general hot water supply system 20, a water supply pipe 21 is provided with a water flow sensor 25 for detecting the flow and flow rate of water and an incoming water temperature thermistor 26 for detecting the temperature of the water.
4 is provided with a tapping temperature thermistor 27 for detecting the temperature of the hot water heated by the heat exchanger 22. The gas burner 23 is provided with a gas burner 52 of the
A main solenoid valve 28 is provided in the main stop line, and a main electromagnetic valve 29 and a proportional control valve 30 are provided in a branch line to the gas burner 23. Further, a blower fan 31 driven by a motor for supplying combustion air to the gas burner 23 is provided. The tapping pipe 24 is provided with a faucet (hot tap) 32 such as a kitchen, a washroom, or a shower.

The bath tub pouring system 40 is provided with a water solenoid valve 42 in a branch pipe 41 branching from the tapping pipe 24 of the general hot water supply system 20, and through a hopper 43.
It is connected to the bathtub jacket of No. 0.

The bath heating system 50 has an upper circulation port 61 and a lower circulation port 62 communicating with a bathtub jacket in a bathtub 60, and the flow in the bathtub 60 is arranged in a heat exchanger disposed in the jacket. A circulation path passing through 51 is provided with a circulation pump 53 that assists smooth circulation.
A hot water temperature thermistor 54 for detecting the hot water temperature of the bathtub 60 is provided. The main solenoid valve 55 and the proportional solenoid valve 5 are also provided in the gas line of the gas burner 52 for heating the heat exchanger 51.
And a motor driven blower fan 57 for supplying combustion air to the gas burner 52. Further, a pressure sensor 58 for detecting the level of hot water poured into the bathtub 60 is provided in the bath pot jacket of the bath reheating system 50.

The lower circulation port 62 of the bathtub 60 has
A filter 63 is provided to prevent the hair and cloth contained in the hot water from flowing into the bath when the hot water in the bathtub is circulated through the bath.

The water heater 10 with a bath can be operated by a remote controller 65 and a remote controller 66.
The control of the general hot water supply, the control of the automatic pouring of water into the bathtub, the reheating control of hot water in the bathtub, and the like are performed via the controller 67. The controller 67 includes a water flow sensor 25 of the general hot water supply system 20, an incoming water temperature thermistor 26, an outgoing water temperature thermistor 27, an original electromagnetic valve 28 of the gas burner 23, a main electromagnetic valve 29, a proportional electromagnetic valve 30, and a motor for driving the blower fan 31. Are electrically connected. Further, the water solenoid valve 42 of the bath tub pouring system 40 is also electrically connected.

Further, the circulation pump 53 of the bath reheating system 50,
Hot water thermistor 54, main solenoid valve 5 of gas burner 52
5, proportional control valve 56, motor for driving blower fan 57,
Further, a pressure sensor 58 for detecting the level of the molten metal in the bathtub 60 is electrically connected. The ignition igniters 33 for the gas burners 23 and 52 and the frame rod 34 for detecting the ignition of the gas burners are also connected to the controller 67 as a matter of course.

The controller 67 has a CPU constituting a logical operation circuit and an RO for storing various programs.
M, a RAM for temporarily storing data, an input interface for inputting signals from various sensors, an output interface for outputting drive signals to various actuators, and the like. In order to control the product of the present invention, various programs and various numerical values are stored in the ROM. Similarly, the RAM is provided with a temperature memory area, a pressure memory area, and the like.

Although not shown, the bath remote control 65 and the hot water supply remote control 66 have various switches such as a power switch, an automatic pouring switch, a reheating switch, a generous switch, a collecting switch, a lubricating switch, and a bath cleaning switch. Kinds are provided. Further, an alarm 68 for stopping abnormal combustion due to clogging of the filter 63 is also provided.

Further, the water heater with a bath kettle of this embodiment includes:
In order to prevent so-called empty heating, in which additional heating is performed when the amount of water in the bath tub does not reach a certain amount, the water level at which sufficient water cannot be sent to the heat exchanger inside the bath kettle jacket (empty fire prevention water level) ) Has a function of controlling not to perform additional heating.

Further, as another means for preventing empty heating, a water replenishment level is set above the water level for preventing empty heating, and when the water replenishment level is reached, a certain amount of hot water is automatically added to prevent the empty heating. It also has a function to control so as not to reach the water level.

Water heater 1 with bath kettle constructed as above
When the automatic switch of the bath remote control 65 or the hot water supply remote control 66 is pressed, the water solenoid valve 42 is opened by a command from the controller 67, and the general hot water supply system 20 starts the hot water supply combustion operation. Then, the hot water heated by the heat exchanger 22 and the gas burner 23 of the general hot water supply system 20 passes through the branch pipe 41 of the bathtub pouring system 40 and is poured into the bathtub 60 through the inside of the bathtub jacket.

The water level in the bathtub 60 is detected by a pressure sensor 58 provided in the bathtub jacket, and when the pressure signal from the pressure sensor 58 reaches a set pressure corresponding to the set water level in the bathtub 60, a signal from the controller 67 is output. The water electromagnetic valve 42 is turned off by the command, the frequency signal from the water flow sensor 25 is lost, and the hot water supply combustion to the bathtub by the general hot water supply system 20 is stopped.

After the hot water supply of the general hot water supply system 20 is stopped, the additional heating of the bath additional heating system 50 is started. FIG. 2 is an enlarged view of the bath reheating system 50, and shows how the hot water in the bathtub 60 is circulated in the bathtub jacket. This bathtub 6
The circulation of the hot water of 0 mainly involves natural convection due to heating in the bath kettle jacket in additional heating, but the circulation pump 53 plays a role in assisting smooth circulation.

Then, after the circulation pump 53 is operated, the hot water in the bathtub 60 flows from the lower circulation port 62 through the filter 63 into the bathtub jacket. Bath tub 60
The temperature of the hot water is sensed by the hot water thermistor 54, and if the temperature is lower than the set temperature, the blower fan 57 of the bath reheating system 50 is driven, and the signal of the rotation speed is sent to the controller 6.
7, the main electromagnetic valve 55 and the proportional control valve 56 of the gas burner 52 are opened, and the gas is supplied to the gas burner 52, and at the same time, the ignition igniter 33 is activated and the gas burner 52 is ignited. Thereby, bathtub 6
The hot water of No. 0 is circulated and heated by the bath reheating system 50.

When the temperature of the hot water in the bathtub 60 circulated by the natural convection and circulation pump 53 reaches the set temperature, the temperature is sensed by the hot water thermistor 54 to terminate the reheating of the bath and the circulation pump 53 stops. I do. This additional heating is repeated several times, and after 10 minutes from the stop of the combustion, the circulation pump 53 is operated again to circulate the bath water again. At this time, if the temperature of the bath is lower than the set temperature, the additional heating is performed there. Heating is repeated.

At this time, if the temperature of the bath has not dropped, the operation of the circulation pump 53 stops there, and
It works after a minute and repeats the same. In the meantime, when the pressure signal of the pressure sensor 58 becomes equal to or lower than the set pressure, the water solenoid valve 42 of the bath tub pouring system 40 is turned on, and the hot water supply operation by the general hot water supply system 20 automatically adds hot water (refill water) to the bath tub 60. Done. Then, when the automatic pouring switch is pressed, all the operations are stopped.

Here, how the water level of the bathtub 60 is detected by the pressure sensor 58 when the filter 63 is clogged will be described. Table 1 shows the relationship between the rate of clogging of the filter 63 and the detected water level of the pressure sensor 58 when the circulation pump 53 is operated in this embodiment.

[0029]

[Table 1]

First, "filter clogging" described in Table 1
Means the ratio (%) of the area where the lower circulation port is closed due to clogging of the filter to the entire area of the filter, and the “pressure sensor detection water level” means the pressure sensor in the “filter clogging”. Represents a water level difference corresponding to the amount of change in pressure between when the pump is stopped and when the pump is operated. For example, when the clogging of the filter is 0%, that is, when the filter is not clogged at all, the water level difference corresponding to the amount of change in the pressure detected by the pressure sensor when the pump is stopped and when the pump is operating is -10 mm. It can be seen from Table 1 that the negative pressure detected by the pressure sensor increases as the rate of filter clogging increases. And
When the clogging of the filter is 50%, the difference in water level detected by the pressure sensor is -30 mm. At this level, the filter needs to be replaced.
30 mm is an important decision factor.

FIG. 3 schematically shows the positional relationship among the minimum set water level, the minimum replenishment water level, and the empty-fire prevention water level of the above-described water heater with a bath kettle, with the pressure sensor installation position as a reference (0 mm). The minimum setting water level when filling the bathtub 60 is 236 mm, the minimum refilling water level for automatically replenishing the bathtub 60 with hot water is 211 mm, and the anti-firing water level for automatically stopping the combustion in the bathtub is 206 mm. That is, the water level difference from the minimum set water level to the minimum
mm, the water level difference from the minimum set water level to the empty-fire prevention water level is 30 mm.

As can be seen from FIG. 3, the water level is 236 m.
If it is at least m, normal additional heating can be performed, but if the water level falls below that, there is a possibility that so-called empty heating may occur. Therefore, as a safe operation, the water replenishment operation is performed when the water level reaches 211 mm, and when the water level falls below that, the combustion is stopped at 206 mm.

Referring to FIG. 3 based on the results in Table 1, if the clogging of the filter according to the present invention is not detected in the above-mentioned bath kettle, for example, the clogging of the filter is reduced to 50%. Sometimes when additional heating is performed at the lowest set water level, the pressure detection water level is -30 mm, so it is determined that the water level is the empty firing prevention water level, even though the bathtub has sufficient hot water, and the additional heating is performed. It will stop. Of course, the same can be said for the water replenishment operation, and the water replenishment operation is performed at a water level where the water replenishment is not necessary.

Therefore, the present invention sets the negative pressure applied to the pressure sensor when the circulating pump is stopped and when it is activated to a predetermined pressure, and when the pressure reaches the set pressure, the filter is clogged. Judgment is performed and control is performed so as to notify the user.

In the present embodiment, based on the relationship shown in Table 1, when the clogging of the filter is 0%, -10 mm is set, and -30 mm, which causes a malfunction of the safe operation, is set as the above set pressure. is there. That is, in the present embodiment, the alarm device is activated when the filter clogging reaches 50%.

FIG. 4 shows a control routine for notifying the clogging of the filter of the water heater with a bath kettle according to the present invention. In this water heater with a bath kettle, the circulation pump 53 is not operated at the stage when the instruction for additional heating is issued from the controller 67, that is, before performing additional heating.
At that time, the pressure when the pump is stopped is detected by the pressure sensor 58 (Step 1, hereinafter simply referred to as “S1”) and stored in the pressure memory area of the RAM of the controller 67.

When the detection of the pressure when the circulation pump 53 stops is completed, additional heating is started and the circulation pump 53 is operated (S2). Then, since the circulation of the hot water starts, the pressure applied to the pressure sensor changes, so that the pressure at the time of operating the circulation pump 53 is detected by the pressure sensor 58 (S3), and this value is also stored in the controller 67. You.

Then, a calculation is performed based on the pressure at the time of pump stop and at the time of pump operation stored in the controller 67, and the amount of change in pressure at the time of stop and operation of the circulation pump 53 is obtained. If it is determined that the amount of change is smaller than the initially set predetermined amount of change (S4: "N
O "), normal control is continued. However, if it is determined that the change amount is equal to or more than the predetermined change amount (S4: “YE
S "), it is determined that clogging of the filter has reached a level that hinders normal reheating, and this is notified by an alarm device 68 having alarm means such as a buzzer or a lamp (S5). This control is terminated.

According to this embodiment, the amount of change in the pressure detected by the pressure sensor 58 when the circulation pump 53 is stopped and when the circulation pump 53 is operated is measured, so that the degree of clogging of the filter 63 hinders normal reheating. You can know at an early stage whether it is coming. Therefore, if the filter is replaced accordingly, additional heating can be performed without causing a malfunction.

On the other hand, when the filter is not clogged and the water level in the bathtub falls below the water level for preventing empty firing and there is a possibility of causing empty firing, a combustion stop means for stopping combustion as a safe operation is provided. Since it has, it is possible to immediately stop reburning combustion and prevent empty burning, so that reburning heating can be performed safely.

The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and various modifications can be made without departing from the spirit of the present invention. In the above embodiment, the description has been made using the natural circulation type bath water heater, but the invention can be applied to a forced circulation type or the like. Further, in the present embodiment, the clogging of the filter is determined by one determination, but it is also effective to perform the determination a plurality of times before performing the notification in order to prevent false notification.

In this embodiment, when a circulating abnormality occurs, a means for notifying the occurrence is used. However, this is not limited to the notification, and a safety operation such as automatic stop of the system is automatically activated. Is also good.

Further, the above embodiment has been described on the assumption that the circulation is abnormal due to the clogging of the filter. However, it is needless to say that the present invention is not limited to this case and can also detect a circulation abnormality caused by another factor. .

[0044]

The bath water heater according to the present invention detects the water level in the bath tub when the circulating pump for circulating the hot water in the bath tub is stopped and in operation when the water in the bath tub is additionally heated. It is determined whether or not the water level change exceeds a certain value, and when it is determined that the reference value has been exceeded, safety operation is performed. This makes it possible to detect clogging and the like.

Therefore, when the water heater with a bath kettle according to the present invention is used, the malfunction of the additional heating prevention function or the excessive heating that exceeds the set temperature at the time of the additional heating is eliminated, and the user is prevented from heating. Not only can it be used with peace of mind, but it does not put an extra burden on the water heater, so it can reduce the breakdown of the water heater, etc., making it extremely convenient and extremely practical. It will be expensive.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a schematic configuration of a water heater with a bath kettle according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a view for explaining a circulation path of hot water in additional heating of the water heater with a bath kettle shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a view for explaining the position of each set water level of a water heater with a bath kettle.

FIG. 4 is a control flowchart for realizing the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Bath kettle with water heater 50 Bath reheating system 51 Heat exchanger 53 Circulation pump 58 Pressure sensor 60 Bathtub 61 Upper circulation port 62 Lower circulation port 63 Filter 68 Alarm

Claims (3)

[Claims] A water level for detecting the water level of a bathtub in a water heater with a bathtub that recirculates and heats the hot water in the bathtub through a filter provided at a circulation port between the bathtub and the bathtub to reheat the bathtub. Detecting means, a circulating pump for circulating hot water in the bathtub to the bath kettle, and determining whether or not a change in water level detected by the water level detecting means when the circulating pump is stopped and when it operates exceeds a certain value. A water heater with a bath kettle, comprising a judging means, wherein a safe operation is performed when the judging means judges that the reference value has been exceeded. 2. The water heater with a bath kettle according to claim 1, further comprising an alarming means for issuing an alarm when the judging means judges that the water level change exceeds a reference value. 3. The water heater with a bath kettle according to claim 1, further comprising combustion stopping means for stopping combustion when the judgment means judges that the water level falls below the idling prevention water level.