JP6149422B2 - Bathtub circulation adapter and bath hot water system provided with the same - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a bathtub circulation adapter that is attached to a bathtub and used to perform a hot water filling operation to the bathtub, and a bath hot water system including the same.

The present applicant has previously proposed those described in Patent Documents 1 and 2 as specific examples of bathtub circulation adapters.
The bathtub circulation adapters described in these documents are of a so-called nonpolar type, and a pair of chambers that communicate with the forward pipe and the return pipe of the hot water supply device are defined inside the partition arranged in the bathtub. Is formed. Each of the pair of chambers is provided with a discharge port and a suction port, and a check valve is attached to each of the discharge port and the suction port.
According to such a configuration, the pair of chambers can correspond to both the forward pipe and the return pipe of the hot water supply device. Therefore, unlike the type in which the return side and the return side are fixed (type in which only one set of discharge port and suction port is provided), when connecting the bathtub circulation adapter to the hot water supply device, It is not necessary to make a polarity determination as to whether the pipe is connected to the forward pipe side or the return pipe side, and the construction work of the bath hot water system is facilitated.

  However, the prior art still has room for improvement as described below.

  That is, as a hot water filling method for a bathtub, after dropping a predetermined amount of hot water into the bathtub, there is a method of detecting the presence of remaining water in the bathtub or the bathtub water level and determining the necessary amount of hot water dropped thereafter. . When such a system is adopted, hot water is supplied to the bathtub from the discharge port of the bathtub circulation adapter, while hot water in the bathtub is returned to the return pipe side from the suction port. Conventionally, during such an operation, a check valve attached to the suction port of the bathtub circulation adapter may vibrate and noise may be generated.

This point will be described more specifically with reference to FIG.
The figure (a) has shown the structure where the suction port 27 was opened in the chamber 22 dividedly formed in the bathtub circulation adapter Ae, and the check valve 4 was provided in connection with this. The check valve 4 is an umbrella valve and is made of rubber. In the standard state in which the primary pressure P1 and the secondary pressure P2 are balanced, the check valve 4 is provided so as to contact the valve seat portion 21 and close the suction port 27.
On the other hand, FIG. 6B shows a state where a circulation pump (not shown) connected to the bathtub circulation adapter Ae is operated and a suction negative pressure is applied to the chamber 22. The water level L of the bathtub 7 is the height of the substantially central portion of the check valve 4. In such a state, the lower side of the check valve 4 remains open, but the upper portion of the chamber 22 is the air layer region 99, and the upper side of the check valve 4 is located in the air layer region 99. Therefore, it receives a relatively weak suction negative pressure. Therefore, the upper side of the check valve 4 is temporarily opened by the suction negative pressure. However, as soon as the check valve 4 is opened, air inflow from the outside occurs in the air layer region 99. The pressure between the layer region 99 and the outside counteracts, and the check valve 4 is immediately closed. Then, the check valve 4 is opened again by the suction negative pressure described above, but the check valve 4 is closed again due to the inflow of air.
Conventionally, the check valve 4 vibrates according to such a principle, and noise is generated because the collision with the seat portion 21 is repeated. Such abnormal noise causes a sense of discomfort or distrust to the user, and it is desired to prevent it appropriately.

JP 2007-13793 A JP 2006-105549 A

  The present invention has been conceived under the circumstances as described above, and a bathtub capable of appropriately preventing a phenomenon in which an abnormal sound is generated due to vibrations of a check valve when filling a bathtub. An object of the present invention is to provide a circulation adapter and a bath hot-water supply system including the circulation adapter.

  In order to solve the above problems, the present invention takes the following technical means.

The bathtub circulation adapter provided by the present invention defines a pair of chambers in which communication connection with the forward pipe and the return pipe of the hot water supply device is defined, and discharges and sucks hot water into each of the pair of chambers. A partition having an opening, and a plurality of check valves attached to each of the discharge port and the suction port, and the check valve provided to the suction port Has a substantially disc-shaped valve body made of an elastic member that can be bent and deformed in a facing direction with the valve seat around the suction port. The valve body has a secondary pressure on the primary side. closable der the suction port in contact with the valve seat when a high to a predetermined or higher than the pressure Rutotomoni, the suction port, the valve seat portion, and the valve body portion, these center axes substantially horizontal Is set to the orientation that becomes the attitude of the valve body portion is arranged By water level in the chamber is increased or decreased in response to the water level of the tub that the lower side of the valve body portion is positioned in the hot water, and the upper side is a state located in the air layer region, a tub circulation adapter the valve body portion, in a standard state in which the primary-side pressure and the secondary pressure is balanced, the outer peripheral edge region of the valve body portion is separated from the valve seat, the said valve seat It is characterized by being provided so as to form a gap between the outer peripheral edge region .

  According to such a configuration, at the time of hot water filling operation of the bathtub, only the lower side of the valve main body of the check valve provided attached to the suction port is immersed in hot water, and the upper side is the air layer region. When a situation occurs in which suction negative pressure acts on the chamber where the suction port is provided, this chamber is formed between the valve body portion and the valve seat portion of the check valve. External air flows in through the gap. Therefore, unlike the prior art, the check valve is repeatedly operated by opening the check valve and allowing air to flow into the chamber from the outside, and closing the check valve by pressure antagonism due to the air flow. The vibration phenomenon can be eliminated. As a result, it is possible to prevent the generation of abnormal noise due to the vibration of the check valve and to prevent the user from feeling uncomfortable or distrustful.

  The bath hot water system provided by the second aspect of the present invention includes a hot water supply device and a bathtub circulation adapter connected to the forward pipe and the return pipe of the hot water supply device, and is capable of filling the bathtub with hot water. In addition, the bath hot water supply system is characterized in that the bathtub circulation adapter provided by the first aspect of the present invention is used as the bathtub circulation adapter.

  According to such a configuration, the same effect as described for the bathtub circulation adapter according to the present invention can be obtained.

  In the present invention, preferably, the hot water supply device is configured using the forward pipe and the return pipe, and is capable of circulating hot water in the bathtub through a fixed path by driving a circulation pump. Water level judgment means capable of judging the water level of the bathtub based on the water pressure on the return pipe side of the hot water circulation path, and hot water sent from the forward pipe to one of the pair of chambers When a phenomenon of leakage into the other chamber occurs, at least a part of the hot water in the other chamber can flow out into the bathtub through the gap and the suction port.

  According to such a configuration, even if leakage of hot water from one to the other should occur due to some circumstances, the pair of chambers formed in the partition are unreasonably connected to each other, It is possible to prevent the determination accuracy of the water level from greatly decreasing. That is, when the bathtub water level is determined, if hot water sent from the forward pipe to one of the pair of chambers leaks to the other chamber (return pipe side chamber), the water pressure in the other chamber is originally reduced. Rise unjustly. If the water level of the bathtub is determined based on such water pressure, the error becomes large. On the other hand, according to the said structure, the above-mentioned raise of the water pressure can be suppressed by escaping the hot water of the other chamber from a suction inlet to a bathtub. Therefore, the water pressure in the return pipe accurately corresponds to the water level of the bathtub, and the water level judgment error of the bathtub can be reduced.

  Other features and advantages of the present invention will become more apparent from the following description of embodiments of the present invention with reference to the accompanying drawings.

It is explanatory drawing which shows typically an example of the bath hot-water supply system which concerns on this invention. (A) is a plane sectional view of a bathtub circulation adapter used in the bath hot water system shown in FIG. 1, and (b) is an enlarged sectional view of a main part of (a). It is a disassembled perspective view of the bathtub circulation adapter shown in FIG. (A), (b) is explanatory drawing which shows typically the effect | action of the bathtub circulation adapter shown to FIG. 2 and FIG. (A), (b) is explanatory drawing which shows an example of a prior art typically.

  Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the present invention will be specifically described with reference to the drawings. In each figure, the same reference numerals as in FIG. 5 are used as appropriate for the same or similar elements as those in the prior art shown in FIG.

  The bath hot-water supply system S shown in FIG. 1 includes a bathtub circulation adapter A attached to the wall portion 70 of the bathtub 7 and a hot-water supply device WH installed outside the bathroom. In addition, in FIG. 1, the bathtub circulation adapter A is shown typically.

The bathtub circulation adapter A is a so-called nonpolar type, and its basic configuration is the same as that described in Patent Documents 1 and 2. For this reason, parts common to Patent Documents 1 and 2 will be described relatively simply.
As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the bathtub circulation adapter A includes a fixture 1 having an external fastening body 1A and an internal fastening body 1B, a partition 2 having a front member 2A and a rear member 2B, and the partition 2 A cover filter 3 to be attached is provided.

  The fixture 1 is for attaching the bathtub circulation adapter A to the wall 70 using the through hole 71 provided in the wall 70 of the bathtub 7. The external fastening body 1A and the internal fastening body 1B constituting the fixture 1 have flange portions 13 and 14 arranged on both sides of the wall portion 70 via seal packings 97a and 97b, and are screwed together. Screw portions 15a and 15b. The wall portion 70 is sandwiched by the flange portions 13 and 14 by the tightening force of the screw portions 15a and 15b, and the fixture 1 is attached to the wall portion 70. A pair of pipe parts 13a and 13b connected to the forward pipe 65a and the return pipe 65b of the hot water supply device WH are attached to the rear end of the external fastening body 1A.

As shown in FIG. 3, a plurality of screw holes 19 are provided on one end surface of the internal fastening body 1 </ b> B. These screw holes 19 are portions for attaching the partition 2 to the internal fastening body 1B using the screw body 79. The front member 2A and the rear member 2B of the partition member 2 are attached to the front surface side of the internal fastening body 1B by being overlapped with each other and the screw body 79 being inserted into the through holes 24a and 24b.

  The partition 2 partitions and forms a pair of chambers 22 (22a, 22b) partitioned through a partition wall 23 in the interior (between the front member 2A and the rear member 2B). Each of the pair of chambers 22 is provided with a discharge port 28 (28a, 28b) and a suction port 27 (27a, 27b). As shown in FIG. 2, each discharge port 28 is provided with a check valve 8 made of rubber having a substantially L-shaped cross section (including synthetic rubber, the same applies hereinafter). The check valve 8 is normally closed, and is opened when a predetermined or higher hot water discharge pressure is applied to the chamber 22.

  The suction port 27 is formed in the front member 2 </ b> A, and the check port 4 is attached to the suction port 27. The check valve 4 is, for example, a rubber umbrella valve, and includes a substantially disc-shaped valve main body 40 and a shaft 41 that supports the valve main body 40. The shaft portion 41 is fixed to the front member 2A. The valve body 40 faces the valve seat portion 21 around the suction port 27 and can be bent and deformed in the facing direction. The check valve 4 has a valve seat portion 21 and a valve body portion 40 in a standard state in which the primary pressure P1 (pressure on the bathtub side) and the secondary pressure P2 (pressure in the chamber 22) are balanced. And are attached so that a gap 25 is formed between them. The gap 25 is about 0.5 mm, for example. Of course, in the check valve 4, when the secondary pressure P2 becomes higher than the primary pressure P1, the valve body 40 contacts the valve seat 21 and closes the suction port 27. The proper function as a check valve is properly exhibited.

Hot water flow paths 16a and 16b communicate with the rear side of the chambers 22a and 22b. The hot water channel 16a is formed in series in the tubular portion 20 of the rear member 2B and in the external fastener 1A, and is connected to the tubular portion 13a. Hot water passage 16b utilizes the internal of the internal fastener 1B and the external fastener 1A is a hot water channel 16 a is formed so as not to communicate, has led to the tube part 13b. The cover filter 3 has a circular cap shape, and a plurality of small holes 30 for passing hot water are formed on the front surface portion thereof. The peripheral wall portion of the cover filter 3 is also provided with a hole portion 31 for preventing the discharge port 28 from being blocked.

  Next, the hot water supply device WH in FIG. 1 will be described. The hot water supply device WH has a general hot water supply function to the currant 69 and the like, an automatic hot water filling function to the bathtub 7, and a bath reheating function, and the basic hardware configuration itself is the same as that conventionally known. .

  Specifically, the hot water supply device WH includes burners 50a and 50b, a fan 51, heat exchangers 52a and 52b, and a control unit C. The burner 50a and the heat exchanger 52a are for general hot water supply, and the general hot water supply operation is performed after the water supplied to the water inlet 60a is supplied to the heat exchanger 52a via the pipe 60 and heated. It is performed in such a manner that it is supplied to the currant 69 or the like via 61, 62. The burner 50b and the heat exchanger 52b are for bath reheating, and a hot water circulation path 65 used for bath reheating operation is configured. The hot water circulation path 65 is configured by connecting an outgoing pipe 65a, a return pipe 65b, and a pipe portion 65c. In addition to the circulation pump P and the heat exchanger 52b, the pipe portion 65c includes a water level sensor Sa, an open / close state. A valve V2, a water flow sensor Sb, a temperature sensor Sc, and the like are provided.

  The bath chasing operation is performed by operating the circulation pump P and circulating hot water in the bathtub 7 as indicated by arrows N1 to N6. Specifically, the hot water in the bathtub 7 is sent to the heat exchanger 52b via the return pipe 65b, and the hot water heated by the heat exchanger 52b is sent to the bathtub 7 via the forward pipe 65a.

  The hot water filling operation to the bathtub 7 is performed in such a manner that the on-off valve V1 is opened, heated hot water flows from the pipe portion 61 to the pipe portion 64, and this heated hot water is supplied to the bathtub circulation adapter A. There are two methods of dropping hot water into the bathtub 7: a so-called both-transport method and a single-transport method. In both transport methods, both the forward pipe 65a and the return pipe 65b are used as the hot water supply path to the bathtub 7, and the hot water dropping flow rate can be increased. In this case, hot water is discharged from the two outlets 28 of the bathtub circulation adapter A to the bathtub 7. In the single conveyance system, the open / close valve V2 is closed, and hot water is supplied to the bathtub 7 only from the forward pipe 65a. At the time of execution of this single conveyance system, the water level of the bathtub 7 can be determined by detecting the water pressure using the water level sensor Sa. When determining the presence or absence of residual water in the bathtub 7, the circulation pump P is driven, and it is determined using the water flow sensor Sb whether or not there is a water flow in the hot water circulation path 65. In this case, the hot water distribution path is the same as that in the above bathing operation. Control part C performs operation control of each part of hot-water supply device WH, and also performs the existence of the above-mentioned residual water of bathtub 7, the water level judgment of bathtub 7, etc.

  Next, the operation of the bath hot water supply system S provided with the above-described bathtub circulation adapter A will be described.

  The following operation will be described by taking as an example the case where the forward pipe 65a and the return pipe 65b are respectively connected to the tube portions 13a and 13b as shown in FIG.

  When the automatic hot water filling operation to the bathtub 7 is started, an operation for determining whether or not there is residual water in the bathtub 7 is first executed. In this operation, for example, after a predetermined amount (for example, about 10 L) of hot water is dropped into the bathtub 7, the circulation pump P is driven, and the control unit C determines whether the water flow is detected by the water flow sensor Sb. It is. When the water flow is not detected, operation control is performed such that a predetermined amount (for example, 60 L) of hot water is further dropped into the bathtub 7 and the circulation pump P is driven.

During the operation as described above, the water level in the bathtub 7 may be the same as that in the prior art shown in FIG. 5B. In this embodiment, however, the check valve is different from the prior art. The vibration operation 4 does not occur.
Referring to FIG. 4, first, in the present embodiment, as shown in FIG. 4A, the check valve 4 attached to the suction port 27 is a valve in a predetermined standard state as described above. A gap 25 is formed between the main body portion 40 and the valve seat portion 21. For this reason, even if the water level L of the bathtub 7 is substantially equal to the height of the central portion of the suction port 27 and the suction negative pressure is acting on the chamber 22 as shown in FIG. External air flows into the air layer region 99 in the upper part of the chamber 22 through the gap 25. Therefore, special elastic deformation does not occur on the upper side of the valve main body 40, and the vibration of the valve main body 40 as described with reference to FIG. 5B does not occur. Therefore, the generation of abnormal noise due to the vibration of the valve body 40 is appropriately prevented.

On the other hand, when the water level of the bathtub 7 is detected while performing the hot water filling operation to the bathtub 7 by the above-described single conveyance method, the following effects are obtained.
That is, in the case of hot water filling by the single-conveying method, in FIG. 2, hot water is supplied from the forward pipe 65a to the chamber 22a, and hot water is discharged from the discharge port 28a to the bathtub 7 (in the drawing, the reverse attached to the discharge port 28a). The stop valve 8 is shown in the closed state but is in the open state). The chamber 22b is a room that receives the head pressure of the hot water in the bathtub 7, and this head pressure is detected by using the water level sensor Sa shown in FIG. Here, for example, if a water stop sealing performance at the joint between the front end of the partition wall 23 and the front member 2A deteriorates, hot water in the chamber 22a leaks into the chamber 22b due to the discharge pressure of the circulation pump P. However, normally, the pressure in the chamber 22b increases. However, in the present embodiment, since the check valve 4 provided in the chamber 22b is already open in the standard state, the hot water in the chamber 22b is released from the suction port 27 to the bathtub 7 side, The effect of suppressing the pressure rise is excellent. Therefore, the water pressure detected by the water level sensor Sa is a value corresponding to or close to the water level of the bathtub 7 accurately, and it is possible to prevent a large error from occurring in the water level judgment of the bathtub 7.

  The present invention is not limited to the contents of the above-described embodiment. The specific configuration of each part of the bathtub circulation adapter and the bath hot water system according to the present invention can be variously modified within the scope intended by the present invention.

  The specific dimension of the gap (gap in a predetermined standard state) formed between the valve main body portion and the valve seat portion of the check valve provided attached to the suction port of the bathtub circulation adapter is not limited. This dimension can be appropriately changed according to the flexibility and size of the valve body, the discharge pressure received from the hot water supply device, and the like. The hot water supply apparatus used in the bath hot water supply system according to the present invention may be a hot water storage type hot water supply apparatus including a hot water storage tank, for example, instead of a so-called instantaneous type such as a gas hot water supply apparatus.

A Bathtub circulation adapter S Bath hot water supply system Sa Water level sensor WH Hot water supply device C Control unit (for hot water supply device)
Pa Circulation pump P1 Primary pressure P2 Secondary pressure 2 Partition 4 Check valve (check valve attached to the suction port)
40 Valve body 7 Bath 8 Check valve (Check valve attached to the discharge port)
21 Valve seat 22 (22a, 22b) Chamber (partition)
25 Clearance 27 (27a, 27b) Suction port 28 (28a, 28b) Discharge port 65 Hot water circulation path 65a Outward pipe 65b Return pipe

Claims (3)

A partition that internally defines a pair of chambers that communicate with the forward and return pipes of the hot water supply apparatus, and opens a hot water discharge port and a suction port in each of the pair of chambers;
A plurality of check valves provided attached to each of the discharge port and the suction port, and
The check valve provided attached to the suction port has a substantially disc-shaped valve main body made of an elastic member that can be bent and deformed in a facing direction with a valve seat portion around the suction port. the valve body portion, when the secondary pressure is high at a predetermined or higher than the primary pressure can close the suction port in contact with the valve seat portion der Rutotomoni,
The suction port, the valve seat portion, and the valve body portion are set in a direction in which their central axes are in a substantially horizontal posture, and the water level in the chamber in which the valve body portion is disposed is the water level of the bathtub. Corresponding increase / decrease is a bathtub circulation adapter in which the lower side of the valve body is located in the hot water and the upper side is located in the air layer region ,
In the standard state in which the primary pressure and the secondary pressure are balanced , the outer peripheral edge region of the valve main body is separated from the valve seat, and the valve main body is separated from the valve seat and the outer A bathtub circulation adapter, characterized by being provided so as to form a gap with a peripheral region . A bath water supply system comprising a hot water supply device and a bathtub circulation adapter connected to the return pipe and return pipe of the hot water supply device, and capable of filling the bathtub with water,
The bathtub hot water supply system, wherein the bathtub circulation adapter according to claim 1 is used as the bathtub circulation adapter. The bath hot water system according to claim 2,
The water heater is
A hot water circulation path configured using the forward pipe and the return pipe, and capable of circulating hot water in the bathtub through a fixed path by driving a circulation pump;
Of the hot water circulation path, the water level determination means capable of determining the water level of the bathtub based on the water pressure on the return pipe side,
When hot water sent from the forward pipe to one of the pair of chambers leaks into the other chamber, at least a part of the hot water in the other chamber passes through the gap and the suction port. And a hot water supply system that can flow into the bathtub.

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