JPS6054569B2 - Water heater remaining hot water display device - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to a remaining hot water amount indicating device that accurately indicates the amount of remaining hot water that can be used in a water heater, thereby making it possible to use the water heater efficiently.

Conventionally, push-up type water heaters, in which cold water flows in from the bottom of the hot water tank and hot water flows out from the top, are easy to use because the tank is always full with cold water and hot water coexisting. Unable to know the possible amount of remaining hot water,
As a result, while hot water was being used, the hot water would stop flowing without warning, which was very inconvenient. Particularly in beauty salons that use a large amount of hot water, lukewarm water that is almost cold water suddenly flows out when washing hair, causing an unpleasant experience for the person washing their hair.
Something happened. For this reason, recently, for example, multiple hot water temperature sensing members such as thermostats are installed on the body of the tank at predetermined intervals in the vertical direction, and each of these hot water temperature sensing members is formed into a separate circuit, and a lamp is connected to this circuit. Then, attach the above lamps to the case of the water heater, and when the water temperature in the tank reaches the set temperature of the hot water temperature detection member, each lamp will light up and cold water will be supplied to the tank due to the use of hot water. A remaining hot water amount display device has been proposed in which when the hot water temperature detection member is placed at a desired position, a lamp connected to the circuit of the detection member turns off, and the remaining amount of hot water is displayed by a lit lamp. There is. However, although this display device does display the amount of hot water remaining, it is not possible to accurately determine, for example, how many people can wash their hair, or how much water can be used in the bath or kitchen at home. It was inconvenient. Also, it is possible to visually check the amount of hot water remaining and determine the approximate number of people who can use it to wash their hair, for example, but this means checking the amount of hot water each time you use hot water and calculating the number of people using hot water. It is extremely troublesome because the calculations rely on the user's visual judgment, and there is a risk of cold water leaking out while hot water is being used, causing discomfort to the user. I had no choice but to give it to him. The present invention eliminates the above-mentioned drawbacks and provides a water heater that enables efficient use of the water heater by reliably indicating the amount of hot water remaining in the water heater and clearly indicating the usage range of the amount of remaining hot water. An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. Reference numerals 1 and 1'' denote closed heating tanks, which are connected to each other through a communication pipe 2 so as to be able to communicate with each other. 3. 3″ is heating tank 1
, 1" is the heating heater inserted, 4 is the heating tank 1, 1
This hot water storage tank is an open-type hot water storage tank that stores appropriately-temperature water generated by mixing high-temperature water supplied from a water supply pipe 5 with cold water such as tap water supplied from a water supply pipe 5 via a pressure reducing check valve 6. 4 and the heating tank 1'' are connected through a connecting pipe 7.

8 is a hot water mixing valve inserted in the middle of the connecting pipe 7, which mixes the high temperature water from the heating tank 1,1'' with the cold water from the water supply pipe 5, so that the high temperature water can be used automatically. The temperature is lowered to a certain temperature and the hot water is discharged to the storage tank 4.

Reference numeral 9 denotes a ball tap attached to the hot water intake port of the hot water storage tank 4, which operates when the amount of hot water in the hot water storage tank 4 reaches a predetermined water level to stop the supply of hot water to the hot water storage tank 4.

10 is a heat retention heater attached to the hot water storage tank 4; 11 is a hot water pipe connected to the hot water outlet of the hot water storage tank 4 and led out of the tank storage box 12; a hot water pump 13 and a check valve are installed in the middle of the pipe; (not shown) and a pressure switch 14 for starting and stopping the pump are provided.

The heating heaters 3, 3'' and the heat-retaining heater 10 are connected in series with the temperature regulators 15, 15'' and overheat preventers 16, 16'', and are each connected in parallel to the power source 17. Hot water supply The pump 13 and the pressure switch 14 are connected in series, and the heaters 3, 3'', and 10 are connected in parallel to a power source 17. In addition, heating tank 1.1"
The temperature regulator 15 of the hot water storage tank 4 turns off when the water temperature reaches 85°C, while the temperature regulator 15'' of the hot water storage tank 4 turns off when the water temperature reaches 40°C.
Also, the overheating preventer 16 of the heating tanks 1 and 1'' is set to turn off when the hot water temperature reaches 90°C, and the overheating preventer 16'' of the hot water storage tank 4 is set to turn off when the hot water temperature reaches 90°C. It is set to turn off when the temperature reaches 45°C.
18 is the power switch.

Next, the electric circuit of the remaining hot water amount display device of the present invention will be explained with reference to FIG. In this example, a total of 4 circuits are used) each connected in parallel to detect the hot water temperature.
Its input terminal is connected to a circuit power supply 21 provided at the output terminal of an integer device S connected to the secondary side of a transformer Tr that is connected to a power supply 17 to drop the voltage, and the entire current of each temperature sensor 20 flows through it. The output terminal of the hot water temperature detection circuit 19 is connected to a resistor R1 in series and is grounded, and the combined voltage of the hot water temperature detection circuit 19 is output between the terminals of the resistor R1.

Reference numeral 22 denotes an inverting amplification circuit that inverts the composite voltage generated at the resistor R1 and amplifies it by an amplification degree of A times, and connects the inverting input terminal of the amplifier 23 consisting of 1C for amplification and the resistor R1. The input side and the resistance only.

A resistor R3 is inserted and connected in parallel with the amplifier 23 between the inverting input terminal and the output terminal of the amplifier 23,
On the other hand, the non-inverting input terminal of the amplifier 23 is grounded.
Since the degree of amplification A is set by the resistance ratio of the resistor R2 and the resistor R3, A=. Therefore, since four temperature sensors 20 are used in this embodiment, the degree of amplification of the output voltage from the resistor R1 is set to ↑, and the average hot water in the heating tank 1,1'' is measured from the output end of the inverting amplifying circuit 22. 24 is a temperature correction circuit, and if it is assumed that each person uses 50 e of 40°C hot water suitable for use when washing hair (hereinafter referred to as appropriate temperature water), the heating tank 1 ,1
According to the temperature of the cold water (hereinafter referred to as water temperature) that is mixed with the high temperature water in the heating tank 1 to generate 40°C hot water,
, 1" is mixed with the above-mentioned cold water and the temperature is lowered to 40 degrees Celsius, a voltage corresponding to the number of people that can use this 4 (generations) of suitable temperature water, assuming that each person uses 50 e, is output. Its configuration is to connect an amplifier (amplifier IC) 25, one end to the voltage dividing point of resistors R3 and R4 connected in series to the output end of the inverting amplifier circuit 22, and the other end to A water temperature detection resistor R, which is a thermistor or the like inserted into the water supply pipe 5 and has temperature-resistance change characteristics, connected to the inverting input terminal of the amplifier 25, and the inverting input terminal and output of the amplifier 25. The reference voltage can be changed according to the temperature of usable hot water by connecting a resistor R6 inserted and connected in parallel with the amplifier 25 between the end and the non-inverting input terminal of the amplifier 25 (in this example). In this case, the optimum temperature water is 40℃, and when the optimum temperature water is 40℃, the output voltage is 0.
2).

Now, assuming that the amount of hot water per person is 50f, the water temperature is 20℃, and the temperature of the appropriate temperature water is 40℃, the amount of heat per person required to raise the water temperature from 20℃ to the temperature of the appropriate hot water is 40℃. Q
, Calorie, Q,=501× (400C-2
00C) = 1000 calories, and as a result, when 50' of 40℃ hot water is required per person, if there is 80e of 80℃ high-temperature water as shown above, the water temperature to be mixed with this high-temperature water is 20 ℃? Rabbit = 4.8, 4
．． This means that it can be used for 8 people, but since heating tanks 1 and 1" are always filled with high-temperature water each time they are used, the water temperature in heating tanks 1 and 1" changes every moment. and changes.

Therefore, depending on the temperature of the water mixed with the high-temperature water in the heating tank 1.
To find out whether you can obtain (assuming you use e), the amount of heat per person...Q, water temperature
・・・Ts°C Amount of appropriate hot water usage per person ・・・■s Appropriate temperature of hot water
...T. As mentioned above, if it is ef°C, it is expressed as (0jA1).

Also, the amount of hot water stored in heating tank 1, 1'' is VT, heating tank 1
, 1", the amount of heat QT at this time is the amount of high-temperature water used (in terms of suitable temperature water) when measuring the temperature of the high-temperature water in the heating tank 1, 1". From equations (1) and (2), in equation (3), V, VT are constants. If K is set, the above equation (3) becomes ■.

Therefore, if 50e of water at a suitable temperature of 40°C is required per person, by using the above (3-bi formula) and understanding the temperature of the high-temperature water in the heating tank 1, 1'' and the change in water temperature, 40
You can find out how many people can get water at the appropriate temperature of °C.

Next, the number of people who can use the appropriate temperature water shown in the graph of Figure 3 is calculated by the above-mentioned calorific value calculation based on the water temperature.
Now, this graph shows that the water temperature is 20°C and the high temperature water is 80°C.
(capacity 80') for 4.8 people, and high temperature water for 60
℃ (capacity 801), it is shown that suitable temperature water for 3.2 people can be obtained, and this is because when the temperature of high temperature water is high, the mixing ratio of cold water increases, so the use of high temperature water is As a result, water at the right temperature can be obtained for a large number of people, and conversely, when the temperature of high-temperature water drops, the mixing ratio of cold water decreases, so the use of high-temperature water inevitably increases, and water at the right temperature can only be obtained for a small number of people. I can't do it.

Therefore, the voltage corresponding to the average temperature of the high-temperature water in the heating tank 1, 1'' outputted from the inversion amplification circuit 22 now has an amplification degree B of the temperature correction circuit 24 resistor R5 according to the water temperature.
, R6, so it becomes B.

The ratio of these resistors R5 and R6 is set using the water temperature line shown in FIG. 3 as a reference.

That is, when the high temperature water is 80°C (80e) and the water temperature is 20°C, the appropriate temperature water (when used at 40°C and 50e per person) is 4.
Since the voltage for eight people is obtained, the resistance ratio is set so that the output terminal of the temperature correction circuit 26 outputs a voltage higher than the reference voltage of the variable resistor 26, for example, a voltage of 4.8 cm.

Therefore, the voltage output from the inverting amplification circuit 22 is amplified by B according to the change in the resistance R5 of the water temperature detection sensor whose amplification degree B changes according to the water temperature, and water at an appropriate temperature can be used. The voltage is corrected to a voltage corresponding to the number of people and output from the temperature correction circuit 24. 27a to 27e are level comparators, each of which has an inverting input terminal connected to a variable resistor 28 whose reference voltage can be changed according to the output voltage of the temperature correction circuit 24, and a non-inverting input terminal connected to each of the level comparators 27a to 27e. A variable resistor 28 is connected to the output terminal to constitute a comparison circuit 29, and is connected to each of these level comparators 271 to 27e.
The reference voltage may be set according to the voltage output from the temperature correction circuit 24.

This is because, as mentioned above, when the high temperature water is 80C (80e) and the water temperature is 20'C, suitable temperature water can be obtained for 4.8 people as shown in the graph of FIG.
．． When the voltage equivalent to 8 people (4.8V) is output,
If the reference voltage of the level comparator 27 is set to 4V, the output voltage from the temperature correction circuit 24 is higher, so an output signal is generated from the level comparator 275. That is,
The reference voltage of each level comparator 27 to 27e is set by setting the level comparator 271 to 5V and subtracting 1V from each level comparator 27e in order. Therefore, if the high temperature water is 85 degrees Celsius (80e) and the water temperature is 20 degrees Celsius, suitable temperature water can be obtained for 5.2 people, and if the corresponding voltage is outputted from the temperature correction circuit 24 at 5.2V, each level Comparator 27a
Since it is higher than the reference voltage of 27e to 27e, each level comparator 2
An output signal is output from 27e of 7, and conversely, when the temperature of high-temperature water drops to 40°C, suitable temperature water can only be obtained for 1.6 people, so a voltage of 1.6V is output from the temperature correction circuit 24. ,
Since this voltage is higher than the reference voltage (1V) of the level comparator 27e and lower than the reference voltage (2■) of the level comparator 27d, only the level comparator 27 generates an output signal. Reference numeral 30 denotes an indicator consisting of a lamp connected to the output terminals of the level comparators 27a to 27e through diodes, and is provided in the same number as the level comparators 278 to 27e. The level comparators 27a to 27e are
Only the display 30 connected to this lights up to display the number of people who can use water at an appropriate temperature.

In this embodiment, the capacity of the heating tank 1,1'' is 801 mm, but if the capacity of the heating tank is increased in order to increase the amount of water produced at a suitable temperature, the resistor R6 should be adjusted according to the capacity. All you need to do is change the resistance value.Also, the water temperature line shown in the graph of Figure 3 can be expressed as a straight line if the number of people who can use water at an appropriate temperature due to changes in the temperature of high-temperature water is expressed as a numerical value based on calorific value calculation. Since this is not possible, this is an approximate representation of the number of people who can use water at an appropriate temperature based on the water temperature, which is slightly smaller than the actual number.Next, to explain the operation, water is supplied into the heating tank 1. The water is heated to a high temperature of 85° C. by heating heaters 3, 3″.

In addition, the water in the hot water storage tank 4 is heated to 40°C by the heat insulating heater 10.
water is heated. When using hot water (40°C), the pressure switch 14 is turned on and the hot water pump 13 is operated to transfer the hot water in the hot water storage tank 4 to the hot water pipe 11.
The hot water is supplied to showers etc. through the When the water level in the hot water storage tank 4 decreases, the ball tap 9 is opened so that the high temperature water in the heating tank 1'' and the cold water supplied from the water supply pipe 5 become the appropriate temperature of 40°C at the hot water mixing valve 8. Cold water is automatically supplied to the heating tank 1 in an amount equal to the amount of high-temperature water discharged.As described above,
Hot water suitable for use (40°C) is always obtained from the hot water pipe 11, but at this time, this suitable temperature water is supplied to the heating tank 1,1''.
Let me explain how to find out how much water can be obtained by mixing cold water from high-temperature water in your home.If you use 50e of water at a suitable temperature per person at a hair salon, etc.,
Assuming that the capacity of the heating tank 1,1'' is 80e, first, the water temperature of each part in the heating tank 1,1'' is detected by four temperature sensors 20, and the combined voltage is sent to the heating tank by the inverting amplification circuit 22. The input voltage is inverted and amplified to a voltage corresponding to the average water temperature within 1.1" and inputted to the temperature correction circuit 24, and this input voltage is amplified by resistors R5 and R6 according to the water temperature to adjust the temperature of the water to an appropriate temperature. The temperature correction circuit 24 outputs the corrected voltage to correspond to the number of people who can use it.It goes without saying that the corrected output voltage is output only when it is higher than the reference voltage set by the variable resistor 26. The voltage output from the temperature correction circuit 24 is output to the comparison circuit 29, and the level comparator 27 provided in this comparison circuit 29.
At step 7e, the voltage output from the temperature correction circuit 24 is compared with the reference voltage set by the variable resistor 28 input to the inverting input side of each level comparator 278 to 27e. If the level comparator is high, an output signal is generated only from the corresponding level comparator, and only the display 30 connected to that level comparator is lit to display the number of people using the appropriate temperature water. That is, the temperature correction circuit 24 determines the number of people who can use water at an appropriate temperature (for example, the average hot water temperature in the heating tanks 1, 1'' is 80°C (
80e), when the water temperature is 20°C, a voltage equivalent to 4.8 people (according to the above calorific value calculation) is output, assuming that the appropriate temperature water usage is 50e per person. Since the output voltage level comparators 27a to 27e output a signal only when the voltage is higher than the preset reference voltage, if the output voltage level comparators 27a to 27e can be used for 4.8 people, 1 to 4 of the display devices 30 The display is lit to indicate that up to four people can use the moderately heated water. As described above, the present invention digitally displays the number of people who can use water at an appropriate temperature by ascertaining the temperature and capacity of high-temperature water as well as the temperature of cold water mixed with high-temperature water. This is completely different from simply displaying a lamp on the water heater tank to indicate the amount of water available and the level of the water level.
The display device of the present invention electrically measures the average temperature of high-temperature water, corrects it according to the water temperature, and digitally displays an electric signal corresponding to the number of people who can use water at an appropriate temperature. Water is mixed with this high-temperature water to produce water at an appropriate temperature.It is possible to instantly and clearly display how many people can use the appropriate temperature water depending on the water temperature.
In beauty salons and other places that use a large amount of water at the appropriate temperature, you can be sure of the amount of hot water remaining, so you can use the water heater efficiently and prevent water below the appropriate temperature from flowing out during use. It does not cause any discomfort to the user.

In addition, since the appropriate temperature water is mixed with cold water and then stored in a hot water storage tank for use, it has the advantage of not only clearly knowing the number of people using hot water but also being able to obtain water at the appropriate temperature instantly. be. Furthermore, since the display of the number of users of the appropriate temperature water is set by estimating the actual number of people calculated by calorific value calculation, the appropriate temperature water for the displayed number of users can be used with plenty of time. Furthermore, even if the temperature setting of the suitable hot water or the tank capacity of the water heater changes, the number of people who can use the suitable hot water can be easily changed by simply changing the resistance value of the temperature correction circuit.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a schematic explanatory diagram of a water heater equipped with a display device of the present invention, FIG. 2 is an electric circuit diagram of the display device of the present invention, and FIG. There is a graph showing the available amount. 1, 1″: heating tank, 4: hot water storage tank, 19: hot water temperature detection circuit, 22: inversion amplification circuit, 25: temperature correction circuit, 2
9: Comparison circuit, 30: Display device.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A hot water temperature detection circuit equipped with multiple temperature sensors that detects the hot water temperature in the heating tank, and an inverting amplification circuit that inverts and amplifies the combined voltage output from each temperature sensor to output a voltage corresponding to the average hot water temperature. circuit, a temperature correction circuit that corrects the voltage from the inverting amplification circuit according to the water temperature using a resistor whose resistance ratio is set according to the water temperature, and outputs a voltage corresponding to the usable amount of the appropriate temperature water; Divide the usable amount into multiple stages in advance, compare the reference voltage set for each stage with the voltage output from the temperature correction circuit, and output a signal corresponding to the divided usable amount of suitable temperature water. A remaining hot water amount display device for a water heater, comprising a comparison circuit for determining the amount of hot water remaining in the water heater, and a display device for displaying only the usage amount of appropriate temperature water divided in response to a signal from the comparison circuit.