JPH0145537B2 - - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION Field of Industrial Application The present invention relates to a control configuration for an automatic bath device using a remote control method.

Conventional Structure and its Problems Conventionally, this type of automatic bath apparatus has been structured as shown in FIG. That is, in bathtub 1,
Hot water temperature detection sensor 2, circulation pump 3, heat exchanger 4,
are connected in series using a circulation pipe 5.
The water supply and drainage structure to the bathtub 1 is connected to a heating controller 8 so as to send opening/closing signals to electric shutoff valves 6 and 7. Furthermore, the heating controller 8 receives water temperature from a water level sensor 10 suspended from the upper end of the bathtub 1 by a stopper 9 and a water temperature detection sensor 2;
It is connected to receive water level information, send a gas combustion control signal to a gas valve 12 that controls the combustion amount of the burner 11, and send an access signal to the circulation pump 3. In addition, as shown in Figure 1, if the inside of the bathroom is a and the room other than the bathroom is b, a remote controller 13 in the bathroom (hereinafter referred to as a bath controller) will send a remote control signal such as a bath operation signal and a bath water temperature setting signal. It is connected to output a signal to the heating controller 8. In a room other than the bathroom (for example, the kitchen), data on the water level and temperature of the bathtub is received via the heating controller 8, and is displayed on a monitor such as an LED, and in the same way as the bath controller 13, the remote controller command is used to heat the water. A main controller 14 (hereinafter referred to as main controller) that outputs output to the controller 8 is connected. A bath controller 13 and a main controller 14 are used as setting means 14a for setting the water level and hot water temperature of the bathtub.

With this configuration, when boiling a bath, the user may forget to close the bathtub lid, and even if the bathtub is boiled, the heat may radiate outside the bathtub, or the user may forget to close the bathtub lid. It has drawbacks such as the inability to confirm whether the bathroom is inside or not from any location other than the bathroom.

Purpose of the Invention The present invention eliminates such conventional drawbacks, and enables confirmation of the closure of the bathtub lid with a simple configuration, and enables confirmation of whether the bathtub lid is closed or not in a place other than the bathroom. The purpose is to enable confirmation of whether a user is taking a bath or not, to prevent heat radiation loss due to forgetting to close the bathtub lid, and to enable remote confirmation of whether a person is taking a bath or not.

Structure of the Invention In order to achieve this object, the present invention is provided with an optical sensor that uses a reflector provided on the bottom surface of the bath lid at the upper end of the bathtub to confirm whether the bath lid is closed and whether or not a bath is being taken. It is.

With this configuration, the reflective optical sensor around the upper end of the bathtub detects whether the user is taking a bath or not based on the presence or absence of reflected light from the reflector on the back surface of the bathtub lid.

DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to FIGS. 2 to 6.

FIG. 2 is a top view of the embodiment, FIG. 3 is a longitudinal sectional view taken along line A-A' in FIG. 2, and FIG. 4 is a side view of a bath lid detection sensor at the upper end of the bathtub. In addition,
In FIGS. 2 to 4, parts that are the same as those in FIG. 1 are designated by the same reference numerals, have the same functions, and will not be described further.

In Fig. 2, 15 is a water level detection section and the third
As shown in the figure, they are joined at the bottom of the bathtub 1 in a U-shaped tube shape. Optical coupling element groups 16 are joined to the side surface of the water level detection section 15 at regular intervals in the vertical direction. A cap 17 is detachably connected to the upper end of the water level detection section 15. A light shielding member 18 for blocking optical coupling has a hollow cylindrical shape and is configured such that when the water level rises rapidly, water flows into a groove 19 leading to the bathtub via the cap 17 as shown in FIG.

An optical sensor 22 is connected to the upper end of the bathtub 1, as shown in FIG. 4, for detecting objects using a reflector 21 on the back surface of the bathtub lid 20. Optical coupling element group 16
A heating controller 8 that sends and receives electrical signals to and from the main controller 14 is connected to the main controller 14 so as to send water level/hot water temperature information and information on opening/closing the bath lid 20 .

FIG. 5 and FIG. 6 show configuration diagrams of the bath controller 13 and the main controller 14 (setting means 14a), respectively.

23 and 24 are operation on/off switches for each controller, and 25 and 26 are main controller 14 and bath controller 1.
3 is a control changeover switch, 27 is a timer that determines the operation time of the bath controller 13, and 28 is a keyboard for inputting the water level and temperature of the bath to the image display section (for example, CRT, etc.) 29 of the main controller. 3
0 and 31 are a start key and a reset key, respectively, for a heating program based on input data.
Lamps 32 and 33 indicate control of the main controller 14, lamps 34 and 35 indicate control of the bath controller 13, and operation lamps 36 and 37 of each controller.

In the above configuration, the user first presses the operation switch 24 of the main controller 14. Next, using the numerical keyboard group 28, the boiling time, desired hot water temperature, and desired amount of hot water are set. Main controller 14 lamp 33
(If the lamp 35 of the bath air conditioner 13 is lit, switch the control changeover switch 2.
By inputting 6, control is transferred to the main controller 14 side. ) Press start switch 30. time,
Main controller 14 based on input data such as water temperature and amount
By controlling the internal microcomputer etc.
After calculating the ignition time, the heating controller 8
water supply and sends heating signals.

If you forget to close the bath lid while boiling,
As shown in FIG. 4, it is detected by the optical sensor 22, and the forgetting to close the lid is displayed on the image display section 29 of the main controller 14, and a buzzer 38 is used to notify the user.

The heating controller 8 receives water supply and heating signals from the main controller 14 and closes the electric shutoff valve 7.
Open the electric shutoff valve 6. The rise in the water level in bathtub 1
Monitoring is performed by periodically sending a signal to the optical coupling element group 16 installed in the water level detection unit 15. In addition, when the water level becomes higher than the upper pipe of the melt tank circulation pipe 5, an operation signal is sent to the circulation pump 3, and the temperature sensor 2 periodically detects the sound of hot water.
If the hot water temperature is lower than the set temperature, the gas valve 12 that adjusts the amount of gas to the burner is operated to control heating. When the water level reaches the set water level, a closing signal is sent to the electric shutoff valve 6 to stop the water supply. Moreover, when the set water temperature is reached, the gas valve 12 is closed to end the heating. Furthermore, a boiling end signal is sent to the main controller 14, which, in response to this, turns off the boiling in progress display on the image display means 29 and notifies the completion of boiling with the buzzer 38.

Further, after the automatic boiling is finished, the heating controller 8 periodically sends a detection signal to the optical sensor group 22 shown in FIG. 4 to confirm the presence or absence of the bath lid and determine whether or not the user is taking a bath. be able to.

Therefore, forgetting to close the bath lid during automatic boiling,
It is possible to remotely detect whether the user is taking a bath after the automatic boiling is finished, preventing loss of heat radiation from the bathtub,
Also, the convenience of using the bath will be improved.

Effects of the Invention As is clear from the above description, according to the automatic bath device of the present invention, an optical sensor is installed at the upper end of the bathtub to confirm that the bath lid is closed using a reflector provided on the lower surface of the bath lid. With this provision, it is possible to check whether the bath lid is closed or whether the user is taking a bath in a place other than the bathroom, thereby further improving operability.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

Fig. 1 is a block diagram of a conventional bath device, Fig. 2 is a block diagram showing an embodiment of the automatic bath device of the present invention, Fig. 3 is a sectional view taken along line A-A' in Fig. 2, and Fig.
The figure is a cross-sectional view of the main part of the bath lid detection sensor part.
The figure is a plan view of the remote controller in the bathroom, and FIG. 6 is a plan view of the main controller. 1... Bathtub, 20... Bath lid, 21... Reflector, 22... Light sensor.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A bathtub, a bathtub lid that is placed on the top end of the bathtub and closes the bathtub, a reflector provided on the back side of the bathtub lid, and a reflector provided at the top end of the bathtub and that uses reflected light from the reflector. An automatic bath device equipped with an optical sensor that detects the opening and closing of a bath lid, and a display means that displays the opening and closing of the bath lid and whether or not bathing is in progress based on a signal from the optical sensor.