JPH0819701B2 - Main stop type water heater - Google Patents

Description

Description: [Industrial field of use] The present invention relates to a main-stop hot water supply device such as a main-stop hot water heater or a main-stop instant water heater.

[Prior Art] Conventionally, in a water heater A as an original stop type hot water supply device, a shower head having an on / off switch for switching start and stop of hot water supply is provided at a hot water supply port of a bendable discharge pipe. Some are equipped (Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 62-66055). In this water heater, the user can control the start of hot water supply and the stop of hot water supply by operating the on / off switch at his / her hand, so that the hand does not have to be moved to the main body of the appliance and the operability is good.

Further, in the water heater B, a switch for switching the discharge flow discharged from the discharge port of the discharge pipe between the shower-shaped discharge flow and the straight-shaped discharge flow in the body portion which the user of the shower head grips in the palm of the hand A switch is provided (Japanese Utility Model No. 60-100469, etc.).

[Problems to be Solved by the Invention] When the water heater A and the water heater B are combined, when starting hot water supply, stopping hot water supply, and switching the discharge flow,
The operability is further improved because it is not necessary to make a large movement such as a hand moving between the appliance body and the shower head as in the conventional device.

However, when hot water supply is started by operating the on / off switch and hot water supply is continued, the discharge flow discharged from the discharge port of the discharge pipe is changed from the straight discharge flow to the shower discharge flow by the changeover switch. May be switched to.
In this case, since the changeover switch and the on / off switch are both provided in the shower head, there is a possibility that the on / off switch may be operated. For this reason,
There was a problem that the hot water supply was stopped unnecessarily during the hot water supply, resulting in poor usability.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is an object of the present invention to provide a main-stop hot water supply device that can prevent hot water supply from being unnecessarily stopped during a switching operation of a changeover switch during hot water supply.

[Means for Solving the Problems] A hot water heater of the present invention is a heat exchanger housed in a water heater main body, which exchanges heat between water and a heat medium flowing into the inside of the water heater, and the heat exchanger. A water supply pipe connected to the upstream side to allow water to flow into the heat exchanger, a discharge pipe connected to the downstream side from the heat exchanger and discharging hot water from a discharge port at the tip, and the periphery of the discharge port of this discharge pipe. And a shower head having a body part that is mainly gripped by a user and a non-body part provided in a portion different from the body part, and the discharge pipe that is arranged only in the water supply pipe and is opened and closed. Opening / closing means for supplying hot water from the discharge port and stopping the hot water supply, and the discharge flow discharged from the discharge port of the discharge pipe, which is disposed on the outer periphery of the body portion of the shower head, is a straight discharge flow having a shower shape. With a changeover switch that switches to the discharge flow of The shower head is provided on the outer periphery of the non-body portion and has a detection unit for detecting an object to be detected. When the object is first detected by the detection unit, the opening / closing unit is controlled to supply hot water. When the object to be detected is detected by the detecting means again after starting,
The technical means including the control means for controlling the opening / closing means to stop the hot water supply is adopted.

[Operation] When the detection means first detects an object to be detected, such as the user's hand, the control means controls the opening / closing means to start hot water supply. That is, when the water flowing into the heat exchanger from the water supply pipe passes through the heat exchanger, it is heated by heat exchange with the heat medium to become hot water. Hot water is discharged from the discharge port through the discharge pipe.

During such hot water supply, when the user operates the changeover switch arranged on the body part of the shower head to switch the discharge flow to either the straight discharge flow or the shower discharge flow, it is detected. Since the means is disposed in the non-body portion, which is a portion different from the body portion, the hand or the like operating the changeover switch is not detected as an object to be detected by the detection means. Therefore, the hot water supply does not stop unnecessarily during the hot water supply.

[Advantages of the Invention] When the change-over switch during hot water supply is switched, the detection means does not detect an object to be detected, such as the user's hand, so that the hot water supply can be prevented from unnecessarily stopping during hot water supply. Therefore, it is possible to provide the original stop type hot water supply device having excellent usability.

Further, since the opening / closing means for supplying hot water from the shower head and stopping the hot water supply are attached only to the water supply pipe connected to the upstream side of the heat exchanger, that is, there is no opening / closing means for the discharge pipe and the shower head. . Therefore, since a large water pressure is not applied to the discharge pipe, especially inside the shower head when the hot water supply is stopped by the opening / closing means, the structure inside the discharge pipe, especially inside the shower head, can be simplified.

[Embodiment] The hot water supply system of the present invention will be described based on an embodiment shown in Figs. 1 to 8.

1 to 5 show a first embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a gas water heater of the original stop type.

The gas water heater 1 is a hot water supply device of the present invention, which supplies hot water to the kitchen. This gas water heater 1
Is a gas burner (not shown), water supply pipe 2, water solenoid valve 3
And a microcomputer 4.

The gas burner is housed in a housing 10 as a water heater body, and burns fuel gas and air supplied from a gas pipe 11. A gas solenoid valve 12 (shown in FIG. 4) for opening and closing the gas passage is arranged in the gas pipe 11. The gas solenoid valve 12 opens the gas passage when energized and closes the gas passage when the energization is stopped.

The water supply pipe 2 includes a heat exchanger (not shown), a water supply pipe 21, a hot water discharge pipe 22 and a shower head 23.

The heat exchanger is made of metal and is housed in the housing 10,
The inflowing water is heated by the heat generated by the flame generated by the gas burner and the combustion gas.

The water supply pipe 21 is made of a metal material and supplies water from a water source to the heat exchanger.

The hot water outlet pipe 22 is the discharge pipe of the present invention, is formed of a metal material, has a bendable bellows shape, and supplies the hot water heated by the heat exchanger to the kitchen. And the hot water pipe
Reference numeral 22 is a member that can be bent by the user into an arbitrary shape so that hot water is discharged from the discharge port at the tip (not visible in the figure hidden) toward the washing.

As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the shower head 23 has a cylindrical shape made of resin, is fitted onto the outer periphery of the discharge port of the hot water discharge pipe 22, and discharges hot water in the discharge direction. A changeover switch 24 is provided in the body portion 23a that is gripped so as to be wrapped when the user moves the shower head 23 or operates the changeover switch 24 to change the discharge flow. The changeover switch 24 switches the discharge flow discharged from the discharge port of the hot water outlet pipe 22 to the shower-shaped discharge flow and the straight-shaped discharge flow as described above. The structure of the changeover switch 24 is a well-known structure as described in, for example, Japanese Utility Model Laid-Open No. 60-100469.

The water solenoid valve 3 is the opening / closing means of the present invention, and is a water supply pipe 21.
The water supply pipe 2 is opened and closed. This water solenoid valve 3
Opens the water supply pipe 2 when energized and closes the water supply pipe 2 when energized.

FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing the control device of the gas water heater 1.

The microcomputer 4 is the control means of the present invention, and controls the energization of the water solenoid valve 3, the gas solenoid valve 12, the sparker 42, etc. according to the signal from the direct reflection type photoelectric switch 41. Further, the microcomputer 4 has a photoelectric switch 41.
The water solenoid valve 3 and the gas solenoid valve 12 are held open by the first detection signal from the, and the open states of the water solenoid valve 3 and the gas solenoid valve 12 are released by the second detection signal from the photoelectric switch 41 ( A hold circuit for holding the valve closed) is provided. In addition,
The gas solenoid valve 12 may be opened and closed by being driven by a water pressure responsive means that detects that the water solenoid valve 3 is opened and water flows through the water supply pipe 2.

The photoelectric switch 41 is the detection means of the present invention, and is the non-body portion 23b of the shower head 23, that is, the changeover switch 2
It is arranged on the upper side of the thin diameter different diameter portion (shape portion) 23b. The photoelectric switch 41 includes a light transmitter and a light receiver,
An object to be detected is detected by the light receiver receiving the light emitted from the light projector and reflected by the object to be detected. Then, the photoelectric switch 41 converts the received light amount of the received light into an electric signal (for example, voltage value) and sends it to the microcomputer 4. It should be noted that in the microcomputer 4, when the electric signal (for example, voltage value) sent from the photoelectric switch 41 rises above a predetermined level, the object to be detected has entered the detection range located on the side of the shower head 23. To judge.

The sparker 42 is disposed near the gas burner and ignites when energized.

FIG. 5 is a flow chart showing an example of the operation of the microcomputer 4.

It is determined whether or not the electric signal input from the photoelectric switch 41 is above a predetermined level (step S1). When the electric signal is not above the predetermined level (No), return is made.

In step S1, when the electric signal is equal to or higher than a predetermined level (Yes), it is determined whether or not the flag is set (step S2). When the flag is not standing (No),
Energize the water solenoid valve 3 (step S3), energize the gas solenoid valve 12 (step S4), and energize the sparker 42 (step S5).
To do. Then, it is determined whether or not the set time has elapsed (step S6). When the set time has not elapsed (No), the control of step S6 is performed.

In step S6, the set time has elapsed (Yes)
At this time, the power supply to the sparkler 42 is stopped (step S7). Then, it is determined whether or not the electric signal input from the photoelectric switch 41 is equal to or higher than a predetermined level (step S8). When the electric signal is equal to or higher than the predetermined level (Yes), the control of step S8 is performed.

In step S8, when the electric signal is not above the predetermined level (No), a flag is set (step S9). Then return.

In step S2, the flag is set (Yes)
At this time, the energization of the gas solenoid valve 12 is stopped (step S10), and the energization of the water solenoid valve 3 is stopped (step S11).

Then, it is determined whether or not the electric signal input from the photoelectric switch 41 is equal to or higher than a predetermined level (step S1
2). When the electric signal is equal to or higher than the predetermined level (Yes), the control of step S12 is performed.

In step S12, when the electric signal is not above the predetermined level (No), the flag is defeated (step S13).
Then return.

The operation of the gas water heater 1 of this embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 to 4.

The microcomputer 4 constantly monitors whether the level of the electric signal input from the photoelectric switch 41 is equal to or higher than a predetermined level.

For example, the user grasps the body portion 23a of the shower head 23 so as to wrap it and shifts the position of the shower head 23 so that the washing is present in the hot water discharge direction, thereby changing the rotating position of the hot water outlet pipe 22. Then, in order to release the hot water, the user
When a finger is moved from the position of 23a in front of the photoelectric switch 41, the light emitted from the projector of the photoelectric switch 41 is reflected on the user's finger, and the reflected light is received by the receiver, whereby the user's The finger is detected. For this reason, the photoelectric switch
The level of the electric signal sent from 41 to the microcomputer 4 becomes a predetermined level or higher.

As described above, when the level of the electric signal becomes equal to or higher than the predetermined level, that is, when the object to be detected such as the finger of the user is detected within the detection range, the microcomputer 4 causes the water solenoid valve 3 and the gas to be detected. The solenoid valve 12 and the sparker 42 are energized. Therefore, hot water is discharged from the tip of the shower head 23 toward the washing, and hot water supply is started.

At this time, when the discharge flow discharged from the discharge port is a shower-like discharge flow and the user desires, the finger is removed from the detection range of the photoelectric switch 41 to wash the laundry as it is, and the The level of the electric signal sent to the computer 4 falls below a predetermined level.

In addition, when it is desired to switch the discharge flow discharged from the discharge port between the shower discharge flow and the straight discharge flow,
Since the photoelectric switch 41 is arranged above the changeover switch 24, that is, the non-body portion 23b of the shower head 23
Since it is arranged in (different diameter portion) 23b, the photoelectric switch 41
The finger operating the changeover switch 24 does not enter the detection range of. Therefore, the level of the electric signal sent from the photoelectric switch 41 to the microcomputer 4 does not rise above a predetermined level.

Therefore, unless the user moves his / her finger in front of the photoelectric switch 41 arranged from the body portion 23a of the shower head 23 to the non-body portion 23b, it is possible to prevent unnecessary stop of hot water supply during hot water supply. The palm of the shower head 23 in the palm of your hand
Since the discharge flow switching operation, the hot water supply start and the hot water supply stop can be operated only by moving the finger in a state of wrapping around 23a, the gas water heater 1 having very good usability can be provided.

6 and 7 show a shower head adopted in the second embodiment of the present invention.

As in this embodiment, a push button switch 43 as a detecting means may be arranged in the non-body portion 23b above the changeover switch 24, and an electric wiring (not shown) can be provided by turning the push button switch 43 on and off. The opening / closing control of the water solenoid valve 3 is performed via (1). Also in the case of this embodiment, the non-body portion 23b
Since the push button switch 43 is provided in the body portion 23 when the shower head 23 is held by putting a finger on the opposite side of the changeover switch 24 when operating the changeover switch 24,
If the push button switch 43 is provided in a, there is a possibility that the push button switch 43 may be operated by exerting force, but the push button switch 43 is not exerted by force and the push button switch 43 is not operated. Unless the user moves his / her finger from the body part 23a of the shower head 23 to the push button switch 43 which is the non-body part 23b, the hot water supply does not stop unnecessarily during hot water supply.

FIG. 8 shows a shower head adopted in the third embodiment of the present invention.

The photoelectric switch 41 of this embodiment is arranged on the side opposite to the changeover switch 24 in the non-body portion 23b. In the case of this embodiment, with the user holding the body portion 23a of the shower head 23 so as to wrap it with the palm, the photoelectric switch 41
It is possible to start hot water supply by, for example, holding the index finger in front of the hot water, and then successively change the changeover switch 24 with, for example, the thumb.

Also in the case of this embodiment, when the changeover switch 24 is operated during hot water supply, even if the shower head 23 is held by putting a finger on the opposite side of the changeover switch 24, the non-body Unless the user moves the index finger in front of the photoelectric switch 41 which is the portion 23b, the hot water supply does not unnecessarily stop during the hot water supply.

(Modification) In the present embodiment, the present invention is used for the gas water heater, but the present invention may be used for other water heaters or instant water heaters.

In this embodiment, the gas burner that burns with the fuel gas is used as the heat source, but a burner that burns with the liquid fuel may be used as the heat source, or an electric heater may be used.

In this embodiment, the direct reflection type photoelectric switch is used as the non-contact type detecting means, but other non-contact type detecting means such as a photoelectric switch, a proximity switch, an infrared sensor or an ultrasonic sensor may be used. . Further, it is also possible to use a detection means which is a combination of a photoelectric switch and an optical fiber.

In this embodiment, the push-button switch is used as the contact-type detection means, but a contact-type detection means such as a touch switch that detects that the user has touched due to a change in electric resistance or electrostatic capacitance is used. You may.

The position of the detecting means may be any position as long as it is a non-body part of the shower head, but in consideration of mutual operation with the changeover switch, as in this embodiment, it may be on the same side as the changeover switch or on the opposite side. Alternatively, the lower non-fuselage section is desired. Further, as the changeover switch, a penetration type changeover switch which can be operated from both sides by penetrating the shower head may be used.

In this embodiment, the bendable bellows tube is used as the tapping pipe, but the bendable bellows tube may not be used.

[Brief description of drawings]

1 to 5 show a first embodiment of the present invention. First
Fig. 1 is a front view showing a gas water heater, Fig. 2 is a front view of a shower head, Fig. 3 is a side view of the shower head, Fig. 4 is a block diagram showing a control device of the gas water heater, and Fig. 5 is a micro. It is a flow chart which shows an example of operation of a computer. 6 and 7 show a second embodiment of the present invention. Sixth
FIG. 7 is a front view of the shower head, and FIG. 7 is a side view of the shower head. FIG. 8 is a side view of the shower head used in the third embodiment of the present invention. In the figure, 1 ... Gas water heater (main-stop water heater), 2 ... Water supply pipe, 3 ... Water solenoid valve (opening / closing means), 4 ... Microcomputer (control means), 10 ... Housing (water heater) Main body), 21 …… Water supply pipe, 22 …… Hot water pipe (discharge pipe), 23 ……
Shower head, 23a …… Body, 23b …… Non-body, 24
...... Changeover switch, 41 …… Photoelectric switch (detection means),
43 …… Push button switch (detection means)

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. A heat exchanger which is housed in a water heater main body and exchanges heat between water and a heat medium flowing into the inside of the body, and (b) which is connected upstream of the heat exchanger, A water supply pipe for flowing water into the exchanger, (c) a discharge pipe connected to the downstream side of the heat exchanger and discharging hot water from a discharge port at the tip, and (d) a pipe arranged around the discharge port of the discharge pipe. A shower head that is provided and has a body portion that is mainly gripped by a user and a non-body portion that is provided in a portion different from this body portion; and (e) the discharge head that is provided only in the water supply pipe and is opened and closed. Opening / closing means for supplying hot water from the outlet of the pipe and for stopping the hot water supply; (f) disposed on the outer periphery of the body of the shower head;
A changeover switch for switching the discharge flow discharged from the discharge port of the discharge pipe between a shower-shaped discharge flow and a straight-shaped discharge flow, and (g) is arranged on the outer periphery of the non-body portion of the shower head and is to be detected. Having a detection means for detecting an object, when the object to be detected is first detected by the detection means,
A main stop type hot water supply device comprising: a control means for controlling the opening / closing means to start hot water supply, and for controlling the opening / closing means to stop hot water supply when the detection object detects the detected object again. 2. The hot water supply device according to claim 1, wherein the opening / closing means is a water solenoid valve that opens when energized and closes when energized is stopped. Main stop type water heater. 3. The hot water supply system according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the heat exchanger heats inflowing water by combustion heat generated by a burner that burns fuel. A hot water supply device with a fixed stop.