JP3184300B2 - Hot water circulation circuit and air purge method thereof - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an improvement in a hot water circulation circuit for circulating hot water into a bathtub by a pump.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, this type of hot water circulation circuit is configured, for example, as shown in FIG. In the figure, a circulation circuit 1 is configured to circulate hot water between a bathtub 2 and an external device 3 provided outside the bathtub 2.

More specifically, the circulation circuit 1 comprises a forward path 1a extending from the inside of the external device 3 to the bathtub 2 and a return path 1b extending from the bathtub 2 toward the external device 3. The external device 3 is provided with, for example, a pump 4 provided in the circulation circuit 1 and a control unit 5 containing a control board for controlling the pump 4. By operating the remote controller 6, the controller 5 operates and stops the pump 4 in response to an instruction by a signal from the remote controller 6.

A forward path 1a of the circulation circuit 1 is a branch path 7
a, 7a, and each branch path 7a, 7a is provided with a bubble nozzle 7, 7 facing the inside of the bathtub 2, and this bubble nozzle 7, 7 blows out hot water mixed with air toward the inside of the bathtub 2. .
The bathtub 2 is provided with a return port 8 so that hot water in the bathtub 2 is guided to the return path 1b.

[0005]

By the way, in such a hot water circulation circuit 1, since the external device 3 is arranged at a position separated from the bathtub 2, the circulation device for connecting the two in accordance with construction conditions. Piping the circuit may cause air pockets in the pipe.

[0006] Typically, as shown in FIG.
Depending on the construction conditions, so-called torii piping may be required so that a part of the pipeline rises partially to avoid a predetermined structure and exhibits a gate shape. In such a circulation circuit 1, when the movement of the pump 4 is stopped, air accumulates in the pipe, for example, at the upper part of the torii piped portion 1 c, and when the pump 4 is operated again, this air reaches the suction port of the pump 4. However, since the hot water is interrupted, there is a problem that the normal pump cannot continuously draw the hot water.

In this case, for example, there is a method in which the air accumulated in the pump suction port is gradually sent to the discharge side by using a self-contained pump, and the circulation of hot water is continuously performed. But,
According to this, the self-contained pump becomes larger than a non-self-contained pump having the same capacity, and takes up space in the external device 3. In addition, since the self-contained pump is not only expensive but also has a power loss corresponding to the function of sending out air, for example, when used in a bubble bath circulation circuit requiring a large circulation amount, a sufficient hot water discharge amount can be obtained. Not always.

The present invention has been made to solve the above-mentioned problems, and has a hot water circulating circuit capable of continuously circulating hot water and, if necessary, continuously circulating a large amount of hot water. It is an object of the present invention to provide an air purge method for this circulation circuit.

[0009]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION According to the present invention, there is provided a circulation circuit having a built-in pump for circulating hot water by a pump. This is achieved by the air purging method of the hot water circulation circuit in which the pump is started efficiently by introducing the air, and the air in the circulation circuit is sent to the pump discharge side by the negative pressure on the suction side of the pump.

[0010] Preferably, in the air purging method of the present invention, a non-self-contained pump is incorporated in the circulation circuit, thereby circulating hot water.

[0011] The above object is also achieved in a circulation circuit with a built-in pump for circulating hot water by a pump, wherein a region of the pipeline of the circulation circuit connected to the suction side of the pump is:
With respect to the direction of circulation of the hot water, this is achieved by a hot water circulation circuit which is adapted to be uphill with respect to the pump, and wherein the region connected to the delivery side of the pump also extends uphill from the pump. You.

A water supply pipe may be connected to a region of the circulation circuit connected to the suction side of the pump, and the water supply pipe may be configured to extend along the circulation direction of the hot water and toward the pump. .

[0013]

According to the above arrangement, when the pump is operated, if there is air in the circulation circuit which hinders efficient start-up or efficient operation of the pump, a predetermined amount of air is externally introduced into the circulation circuit. Introduce water. By drawing in this water, the pump circulates hot water. Accordingly, the negative pressure generated at the pump suction port discharges air in the circulation direction.

In addition, if a non-self-contained pump is incorporated in the circulation circuit, the hot water can be circulated more efficiently without power loss, and is suitable for a bubble bath, for example.

Further, if the circulation circuit is constructed as in claims 3 and 4, the air in the circulation circuit rises along the uphill pipe connected to the suction side of the pump and enters the pump. From here, it moves so as to ascend the pipeline via the discharge side. Furthermore, since the water introduced from the water supply pipe is discharged in the direction of circulation of hot water, the introduction of water from the outside effectively prevents the return phenomenon in which air existing in the circulation circuit moves to the opposite side to the circulation direction. As a result, the air can be evacuated smoothly in the circulation direction.

[0016]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described below in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. Note that the embodiments described below are
Since it is a preferred specific example of the present invention, various technically preferred limitations are added, but the scope of the present invention is limited to the following description unless otherwise specified to limit the present invention.
It is not limited to these embodiments.

FIG. 1 is a system diagram showing an outline of an embodiment of a circulation circuit according to the present invention. You. This embodiment shows an example having a bubble bath and a reheating function, and the main configuration is the same as that of the above-described conventional circulation circuit.

That is, the hot water circulation circuit 10 includes a bathtub 12
Then, hot water is circulated between the tub 12 and an external device 13 provided outside the bathtub 12. That is, the hot water circulation circuit 10
A forward path 11a extending from inside the external device 13 to the bathtub 12 and a return path 11b extending from the bathtub 12 to the external device 13
And

The external device 13 is provided with, for example, a pump 14 provided in the circulation circuit 10 and a control unit 15 containing a control board for controlling the pump 14. By operating the remote controller 6, the controller 15 operates and stops the pump 14 in response to an instruction by a signal from the remote controller 16.

The forward path 11a of the circulation circuit 10 includes branch paths 17a, 17a. Each of the branch paths 17a, 17a is provided with a bubble nozzle 17, 17 facing the inside of the bathtub 12. The hot water mixed with air is blown into the bathtub 12. The bathtub 12 is provided with a return port 18 so that hot water in the bathtub 12 is guided to the return path 11b.

The configuration up to this point is the same as that of the hot water circulation circuit shown in FIG. 6, but in this embodiment, hot water discharged from a pump 14 to be described later passes through the heat exchanger 19 via the branch passage 11d downstream. Here, it is heated by the burner and joins the return path 11a. As a result, the hot water is additionally heated and injected into the bathtub 12 from the foam nozzles 17.

Here, in the present embodiment, the return path 11b
A running water switch 21 is provided upstream of the pump 14 as running water detecting means. The running water switch 21 is connected to the control unit 15 (not shown) to detect whether circulating water is flowing, and to output a signal. Output.
Further, a water supply pipe 23 for introducing water is connected downstream of the flowing water switch 21 and upstream of the pump 14 so as to supply water to a suction side of the pump 14 as described later. . The supply and stop of the water can be performed by an electromagnetic valve 22 that is a water supply valve provided in the water supply pipe 23. For this reason, the electromagnetic valve 22 is connected to the control unit 15 (not shown), and is opened and closed by receiving a predetermined signal from the control unit 15. In addition, a flow rate sensor 25 is provided downstream of the water supply valve 22 of the water supply pipe 23 so that an amount Q (described later) of water introduced into the circulation circuit can be detected.

FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram showing an enlarged main part of the external device 13. The area of the return circuit 11b of the circulation circuit 10 connected to the suction side of the pump 14 is indicated by hatching. This region is configured to have an uphill gradient with respect to the pump in the direction of circulation of the hot water indicated by the arrow. On the other hand, the pump 14 on the outward path 11a of the circulation circuit 10
The region connected to the transmitting side of the vertical line rises vertically in the illustrated case. The region connected to the delivery side of the pump 14 as described above is preferably configured to extend at least ascending from the pump 14.

Thus, when the solenoid valve 22 is opened and water is introduced into the circulation circuit as will be described later, the air in the circulation circuit is not sent to the bathtub side but goes to the pump and goes to the outward path 11a. Can be pulled out smoothly.

Here, the pump 14 is preferably a non-self-contained pump. That is, since the circulation circuit 10 of this embodiment is an example applied to a bubble bath, it is necessary that the diameter of the pipeline is large and a large amount of hot water is delivered vigorously.
Therefore, preferably, a non-self-contained pump having no power loss is used as the pump 14.

In particular, there are restrictions on the construction conditions.
When the torii piping section 11c needs to be provided in a part of the pipeline as shown in Fig. 7, the air purge can be efficiently performed by the above-described configuration, so that a large and expensive self-contained pump is not required unlike the related art. Thus, the necessary power can be obtained without taking up a large accommodation space in the external device 13.

Further, it is desirable that the water supply pipe 23 and the pipe (return path) 11b shown in FIG. 2 be configured as shown in FIG. As shown in the figure, the water supply pipe 23 has a substantially elbow shape, is bent in the pipe 11b in the circulation direction of the warm water indicated by the arrow, and its outlet extends in the circulation direction. . For this reason, as will be described later,
When water is supplied into b, the air in the pipeline 11b can be smoothly moved in the circulation direction of the hot water, and it can be effectively prevented from returning to the opposite direction, that is, the direction of the bathtub.

The circulation circuit 10 of this embodiment is configured as described above. Next, the procedure of the air purging process by the control unit 15 of the circulation circuit 10 will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG.

When the bubble bath switch 16a of the remote controller 16 is turned on (SP1), the signal is transmitted to the pump 14 by the control unit 15 and the pump 14 is turned on (S1).
P2).

Next, a water switch 21 is supplied to the control unit 15 from the pump 21 of the circulation circuit 10.
It is detected that hot water (water) is flowing in the vicinity of the suction port, and it is determined whether or not the ON signal enters for the time T1, for example, 3 seconds (SP3). Further, the control unit 15 controls the pump 14
In order to confirm that sufficient warm water (water) continues to flow in the suction side pipeline of the, it is determined whether or not the water switch 14 continuously outputs an ON signal for a time T2, for example, 30 seconds ( SP4). If a positive result is obtained, in this case, sufficient warm water (water) is provided on the suction side of the pump 14.
This means that the bubble bath can be operated without any trouble. If not, the process returns to step 3 (SP3).

If an affirmative result is obtained in step 4, the process proceeds to step 5, where the control device 15 switches the bubble bath switch 16a.
Is turned off. Continue driving unless the bubble bath is switched off. If an affirmative result is obtained in step 5, the control device 15 determines that the user has turned off the bubble bath switch, so proceeds to step 6 and outputs a signal for stopping the pump 14, and terminates the operation of the bubble bath. (SP7).

On the other hand, if a negative result is obtained in step 3, the operation of the pump 14 is started, and the ON signal of the flowing water switch 21 is interrupted within about 3 seconds. Therefore, the flow proceeds to step 8 (SP8),
It is checked whether or not the OFF signal lasts for T3 time, for example, 2-3 seconds. This is because the running water switch 21 is temporarily output an off signal due to the chattering phenomenon caused by air (bubbles) mixed in the hot water, Second, it is a step to determine whether there is enough water to start the pump 14 or to start the pump with sufficient efficiency. Therefore, if a negative result is obtained in step 8, the control device 15 determines that the running water switch 14 has chattered and has temporarily output an off signal, and returns to step 3. However, if an affirmative result is obtained, it is determined that there is not enough water in the pipe on the suction side of the pump 14, and step 9 (SP
Proceed to 9).

In step 9, since there is not enough water in the suction side pipe of the pump 14, the control device 15 stops the operation of the pump 14. Next, step 10 (SP1
In step 0), the control device 15 sends a predetermined signal to the water supply valve (electromagnetic valve) 22, opens the valve, and introduces water into the pipeline.

Therefore, the control device 15 executes step 1
At 1 (SP11), it is determined whether or not the flow rate of the water introduced into the pipeline has reached a predetermined amount Q. If you get a positive result,
Since it can be determined that the water necessary for efficiently operating the pump 14 has been introduced, the process proceeds to step 12 (SP12), where the control device 15 outputs a predetermined signal, and the water supply valve 22
Close. As a result, the air purge of the circulation circuit in this embodiment is completed, the pump 14 is started in step 13 (SP13), and the process returns to step 3.

As described above, in this embodiment, the pump 14
The hot water can be circulated while performing air purging so that the water can be efficiently started and operated.

FIG. 5 shows another embodiment of the hot water circulation circuit according to the present invention. In FIG. 5, portions denoted by the same reference numerals as those in FIG. 1 have the same configuration, and thus redundant description will be omitted. In the hot water circulation circuit 30 of this embodiment, a circulation fitting 37 is mounted in the bathtub 12 instead of the bubble bath, and the return fitting 11b is connected to the external device 13 from the circulation fitting 37.
However, the outward path 11a extends from the external device 13 toward the circulation fitting of the bathtub 12.

Also in this embodiment, the water supply valve 2
2 receives the instruction from the control device 15 and from the water supply pipe 23,
Water can be introduced into the suction side pipe of the pump 14. This air purging method is performed in the same manner as in the above-described embodiment. As described above, the hot water circulation circuit and the air purging method of the present invention can be widely applied not only to a bubble bath, but also to a bath kettle having a normal reheating function and a bath kettle having a washing function having a washing nozzle in a bathtub. Can be.

The pump used in the hot water circulation circuit of the present invention is not limited to a non-self-contained pump. Further, for example, instead of the water supply valve 14 of the embodiment, a three-way valve may be attached to a connection point between the water supply pipe and the circulation circuit.

[0039]

As described above, according to the present invention, it is possible to circulate the hot water very efficiently and continuously while appropriately purging the air. Moreover, if necessary, a large amount of hot water can be continuously circulated.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a system diagram showing a preferred embodiment of a hot water circulation circuit according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is an enlarged view showing an air purge structure of the hot water circulation circuit of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a view showing a connection structure between a circulation circuit and a water supply pipe in the air purge structure shown in FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is a flowchart used to explain an air purge method in the hot water circulation circuit of FIG. 1;

FIG. 5 is a system diagram showing another embodiment of the hot water circulation circuit of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a system diagram showing an example of a conventional hot water circulation circuit.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Hot water circulation circuit 11a Outbound path 11b Return path 11c Torii pipe 12 Bathtub 13 External device 14 Pump 15 Control part 16 Remote control 17 Bubble nozzle 21 Flowing water switch 22 Water supply valve 23 Water supply pipe

Continuation of front page (58) Field surveyed (Int. Cl. ⁷ , DB name) F24H 1/00 602 A47K 3/00

Claims (4)

(57) [Claims] 1. A pump-equipped circulating circuit for circulating hot water by a pump. The pump is operated, and a fixed amount of water is introduced from the outside into the circulating circuit to efficiently start the pump. Wherein the air is discharged to the pump discharge side by a negative pressure on the suction side of the pump. 2. The air purging method for a hot water circulation circuit according to claim 1, wherein a non-self-contained pump is built in the circulation circuit, and the hot water is circulated by the non-self-contained pump. 3. A circulation circuit with a built-in pump for circulating hot water by means of a pump, wherein a region of the pipeline of the circulation circuit connected to the suction side of the pump has an ascending gradient with respect to the direction of circulation of the hot water. And a region connected to the delivery side of the pump is also configured to extend uphill from the pump. 4. A water supply pipe is connected to a region of the circulation circuit connected to the suction side of the pump, and the water supply pipe is configured to extend along the circulation direction of the hot water and toward the pump. The hot water circulation circuit according to claim 3, wherein