JP7579772B2 - Hot water supply equipment - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a hot water supply device.

Some hot water supply devices equipped with a heating means and capable of heating water from a water supply pipe can connect to the Internet to obtain meteorological information for the location where the device is installed, thereby implementing control related to preventing freezing.
For example, the one described in Patent Document 1 is known.

JP 2021-46971 A

However, the use of meteorological information at the installation site is limited to the use of outside air temperature to prevent freezing, and there is room for further use of this information.

The present invention was made in light of this background, and aims to provide a water heater that utilizes external weather information to appropriately control the operation of the water heater and provide appropriate alerts to prevent freezing.

The present invention has been made to achieve the above object, and in claim 1, there is provided a water heating device comprising: a hot water supply circuit that heats water from a water supply pipe and supplies hot water from a hot water supply pipe connected to a hot water tap; a control unit that controls the water heating device; a memory means that stores information on a plurality of anti-freezing methods that prevent freezing inside the water heating device; and a notification unit that notifies a user of the information on the anti-freezing methods, the memory means further comprising a collection means that stores user registration information including information indicating an installation location of the water heating device and uses the user registration information to collect weather information related to the installation location, the weather information including temperature information and wind speed information at the installation location, and the control unit notifies one of the information on the anti-freezing methods based on the temperature information and the wind speed information.

In claim 2, the device includes a determination means for determining a freezing risk level based on the temperature information and the wind speed information, and the control unit is characterized in that, when the determination means determines that there is no risk of freezing, the control unit does not notify the guidance message for the freezing prevention method, when the determination means determines that there is a risk of freezing and the risk level is a first risk level, the control unit notifies a first guidance message among the guidance messages for the freezing prevention method, when the determination means determines that there is a risk of freezing and the risk level is a first risk level, the control unit notifies a second guidance message different from the first guidance message, when the determination means determines that there is a second risk level higher than the first risk level, and the control unit notifies a third guidance message different from the first guidance message and the second guidance message, when the determination means determines that there is a third risk level higher than the second risk level.

In claim 3, the device is provided with a freeze prevention heater that prevents freezing inside the device, and when the judgment result by the judgment means indicates that there is a risk of freezing, the freeze prevention heater is energized, the first guidance message includes guidance encouraging the hot water supply device to remain energized, the second guidance message includes guidance encouraging the hot water supply device to be opened to allow water to flow, and the third guidance message includes guidance encouraging the hot water supply device to be drained.

In claim 4, the temperature information includes the current temperature at the installation location, and the wind speed information includes the current wind speed at the installation location.

In claim 5, the temperature information includes a predicted temperature at the installation location, and the wind speed information includes a predicted wind speed at the installation location.

In claim 6, the notification unit is an information terminal device that can be connected to the Internet, and is characterized in that it displays, together with the guidance text, a link to a web page that describes a more detailed method of preventing freezing than the guidance text.

This invention allows the user to take appropriate measures to prevent freezing by issuing appropriate notifications to prevent freezing.

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of a water heater according to a first embodiment of the present invention; Block diagram of a water heater according to a first embodiment of the present invention. Flowchart of the water heater according to the first embodiment of the present invention

A first embodiment of a hot water supply device 1 according to the present invention will be described with reference to Figs. 1 and 2. In each figure, common components or components of the same type are given the same reference numerals, and duplicated descriptions thereof will be omitted as appropriate.

As shown in Figures 1 and 2, 1 is the hot water heater 1 of this embodiment, 2 is a burner unit 2 as a combustion means that uses kerosene or the like as fuel and burns the fuel to generate a flame, 3 is a hot water tap 3 installed in a kitchen, washroom, etc., and 4 is a remote control 4 as an operating means for remotely operating the hot water heater 1.

5 is a carburetor 5 that vaporizes fuel oil, 6 is a vaporization heater 6 that is provided in the carburetor 5 and heats the fuel oil to a temperature at which it can be vaporized, 7 is a vaporization temperature sensor 7 that detects the temperature of the carburetor 5, 8 is a mixing chamber 8 that is connected to the carburetor 5 and premixes the vaporized gas vaporized in the carburetor 5 with primary air, 9 is a mixing chamber heater 9 that is provided at the bottom of the mixing chamber 8 and heats the mixing chamber 8, 10 is a mixing chamber temperature sensor 10 that detects the temperature of the mixing chamber 8, 11 is a combustion section 11 that is connected to the mixing chamber 8 and burns the premixed gas premixed in the mixing chamber 8, and 12 is a number of heat absorption fins 12 that protrude above the combustion section 11 on the back of the carburetor 5, and the heat absorption fins 12 feed back the heat of combustion to the carburetor 5, minimizing the amount of electricity flowing through the vaporization heater 6 and the mixing chamber heater 9.

13 is a nozzle 13 that sprays fuel into the carburetor 5, 14 is an electromagnetic pump 14 that pressurizes fuel to the nozzle 13 via an oil supply pipe 15, and 16 is a combustion fan 16 that communicates with the inlet of the carburetor 5 and the air chamber 19 between the combustion section 11 and the cover frame 18 via an air supply passage 17, and supplies the combustion air sucked in from the suction port 20 to the carburetor 5 as primary air for premixing, and supplies the air chamber 19 to the side of the carburetor 5 from below the mixing chamber 8 as secondary air to be burned in the combustion section 11.

21 is a fin-and-tube type heat exchanger 21 housed in the combustion chamber 22, in which the water flowing through the heat receiving tube 23 is heated by the combustion gas generated by the combustion in the burner section 2. The combustion gas that passes through the heat exchanger 21 is exhausted to the outside of the hot water supply device 1 through the exhaust port 24.

25 is a water supply pipe 25 that circulates water supplied from a water supply source to the heat exchanger 21, 26 is a hot water supply pipe 26 that circulates hot water heated by the heat exchanger 21 and supplies hot water to the hot water tap 3, and 27 is a water supply bypass pipe 27 that acts as a bypass pipe branched off from the water supply pipe 25. The water supply pipe 25 and the hot water supply pipe 26 are connected to the heat receiving pipe 23 of the heat exchanger 21, and form a hot water supply circuit 45 in which water circulates through the heat receiving pipe 23, the water supply pipe 25, the hot water supply pipe 26, and the water supply bypass pipe 27.

28 is a mixing valve 28 that is provided at the connection between the hot water supply pipe 26 and the water supply bypass pipe 27, and can mix the hot water from the hot water supply pipe 26 and the water from the water supply bypass pipe 27 and change the mixing ratio; 29 is a water supply temperature sensor 29 provided in the water supply pipe 25 as a water supply temperature detection means that detects the water supply temperature; 30 is a flow rate sensor 30 provided in the water supply pipe 25 as a flow rate detection means that detects the flow rate of water flowing into the heat exchanger 21; 31 is a heat exchange outlet temperature sensor 31 provided in the hot water supply pipe 26 upstream of the connection between the hot water supply pipe 26 and the water supply bypass pipe 27 as a heat exchange outlet temperature detection means that detects the temperature of the hot water flowing out of the heat exchanger 21; and 32 is an outlet hot water temperature sensor 32 as an outlet hot water temperature detection means that detects the temperature of the hot water mixed in the mixing valve 28.

The flow rate sensor 30 is provided in the water supply pipe 25 downstream of the connection between the water supply pipe 25 and the water supply bypass pipe 27 and detects the flow rate of the water supply flowing into the heat exchanger 21. However, the flow rate sensor 30 may be provided in the water supply pipe 25 upstream of the connection between the water supply pipe 25 and the water supply bypass pipe 27 and detects the total flow rate of the water supply flowing into the heat exchanger 21 and the water supply bypass pipe 27.

55 is a water supply valve 55 that is installed outside the appliance and opens and closes the water supply pipe 25 that supplies water from the water supply source to the hot water supply device 1.

The remote control 4 also includes an operation switch 33 for turning the hot water supply device 1 on and off, a hot water temperature setting switch 34 as a hot water outlet temperature setting means for setting the hot water outlet temperature at which hot water is supplied from the mixing valve 28 to the hot water tap 3, and a display unit 39 as a notification unit 44 for displaying information on how to prevent freezing.

35 is a control unit 35 that is connected to the remote control 4 wirelessly or by wire and communicates with it, and receives signals from each sensor of the water heater 1 and signals from the remote control 4, and controls the combustion control of the burner section 2 and the operation of each actuator such as the electromagnetic pump 14 and the combustion fan 16. This control unit 35 has a memory means 41 that holds information on multiple anti-freezing methods to prevent freezing inside the water heater 1, a communication unit 43 that wirelessly communicates with a router 61 connected to the Internet 62, and a collection means 42 that collects weather information.

The storage means 41 holds a link to a server 63b that stores information that describes each of the multiple anti-freezing methods in more detail than the respective guide texts.

Furthermore, storage means 41 holds user registration information including information indicating the installation location of hot water supply device 1, and collection means 42 uses the user registration information to collect meteorological information related to the installation location. The meteorological information includes temperature information and wind speed information at the installation location.
The temperature information includes the current temperature at the installation location and the predicted temperature in the future, and the wind speed information includes the current wind speed at the installation location and the predicted wind speed in the future.

60 is an information terminal device 60 serving as the notification unit 44. The display unit 39 and the information terminal device 60 obtain meteorological information from a server 63a in which meteorological information is stored by the collection means 42 via the Internet 62 and a router 61 or a mobile communication network 64, and display a guide message on anti-freezing methods stored in the storage means 41 according to the freezing danger level based on the results of the determination means 40 described below, which makes a judgment based on temperature information and wind speed information.

The timing for notifying the notification message is at notification time T1 input in advance by the user using an input means (not shown), or when it is determined that notification is necessary based on the result of a determination means 40 described later.
It should be noted that notification time T1 may be time T2, which is a predetermined time (for example, one hour) before the sunset time at the installation location of hot water heating apparatus 1 and which is obtained via Internet 62.

Furthermore, the display unit 39 and the information terminal device 60, which are the notification unit 44, display detailed anti-freezing methods via the Internet 62 and the router 61 or the mobile communication network 64 from a server 63b that stores information describing anti-freezing methods in more detail than the above-mentioned guidance text.

50 to 54 are freeze prevention heaters 50 to 54 installed in the water supply pipe 25, the heat receiving pipe 23, and the hot water supply pipe 26 to prevent freezing, and are turned on and off under the control of the control unit 35.

56 and 58 are an overpressure relief valve 56 and a water supply drain plug 58 that can drain hot and cold water from the water supply pipe 25, heat receiving pipe 23, hot water supply pipe 26, and water supply bypass pipe 27 of the hot water supply device 1 outside the device.

Next, the operation of this first embodiment will be explained using the flowchart in Figure 3.

In step S1, the control unit 35 stores the notification time T1 previously input by the user in the storage means 41.

In step S2, the collection means 42 acquires temperature information and wind speed information for the next 24 hours from the server 63a.

In step S3, if the current temperature information is below a predetermined temperature t1 (e.g., 5°C), it is determined that notification is necessary regardless of the notification time T1 specified by the user, and the process transitions to step S6. If the temperature exceeds the predetermined temperature t1 (5°C), the process transitions to step S4.

In step S4, when the current time stored in the water heater 1 passes the notification time T1 stored in the memory means 41, the process transitions to step S5.

In step S5, if the temperature information until the next morning is below a predetermined temperature t1 (5°C), the process transitions to step S6 to determine the freezing risk level. If the temperature exceeds the predetermined temperature t1 (5°C), the process transitions to step S10 and it is determined that there is no risk of freezing.

When classifying the freezing danger level, it is determined that the lower the air temperature and the faster the wind speed, the greater the amount of heat dissipated per unit time, and the higher the freezing danger level. The judgment means 40 judges the freezing danger level of the hot water in the appliance into three levels based on the acquired air temperature information and wind speed information.

In step S6, if the temperature until the next morning exceeds a predetermined temperature t2 (for example, minus 15°C), the process transitions to step S7 to take into account the effect of wind speed information. If the temperature is below the predetermined temperature t2 (minus 15°C), the process transitions to step S8.

In step S7, the effect of wind speed information is taken into account, and if the wind speed information until the next morning is less than a predetermined wind speed f1 (for example, a wind speed of 5 m/s), the process transitions to step S11, where the first danger level of three danger levels indicating the degree of risk of freezing is set, and the first notification message is notified to the notification unit 44 in step S14. If the wind speed is equal to or greater than the predetermined wind speed f1 (wind speed of 5 m/s), it is determined that the risk of freezing is higher than the first danger level, and the process transitions to step S12, where the freezing danger level is set to the second danger level, and the second notification message is notified to the notification unit 44 in step S15.

In step S8, if the temperature information until the next morning exceeds a predetermined temperature t3 (e.g., minus 20°C), the process transitions to step S12, the freezing risk level is set to a second risk level, and in step S15, a second notice is notified to the notification unit 44. If the temperature is below the predetermined temperature t3 (minus 20°C), the process transitions to step S9, taking into account the effect of wind speed information.

In step S9, the effect of wind speed information is taken into account, and if the wind speed information until the next morning is less than a predetermined wind speed f2 (for example, a wind speed of 3 m/s), the process transitions to step S12, the freezing danger level is set to the second danger level, and the second notification message is notified to the notification unit 44 in step S15. If the wind speed information until the next morning is equal to or greater than the predetermined wind speed f2 (wind speed of 3 m/s), it is determined that the risk of freezing is higher than the second danger level, the process transitions to step S13, the freezing danger level is set to the third danger level, and the third notification message is notified to the notification unit 44 in step S16.

The first to third instructions above are as follows:
In other words, if the judgment result by the judgment means 40 is the first danger level, power is applied to the anti-freeze heaters 50 to 54 to avoid freezing, and the first guidance message is a guidance urging the user to maintain the power applied to the water heating device 1.
The second guidance message encourages the user to open the hot water tap 3 to allow water to flow.
The third instruction message encourages the user to drain the water from inside the appliance.

This makes it possible to determine the risk of freezing based on temperature information and wind speed information, and to guide the user to appropriate methods for preventing freezing.
For example, if the weather information predicts that the temperature will be below -20°C and the wind speed will be above 3 m/s by the next morning, the user can receive the third notification message from the notification unit 44 at the notification time T1 specified by the user, allowing the user to take planned measures to prevent freezing.
In addition, by setting the notification time T1 to time T2, a predetermined time (e.g., one hour) before sunset, the water draining work can be carried out before sunset when it becomes dark around the water heating device 1, which is convenient.

Even if the weather information predicts that the forecast temperature for the next morning will exceed 5°C, if, for example, the current temperature is below 5°C in the morning and the current wind speed is above 5 m/s, the determination means 40 will notify the user of the anti-freezing method in the second notification message, so that the user can be appropriately notified that anti-freezing measures are currently required.

In addition, the information terminal device 60 displays a link to a web page that describes details such as operating procedures and schematic diagrams of the anti-freezing method stored in the memory means 41, so that the information terminal device 60 can connect to the Internet 62 and follow the link to display the web page.
As a result, for example, when the second message is notified, a web page can be displayed that describes specific steps and a schematic diagram for opening the hot water tap 3 to allow water to flow, and when the third message is notified, for example, a web page can be displayed that shows steps and a schematic diagram for draining water from the inside of the hot water supply device 1. This allows the user to appropriately prevent freezing even if they are unfamiliar with the operation of the freezing prevention method.

In this embodiment, the predetermined wind speed f1 is described as a wind speed of 5 m/s and the predetermined wind speed f2 is described as a wind speed of 3 m/s, but the predetermined wind speed f2 may be a wind speed of 5 m/s or a wind speed of 10 m/s, and is determined appropriately by a person skilled in the art taking into consideration the ease of freezing.

The hot water supply device 1 has been described as a direct pressure oil water heater dedicated to hot water supply, but it may also be a storage type oil water heater or a type with a built-in bath heater. It may also be a gas water heater or an electric water heater.

Note that the other configurations used in this embodiment are presented as examples and are not intended to limit the scope of the invention. The invention can be embodied in various other forms, and various omissions, substitutions, and modifications can be made without departing from the gist of the invention. These embodiments and their modifications are included in the scope and gist of the invention, as well as in the scope of the invention and its equivalents described in the claims.

1: Hot water supply device 3: Hot water tap 35: Control unit 40: Determination means 41: Storage means 42: Collection means 43: Communication unit 44: Notification unit 45: Hot water supply circuit 50, 51, 52, 53, 54: Anti-freeze heater 55: Main water supply valve 56: Overpressure relief valve 58: Water supply inlet drain plug 60: Information terminal device 62: Internet 63a, 63b: Server T1: Notification time T2: Time t1, t2, t3 a predetermined time before sunset: Predetermined temperature f1, f2: Predetermined wind speed

Claims (6)

A hot water supply device, comprising:
a hot water supply circuit for heating water from a water supply pipe and supplying hot water from a hot water supply pipe connected to a hot water tap;
A control unit that controls the hot water supply device;
A storage means for storing a plurality of instructions for preventing freezing of the inside of the water heater;
a notification unit that notifies a user of the guide text of the freezing prevention method;
Equipped with
The storage means holds user registration information including information indicating an installation location of the water heating apparatus;
a collection means for collecting meteorological information relating to the installation location using the user registration information;
Further equipped with
The weather information includes temperature information and wind speed information at the installation location,
The hot water supply device, wherein the control unit notifies one of the messages regarding the anti-freezing method based on the temperature information and the wind speed information. a determination means for determining a freezing danger level based on the temperature information and the wind speed information,
The control unit is
When the determination result by the determination means indicates that there is no risk of freezing, the message on the freezing prevention method is not notified,
When the determination result by the determination means indicates that there is a risk of freezing and the risk level is a first risk level, a first guidance message among the guidance messages of the freezing prevention method is notified,
when the determination result by the determination means is a second danger level that is higher than the first danger level, a second guidance message different from the first guidance message is notified;
The water heating device as described in claim 1, characterized in that when the judgment result by the judgment means is a third danger level which is higher than the second danger level, a third guidance message different from the first guidance message and the second guidance message is displayed. Equipped with a freeze prevention heater to prevent freezing inside the aircraft,
When the determination result by the determination means indicates that there is a risk of freezing, power is supplied to the freeze prevention heater,
the first guidance message includes guidance encouraging the user to keep the water heating device powered;
The second guidance message includes guidance to encourage the user to open the hot water tap to allow water to flow,
3. The water heater according to claim 2, wherein the third instruction message includes an instruction to drain water from inside the water heater. The temperature information includes a current temperature at the installation location,
4. The hot water supply apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the wind speed information includes a current wind speed at the installation location. The temperature information includes a predicted temperature at the installation location,
5. The hot water supply apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the wind speed information includes an expected wind speed at the installation location. The water heating device according to any one of claims 1 to 5, characterized in that the notification unit is an information terminal device connectable to the Internet, and displays, together with the guidance text, a link to a web page that describes a more detailed method of preventing freezing than the guidance text.

Images