JPH01107045A - Bath water heating device - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To perform the heating without wasting the water in the bath tub by storing heat from an electric heater in the latent heat storing material in a heat storage material disposed near to the bath tub, and providing a release means which releases the overcooling condition of said heat storage material so as to heat the water in the bath tub. CONSTITUTION:When an electric heater 6 in a heat storage device 3 disposed near to the bath tub 1 is energized, the heat generated by the electric heater 6 is transferred to the latent heat storage material 9 in the sealed container 8 through insulating oil 5. After heating the latent heat storage material 9 above the phase change temperature, the electric heater 6 is deactivated to store the latent heat in the latent heat storage material 9. When the heating of water in the bath tub 1 is needed, when voltage is applied between electrodes 11, 12 (overcooling release means) to electrically stimulate the latent heat storage material 9, the overcooling condition is released. By using the latent heat released from the latent heat storage material 9 during the process, the water 2 in the bath 1 can be heated to a suitable temperature.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [Object of the Invention] (Industrial Application Field) The present invention relates to a bathtub water heating device that heats water in a bathtub using electrical energy.

(Conventional technology) Electric water heaters, which store hot water using low-cost late-night electricity and use the hot water at any time, have low electricity bills and are popular with water heaters that use combustion equipment as their heat source. It is often used in hot water supply systems for bathtubs due to its superior safety.

Conventionally, in bathtubs using such electric water heaters,
When the water temperature drops, the water in the bathtub is discarded and new high-temperature hot water is injected from an electric water heater to heat the water in the bathtub. Therefore, it is unfavorable from the viewpoint of economy and effective use of water resources. Another problem is that when the high-temperature water in the tank of the electric water heater runs out due to use in the kitchen or the like, it is no longer possible to heat the water in the bathtub.

Therefore, a method of directly heating the water in the bathtub using an electric heater has been considered, but this method is not practical. That is, the capacity of a bathtub is generally about 180a, and considering that it is heated by 5° C. to bring it up to the appropriate temperature, 5400 kcal/h of heat is required to heat it in 10 minutes. To obtain this amount of heat with an electric heater, 6.
As much as 3 kW of electricity is required, which is far too large for the contract power capacity of ordinary households.

Furthermore, when bathtub water is directly heated with an electric heater in this way, it is difficult to ensure safety so that bathers do not get electrocuted.

(Problems to be Solved by the Invention) As described above, conventional bathtub water heating means have problems in terms of economy and effective use of water resources, and when an electric heater is used, the amount of electricity required is There was a problem that it was difficult to ensure safety.

The present invention was made in order to solve the problems of the conventional technology, and it is possible to heat the water in the bathtub using the heat of an electric heater without having to throw it away, and the electric power required for heating is small. The purpose is to provide a bathtub water heating device that is also excellent in safety.

[Structure of the Invention] (Means for Solving the Problems) In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides an electric heater and a latent heat storage material capable of exhibiting a stable supercooled state that can absorb the heat generated by the electric heater. and a supercooling canceling means for canceling the supercooled state of the latent heat storage material, is provided in close proximity to the bathtub, and when the latent heat storage material is released from the supercooled state, the heat storage device releases the heat from the latent heat storage material. The water in the bathtub is heated using heat.

(Function) In the bathtub water heating device according to the present invention, the electric heater is energized using, for example, late-night electricity, and the heat generated by the electric heater is stored in the latent heat storage material. The water in the bathtub is heated by releasing the thermal energy stored in the latent heat storage material as the supercooled state is released.

(Example) FIG. 1 shows the configuration of a bathtub water heating device according to an example of the present invention.

As shown in the figure, a heat storage device 3 is installed close to the bottom of the bathtub 1. This heat storage device 3 has an insulating oil 5 sealed in a tank 4 made of a heat insulating material (hereinafter referred to as a heat insulation tank) provided at the bottom of a bathtub 1, and an electric heater 6 and a plurality of heat storage units 7 arranged therein. It is something. electric heater 6
is energized by a heater drive circuit (not shown).

As shown in FIG. 2, each of the heat storage units 7 has a latent heat storage material 9 enclosed in a closed container 8, and the latent heat storage material 9 is a material that can exhibit a stable supercooled state, such as sodium acetate trihydrate. The main ingredient used is Japanese salt.

Each of these heat storage units 7 is provided with supercooling release means for releasing the latent heat storage material 9 from a supercooled state. In this example, the supercooling release means inserts a pair of electrodes 11.12 in contact with the latent heat storage material 9 through a bushing 10 made of an insulator attached to the end of the closed container 8, and creates a gap between these electrodes 11.12. By applying an appropriate voltage from the voltage source 13 to the temperature, the supercooling state is canceled by electrical stimulation.

FIG. 3 shows the heating/cooling curve of sodium acetate trihydrate used as the latent heat storage material 9, and the phase change temperature TM
(for example, 58°C) or higher, it becomes a liquid state, but if it is then cooled to a temperature below TM, it does not solidify even after passing the temperature TM, and maintains a liquid state even at -10°C, for example. , it stably exhibits a so-called supercooled state. Then, in the latent heat storage material 9 exhibiting such a supercooled state,
When electrical stimulation is applied by the above-mentioned means, the supercooled state is canceled and latent heat is released by causing a phase change from a liquid state to a solid state at the humidity TM.

In the above configuration, when the electric heater 6 is energized, the heat generated by the electric heater 6 is transmitted to the latent heat storage material 9 in the closed container 8 via the insulating oil 5. As a result, after the latent heat storage material 9 is heated to the above-mentioned phase change humidity ff TM or higher, the power supply to the electric heater 6 is stopped, thereby storing latent heat in the latent heat storage material 9. Then, when it is necessary to heat the water 2 in the bathtub 1, if a voltage is applied between the electrodes 11 and 12 to electrically stimulate the latent heat storage material 9, the supercooled state will be released, and at that time, The water 2 is heated by the latent heat released from the latent heat storage material 9. In this way, the water 2 in the bathtub 1 can be heated to an appropriate temperature.

In this way, in the present invention, electric energy is used to
Since the water 2 inside can be heated, there is no need to throw away the water, which is effective in saving resources.

In addition, by using a latent heat storage material that can stably maintain a supercooled state as the heat storage material 9, the supercooled state can be stably maintained as long as no stimulation is applied, and the water 2 is heated only when it is necessary. Since the cooling state can be released, it is possible to use cheap late-night electricity to energize the electric heater 6, which is also economical. In this case, the electric heater 6
Since the electric heater 6 can be energized for a sufficiently long period of time, the electric heater 6 requires relatively low power (and can be used even under the contract power capacity of a general household).

Furthermore, since there is no need to energize the electric heater 6 when taking a bath, safety is high. In particular, in the above embodiment, the heat generated by the electric heater 6 is transmitted to the heat storage unit 7 via the insulating oil 5, so that it is possible to electrically insulate the electric heater 6 from the water 2 in the bathtub 1. possible, and the safety will be even higher.

Further, in the above embodiment, the latent heat storage material 9 is distributed and sealed in a plurality of closed containers 8, and supercooling release means are also provided for each closed container 8, so that the water 2 in the bathtub 1 is heated. At this time, by sequentially releasing the supercooled state of the latent heat storage material 9 in each closed container 8, it becomes possible to improve the temperature control characteristics.

It should be noted that the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments; for example, in the embodiments, a sodium acetate-based hydrated salt is exemplified as the latent heat storage material, but the present invention is not limited thereto. In addition, as a means for releasing supercooling of the latent heat storage material, we have shown an example of applying electrical stimulation, but for example, chemical stimulation such as bringing a seed crystal into contact with the latent heat storage material, or mechanical stimulation such as contacting a needle-like protrusion with the latent heat storage material is also shown. You may also give a physical stimulus. In addition, the present invention can be implemented with various modifications without departing from the scope.

[Effects of the Invention] According to the present invention, the water in the bathtub can be heated without being thrown away, and late-night electricity can be used for heating, which is advantageous in terms of economy and resource saving. It is possible to provide a bathtub water heating device that is highly safe and has no fear of electrical leakage even when used as a heat source.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing the configuration of a bathtub water heating device according to an embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a sectional view showing a heat storage unit and a means for canceling supercooling of a latent heat storage material in the same embodiment, and FIG. FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a heating/cooling curve of a latent heat storage material used in the invention. 1... Bathtub, 2... Bathtub water, 3... Heat storage device, 4
...Insulation tank, 5.Insulating oil, 6.Electric heater,
7... Heat storage unit, 8... Airtight container, 9... Latent heat storage material, 10... Bushing, 11.12... Electrode (supercooling release means), 13... Voltage source. Applicant's agent Patent attorney Takehiko Suzue

Claims (6)

[Claims] (1) A heat storage device equipped with an electric heater, a latent heat storage material that can store the heat generated by the electric heater and exhibit a stable supercooled state, and a supercooling release means that releases the supercooled state of the latent heat storage material. The water in the bathtub is provided close to the bathtub, and the water in the bathtub is heated by the heat released from the latent heat storage material when the supercooling state of the latent heat storage material is canceled by the supercooling release means. A bathtub water heating device featuring: (2) The bathtub water heating device according to claim 1, wherein the heat storage device transmits heat generated by the electric heater to the latent heat storage material via insulating oil. (3) The heat storage device is characterized in that the latent heat storage material is sealed in a plurality of sealed containers, and the supercooling release means is provided for each of these sealed containers. The bathtub water heating device according to item 1 or 2. (4) The bathtub water heating device according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the latent heat storage material has sodium acetate trihydrate as a main component. (5) The bathtub water heating device according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the heat storage device is provided at a lower part of the bathtub. (6) The bathtub water heating according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein a surface of the heat storage device other than the surface facing the bathtub is covered with a heat insulating material. Device.