JPH0321822B2 - - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [Technical Field of the Invention] The present invention relates to a reheating device for a hot water supply system for a bathtub, and more particularly to a reheating device for a bathtub that uses electrical energy.

[Technical background of the invention and its problems]

Electric water heaters use low-cost late-night electricity to store hot water late at night when it is not used often, and then use the hot water whenever you want.
They have the advantage of being safer than water heaters that use combustion equipment as their heat source, and are often used in hot water supply systems for bathtubs. However, in the conventional bathtub hot water supply system using an electric water heater, there is no means for reheating the water in a short time when the temperature of the water in the bathtub decreases.
Therefore, if you use a bathtub with a lower water temperature,
A method is used to raise the temperature of hot water by pouring hot water from the hot water storage tank into the bathtub, but in this case, it is necessary to drain some of the hot water that has dropped in temperature from the bathtub, which reduces the water quality. There was a problem with the effective use of

Although it is possible to heat the hot water in the bathtub whose temperature has dropped directly with an electric heater, it is not practical. That is, the capacity of the bathtub is generally 180
Considering that it would take 5 degrees Celsius to raise it to the appropriate temperature, 5,400 Kcal/h would be required to heat it in 10 minutes.
Obtaining this amount of heat with an electric heater requires 6.3KW of power, which is far too large for the contract power capacity of a typical household.

[Purpose of the invention]

The purpose of the present invention is to obtain the amount of heat necessary for reheating in a short time without requiring large amounts of electric power, and to improve efficiency while simplifying maintenance. The goal is to provide equipment.

[Summary of the invention]

In order to achieve this object, the present invention constitutes a heat storage tank consisting of a heat storage material that stores heat generated by an electric heater and a heat insulating material provided around the heat storage material, and the heat of the heat storage material of this heat storage tank is transferred through a heat pipe. The signal is transmitted to the water in the bathtub. Further, a valve for controlling on/off of additional heating is inserted in the middle of the heat pipe.

〔Effect of the invention〕

According to the present invention, since additional heating is performed using heat storage, additional heating can be performed in a short time without requiring a large amount of electric power. In other words, the power consumption of the electric heater for additional heating is
Compared to the case where the heat generated by the electric heater is directly used for additional heating, the amount of heat required is much smaller, and there is no problem with the contract power capacity of a general household.

Furthermore, the present invention is also advantageous in terms of economy, since it is possible to use low-cost late-night electricity for additional heating. Further, in the present invention, since a heat pipe is used for the heat transport path from the heat storage tank to the inside of the bathtub, the area where scale adheres is limited to the outer surface of the heat dissipation part of the heat pipe. Therefore, maintenance can be facilitated. Further, since a valve is provided in the middle of the heat pipe, when the valve is closed, that is, during a period when additional heating is not performed, no heat is transported through the heat pipe at all. Therefore, the amount of heat leak during the period when the valve is closed can be reduced, and thermal efficiency can also be improved.

[Embodiments of the invention]

FIG. 1 schematically shows the configuration of a bathtub reheating device according to an embodiment of the present invention. As shown in the figure, a heat storage tank 2 is provided outside the bathtub 1. The heat storage tank 2 has an electric heater 3 embedded in a heat storage material 4, and the heat storage material 4 is further covered with a heat insulating material 5 for heat retention. As the heat storage material 4, a material that utilizes solid sensible heat, such as brick or crushed stone, is used. Further, the electric heater 3 is energized at an appropriate time, and the heat of the heater 3 is stored by the heat storage material 3.

A heat pipe 6 is provided as a means for transmitting the heat of the heat storage material 3 to the water in the bathtub 1.
That is, the heat receiving part 6a of the heat pipe 6 is embedded in the heat storage material 4, and the heat radiating part 6b is connected to a heat radiating body 8 provided in a heating chamber 8 provided in communication with the bathtub 1. Further, a valve 7 for controlling on/off of additional heating is inserted in the middle of the heat pipe 6. In this embodiment, the heat storage tank 2 provided with the heat receiving part 6a of the heat pipe 6 is installed below the heat radiating part 6b, and constitutes a so-called gravity type heat pipe.

In the above configuration, when additional heating is performed when taking a bath after the water temperature in the bathtub 1 has decreased, the valve 7
By opening the heat pipe 6, the heat pipe 6 is activated.
Note that it is assumed that the electric heater 3 is energized in advance before this additional heating is required, so that thermal energy necessary for additional heating is stored in the heat storage material 4. When the valve 7 is opened, the working fluid in the heat pipe 6 heated in the heat receiving part 6a by the heat of the heat storage material 4 is vaporized and reaches the heat radiating part 6b. The working fluid that has reached the heat radiator 6b heats the water in the bathtub 1 through the heat radiator 9. At this time, since the heat storage tank 2 is installed below the heat dissipation part 6b of the heat pipe 6, the working fluid that has been liquefied due to the heat removed by the water in the bathtub 1 passes through the inside of the heat pipe 6 due to gravity. , is again supplied to the heat receiving section 6a. By repeating the same operation,
The water in the bathtub 1 is gradually heated and eventually reaches the appropriate temperature.

FIG. 2 shows an example of a specific operation pattern of this additional heating device. When taking a bath during the time indicated by the arrow, additional heating is required for the second and subsequent baths, as indicated by A and B. In this case, the electric heater 3 is energized for a predetermined period of time before the bathing time,
By storing heat in the heat storage material 4, the amount of heat required for additional heating can be obtained in a short time. In other words, assuming that additional heating is performed twice a day, and assuming that the amount of heating for each additional heating is 5°C, the net amount is 1800 Kcal assuming that the capacity of bathtub 1 is 180.
However, according to the above configuration, if a 1KW electric heater 3 is used and the electricity is turned on for 2 hours, sufficient heat can be obtained for this additional heating.

As described above, according to the present invention, it is possible to obtain a sufficient amount of heat for additional heating in a short time while using a relatively low-power electric heater 3.
It is possible to provide a reheating device that is optimal for general household use. Further, particularly in the above embodiment, there is an advantage that additional heating can be easily controlled on and off by simply opening and closing the valve 7 provided in the middle of the heat pipe 6. Further, since the heat pipe 6 is used for the heat transport path from the heat storage tank 2 to the inside of the bathtub 1, the area where scale adheres is limited to the outer surface of the heat radiating portion 6b of the heat pipe 6.
Therefore, maintenance can be facilitated.
Further, since the valve 7 is provided in the middle of the heat pipe 6, no heat is transported through the heat pipe 6 during the period when the valve 7 is closed. Therefore, the amount of heat leak during the period when the valve 7 is closed can be reduced, and thermal efficiency can also be improved.

FIG. 3 shows another embodiment of the present invention, in which the heat pipe 6 is configured as a closed loop in the vertical direction, and a valve 7 is installed in the middle of the heat pipe 6, that is, in the middle of the lower heat pipe. pump 10
This embodiment differs from the previous embodiment in that . In this embodiment, the heat pipe 6 is operated by simultaneously opening the valve 7 and operating the pump 10.
Since the heat storage tank 2 is configured to operate, unlike the gravity heat pump configuration like the embodiment shown in FIG. 1, additional heating can be performed no matter where the heat storage tank 2 is installed. In addition, in this embodiment, when turning on the additional heating, it is as described above, but when turning off the additional heating, by closing the valve 7 and stopping the pump 10, the inside of the heat pipe 6 is closed. The heat transport is stopped when all of the working fluid has accumulated in the heat radiation section 6b. That is,
If the valve 7 and the pump 10 are installed in the middle of the upper heat pipe, there is a risk that the lower heat pipe will act as a gravity heat pipe, similar to the embodiment shown in FIG. 1, and heat will leak. If the pump 7 and the pump 10 are installed in the middle of the lower heat pipe, such an operation can be prevented.

FIG. 4 shows still another embodiment of the present invention, in which the heat radiation section 6b of the heat pipe 6 is connected to the water heat exchange section 1.
1, and two connecting pipes 12a, 12 installed at intervals in the vertical direction of this water heat exchange section 11.
It is connected to the inside of the bathtub 1 via b. In this case, the connecting pipes 12a and 12b are connected to the water circulation channel 13.
The water in the bathtub 1 is circulated between the water heat exchange section 11 and the water heat exchange section 11 through this water circulation flow path 13 . That is, the water in the water heat exchange part 11 heated by the heat radiation part 6b of the heat pipe 6 returns to the bathtub 1 through the upper connecting pipe 12a due to buoyancy, and the water in the bathtub 1 returns to the bathtub 1 through the lower connecting pipe 12a. 12b and is again supplied to the water heat exchange section 11.

The additional heating device of this embodiment has the advantage that it can be installed in a bathtub that is supplied with hot water by an existing electric water heater or gas water heater. As yet another embodiment, it is also possible to configure a bathtub reheating device in which the gravity heat pipe configuration shown in FIG. 1 is combined with a water heat exchange section 11 as shown in FIG. 4.

The present invention is not limited to the above-mentioned embodiments, and various modifications can be made without departing from the gist thereof. For example, in the embodiment, a heat storage material that uses sensible heat is illustrated, but a heat storage material that uses latent heat may also be used.

Also, in the operation pattern shown in Figure 2, daytime electricity is used to store heat for additional heating.
Needless to say, it is also possible to use late-night electricity. In other words, there is an effect of increasing the degree of freedom in driving.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a configuration diagram of a reheating device for a bathtub according to an embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an example of an operation pattern of the reheating device for a bathtub according to the present invention, and FIG.
4 are configuration diagrams of a bathtub reheating device according to another embodiment of the present invention. DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1... Bathtub, 2... Heat storage tank, 3... Electric heater, 4... Heat storage material, 5... Heat insulation material, 6... Heat pipe, 6a... Heat receiving part, 6b... Heat radiating part, 7...
... Valve, 8 ... Heating chamber, 9 ... Heat radiator, 10 ... Pump, 11 ... Water heat exchange section, 12a, 12b ...
Connection pipe, 13... water circulation channel.

Claims (1)

[Scope of Claims] 1. A heat storage tank consisting of an electric heater, a heat storage material that stores heat emitted by the electric heater, and a heat insulating material provided around the heat storage material, and a heat receiving section installed on the side of the heat storage material. A reheating device for a bathtub, comprising: a heat pipe that transmits the heat stored in the heat storage material to water in the bathtub through a heat radiating part; and a valve inserted in the middle of the heat pipe. 2. The reheating device for a bathtub according to claim 1, wherein the heat pipe is of a gravity type, and the heat storage tank is installed below a heat radiation part of the heat pipe. 3. The reheating bathtub according to claim 1, wherein the heat pipe is configured as a closed loop, and the valve and a pump for circulating the working fluid in the heat pipe are inserted in the middle of the heat pipe. Device. 4. The bathtub according to claim 3, wherein the heat pipe configured as a closed loop is formed in a vertical direction, and the valve and the pump are inserted in the middle of the lower heat pipe. Reheating device for use. 5. A patent characterized in that the heat dissipation part of the heat pipe is installed in a water heat exchange part, and the water heat exchange part is connected to the inside of the bathtub by two connecting pipes installed with an interval in the vertical direction. A reheating device for a bathtub according to any one of claims 1 to 4.