JPH0523376A - Hot water supply system - Google Patents

Abstract

(57) [Summary] [Purpose] The purpose is to provide a convenient hot water supply system that can automatically mix carbon dioxide into warm water in an appropriate amount for good health in the middle of the hot water supply channel from the water heater to the bathtub. To do. [Structure] A carbon dioxide gas mixing device 3 for mixing the carbon dioxide gas from the carbon dioxide gas cylinder 1 into the warm water is provided on the outlet side of the heat exchanger of the water heater 2, while the carbon dioxide mixed in the warm water is provided on the bath 8 side. A carbon dioxide sensor 10 for detecting the gas concentration is provided and configured. As a result, at the time of hot water supply, carbon dioxide gas is automatically mixed into the hot water according to the amount of hot water supplied, and in a hot water supply system capable of supplying carbon dioxide gas into the bathtub 8, the carbon dioxide concentration of hot water in the bathtub 8 is lowered. At the same time, carbon dioxide is supplied into the bath to maintain the carbon dioxide concentration at a predetermined concentration.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a hot water supply system and, more particularly, to a hot water supply system for mixing hot water from a water heater with carbon dioxide gas to supply hot water to a bathtub.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, bathing for relieving work fatigue and relieving stress to improve health has been reviewed. In order to promote good health by taking a bath, conventionally, bubbles are generated in the bathtub, and a bubble bath that creates a massage effect due to the impact of the air on the skin or citric acid or succinic acid in the bathtub is used. There are known carbon dioxide gas bath agents and the like that generate carbon dioxide gas. The effects of carbon dioxide on the human body include promoting blood circulation, lowering blood pressure, and improving coldness.

[0003]

Among these, the carbon dioxide gas bathing agent has different amounts of carbon dioxide gas depending on the amount of hot water in the bath even if the same amount of bathing agent is added, and the carbon dioxide gas contained in the hot water is Since it is released from hot water over time, there is a problem that it is difficult to secure a carbon dioxide concentration of 150 PPM or more, which is said to be effective for promoting health.

Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide a user-friendly hot water supply system capable of automatically mixing carbon dioxide gas into warm water in an appropriate amount suitable for health promotion in the hot water supply passage from the water heater to the bathtub. Especially.

[0005]

The hot water supply system of the present invention which achieves the above object is a water heater having a heat exchanger for heating tap water with gas, electricity or kerosene, and the amount of hot water supplied from the water heater. Hot water supply amount detecting device, carbon dioxide gas cylinder that accumulates carbon dioxide gas, and carbon dioxide gas from the carbon dioxide gas mixture from the heat exchanger according to the amount of hot water supply detected by the hot water supply amount detecting device And a mixing device.

This carbon dioxide gas mixing device is equipped with a carbon dioxide gas flow rate control valve to control the amount of carbon dioxide gas discharged from the carbon dioxide gas cylinder.
The carbon dioxide gas flow rate control valve may be used to mix carbon dioxide gas into the hot water from the heat exchanger according to the amount of hot water supplied.

The hot water supply amount detecting device may be a device for detecting the opening of a water tap, but a carbon dioxide concentration detecting device for detecting the hot water supply amount based on the amount of carbon dioxide gas released from hot water at the time of hot water supply is provided at a predetermined location in the bathtub. You may attach it to.

Further, a carbon dioxide gas supply pipe capable of supplying carbon dioxide gas is further provided below the surface of the molten metal in the bathtub, and the carbon dioxide gas concentration in the bathtub is set to a predetermined value by means of a carbon dioxide gas concentration detector in the middle of the carbon dioxide gas supply pipe. By providing a carbon dioxide gas supply valve that opens when the temperature falls below a certain value, it becomes possible to keep the carbon dioxide gas concentration in the bathtub after hot water supply constant.

[0009]

According to the hot water supply system of the present invention, when the hot water supply amount detecting device such as the carbon dioxide concentration detecting device detects the hot water supply amount at the time of hot water supply, the carbon dioxide gas provided at the outlet side of the heat exchanger of the water heater The mixing device automatically mixes the carbon dioxide gas from the carbon dioxide gas cylinder into the hot water according to the amount of hot water supplied and supplies the hot water from the hot water tap. Further, in a hot water supply system capable of supplying carbon dioxide gas into the bathtub, when the carbon dioxide gas concentration detecting device lowers the carbon dioxide gas concentration in the bathtub, the carbon dioxide gas is supplied into the bathtub and the carbon dioxide concentration is maintained at a predetermined concentration. It

[0010]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

FIG. 1 is a hot water supply route diagram showing the configuration of an embodiment of the hot water supply system of the present invention. In the figure, 1 is a carbon dioxide cylinder, 2 is a water heater, 3 is a carbon dioxide gas mixing device, 4 is a gas burner provided in the water heater 2, 5 is a heat exchanger, 6 is a hot water supply channel, 7 is a carbon dioxide supply pipe, 8 is a bathtub, 9 is a carbon dioxide collecting device, 10 is a carbon dioxide sensor, and 11 is a carbon dioxide sensor.
10 output signal lines.

A heat exchanger 5 for heating tap water by the heat of the gas burner 4 is provided inside the water heater 2, and the hot water heated by the heat exchanger 5 is also provided inside the water heater 2. It is guided to the carbon dioxide gas mixing device 3. Carbon dioxide gas mixing device 3
The carbon dioxide gas from the carbon dioxide gas cylinder 1 is introduced into the tank 2, and the carbon dioxide gas is mixed in the warm water in the carbon dioxide gas mixing device 3. The hot water mixed with carbon dioxide gas passes through the hot water supply channel 6 and is discharged from the hot water tap 6A or the shower 6B. Further, a carbon dioxide gas supply pipe 7 capable of discharging only carbon dioxide gas is connected to the carbon dioxide gas mixing device 3, and the other end of the carbon dioxide gas supply pipe 7 is opened at a lower portion of the bath 8 to discharge carbon dioxide gas. It can be released into hot water in the bathtub. On the other hand, a carbon dioxide collecting device 9 is provided at a predetermined location of the bath 8 so that carbon dioxide released from the warm water supplied to the bath 8 is collected and guided to the carbon dioxide sensor 10. The carbon dioxide sensor 10 detects the concentration of carbon dioxide released from the warm water in the bath 8 and feeds back the detected concentration to the carbon dioxide mixing device 3 by the output signal 11.

Although carbon dioxide has a high solubility in water, it is easily released from water, so that as shown in FIG.
By measuring the concentration of carbon dioxide gas released from the water surface of the bathtub 8, based on the data measured in advance, the carbon dioxide gas mixing ratio in the hot water when the hot water is supplied to the bathtub 8 and the bathtub after the water supply is completed. It is possible to know the mixing ratio of carbon dioxide gas in the warm water in the table 8.

FIG. 2 shows an embodiment of a specific internal structure of the carbon dioxide gas mixing apparatus 3 shown in FIG. Inside the carbon dioxide gas mixing device 3, a warm water introduction pipe 31 connected to the heat exchanger 5 and a carbon dioxide gas introduction pipe 32 connected to the carbon dioxide gas cylinder 1.
There is a mixer 30 provided with, and in this mixer 30, the hot water from the heat exchanger 5 is mixed with the carbon dioxide gas from the carbon dioxide gas cylinder 1, and the hot water mixed with the carbon dioxide gas is output to the hot water supply channel 6. There is. A check valve 33 for preventing backflow of hot water to the carbon dioxide gas cylinder 1 side and a carbon dioxide gas flow rate control valve 34 for adjusting the amount of carbon dioxide gas from the carbon dioxide gas cylinder 1 are provided in the middle of the carbon dioxide gas introduction pipe 32. There is. Further, the carbon dioxide gas introduction pipe 32 on the output side of the carbon dioxide gas flow control valve 34 is branched into two, one of which is connected to the mixer 30.
The other is connected to the carbon dioxide gas supply pipe 7 via the carbon dioxide gas supply valve 35. In this mixer 30, since carbon dioxide has a high solubility in water as described above,
Carbon dioxide is mixed into warm water simply by passing carbon dioxide into warm water.

The carbon dioxide gas flow rate control valve 34 and the carbon dioxide gas supply valve 35 are both electromagnetic valves, and a control unit 34A of the carbon dioxide gas flow rate control valve 34 outputs a signal from the carbon dioxide gas sensor 10 and a hot water supply switch and a compulsory switch described later. Signal is input,
A signal from the carbon dioxide sensor 10 and a signal from the hot water supply switch are input to the control unit 35A of the carbon dioxide supply valve 35. Although this control will be described later, the carbon dioxide gas flow rate control valve 34 is a valve for finely controlling to control the mixing ratio of carbon dioxide gas in warm water, and the carbon dioxide gas supply valve is ON / OFF.
It is a good valve to do only. Then, by controlling the opening / closing frequency or opening / closing degree of the carbon dioxide gas flow rate control valve 34, the mixing ratio of carbon dioxide in the warm water is controlled from 150 PPM to 500 PPM. When bathing in hot water containing carbon dioxide, it is absorbed from the skin and promotes blood circulation, making it difficult to cool the water after bathing.In West Germany, the minimum carbon dioxide required for this effect is Although the contamination rate is reported to be 400 PPM, it has been reported to be effective even at 110 PPM in Japan. Therefore, in this embodiment, the minimum value of carbon dioxide gas mixed in warm water is 150 PPM and the upper limit value is 500 PPM, and the carbon dioxide gas flow rate control valve 3 is set so that the carbon dioxide gas mixture rate falls within this range.
It was decided to control the opening / closing frequency or opening / closing degree of No. 4.

FIG. 3 is a flow chart showing an example of the procedure for controlling the mixing of carbon dioxide gas into hot water, and FIG. 4 is a block circuit diagram showing the configuration of the main parts of the hot water supply system for executing the procedure of FIG. .. The compulsory switch 41 in FIG.
This is a switch that is pressed when the rate of mixing carbon dioxide in the warm water in the bath 8 is kept constant. When this forced switch 41 is pressed to turn it on, carbon dioxide from the carbon dioxide cylinder 1 shown in FIG. It jets out into the bathtub 8 through the carbon dioxide supply pipe 7. The hot water supply switch 42 is a switch that is turned on when the bathtub 8 is filled with hot water, and the carbon dioxide sensor 43 is activated when the forced switch 41 or the hot water supply switch 42 is turned on. The carbon dioxide concentration determination circuit 44 determines whether or not the mixing ratio of the carbon dioxide contained in the hot water during hot water supply or the mixing ratio of the carbon dioxide in the warm water filled in the bath 8 is within the range of the above-mentioned specified value. This operation is performed by comparing the output voltage of the carbon dioxide gas sensor 43 with the reference voltage. The solenoid valve control circuit 45 controls the opening and closing of the solenoid valve that opens when the hot water in the bathtub 8 is forcibly mixed with the carbon dioxide gas, and the proportional valve control circuit 46 controls the proportional valve control circuit 46 to mix the carbon dioxide gas with the hot water during hot water supply. In order to maintain the mixing rate of the carbon dioxide at a specified value, the opening / closing of a proportional valve that controls the discharge amount of carbon dioxide from the carbon dioxide cylinder 1 is controlled.

Based on such a configuration, the steps of FIG.
In 301, it is judged whether the compulsory switch 41 is ON or not.
If it is FF (NO), proceed to step 302 and switch to the hot water supply 42
Is determined to be ON or not. Hot water supply switch 42 is off
If NO (NO), the process returns to step 301, but when the hot water supply switch 42 is ON, the process proceeds to step 303 to open the proportional valve (carbon dioxide gas flow control valve), and in step 304, the carbon dioxide gas in the warm water reaches the specified concentration. It is determined whether it has been reached. If the specified concentration has not been reached (NO), return to step 303.
(YES) proceeds to step 305 to close the proportional valve. Step 311 determines whether or not the power switch is turned off. Unless it is turned off, step 301
If it is OFF, the routine ends at step 312. In this way, the mixing ratio of carbon dioxide gas is kept constant during hot water supply when the hot water supply switch 42 is ON.

On the other hand, when the forced switch 42 is ON in step 301 (YES), the flow proceeds to step 306, and after opening the proportional valve, the solenoid valve (carbon dioxide gas supply valve) is opened in step 307. Then, in step 308, it is determined whether or not the carbon dioxide gas in the warm water in the bath 8 has the specified concentration. If the concentration has not reached the specified concentration (NO), the process returns to step 306, and if it has reached (YES), the process proceeds to step 309 to close the proportional valve and close the solenoid valve in step 310. After this, proceed to step 311 and turn off the power switch described above.
Is determined. In this way, when the compulsory switch 41 is ON, the carbon dioxide gas mixture is forcibly supplied to the hot water in the bath tub 8 to keep the carbon dioxide gas mixture ratio constant.

FIG. 5 shows an example of the configuration of the carbon dioxide gas sensor 10 of FIG. 1, and this carbon dioxide gas sensor 10 has already been proposed by the applicant of the present application. The carbon dioxide gas sensor 10 has a sodium ion conductor 51 inside, and a detection electrode 52 is provided on one surface thereof. The detection electrode 52 is formed of, for example, a platinum net coated with platinum black, on which a solid solution of an alkaline earth metal carbonate and an alkali metal carbonate, and a crystal of the alkali metal carbonate. A detection material layer (coating material) 53 that does not include is covered. A reference electrode 54 is provided on the other surface of the sodium ion conductor 51. The reference electrode 54 is formed of, for example, a platinum net to which platinum black is attached, and is a cover 55 made of glass or the like for shielding from the test gas. It is covered and sealed. Reference numeral 56 is a ceramic substrate, and 57 is a heater made of platinum mesh provided on the back surface of the substrate 56.

In the carbon dioxide gas sensor 10 of this embodiment, NASICON is used as the sodium ion conductor 51, and a detection material layer (coating material) for covering the detection electrode 52 formed of a platinum net to which a platinum net is attached. As a solid solution of 53 alkaline earth metal carbonate and alkali metal carbonate, barium carbonate and sodium carbonate in a molar ratio of 1.7: 1.
The solid solution is used so as to obtain the following, and the others are configured as described above.

The carbon dioxide sensor 10 is heated by a heater 57 by a measuring device so that the element temperature is 550 ° C., and the electromotive force characteristics for carbon dioxide having a concentration of 100 to 2000 ppm are measured in humid air and dry air. did. As a result, even in humid air with a humidity of 20% and a humidity of 75%,
Almost the same characteristics as in dry air were obtained.

In FIG. 6, the horizontal axis represents the carbon dioxide concentration (ppm),
The vertical axis represents a characteristic curve of carbon dioxide concentration-sensor output of the carbon dioxide sensor 10 when the sensor output (mV) is taken.

With the above-described structure, the hot water supply system of this embodiment can maintain a constant carbon dioxide gas mixture ratio of hot water in the bathtub after hot water supply and after hot water supply. effective.

[0024]

As described above, according to the hot water supply system of the present invention, in the hot water supply passage from the water heater to the bathtub,
There is an effect that it is possible to provide a hot water supply system that is easy to use and can mix carbon dioxide gas into warm water automatically in an appropriate amount that is good for health promotion.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a hot water supply route diagram showing a configuration of an embodiment of a hot water supply system of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a route diagram showing an example of a specific configuration of the carbon dioxide gas mixing device of FIG.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing an example of a procedure for controlling mixing of carbon dioxide gas into warm water.

FIG. 4 is a block circuit diagram of a main part of a hot water supply system that implements the control procedure of FIG.

5 is a cross-sectional view showing the configuration of the carbon dioxide sensor of FIG.

FIG. 6 is a diagram showing an output characteristic of the carbon dioxide sensor of FIG. 5 with respect to carbon dioxide concentration.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 Carbon dioxide cylinder 2 Water heater 3 Carbon dioxide gas mixing device 4 Gas burner 5 Heat exchanger 6 Hot water supply channel 7 Carbon dioxide gas supply pipe 8 Bathtub 9 Carbon dioxide gas collecting device 10,43 Carbon dioxide sensor 41 Forced switch 42 Hot water switch 44 Carbon dioxide concentration judgment circuit 45 Solenoid valve control circuit 46 Proportional valve control circuit

Claims (1)

Claim: What is claimed is: 1. A water heater equipped with a heat exchanger for heating tap water with gas, electricity or kerosene, a hot water supply amount detecting device for detecting the amount of hot water supplied from the water heater, and a carbonic acid. A carbon dioxide gas cylinder for accumulating gas; and a carbon dioxide gas mixing device for mixing the carbon dioxide gas from the carbon dioxide gas tank with the hot water from the heat exchanger according to the hot water supply amount detected by the hot water supply amount detection device. Hot water supply system.