Hot water supply device

Abstract

To suppress vibration of a branch pipe for draining, connected to a plurality of trap plugs.SOLUTION: A hot water supply device includes: a housing having a bottom plate and a side plate; a plurality of water passages: a plurality of branch pipes for draining, branched from each of the water passages; a plurality of trap plugs provided on terminal ends of the branch pipes for draining; an opening portion opened at the neighborhood of the bottom plate, of the side plate to expose the plurality of trap plugs to the outside of the housing; a metal fixture for positioning the plurality of trap plugs at the opening portion and fixing them to the side plate; and sheet-like cushioning materials provided between the plurality of trap plugs and the metal fixture and between the metal fixture and the side plate. The cushioning material has a plurality of cylindrical portions to which the plurality of trap plugs are inserted and which covers an anti-terminal end side of each trap plug, and the metal fixture has hole portions to which the plurality of cylindrical portions of the cushioning material are inserted.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 9

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a hot water supply device having a plurality of drain plugs. [Background technology]

[0002] Conventionally, this type of water heater has been provided with a drain plug near the bottom of the casing to drain water from the pipes, and the user would drain the water from the water heater's pipes by operating the drain plug.

[0003] In addition, units with special functions separate from the hot water heater are known, such as the air bubble supply unit described in Patent Document 2, which is equipped with a dissolution tank that dissolves air in water, a gas introduction valve that opens and closes a gas introduction path that introduces gas into the dissolution tank, a pressure pump that pressurizes water into the dissolution tank, and an air intake port that draws in air from the outside.If the unit is not to be used for an extended period of time, it is necessary to open a drain plug (not shown) provided on the appliance and drain the water from within the unit. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0004] [Patent Document 1] JP 2019-132474 A [Patent Document 2] Patent Publication No. 2022-181903 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0005] However, when a unit with a single function having multiple drain plugs is installed within a hot water supply device, when you just want to drain the water from this unit, it can be difficult to know which drain plug to open, which can lead to forgetting to drain the water.In addition, since the branch pipes for draining water extend from different positions, if the hot water storage tank unit vibrates in an earthquake or during delivery, the branch pipes for draining water will vibrate from different locations, which can cause damage. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] According to the present invention, a housing having a bottom plate and a side plate, multiple water paths, multiple drainage branch pipes branching off from each water path, multiple drainage plugs provided at the end of each drainage branch pipe, an opening opened in the side plate near the bottom plate to expose the multiple drainage plugs to the outside of the housing, fixing brackets for positioning the multiple drainage plugs in the openings and fixing them to the side plate, and a sheet-like cushioning material provided between the multiple drainage plugs and the fixing brackets and between the fixing brackets and the side plate, the cushioning material having multiple tubular portions through which the multiple drainage plugs are inserted and covering the anti-end side of each of the drain plugs, and the fixing brackets having holes through which the multiple tubular portions of the cushioning material are inserted.

[0007] Further, the cushioning material has a cut portion in each of the cylindrical portions that continues from the outer edge of the cushioning material to the inner edge of each of the cylindrical portions, and the cut portion is provided along a fixed direction.

[0008] The hole of the fixing metal fitting is provided with a burring portion protruding toward the opposite end.

[0009] Furthermore, a locking piece that locks with the bottom plate is provided at the lower end of the fixing metal fitting. Effect of the Invention

[0010] According to this invention, the opposite ends of multiple drain plugs can be covered with cushioning material, reducing the vibrations transmitted from each to the drain plugs and preventing damage, and since multiple drain plugs are grouped together in one place, work is easy and draining water can be performed easily. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0011] [Figure 1] 1 is a schematic configuration diagram showing an embodiment of the present invention. [Diagram 2] FIG. 2 is an internal perspective view of the hot water storage tank unit of the present invention. [Diagram 3] FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a main part of the bubble supply unit of the present invention. [Figure 4] FIG. 2 is an external perspective view of the hot water storage tank unit of the present invention. [Diagram 5] FIG. [Figure 6] FIG. [Figure 7] 1 is a side view and a perspective view illustrating the installation of the drain plug of the present invention. FIG. [Figure 8] 1 is a side view and a perspective view illustrating the installation of the drain plug of the present invention. FIG. [Figure 9] 1 is a side view and a perspective view illustrating the installation of the drain plug of the present invention. FIG. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0012] Next, a storage type hot water supply device according to one embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. Reference numeral 1 denotes a hot water storage tank unit, and inside the hot water storage tank unit 1 there are a hot water storage tank 2 for storing hot water, a hot water outlet pipe 3 connected to the upper part of the hot water storage tank 2, a water supply pipe 4 connected to the lower part of the hot water storage tank 2, a bath mixing valve 6 for mixing high temperature water from the hot water outlet pipe 3 and low temperature water from a water supply bypass pipe 5 branching off from the water supply pipe 4, and a bath temperature sensor 8 and a bath flow rate sensor 9 for detecting the bath flow rate, which are provided in a hot water filling pipe 7 connected downstream of the bath mixing valve 6.

[0013] The hot water storage tank 2 is composed of a cylindrical body, an upper head plate that covers the upper end of the body, and a lower head plate that covers the lower end of the body, with the upper head plate having an approximate shape of an inverted bowl, and the lower head plate having an approximate shape of a bowl.

[0014] Reference numeral 10 denotes a heating means, which includes a compressor, a water-refrigerant heat exchanger as a condenser, an electronic expansion valve, an outdoor fan, and an air heat exchanger as an evaporator that exchanges heat with air. The heating means 10 includes a circulation pump 14 that circulates the hot water in the hot water storage tank 2 to the heating means 10 via a heating circulation circuit 13 consisting of a heating supply pipe 11 and a heating return pipe 12, and a heat pump control unit that controls the operation of these. Carbon dioxide is used as a refrigerant in the heating means 10, forming a supercritical heat pump cycle. In addition, because carbon dioxide is used as the refrigerant, it is possible to boil low-temperature water to a high temperature of about 90°C without an electric heater.

[0015] Reference numeral 15 denotes a filling valve that connects the filling pipe 7 to the bathtub and supplies hot water to the bathtub, and reference numeral 16 denotes a check valve that is provided on the filling pipe 7 and prevents the hot water in the bathtub from flowing into the hot water storage tank 2.

[0016] Reference numeral 17a denotes a bath circulation path connected to the filling pipe 7, 17b denotes a first water path connecting the bath circulation path 17a with the bathtub, 17c denotes a second water path connecting the bath circulation path 17a with the first switching valve 27A and the second switching valve 27B, 17d denotes a third water path connecting the second water path 17c with the bathtub via the second switching valve 27B, and 17e denotes a reheating path that heats the water in the bathtub via the bath heat exchanger 30. Reference numeral 18 denotes a bath circulation pump provided in the bath circulation path 17. Reference numerals 17a to 17d denote bath piping that connects the bathtub with the heating means 10.

[0017] Reference numeral 19 denotes a water level sensor that detects the water level in the bathtub, and reference numeral 20 denotes a water flow sensor that detects whether water flows from the bathtub when the bath circulation pump 18 is driven.

[0018] Reference numeral 21 denotes an air bubble supply unit that incorporates air bubbles into the hot and cold water supplied to the bathtub, 22a denotes a hot and cold water supply path that connects the bath circulation path 17a and the upstream side of the dissolution tank 25, and 22b denotes a hot and cold water discharge path that connects the downstream side of the dissolution tank 25 and the second switching valve 27B. The air bubble supply path 22 is composed of the water paths of the hot and cold water supply path 22a and the hot and cold water discharge path 22b.

[0019] The air bubble supply path 22 is provided with a water volume servo 23 that controls the amount of water flowing into the air bubble supply path 22, a pressure pump 24A that is arranged upstream and pressurizes hot water downstream, a pressure pump 24B that is arranged downstream and pressurizes hot water downstream, a dissolution tank 25 that dissolves air in the pressurized hot water, a check valve 26 that prevents backflow into the dissolution tank 25, and a three-way valve 27.

[0020] The dissolving tank 25 is provided with a gas introduction valve 28 which is a valve for opening and closing a gas introduction passage for introducing air into the dissolving tank 25, and an air suction port 29 which introduces air.

[0021] Reference numeral 200 denotes a control device which, when the detection values ​​of the bath temperature sensor 8, bath flow rate sensor 9, water level sensor 19, and running water sensor 20 are input, controls the operation of the bath mixing valve 6, circulation pump 14, water filling valve 15, bath circulation pump 18, three-way valve 27, gas introduction valve 28, and heating means 10 in accordance with a pre-stored program.

[0022] The control device 200 is also communicably connected to a remote control (not shown), and performs operations instructed by a user via the remote control, as well as various operations according to pre-stored programs.

[0023] Next, the boiling operation will be described. When a request for boiling is made, the control device 200 drives the circulation pump 14 located in the heating circulation circuit 13 connecting the hot water storage tank 2 and the heating means 10 to pump water from the bottom of the hot water storage tank 2, heat it using the heating means 10, and return it to the top of the hot water storage tank 2, gradually boiling the water in the hot water storage tank 2 into high-temperature water.

[0024] Next, the filling operation will be described. When the user commands the filling operation with a remote control (not shown), the control device 200 opens the filling valve 15, supplies water from the water supply pipe 4, and the water flows into the bottom of the hot water storage tank 2 and passes through the water supply bypass pipe 5. The high-temperature water pushed out from the top of the hot water storage tank 1 and the water supply from the water supply bypass pipe 5 are mixed in the bath mixing valve 6, and the hot water adjusted so that the preset bath setting temperature and the temperature detected by the bath temperature sensor 8 are the same flows into the bathtub through the filling pipe 7, bath circulation path 17a, and first water path 17b, starting filling the bath. The bath flow rate sensor 9 then detects the flow rate, and when the total accumulated value of the flow rate reaches the preset filling amount, the control device 200 closes the filling valve 15, completing filling the bath. In addition, the bath circulation path 17a has two paths: a flow path that supplies water to the bathtub via the first water path 17b, and a flow path that supplies water to the bathtub via the third water path 17d and the second water path 17c.It is also possible to perform a high-speed filling operation by supplying hot water from both pipes simultaneously.

[0025] Next, the air bubble supply operation will be described. When the user instructs the air bubble supply operation with a remote control (not shown), the control device 200 opens the gas introduction valve 28, the first switching valve 27A switches the first water passage 17b to a communicating state, the second switching valve 27B switches the hot water discharge passage 22b and the second water passage 17c to a communicating state, the third switching valve 27C switches to the bath heat exchanger 30 side, and drives the bath circulation pump 18. As a result, the control device 200 performs an air supply operation for supplying air bubbles, which discharges the hot water in the dissolution tank 25 in the order of the hot water discharge passage 22b, the second water passage 17c, the bath circulation passage 17a, the reheating passage 17e, the bath heat exchanger 30, the reheating passage 17e, the bath circulation passage 17a, the first water passage 17b, and the bathtub. By performing the preparation operation for the air bubble supply operation, the cold hot water remaining inside the piping is discharged into the bathtub while being boiled, and the hot water in the dissolution tank 25 can be drained and air can be supplied into the dissolution tank 25.

[0026] Then, the control device 200 closes the gas introduction valve 28, the first changeover valve 27A switches the first water passage 17b and the second water passage 17c to a communicating state, the second changeover valve 27B switches the third water passage 17d and the hot and cold water discharge passage 22b to a communicating state, the third changeover valve 27C switches to the bath heat exchanger 30 side, drives the pressurizing pump 24A and the pressurizing pump 24B, and drives the bath circulation pump 18. As a result, the control device 200 performs a water supply operation for the bubble supply operation, which circulates the hot and cold water in the bathtub in the order of the first water passage 17b, the second water passage 17c, the bath circulation passage 17a, the reheating passage 17e, the bath heat exchanger 30, the reheating passage 17e, the bath circulation passage 17a, the hot and cold water supply passage 22a, the dissolving tank 25, the hot and cold water discharge passage 22b, the third water passage 17d, and the bathtub. By performing the water supply operation of the air bubble supply operation, water pressurized by the pressure pump 24 is supplied to the dissolution tank 25, air is pressurized and dissolved in the hot water in the dissolution tank 25, and the hot water is supplied to the bathtub while incorporating air therein.

[0027] By alternately performing this water supply operation and air supply operation, a bubble supply operation is performed in which hot water containing air is supplied to the bathtub.

[0028] Next, the hot water storage tank unit 1 will be described with reference to FIG. The hot water tank unit 1 includes a hot water tank 2 and various piping and fixtures inside a roughly rectangular casing surrounded on all six sides by a top plate 101, a bottom plate 102, and side plates. Each side plate is made up of an upper front plate 103A covering the upper front surface, a lower front plate 103B covering the lower front surface, a piping connection plate 103C serving as a pipe connection port, a right side plate 104, a left side plate 105, and a rear plate 106. Reference numeral 107 denotes legs that support the hot water tank unit 1.

[0029] The bottom plate 102 is provided with a rising portion 102A that is bent vertically upward.

[0030] The hot water tank 2 contained in the hot water tank unit 1 is provided with a molded heat insulating material 108 having a substantially constant thickness that covers the outer periphery of the hot water tank 2 to prevent heat radiation from the hot water in the hot water tank 2.

[0031] Inside the hot water tank unit 1, a corner portion C is defined by the lower front panel 103B, one of the side panels, either the right side panel 104 or the left side panel 105, and the bottom panel 102, and the corner portion C is provided with the air bubble supply unit 21. To explain this corner portion C in detail, the corner portion C refers to the gap formed by the inner corners of the lower front panel 103B, the side panel, and the bottom panel 102, and the outside of the molded insulation material 108 covering the bowl-shaped hot water tank 2.

[0032] Further, reference numeral 109 denotes a drainage path which is a branch pipe for draining water from within the air bubble supply path 22, and reference numeral 110 denotes a drain plug which drains water from the drainage path 109 to the outside of the apparatus.

[0033] The drainage path 109 is composed of a drainage path 109a connected to the lower part of the pressure pump 24A, a drainage path 109b connected to the lower part of the pressure pump 24B, a drainage path 109c connected to the lower part of the dissolution tank 25, and a drainage path 109d connected to the bubble supply path 22 downstream of the check valve 26.

[0034] Each path is provided with a drain plug 110, and drain plug 110a for drainage path 109a, drain plug 110b for drainage path 109b, drain plug 110c for drainage path 109c, and drain plug 110d for drainage path 109d are connected to drainage path 109. Water in drainage path 109 can be drained by turning the handle at the tip of drain plug 110 to open it.

[0035] Reference numeral 111 denotes an opening that is opened near the bottom plate 102 of the lower front plate 103B and exposes the drain plug 110 to the outside of the hot water storage tank unit 1.

[0036] Reference numeral 112 denotes a fixing bracket that gathers multiple drainage paths 109 in one place, positions drain plug 110 in opening 111, and fixes it to lower front panel 103B. Fixing bracket 112 has burred portion 112A formed by burring a hole opened to allow drainage paths 109 to pass through, locking piece 112B that hooks fixing bracket 112 to rising portion 102A of bottom plate 102 for support, outer edge portions 112C that are the left and right edges of fixing bracket, and fixing holes 112D opened in outer edge portions 112C for screwing fixing devices such as screws (not shown). Fixing devices such as screws are screwed into fixing holes 112D to fix fixing bracket 112 to lower front panel 103B.

[0037] The burred portion 112A is opened in the number of drain plugs 110 and is machined toward the inside of the hot water storage tank unit 1.

[0038] The locking piece 112B is provided vertically downward on the outer surface of the fixing bracket 112, and when the fixing bracket 112 is placed horizontally during assembly at the factory as shown in Figure 6, the outer surface of the rising portion 102A and the inner surface of the locking piece 112B come into contact and provide support.

[0039] In this way, the outer surface of the raised portion 102A and the inner surface of the locking piece 112B come into contact and provide support, and the horizontally extending outer edge portion of the fixing bracket 112 comes into contact with the lower front panel 103B, allowing the fixing bracket 112 to be supported in contact with the bottom plate 102 without being screwed to the front panel 103, thereby preventing the fixing bracket 112 from falling through the opening 111 into the hot water storage tank unit 1.

[0040] Reference numeral 113 denotes a sheet-like cushioning material provided between drain plug 110 and fixing bracket 112 and between fixing bracket 112 and lower front panel 103B. Cushioning material 113 has a plurality of tubular portions 113A through which drain plug 110 is inserted and which cover the side opposite to the end of drain plug 110, and cut-out portions 113B which continue from the outer edge of cushioning material 113 to the inner edge of each tubular portion 113A.

[0041] The inner diameter of the cylindrical portion 113A is approximately equal to the outer diameter of the drain plug 110, and the outer diameter of the cylindrical portion 113A is approximately equal to the inner diameter of the burring portion 112A of the fixing metal fitting 112.

[0042] Further, the plurality of cut portions 113B are provided along a fixed direction (here, along the vertical direction in FIG. 6. Alternatively, they may all be provided along the horizontal direction).

[0043] In this way, since the sheet-like cushioning material 113 has a cut-out portion 113B, even if the outer diameter of the drain plug 110 is approximately equal to the inner diameter of the tubular portion 113A, the drain plug 110 can be stored within the tubular portion 113A by opening the cut-out portion 113B, inserting the drainage path 109 from the cut-out portion 113B, and sliding the drain plug 110 into the tubular portion 113A.

[0044] In addition, multiple drain plugs 110 can be positioned together in one place, and the anti-terminal ends of multiple drain plugs 110 are contained in the tubular portion 113A of the cushioning material 113, and the tubular portion 113A is further contained within the burring portion 112A of the fixing bracket 112, allowing the drain plugs to be easily and firmly fixed.

[0045] Next, a method for assembling the drain plug 110 will be described with reference to FIGS.

[0046] First, as shown in FIG. 7, the drain plugs 110 of the drainage paths 109 in the hot water tank unit 1 are penetrated through the burring portions 112A of the fixing fittings 112 and exposed to the outside of the hot water tank unit 1.

[0047] Then, as shown in FIG. 8, tubular portion 113A is opened from cut portion 113B of cushioning material 113, drainage path 109 is placed inside tubular portion 113A, and fixing bracket 112, cushioning material 113, and drain plug 110 are arranged in this order from the outside.

[0048] Then, as shown in FIG. 9, the opposite end of the drain plug 110 is enclosed in the cylindrical portion 113A, and the cylindrical portion 113A is fitted into the burring portion 112A.

[0049] At this time, although not shown in Figure 7, the fixing bracket 112, which has not yet been fixed with a fastener such as a screw, is supported by hooking the locking piece 112B onto the rising portion 102A to prevent it from falling through the opening 111 into the hot water storage tank unit 1.

[0050] Then, the fixing metal fittings 112 and the lower front panel 103B are fixed to each other with fasteners such as screws through the fixing holes 112D.

[0051] In this way, by covering the opposite ends of multiple drain plugs 110 with tubular portion 113A of sheet-like cushioning material 113, vibrations can be reduced even if each drain plug 110 vibrates separately, and noise generated by the drain plugs 110 coming into contact with the hot water storage tank unit 1 can be reduced.

[0052] In addition, since the multiple drain plugs 110 are fixed without using fasteners such as screws, even in the event of a large tremor such as an earthquake, the cushioning material 113 suppresses the tremor and absorbs the vibration, preventing damage to the drain plugs 110.

[0053] Furthermore, since the drain plug 110 is disposed outside the hot water storage tank unit 1, water can be easily drained without removing the lower front panel 103B.

[0054] In addition, since the multiple drain plugs 110 are all gathered in one place, when you want to drain the water inside the air bubble supply unit 21, you do not need to worry about where the drain plug 110 is located, which improves maintainability.

[0055] The present invention is not limited to the embodiments, and modifications may be made without changing the gist of the invention. For example, a heat pump type heating means 10 is used to heat the hot water in the hot water storage tank 2, but an electric water heater that uses an electric heater to heat the hot water storage tank 2 may also be used.

[0056] In addition, in the embodiment of the present invention, an opening 111 is provided in the lower front panel 103B of the hot water storage tank unit 1, and a fixing bracket 112 is arranged thereon, but it may also be provided on the right side panel 104 or the left side panel 105, and the drain plug 110 may be gathered in one place with the fixing bracket 112 via the cushioning material 113.

[0057] In addition, in the embodiment of the present invention, the water path of the bubble supply unit 21 having multiple drain plugs 110 is used as a unit with a single function, but this is not limited to this, and for example, the water heating device may have a complex piping position within the hot water storage tank unit 1 such that a single drain plug 110 is not sufficient to drain all the water, or may have a heating unit consisting of a water refrigerant circulation device for heating within the hot water storage tank unit and multiple drain plugs 110 for the heating unit, or any water heating device with multiple drain plugs. [Explanation of symbols]

[0058] 1 Hot water tank unit 2 Hot water tank 3. Outlet pipe 4 Water supply pipe 5. Water supply bypass pipe 6 Bath Mixing Valve 7. Hot Water Pipe 17a Bath pipe 17b Bath return pipe 18 Bath Circulation Pump 21 Air bubble supply unit 22 Bubble supply path 24A Pressure Pump 24B Pressure Pump 25 Dissolving Tank 28 Gas introduction valve 29 Air Intake 101 Tabletop 102 Bottom plate 103A Front plate 103B Lower front plate 104 Right side plate 105 Left side plate 106 Rear plate 109 Drainage route Branch pipe for draining water 110 Drain plug 111 Opening 112 Fixing bracket 112A Burring section 112B Locking piece 113 Cushioning material 113A Cylinder part 113B Cutout

Claims

1. a housing having a bottom plate and a side plate; Multiple water paths; A plurality of branch pipes for draining water branched from each water path; a plurality of drain plugs provided at the ends of the respective drain branch pipes; an opening formed in the side panel near the bottom panel to expose the plurality of drain plugs to the outside of the housing; a fixing bracket for positioning the plurality of drain plugs in the opening and fixing them to the side panel; a sheet-like cushioning material provided between the plurality of drain plugs and the fixing metal fittings and between the fixing metal fittings and the side panel; The cushioning material has a plurality of tubular portions through which the plurality of drain plugs are inserted and which cover the opposite ends of the drain plugs, The hot water supply device is characterized in that the fixing metal fittings position the plurality of drain plugs in the opening and fix them via the buffer material.

2. The fixing bracket has an outer edge portion with a fixing hole, 2. The hot water supply device according to claim 1, wherein the outer edge portion is fixed to the side panel by being screwed.

3. A water heating device as described in claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the multiple water drain branch pipes are branched off from a unit having a single function.

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