Storage tank type hot water supply device

Abstract

To provide a hot water storage type water heater with which a user can take out hot water from a hot water storage tank in a state where a water flow of a water pipe is stopped, without going to a place where the hot water storage tank is installed.SOLUTION: A hot water storage type water heater 10 for supplying hot water in a hot water storage tank 12 to a first faucet 13 at the normal time when water in a water pipe 11 is supplied to the hot water storage tank 12, comprises: a water delivery pipe 32 into which hot water in the hot water storage tank 12 flows from an upstream end part; a pump 26 that causes hot water in the hot water storage tank 12 to flow into the water delivery pipe 32; a second faucet 31 to which the downstream end part of the water delivery pipe 32 is connected; and control means 23 of activating the pump 26 so that hot water in the hot water storage tank 12 is discharged from the second faucet 31 via the water delivery pipe 32.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a storage type hot water supply device that supplies hot water in a hot water storage tank to the outside. [Background technology]

[0002] A hot water storage type water heater uses the water pressure of the water pipes to supply hot water, which is obtained by mixing hot water from a hot water storage tank with water from a water pipe, or water from the water pipe (hereinafter, hot water or water will be referred to as "hot water") to a water faucet installed in a kitchen or bathroom (see Patent Documents 1 and 2). Therefore, under normal circumstances, hot water can be dispensed from the faucet by opening the faucet. However, if a natural disaster or other event causes the water supply infrastructure to fail, the flow of water in the water pipes to stop, and water pressure in the water pipes is lost, no hot water will come out of the tap even if the tap is opened. In this regard, a hot water storage type water heater, which has a drain hose connected to the bottom of the hot water storage tank, can discharge hot water from the hot water storage tank through the drain hose even when water pressure in the water pipes is lost. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] JP 2014-196887 A [Patent Document 2] JP 2017-129328 A Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] However, this type of hot water storage type hot water supply device is designed to use gravity to discharge hot water from the drain hose, so the hot water outlet of the drain hose is located in the hot water storage tank. Furthermore, the valve and other controls to discharge hot water from the drain hose are located in the hot water storage tank. Therefore, users have to go to the location of the hot water storage tank to discharge hot water from the drain hose, which is inconvenient. The present invention has been made in consideration of the above-mentioned circumstances, and aims to provide a storage-type hot water supply device that allows users to draw hot water from the hot water storage tank when the water flow in the water pipes is stopped, without having to go to the location where the hot water storage tank is installed. [Means for solving the problem]

[0005] In line with the above-mentioned objective, the hot water storage type hot water supply device of the present invention is a hot water storage type hot water supply device that supplies hot water in the hot water storage tank to a first water faucet during normal times when water from a water pipe is supplied to the hot water storage tank, and is equipped with a water supply pipe into which the hot water in the hot water storage tank flows in from its upstream end, a pump that, when activated, causes the hot water in the hot water storage tank to flow into the water supply pipe, a second water faucet to which the downstream end of the water supply pipe is connected, and control means that operates the pump to cause the hot water in the hot water storage tank to flow out of the second faucet via the water supply pipe. Effect of the Invention

[0006] The hot water storage type water heater of the present invention comprises a water supply pipe through which hot water in the hot water storage tank flows in from its upstream end, a pump which, when activated, causes the hot water in the hot water storage tank to flow into the water supply pipe, a second faucet to which the downstream end of the water supply pipe is connected, and control means which activates the pump to cause the hot water in the hot water storage tank to flow out of the second faucet via the water supply pipe.Therefore, compared to conventional storage type water heaters, there is a greater degree of freedom in the positioning of the second faucet, and users can access the hot water in the hot water storage tank without having to go to the location where the hot water storage tank is installed. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0007] [Figure 1] 1 is a circuit diagram of a storage type hot water supply device according to one embodiment of the present invention. [Diagram 2] FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing connections of a control means. [Diagram 3] FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram showing the process of boiling water in a hot water storage tank. [Figure 4] FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram showing the process of boiling water in a hot water storage tank. [Diagram 5] 13 is an explanatory diagram showing how hot and cold water in the hot water storage tank is supplied to a second faucet. FIG. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0008] Next, with reference to the attached drawings, an embodiment of the present invention will be described for understanding the present invention. As shown in Figure 1, a storage type hot water supply device 10 according to one embodiment of the present invention is a device that supplies hot water (hot or cold water) in the hot water storage tank 12 to a first faucet 13 during normal times when water from a water pipe 11 is supplied to the hot water storage tank 12.

[0009] As shown in Fig. 1, a plurality of temperature sensors 14 (six in this embodiment) are attached to the hot water storage tank 12 at different positions in the height direction. One side of a branched downstream area of ​​a water pipe 11 in which a pressure reducing valve 15, a temperature sensor 16, and check valves 17 and 18 are provided is connected to the bottom of the hot water storage tank 12. The upper end of a hot water supply pipe 19, the downstream end of which is connected to a first water faucet 13, is connected to the top of the hot water storage tank 12. The hot water supply pipe 19 is provided with a check valve 20, a water volume sensor 21, a temperature sensor 16a, and a mixing valve 22 to which the other side of the branched downstream area of ​​the water pipe 11 is connected.

[0010] 2, the mixing valve 22 is connected to a control means 23 constituted by an IC chip or the like, together with the temperature sensors 14, 16, 16a and the water volume sensor 21. An operation terminal 24 is connected to the control means 23, through which various input operations, including the setting of the temperature of hot and cold water supplied to the first faucet 13, are performed. Based on the detected temperatures of the temperature sensor 14 located at the highest position among the six temperature sensors 14 and the temperature sensor 16, the control means 23 adjusts the mixing ratio of the hot water coming out from the top of the hot water storage tank 12 and the water from the water pipe 11 through the mixing valve 22 so that the temperature of the hot water sent from the mixing valve 22 to the first faucet 13 becomes the temperature set on the operation terminal 24.

[0011] Normally, a certain water pressure is generated in water pipe 11, and when first water faucet 13 is opened, hot water comes out of first water faucet 13 due to the water pressure in water pipe 11, and the same amount of water as that coming out of the top of hot water storage tank 12 flows from water pipe 11 into the bottom of hot water storage tank 12. Therefore, under normal circumstances, hot water storage tank 12 is filled with hot water. In contrast, in an emergency where a certain water pressure is not generated in the water pipe 11, even if the first water faucet 13 is opened, no hot water comes out of the first water faucet 13 and the water in the water pipe 11 does not flow into the lower part of the hot water storage tank 12.

[0012] 1, the upstream end of a boiling pipe 25, the downstream end of which is connected to the upper part of the hot water storage tank 12, is connected to the lower part of the hot water storage tank 12. Attached to the boiling pipe 25 are a pump 26 that operates to cause hot water in the hot water storage tank 12 to flow from the lower part of the hot water storage tank 12 into the boiling pipe 25, a heating means 27 that heats the hot water flowing through the boiling pipe 25, and a switching means 28 that changes the destination of the hot water. The pump 26, the heating means 27, and the switching means 28 are arranged in order along the flow of the hot water in the boiling pipe 25, and are connected to the control means 23 as shown in FIG.

[0013] As shown in Fig. 1, a bypass pipe 29 that connects the switching means 28 with the lower part of the hot water storage tank 12 is connected to the switching means 28. When the control means 23 detects that the amount of hot water (amount of boiling hot water) in the hot water storage tank 12 has decreased based on the temperatures measured by the six temperature sensors 14, it operates the pump 26 and the heating means 27 to boil the hot water in the hot water storage tank 12. As a result, the hot water in the hot water storage tank 12 flows from the lower part of the hot water storage tank 12 into the boiling pipe 25 and heads toward the heating means 27, as shown in Figs. 3 and 4, and is heated by the heating means 27 as it passes through the heating means 27.

[0014] When the temperature measured by a temperature sensor (not shown) that measures the temperature of hot water passing through heating means 27 is below a predetermined value, control means 23 changes the destination of hot water from switching means 28 to the lower part of hot water storage tank 12 via bypass pipe 29 as shown in Fig. 3, thereby preventing low-temperature hot water from flowing into the upper part of hot water storage tank 12. Then, when control means 23 detects that the temperature of hot water passing through heating means 27 has reached a predetermined value or higher, control means 23 changes the destination of hot water from switching means 28 to the upper part of hot water storage tank 12 as shown in Fig. 4, thereby causing hot water heated by heating means 27 to be supplied to the upper part of hot water storage tank 12.

[0015] When the hot water storage tank 12 is heated again, if the temperature of the hot water passing through the heating means 27 is below a predetermined value, the switching means 28, whose destination is now the upper part of the hot water storage tank 12, switches the destination to the lower part of the hot water storage tank 12 via the bypass pipe 29 by the control means 23. Therefore, based on the temperature of the hot water flowing through the boiling pipe 25, the switching means 28 switches the destination of the hot water that has passed through the heating means 27 from either the upper part of the hot water storage tank 12 or the lower part of the hot water storage tank 12 via a bypass pipe 29 connected to the boiling pipe 25 to the other by the control means 23.

[0016] In this embodiment, a heat pump unit is used for the heating means 27, and a three-way valve is used for the switching means 28, but the present invention is not limited thereto. For example, the heating means 27 may be one that uses exhaust heat generated during power generation by the private generator to heat the water in the boiling pipe 25, and the switching means 28 may have two solenoid valves.

[0017] Additionally, the upstream end of a water supply pipe 32, the downstream end of which is connected to a second water faucet 31, is connected to the region of the boiling pipe 25 between the pump 26 and the heating means 27. Therefore, as shown in Fig. 5, the control means 23 can operate the pump 26 to cause the hot water in the hot water storage tank 12 to flow out of the second water faucet 31 via the water supply pipe 32. Therefore, in the event of an emergency, a user can open the second water faucet 31 to cause the hot water in the hot water storage tank 12 to flow out of the second water faucet 31.

[0018] In the present embodiment, when the hot water in the hot water storage tank 12 is flowed into the water supply pipe 32 using the pump 26 and then discharged from the second faucet 31, there is a high degree of freedom in the positioning of the second faucet 31, for example, the distance from the hot water storage tank 12 to the second faucet 31 can be made longer, compared to when the hot water in the hot water storage tank 12 is discharged from the second faucet 31 using gravity alone. A negative pressure operated valve 34 is provided in a branch pipe 33 branching off from the hot water supply pipe 19, and as hot water in the hot water storage tank 12 flows out of the second faucet 31, air taken in through the negative pressure operated valve 34 flows into the hot water storage tank 12.

[0019] Since the second faucet 31 is normally closed, no hot or cold water will come out of the second faucet 31 even if the pump 26 is operated under normal circumstances. Since there is a possibility that hot water will come out of the second faucet 31, in this embodiment, a notice is provided near the second faucet 31 that describes how to use the second faucet 31 as well as a warning about the possibility of hot water coming out.

[0020] Furthermore, the control means 23 can set the switching means 28 to a water-stopping state in which hot water from the boiling pipe 25 is not sent to either the upper or lower part of the hot water storage tank 12. Here, depending on the structure of the switching means 28, even if the switching means 28 is set to a state in which hot water is not sent to either the upper or lower part of the hot water storage tank 12, a small amount of hot water may be sent to at least one of the upper or lower part of the hot water storage tank 12. Therefore, setting the switching means 28 to a water-stopping state means that the switching means 28 is not set to a state in which hot water is actively (intentionally) sent to at least one of the upper or lower part of the hot water storage tank 12.

[0021] When a predetermined input operation is performed on the operation terminal 24, the control means 23 sets the switching means 28 to a water-stopping state, operates the pump 26, and causes the hot water in the hot water storage tank 12 to flow out of the second water faucet 31 via the water supply pipe 32 (thus, when an input operation is performed on the operation terminal 24, the control means 23 operates the pump 26 to supply the hot water in the hot water storage tank 12 to the second water faucet 31, and sets the switching means 28 to a water-stopping state).

[0022] At this time, the hot water in the hot water storage tank 12 is not sent to the heating means 27, but is entirely sent to the second water faucet 31. Even if the switching means 28 is not set to a water-stopping state, hot water in the hot water storage tank 12 can be dispensed from the open second water faucet 31 by operating the pump 26. Therefore, it is not necessary to set the switching means 28 to a water-stopping state in order to dispense hot water in the hot water storage tank 12 from the second water faucet 31. However, if the switching means 28 is not set to a water-stopping state, some of the hot water that comes out from the bottom of the hot water storage tank 12 returns to the hot water storage tank 12 via the boiling pipe 25 (or the boiling pipe 25 and the bypass pipe 29). Therefore, from the viewpoint of efficiently dispensing hot water in the hot water storage tank 12 from the second water faucet 31, it is preferable to set the switching means 28 to a water-stopping state.

[0023] In this embodiment, since pump 26 is attached upstream of the point where boiling pipe 25 is connected to water supply pipe 32, pump 26 can be used both to boil hot water storage tank 12 and to supply hot water from hot water storage tank 12 through second water faucet 31. In this regard, if water supply pipe 32 were connected upstream of the mounting position of pump 26 to boiling pipe 25, a pump other than pump 26 would need to be provided upstream of the point where boiling pipe 25 is connected to water supply pipe 32 or in water supply pipe 32 in order to supply hot water from hot water storage tank 12 through second water faucet 31.

[0024] The control means 23 also has an emergency mode that prohibits the heating of the hot water in the hot water storage tank 12 by the heating of the hot water by the heating means 27. The control means 23 goes into emergency mode by a predetermined input operation to the operation terminal 24, and prohibits the operation of the heating means 27. This prevents the hot water storage tank 12 from being boiled in an emergency when hot water cannot be dispensed from the first faucet 13. If the hot water storage type hot water supply device 10 is also capable of filling the bathtub with water and reheating the water, the control means 23 also prohibits filling the bathtub with water and reheating the water in emergency mode.

[0025] Here, in the operation terminal 24 of this embodiment, an input operation for putting the control means 23 into the emergency mode and an input operation for operating the pump 26 to supply hot water in the hot water storage tank 12 to the second water faucet 31 are performed by using a common button. The control means 23 goes into the emergency mode when the same button is pressed a first time, and starts supplying hot water in the hot water storage tank 12 to the second water faucet 31 while continuing the emergency mode when the same button is pressed a second time. When the same button is pressed a third time, the control means 23 cancels the emergency mode and stops supplying hot water in the hot water storage tank 12 to the second water faucet 31. Therefore, the control means 23 allows supply of hot water in the hot water storage tank 12 to the second water faucet 31 only in the emergency mode.

[0026] Furthermore, when hot water and water in hot water storage tank 12 continues to flow from second water faucet 31, and the hot water and water in hot water storage tank 12 runs out, pump 26 runs idle and the rotation speed of pump 26 increases. In this embodiment, control means 23 is capable of detecting the rotation speed of pump 26, and detects that the rotation speed of pump 26 has increased to a predetermined value, detects that hot water storage tank 12 is empty or the hot water and water in hot water storage tank 12 has decreased to a predetermined amount, and stops pump 26. This prevents unnecessary operation of pump 26.

[0027] Although the embodiment of the present invention has been described above, the present invention is not limited to the above-mentioned embodiment, and all changes in conditions that do not depart from the gist of the present invention are within the scope of application of the present invention. For example, the emergency mode does not have to be provided. If the emergency mode is provided, hot water in the hot water storage tank may be discharged from the second water faucet regardless of whether the emergency mode is set or not. In addition, there is no need to connect the upstream end of the water supply pipe to the boiling pipe. For example, the upstream end of the water supply pipe can be directly connected to the lower part of the hot water storage tank, and a pump can be installed in the water supply pipe so that hot water in the hot water storage tank can be discharged from the second faucet via the water supply pipe.

[0028] Furthermore, there is no need to have the hot water in the hot water storage tank be discharged from the second faucet by inputting an operation into the operating terminal; for example, the control means may detect that the water pressure in the water pipe has fallen below a predetermined value and cause the hot water in the hot water storage tank to be discharged from the second faucet. Furthermore, the control means does not need to detect whether the hot water tank is empty or the amount of hot water in the hot water tank 12 has dropped to a predetermined amount based on the rotation speed of the pump. For example, a flow rate sensor may be provided in the water supply pipe, and the pump may be stopped upon detecting whether the hot water tank is empty or the amount of hot water in the hot water tank 12 has dropped to a predetermined amount based on the measurement value of the flow rate sensor. [Explanation of symbols]

[0029] 10: storage type hot water supply device, 11: water pipe, 12: hot water tank, 13: first water faucet, 14: temperature sensor, 15: pressure reducing valve, 16, 16a: temperature sensor, 17, 18: check valve, 19: hot water supply pipe, 20: check valve, 21: water volume sensor, 22: mixing valve, 23: control means, 24: operation terminal, 25: boiling pipe, 26: pump, 27: heating means, 28: switching means, 29: bypass pipe, 31: second water faucet, 32: water supply pipe, 33: branch pipe, 34: negative pressure operated valve

Claims

1. In a storage-type hot water supply device, when water from a water pipe is normally supplied to the hot water storage tank, hot water in the hot water storage tank is supplied to a first water faucet, A water supply pipe into which hot water in the hot water storage tank flows from an upstream end thereof; A pump that, when activated, causes hot water in the hot water storage tank to flow into the water supply pipe; A second faucet to which the downstream end of the water supply pipe is connected; A control means for operating the pump to cause the hot water in the hot water storage tank to flow through the water supply pipe and out of the second water faucet; a boiling pipe whose upstream end and downstream end are connected to the lower part and upper part of the hot water storage tank, respectively; A heating means for heating the hot water flowing through the boiling tube; and a switching means for switching the destination of the hot water that has passed through the heating means from one of the upper portion of the hot water storage tank and the lower portion of the hot water storage tank via a bypass pipe connected to the boiling pipe to the other, by the control means, based on the temperature of the hot water flowing through the boiling pipe; A hot water storage type hot water supply device characterized in that the upstream end of the water supply pipe is connected to the boiling pipe, and the control means sets the switching means to a water stopping state in which hot water from the boiling pipe is not sent to either the upper or lower part of the hot water storage tank, and sets the hot water in the hot water storage tank to a state in which it flows out of the second faucet.

2. 2. The storage type hot water supply apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the pump is attached upstream of a portion of the boiling pipe to which the water supply pipe is connected.

3. 3. A storage type hot water supply apparatus according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the control means has an emergency mode that prohibits the heating means from heating the hot water in the hot water storage tank to boil the hot water.

4. 4. A storage type hot water supply apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the control means permits the supply of hot water in the storage tank to the second water faucet only in the emergency mode.

5. A storage type hot water supply device as described in any one of claims 1 to 4, further characterized in that the control means is provided with an operation terminal which, upon input operation, operates the pump to supply hot water in the storage tank to the second faucet.

6. A storage type hot water supply device as described in any one of claims 1 to 5, further characterized in that the storage type hot water supply device further comprises an operation terminal which, when an input operation is performed, causes the control means to operate the pump to supply hot water in the storage tank to the second faucet and causes the switching means to switch to the water stop state.

7. In the storage type hot water supply device described in any one of claims 1 to 6, the control means detects that the rotation speed of the pump has increased to a predetermined value and stops the pump.

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