JP5901976B2 - Water heater - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a hot water supply apparatus that is connected to a commercial power source and has a function of supplying hot water to a hot water supply destination using the commercial power source as a power source.

  A hot water supply apparatus having a hot water supply function for supplying hot water to a hot water supply destination is widely used (see, for example, Patent Document 1). Such a hot water supply apparatus is connected to a commercial power source of, for example, AC 100V, and operates with electric power supplied from the commercial power source.

Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 8-35657

  However, since a hot water supply device that operates using a commercial power supply as a power source cannot be used during a power failure, it may take a very long time to recover from a power failure due to, for example, an earthquake, or when you want to take a bath, for example. Nevertheless, when the power outage is continued for a certain period of time due to the planned power outage, the user cannot use the hot water supply function, and thus feels very inconvenient.

  The present invention has been made to solve the above-described problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide a hot water supply apparatus that can use hot water supply even when power supply from a commercial power source is interrupted due to a power failure or the like.

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides means for solving the problems with the following configuration. That is, the first invention has a hot water supply function of heating water to be supplied by a hot water supply burner and supplying hot water to a hot water supply destination, and is connected to a commercial power source and operates with electric power supplied from the commercial power source. a water heater, and a power supply switching means for switching the power supply in the case of supply from the prior SL commercial power supply and the case of supplying the electric power to be supplied to the water heater from the secondary battery through the DC-AC converter, supplied by the power source switching means When the power source is switched to the secondary battery supply , the combustion capacity of the hot water supply burner is suppressed from the operation in the normal mode in which the normal hot water temperature control is performed by the combustion capacity control of the hot water supply burner using the commercial power supply as the supply power source. mode to switch the operation of the energy saving mode to reduce power consumption than the operation of the normal mode by not performing control of the hot water supply temperature of hot water to And a means for solving the problems with the construction and a switching means.

The second invention is, in addition to the configuration of the first aspect of the present invention, have a dry cell-type battery holder for mounting detachably the secondary battery dry battery type, disposed wherein the drying cell battery attachment section Battery replacement that detects the internal resistance of a dry battery type secondary battery every predetermined period and issues a battery replacement command when the detected internal resistance value exceeds a predetermined reference value for battery replacement It has a command means and a battery exchange notifying means for notifying battery exchange command information when a battery exchange command is transmitted from the battery exchange command means.

Furthermore, the third invention, the first or in addition to the second aspect of the invention, the variable by opening amount control of the proportional valve the quantity of fuel supplied to the hot water supply burners are provided in the fuel supply passage Combustion capacity control means for varying the combustion capacity of the hot water burner, and when the mode switching means switches to the energy saving mode, the combustion capacity control means determines the valve opening amount of the proportional valve as the proportional valve drive current. The hot water burner is burned while being fixed to a valve opening amount corresponding to a minimum value in the range or a value in the vicinity thereof.

  Further, the fourth invention is a solenoid valve having a hot water burner having a plurality of stages of combustion surfaces in addition to the configuration of the first or second invention, and provided in a fuel supply passage to the combustion surfaces. Combustion capacity for varying the combustion capacity of the hot water burner by controlling the amount of fuel supplied to the combustion surface by performing opening / closing control and valve opening amount control of the proportional valve based on pre-given multistage combustion control data Control means, and when the mode switching means switches to the energy saving mode operation, the combustion capacity control means supplies fuel only to the first combustion face among the plurality of combustion faces by the opening / closing control of the solenoid valve. The hot water supply burner is combusted by supplying and fixing the valve opening amount of the proportional valve to the valve opening amount corresponding to the minimum value of the proportional valve driving current range or a value in the vicinity thereof.

Further, the fifth aspect of the invention is the same as that of the fourth aspect of the invention, wherein the combustion capacity control means determines the valve opening amount of the proportional valve when the mode switching means is switched to the energy saving mode operation. after the hot water supply burner to burn fuel only to the combustion surface of the first stage is fixed to the valve opening amount corresponding to the lowest values the value of the vicinity of the range by supplying, stable within tolerance power consumption predetermined when supplies fuel to the combustion surface of the second stage, characterized in that it has a function of performing combustion by fixing the opening of the proportional valve to the open valve amount not smaller than before KiHiraki Benryou .

Furthermore, the sixth aspect of the invention includes the detection flow rate of the flow rate detection means for detecting the amount of hot water during operation of the hot water supply function in addition to the configuration of any one of the first to fifth aspects of the invention. The combustion capacity control means is configured to vary the combustion capacity of the hot water burner based on the detected flow rate, and when the mode switching means switches to the energy saving mode operation, the combustion capacity control means captures the detected flow rate of the flow rate detection means. Is less than that during normal mode operation.

Furthermore, the seventh invention includes, in addition to the configuration of any one of the first to sixth inventions, a combustion fan that supplies and discharges the hot water burner, and a fan rotation control means that controls the rotation of the combustion fan. The fan rotation control means has a fan rotation corresponding to the combustion capacity at the proportional valve opening controlled by the combustion capacity control means when the mode switching means is switched to the energy saving mode operation. It is characterized by being fixed to a number.

Further, the eighth invention has flow rate variable adjusting means for variably adjusting the hot water supply flow rate in addition to the configuration of any one of the first to seventh inventions, and the flow rate variable adjusting means is energy-saving by the mode switching means. After switching to the mode operation, the hot water supply flow rate is fixed to a predetermined set flow rate corresponding to the combustion capability at the proportional valve opening amount controlled by the combustion capability control means.

Furthermore, the ninth invention, in addition to the configuration of any one invention of the third to eighth, a hot water supply heat exchanger which is heated more in hot water burners, entrance side of the fed-water heat exchanger is connected to the water supply passage, wherein the outlet side of the hot-water supply heat exchanger is connected to hot water supply passage, a bypass passage which connects the water supply passage and fed-water passage without passing through the hot water supply heat exchanger is provided in In addition, a bypass flow valve is provided at a connection portion of the bypass passage with the water supply passage, and the valve is supplied from the water supply passage to the hot water heat exchanger side by adjusting an opening amount of the bypass flow valve. The bypass flow variable adjusting means adjusts the flow rate of the water that passes through the bypass passage without passing through the hot water supply heat exchanger, and the bypass flow variable adjust means is operated in the energy saving mode by the mode switching means. before later switched Characterized in that fixed to the valve opening amount preset to correspond to the combustion capability of the valve opening amount of the bypass flow valve by a proportional valve opening amount is controlled by the combustion capacity control means.

  Furthermore, in addition to the structure of any one of the first to ninth inventions, a tenth aspect of the invention is a reheating function connected to a bathtub and heated by circulating hot water in the bathtub by a pump, and heating. It has at least one circulating heating function and a heating operation function that circulates and heats hot water supplied to the heating apparatus connected to the apparatus by a pump, and when switched to the energy saving mode operation by the mode switching means It is characterized by having function narrowing means for stopping the operation of the circulating heating function and enabling only the operation of the hot water supply function.

  Furthermore, in the eleventh aspect of the invention, in addition to the configuration of any one of the first to tenth aspects of the invention, a remote control device is connected to the hot water supply device, and the operation is switched to the energy saving mode operation by the mode switching means. In some cases, there is provided illumination control means for turning on the illumination provided in the remote control device only for a predetermined set portion and turning off the illumination of other portions.

According to the present invention, the hot water supply device has a hot water supply function of heating water to be supplied by a hot water supply burner and supplying hot water to a hot water supply destination . the power supplied to the water heater with the case of supplying from when the previous SL commercial power supply from the secondary battery through the DC-AC converter has a power switch hands stage for switching the power supply, for example a power failure or the like, needs it is possible to switch the power supply in response, it can also be utilized hot water function during a power failure.

In addition, when the power source is switched to the secondary battery, less power is consumed than in the normal mode operation by suppressing the hot water temperature by controlling the combustion capacity of the hot water burner from the normal mode operation. Since the operation is switched to the energy-saving mode operation, the hot water supply operation using the secondary battery as the power source can be performed with low power consumption, and the hot water supply operation can be performed for a relatively long time even using a secondary battery with limited power supply. It can be carried out. Therefore, it is possible to use hot water supply by operation with reduced combustion capacity with low power consumption even in the event of an emergency such as a power failure due to an earthquake or the like, or during a planned power failure, and the convenience can be improved. In addition, if the secondary battery mounted in the battery mounting part is replaced, the use of the hot water supply can be further extended using the replaced secondary battery as a power source.

  In addition, if the battery mounting part is a dry battery type battery mounting part for detachably mounting a dry battery type secondary battery, the dry battery type secondary battery to be mounted is removed from the battery mounting part, for example, mounted on a flashlight. For example, it can be used appropriately for conversion to an appliance that requires a dry battery, so that convenience can be further improved. Note that nickel-metal hydride batteries and nickel-cadmium batteries are currently used as dry battery type secondary batteries, and these batteries increase in internal resistance when the usage time exceeds a certain period, depending on the usage time. If the value exceeds the reference value, the secondary battery cannot be used as the power source of the hot water supply device. On the other hand, the internal resistance of the dry cell type secondary battery disposed in the dry cell type battery mounting portion is detected every predetermined period, and the detected internal resistance value is equal to or greater than a predetermined battery replacement reference value. The battery replacement command is transmitted and the battery replacement command information is notified, so that the battery can be appropriately replaced and a hot water supply operation using a dry battery type secondary battery can be performed.

  Furthermore, the combustion capacity of the hot water burner can be varied by controlling the amount of fuel supplied to the hot water burner by controlling the valve opening amount of the proportional valve provided in the fuel supply passage. The power consumption increases in proportion to the amount of opening of the proportional valve. Therefore, the combustion capacity control means fixes the valve opening amount of the proportional valve to the valve opening amount corresponding to the minimum value of the proportional valve driving current range or a value close to it in the energy saving mode operation (that is, the combustion of the hot water burner). By burning the hot water supply burner (with the capacity at or near the minimum combustion capacity), hot water burner combustion can be performed with very low power consumption.

  Further, in a configuration having a hot water supply burner having a plurality of stages of combustion surfaces (combustion surfaces in which the number of combustion surfaces is plural and the combustion capacity can be changed in stages by selectively burning one or more of them), In order to supply fuel to the combustion surface of each stage, it is necessary to open the solenoid valve, which is a fuel supply valve, and power is consumed while it is open. The capacity control means supplies the fuel only to the first stage combustion face among the combustion faces of the plurality of stages, and the valve opening amount of the proportional valve is the minimum value in the proportional valve drive current range or a value in the vicinity thereof as described above. The hot water burner is burned with very low power consumption by burning the hot water burner with a valve opening amount corresponding to the above (that is, with the combustion capacity of the hot water burner set to a minimum combustion capacity or a value close thereto). It can be carried out.

  Further, in the configuration having the hot water burner having the plurality of stages of combustion surfaces, the combustion capacity control means can control the amount of opening of the proportional valve in the proportional valve drive current range when the mode switching means is switched to the energy saving mode operation. When power consumption is stabilized within a predetermined allowable range after the fuel supply burner is burned by supplying fuel only to the first stage combustion surface with the valve opening amount corresponding to a value near the minimum value By supplying fuel also to the combustion surface of the second stage and fixing the valve opening amount of the proportional valve to the valve opening amount smaller than the valve opening amount, the fuel consumption is achieved. However, since the hot water supply can be completed in a short time, the total power consumption can be reduced in some cases, thereby increasing the time available for hot water supply.

  Further, the combustion capacity control means takes in the detected flow rate of the flow rate detecting means for detecting the amount of hot water during operation of the hot water supply function in the normal mode, and varies the combustion capacity of the hot water burner based on the detected flow rate. Since power is required for capturing the flow rate, the power consumption can be further reduced by reducing the frequency of capturing the detected flow rate of the flow rate detection means during operation in the energy saving mode as compared to during normal mode operation.

  Furthermore, the combustion fan that supplies and exhausts the hot water supply burner requires electric power to rotate, and the amount of power consumption increases in proportion to the rotational speed. However, a fan rotation control means that controls the rotation of the combustion fan is provided. When operating in energy saving mode, the fan rotation control means fixes the rotation speed of the combustion fan to the fan rotation speed corresponding to the minimum combustion capacity or the fan rotation speed corresponding to the capacity near the minimum combustion capacity. The power consumption by rotating the fan can be reduced.

  Further, the variable flow rate adjusting means for variably adjusting the hot water supply flow rate requires electric power for adjusting the valve opening amount for the variable adjustment, for example, but when the variable flow rate adjusting means is operating in the energy saving mode, the hot water supply flow rate is adjusted. The electric power can be suppressed by fixing to a predetermined set flow rate corresponding to the combustion capacity at the proportional valve opening amount controlled by the combustion capacity control means.

Furthermore, a hot water supply heat exchanger which is heated more in hot water burners, and a hot water supply passage connected to the delivery side of the water supply passage connected to the entrance side of the fed-water heat exchanger, the hot water supply heat exchanger Bypass flow variable adjusting means for adjusting the flow rate of water that passes through the bypass passage without passing through the hot water supply heat exchanger out of the water supplied from the supply water passage to the hot water supply heat exchanger. In the configuration in which the bypass flow rate variable adjusting means requires power for adjusting the opening amount of the bypass flow valve, the degree of opening of the bypass flow valve is controlled by the combustion capacity control means during operation in the energy saving mode. By fixing to a predetermined valve opening amount corresponding to the combustion capacity at the proportional valve opening amount, the electric power for adjusting the opening degree of the bypass flow valve can be kept small.

  Furthermore, a reheating operation function for heating the hot water in the bathtub that is circulated by a pump connected to the bathtub, and a heating operation for heating the hot water that is connected to the heating device and supplied to the heating device by the pump In the configuration having at least one circulating heating function, high power consumption is required by driving the pump during operation of these circulating heating functions. Power consumption can be reduced by stopping the operation of the circulating heating function and allowing only the hot water supply function.

  Furthermore, during operation in the energy saving mode, power consumption can be further reduced by turning on the illumination of the remote controller connected to the hot water supply device only in a predetermined set portion and turning off the illumination of other portions.

It is a block diagram which shows the control structure of one Example of the hot water supply apparatus which concerns on this invention. It is a system configuration figure of the hot-water supply device of an example. It is a graph which shows the example of combustion control data given to the hot water supply apparatus of an Example. 2 is a graph (a) showing an example of a change over time in internal resistance during discharge and a graph (b) showing an example of change over time in voltage during discharge for a nickel metal hydride secondary battery. It is explanatory drawing which shows the external appearance structural example of the operation surface of a remote control device.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

  FIG. 2 shows a system configuration example of the hot water supply apparatus of the present embodiment. In the figure, combustion chambers 24 and 25 are provided in the instrument case 42, and in the combustion chamber 25, a hot water supply burner 17 and a hot water supply heat exchanger 29 heated by the hot water supply burner 17 (mainly recovering latent heat). A target hot water supply heat exchanger 29a, a hot water supply heat exchanger 29b) whose main purpose is recovery of sensible heat, and a combustion fan 19 with high power consumption for supplying and exhausting combustion of the hot water supply burner 17 are provided. In the combustion chamber 24, the heating burner 16, the heating heat exchanger 28 (28 a, 28 b) heated by the heating burner 16, and the power consumption for supplying and exhausting combustion of the heating burner 16 are stored. A large combustion fan 18 is provided.

  The hot water supply burner 17 and the heating burner 16 are connected to gas pipes 31 and 32 as supply passages for supplying fuel to the burners 16 and 17. The gas pipes 31 and 32 are branched from the gas pipe 30, and an original electromagnetic valve 80 is interposed in the gas pipe 30. In the present embodiment, the hot water supply burner 17 and the heating burner 16 each have a plurality of combustion surfaces, and the amount of fuel supplied to each combustion surface of the heating burner 16 is interposed in the gas pipe 31. The amount of fuel supplied to each combustion surface of the hot-water supply burner 17 is adjusted by the valve opening amount of the proportional valve 86 and the opening / closing control (fuel supply or stoppage) of the electromagnetic valves 81, 82. The amount of opening of the proportional valve 87 and the opening / closing control of the electromagnetic valves 83, 84, 85 (fuel supply and stop) are adjusted.

  A water supply passage 88 is provided on the inlet side of the hot water supply heat exchanger 29a, and the water supply passage 88 includes a flow rate detecting means 73 for detecting the amount of hot water flowing through the water supply passage 88 and the incoming water. An incoming water temperature sensor 74 for detecting the temperature and a water amount servo 69 as a water amount adjusting valve for varying the hot water supply flow rate are provided. A hot water supply passage 26 is provided on the outlet side of the hot water supply heat exchanger 29b, and the leading end side of the hot water supply passage 26 is led to an appropriate hot water supply destination.

  Further, a bypass passage 70 for connecting the hot water supply passage 26 and the water supply passage 88 without the hot water supply exchanger 29 is provided, and a bypass servo as a bypass flow valve is provided at a connection portion of the bypass passage 70 with the water supply passage 88. 58 is provided. In the hot water supply passage 26, a hot water temperature detection sensor 113 is provided on the downstream side of the formation portion of the bypass passage 70, and a hot water temperature detection sensor 114 is provided on the hot water supply heat exchanger 29 side.

  The water supply passage 88 is connected to the heating liquid circulation passage 5 provided with the cistern device 100 via the connection passage 57 and the makeup water electromagnetic valve 46. The heating liquid circulation passage 5 is provided outside the appliance case 42 and pipes 89, 90, 91, 92, 93, 94, 95, 96, 97, 98, 99 provided in the appliance case 42. It has conduits 40, 41, 44, 45, 59, and circulates a liquid (for example, hot water) through the heating device 10 (10a to 10c).

  The conduit 40 is connected to the conduit 97, the conduits 41 and 44 are connected to the conduit 95 via the liquid confluence means 115 and the conduit 59, and the conduit 45 is connected to the conduit 90 via the liquid branching means 37. It is connected. For example, an internal passage 51 of a high-temperature heating device 10a such as a bathroom heater is connected to the pipes 40 and 41, the thermal valve 12 is interposed in the internal passage 51, and the pipes 44 and 45 include For example, the internal passages 52 of the low-temperature heating devices 10b and 10c such as hot water mats are connected to each other.

  Further, in the heating liquid circulation passage 5, a liquid circulation pump 6 (for example, 30 to 50 W) with high power consumption that circulates the liquid in the heating liquid circulation passage 5 and a liquid that is circulated by driving the liquid circulation pump 6. Is provided with a heating heat exchanger 28 (28a, 28b). A pipe 95 is connected to the liquid introduction side of the heating heat exchanger 28a, and a pipe 94 is connected to the liquid outlet side, and a pipe 91 is connected to the liquid introduction side of the heating heat exchanger 28b. Pipe lines 92 are connected to the outlet side. A heating high temperature thermistor 33 is provided in the pipe line 92, and the heating high temperature thermistor 33 detects the temperature of the liquid coming out of the heating heat exchanger 28b.

  The pipe 91 is connected to the discharge side of the liquid circulation pump 6 together with the pipe 90, and the heating low temperature thermistor 36 for detecting the temperature of the liquid introduced into the heating heat exchanger 28b is connected to the pipe 91. Is provided. In addition, the pipe 93 is connected to the suction port side of the liquid circulation pump 6, and the cistern apparatus 100 is interposed between the pipe 93 and the pipe 94. The air is released to the atmosphere via 53.

  A recirculation circulation passage 13 having an outgoing pipe 14 and a return pipe 15 is connected to the bathtub 27, and this recirculation circulation path 13 is connected via a liquid-liquid heat exchanger 7 as heat exchange means. The heating liquid circulation passage 5 is thermally connected. A flow rate control valve 38 is provided at the inlet of the liquid-liquid heat exchanger 7 in the pipe line 89 forming the liquid-liquid heat exchanger 7 of the heating liquid circulation passage 5. The recirculation circulation passage 13 is provided with a bathtub hot water circulation pump 20 (for example, 30 to 50 W) with high power consumption for circulating the bathtub hot water. The liquid-liquid heat exchanger 7 is driven by driving the bathtub hot water circulation pump 20. This is a bath heat exchanger that heats the hot water in the bathtub circulating in the circulation circuit 13.

  Further, in the reheating circulation passage 13, a bath temperature sensor 21 for detecting the temperature of the bathtub hot water, a water level sensor 22 for detecting the water level of the bathtub hot water, a bath water flow switch 34 for detecting the water flow in the reheating circulation path 13, and Is installed. One end side of the return pipe 15 is connected to the suction port side of the bathtub hot water circulation pump 20, and the other end side of the return pipe 15 is connected to the bathtub 27 via the circulation fitting 56. One end side of the outgoing pipe 14 is connected to the discharge port side of the bathtub hot water circulation pump 20, and the other end side of the outgoing pipe 14 is connected to the bathtub 27 via a circulation fitting 56.

  A pouring water unit 55 is connected to the hot water supply passage 26 via a pipe 54 on the downstream side of the formation portion of the branch passage 70 and the arrangement portion of the hot water temperature detection sensor 113. Is connected to one end side of the bath pouring introduction passage 23, and the other end side of the bath pouring introduction passage 23 is connected to the bathtub hot water circulation pump 20. The hot water unit 55 is provided with a hot water solenoid valve 48, a hot water sensor 49, and check valves 50a and 50b. In addition, the hot water supply heat exchanger 29 passes through the hot water supply passage 26 and the pipe 54, the pouring water unit 55, the bath pouring introduction passage 23, the bath hot water circulation pump 20, the liquid-liquid heat exchanger 7, and the outgoing pipe 14 in this order. The passage leading to the bathtub 27 constitutes a hot water injection passage for hot water filling and water injection. In FIG. 2, reference numerals 75 and 77 denote drain discharge passages, and reference numeral 76 denotes neutralizing means for neutralizing the drain.

  FIG. 1 shows a control configuration of a hot water supply apparatus according to the present embodiment. The hot water supply apparatus is connected to a commercial power source 3 and is operated by electric power supplied from the commercial power source 3 as a power source. In addition, the water heater is provided with a battery mounting portion 2 for mounting and connecting a secondary battery 4 that can be used as a power source, and a control device 8 is connected to these power sources (commercial power source 3 and secondary battery 4). ing. Note that the hot water supply apparatus is provided with a DC-AC converter (not shown). When the hot water supply apparatus is operated using the secondary battery 4 as a power source, the DC voltage of the secondary battery 4 is set to 100 V via the DC-AC converter. It is converted to AC voltage and supplied to the hot water supply device.

  In the control device 8, there are a battery replacement command means 101, a power supply switching means 102, a mode switching control means 103, a combustion capacity control means 104, a fan rotation control means 105, a hot water supply flow rate variable adjustment means 106, a bypass flow rate variable adjustment means 107, A function narrowing means 108, a lighting control means 109, and a memory unit 110 are provided, and further, a heating control means, a hot water filling control means, and a reheating control means (not shown) are provided.

  When this hot water supply device operates using the commercial power source 3 as a power source, it performs a normal mode operation as described below. For example, the operation of the hot water supply function is started when a hot water tap provided at the hot water supply destination is opened, and water is passed through the water supply passage 88 in association with the opening operation of the hot water tap. (Water supply amount sensor) 73 detects that water has flowed into the water supply passage 88 at a minimum operating flow rate that is a threshold value for starting hot water combustion operation, and the combustion capacity control means 104 receives this detection signal to control fan rotation. A fan rotation start command is added to the means 104. The fan rotation control means 105 rotates the hot water supply side combustion fan 19 to send air necessary for gas combustion. The combustion capacity control means 104 detects the rotation driving start of the combustion fan 19 by a predetermined method of detecting the drive current of the combustion fan 19 or taking in the fan drive signal of the fan rotation control means 105.

  When the rotation drive of the combustion fan 19 is started, the combustion capacity control means 104 opens the original solenoid valve 80, and a water supply flow rate detected by the flow rate detection means 73 and a remote control device (not shown) connected to the hot water supply device. ) Stored in the memory unit 110 in accordance with the required combustion capacity (combustion amount) of the hot water supply burner 17 calculated based on the hot water supply set temperature set by the operation of) and the incoming water temperature into the water supply passage 88. For example, one or more of the electromagnetic valves 83, 84, and 85 are opened based on multistage combustion control data given in advance as shown in FIG. As shown in FIG. 3, the combustion capacity can be expressed by the number of the hot water supply apparatus. In the hot water supply apparatus of this embodiment, the maximum combustion capacity is No. 24, and the power consumption at this time is 65 W. It becomes.

  Then, the combustion capacity control means 104 adjusts the valve opening amount of the proportional valve 87 and opens the proportional valve 87 with a proportional valve current corresponding to, for example, the combustion capacity 2.7 indicated by the point A in FIG. Then, the hot water supply burner 17 is ignited by blowing a spark from the hot water supply ignition plug. After ignition, the combustion capacity control means 104 adjusts the valve opening amount of the proportional valve 87 so that the hot water supply temperature becomes the hot water supply set temperature, and the combustion corresponds to the combustion amount per hot water burner 17. At the same time as controlling the rotational speed of the fan 19, the hot water supply flow rate variable adjusting means 106 adjusts the hot water flow rate by adjusting the valve opening amount of the water amount servo 69, and the bypass flow rate variable adjusting means 107 bypasses the valve opening amount by adjusting the valve opening amount. By adjusting the bypass flow rate to the passage 79, the hot water temperature detected by the hot water temperature detection sensor 113 is set to the temperature detected by the hot water temperature detection sensor 114 above the temperature at which the hot water heat exchanger 29b is not condensed. Control to reach the hot water supply set temperature. When the hot water flow rate increases, the combustion capacity control means 104 adjusts the valve opening amount of the proportional valve 87 so that the hot water supply temperature maintains the hot water supply set temperature, thereby maintaining the hot water supply temperature.

  When the hot-water tap is closed, water flow to the water supply passage 88 is stopped, so that the flow rate detecting means (water supply water amount sensor) 73 detects that water flow through the water supply passage 88 is stopped, and the combustion capacity control means 104 is detected. Thus, the solenoid valves 80, 83, 84, 85 are closed, the opening amount of the proportional valve 87 is made zero, a command is given to the fan rotation control means 105, the drive of the combustion fan 19 is stopped, and the hot water supply operation is stopped.

  Moreover, the heating operation of the heating apparatus 10 is performed based on the control of the heating control means (not shown), and the pouring operation to the bathtub 27 is performed based on the control of the hot water filling control means. The hot water reheating operation is performed based on the control of the reheating control means, and the operation will be briefly described below.

  For example, when performing the heating operation of the heating apparatus 10a and the reheating operation of bathtub hot water, the temperature of the liquid passing through the heating liquid circulation passage 5 is heated by the heating burner 16 and the heating heat exchanger 28 is heated. Is a predetermined high temperature set temperature (for example, 80 ° C.). And when heating operation of the heating apparatus 10a is performed, the liquid is circulated as shown by arrows A to F in FIG.

  In this state, when performing a reheating operation of bathtub hot water, the flow rate control valve 38 is opened so that the liquid that has passed through the pipe 92 is moved to the pipe 89 as shown by an arrow B ′ in the figure. The bath hot water circulation pump 20 is driven while the liquid flowing to the pipe 89 side (liquid-liquid heat exchanger 7 side) is returned to the pipe 95 through the pipe 96, and the bath hot water is drawn. The hot water in the bathtub 27 is circulated through the liquid-liquid heat exchanger 7 through heat exchange between the liquid passing through the liquid circulation passage 5 and the hot water in the bathtub passing through the recirculation circulation passage 13. The bath reheating operation is performed until the temperature (detected temperature of the bath temperature sensor 21) reaches the bath set temperature.

  Moreover, when only the reheating operation of the bath water is performed without performing the heating operation of the high-temperature heating device 10a, the high temperature heated by the heating heat exchanger 28b since the thermal valve 12 of the heating device 10a is closed. A liquid having a set temperature (for example, a liquid at 80 ° C.) passes through the pipe line 92 as indicated by an arrow A, and then does not pass through the pipe line 97 but as shown by an arrow B ′ in the figure. Thread to the side. In the same manner as described above, this liquid and the hot water in the bathtub are subjected to heat exchange through the liquid-liquid heat exchanger 7 so that the hot water in the bathtub 27 is replenished. When the temperature detected by the bath temperature sensor 21 reaches the bath set temperature, combustion of the heating burner 16 is stopped, and the liquid circulation pump 6 and the bathtub hot water circulation pump 20 are stopped after a predetermined post pump time has elapsed. .

  On the other hand, when the heating operation of the heating devices 10b and 10c is performed, the liquid in the heating liquid circulation passage 5 is heated by the heating burner 16 and the liquid passed through the heating liquid circulation passage 5 is set in advance lower than the high temperature set temperature. As a low temperature setting temperature (for example, 60 ° C.) to be obtained, the temperature is circulated as shown by arrows C, D, E, and F in FIG. Then, by opening the low-temperature capacity switching thermal valve 47, the liquid that has passed through the pipe 92 is introduced into the pipe 98 as shown by the arrow A in FIG. 2, and is directed from the cistern 100 side toward the liquid circulation pump 6 side. 2 and the liquid passing through the liquid circulating pump 6 as shown by the arrow E in FIG. 2, the liquid is sequentially introduced into the heating apparatuses 10 b and 10 c through the pipes 90 and 45 as shown by the arrow G in FIG. 2. . The liquid that has passed through the heating devices 10 b and 10 c returns to the pipe line 95 via the pipe line 44 and the liquid joining means 115.

  Further, when a reheating command for bath water is output during the heating operation of the heating devices 10b and 10c, the low temperature capacity switching thermal valve 47 is closed (or the valve opening amount is reduced), and the reheating operation is performed. Similarly to the time, the temperature of the liquid heated by the heating heat exchanger 28b and led to the pipe line 92 is set to 80 ° C., for example, and the temperature of the liquid passing through the pipe line 89 is about 80 ° C. Circulate.

  In this case, the high-temperature liquid led out from the heating heat exchanger 28 b to the pipe 92 is introduced into the pipe 93 by closing the low-temperature capacity switching thermal valve 47 (or reducing the valve opening amount). (Or only a small amount is introduced). In the heating devices 10b and 10c, after the temperature is lowered by the heat exchange with the bath water through the pipe 89, the liquid whose temperature is further lowered by passing through the pipes 96 and 95 and the cistern 100. Since it is introduced through the conduit 93, the liquid circulation pump 6, and the conduit 90, the temperature of the liquid introduced into the heating devices 10b and 20c is about 60 ° C.

  Further, in this hot water supply apparatus, when performing hot water filling (automatic hot water filling operation) to the bathtub 27, the water passing through the hot water supply heat exchanger 29 is heated by combustion of the hot water supply burner 17, and hot water is passed through the hot water filling water injection passage. Is poured into the bathtub 27. Then, after this automatic hot water filling, for example, during the heat retention operation time of 4 hours, the detected temperature of the bath temperature sensor 21 is taken, and the detected temperature exceeds the predetermined allowable range from the preset bath set temperature. When the temperature drops, the operation of the reheating operation is performed for 3 minutes, for example, and the operation of the function of the heat retention mode is performed so that the detected temperature of the bath temperature sensor 21 becomes the bath set temperature.

  In the present embodiment, in addition to the normal mode operation as described above, the following energy saving mode operation operation function based on the control configuration shown in FIG. 1 is provided. That is, in this embodiment, when the power from the commercial power supply 3 is no longer supplied to the hot water supply device due to, for example, a power failure or an earthquake, the power supply switching unit 102 detects the power supply stop of the commercial power supply 3 and Is switched from the commercial power source 3 to the secondary battery 4 mounted on the battery mounting unit 2. Further, the power source switching unit 102 applies the switching signal to the mode switching unit 103 when switching the power source.

  In the present embodiment, the battery mounting portion 2 is a dry battery type battery mounting portion that detachably mounts a dry battery type secondary battery 4 such as a nickel hydrogen battery such as eneloop (Eneloop is a registered trademark) or a nickel cadmium battery. For example, 10 to 12 AA dry cell type secondary batteries 4 of 1.5V can be mounted, and power taken out from the secondary batteries 4 connected in series is AC100V via the DC-AC converter. The power is supplied to the hot water supply device. Note that the number of secondary batteries 4 used is appropriately set.

  When the power source switching unit 102 switches the power source to the secondary battery 4, the mode switching unit 103 controls the hot water temperature from the normal mode operation in which the hot water temperature control is performed using the commercial power source 3 as a power source. If not, the operation is switched to the energy saving mode operation in which the power consumption is smaller than that in the normal mode operation. That is, in order to switch to the operation in the energy saving mode, the mode switching means 103 sends the mode switching signal in the energy saving mode to the combustion capacity control means 104, the fan rotation control means 105, the hot water supply flow rate variable adjustment means 106, and the bypass flow rate variable adjustment means 107. In addition to the respective control means of the function narrowing means 108 and the illumination control means 109, the hot water supply apparatus can be operated with power saving by switching to the operation in the energy saving mode.

  As described above, the combustion capacity control means 104 takes in the flow rate detected by the flow rate detection means 73 and varies the combustion capacity of the hot water supply burner 17 based on the detected flow rate, while operating in the energy saving mode. Sometimes, the frequency of taking in the detected flow rate by the flow rate detecting means 73 is made lower than that in the normal mode operation.

  Further, the combustion capacity control means 104 performs the open / close control of the solenoid valves 83, 84, 85 and the valve opening amount adjustment of the proportional valve 87 so that the hot water supply temperature becomes the hot water supply set temperature as described above during the operation operation in the normal mode. However, when the mode switching means 103 switches to the energy saving mode operation, the gas amount is adjusted to the amount required for ignition of the hot water supply burner 17 when the hot water supply is started (for example, as indicated by a point A in the graph of FIG. 3). The amount of opening of the proportional valve 87 corresponding to the combustion capacity of No. 2.7 as described above), after sparking from the hot water supply spark plug and igniting the hot water supply burner 17, As described below, the hot water supply burner 17 is burned while being fixed to a valve opening amount corresponding to a value in the vicinity of the lowest value of the proportional valve drive current range.

  That is, in this embodiment, as described above, the hot water supply burner 17 has a plurality of stages of combustion surfaces, and the combustion capacity control means 104 controls the opening / closing of the solenoid valves 83, 84, 85 and the opening of the proportional valve 87. Although the quantity control is performed based on the multistage combustion control data, when the mode switching means 103 is switched to the energy saving mode operation, only the solenoid valve 85 is opened and the solenoid valves 83 and 84 are closed, so that a plurality of stages of combustion is performed. Fuel is supplied only to the first stage combustion surface of the surfaces, and the valve opening amount of the proportional valve 87 is set to a valve opening amount corresponding to a value near the lowest value of the proportional valve driving current range (for example, FIG. The hot water supply burner 17 is burned while being fixed at a valve opening amount corresponding to the combustion capacity of No. 5 as shown in the point B of the graph. The value in the vicinity of the minimum value of the proportional valve drive current range is, for example, a value less than one third of the smaller proportional valve drive power range or less than half of the proportional valve drive current range. It is set to an appropriate value such as a value of.

  The fan rotation control means 105 performs rotational drive control of the combustion fan 19 corresponding to the combustion capacity of the hot water supply burner 17 during the normal mode operation, but when the mode switching means 103 switches to the energy saving mode operation, The rotational speed of the combustion fan 19 is fixed to the rotational speed of the fan corresponding to the opening capacity of the solenoid valve 85 by the combustion capacity control means 104 and the combustion capacity (for example, the combustion capacity of No. 5) with the valve opening amount of the proportional valve 87. Drive.

  As described above, when the hot water supply apparatus is burned with the combustion capacity of No. 5, the power consumption of the hot water supply apparatus is about 38 W, and when burning with the combustion capacity of No. 24 in the normal mode, it is about 65 W. Compared to the value, it is much smaller. In addition, about 36 W of power is consumed during combustion with the combustion capacity of No. 2.7 at the time of ignition.

  When the mode narrowing means 103 is switched to the energy saving mode operation by the mode switching means 103, the function narrowing means 108 stops the operation of the circulation heating function of the heating operation function and the reheating operation function of the bathtub hot water and the operation of the automatic hot water filling operation function. Only the hot water function can be operated.

  The hot water supply flow rate variable adjusting means 106 adjusts the hot water supply flow rate by adjusting the valve opening amount of the water amount servo 69 so that the hot water supply temperature becomes the set hot water supply temperature as described above during the operation in the normal mode. After the operation is switched to the energy saving mode by the means 103, the opening amount of the water amount servo 69 is changed to the combustion capacity (for example, 5 by the opening operation of the electromagnetic valve 85 by the combustion capacity control means 104 and the opening amount of the proportional valve 87. The hot water supply flow rate is fixed to a predetermined set flow rate.

  The bypass flow rate variable adjusting means 107 adjusts the bypass flow rate to the bypass passage 79 by adjusting the valve opening amount of the bypass servo 58 so that the hot water supply temperature becomes the hot water supply set temperature as described above during the operation in the normal mode. However, after switching to the energy-saving mode operation by the mode switching means 103, the opening amount of the bypass servo 58 is changed between the opening operation of the electromagnetic valve 85 by the combustion capacity control means 104 and the opening amount of the proportional valve 87. The bypass flow rate is fixed to a predetermined set flow rate by fixing to a value corresponding to the combustion capability (for example, No. 5 combustion capability).

  Note that the hot water supply set flow rate determined by the control of the hot water flow rate variable adjusting means 106 and the bypass flow rate variable adjusting means 107 can be determined in advance using, for example, the following calculation.

  For example, even if a planned power outage is scheduled, the power outage may not occur. However, if a power outage is executed, it is normal (if it is a conventional hot water supply device that does not have a power source switching function as in this embodiment). For example, if a power outage occurs while washing the hair at the time of bathing, the shampoo must be washed away with cold water and the bathing must be abandoned. When there is hot water of 42 ° C., the shampoo can be washed away with hot water from the bathtub. However, if the bath water becomes warm (for example, 37 ° C.), the bath cannot be comfortably continued as it is. On the other hand, if a power outage occurs when the hot water filling to the bathtub 27 is not started or when the hot water filling is in progress, the user takes a bath. If you give up, you want to wash your hair and body with a shower.

  Therefore, in this embodiment, first, when a power failure occurs, the combustion capacity control means 104 has caused a power failure during the heat retention operation time, for example, 4 hours after the automatic hot water filling, or a power failure occurs at other times. For example, it is checked by judging from the control information of automatic hot water filling. When it is determined that a power failure has occurred during the heat retention operation time, for example, it is calculated whether or not hot water such as 60 ° C. can be supplied from a faucet in the bathroom, and hot water can be supplied. For example, even when the bath water becomes warm, the bath water is raised from the faucet of the bathroom to increase the temperature of the bath water so that comfortable bathing can be continued. That is, even if the operation of the chasing operation function is not performed by the control of the function narrowing means 108, the user can continue bathing comfortably if hot water is poured into the bathtub 27 from the faucet. To do.

  For example, when the occurrence of a power failure is during the heat retention operation time, the combustion capacity control means 104 sets the predetermined combustion capacity (for example, the combustion capacity of No. 5) of the hot water supply burner 17 during operation in the predetermined energy saving mode, and the incoming water. The detection value of the water temperature detected by the temperature sensor 74 (the temperature at which water enters the hot water supply heat exchanger 29) and the hot water for hot water in the bathtub during the energy saving mode determined in advance in order to be able to continue bathing comfortably. The hot water supply set flow rate is calculated based on the hot water supply set temperature (for example, 60 ° C.). For example, when the detected value of the incoming water temperature sensor 74 is 15 ° C., the hot water supply set flow rate is 2.8 liters / minute according to the following equation (1).

  Hot water supply set flow rate = combustion capacity (number) x 25 ÷ (hot water set temperature for bath hot water insulation in energy saving mode-incoming water temperature) (1)

  That is, in the case of the above condition, the hot water supply set flow rate = 5 [No.] × 25 [deg] ÷ (60 [° C.] − 15 [° C.]) ≈2.8 [liter / min]. The combustion capacity control means 104 determines whether or not the calculated hot water supply flow rate calculated from (1) is within the appropriate flow rate range based on the minimum operating flow rate (for example, 2.5 liters / minute) unique to the hot water supply device. If so, the hot water supply set flow rate calculation value is added to the hot water supply flow rate variable adjusting means 106 and the bypass flow rate variable adjusting means 107.

  The hot water supply flow rate variable adjusting means 106 fixes the hot water supply flow rate based on the hot water supply set flow rate calculation value added from the combustion capacity control means 104 (for example, fixes the hot water supply set flow rate calculation value), and also sets the hot water supply set flow rate. The calculated value is within the appropriate flow rate range, and a fixed value of the hot water supply flow rate is added to the bypass flow rate variable adjusting means 107. Based on these pieces of information, the bypass flow rate variable adjusting means 107 fixes the bypass flow rate.

  Thus, when the power supply is switched to the secondary battery 4 when the power failure occurs, the hot water set temperature set by the operation of the remote control device 1 is ignored, and the hot water flow rate is also variably adjusted. Secured by means 106. At this time, if the user is dissatisfied with the hot water supply flow rate (outflow flow rate) and opens the opening of the faucet, the flow rate increases and the hot water supply temperature decreases.

  By the way, in a cold region, there may occur a sudden power failure due to snow, and in such a case, the detected value of the water supply temperature detected by the incoming water temperature sensor 74 is in a very low state such as 5 ° C. Sometimes it is. In such a case, the hot water supply set flow rate calculated value obtained from the equation (1) may fall below the appropriate flow rate range. In this case, the hot water supply burner 17 is not operated, so that bathing cannot be continued. . Therefore, for example, in a cold district, the hot water supply set flow rate may be calculated by setting the hot water supply set temperature for bath hot water heat retention in the energy saving mode to 47 ° C. instead of 60 ° C. as described above. .

  That is, in this case, the hot water supply set flow rate = 5 [No.] × 25 [deg] ÷ (47 [° C.] − 5 [° C.]) ≈3 [liter / min], and the hot water supply set flow rate calculated value is within the appropriate flow rate range. Therefore, as described above, bathing can be continued comfortably by performing flow rate setting by the hot water supply flow rate variable adjusting means 106 and bypass flow rate variable adjusting means 107 and fixing the flow rate at the set flow rate. .

  In addition, as the hot water supply set temperature for the hot water in the bathtub in the energy saving mode, a plurality of the hot water set temperatures are given, for example, the first set temperature is 60 ° C. and the second set temperature is 47 ° C., When the hot water supply set flow rate is calculated using the first set temperature and the hot water supply set flow rate calculated value is not within the appropriate flow rate range, the hot water supply set flow rate is calculated using the second set temperature. In addition, a configuration may be provided in which the hot water supply set temperature for bath hot water heat retention in the energy saving mode used when calculating the hot water supply set flow rate can be selectively varied.

  In addition, even when the hot water supply device is in the warming operation, the user may not have taken a bath, but even in that case, as described above, hot water (from the bathroom faucet to the bathtub 27) The hot water at the set temperature for hot water in the bathtub is mixed with the hot water in the bathtub so that the temperature of the hot water in the bath can be set to the bath set temperature or a temperature in the vicinity of the bath. become able to.

  On the other hand, if the power outage is not during the warming operation time after automatic hot water filling, the user will give up taking a bath and wash the hair by using the shower, etc. It is not necessary to put hot water at a hot water supply set temperature for bath hot water warming into the bathtub 27 in the mode. Therefore, if hot water at a hot water supply set temperature (for example, 42 ° C.) set in the remote control device is discharged from the hot water supply as usual, the shower can be used comfortably. Therefore, the combustion capacity control means 104 uses, for example, a hot water supply set temperature (for example, 42 ° C.) set in the remote control device instead of the hot water set temperature for hot water in the bathtub in the energy saving mode in the formula (1). The set flow rate is calculated, and based on the calculated hot water supply set flow rate, the hot water supply flow rate variable adjusting means 106 and the bypass flow rate variable adjusting means 107 set the flow rate and fix the flow rate.

  At this time, the combustion capacity control means 104 may determine whether or not the calculated hot water supply set flow rate calculated value is within the appropriate flow rate range based on the minimum operating flow rate (for example, 2.5 liters / minute). When washing hair by shower, it is preferable to do as follows. In other words, when the shower head is used, even if the shower head is faced downward, for example, if the hot water supply flow rate is less than 5 liters / minute, there is no momentum of the water flow coming out of each hole of the shower head, so the water flow is not collected and a shower is not formed. Therefore, when the calculated hot water supply set flow rate is, for example, a shower set flow rate of 5 liters / minute or less, the set temperature of the hot water used instead of the hot water set temperature for hot water in the bathtub in the energy saving mode in equation (1) is used. The hot water supply set flow rate is preferably calculated as 37 ° C. lower than the value of 42 ° C. set by the remote control device 1, for example.

  This is not comfortable when the shampoo is washed away in the shower because the temperature of the hot water is low, but the hot water flow rate is 5 liters / minute or more, and after towel drying (to remove moisture from the hair with a towel) ) After the hair is stiff (a phenomenon in which the hair becomes stiff at low temperatures).

  In addition, as the hot water supply set temperature when the heat retention operation is not being performed (during the non-heat retention operation), for example, a plurality of the hot water supply set temperatures are set such that the first set temperature is 42 ° C. and the second set temperature is 37 ° C. If the hot water supply set flow rate is not within the shower set flow rate range when the hot water set flow rate is calculated using the first set temperature, the hot water set flow rate is calculated using the second set temperature. For example, a configuration in which the hot water supply set temperature used when calculating the hot water supply set flow rate can be selectively varied may be provided.

  In addition, the feed water temperature used for the calculation of the hot water supply set flow rate as described above is not necessarily an actual measurement value by the incoming water temperature sensor 74, and can also be obtained by calculation. In this case, for example, the feed water temperature is obtained by calculation from the previous combustion capacity, the feed water flow rate detected by the flow rate detection means 73, the hot water temperature detected by the tapping hot water temperature detection sensor 113 or the remote control hot water supply temperature, and the value May be stored and used to calculate the hot water supply set flow rate.

  In addition, the combustion capacity control means 104 uses the water level sensor 22 that detects the water level of the bathtub hot water instead of making a determination based on the control information for automatic hot water filling when determining whether or not the heat retaining operation is being performed. If there is hot water in the bathtub (in fact, it is not known whether the water is the remaining hot water of the previous day or whether it is during the warming operation time after being filled with automatic hot water on the day) You may make it judge that it is operating.

  The lighting control means 109 is connected to the hot water supply device by signal connection to the remote control device 1 arranged at an appropriate place such as a bathroom arrangement or a kitchen arrangement, and when the mode switching means 103 is switched to the operation in the energy saving mode. Then, a command is given to the display means of the remote control device 1, the illumination provided in the remote control device 1 is turned on only for a predetermined set portion, and the illumination of other portions is turned off. FIG. 5 shows an external configuration example of the remote control device 1, and the illumination control means 109 is indicated by, for example, a switch E among LED (light emitting diode) lights 11 provided in the switches A to E. Only the LED light 11 of the operation switch 35 is turned on. Note that only the display screen 136 formed of liquid crystal may be turned on, and which lighting is turned on is appropriately set.

  FIG. 4 (a) shows an example of the change over time of the internal resistance of an AA eneloop, which is one of nickel-hydrogen secondary batteries. FIG. 4 (b) shows the time when the eneloop is discharged. The graph which shows the example of a time-dependent change of the voltage of is shown. The AA eneloop includes HR-3UTG early 2005/11 (November 2005), HR-3UTG late 2006/11 (November 2006), HR-3UTGA, HR-3UTGB, Although there are HR-3UWX, HR-3UQ, HR-3UPT, etc., FIG. 4 shows the results confirmed for HR-3UTGA, and the following description will describe this eneloop unless otherwise specified.

  Also, characteristic lines a and b in FIG. 4B are obtained when 10 eneloop secondary batteries 4 having a voltage of 1.2 V are applied and current of 2 A is supplied to supply 24 W of power from the secondary battery 4. The characteristic lines a ′ and b ′ are obtained when 10 eneloop secondary batteries 4 having a voltage of 1.2 V are applied and electric power of 36 W is supplied from the secondary battery 4 with a current of 3 A. This shows the change over time in the voltage of.

  As shown in these drawings, the voltage of the eneloop at the start of discharge (one minute after the power source is switched to the secondary battery 4 by the power source switching means 102) is actually about 1.4 V, and FIG. As shown by the characteristic line a, the new internal resistance is about 20 mΩ. And while using (discharging), the internal resistance is lower than before the start of discharging (see FIG. 4 (a)), but the voltage continues for about 1.2V to 1.3V for a long time (see FIG. 4). 4 (b), see). Then, after a certain period of use, as shown in C of FIGS. 4 (a) and 4 (b), the internal resistance increases, the voltage decreases to near 1.1V, and the internal resistance further increases. At time D, for example, the internal resistance increases and the voltage decreases to 0.9 V or less. That is, as the battery discharge proceeds, the voltage decreases as 1.4 V → 1.3 V → 0.9 V, and the internal resistance value also changes.

  The voltage drop of the ene loop corresponds to the internal resistance and the current used. For example, when the battery voltage is 1.4 V and the internal resistance is 20 mΩ, the voltage drop due to the internal resistance is 0. 04V and the voltage is 1.36V, while the voltage drop due to the internal resistance when using the current 3A is 0.06V, so the voltage is 1.34V. The voltage changes.

  Further, for example, in the case of an eneloop of a new article (when it is not used at all or when the number of times of charging / discharging is small), as shown by the characteristic line a in FIG. There is not much change, such as 20 mΩ when the battery voltage is about 1.4 V and 30 mΩ when the battery voltage is about 0.9 to 1 V just before use (the characteristic line a in FIG. 4A is almost flat) ). However, when a predetermined time has passed since the manufacture or the number of times of charging / discharging has been increased (internal deterioration has progressed), for example, as shown by the characteristic line b in FIG. Is 50 mΩ even when the battery voltage immediately after the start of discharge is 1.4 V, and 75 mΩ when the battery voltage is about 0.9 to 1 V just before it is used up. The amount of change also increases.

  Therefore, in the eneloop, when the current is 3A, the voltage drop due to the internal resistance just before using up the battery is 0.09V (= 0.03Ω × 3A), for example, when the battery is new. In the case of a deteriorated product that has just reached the recommended replacement level, for example, 0.225V (= 0.075Ω × 3A), the voltage drop between the new product and the recommended replacement time for use at 3A The difference of the minute is as much as 0.135V (the eneloop just before the replacement recommendation is 0.135V larger than the new one).

  In addition, when the eneloop is used with a current of 2A when the internal resistance becomes 75 mΩ due to internal deterioration, for example, the voltage drop due to the internal resistance is 0.15V, whereas the internal resistance when used with a current of 3A. As described above, the voltage drop due to is 0.225V. For example, when the voltage drops to 0.975V when used at a current of 2A, if the current used is increased from 2A to 3A, the voltage reaches 0.9V. Descend.

  In this way, when the voltage drops to 0.9 V or less, the DC-AC converter does not function due to a decrease in the DC voltage input to the DC-AC converter, and the power of the secondary battery 4 is converted to power for AC 100 V. Therefore, the power of the secondary battery 4 cannot be supplied to the hot water supply device, and the secondary battery 4 such as eneloop cannot be used as the power source of the hot water supply device. That is, as described above, if the voltage is 0.975 V when used at a current of 2 A, the DC-AC converter functions as normal in that state and converts the power of the secondary battery 4 to power for AC 100 V. On the other hand, if the current used is increased from 2A to 3A and the voltage drops to 0.9V, the DC-AC converter will not function and the power of the secondary battery 4 can be converted to AC100V power. It disappears and the water heater stops.

  Therefore, when a dry battery type secondary battery 4 such as eneloop is mounted on the battery mounting portion 2 and used, the internal resistance of the secondary battery 4 corresponding to the amount of current used is measured by measuring its internal resistance. Therefore, it is important to know whether the internal resistance is equal to or higher than the battery replacement reference value, and it is also important to know the current used.

  The dry battery type secondary battery 4 such as eneloop is normally assumed to be used at a current of about 1 A (for example, when used for a dry battery), in which case the internal resistance increases. However, in this embodiment, since it is used at a current of 2A or 3A, it cannot be used as a power source for a hot water supply device as described above if the voltage drops due to an increase in internal resistance. For example, in the example shown in FIG. 4 (b), when 10 eneloops are applied and the current is 2A and 24W of electric power is supplied from the secondary battery 4, the voltage drops to 1.3V after about 8 minutes. When the current is 3 A and the power of 36 W is supplied from the secondary battery 4, the voltage drops to 1.3 V and stabilizes after about 3 minutes. It shows that continuous operation is possible for less than 40 minutes.

  That is, when the current to be used is increased, it is necessary to avoid a situation in which the DC-AC converter cannot make AC100V supplied to the hot water supply device, so that the battery voltage does not drop to 0.9V as described above. If the internal resistance of the secondary battery 4 is known as described above, the amount of electric power that can be increased, that is, the use limit of the current can be determined from the voltage drop information. When the secondary battery 4 is used with a large current such as 2A or 3A, for example, a temperature increase of about 10 deg occurs. However, the present inventor has confirmed that the secondary battery 4 is a battery in the case of the secondary battery 4 such as an eneloop. It was found that the increase in temperature did not affect the internal resistance.

  Moreover, even if the dry battery type secondary battery 4 such as eneloop is not used, it gradually discharges (for example, if it is left for 6 months, the voltage is changed from 1.3 to 1.25, and the capacity is also reduced by about 15%, for example). Therefore, for example, it is necessary to charge regularly (for example, every half month), and if the operation of charging in a state where the discharge is insufficient is repeated at that time, the capacity of the battery becomes small due to a well-known memory effect. Therefore, in the present embodiment, the hot water supply apparatus performs a so-called refresh operation in which the secondary battery 4 formed by the eneloop is completely discharged and then charged, for example, once every six months or once a year. This is performed every predetermined setting period.

  When the internal resistance is measured at the end of the refresh operation, the internal resistance is high in the case of a battery that has reached or is near the end of its life (for example, when the internal resistance is measured at the beginning of the refresh operation, it is 50 mΩ, but it is the last Therefore, by measuring the internal resistance at the end of the refresh operation, for example, whether or not the internal deterioration of the secondary battery 4 attached to the battery attachment portion 2 has progressed and the life has been reached (battery Whether or not the reference value for replacement is exceeded. By measuring the internal resistance at the beginning or midway of the refresh operation, it is possible to know how much the internal resistance has increased (deteriorated), so that the internal resistance further increases at the end of the refresh operation. It can also be estimated by measuring the internal resistance at the beginning or midway of the refresh operation whether there is a possibility of exceeding the battery replacement reference value.

  As described above, in this embodiment, the battery replacement instruction unit 101 controls the refresh operation and measures the internal resistance during the refresh operation (for example, at the end of the operation). The internal resistance of the secondary battery 4 is detected for each set period, and a battery replacement command is transmitted when the detected internal resistance value exceeds a predetermined reference value for battery replacement.

  The battery replacement command means 101 measures the power at that time by passing a current through the secondary battery 4 at an appropriate timing instead of or in addition to measuring the internal resistance at the end of the refresh operation. And you may make it detect the internal resistance of the secondary battery 4 based on the value. In this case, for example, 10 eneloop secondary batteries 4 of 1.2V per battery are mounted on the battery mounting part 2, and when the voltage of the secondary battery 4 is detected, the voltage should be 12V. When the internal resistance is increased, the voltage becomes smaller than 1.2V, for example, 9V, so that an increase in the internal resistance of the secondary battery 4 can be detected from this voltage drop information.

  The battery replacement notification means 110 is provided in the remote control device 1, and when the battery replacement instruction is transmitted from the battery replacement instruction means 101, the battery replacement instruction information is notified by a predetermined appropriate method such as display or sound. To do.

  In addition, this invention can take various embodiment, without being limited to the said Example. For example, in the above embodiment, the secondary battery 4 is a dry battery type secondary battery such as eneloop, but the secondary battery 4 is not necessarily a dry battery type secondary battery, and is a dry battery type such as a lithium ion battery. It is good also as a secondary battery which is not. The lithium ion battery is currently used and is 3.6 V, and has the advantage that there is no memory effect like a nickel metal hydride battery or a nickel cadmium battery. Since the battery replacement command means 101 and the battery replacement notification means 111 provided in the can be omitted, the apparatus configuration of the hot water supply apparatus can be simplified accordingly. However, when the secondary battery 4 is a lithium ion battery, the voltage is too high to be used for a flashlight or the like, so it cannot be taken out of the hot water supply device and used for a flashlight or the like that is normally used.

  Further, in the above embodiment, after the hot water supply burner 17 is ignited, the valve opening amount of the proportional valve 87 is fixed to the valve opening amount corresponding to a value in the vicinity of the minimum value of the proportional valve drive current range, The burner 17 is combusted, but after the hot water supply burner 17 is ignited, the valve opening amount of the proportional valve 87 is fixed to the valve opening amount corresponding to the minimum value of the proportional valve drive current range, and the hot water supply burner is 17 may be burned.

  Further, when the mode switching means 103 switches to the energy saving mode operation, the combustion capacity control means 104 sets the valve opening amount of the proportional valve 87 to a value near the lowest value of the proportional valve drive current range. After the hot water supply burner 17 is burned by supplying fuel only to the first stage combustion surface, the solenoid valve 84 is opened when the power consumption is stabilized within a predetermined allowable range. The fuel is also supplied to the combustion surface of the valve, and the valve opening amount of the proportional valve 87 is fixed to a valve opening amount smaller than the valve opening amount (for example, point C in FIG. 3) to have a function of performing combustion. Also good.

  Note that whether or not the power consumption has stabilized within a predetermined allowable range is determined by calculation based on, for example, data as shown in FIG. 4, the internal resistance of the secondary battery 4 and the current value used. It is preferable to use voltage drop information such as a value that can be obtained. For example, if the hot water supply device is burned with the combustion capacity of No. 5, the power consumption of the hot water supply device is about 38 W. However, if the solenoid valve 84 is opened and fuel is also supplied to the combustion surface of the second stage, the electromagnetic valve 84 is driven. If the power consumption is increased and the valve opening amount at point C in FIG. 3 is used, the power consumption of the proportional valve 87 is reduced, and the rotational speed of the combustion fan 19 corresponding to the combustion amount per one hot water burner 17 is also reduced. However, the total amount of power consumption increases slightly, and the amount of current that increases the use can be known in advance.

  Therefore, the power switching means 102 uses the voltage drop information to estimate the current power consumption based on the current usage status of the hot water supply device, for example, burning the hot water supply device with the combustion capacity of No. 5. The internal resistance of the secondary battery 4 is calculated from this power consumption and the detected value of the voltage of the secondary battery 4. For example, assuming that the no-load voltage before switching to the secondary battery 4 is 12V and the 3A load voltage after switching to the secondary battery is 11.4V, one secondary battery. The internal resistance of 4 is 0.02Ω = (12V-11.4V) / (10 × 3A).

  Note that the 3A load voltage after switching is actually affected by the voltage drop due to the external resistance of the connection part between the batteries in addition to the voltage drop due to the internal resistance of the secondary battery 4, so that no load is applied. The value is smaller than the value obtained by subtracting the voltage drop caused by the internal resistance from the voltage. In other words, actually, the total resistance value obtained by combining the internal resistance and the external resistance from the no-load power before switching to the secondary battery 4 and the voltage detection value after switching to the secondary battery 4 is calculated. The internal resistance is obtained from the total resistance value and the external resistance value. The external resistance is caused by contact resistance such as a spring of the battery mounting portion, and is a value unique to the device and can be known in advance.

  For example, if the voltage drop due to the internal resistance of the secondary battery 4 is 0.6V (assuming that the value obtained by subtracting the voltage drop from 12V is 11.4V), when the external resistance value is α, The 3A load voltage after switching to the battery 4 should be (11.4−α) V, and the total resistance value is 12V− (11.4V−α). When the internal resistance is obtained by subtracting the external resistance value from the total resistance value, {12V− (11.4V−α) −α} = 12V−11.4V is obtained, so that the internal resistance of one secondary battery 4 is obtained. Can be obtained by the same equation as above, and is 0.02Ω.

  It should be noted that, as shown in FIG. 4B, the battery voltage of the secondary battery 4 suddenly drops during the first 1 to 3 minutes immediately after the power source is switched to the secondary battery 4 by the power source switching means 102. For example, it takes a little less than one minute until the stable operation of the device (end of the valve opening amount fixing operation or stabilization of the fan speed), that is, until the power consumption is stabilized. Accordingly, the combustion capacity control means 104 determines that the secondary battery 4 has a predetermined current value measurement setting standby time (for example, less than 1 minute after the power source is switched to the secondary battery 4) and the power consumption at that time. The amount of extracted current is obtained, and the internal resistance of the secondary battery 4 is obtained from the amount of current and the voltage drop information.

  Then, based on the internal resistance value of the secondary battery 4, the combustion capacity control means 104 increases the combustion capacity of the hot water supply device from, for example, point 5 in FIG. 3 to point 10 in FIG. Accordingly, even if the current amount increases, it is determined whether the battery voltage does not drop to 0.9 V during a predetermined setting time of, for example, 10 minutes or more. Then, the combustion capacity control means 104 opens the electromagnetic valve 84 when it can be confirmed that the battery voltage does not drop to 0.9 V during the set required time, and the amount of opening of the proportional valve 87 is, for example, The combustion may be performed while being fixed to the point C in FIG.

  Further, when the hot water supply apparatus having a multi-stage combustion surface has a function of changing the combustion capacity as necessary, the operation of this function is performed, or the first stage as in the above-described embodiment. It is also possible to provide a selection operation means for performing combustion only on the combustion surface, and to determine which operation is to be performed according to the operation of the selection operation means by the user or the installer.

  Furthermore, in the said Example, although the hot water supply setting flow rate set at the time of the driving | operation of energy saving mode was calculated | required by calculation, this hot water supply setting flow rate is not determined using a calculation, but is set to the water supply temperature (for example +2 degreeC) assumed beforehand. Based on this, the set flow rate may be stored as a fixed value, or the feed water temperature may be actually measured or calculated, and the set flow rate corresponding to the assumed feed water temperature range may be called from the memory.

  Furthermore, the hot water supply apparatus of the present invention does not necessarily have the system configuration shown in FIG. 2. For example, among the heat exchangers provided in the hot water supply apparatus, the hot water supply heat exchanger 29 a and the heating heat exchanger 28 a are omitted. The hot water supply heat exchanger 29b and the heating heat exchanger 28b may be included. In addition, the heating operation function is omitted and only the hot water supply function and the bathtub reheating operation function are provided, and the hot water of the bathtub is directly circulated and heated. One that uses two pumps may be one. Further, in the above-described embodiment, a common combustion fan may be the one that uses two fans, the combustion fan 19 for the hot water supply burner 17 and the combustion fan 18 for the heating burner 16.

  Furthermore, the hot water supply device may omit the heating operation function and the bathtub reheating operation function, or may have other functions such as a solar heat collecting function. Even when various functions are provided, the power consumption can be reduced by performing only the hot water supply function operation without controlling the hot water supply temperature during operation in the energy saving mode.

  Furthermore, when calculating the internal resistance of the secondary battery 4, in the above-described embodiment, the voltage drop occurs between the no-load voltage before switching the power source of the hot water supply device to the secondary battery 4 and the loaded voltage after switching. Although the amount is determined, the internal resistance of the secondary battery 4 can be obtained based on the load fluctuation after the power source is switched to the secondary battery 4. In this case, for example, after having burned with No. 5 combustion capacity, once the hot water is stopped, the power consumption difference is obtained from the voltage drop information at that time, or the power difference before and after driving the solenoid valve 84 and the voltage at that time It can be obtained from descent information. The internal resistance of the secondary battery 4 may be obtained from the power consumption difference before and after the refresh operation and the voltage drop information at that time, and the obtained value may be stored in the memory unit 110 in advance.

  1 is preferably provided, but at least one of the fan rotation control means 105, the hot water supply flow rate variable adjustment means 106, the bypass flow rate variable adjustment means 107, the function narrowing means 108, and the illumination control means 109 is provided. The operation during energy saving mode operation by can be omitted.

  The hot water supply apparatus of the present invention has a simple configuration and can be used for hot water supply even when power supply from a commercial power source is interrupted due to a power failure or the like, and thus can be used for various hot water supply apparatuses for home use and business use.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Remote control device 2 Battery mounting part 3 Commercial power supply 4 Secondary battery 16 Heating burner 17 Hot water supply burner 18, 19 Combustion fan 26 Hot water supply passage 28 Heating heat exchanger 29 Hot water supply heat exchanger 30, 31, 32 Gas pipe 58 Bypass servo 69 Water quantity servo 70 Bypass passage 80 Original solenoid valve 83, 84, 85 Solenoid valve 86 Proportional valve 101 Electromagnetic exchange command means 102 Power supply switching means 103 Mode switching means 104 Combustion capacity control means 105 Fan rotation control means 106 Hot water supply flow rate variable adjustment means 107 Bypass flow rate variable adjusting means 108 Function narrowing control means 109 Illumination control means

Claims (11)

A hot water supply apparatus having a hot water supply function of heating water to be supplied by a hot water supply burner to supply hot water to a hot water supply destination, connected to a commercial power supply and operated by electric power supplied from the commercial power supply as a power supply, power supplies and power supply switching means for switching the power supply in the case of supply from the case in the previous SL commercial power supply from the secondary battery through the DC-AC converter, the secondary battery supplies the power supply by the power supply switching means to When switched, the hot water temperature control is performed by suppressing the combustion capacity of the hot water burner from the operation in the normal mode in which the normal hot water temperature control is performed by controlling the combustion capacity of the hot water burner using the commercial power supply as the power supply. Mode switching means for switching to an energy saving mode operation that reduces power consumption compared to the normal mode operation by not performing Hot water supply apparatus according to claim and. It has a dry cell-type battery holder for mounting detachably the secondary battery dry battery type, for each predetermined period of the internal resistance of the secondary battery of battery type which is disposed wherein the drying cell battery attachment section A battery replacement command means for transmitting a battery replacement command when the detected internal resistance value is equal to or greater than a predetermined reference value for battery replacement, and a battery replacement command is transmitted from the battery replacement command means The hot water supply apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising battery replacement notification means for notifying battery replacement command information. The amount of fuel supplied to the hot water supply burners variable to the valve opening amount control of the proportional valves provided in the fuel supply passage having a combustion capacity control means for varying the combustion capability of the water heater burner, mode switching means When the operation is switched to the energy saving mode, the combustion capacity control means fixes the valve opening amount of the proportional valve to the valve opening amount corresponding to the minimum value in the proportional valve driving current range or a value in the vicinity thereof. The hot water supply device according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the hot water is burned.   A hot water supply burner having a plurality of stages of combustion surfaces, and opening and closing control of a solenoid valve provided in a fuel supply passage to the combustion surface and valve opening amount control of a proportional valve are given in advance as multistage combustion control data. And a combustion capacity control means for controlling the amount of fuel supplied to the combustion surface to vary the combustion capacity of the hot-water supply burner, and the combustion when the mode switching means switches to the energy saving mode operation. The capacity control means supplies fuel only to the first combustion surface of the plurality of combustion surfaces by opening / closing control of the solenoid valve, and the opening amount of the proportional valve is set to the minimum value of the proportional valve drive current range. The hot water supply apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the hot water supply burner is burned while being fixed to a valve opening amount corresponding to a value in the vicinity thereof. The combustion capacity control means fixes the valve opening amount of the proportional valve to a valve opening amount corresponding to a value near the lowest value of the proportional valve drive current range when the mode switching means is switched to the energy saving mode operation. After supplying fuel only to the combustion surface of the stage and burning the hot water supply burner, when the power consumption is stabilized within a predetermined allowable range, fuel is also supplied to the combustion surface of the second stage, and the proportional valve The hot water supply apparatus according to claim 4, having a function of performing combustion by fixing the valve opening amount to a valve opening amount smaller than the valve opening amount. The combustion capacity control means has a configuration that takes in the detected flow rate of the flow rate detection means that detects the amount of hot water during operation of the hot water supply function and varies the combustion capacity of the hot water burner based on the detected flow rate. one any of claims 1 to 5 wherein the combustion capacity control means is characterized in that less than in operation in the normal mode uptake frequency of detection flow rate of the flow rate detecting unit when switched to operating mode Hot water supply device described in one . A combustion fan for supplying and exhausting the hot water supply burner and fan rotation control means for controlling the rotation of the combustion fan. The fan rotation control means rotates the combustion fan when switched to the energy saving mode operation by the mode switching means. hot water supply apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 6, characterized in that fixed to the fan speed corresponding to the combustion capacity of a proportional valve opening amount is controlled by the combustion capability control means the number . A variable flow rate adjusting means for variably adjusting the hot water supply flow rate, and the variable flow rate adjusting means is controlled by the combustion capacity control means after the hot water supply flow rate is controlled by the mode switching means. hot water supply apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 7, characterized in that fixed to the predetermined set flow rate corresponding to the combustion capacity of an amount. A hot water supply heat exchanger which is heated more in hot water burners, the entrance side of the fed-water heat exchanger is connected to the water supply passage, the exit side of the hot-water supply heat exchanger is connected to hot water supply passage A bypass passage is provided for connecting the hot water supply passage and the water supply passage without going through the hot water heat exchanger, and a bypass flow valve is provided at a connection portion of the bypass passage with the water supply passage, By adjusting the valve opening amount of the bypass flow rate valve, the flow rate of water passing through the bypass passage without passing through the hot water supply heat exchanger out of the water supplied from the water supply passage to the hot water supply heat exchanger side is adjusted. A variable bypass flow rate adjusting means is provided, and the bypass flow rate variable adjusting means is switched to the energy-saving mode operation by the mode switching means, and then the proportional valve opening amount is controlled by the combustion capacity control means. By valve amount Hot water supply apparatus according to any one of claims 3 to 8, characterized in that to fix the valve opening amount preset to correspond to the combustion capacity.   A reheating operation function connected to the bathtub to heat the hot water in the bathtub by circulating it with a pump, and a heating operation function to heat the hot water connected to the heating apparatus and supplied to the heating device by circulating with the pump Having at least one of the circulating heating functions, and having function narrowing means for stopping the circulating heating function operation and enabling only the hot water supply function operation when switched to the energy saving mode operation by the mode switching means. The hot water supply device according to any one of claims 1 to 9, wherein   A remote control device is signal-connected to the hot water supply device, and when the mode switching means is switched to the energy saving mode operation, the illumination provided in the remote control device is lit only in a predetermined set portion, and other portions are turned on. The hot water supply apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 10, further comprising an illumination control unit that turns off the illumination.

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