JP2580084B2 - Shower equipment - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a shower device such as a body shower or a hand shower, and more particularly to a shower device suitable for being installed in a bathroom.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In a shower apparatus, generally, when a shower is started to be used, cold hot water remaining inside a hot water supply pipe or the like is jetted. Therefore, in order to prevent such cold water from being bathed in the body, usually, after the water is spouted from the shower, the water is discarded until the temperature reaches an appropriate temperature, that is, so-called waste water is taken. .

[0003] In order to take such waste water, the following measures have conventionally been taken. The simplest countermeasure is to open the hot water tap in a hand shower, etc., then turn the shower head in the direction where the shower does not hit the body while the cold hot water is spouting, and sometimes check the shower temperature by hand Then, it is an artificial measure by the user to turn the shower head in the direction of the body after confirming that the temperature has reached an appropriate temperature by hand.

In a body shower device or the like having a remote control function or the like, a temperature sensor is provided in a hot water supply pipe, and an on-off valve (shower valve) for tapping / stopping a shower hot water is provided on the hot water supply pipe. Separately, a drain opening / closing valve (drain valve) is installed in the preceding stage. When the shower switch is pressed, the drain valve is opened with the shower valve closed, and when the temperature detected by the temperature sensor reaches an appropriate temperature, the drain valve is opened. There is a configuration in which a valve is closed and a shower valve is opened.

Further, in a shower dedicated to a shower booth, similarly, a temperature sensor is provided in the hot water supply pipe, and a preparation switch is provided outside the entrance of the shower booth.
There is a configuration in which tapping is stopped when the temperature sensor detects an appropriate temperature. According to this configuration, there is also an effect that the shower booth is washed away with the waste water, and the inside of the shower booth is heated with hot water of an appropriate temperature before use.

[0006]

Among the conventional countermeasures for waste water described above, in the artificial countermeasures by a user in a hand shower or the like, the user has to wait for another shower head until reaching an appropriate temperature. In addition to this, it is necessary to investigate whether or not the temperature has reached the appropriate temperature by one's own hands, which is troublesome. In addition, in measures using a drain valve,
Since the inside of the pipe on the shower nozzle side from the drain valve is not warmed, there is a drawback that the shower hot water at the beginning of tapping is cold even if this measure is taken.

Further, the countermeasure using the preparation switch outside the shower room is convenient and is not problematic when applied to a shower booth or the like, but when applied to a body shower device installed in a normal bathroom. There are the following problems. That is, even if you press the preparation switch arranged outside the bathroom and enter the bathroom after completion of preparation, instead of taking a shower first, you can soak in the bathtub at the beginning of entering the room,
Alternatively, if the body or the head is washed, the temperature of the hot water in the hot water supply pipe decreases during that time, and when actually taking a shower, it is necessary to go out of the room again and press the preparation switch.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and has as its object to provide a shower apparatus which is installed in a bathroom or the like and has an optimal preparation function which does not cause the above-mentioned problems. I have.

[0009]

A configuration for achieving the above object will be described with reference to a basic conceptual diagram shown in FIG. 1. In the present invention, a hot water supply device a and a shower nozzle b are connected to a hot water supply pipe c. In the shower device which is communicated through the hot water supply pipe c, an electric open / close valve d is provided on the hot water supply pipe c, and a temperature detecting means e for detecting the temperature of hot water in the hot water supply pipe c is provided. A switch f is provided, a timer is started with the operation of the remote switch f as a starting point, and a timer means g for outputting an output after a preset time has elapsed, and first and second notification means h and i are provided. The first notification means h includes a remote switch f
After the above operation, the operation is performed until the output from the timing means g is generated, the electric opening / closing valve d is opened at the time when the output from the timing means g is generated, and the second notification means i is provided when the electric opening / closing valve d is used. It is characterized in that it is configured to operate after the temperature detection result by the temperature detecting means e after opening has reached a preset temperature.

[0010]

After the remote switch f is operated, the motor-operated on-off valve d is not opened until a certain time has elapsed.
Notification means h operates. When the shower device is installed in a bathroom, the remote switch f is disposed in the bathroom. However, a command for shower preparation can be given in the bathroom, and even if the switch f is operated, the remote switch f is discarded. Since a certain waiting time is provided before the water spouts, based on the notification by the first notification means h,
During this time, you can enter the bathtub or move to a place where the wastewater does not splash. After the electric on-off valve d is opened,
The second notification means operates by the appropriate temperature detection by the temperature detection means e, and the completion of preparation is notified.

[0011]

FIG. 2 is an overall configuration diagram of an embodiment of the present invention, showing an example in which the present invention is applied to a body shower device installed in a bathroom. Mixing valve 1 is provided with water from water supply pipe C,
Hot water from a hot water supply pipe H communicating with a hot water supply device such as a water heater is mixed at a predetermined ratio. The hot water mixed by the mixing valve 1 is supplied to each shower nozzle 3a.
e.

That is, the hot water supply pipe 2 is provided with a shower nozzle 3a.
..Four hot-water supply branch pipes 2a that branch off on the upstream side of 3d
One of the shower nozzles 3a,... 3c is provided at the tip of each of the branch pipes 2a,.
Two shower nozzles 3d and 3e are mounted at the tip of d. In the figure, CV is a check valve. The hot water supply pipe 2 is provided with a temperature sensor 4 for detecting the temperature of hot water in the pipe, and each of the hot water supply branch pipes 2a, 2d is provided with an electric open / close valve 5a, 5d. I have. Although the electric on-off valves 5a,... 5d may be valves that open and close simply, adoption of an electric two-way valve in which the valve opening continuously changes from fully open to fully closed may cause water hammer or the like. It is desirable to prevent it.

The output of the temperature sensor 4 is supplied to a control circuit 6
, And the mixing valve 1 and the electric on-off valves 5 a... 5 d are configured to be controlled by a drive signal supplied from the control circuit 6. Each of the shower nozzles 3a to 3e is mounted on a support 7 constructed in the bathroom B, and a remote operation panel 8 for giving a command to the control circuit 6 is mounted on the support 7. .

Further, a preparation switch 9 is provided outside the bathroom B, for example, near the entrance thereof, and a command from the preparation switch 9 is also inputted to the control circuit 6. In addition, a monitor lamp 9a is provided near the preparation switch 9. The control circuit 6 is mainly composed of a microcomputer, and includes an input / output interface of the microcomputer and drivers for various actuators placed under the control of the microcomputer via the input / output interface.
Has a built-in timer and an alarm buzzer 10 and a chime 1 which sound at the timing described later.
1 is connected.

FIG. 3 is a front view showing a configuration example of the remote operation panel 8. The panel 8 includes remote switches 81a... 81d for turning on and off hot water from the shower nozzles 3a... 3e, a switch group such as a shower temperature setting switch 82, a shower intensity setting switch 83, and the like. A monitor 84 and the like are provided. In the embodiment of the present invention described above, when taking a shower, the remote switch 81a... 81d or the preparation switch 9 is pressed. As a result, the water is discarded in the following procedure.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing the operation of each section when the remote switches 81a... 81d are pressed. The operation of the embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to FIG.
When the remote switches 81a ... 81d are pressed, the control circuit 6
The alarm buzzer 10 starts to sound at the same time as the timer in the inside starts counting time, and the hot water monitor 84
As shown in (A), the left side starts blinking. When a preset time T elapses after the switch is operated, the sound of the alarm buzzer 10 is stopped, and the tapping monitor 84 is turned on on the left side as shown in FIG. ..5d opens. At the same time, the timer is reset.

In this state, the hot water temperature detection data from the temperature sensor 4 is fetched every moment, and when this temperature reaches the temperature set by the shower temperature setting switch 82, that is, the appropriate temperature, the electric open / close valves 5a,. As the chime 11 sounds, the tapping monitor 84 turns off the left side and turns on the right side as shown in FIG. 5C, thereby notifying the user.

With the above operation, the user of the shower can
After pressing the remote switch in the bathroom B, while the alarm buzzer 10 is sounding or the hot water monitor 84 is blinking, the user can enter the bathtub or move to a place where the shower does not take place. When the time T has elapsed in this state, the shower hot water starts automatically, and the chime 11 sounds or the hot water monitor 84 determines whether the hot water reaches the appropriate temperature.
Is indicated by the appropriate temperature display, so it is sufficient to take a shower after that point.

In this embodiment, the waste water operation can also be performed by operating the preparation switch 9 outside the bathroom B. The operation in this case is, for example, as shown in the flowchart of FIG. 6, when the preparation switch 9 is pressed, the electric on-off valves 5a... 5d are opened to start shower hot water, and at the same time, the monitor lamp 9a is blinked, and the temperature sensor is turned on. When the temperature of the hot water detected by 4 reaches an appropriate temperature, the motor-operated on-off valves 5a... 5d are closed, and the monitor lamp 9a is turned on to notify that the preparation is completed. In this case, since the user is outside the bathroom B, no waste water is applied.

When the remote switches 81a... 81d are operated, the monitor lamp 9a outside the bathroom B is also used until the temperature reaches an appropriate temperature and the preparation is completed.
It is preferable that the preparation state is notified by blinking a and turning it on when the temperature reaches an appropriate temperature. The operation of the electric on-off valves 5a... 5d and the operation of the chime 11 after the remote switch 81a... 81d or the preparation switch 9 is pressed are not limited to those shown in FIG. Is possible, for example, FIG.
As shown in (A) and (B), waste water is discharged from some shower nozzles, and after a certain period of time from reaching an appropriate temperature, switching to hot water from another shower nozzle is performed.
No. 1 plays a sound after a predetermined time has elapsed (A) or performs waste water using all shower nozzles,
Any combination can be adopted, such as stopping the hot water supply and performing a chime sound after a predetermined period of time has elapsed after reaching the appropriate temperature (B).

Furthermore, the present invention does not necessarily require the preparation switch 9
Is not necessary, and preparation for tapping can be performed only with the remote switches 81a... 81d. In this case, when the hot water is prepared from outside the bathroom, the remote switches 81a,... 81d may be pushed in the bathroom, and the user may go out of the bathroom until the time T elapses. Furthermore, the first and second notification means of the present invention, that is, a means for notifying that the time T has elapsed and the time when the waste water is started, and a means for notifying that the appropriate temperature has been reached, include an alarm buzzer 10. It is needless to say that any combination or combination other than the combination of and the chime 11 or the tapping monitor 84 can be adopted.

[0022]

As described above, according to the present invention, a remote switch is provided in a room where a shower device is installed, and after a predetermined time has elapsed after operation of the switch, the remote switch is discarded from the shower nozzle. A configuration in which the first notification means notifies the start of the water and the waste water is started, and after the temperature of the hot water in the hot water supply pipe reaches an appropriate temperature after the start of the waste water, the second notification means notifies the user of the fact. When I was taking a shower while taking a bath, there was no need to bother going out of the room and operating the switch,
As before, when the preparation switch was pressed and the preparations were completed, the bath was taken, and the body was washed, etc., and the time had passed, such as when the temperature reached the appropriate temperature once, but it was already cooled when actually taking a shower Such a problem does not occur. Further, since the drain valve is not used, there is no problem that the initial shower temperature is lowered after the preparation is completed.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a basic conceptual diagram showing a configuration of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is an overall configuration diagram of an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a front view showing a configuration example of the remote operation panel 8;

FIG. 4 shows a remote switch 81a... 8 according to the embodiment of the present invention.
Flow chart showing the operation of each unit when 1d is pressed

FIG. 5 is an explanatory diagram of an example of a display mode of a tapping monitor 84 when the remote switches 81a.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing the operation of each unit when the preparation switch 9 of the embodiment of the present invention is pressed.

FIG. 7 is a time chart showing a combination of tapping and notification in another embodiment of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 ··· Mixing valve 2 ··· Hot water supply pipe 2a · · · 2d · · · Hot water supply branch pipe 3a · · · 3e · · · Shower nozzle 4 · · · Temperature sensor 5a · · · 5dd · · · Electric open / close valve 6 ... Control circuit 7 ... Support 8 ... Remote operation panel 81a ... 81d ... Remote switch 82 ... Shower temperature setting switch 83 ... Shower Strength setting switch 84 ··· Hot water monitor 9 ··· Preparation switch 9a ··· Monitor lamp 10 ··· Alarm buzzer 11 ··· Chime C ··· Water supply pipe H ··· Hot water Supply pipe

Claims (1)

(57) [Claims] 1. A shower device in which a hot water supply device and a shower nozzle communicate with each other via a hot water supply pipe, and an electric open / close valve provided on the hot water supply pipe, and a temperature detector for detecting hot water temperature in the hot water supply pipe. Means, a remote switch disposed in the installation room of the shower device, a timer which starts time counting from the operation of the remote switch, and outputs an output after a preset time elapses.
And a second notifying unit, wherein the first notifying unit includes:
After the operation of the remote switch, the operation is performed until the output from the timing unit is generated. The electric on-off valve is opened when the output from the timing unit is generated. A shower device which is configured to operate after the temperature detection result by the temperature detection means reaches a preset temperature after the on-off valve is opened.