JPH0523375A - Jet bath pump device - Google Patents

Abstract

(57) [Abstract] [Purpose] An object of the present invention is to obtain a jet bath pump device capable of preventing idle operation of an electric pump when water in a bathtub is drained and the water level drops. [Constitution] While the electric pump 2 is in operation, the operating current value is monitored by the current detector 10 in the control unit 5, the water in the bathtub 1 is drained and the water level is lowered, and the electric pump 2 becomes in an idle operation state. By detecting the decrease in the operating current value when the electric pump 2 is stopped, the operation of the electric pump 2 is stopped, so that the decrease in the water level in the bathtub 1 can be reliably detected without being affected by water stain or the like. It is possible to obtain a jet bath pump that can stop the operation of the.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a jet bath pump device which prevents idle operation of an electric pump when the water level in a bathtub drops.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, a jet pump for detecting the water level in a bath and stopping the operation of an electric pump has a structure as shown in FIGS.

As shown in the figure, 1 is a bathtub, 2 is an electric pump for injecting bubbly water flow into the bathtub, 3 is a water level sensor for detecting the water level in the bathtub, 4 is an operation switch of the electric pump 2, and 5 Is a control unit for controlling the electric pump 2 by the signals of the operation switch 4 and the water level sensor 3, 6 is a suction port for sucking the water in the bathtub 1 into the electric pump 2, and 7 is a discharge port for injecting a bubbly water flow from the electric pump 2. Is.

In the jet bath pump device having the above-mentioned components, when the operation switch 4 is turned on in a state where the bathtub 1 is filled with hot water and the water level sensor 3 is detecting the water level, a pump operation signal is output from the controller 5. Electric pump 2
Is operated and the hot water in the bathtub 1 is sucked through the suction port 6 and is jetted as a bubbly water flow from the discharge port 7. Then, when the operation switch 4 is turned on again, a pump stop signal is output from the controller 5 and the electric pump 2 is stopped. In this way, the electric switch 2 is operated / stopped by operating the operation switch 4.

Here, when the hot water in the bathtub 1 is drained while the electric pump 2 is in operation and the water level sensor 3 detects a decrease in the water level, the control unit 5 outputs a pump stop signal to output the electric pump 2.
To prevent the electric pump 2 from running dry.

By the way, the structure of the water level sensor 3 is as shown in FIG. In FIG. 5, 21 is an electrode, 22 is a pump casing, 23 is an insulating material that insulates the electrode 21 and the pump casing 22, and a signal voltage is applied between the electrode 21 and the pump casing 22. With this configuration,
When the bathtub 1 is filled with hot water, the pump casing 22 is also filled with hot water, so an electric current flows between the pump casing 22 and the electrode 21 through the hot water, and the control unit 5 raises the water level to a high water level. Judge that there is. When the hot water in the bathtub 1 is drained and the hot water disappears in the pump casing 22,
No current flows between the pump casing 22 and the electrode 21, and the control unit 5 determines that the water level has dropped or that the bath 1 has run out of hot water.

[0007]

In such a conventional jet bath pump device using a water level sensor, water stains in the bathtub 1 adhere to the insulating material 23 in the water level sensor 3 due to long-term use. However, since an electric current flows between the electrode 21 and the pump casing 22 via the water stain, the control unit 5 determines that the water level in the bathtub 1 is high even if there is no hot water in the pump casing 22. Since the electric pump 2 is not stopped, there is a problem that the idling of the electric pump 2 cannot be prevented.

The present invention solves the above problems, and is a highly reliable jet bath that is not affected by water stain or the like and can reliably detect a drop in the water level in the bathtub and stop the operation of the electric pump. It is intended to provide a pump device.

[0009]

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention detects the decrease in the operating current value of the electric pump due to the decrease in the water level in the bath and stops the operation of the electric pump. Is.

[0010]

As described above, according to the present invention, the load fluctuation of the electric pump due to the lowering of the water level in the bathtub is detected by the fluctuation of the operating current value of the electric pump, thereby reliably detecting the lowering of the water level in the bathtub. Then, the operation of the electric pump can be stopped.

[0011]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to FIGS.

The same parts as those shown in the conventional example are designated by the same reference numerals, and the description thereof will be omitted. FIG. 1 shows the configuration of this embodiment, and the difference from the conventional example is that the water level sensor 3 is not provided.

FIG. 2 shows an example of the circuit configuration of the control section 5,
Reference numeral 10 is a current detector that detects the motor current value of the electric pump 2, 11 is a microcomputer that controls the operation of the electric pump 2 based on signals from the operation switch 4 and the current detector 10, 1
2 is a pump drive circuit that drives the electric pump 2, 13 is a rectifier that rectifies the AC output voltage of the current detector 10, 14 is a capacitor that smoothes the rectified voltage, and 15 is a resistor.

In the jet bath pump device having the above components, when the operation switch 4 is turned on, the "L" signal is input to the input P1 of the microcomputer 11 and the electric pump drive signal is output to the output P2, and the electric pump drive circuit is output. 12
Thus, the electric pump 2 is operated. Then, when the operation switch is turned on again, the electric pump stop signal is output to the output P2 of the microcomputer 11 to stop the pump 2.

In this operation, while the electric pump 2 is in operation, an operating current flows through the current detector 10 to generate an AC output voltage. This output voltage is rectified and smoothed by the rectifier 13 and the capacitor 14, converted into a DC voltage, and then applied to the input P0 of the microcomputer 11. And the microcomputer 11
The DC voltage is A / D-converted inside to monitor the increase / decrease in the value of the current flowing through the electric pump 2.

Here, when the hot water in the bathtub 1 is drained, the water level is lowered and the electric pump 2 is in an idle operation state, the load applied to the electric pump 2 is reduced and the operating current value of the pump 2 is decreased. The voltage applied to the input P0 of 11 also drops. This voltage drop is detected in the microcomputer 11, and the microcomputer 11 determines that the engine is idling and stops the electric pump 2 according to the flowchart shown in FIG. This can prevent the electric pump 2 from running dry.

[0017]

As is apparent from the above description of the embodiments, according to the present invention, the load fluctuation of the electric pump due to the lowering of the water level in the bathtub is detected by the fluctuation of the operating current value of the electric pump. As a result, it is possible to reliably detect the drop in the water level in the bathtub and stop the operation of the electric pump, and it is possible to provide a highly reliable jet bath pump that is not affected by water stain or the like.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a configuration diagram of a jet bath pump device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a circuit diagram of the control unit.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart of the operation of the control unit.

FIG. 4 is a configuration diagram of a conventional jet bath pump device.

FIG. 5 is a side sectional view of the main part of the same water level sensor.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 Bath 2 Electric pump 5 Control unit 10 Current detector

Claims (1)

Claim: What is claimed is: 1. An electric pump for injecting a bubbly water flow into a bath, a current detector for detecting a current value during the operation of the electric pump, and a control section for controlling the operation of the electric pump. And a jet bath pump device for stopping the electric pump by detecting a decrease in the operating current value of the electric pump due to a decrease in the water level in the bath.