Hot water supply system

• US 20040176858A1
• Filed: 03/04/2003
• Published: 09/09/2004
• Est. Priority Date: 03/04/2003
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Noritz Corporation
• Original Assignee: Noritz Corporation
• Inventors: Murakami, Masayoshi, Tada, Hiroyuki, Yano, Masatsugu, Ooshio, Tadahiko, Kuwahara, Hirokazu, Matsugu, Shigemasa, Kurihara, Takehiro, Hamatani, Yoshikazu, Fukui, Hidekazu
• Granted Patent: US 7,058,457 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 700/9
• CPC Class Codes: G05B 15/02 electric
• CPC Class Codes: G05B 2219/31229 Supervisor, master, workstation controller, automation, machine control
• CPC Class Codes: G05B 2219/32061 Central controls modules grouped according to function
• CPC Class Codes: G05B 23/0235 based on a comparison with predetermined threshold or range, e.g. "classical methods", carried out during normal operation; threshold adaptation or choice; when or how to compare with the threshold
• CPC Class Codes: G05B 23/027 Alarm generation, e.g. communication protocol; Forms of alarm

Abstract

A hot water supply system operated by linking plural water heaters. A system controller is provided in every specific number of water heaters for centralizing controls thereof. A host system controller is further provided in every specific number of the system controllers for centralizing controls thereof, and finally the controls are centralized in one highest system controller. In this configuration, therefore, the highest system controller controls the operation of individual water heaters by way of the lower system controllers.

Claims

1. A hot water supply system operated by linking plural water heaters, comprising:

system controllers centralizing controls of a group of water heaters, and

host system controllers centralizing controls of a group of system controllers,

wherein said host system controllers are disposed hierarchically so that the controllers may be finally centralized in a single highest host system controller, and the highest host system controller controls the operation of individual water heaters through the lower system controllers.

2. The hot water supply system of claim 1,

wherein said lower system controllers to which water heaters are connected are designed to increase or decrease the number of operating units of a group of water heaters under the control depending on the tapping request, while the highest host system controller controls the number of operating units of water heaters in the entire system by increasing or decreasing the number of operating units of lower system controllers.

3. The hot water supply system of claim 2,

wherein the control of the number of operating units of water heaters in the lower system controllers is executed by controlling passing of water to the water heaters by opening or closing the valves attached to the water heaters.

4. The hot water supply system of claim 2,

wherein the number of water heaters to be operated at the beginning of tapping is freely determined in the lower system controllers.

5. The hot water supply system of claim 2,

wherein said highest system controller prohibits operation of other lower system controllers when operating a specific lower system controller, and control to stop operation of the water heaters under the control of the prohibited system controllers.

6. The hot water supply system of claim 2,

wherein said highest system controller controls to determine the operation stopping timing of the water heaters centralized by one lower system controller, depending on the number of operating units of water heaters centralized by other lower system controllers.

7. The hot water supply system of claim 2,

wherein said highest system controller controls to prohibit the adjustment of flow rate of the water heaters centralized by one lower system controller, depending on the number of operating units of water heaters centralized by other lower system controllers.

8. The hot water supply system of claim 1,

wherein said highest system controller has display means for displaying the information of water heaters and/or other system controllers.

9. The hot water supply system of claim 8,

wherein said display means is provided in a remote controller incorporated in the highest system controller.

10. The hot water supply system of claim 8 or 9,

wherein said lower system controllers accumulate the total tapping capacity of individual connected water heaters to transmit to a higher system controller, and the higher system controller accumulates the cumulative values of tapping capacity transmitted from the lower system controllers to transmit to a still higher system controller, and the tapping capacity of the entire system is calculated in the highest system controller, and the result is displayed in the display means.

11. The hot water supply system of claim 8 or 9,

wherein said lower system controllers accumulate the number of water heaters in operation to transmit to a higher system controller, and the higher system controller accumulates the cumulative values of the number of water heaters in operation transmitted from the lower system controllers to transmit to a still higher system controller, and the total number of water heaters in operation of the entire system is calculated in the highest system controller, and the result is displayed in the display means.

12. The hot water supply system of claim 8 or 9,

wherein said lower system controllers accumulate the number of connected water heaters to transmit to a higher system controller, and the higher system controller accumulates the cumulative values of the number of connected water heaters transmitted from the lower system controllers to transmit to a still higher system controller, and the total number of connected water heaters of the entire system is calculated in the highest system controller, and the result is displayed in the display means.

13. The hot water supply system of claim 12,

wherein said highest system controller has memory means for storing the maximum value of the cumulative values of the number of connected water heaters transmitted from the lower system controllers, and the number of connected water heaters is displayed by the display means together with the maximum number of connected water heaters stored in this memory means.

14. The hot water supply system of claim 12,

wherein said lower system controller, when receiving an error code showing the type of trouble from a connected water heater, transmits this error code to the highest system controller together with the device identification information attached to the error code by way of a higher system controller, and the defective water heater and type of trouble are specified in the highest system controller, and the results are displayed in the display means.

15. The hot water supply system of claim 1,

wherein said highest system controller has means for detecting at least one of trouble of remote controller connected to the system controllers and communication failure with the remote controller, and

the highest system controller controls to fix the hot water supply temperature of all water heaters of the system at a specified temperature when one of these troubles are detected by said detecting means.

16. The hot water supply system of claim 1,

wherein said highest system controller has means for detecting at least one of trouble of the lower system controllers and communication failure with the lower system controllers, and

the highest system controller controls to exclude the abnormal lower system controller having trouble or communication failure when one of these troubles are detected by said detecting means, and to control the number of operating units of water heaters by using the remaining lower system controllers.

17. The hot water supply system of claim 1,

wherein said lower system controllers have means for detecting at least one of trouble of the highest system controller and communication failure with the highest system controller, and

the lower system controllers control to instruct all connected water heaters to ban combustion and stop tapping when one of these troubles are detected by said detecting means.

18. The hot water supply system of claim 1,

wherein said lower system controllers have means for detecting at least one of trouble of the highest system controller and communication failure with the highest system controller, and

the lower system controllers control to fix the hot water supply temperature of all connected water heaters at a specified temperature when one of these troubles are detected by said detecting means.

19. The hot water supply system of claim 1,

wherein said water heaters have means for detecting at least one of trouble of the lower system controllers and communication failure with the lower system controllers, and

the water heaters control to ban combustion and stop tapping when one of these troubles are detected by said detecting means.

20. The hot water supply system of claim 1,

wherein said highest system controller, when data held for control of number of operating units of water heaters is lost, requests the lower system controllers to transmit the control data held in the lower system controllers, and controls to execute the process of restoring the system in the state before loss of data on the basis of the data transmitted from the lower system controllers according to this transmission request.

21. The hot water supply system of claim 1,

wherein said highest system controller and lower system controllers are designed to receive power supplies from different power sources.

22. The hot water supply system of claim 20,

wherein said lower system controllers are designed to receive power supplies from any one of the water heaters connected to these system controllers.

23. The hot water supply system of claim 8 or 9,

wherein said highest system controller communicates with the water heaters connected to the lower system controllers to check for trouble in the condition of input of a specific trigger, and controls to display the information specifying the corresponding water heater in the display means when information of trouble is returned from any water heater.

24. The hot water supply system of claim 23,

wherein said highest system controller main body or its remote controller has operating means for generating the specific trigger.

25. The hot water supply system of claim 23,

wherein said highest system controller has memory means for storing the information specifying the corresponding water heater when information of trouble is returned from any water heater.

26. The hot water supply system of claim 22,

wherein said highest system controller controls to specify a defective water heater from the water heaters connected to the lower system controllers in the condition of input of a specific trigger, and operate the specified water heater by setting this specified water heater as the first water heater to be operated at the beginning of tapping.

27. The hot water supply system of claim 26,

wherein said highest system controller main body or its remote controller has operating means for generating the specific trigger.

28. The hot water supply system of claim 1,

wherein said highest system controller has at least two trouble alarm means, and controls to change over these trouble alarm means depending on the status of trouble of the water heaters.

29. The hot water supply system of claim 28,

wherein said trouble alarm means are changed over depending on the degree of trouble of water heaters.

30. The hot water supply system of claim 29,

wherein said highest system controller judges the degree of trouble by comparing the possible tapping capacity value by the normally operating water heaters and the actual operating capacity value obtained from the past results, and controls to judge to be a major trouble when the actual operating capacity value exceeds the possible tapping capacity value, and judge to be a minor trouble otherwise.