WO2001071443A1

WO2001071443A1 - A remote temperature monitoring and adjustment system for water used for sanitary purposes in the domestic environment

Info

Publication number: WO2001071443A1
Application number: PCT/EP2001/003053
Authority: WO
Inventors: Ruggero Marchetti
Original assignee: Merloni Termosanitari SpA
Current assignee: Merloni Termosanitari SpA
Priority date: 2000-03-20
Filing date: 2001-03-16
Publication date: 2001-09-27
Anticipated expiration: 2002-09-20
Also published as: ITMO20000049A1; AU2001262102A1; EP1279083A1; IT1315619B1

Abstract

The invention describes a system designed to adjust the temperature of water to be used for sanitary purposes according to the various drawing requirements. In each room, a device (A) is positioned which is equipped with the relevant controls for the local management of the temperature of the water to be used for sanitary purposes, the said management following a logic based on priority of use. The plurality of the aforementioned devices is interconnected using connections of various typologies and is connected to the electronic circuiting of a boiler.

Description

DESCRIPTION A remote temperature monitoring and adjustment system for water used for sanitary purposes in the domestic environment-

Technical field

The invention relates to a remote temperature monitoring and adjustment system for water to be used for sanitary purposes in a domestic environment.

Background Art

At the moment, when it is necessary to make use of a device for water for sanitary purposes in the domestic environment at a certain temperature, there is no opportunity to adjust the temperature, from time to time, either lowering or increasing, as required, the value set for the said temperature. Normally it is the bathroom which requires the most attention when it comes to water temperature: therefore if water is required at a suitable temperature for a shower the user simply has to set the temperature required using the adjustment system connected to the boiler. Then, when the shower is finished, the user simply resets the temperature of the water for sanitary purposes at a temperature which is more suitable for other, different uses.

There is already a device available that can be installed in any room of the house which is connected with the boiler and is used to adjust the room temperature and the temperature of the water contained in the said boiler, which is to be used for sanitary purposes. However, this device is not at all flexible and has no operative intelligence. One drawback of the commonly known devices is that once one of the various household water-using devices has been activated and the relative temperature required has been set, this temperature is then imposed on all of the user devices connected.

Disclosure of Invention

The main aim of this invention is to overcome the drawback mentioned and to make available an intelligent management system, for household use, for the temperature of water to be used for sanitary purposes, following a logic based on the priority levels of the various user devices. In particular, the temperature monitoring and adjustment system in question in the present invention (which is for water to be used for sanitary purposes in a domestic environment) is characterised by the fact that it is composed of a plurality of devices, all connected together, each of which being positioned in a room fitted with a water-using device and equipped with the relevant controls for the local management of the temperature of the water to be used for sanitary purposes, following a logic based on the priority of use of the said water.

These and other characteristics will better emerge in the description that follows of a preferred embodiment illustrated, in the form of a non-limiting example, in the drawing plate attached, in which figure 1 shows a hypothetical positioning of the system in question in the present invention in a section plane of a room in a house.

With reference to the figure, A is used to denote certain management devices for the temperature of water to be used for sanitary purposes, the said devices being located in position with various water-using devices. In particular, Al indicates a device in position with a shower, A2 a device in position with a water-using device in the kitchen and A3 a device located near the boiler.

There will now follow a description of the functioning of the system in question in the present invention using the references indicated in the figures: this is just one example of many possibilities.

When a person wishes to have a shower, after setting the controls on the device Al, the operative priority set for the shower will ensure that no other user devices activated while the said shower is in use can intervene and alter the temperature of the water of the said shower, so that the water temperature will remain constant until the end of the shower.

When the shower is finished and no other hot-water-drawing device is functioning, the electronic logic entered in the boiler will register this fact and make it possible for another user device in the same domestic environment to be adjusted as required.

All the devices Al, A2 and A3 are connected together with connections of various typologies, such as for example, connections using the normal telephone network, or via ether or conveyed wave connections.

Each device A can be fitted with a display, for example, a liquid crystal display, which indicates the temperature set most recently from wherever the user wishes and a signal indicating whether or not it is possible to modify the settings at that moment.

After each time water has been used and prior to which the temperature has been set for any device A, it is also possible to set the system to restore the temperature set by one of the said devices A with a predominant position in the logic, for example the device A3.

It is also possible that, after the use of a device A has fimshed, the possibility of a new temperature being set from any of the other devices A is permitted with a certain delay, which can be either fixed or adjusted by the user. This prevents the temperature being modified unexpectedly if the water is drawn several times with just a brief interval of, for example, one minute between each drawing phase.

All the aforementioned devices and their relative connections are interfaced with an electronic circuit contained within the boiler.

The main advantage of the system in question in the present invention is represented by a complete lack of interference with the temperature of the water dispensed for sanitary purposes, the said interference being caused by other water-using devices being activated while a previous device is functioning for which the desired temperature values have been set.

Claims

1. A temperature monitoring and adjustment system for water to be used for sanitary purposes in a domestic environment wherein the said system is composed of a plurality of devices (A), all of which are connected together, each one being fitted with a water-using device and suitable controls for the local management of the temperature of the water to be used for sanitary purposes following a logic based on the priority of use of the said water.

2. A system according to claim 1, wherein the water-using devices in the bathroom, or bathrooms, of a domestic unit have priority over the other domestic water-using devices.

3. A system according to claims 1) and 2) wherein if there is more than one bathroom in the same domestic unit, the user device activated first will be given priority.

4. A system according to claim 1) wherein the connections between all the devices (A) can be of a wide variety of typologies such as, for example, connections using the normal telephone network, or via ether, or conveyed wave connections.

5. A system according to claim 1) wherein as soon as a device (A) has been set at a determined temperature and immediately after that hot water starts to be drawn, it becomes impossible to make any further modifications to the temperature by any other device (A), until the water being drawn has finished.

6. A system according to the claim 1 wherein each device A can be fitted with a display, for example a liquid crystal display, which indicates the temperature set most recently from wherever the user wishes and the signal for whether or not it is possible to modify any of the settings at that moment.

7. A system according to the claim 1) wherein, each time water has been used and prior to which the temperature has been set for any device A, it is also possible to set the system to restore the temperature set by one of the said devices A with a predominant position in the logic, for example the device A3 .

8. A system according to claim 1) wherein after each time water has been used and prior to which the temperature has been set for any device A, a determined interval, which is either fixed or adjusted by the user, must lapse before the temperature can be modified for any of the other devices A.