JP2002172069A - Shower head - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a shower head which can prevent hardness components in water from adhering on the bath room wall face, that is a problem in an area where hardness of water is high. SOLUTION: This shower head is equipped with a filter material to remove hardness components in treated water.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a shower head which is disposed in a bathroom or the like and is used for washing a body or the like, and more particularly, to a shower or the like capable of removing a hard component contained in tap water. About.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, in an area where tap water has a high hardness, a hardness component adheres to a bathroom wall surface. Therefore, it is necessary to periodically wipe off the adhered hardness component. Therefore, for the purpose of simplifying wiping and cleaning of the attached hardness component, a shower head provided with a rubber protrusion is used. However, it is necessary to remove the attached hardness component. Does not change.

[0003]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is an object of the present invention to provide a shower head which can prevent a hardness component from adhering to a bathroom wall surface, which is a problem in an area where tap water has high hardness.

[0004]

The present invention for solving the above-mentioned problems is characterized by a shower head provided with a filter medium for removing a hardness component in treated water.

[0005] In the shower head of the present invention, it is preferable that the filter medium is an ion exchanger or that it is provided with activated carbon.

[0006]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS As shown in FIG. 1, for example, a shower head 1 of the present invention comprises a raw water flow path 5 and a purified water flow path 4.
And a filter medium 3 for removing the hardness component of the raw water, a water sprinkling member 6 for discharging the raw water or purified water purified by the filter medium 3 in a shower shape, and a flow path switch 2 provided downstream of the filter medium 3. And

[0007] Since a filter medium such as an ion exchanger for removing hardness is provided in the interior, the concentration of the hardness component of tap water supplied to the shower head can be reduced. The adhesion of the hardness component can be prevented, and the cleaning frequency and labor can be significantly reduced.

The flow path switching device 2 includes two flow paths as shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, and a valve element provided corresponding to a flow path having a small pressure loss among the two flow paths. And a configuration in which the valve element switches between two flow paths by opening and closing a flow path having a small pressure loss. The flow path switch 2 shown in FIGS. 2 and 3 includes a valve body 21 and a main shaft 22 serving as an operation piece. The valve body 21 has a raw water flow path 5 having a smaller pressure loss than the purified water flow path 4. The flow path is switched by performing opening and closing operations. At this time, the purified water flow path 4 having a large pressure loss has no valve element and is always open.

The valve element 21 may be any element that can open and close the raw water flow path, for example, a sphere or a sphere, a butterfly valve, a slide valve, or the like. And the material is rubber,
Plastics, metals, etc. can be used.When a spherical or spherical valve is used, a plastic or metal spherical or spherical body coated with rubber should be used to improve both sealing performance and operability. preferable.

In the present invention, the filter medium 3 may be any as long as it can remove the hardness component, ie, magnesium and calcium, contained in the treated water such as tap water, but is preferably an ion exchanger that can be reused by regeneration. As the ion exchanger, there are natural ones and ion exchange resins having merit in terms of cost. As the ion exchange resins, granular ones, ion exchange membranes, ion exchange fibers and the like can be used.

Further, as the filter medium 3, for example, fibrous activated carbon for removing chlorine and moldy odor which causes discomfort, and hollow fiber membrane for removing bacteria and suspended substances can be used in combination. When fibrous activated carbon is used, it is preferable to form the activated carbon into a tubular shape, because the pressure loss due to the filter medium can be easily adjusted.

Next, the flow of water in the shower head 1 shown in FIG. 1 will be described.

The raw water flowing from the raw water inlet 7 flows out of the sprinkling member 6 through the flow path selected by the flow path switch 2. Selection of the flow path is performed by pushing the main shaft 22 of the flow path switch 2 from either the left or right of the shower head 1 as shown in FIGS.

The state shown in FIG. 2 is a state where "raw water" is selected. When the main shaft 22 is pressed from the left, the valve element 21 moves to a position outside the raw water flow path, and the raw water flows through the raw water flow path 5 without flowing into the filter medium 3 and flows out of the water sprinkling member 6. At this time, both the purified water flow path 4 and the raw water flow path 5 are in an open state. However, since the purified water flow path 4 has a larger pressure loss than the raw water flow path 5 due to the filter medium 3, the raw water is substantially in the raw water flow. It flows through the channel 5 and flows out of the watering member.

The state shown in FIG. 3 is a state in which "purified water" is selected. When the main shaft is pushed from the right, the valve 21
Moves on the axis of the raw water flow path 5 and contacts the downstream raw water flow path 5 due to the water pressure. Therefore, the raw water flowing into the shower head 1 passes through the filter medium 3 and the purified water flow path (the purified water flow path downstream of the filter medium 3 is not visible), and flows out from the water spray member 6 as purified water.

As described above, the flow path switching device of the present invention switches the flow path by opening and closing the flow path with a small pressure loss by the valve element. Need not be opened and closed at the same time, and the structure is simpler and space-saving than before, and the pressure loss of the switch itself can be reduced.

In the embodiment shown in FIG. 1, the filter medium causes a pressure loss difference between the two flow paths. However, the cross-sectional area of the purified water flow path is larger than that of the raw water flow path. A pressure loss difference may be generated by adjusting the flow channel area, such as by reducing the size or providing an orifice in the purified water flow channel.

Further, when a flow path having no valve element, such as a purified water flow path, is selected, the amount of water flowing out of the flow path (purified water flow path) is secured, and a valve element such as a raw water flow path is provided. In order to achieve the prevention of water flow from the flow path, the pressure loss of the flow path (raw water flow path) provided with the valve element, which has a small pressure loss,
1/5 to 1/20 of pressure loss of other flow path (purified water flow path 4)
Is also preferable.

[0019]

According to the present invention, since the shower head of the present invention is provided with a filter medium for removing the hardness component, the concentration of the hardness component of tap water supplied to the shower head can be reduced. Can be prevented from adhering, and the cleaning frequency and labor can be greatly reduced. In addition, the flow path switching valve is configured such that the valve element opens and closes a flow path with a small pressure loss to switch between the two flow paths, thereby ensuring a sufficient water discharge amount and performing a flow path switching operation. Can be simplified and space can be saved.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic longitudinal sectional view of a shower head showing one embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a flow path switch (when raw water is selected) of the shower head shown in FIG. 1 as viewed from the left in FIG.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a flow path switch (when water purification is selected) of the shower head shown in FIG. 1 as viewed from the left in FIG.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Shower head 2 Flow path switching device 3 Filter medium 4 Purified water flow path 5 Raw water flow path 6 Water sprinkling member 7 Raw water inlet 21 Valve body 22 Main shaft

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. A shower head comprising a filter medium for removing a hardness component in treated water. 2. The shower head according to claim 1, wherein the filter medium is an ion exchanger. 3. The shower head according to claim 1, further comprising activated carbon.