JP2003102637A - Water supplier with mixing solution extended-release function - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To solve the problems of wastage, waste of resources and increase of garbage due to abandonment of a used cartridge every time of changing the cartridge when the cartridge containing a mixing agent is a changing type. SOLUTION: The cartridge 10 supplying a mixing agent solution to a water supply path 4 is constituted of a cartridge body 11 and a cap 12 detachably attached to the cartridge body 11. When a filled agent is consumed and used up, the cap 12 detached and the mixing agent 15 is filled to the cartridge body 11.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a water supply device applied to a shower head installed in a bathtub or a washroom, a water supply device installed in a faucet such as a bathtub, washroom, or kitchen.
In particular, tap water (including hot water) to be supplied should be mixed with chlorine neutralizer, aromatic agent, weak oxidizing agent, weak alkaline agent, skin lotion, bath agent, moisturizer, hair wash, etc. as an aqueous solution. It relates to a water dispenser to be mixed.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Tap water is required to be mixed with chlorine in order to sterilize and disinfect various bacteria. Especially, recently, the quality of water at a water source such as a river tends to deteriorate, and tap water coming out of a faucet is considerably large. Residual chlorine is mixed. However, residual chlorine contained in tap water (especially free residual chlorine such as HOCl hypochlorite) has an adverse effect on human skin and hair, and may cause skin aging phenomenon, decolorization and dryness of hair, and loss of hair. It is said. In particular, it is said that residual chlorine has a large influence on people with weak skin, infants and the like, and also has a bad influence on people with skin disorders such as atopic dermatitis.

Under these circumstances, a shower head with a dechlorination function having a function of neutralizing residual chlorine contained in tap water has recently been developed and applied for a patent (Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 5-293053). Kaihei 9-187681). In these shower heads with a dechlorination function, a cartridge containing a chlorine-neutralizing agent such as ascorbic acid (vitamin C) is attached to the grip portion or the head portion that constitutes the shower head, and chlorine is discharged from the sustained release port formed in this cartridge. The neutralizer aqueous solution is discharged and mixed with tap water flowing in the shower head. In such a shower head, the chlorine neutralizer reacts with residual chlorine contained in tap water to convert the residual chlorine into a harmless chlorine compound, so that the neutralized water (or hot water) is removed from the head. It can be discharged from the water spray hole at the tip.

[0004]

However, in the conventional case, a powder of a chlorine neutralizing agent such as ascorbic acid is pre-filled in the cartridge, and the cartridge is attached to the shower head for use. When the ascorbic acid in the cartridge is consumed and disappears, replace the cartridge with a new cartridge,
It was a so-called cartridge exchange type. The life of the cartridge is determined by the amount of the chlorine neutralizing agent filled inside, but the filling amount is limited because the internal volume of the cartridge cannot be increased infinitely. For this reason, the life of one cartridge is short and the replacement frequency of the cartridge becomes high. Therefore, there are disadvantages that the cost is high for the user and the manufacturing cost is high. Also, cartridge containers are often made of plastic material, and used cartridges are discarded as waste. In the case of the exchange type, since the cartridge is discarded every time it is exchanged, there is a problem in that the resources are wasted and the tendency to reduce dust is violated.

The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances. An object of the present invention is to stop the replacement of the cartridge and to fill the inside of the cartridge with a new mixture when the mixture is exhausted. It is an object of the present invention to provide a water supply device with a mixed solution releasing function capable of prolonging the life of the cartridge itself and preventing waste of resources by adopting a so-called mixing agent replenishing system.

[0006]

In order to achieve the above object, the invention of claim 1 has an inlet and a discharge port, and a water supply device main body having a water supply passage formed between the inlet and the discharge port. A cartridge that is removably attached to the water supply body, contains a mixture agent for mixing with water flowing through the water supply passage, and has a sustained release port for supplying a solution of the mixture agent to the water supply passage, A cartridge is provided with a cartridge body and a cap detachably attached to the cartridge body, and a water dispenser with a mixed solution release function capable of filling the cartridge body with a mixture agent by removing the cap is provided. Here, the mixing agent is a chlorine neutralizing agent, an aromatic agent, a weak oxidizing agent, a weak alkaline agent, a skin lotion,
Includes bath salts, moisturizers, and hair washes. The form thereof is in the form of powder, granules or pellets, and includes a state of being dissolved in water (or hot water), or a high-concentration solution such as a stock solution which is already liquid and can be diluted with water.

According to the above construction, when water (or hot water is allowed) flows through the water supply passage of the water supplier main body, a part of this water enters the cartridge through the sustained release port, and at the same time, the solution of the contaminant in the cartridge is dissolved. It is discharged into the water supply passage from the slow release port. Therefore, in this cartridge, the admixture solution is released to the outside according to the amount of water entering from the outside, and the released solution is mixed with water. When the mixture in the cartridge is consumed and disappears, the cap can be removed and the mixture can be replenished with the mixture, so that the cartridge can be used again. For this reason, it is not necessary to replace the cartridge itself, waste of discarded used cartridges is eliminated, and it is possible to reduce dust and effectively use resources. In addition, since the contaminated material in the cartridge can be replenished when it is used up, it has a long service life even if it is used. The cartridge may be detachably attached inside the water supply passage, or may be attached outside. When mounted inside, the cartridge does not protrude outside the water supply body, so it does not interfere with use and simplifies the appearance.

In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, at least a part of the admixture contained in the cartridge is visible from the outside. By making the mixed agent in the cartridge visible from the outside, the remaining amount of the mixed agent can be known and the refilling time can be known. In addition, as for the structure where the inside can be seen from the outside, at least a part of each of the water supply body and the cartridge housed in it is transparent, and the water-soluble admixture or the admixture solution contained in the cartridge can be It should be visible. In such a case, the see-through state may be transparent, colored transparent, semi-transparent, or the like, in short, as long as the inside can be seen from the outside.

[0009] Another preferred embodiment is to use ascorbic acid as a contaminant, and ascorbic acid instantly neutralizes residual chlorine contained in tap water.
Effective for dechlorination. When the present invention is applied to a shower head, hair can be bathed with a treatment liquid that has been treated with a mixed solvent / solvent. Here, the shower head is used for shower facilities and washrooms such as inns, hotels, swimming pools, hospitals, as well as general households, or beauty salons.
It can be used for shower heads in all fields, such as hair-washing showers at barber shops.

[0010]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An embodiment of the present invention applied to a shower head will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a side view showing a partial cross section of a shower head, and FIG. 2 is an exploded cross sectional view of a cartridge. In the figure, 1
Is a shower head body having a function of neutralizing residual chlorine, and includes a grip portion 2 and a head portion 3. The grip portion 2 and the head portion 3 are made of synthetic resin, and the grip portion 2 and the head portion 3 are detachably connected to each other by means such as a screw or a bayonet coupling (not shown). The grip 2 is transparent and has a hollow cylindrical shape,
A water supply passage 4 is formed inside. The water supply passage 4 is connected to a shower hose (not shown) through an inlet port 5 at the base end. The internal space of the head portion 3 is continuous with the water supply passage 4 of the grip portion 2, and a water sprinkling plate 6 is attached to the tip thereof. A large number of water spray holes 7 (corresponding to the discharge ports of the present invention) are formed over the entire surface of the water spray plate 6, and shower water is discharged from these water spray holes 7. The water sprinkling plate 6 is detachably attached to the head portion 3 by a holding ring 8.

A cartridge 10 is housed in the water supply passage 4 in the grip 2. The cartridge 10 is composed of a cartridge body 11 and a cap 12, and the cartridge body 11 has a bottomed cylindrical shape with an open upper end. The cap 12 is detachably attached to the cartridge body 11 by screwing an internal thread portion 13 formed in the opening portion with a male screw portion 14 formed in the upper end portion of the cartridge body 11. The cartridge body 11 and the cap 12 are made of transparent synthetic resin so that the inside can be seen through. A water-soluble admixture or an admixture solution is accommodated inside the cartridge 10.
In the case of the present embodiment, ascorbic acid (vitamin C), which has a chlorine neutralizing action, is previously contained as a contaminant in the form of powder 15. In addition to ascorbic acid, the chlorine neutralizing agent may be sodium ascorbate, an ascorbic acid derivative, calcium sulfite, sodium sulfite, or the like.

A sustained release port 16 is formed on the ceiling of the cap 12. The sustained release port 16 is formed to have a very small opening area, and has a diameter of 1.0 mm or less, for example. In addition, a water-permeable partition member is provided inside the cap 12. The partition material may be a mesh sheet or net cloth, but in this example, the partition plate 17 has a small hole 18
The structure is open. With such a partition plate 17, the inside of the cartridge 10 has a lower (inside the cartridge body) ascorbic acid storage chamber 19 and an upper dilution chamber 20.
It is divided into And ascorbic acid storage chamber 1
9, that is, the ascorbic acid is previously stored in the cartridge body 11 in the form of powder, and the ascorbic acid storage chamber 19 and the dilution chamber 20 allow water and an ascorbic acid aqueous solution to pass freely through the small holes 18. ing. The slow release port 16 communicates with the dilution chamber 20.

At the upper and lower ends of the cartridge 10, supporting portions 21 and 22 such as holes are formed.
1 and 22 are holders 23 provided on the shower head body 1
And 24. One holder 23 is fixed to the head portion 3 of the shower head body, and the other holder 24 is fixed to the bottom portion of the grip portion 2. These holders 23 and 24 have protrusions that fit into the support portions 21 and 22.
And 24 support the cartridge 10 in the grip portion 2. Then, by removing the head portion 3 from the grip portion 2, the cartridge 10 can be taken out from the inside of the grip portion 2, and when the head portion 3 is connected to the grip portion 2, the cartridge 10 is supported between the holders 23 and 24. It is like this. In such a supported state, the cartridge 10 is positioned on the central axis of the grip portion 2, and thus the water supply passage 4 through which tap water passes is secured between the inner peripheral surface of the grip portion 2 and the outer peripheral surface of the cartridge 10. Has been done.

The operation of the shower head having a chlorine neutralizing function having such a structure will be described. The new shower head before use has ascorbic acid in the form of powder 15 contained in the cartridge 10. When such a shower head body 1 is connected to a shower hose and a water tap is opened, tap water (or hot water) is supplied to the shower head 1 through the shower hose. Tap water passes through the water supply passage 4 from the inlet 5 at the lower end of the grip portion 2, reaches the head portion 3, and is sprayed as shower water from the water spray holes 7 of the water spray plate 6 as shower water. At the start of use, the pressure of the tap water flowing through the water supply passage 4 is higher than the atmospheric pressure, so that a part of the water flowing through the water supply passage 4 flows into the cartridge 10 through the gradual release port 16. In the cartridge 10, the water that has entered from the slow release port 16 enters the dilution chamber 20 and flows into the ascorbic acid storage chamber 19 through the small holes 18 of the partition plate 17. Therefore, the ascorbic acid powder 15 is melted. Ascorbic acid has a saturated dissolution concentration of about 25%, and
Even if 0 is filled with water, only a part of ascorbic acid is dissolved, and the rest remains in a powder state. And slow release mouth 1
When water penetrates into the cartridge 10 through 6, the pressure in the cartridge 10 rises, so that the residual air is compressed and the air is light and gathers in the upper portion of the cartridge 10, that is, the dilution chamber 20. . Therefore, if the sustained-release port 16 is opened in the upper part of the cartridge 10 and the shower head 1 is kept in the upward posture, the air in the cartridge 10 automatically and smoothly passes through the sustained-release port 16. Be eliminated by. The removed air is mixed with water and discharged from the water spray hole 7 to the outside of the shower head. In this way, at the beginning of use, air is removed from the cartridge 10 and at the same time the inside of the cartridge 10 is filled with water. As described above, the saturated dissolution concentration of ascorbic acid is about 25%, and even if the ascorbic acid storage chamber 19 is filled with water, part of the ascorbic acid is dissolved and the rest remains in the powder state. Since the specific gravity of the powder is larger than that of water (about 1.65), and the specific gravity of the solution is also larger than that of water (about 1.1), the remaining powder sinks to the bottom, and the aqueous solution also stays toward the bottom. That is, the highly concentrated solution is stored in the ascorbic acid storage chamber 19. However, since the ascorbic acid storage chamber 19 communicates with the dilution chamber 20 through the small hole 18, a part of the high-concentration solution diffuses into the dilution chamber 20. Therefore, the dilute chamber 20 stores a low-concentration ascorbic acid aqueous solution.

Next, when using a shower at the time of taking a bath, when the water tap is opened to start water flow, a part of the tap water flowing through the water supply passage 4 flows into the dilution chamber 20 through the slow release port 16. At the same time, the ascorbic acid aqueous solution in the diluting chamber 20 is discharged to the water supply passage 4 through the sustained release port 16. That is,
The tap water and the aqueous ascorbic acid solution are exchanged in the cartridge 10. Therefore, the ascorbic acid aqueous solution discharged from the sustained release port 16 mixes with the tap water flowing through the water passage 4 and reacts with the free residual chlorine contained in the tap water, neutralizing the free residual chlorine and causing no harm. It is changed to a chlorine compound and is discharged from the water spray plate 6 together with tap water. Meanwhile, the dilution chamber 20
The tap water that has flown into is mixed with the ascorbic acid aqueous solution in the diluting chamber 20 to dilute the concentration of this aqueous solution. Also,
The aqueous solution in the diluting chamber 20 enters the ascorbic acid storage chamber 19 through the small holes 18 of the partition plate 17. Therefore, the high-concentration ascorbic acid aqueous solution in the ascorbic acid storage chamber 1 enters the diluting chamber 20 through the small holes 18 of the partition plate 17, and replenishes the diluting chamber 20 with ascorbic acid. Therefore, the concentration of ascorbic acid is kept low in the dilution chamber 20. In the ascorbic acid storage chamber 19, the dilution chamber 20
Since a low-concentration aqueous solution has flowed in from this, the concentration of this ascorbic acid storage chamber 19 decreases. However, since the ascorbic acid powder which is not yet dissolved is present in the accommodation chamber 19, the powder is melted. In other words, since the ascorbic acid is dissolved in the ascorbic acid storage chamber 19 up to the dissolution saturation concentration of ascorbic acid, a high-concentration ascorbic acid aqueous solution can be stored. As a result, the high-concentration ascorbic acid aqueous solution produced in the ascorbic acid storage chamber 19 is eventually supplied to the diluting chamber 20 and is diluted with tap water to reduce the concentration. The acid aqueous solution is discharged to the water supply passage 4 through the sustained release port 16.

When the water supply is stopped, the water pressure in the water supply passage 4 returns to the atmospheric pressure, and the pressure in the cartridge 10 becomes equal to the atmospheric pressure. Therefore, the aqueous solution of ascorbic acid is not released from the diluting chamber 20 into the water supply passage 4. Then, at this time, if the shower head is locked to a wall hook (not shown), the head portion 3 of the shower head is kept in an upward posture as shown in the figure, so that the sustained release port 16 formed in the cartridge 10 is also included in the cartridge. Will be located on top of 10. On the other hand, since the specific gravity of the aqueous solution in the cartridge 10 is larger than that of the water, the aqueous solution of the ascorbic acid is prevented from leaking out from the sustained release port 16 located in the upper portion of the cartridge 10 because it tends to sink to the lower portion. Therefore, when the shower is not used, the water supply passage 4 can be removed from the cartridge 10.
The solution is suppressed from leaking into the inside, and wasteful consumption of ascorbic acid is regulated.

In the shower head having such a structure, the cartridge 10 can be seen through from the outside, and the grip portion 2 containing the cartridge 10 can also be seen through from the outside. Therefore, the ascorbic acid contained in the cartridge 10 from the outside can be seen. Powder 15 is visible. Therefore, the remaining amount of ascorbic acid can be visually recognized from the outside, and the cartridge 10 can be replenished when the powder is exhausted. In order to replenish the cartridge 10 with the powder of ascorbic acid, the head portion 3 is removed from the grip portion 2, and the cartridge 10 in the grip portion 2 is taken out through the open upper end of the grip portion 2. In the cartridge 10, the cap 12 has the cartridge body 11
2, the cartridge body 11 is opened by removing the cap 12 as shown in FIG. 2, so that the cartridge body 11 can be filled with ascorbic acid powder. When the cartridge main body 11 is filled with powder, the cap 12 is covered, and the cartridge 10 is attached to the shower head main body 1 again, so that it can be used in the same manner as described above. Because of this, the cartridge 10 can be used repeatedly and the cartridge 10 is not thrown away. Therefore, it is effective for effective use of resources and reduction of garbage.

In the above embodiment, the case where the present invention is applied to the shower head has been described, but the present invention is not limited to this, and
It can be applied to various water supply tools and water supply devices, such as a water purifier type attached to a faucet, without changing the gist. Further, the cap 12 is not limited to being attached to the cartridge body 11 in a screw-in type, and other attaching means such as a bayonet type may be used.

[0019]

As described above, according to the present invention, since the cartridge is opened to supplement the contaminated material, the cartridge can be repeatedly used. Therefore, the cartridge is not wastefully discarded, effective use of resources and reduction of dust are effective, and the use cost is low.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a side view showing an embodiment of the present invention and a partial cross section of a shower head.

FIG. 2 is an exploded sectional view of the cartridge of the embodiment.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 ... Shower head body 2 ... grip 3 ... Head 4 ... Water supply passage 5 ... Inlet 6 ... Sprinkler plate 7 ... Sprinkling hole 10 ... Cartridge 11 cartridge body 12 caps 13 female screw 14 male screw 15 ... Ascorbic acid powder 16 ... Sustained release mouth 17 ... Partition board 18 ... Small hole 19 ... Ascorbic acid storage room 20 ... Dilution room

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[Procedure amendment]

[Submission date] November 7, 2002 (2002.11.
7)

[Procedure Amendment 1]

[Document name to be amended] Statement

[Name of item to be corrected] Claim 1

[Correction method] Change

[Correction content]

Claims (4)

[Claims] 1. A water supply device main body having an inlet port and a discharge port, and a water supply passage formed between the inlet port and the discharge port; and a water supply passage detachably attached to the water supply device main body. A cartridge that contains a mixing agent for mixing with flowing water and has a solution for supplying the mixing agent to the water supply passage, and the cartridge is removable from the cartridge body and the cartridge body. A water dispenser with a function of releasing a mixed solution, comprising a cap attached to the cartridge body, and allowing the cartridge body to be filled with a mixture agent. 2. The water dispenser with a mixed solution releasing function according to claim 1, wherein at least a part of the admixture contained in the cartridge is visible from the outside. 3. The water supply device with a function for releasing mixed solution according to claim 1, wherein the mixing agent is ascorbic acid. 4. The water supply device main body is a shower head, the inlet of which is connected to a shower hose, and the outlet of which is provided with a sprinkler plate. A water dispenser with a function of releasing the mixed solution described in.