JP2004261314A - Micro air bubble generating apparatus and system - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a micro air bubble generating apparatus having a reduced dimension large enough to be installed in a narrow space in a bathroom and stably and continuously generating micro air bubbles. <P>SOLUTION: This micro air bubble generating apparatus 10 is basically provided with: a vortex pump 13 which has a liquid feed part 2 and an air feed part 4 directly connected to the vortex pump, is disposed with an air volume adjusting means 15 in the air feed part and dissolves the air into the liquid by mixing/agitating the liquid with the air to be fed; an air/liquid mixing/separating means 17 separating the undissolved air included in the air mix solution; and a delivery means 20 generating the micro air bubbles by delivering and decompressing the air solution. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2004,JPO&NCIPI

Description

[0001]
TECHNICAL FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to an apparatus and a system for generating a gas-liquid mixture by dissolving a gas in a liquid to generate ultrafine bubbles.
[0002]
[Prior art]
Patent Literature 1 discloses a configuration in which air is dissolved in bathtub water taken out by a gas-liquid mixing tank, and then dissolved in the bathtub.
In Patent Document 2, a pump for introducing a gas into a liquid introduction pipe to generate a gas-liquid mixture and a stationary mixer provided downstream of the pump are provided, and the gas-liquid mixture generated by the pump is stirred and mixed. There is disclosed a bubble generating apparatus for generating ultra-fine bubbles.
[0003]
[Patent Document 1]
JP 2001-179241 A [Patent Document 2]
JP-A-2002-85949
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
In addition, the present applicant has developed a technique for generating finer bubbles by compressing air with a compressor and mixing it with a liquid.
However, the above microbubble generator has a large volume and a high noise level as a whole, and has a problem in being installed in a closed space, particularly a narrow space such as a bathroom.
[0005]
Accordingly, the present invention provides an apparatus that is small enough to be installed in a small space such as a bathroom and that stably and continuously generates finer bubbles.
[0006]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
In the microbubble generator according to the present invention, the liquid supply unit and the gas supply unit are directly connected to each other, and the supplied liquid and the gas are mixed by arranging the air amount adjusting means in the gas supply unit. A vortex pump for stirring to dissolve the gas in the liquid; gas mixing discharged from the vortex pump; gas-liquid mixing / separating means for separating undissolved gas contained in the dissolved liquid; and gas discharged from the gas-liquid mixing / separating means. Basically, there is provided a discharging means for discharging and reducing the pressure of the gas solution to generate fine bubbles.
[0007]
The microbubble generation system of the present invention is a gas mixing and stirring step of mixing and stirring a gas with a liquid to form a pressurized liquid in which the gas is mixed and dissolved, and colliding the pressurized liquid with ceramic particles to generate a gas. The method includes a gas dissolving step for dissolving in a liquid, and a fine bubble generating step for further discharging the gas dissolved liquid under reduced pressure. The gas mixed in the gas mixing and stirring step is adjusted to the discharge pressure discharged in the fine bubble generation step, and the ceramic particles are disposed in the flow path of the pressurized liquid. It has a configuration that is executed in a plurality of stages and generates fine bubbles in the liquid by reducing the pressure of the high-pressure gas solution.
[0008]
BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION
An embodiment of a microbubble generator according to the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.
FIG. 1 shows an example in which a microbubble generating device according to the present invention is applied to a device that mixes and dissolves gas in a bathtub water that has been pumped and refluxes the bathtub to generate microbubbles.
The microbubble generating device 10 mixes and dissolves the gas into the liquid by the vortex pump 13 contained in the housing 11 and dissolves the gas that is not dissolved by the gas-liquid mixing separator 17. To generate ultra-fine bubbles. That is, the gas (air) is mixed and dissolved in the liquid (water) in the bathtub 100 supplied from the supply pipe 1 connected to the bathtub 100, and the gas (air) is returned to the bathtub by the discharge pipe 7, so that the fine bubbles are formed in the bathtub 100. Is generated.
[0009]
The housing 11 of the microbubble generator 10 is sealed, and the supply pipe 1 and the discharge pipe 7 and the housing are kept in a confidential state by a sealing mechanism, and have a waterproof and soundproof mechanism.
A vortex pump 13 driven by an electric motor 14, a gas-liquid mixing / separator 17, and the like are connected to the inside of the housing 11 by hot water supply pipes 2 and 5. The hot water pipe 2 is connected to the supply pipe 1 and guides water pumped from the bathtub 100 to the whirlpool pump 13, and the hot water pipe 5 transfers the gas mixture / dissolved liquid discharged from the vortex pump 13 to the gas-liquid separator 17. Lead.
[0010]
The whirlpool pump 13 is connected to the hot water supply pipe 2 and an air supply pipe 4 for supplying air to the whirlpool pump 13 via a suction air regulating valve 15. And, the air whose air amount is adjusted by the intake air adjusting valve 15 is directly supplied. The air supply pipe 4 communicates with the air suction section 16, and a water check valve 19 is provided between the suction air regulating valve 15 and the air suction section 16. The intake air adjusting valve 15 adjusts the amount of air sucked into the vortex pump 13 by adjusting the valve so that the discharge pressure of the air solution discharged from the discharge pipe 7 to the bathtub becomes 3.5 to 4 atm. ing.
[0011]
The hot water supply pipe 2 connecting the bathtub 100 and the vortex pump 13 has a bellows portion 3 having a bellows-shaped pipe surface and a large surface area on the upstream side of the inlet to the vortex pump 13. The transport pipe 5 to the gas-liquid separator 17 is connected to the downstream side of the vortex pump 13 and opens to the gas-liquid separator 17. The hot water supply pipe 5 connecting the vortex pump 13 and the gas-liquid mixing / separating device 17 has a bellows portion 6 having a bellows-shaped pipe surface and a large surface area on the upstream side of the gas-liquid mixing / separating device 17.
The gas-liquid separator 17 has a connection port to the air discharge valve 18 at the upper part, and the discharge pipe 7 to the bathtub is connected to the downstream side.
[0012]
A case 170 for accommodating the ceramic particles is provided in the gas-liquid separator 17. The case 170 is filled with ceramic particles 175, and the ceramic particles 175 are, for example, a granular material having a diameter of about 120 mm. The case 170 has an upper part connected to the hot water supply pipe 5 and a lower end connected to the discharge pipe 7.
The discharge pipe 7 communicates with a discharge section 20 that opens into the bathtub 100.
[0013]
The discharge section 20 has a discharge pipe 21 and a discharge cover 23 that houses the discharge pipe 21.
The discharge pipe 21 is provided with a pressurizing means at its tip. The pressing means comprises a first orifice 210 and a second orifice 212. Then, two mesh bodies 213 are stretched between the first orifice 210 and the second orifice 212. Further, three mesh bodies 217 are stretched at the tip of the second orifice 212.
The discharge cover 23 covers the discharge pipe 21 and forms a discharge surface 230 parallel to the water discharge direction. The ejection surface 230 has a configuration in which ejection holes 231 are formed on the entire surface or a part thereof.
[0014]
FIG. 2 shows a mechanism inside the housing of the microbubble generator 10.
The housing 11 is made of a thin metal plate or the like having a high thermal conductivity, has good heat radiation efficiency, and has a sealed structure. The electric motor 14 for driving the vortex pump 13 rotates the stirring propeller of the vortex pump 13 at about 3000 W with a capacity of about 500 W. The electric motor 14 is installed on the bottom plate 110 of the housing 11 via an anti-vibration rubber 141 or the like. The vortex pump 13 to which the hot water supply pipe 2 connected to the bathtub 100 is connected has a stirring propeller (not shown) rotatably disposed inside, and the upper part is connected to the air supply pipe 4. The air supply pipe 4 is connected to a pump priming water inlet 41 and a water check valve 19 provided on a ceiling plate 112 of the housing 11. The pump priming water inlet 41 injects priming water from the pump priming water inlet 41 when the apparatus 10 is started, so that the suction of water from the bathtub is smoothly started. Further, when the device 10 is stopped, the water check valve 19 is opened to adjust the internal pressure so that water in the pump does not flow into the air supply pipe 4. The intake air adjusting valve 15 adjusts the amount of air flowing from the air supply pipe 4 to the vortex pump 13 so that the discharge pressure of water from a discharge section (nozzle) described later becomes 3.5 to 4 atm.
[0015]
The gas-liquid mixing / separator 17 connects the hot water supply pipe 5 to the upper part and the discharge pipe 7 to the lower part. An air vent valve 18 is connected to the ceiling of the gas-liquid separator 17. Then, extra air bubbles contained in the air-dissolved liquid flowing into the gas-liquid mixing / separating device 17 accumulate in the upper portion of the gas-liquid mixing / separating device 17, and when the pressure becomes constant, the air vent valve 18 opens to discharge air. ing.
The gas-liquid mixing / separating device 17 is provided with a case 170 in which the ceramic particles 175 are filled. Water from the hot water supply pipe 5 flows into the case 170, flows down between the ceramic particles 175, and flows out of the discharge pipe 7. It is configured to be discharged into the bathtub 100 via the discharge unit.
[0016]
The operation of the microbubble generator 10 thus configured will be described.
Before starting, a small amount of water is injected into the vortex pump 13 from the priming inlet 41. Next, the switch 9 is turned on to start the electric motor 14 and the vortex pump 13. Suction of the water in the bathtub 100 from the suction pipe 1 is started smoothly. Further, the suction pressure regulating valve 15 is opened by the negative pressure generated when the swirl pump 13 is started, and air is taken into the swirl pump 13. Since the suction air adjusting valve 15 is adjusted so that the discharge pressure becomes a predetermined value, an appropriate amount of air flows into the vortex pump 13.
[0017]
Water from the bathtub 100 flows into the vortex pump 13 through the hot water pipe 2. Then, heat is exchanged while passing through the bellows portion 3 having a large surface area. That is, the temperature inside the housing 11 rises due to the operation of the electric motor 14, but this heat is exchanged by the water passing through the bellows portion 3 and the bellows portion 6, and the temperature inside the housing is kept substantially constant. For example, when the temperature of the water from the bathtub is 40 ° C., the water absorbs the heat from the electric motor 14 and maintains the room temperature in the housing 11 at about 50 ° C.
[0018]
The water flowing into the vortex pump 13 from the hot water supply pipe 2 is mixed with the air flowing from the air supply pipe 4 and stirred by an impeller of about 3000 revolutions, and the air and water become a gas-liquid mixture containing bubbles. At this time, a filter is provided at the air suction port 16 of the air supply pipe 4 to remove dust and dirt contained in the sucked air to purify the air. In addition, when the motor 14 stops and the pump 13 stops rotating when the device 10 is stopped, the water may flow back into the air supply pipe 4 when the water level in the pump 13 is high. . At this time, the water backflow prevention valve 19 seals the passage to prevent backflow of water. The gas and liquid are mixed and stirred in the vortex pump 13, the gas and the liquid are mixed, and the water in which the air is dissolved flows into the gas / liquid separator 17 from the hot water supply pipe 5.
[0019]
The water pressure inside the gas-liquid separator 17 is adjusted to about 3.5 to 4.0 kg / cm ² . The high-pressure water that has flowed falls inside the gas-liquid separator 17. At this time, the air-mixed / air-dissolved liquid collides with the ceramic particles 175 in the ceramic case 170, and is further mixed and stirred. Further, the water collides with the wall surface of the case 170 and forms a swirling flow and a turbulent flow in the case 170 to increase the mixing efficiency of the water and the air. In the gas-liquid separator 17, the time for dissolution by collision, swirling flow, and turbulence with the ceramic particles is about 4 to 6 seconds, during which time the air is dissolved to the limit in water.
[0020]
In addition, the air contained in the influent water and not dissolved but in the form of bubbles 30 floats above the gas-liquid mixing / separator 17. When a certain amount is accumulated in the upper part of the container, the air discharge valve 18 is pushed up and discharged from the air discharge pipe 8 to the outside. An exhaust air silencer 81 is provided in the air exhaust pipe 8 to prevent the operating sound of the valve 18 from leaking outside the machine.
[0021]
The discharge pipe 7 is connected to a discharge section 20 that opens into the bathtub 100.
The lysing solution flowing into the discharge unit 20 from the discharge pipe 7 is pressurized when passing through the passage hole 25 of the first orifice 210 of the discharge pipe 21, and is decompressed when discharged from the passage hole 25 to remove fine bubbles. appear. When passing through two more mesh bodies 213, the fine bubbles are further miniaturized. Then, when passing through the passage hole 26 of the second orifice 212, it is pressurized, and when it is discharged from the passage hole 26, it is depressurized to generate fine bubbles. When passing through the three mesh bodies 217, the fine bubbles are further miniaturized and discharged into the discharge pipe cover 23. In the discharge pipe cover 23, the water collides with the cover wall surface, turns into fine bubbles by swirling flow and turbulent flow, and is discharged into the bathtub 100 from a discharge hole 231 formed in the discharge surface 230. The discharge pressure at this time is about 3.5 to 4 atm.
[0022]
Further, a water leak detector (safety device) 50 may be provided in the housing 11.
In the example shown in the drawing, the water leak detector 50 is installed on the bottom plate 141 of the device 10 below the vortex pump 13.
The water leak detector 50 includes an operating shaft 53 that operates by movement of the float 55, an operating shaft holding portion 52 that engages and holds the operating shaft 53, and a trigger 54 that regulates rotation of the operating shaft holding portion 52.
The trigger 54 is rotatable about a rotation shaft 540. A float support bar 51 to which a float 55 is attached is attached to the trigger 54.
When water leaks from the housing 11 of the microbubble generator 10 due to some trouble, the water accumulated on the bottom plate 110 pushes up the float 55. Due to the movement of the float 55, the trigger 51 rotates around the rotation shaft 540 as a rotation axis. The operating shaft holding portion 52 controlled by the trigger 51 rotates and is disengaged from the operating shaft 53. The operating shaft 53 moves up and presses the switch 60 to cut off the breaker.
[0023]
In this way, even if there is a leak from the hot water pipe or the pump, the breaker is dropped by the leak detector (safety device) 50 and the device can be stopped. There is no.
[0024]
In the microbubble generator 10 described above, since no equipment such as a compressor or a mixing machine is arranged, the generator can be small, and the vertical width W = 46 cm, the horizontal width = 22 cm, and the height H = The size can be reduced to 37 cm. Further, even if the miniaturized microbubble generator 10 is installed in a narrow space such as a bathroom, it does not become an obstacle. In addition, since a device that consumes a large amount of power such as a compressor is not used, the noise level is low.
[0025]
Further, although the adjustment of the discharge pressure of the gas solution is determined by the amount of air supplied to the vortex pump, this adjustment can be performed by adjusting the intake air adjusting valve 15, and the adjustment of the discharge pressure is simplified. Since the discharge pressure is constant, bubbles having an average of about 2 μm can be stably generated.
[0026]
【The invention's effect】
As described above, according to the present invention, the device can be reduced in size to such an extent that the device can be installed in a small space such as a bathroom. Further, since a plurality of gas-liquid mixing and stirring mechanisms are provided in the liquid flow path, finer bubbles can be generated stably and continuously.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is an explanatory diagram of a configuration of a microbubble generator. FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram of a configuration inside a housing of the microbubble generator. FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram of a configuration of a discharge unit. FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram of a configuration of a water leak detector. Description]
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Supply pipe 2, 5 Hot-water supply pipe 3, 6 Bellows part 7 Discharge pipe 10 Microbubble generator 11 Housing 13 Eddy-current pump 14 Generator 15 Regulator valve 17 Gas-liquid mixer 170 Case 175 Ceramic particles 20 Discharge part 21 Discharge Pipes 210, 212 Orifices 213, 215 Mesh body 23 Cover 30 Bubbles 50 Leak detector 55 Float 60 Switch 100 Bathtub

Claims (8)

A vortex pump that mixes and agitates the supplied liquid and gas to dissolve the gas in the liquid; Discharging means for discharging and reducing the pressure of the gas solution discharged from the gas-liquid mixing / separating means to generate fine bubbles,
The vortex pump has a liquid supply part and a gas supply part connected directly to each other, and the gas supply part is provided with an air amount adjusting means to control the amount of gas supplied to the vortex pump to generate fine bubbles. apparatus. The air amount adjusting means provided in the gas supply part of the vortex pump adjusts the amount of gas supplied to the vortex pump by the discharge pressure of the gas solution in the gas solution discharge means. 2. The microbubble generator according to 1. 2. The microbubble generating apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the supply pipe for supplying the liquid to the vortex pump and the supply pipe for the gas solution from the vortex pump to the gas-liquid separation means are provided with heat exchange means. 2. The microbubble generating apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the gas-liquid mixing / separating means is provided with a case filled with ceramic particles in a liquid flowing-down path, and is configured to execute mixing and stirring of the flowing liquid. . The microbubble generator according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the housing containing the vortex pump and the gas-liquid mixing / separating means has a sealed structure. The microbubble generating device according to claim 1 or 5, further comprising a water leak detecting means disposed on the bottom plate of the device, wherein when a water leak is detected, the current supply is stopped. 2. The microbubble generator according to claim 1, wherein the discharge means includes a plurality of liquid pressurizing means disposed in a discharge pipe. In a fine bubble generation system that supplies gas to a liquid and pressurizes it, dissolves the gas in the liquid, and decompresses the high-pressure gas solution to generate fine bubbles in the liquid,
A gas mixing and stirring step of mixing and stirring a gas with the liquid to form a pressurized liquid in which the gas is mixed and dissolved;
A gas dissolving step of dissolving a gas into a liquid by colliding the pressurized liquid with the ceramic particles, and a fine bubble generating step of further discharging the gas dissolved liquid under reduced pressure,
The gas mixed in the gas mixing and stirring step is adjusted to the discharge pressure discharged in the fine bubble generation step, and the ceramic particles are disposed in the flow path of the pressurized liquid. A microbubble generation system configured to be performed in stages.

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