JP2007130614A - Showerhead - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a showerhead which has a plurality of jetting faces having different ejection characteristics and from which showering water having desired jetting characteristics is ejected by switching the desired ejecting face among the plurality of ejecting faces so as to be directed forward. <P>SOLUTION: A head part 10 is freely rotatively fitted to a grip part 1 through a supporting shaft 6. The plurality of ejecting faces A and B having different ejecting patterns are arranged in the head part 10. The head part 10 is turned to direct any of ejecting faces forward so as to use the desired ejecting pattern. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2007,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a shower head that includes a plurality of water spray holes and spray ports having different spray forms, and can select and use any spray form by switching the water spray from these water spray holes and spray holes.

Most shower heads used in bathrooms and washstands have only one type of shower water jetting and do not change. However, recently, shower heads that can switch the jetting mode such as shower, straight, jet, massage, pulsating flow, (the name varies depending on the manufacturer) are commercially available. With this type of injection mode switching type shower head, the user can select and use a desired injection mode.
However, in the case of the conventional switching type, as shown in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 08-38949, etc., a plurality of water spray holes and spray ports are opened forward on the front surface of the head portion, and these water spray holes are formed in the head portion. And a plurality of passages leading to the injection port and a switching valve for switching these passages are provided, and a switching lever or a switching ring provided outside the head portion is operated to move the switching valve, thereby switching the passages as desired. It was the structure which sprinkles or injects hot water toward a front from a water spray hole or a jet nozzle.
Such a structure is a structure in which a plurality of passages are provided in the head and these passages are switched by a switching valve, so that the passage structure and the valve structure are complicated. In addition, since such a passage switching means is incorporated in the head portion, the head portion becomes large, and since there are a plurality of types of water spray holes or injection ports on the only front surface, there is a problem that the injection surface is also enlarged.
Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 08-38949

  An object of the present invention is to provide a plurality of jetting surfaces each having different jetting characteristics, and to switch shower water having desired jetting characteristics from the jetting faces by switching the jetting face to be directed forward among the jetting faces. Provided is a shower head adapted to be jetted.

In the present invention, the head portion is rotatably attached to the grip portion, and a plurality of ejection surfaces having different ejection forms are provided on the head portion, and any one of the ejection surfaces is directed forward by turning the head portion. Accordingly, a shower head adapted to use a desired jet form is provided.
In a preferred aspect of the present invention, an arm portion is provided on the grip portion, a support shaft is installed on the arm portion, and the head portion is rotatable about the support shaft.
In another preferred aspect of the present invention, the head portion can adjust the turning angle in a predetermined angle region α toward the front.
Furthermore, when all of the plurality of ejection surfaces are not directed forward, water does not flow out from any ejection surface, and the water is stopped.
Yet another preferred embodiment is that the supply path of hot water from the grip portion to the ejection surface passes through the support shaft.

Effect of the invention

According to the present invention, a plurality of ejection surfaces are provided in the head portion, and any one of these ejection surfaces can be directed forward by rotating the head portion with respect to the grip portion, and a shower having a desired ejection characteristic. Water can be used.
Further, since the head portion is rotatable about the support shaft with respect to the arm portion provided in the grip portion, the rotation structure of the head portion is simple and the operation is easy.
Furthermore, since the turning angle can be adjusted in a predetermined angle region α with the head portion facing forward, the injection direction can be adjusted depending on the physique and posture.
If none of the jetting surfaces are facing forward, water will not flow out of any jetting surface, so water can be stopped by simply turning the head, and no special water stop switch is required. At the same time, the water stop operation can be easily performed without reaching for the water faucet located far away. The case where the ejection surface does not face forward includes the meaning that it is out of the predetermined rolling angle adjustment range directed forward.
And since the supply path | route of the warm water from a grip part to an injection surface passes through the inside of a support shaft, a supply channel | path can be comprised easily.

Hereinafter, an embodiment in which the present invention is applied to a hand-type shower head will be described with reference to the drawings.
FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a shower head, FIG. 2 is a side view, (A) is a side view in use of A side of one ejection surface, and (B) is B side of the other ejection surface. 3 is a cross-sectional view of the head portion, FIG. 4 is a vertical cross-sectional view of the head portion, FIG. 5A is a plan view of the A-side water spray plate, and FIG. It is a top view of a watering board.
In the figure, reference numeral 1 denotes a grip portion of a shower head formed of a synthetic resin, and the grip portion 1 is hollow with a water passage 2 inside. A shower hose 4 is connected to the lower end of the grip portion 1 via a connecting fitting 3. Therefore, the shower head is supplied with hot water through the shower hose 4. The connecting fitting 3 is fixed to a hook (not shown) attached to the wall surface of the bathhouse so as to be detachable.

The upper end of the grip 1 is formed in a bifurcated shape and includes a pair of arm portions 5. At least one of these arm portions 5 communicates with the water passage 2 and hot water supplied from the shower hose 4 is introduced.
A support shaft 6 is spanned between the pair of arm portions 5. The support shaft 6 is formed of a hollow pipe, and both ends thereof are inserted into the pair of arm portions 5 and are fixed to the arm portions 5 in a gas-liquid tight manner. At least one end of the hollow support shaft 6 communicates with the inside of the arm portion 5 through the communication hole 7, and thus the support shaft 6 communicates with the water passage 2. Therefore, the hot water sent through the hose 4 is guided into the hollow support shaft 6 through the arm portion 5.

As shown by the arrow X, the head portion 10 is attached to the hollow support shaft 6 so as to be rotatable at 360 degrees. In this embodiment, the head portion 10 has a drum shape, and ejection surfaces A and B are formed on both end surfaces of the body portion, respectively. The jetting surfaces A and B are made of stainless or resin water spray plates 11a and 11b, respectively. These water spray plates 11a and 11b are mutually jetting characteristics as shown in FIGS. 5 (A) and 5 (B). Are provided with sprinkling hole groups 12a, 12b,. That is, in one sprinkling plate 11a, sprinkling holes 12a are formed so as to be dispersed almost evenly over the entire surface of the sprinkling plate 11a for the purpose of injecting shower water toward the user's body. The other watering plate 11b has watering holes 12b ... concentrating on the central portion of the watering plate for the purpose of injecting shower water toward the user's hair, and a row of watering holes around it. Are arranged in a ring shape.
Therefore, when one jetting surface A is used, shower water dispersed almost uniformly is discharged from the entire surface of the water spray plate 11a, which is convenient for washing a body having a large area. When using the other jetting surface B, shower water is jetted in a concentrated manner from the central portion of the water spray plate 11b, so that a large amount of shower water is jetted strongly to the head having a smaller area than the body. It is effective for washing hair. At this time, the water sprayed from the surrounding annular sprinkling hole row is effective for making a water curtain and preventing the shower water sprayed vigorously in the center from splashing back.
The water spray plates 11a and 11b are detachably attached to the body portion of the head portion 10 by presser rings 13a and 13b, respectively. These presser rings 13a and 13b are attached to the body portion by screwing. 14a and 14b are seal packings.

As shown in FIG. 4, a valve chamber 16 and injection chambers 17 a and 17 b partitioned by partition plates 15 a and 15 b provided in the body portion are provided in the head portion 10. The support shaft 6 passes through the valve chamber 16 in a gas-liquid tight manner. Therefore, the head portion 10 is supported between the arm portions 5 so as to be rotatable about the support shaft 6. The support shaft 6 and the valve chamber 16 are kept gas-liquid tight by a sealing material, for example, O-rings 18 and 18. The O-rings 18 and 18 serve as resistance members that prevent the head portion 10 from freely rotating around the support shaft 6, and the head portion 10 must be applied only when a force exceeding a predetermined force is applied to the head portion 10. Does not rotate.
The hollow support shaft 6 penetrating the valve chamber 16 is provided with supply holes 19 around the periphery of the hollow support shaft 6, and the hot water sent to the support shaft 6 through the water passage 2 in the grip portion 1 is received. It flows into the valve chamber 16 through these supply holes 19.
Valve holes 20a and 20b are opened in the partition plates 15a and 15b that partition the valve chamber 16, respectively. These valve holes 20a and 20b communicate the valve chamber 16 and the injection chambers 17a and 17b. The injection chambers 17a and 17b face the water spray plates 11a and 11b.
These valve holes 20a and 20b are opened and closed by ball valves 21a and 21b, respectively. That is, the ball valves 21a and 21b are accommodated in the valve chamber 6, and these ball valves 21a and 21b open and close the valve holes 20a and 20b, respectively. When one of the ball valves 21a opens the valve hole 20a, hot water in the valve chamber 6 flows into the injection chamber 17a through the valve hole 20a, and thus passes through the water spray plate 11a and sprinkles water. When 20b is opened, hot water in the valve chamber 6 flows into the other injection chamber 17b through the valve hole 20b, and thus sprinkles through the other water spray plate 11b.
The ball valves 21 a and 21 b are actuated by the cam surface 22. The cam surface 22 is formed on the peripheral surface of the hollow support shaft 6, and the diameter of the support shaft 6 is changed along the circumferential direction. The ball valves 21a and 21b are respectively pressed by spring members 23a and 23b such as leaf springs or wires, and therefore the ball valves 21a and 21b are always in contact with the cam surface 22, respectively.

When the head portion 10 is held by hand and rotated around the hollow support shaft 6, the valve chamber 16 and the ball valves 21 a and 21 b accommodated therein also rotate around the support shaft 6 integrally. When the head unit 10 is rotated to a predetermined position, for example, when the ejection surface A is rotated to a position facing forward, one of the ball valves 21a is pressed by the cam surface 22 and the pressing force of the spring member 23a is increased. The support shaft 6 moves against the outer diameter direction. For this reason, the ball valve 21a is separated from the valve hole 20a, and the valve hole 20a is opened. Therefore, the hot water supplied from the shower hose 4 passes through the water passage 2 in the grip 1, passes through at least one arm portion 5, flows into the hollow support shaft 6 from the communication hole 7, and further passes through the supply hole 19. It flows into the valve chamber 16 and flows into the one injection chamber 17a from the valve hole 20a. As a result, the water is discharged as shower water from the spray chamber 17a through the water spray holes 12a of the water spray plate 11a. That is, in this case, shower water having jetting characteristics for body washing is jetted from the jetting surface A facing forward.
Similarly, when the head portion 10 is turned and the other injection surface B is directed forward, the other ball valve 21b opens the valve hole 20b, so that shower water is injected from the other water spray plate 11b. In this case, shower water having discharge characteristics effective for washing hair is discharged.

By the way, normally, there is a demand for adjusting the spraying direction of the shower water according to the user's physique, use posture, and the like. In particular, a general shower head has a connecting fitting 3 connected to the lower end of the grip portion 1. Is fixed to a hook (not shown) attached to the wall surface of the bathhouse, the shower water injection direction is determined when the grip portion 1 is hooked on the hook.
On the other hand, in this example, since the head unit 10 is rotatably mounted around the support shaft 6, the turning angle in the ejection direction can be adjusted by rotating the head unit 10. .
In other words, the head unit 10 can adjust the injection direction within the range of the angle α shown in FIG. 2A when the shower surface A or B is directed forward and the shower water is sprayed forward. . The adjustment range is a region of angle α, and in the case of this example, since the shower water is not jetted in the horizontal direction, it is not jetted in the vertical downward direction from, for example, 10 degrees downward with respect to the horizontal. For example, it is a region surrounded by a range extending upward by 5 degrees with respect to the vertical direction, and a substantially adjustable adjustment angle is in a range of 75 degrees.
Therefore, when the injection surface A or B is used, the injection direction can be freely adjusted within the range of the angle α.
Such setting is possible by selecting the shape of the cam surface 22. That is, when the injection surface A or B is within the adjustment range of the above-described turning angle α, the cam of the cam surface 22 is such that the ball valve 21a or 21b is pushed by the cam surface 22 to open the valve hole 20a or 20b. If the shape is set, the injection surface A or B can inject hot water within the range of the angle α, and the direction of the injection can be freely selected.
Such adjustment of the injection direction can be adjusted because the direction of the injection surface A or B changes if the head unit 10 is held and rotated. At this time, since the elastic frictional resistance of the O-rings 18 and 18 serves as a resistance member that prevents the rotation of the head unit 10, the head unit 10 does not rotate unless a predetermined force is applied to the head unit 10. When the hand is released at the position, the rotation of the head unit 10 is prevented by the frictional resistance, and problems such as the head unit 10 rotating due to a reaction caused by the shower water injection are prevented.

Further, when the head portion 10 is rotated clockwise or counterclockwise to turn the injection surface A or B to a position outside the angle α region, the ball valve 21a or 21b closes the valve hole 20a or 20b. Is stopped. This stop region is until the opposite injection surface enters the range of the angle α. In other words, when shower water is jetted from one of the jetting surfaces, when the head unit 10 is turned and the jetting surface passes the region of the angle α, jetting of shower water is stopped. Further, when the opposite injection surface reaches the region α, the injection is performed from this surface.
For this reason, in order to switch the injection from one surface to the other, it is necessary to turn the head unit 10 by 105 degrees or more, and the range of 105 degrees is an injection stop region.
Therefore, when it is desired to stop the shower while using the shower, the head unit 10 may be turned to the stop area, functioning as a hand switch, and need not be extended to close the water tap.

According to the embodiment described above, the hot water supplied from the shower hose 4 passes through the water passage 2 in the grip portion 1 and is sent into the hollow support shaft 6 from the communication hole 7 and this support. It is sent to the valve chamber 16 formed in the head portion 10 through the supply holes 19 of the shaft 6. When the valve hole 20a or 20b is opened by the ball valve 21a or 21b, the hot water in the valve chamber 16 flows into the injection chamber 17a or 17b and is discharged from the injection chamber 17a or 17b through the water spray plates 11a and 11b. Is done.
Since the head portion 10 is rotatable around the support shaft 6, when the head portion 10 is turned and any one of the injection surfaces A or B is directed forward, the valve hole 20a or 20b leading to the opening is opened, so that Shower water can be sprayed from the spray surface facing forward. Therefore, depending on whether the A side or the B side is selected, watering with a desired shower characteristic can be used, and if the surface is rotated 180 degrees, watering can be performed using the opposite side. For this reason, for example, when washing the body and washing the hair, it is possible to use different water sprays or different shower water by jetting.
Then, when any of the ejection surfaces A or B is facing forward, if the angle is within the range of the angle α shown in FIG. The injection direction can be adjusted according to the physique and the washing posture.
In this case, in this example, since the rotation of the head unit 10 is prevented by the frictional resistance of the O-rings 18 and 18, the rotation can be stopped at any position, and the winding angle can be adjusted steplessly. . Therefore, the degree of freedom in selecting the injection direction is great.
The turning angle may be adjusted stepwise with a predetermined rotation angle pitch.
Furthermore, when the head unit 10 is rotated clockwise or counterclockwise beyond the region of the angle α during watering by any of the ejection surfaces A or B, the opposite ejection surface does not reach the region of the angle α. In the range, since the valve holes 20a and 20b are closed by the ball valves 21a and 21b, water is not sprayed from any surface. Therefore, this area is a watering stop area, and if the head unit 10 is rotated to this position during watering by the jetting surface A or B, the jetting is stopped. For this reason, even if it does not bother to reach out to a distant water faucet and stop a faucet, watering (injection) can be stopped at hand.

The head portion 10 is pivotally supported by the support shaft 6, and the support shaft 6 is installed between a pair of arm portions 5 provided at the tip of the grip portion 1. It is easy and the mechanical support of the head part 10 is made firm.
The hot water supplied from the shower hose 4 is sent from the water passage 2 in the grip portion 1 through the communication hole 7 into the hollow support shaft 6, and from the support shaft 6 through the supply hole 19. 16, the flow path of the hot water is simplified and the seal structure is simplified.
Further, since the valve holes 20a and 20b and the ball valves 21a and 21b are provided in the valve chamber 16 in the head portion 10, the space in the head portion can be used effectively.
If it is desired to temporarily stop watering during use, the water can be stopped by turning the head portion 10. In this respect, the structure is simplified and the number of parts can be reduced.

In the above-described embodiment, an example in which two injection surfaces are provided has been described. However, the injection surface may be three surfaces or four or more, and each of the injection surfaces has water spray holes or injection ports having different injection characteristics. By forming, a desired injection form can be selected and used.
If a plurality of water spray plates having different jetting characteristics are prepared and the presser rings 13a and 13b are removed and the water spray boards are replaced, it is possible to select and use shower water having various jet characteristics.
Furthermore, although the head unit 10 can be rotated 360 degrees around the support shaft 6, in the case of two surfaces, the head unit 10 may be rotatable at an angle of 180 degrees plus 75 degrees.
Further, in the embodiment, the ball valves 21a and 21b are used for switching the injection path. However, in the case of the ball valve, there is an advantage that the opening / closing structure of the valve holes 20a and 20b is simple and the opening / closing operation is reliable. In the present invention, the use of a ball valve is not necessarily limited.
Further, the support shaft 6 is installed between the pair of arm portions 5 and 5, and the head portion 10 is rotatably attached to the support shaft. However, the support shaft and the head portion are integrally formed, and the support shaft You may make it attach so that rotation with respect to an arm part is possible. In this case, a valve structure for switching water flow using the communication hole 7 can also be configured.
The present invention is effective not only for a shower head for a bathtub but also for a shower head installed on a bathroom vanity. The spraying form for washing the hair is variously changed to, for example, a jet spray or a soft shower. Can be used.

The invention's effect

As described above, according to the present invention, the head portion is rotatably attached to the grip portion, and by rotating the head portion, one of the ejection surfaces is directed forward to use a desired ejection form. Therefore, it is possible to switch the injection by a simple operation by simply rotating the head portion.
Therefore, during the shower time, it is possible to freely select a desired jetting form to enhance the cleaning effect and enjoy the change in jetting characteristics.

  The perspective view of the shower head which shows one Example of this invention   It is a side view of the same shower head, (A) figure is a side view in use of A side of one injection surface, (B) figure is a side view in use of B surface of the other injection surface   Cross section of the head   Vertical section of the head   It is a top view of a watering board, (A) A figure is a top view of a watering board of the A side, (B) A figure is a top view of a watering board of B side

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Grip part 2 ... Water flow path 5 ... Arm part 6 ... Support shaft 7 ... Communication hole 10 ... Head part 11a, 11b ... Sprinkling plate 12a, 12b ... Sprinkling hole 16 ... Valve chamber 20a, 20b ... Valve hole 21a, 21b ... Ball valve

Claims (5)

  A head part is rotatably attached to the grip part, and a plurality of jetting surfaces each having a different jetting form are provided on the head part. Shower head designed to use the spray form.   The shower head according to claim 1, wherein an arm is provided in the grip portion, a support shaft is provided on the arm, and the head portion is rotatable about the support shaft.   The shower head according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the turning angle of the head portion can be adjusted in a predetermined angle region toward the front.   4. If any of the plurality of injection surfaces is not directed forward, water does not flow out from any of the injection surfaces, and the water is stopped. The shower head according to any one of the above.   The showerhead according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein a supply path of hot water from the grip portion to the ejection surface passes through the support shaft.

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