JP2010022763A - Bubble bathing apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a bubble bathing apparatus allowing a user to have a bubble bath, with water and bubbling agent saved. <P>SOLUTION: This bubble bathing apparatus includes an MBF generator 34 for generating bubbles W, a bubble inflow portion 11 for introducing the bubbles W generated by the MBF generator 34 to the interior of a bathtub 10, and a bubble outflow portion 12 for discharging the bubbles W in the bathtub 10. A circulating pump 47 for circulating the bubbles W discharged from the bubble outflow portion 12 to the interior of the bathtub 10 is provided between the bubble outflow portion 12 and the bubble inflow portion 11. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2010,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a foam bath apparatus.

Conventionally, as a bubble bath apparatus, what was described, for example in patent document 1 is known. This bubble bathing device discharges (supplies) hot bubbles into the shower booth and enables hot bubbles to be stored in the shower booth in order to enable a hot bubble bath. And a user's body is covered with the foaming agent (cleaning agent) contained in this warm foam by covering with a predetermined amount of warm foam according to the height. Then, hot water or water is spouted from the shower to gently wash away hot bubbles remaining in the body or the booth, and the bathing is completed.
JP 2004-344362 A

  By the way, in patent document 1, since a hot water bubble is newly generated and supplied from scratch for every bathing, a lot of water and heat amount are required. Moreover, since the hot water bubbles in the shower booth are drained for every bathing, the environmental load by the foaming agent is large.

  An object of the present invention is to provide a foam bathing apparatus that can save water and foaming agent and bath in foam.

  In order to solve the above problems, the invention described in claim 1 includes a foam generating device that generates foam, a foam inflow portion that introduces foam generated by the foam generating device into the bathtub, In the foam bathing device provided with a foam outflow part for discharging foam, foam transfer for circulating the foam discharged from the foam outflow part into the bathtub between the foam outflow part and the foam inflow part The gist is that a means is provided.

  According to the same configuration, the foam discharged from the foam outflow portion by the foam transfer means is circulated into the bathtub and reuses the foam water or foaming agent. The required water and foaming agent can be saved compared to the case of supplying.

Invention of Claim 2 makes it a summary to provide the nozzle which adds mist-like water with respect to the foam in the said bathtub in the foam bathing apparatus of Claim 1.
According to this configuration, the nozzle can add mist-like water to the foam in the bathtub, thereby reducing the viscosity of the foam and promoting the circulation of the foam by the foam transfer means. it can.

The gist of the invention described in claim 3 is the foam bathing apparatus according to claim 1 or 2, further comprising heating means for applying heat to the foam circulated by the foam transfer means.
According to this configuration, the foam in the bathtub can always be kept warm by applying heat to the circulating foam by the heating means.

The invention described in claim 4 is the foam bathing device according to claim 3, wherein the heating means supplies hot water to the foam circulated by the foam transfer means and applies heat to the foam. To do.
According to this configuration, it is not necessary to separately provide a dedicated heater such as an electric heater as the heating means, and thus the configuration can be simplified.

Invention of Claim 5 makes it a summary for the foam bath apparatus as described in any one of Claims 1-4 that the said foam production | generation apparatus is connected to the discharge port of the said foam transfer means. .
According to the same structure, the foam production | generation apparatus can continue the foam bathing with the outstanding texture by producing | generating or reproducing | regenerating the foam | bubble which lose | disappeared or deteriorated with circulation.

  In the present invention, it is possible to provide a foam bathing apparatus that can save water and foaming agent and bathe in foam.

DESCRIPTION OF EXEMPLARY EMBODIMENTS Hereinafter, an embodiment of the invention will be described with reference to the drawings.
FIG. 1 is a water circuit diagram showing a foam bathing apparatus according to the present embodiment. As shown in the figure, a bathtub 10 provided in the foam bathing apparatus is provided with a foam inflow portion 11 for storing the foam W in the bathtub 10 while the foam W is stored therein. A foam outflow part 12 for draining the foam W inside is installed. The bubble inflow part 11 opens to the upper end of the bathtub 10, and the bubble outflow part 12 opens to the bottom of the bathtub 10. The bathtub 10 is provided with a plurality of nozzles 13 distributed in the upper half thereof.

  The foam bathing apparatus includes a first flow rate adjustment valve 22 connected to the water supply C via a water supply pipe 21a, and a second flow rate adjustment valve 23 connected to the water heater H via a hot water supply pipe 21b. Furthermore, a mixing (mixing plug) 24 connected to the first and second flow rate adjusting valves 22 and 23 via a water supply pipe 21c and a hot water supply pipe 21d, respectively. The mixing 24 mixes water and hot water whose flow rates are adjusted by the first and second flow rate adjustment valves 22 and 23 to generate hot water having a required water temperature (for example, 42 ° C.). The water supply pipe 21a and the hot water supply pipe 21b are provided with on-off valves 25 and 26, respectively, that are opened when in use (when bathing).

  The mixing 24 is connected to the third flow rate adjustment valve 27 via the pipe 21e, and the third flow rate adjustment valve 27 is connected to the stirring device 31 via the pipe 21f. The stirring device 31 is connected to a foaming agent tank 33 via an electric pump 32, and foaming agents (cleaning agents, etc.) stored in the foaming agent tank 33 are supplied by driving the electric pump 32. At the same time, the third flow rate adjusting valve 27 is stirred with the hot water whose flow rate has been adjusted to generate so-called soapy water.

  The stirring device 31 is connected to an inlet 34a of an MBF (fine foam group) generating device 34 as a foam generating device via a pipe 21g. The MBF generator 34 has an inlet 34b connected to a fourth flow rate adjustment valve 36 via an air pipe 35a, and the fourth flow rate adjustment valve 36 is connected to a compressor 37 via an air pipe 35b. ing. The MBF generator 34 mixes the soapy water via the stirring device 31 whose flow rate is adjusted by the third flow rate adjustment valve 27 and the compressed air whose flow rate is adjusted by the fourth flow rate adjustment valve 36 to mix fine bubbles ( For example, a foam W having a diameter of 150 μm and a water content of 20 to 30% is generated, and the foam W is discharged from the discharge port 34c. This bubble W is a warm bubble warmed by the warm water generated in the mixing 24. The pipe 21g and the air pipe 35a are provided with an on-off valve 38 and an air valve 39, respectively, which are opened when in use (when bathing). The MBF generator 34 also includes a suction port 34d for sucking the circulating foam W.

  The discharge port 34c of the MBF generation device 34 is connected to the foam path switching valve 42 via the foam pipe 41a, and the foam path switching valve 42 is connected to the foam inflow part 11 via the foam pipe 41b. Alternatively, it is connected to the drain D via the bubble pipe 41c. Therefore, when the bubble path is switched so that the bubble pipes 41a and 41b communicate with each other by the bubble path switching valve 42, the bubbles W discharged from the MBF generation device 34 (discharge port 34c) pass through the bubble pipes 41a and 41b. Then, it is supplied from the bubble inflow part 11 into the bathtub 10. On the other hand, when the foam path is switched so that the foam pipes 41a and 41c communicate with each other by the foam path switching valve 42, the foam W discharged from the MBF generation device 34 (discharge port 34c) passes through the foam pipes 41a and 41c. And drained from the drain D.

  On the other hand, the foam outflow portion 12 is connected to a duct 45 installed in the bathtub 10, and the duct 45 is connected to an inlet of a circulation pump 47 as a foam transfer means via a foam pipe 46a. . The duct 45 has an opening area on the upstream side (foam outflow portion 12 side) set to be larger than an opening area on the downstream side (foam pipe 46a side) in order to facilitate introduction of the foam W in the bathtub 10. ing.

  The circulation pump 47 is composed of a positive displacement pump such as a vane pump, for example, and its discharge port is connected to a foam path switching valve 48 via a foam pipe 46b. The bubble path switching valve 48 is connected to the suction port 34d of the MBF generator 34 via a bubble pipe 46c, and is connected to the drain D via the bubble pipe 46d. Accordingly, when the foam path is switched so that the foam pipes 46b and 46c communicate with each other by the foam path switching valve 48, the foam W in the bathtub 10 sucked by the circulation pump 47 is sucked through the foam pipes 46b and 46c. It is supplied to the mouth 34d. And the MBF production | generation apparatus 34 produces | generates (regenerate | regenerates) the bubble W which consists of the fine foam group by suck | inhaling the bubble W in the bathtub 10 circulated by the circulation pump 47 from the suction inlet 34d. On the other hand, when the foam path is switched so that the foam pipes 46b and 46d communicate with each other through the foam path switching valve 48, the foam W in the bathtub 10 sucked by the circulation pump 47 is drained through the foam pipes 46b and 46d. D is drained.

  In addition, when circulating the foam W in the bathtub 10 with the circulation pump 47, the MBF production | generation apparatus 34 does not add the soap water etc. from the stirring apparatus 31 fundamentally. However, when the temperature of the circulating bubble W is low, the opening of the third flow rate adjusting valve 27 is changed to warm the bubble W, and the warm water generated by the mixing 24 is added. That is, the heating means for warming the circulating bubbles W is constituted by these mechanisms for adding warm water.

  Further, the water supply pipe 21 a is connected to the pipe 51 a between the water supply C and the on-off valve 25, and the hot water supply pipe 21 b is connected to the pipe 51 a between the water heater H and the on-off valve 26. The pipe 51 a is connected to each of the plurality of nozzles 13. The pipe 51a is provided with an on-off valve 52 that is opened when in use (when bathing). These nozzles 13 are supplied with hot water mixed with water from the water supply C and hot water from the water heater H when the on-off valve 52 is in an open state. Add (warm water). This is to make it easier to circulate the bubbles W that are in a scaly state due to moisture loss. That is, the bubbles W tend to be difficult to transfer when the water content is less than 15%. The nozzle 13 adds mist water so that the water content of the foam W in the foam outflow part 12 is 15% or more.

  The water supply pipe 21a is provided with a temperature sensor 61 for detecting the water temperature Tc of the water supply C, and the hot water supply pipe 21b is provided with a temperature sensor 62 for detecting the hot water temperature Th of the water heater H. Further, a temperature sensor 63 for detecting the hot water temperature Tw generated by the mixing 24 is provided in the pipe 21e. The bubble pipe 41a is provided with a temperature sensor 64 for detecting a bubble temperature Tf, which is the temperature of the bubble W discharged from the MBF generation device 34 (discharge port 34c) in the vicinity of the bubble path switching valve 42. The bubble pipe 46c is provided with a temperature sensor 65 for detecting the temperature To of the bubble W sucked into the MBF generator 34 (suction port 34d) in the vicinity of the bubble path switching valve 48. These temperature sensors 61 to 65 are electrically connected to the control device 66. Based on the detection results of these temperature sensors 61-65, the controller 66 controls the first to fourth flow rate adjusting valves 22, 23, 27, 36, the MBF generator 34, the bubble path switching valves 42, 48, and the circulation pump 47. Etc. are driven and controlled. Alternatively, the control device 66 calculates the hot water temperature (set temperature T2) to be generated by the mixing 24 when the circulating bubble W is warmed.

  Next, the control mode of the control device 66 accompanying the start of foam generation will be described according to the flowcharts of FIGS. As shown in FIG. 2, when this control is started, a set temperature T1 (for example, 42 ° C.) is set as the bubble temperature Tf (S (step) 1). Then, the third flow rate adjustment valve 27 is controlled to open so as to supply warm water of a predetermined flow rate (for example, 5 L) to the MBF generation device 34 (stirring device 31) (S2).

  Subsequently, the water temperature Tc and the hot water temperature Th are measured (S3), and based on this, the mixing ratio of water and hot water by the mixing 24 is determined, and the first and the first flow rates are set so as to coincide with the predetermined flow rate (for example, 5L). The second flow rate adjusting valves 22 and 23 are controlled to open (S4). Then, it is determined whether or not the hot water temperature Tw matches the set temperature T1 (S5). If they do not match, the process returns to S4 and the same processing is repeated. On the other hand, when the hot water temperature Tw matches the set temperature T1, it is determined whether or not the bubble temperature Tf matches the set temperature T1 (S6). If the bubble temperature Tf does not match the set temperature T1, the bubble W is drained by the switching control of the bubble path switching valve 42 (S7), and the process returns to S4 and the same process is repeated.

  When the bubble temperature Tf coincides with the set temperature T1, the discharge (supply) of the bubbles W from the bubble inflow portion 11 is started and continued by the switching control of the bubble path switching valve 42 (S8). Then, it is determined whether or not a predetermined set time ts has elapsed since the discharge of the bubbles W was started (S9), and the process returns to S4 and the same processing is repeated until it is determined that the set time ts has elapsed. It is. Thereby, discharge of the bubble W is continued until the said setting time ts passes. This set time ts is set based on the time until a sufficient amount of bubbles W accumulate in the bathtub 10 or the time until the bubbles W start to cool.

  If it is determined that the set time ts has elapsed since the discharge of the foam W, the circulation pump 47 is driven to circulate the foam W in the bathtub 10 as shown in FIG. 3 The flow rate adjusting valve 27 is controlled to be closed. Further, the opening / closing valve 52 is controlled to open, and the addition of mist-like water to the bubbles W in the bathtub 10 is started (S10).

  Subsequently, it is determined whether or not the temperature To of the bubble W sucked into the MBF generator 34 (suction port 34d) for circulation is lower than the set temperature T1 (S11). While the flow rate of the foam W discharged by the pump 47 is changed, the third flow rate adjustment valve 27 is controlled to be opened in order to change the flow rate of the hot water supplied to the MBF generation device 34 (stirring device 31) (S12). Specifically, if the normal discharge flow rate of the circulation pump 47 is 20 L, this is reduced to 18 L, for example, and supply of 0.5 L of hot water is started, for example. Thereby, the bubble W which circulates by the amount of heat of the supplied hot water is heated. In addition, it is preferable to change so that the flow volume of the warm water supplied to the MBF production | generation apparatus 34 (stirring apparatus 31) may increase, so that the temperature To of the bubble W is low.

  Next, based on the deviation ΔT (= T1-To) between the set temperature T1 and the temperature To, the hot water temperature (Tw) to be generated and supplied by the mixing 24 is calculated as the set temperature T2 (for example, 50 ° C.) ( S13). This set temperature T2 is calculated so as to increase as the deviation ΔT increases. Then, the water temperature Tc and the hot water temperature Th are measured (S14), and based on this, the mixing ratio of the water and hot water by the mixing 24 is determined, and the first and second flow rates (for example, 0.5 L) are matched with each other. The second flow rate adjusting valves 22 and 23 are controlled to open (S15). Then, it is determined whether or not the hot water temperature Tw matches the set temperature T2 (S16). If not, the process returns to S14 and the same processing is repeated. On the other hand, when the hot water temperature Tw matches the set temperature T2, it is determined whether or not the bubble temperature Tf matches the set temperature T1 (S17). Further, when it is determined in S11 that the temperature To is equal to or higher than the set temperature T1, it is similarly determined whether or not the bubble temperature Tf matches the set temperature T1 (S17). If the bubble temperature Tf does not coincide with the set temperature T1, the bubble W is drained by the switching control of the bubble path switching valve 42 (S18), and the process returns to S12 and the same process is repeated. Further, when the bubble temperature Tf coincides with the set temperature T1, the discharge of the bubbles W is started and continued by the switching control of the bubble path switching valve 42 (S19). Thereafter, the process returns to S11 and the same processing is repeated. As described above, the temperature of the bubble W is kept warm while circulating the bubble W in the bathtub 10.

As described above in detail, according to the present embodiment, the following effects can be obtained.
(1) In this embodiment, by circulating the foam W in the bathtub 10 by the circulation pump 47 and reusing the water and foam of the foam W, for example, compared to the case where foam is generated and supplied for each bath Can save water and foam. In particular, the amount of heat can be saved by reusing the water in the foam W made of warm water. Or since the foam bath can be carried out without draining the foam W, the environmental load by the foaming agent can be reduced.

  (2) In this embodiment, by adding mist-like water to the bubbles W in the bathtub 10 by the plurality of nozzles 13, the viscosity of the bubbles W is reduced and the bubbles W generated by the circulation pump 47 are reduced. Circulation can be promoted. Thereby, it can suppress that the bubble W is clogged on a circulation system path (foam piping etc.), and supply (reuse) of the bubble W by circulation can be performed stably.

  In particular, the foam W in the upper part of the bathtub 10 is likely to be in a dull state due to dripping of moisture, and is difficult to move downward, but the plurality of nozzles 13 are disposed in the upper half of the bathtub 10 so that the foam W It is effective for promoting circulation.

  (3) In this embodiment, the foam W in the bathtub 10 can always be kept warm by applying heat to the foam W circulated in a mode of adding warm water (hot water) generated by the mixing 24. And since the inside of the bathtub 10 is always covered with the warm bubble W, the user in the bathtub 10 always takes a bubble bath warmly and comfortably even if the whole body is always wrapped in the warm bubble W and bathing becomes long. be able to.

(4) Moreover, in order to add heat to the bubble W to circulate, for example, it is not necessary to separately provide a dedicated heater such as an electric heater, so that the configuration can be simplified.
(5) In the present embodiment, the MBF generator 34 connected to the discharge port of the circulation pump 47 generates or regenerates the foam W that has disappeared or deteriorated along with the circulation, so that a foam bath with excellent texture can be obtained. Can continue. That is, by heating and generating (regenerating) the circulated foam W, it is possible to continue bathing with the warm foam W composed of a fine foam group. Moreover, since the foam W which consists of a fine foam group has much moisture content and a large heat capacity, the temperature fall of the foam W during the accumulation or bathing can also be suppressed.

  (6) In this embodiment, since the bubble W that is circulated can be regenerated into a high-quality bubble W simply by adding some moisture (warm water) in the MBF generator 34, for example, the bubble W is generated from scratch. The bubbles W can be generated (regenerated) more efficiently than the above. That is, when the bubble W is generated from scratch, the amount of water occupied in the entire bubble W needs to be, for example, 0% to 25%. On the other hand, when the bubble W is regenerated by circulation, the amount of water occupied in the entire bubble W For example, it may be only 15% to 25%.

  Further, since the circulated bubble W has a certain amount of heat, for example, the bubble W can be efficiently heated and generated (regenerated) as compared with the case where the bubble W is generated from scratch. That is, when the bubble W is generated from scratch, it is necessary to warm the bubble W from, for example, 23 ° C to 43 ° C, whereas when the bubble W is regenerated by circulation, the bubble W is changed from, for example, 38 ° C to 43 ° C. Just warm to C. By the above, the energy consumption in foam bathing can be reduced as a whole.

  (7) In this embodiment, in order to circulate so that the bubble W which flowed in or collected in the lower part of the bathtub 10 may be moved to the upper part of the bathtub 10, the bubble W on the upper part of the bathtub 10 which is easy to cool by touching air is always kept warm. be able to. In particular, since the upper part of the bathtub 10 is close to the body part of the user exposed to the outside air, it can be made to feel warmer.

  (8) In this embodiment, by adopting a positive displacement pump as the circulation pump 47, for example, it is possible to generate a suction force of the bubbles W higher than that of a screw pump, which is effective for transferring the bubbles W.

  (9) In this embodiment, the upstream opening area of the duct 45 that sucks the circulating foam W is larger than the downstream opening area, thereby promoting the circulation (fluidity) of the foam W by the circulation pump 47. can do.

  (10) In the present embodiment, for example, a timer is used because the process (S9) related to the continuation determination of the discharge after the start of the discharge of the bubble W is performed by determining whether or not the set time ts has elapsed. With a simple configuration, the required amount of foam W can be automatically stored in the bathtub 10.

In addition, you may change the said embodiment as follows.
In the embodiment, a screw pump or a centrifugal pump may be adopted as the circulation pump 47. In this case, for example, the destruction of the circulating bubbles W can be suppressed as compared with the positive displacement pump, and the durability can be improved.

  In the embodiment, the process (S9) relating to the continuation determination of the discharge after the start of the discharge of the bubble W may be performed based on, for example, the detection result of the operation switch (discharge stop switch or circulation switch) by the user. . In this case, the amount of foam W according to the user's preference can be stored in the bathtub 10.

In the embodiment, if there is no influence on the feeling, the hot water of the water heater H may be directly supplied to the bubbles W circulated by the circulation pump 47 and the bubbles W may be heated.
In the embodiment, hot water (hot water) is supplied to the foam W circulated by the circulation pump 47 and heat is applied to the foam W. Heat may be applied with a heater.

  -The structure provided with the circulation pump, the foam inflow part, and the foam outflow part independent of the bathtub 10 may be sufficient as this invention.

The water circuit diagram which shows one Embodiment of this invention. The flowchart which shows the control aspect of the embodiment. The flowchart which shows the control aspect of the embodiment.

Explanation of symbols

  H ... Hot water heater (heating means), W ... Foam, 10 ... Bath, 11 ... Foam inflow part, 12 ... Foam outflow part, 13 ... Nozzle, 34 ... MBF production device (foam production device), 47 ... Circulation pump (foam) Transport means), 66... Control device.

Claims (5)

In a foam bath apparatus comprising a foam generating device for generating foam, a foam inflow portion for introducing the foam generated by the foam generating device into the bathtub, and a foam outflow portion for discharging the foam in the bathtub,
A foam bathing apparatus comprising foam transfer means for circulating the foam discharged from the foam outflow part into the bathtub between the foam outflow part and the foam inflow part. In the foam bath apparatus according to claim 1,
A foam bathing apparatus provided with a nozzle for adding mist-like water to the foam in the bathtub. In the foam bath apparatus according to claim 1 or 2,
A foam bath apparatus comprising heating means for applying heat to the foam circulated by the foam transfer means. In the foam bath apparatus according to claim 3,
The foam bathing apparatus, wherein the heating means supplies hot water to the foam circulated by the foam transfer means. In the foam bath apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 4,
The foam bathing apparatus, wherein the foam generation device is connected to a discharge port of the foam transfer means.

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