JP2021037470A - Fine air bubble generator - Google Patents

Abstract

To provide a fine air bubble generator which makes water supplied from a water faucet into cloudy water containing fine air bubbles with a simple structure and can be handled more easily.SOLUTION: A fine air bubble generator A1 includes: a water flow passage 1 connected to a water faucet W1; air mixing means 2 which mixes air into water flowing in the water flow passage 1; a dissolving tank 3 which is connected to the water flow passage 1 and makes air mixed water flowing from the water flow passage 1 into air dissolved water; and decompression means 52 which decompresses the air dissolved water discharged from the dissolving tank 3. The air mixed water formed into jet flow by increasing a flow rate flows into the dissolving tank 3, and the air mixed water flowing into the dissolving tank 3 is collided with an obstacle 35 fixedly disposed within the dissolving tank 3 to be stirred.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 2

Description

The present invention relates to a fine bubble generator, and more particularly to a fine bubble generator for turning water supplied from a faucet into cloudy water containing fine bubbles.

It is known that water containing fine bubbles and becoming cloudy (hereinafter referred to as white turbid water containing fine bubbles) has a cleaning effect. For example, in Patent Document 1, water supplied from a faucet is used as a fine bubble generator. Discloses a technique for producing cloudy water containing fine bubbles and discharging the water from a shower head.

In the technique disclosed in Patent Document 1, air is mixed with water supplied from a faucet by an ejector, and the air-mixed water is agitated under pressure to form air-dissolved water, which is a decompression unit provided in a shower head. It is configured to discharge fine bubble-containing cloudy water from the shower head by passing air-dissolved water through the water to generate fine bubbles.

By the way, the technique disclosed in Patent Document 1 requires a pump for pressurizing the air-mixed water to a predetermined pressure and a power for stirring the air-mixed water, which makes the entire device complicated and expensive. Since an AC power source is required, there is an aspect that it is not always simple and suitable as a device used in a bathroom.

Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2008-132038

The present invention was conceived under such circumstances, and the water supplied from the faucet can be made into a cloudy water containing fine bubbles with a simpler structure, and is easier to handle. An object of the present invention is to provide a fine bubble generator.

In order to solve the above problems, the following technical means are adopted in the present invention.

The fine bubble generator provided by the present invention is connected to a water passage, an air mixing means for mixing air with water flowing in the water passage, and the water passage, and is connected to the water passage. A fine bubble generator including a dissolution tank in which the inflowed air mixed water is used as air dissolution water and a decompression means for reducing the pressure of the air dissolution water discharged from the dissolution tank. The air-mixed water that has been made into a jet stream is flowed in, and the air-mixed water that has flowed into the dissolution tank is agitated by colliding with an obstacle fixedly arranged in the dissolution tank. It is characterized by.

In a preferred embodiment, the air-mixed water is made into a jet by a nozzle portion formed in the water passage and is made to flow into the dissolution tank.

In a preferred embodiment, an excess air discharge pipe hangs down and extends a predetermined length in the dissolution tank, so that an air reservoir is formed in the upper part of the dissolution tank, and the air is mixed as a jet. Water is made to flow into the air reservoir.

In a preferred embodiment, the obstacle extends in the vertical direction intersecting the inflow direction of the air-mixed water as the jet, and the upper portion thereof is located in the air reservoir.

In a preferred embodiment, the obstacle is plate-like with a large number of openings that intersect the inflow direction of the air-mixed water as the jet and penetrate in the thickness direction.

In a preferred embodiment, the large number of openings are formed by providing a punched metal-like portion or a net plate-like portion.

In a preferred embodiment, the air-dissolved water is discharged from the lower portion of the dissolution tank.

In a preferred embodiment, the air mixing means comprises a flow switch installed in the water channel and an readily available compressor that operates while the flow switch is ON.

In a preferred embodiment, the compressor is powered by DC or AC power.

In a preferred embodiment, the depressurizing means is provided in a shower nozzle to which the air-dissolved water discharged from the dissolution tank is guided.

The air is mixed by the air mixing means, and the air-mixed water that has flowed into the dissolution tank is agitated by the impact when it collides with an obstacle fixedly arranged in the dissolution tank, thereby entering the air water. Dissolution is promoted. Such dissolution of air is basically carried out under the pressure of the faucet (usually about 0.2 MPa). The air dissolved in the air-dissolved water appears as fine bubbles when the air-dissolved water is rapidly decompressed to, for example, atmospheric pressure by a depressurizing means, and the air-dissolved water changes to cloudy water containing fine bubbles.

Since the above-mentioned fine bubbles are generated under the pressure of a faucet, a pressurizing pump that operates with a relatively large power as in the conventional case is not required, and the power for stirring in the melting tank is not required. There is no need for a mechanism that requires. Further, since the air mixing means only needs to send a predetermined amount of air into the water of only about 0.2 MPa, an easily available compressor using, for example, a DC power supply or an AC power supply can be used. Therefore, the fine bubble generator having the above configuration is simple in configuration and easy to handle.

Other features and advantages of the present invention will become more apparent with the detailed description given below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

It is a schematic block diagram which shows an example of the fine bubble generator which concerns on this invention. It is a vertical cross-sectional view which shows the main part of an example of the fine bubble generator which concerns on this invention. It is sectional drawing which follows the line III-III of FIG. It is sectional drawing which follows the IV-IV line of FIG. It is a vertical sectional view which shows an example of the shower head in the example of the fine bubble generator which concerns on this invention. It is sectional drawing which follows the VI-VI line of FIG. It is sectional drawing which follows the line VII-VII of FIG. It is sectional drawing which follows the line VIII-VIII of FIG. FIG. 5 is a view of the shower head shown in FIG. 5 as viewed from the tip side.

Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the present invention will be specifically described with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 shows a schematic configuration of an example of a fine bubble generator according to the present invention. The fine bubble generator A1 of the present embodiment is connected to the water passage 1 connected to the faucet W1, the air mixing means 2 for mixing air with the water flowing in the water passage 1, and the tip of the water passage 1. A melting tank 3 in which the air-mixed water flowing in from the water passage 1 is used as air-dissolved water, and a decompression means 52 (see FIG. 5) for reducing the pressure of the air-dissolved water discharged from the dissolution tank 3 are basically included. Consists of. In the present embodiment, the decompression means 52 is provided inside the shower head 5 to which the air-dissolved water discharged from the dissolution tank 3 is guided.

The faucet W1 is, for example, a mixing faucet arranged in a bathroom, and the water passage 1 is a pipe for passing water from the faucet W1 to the dissolution tank 3, and is connected to, for example, the shower side outlet of the mixing faucet W1. To.

The check valve 11, the flow rate switch 12, the air mixing means 2, and the air mixed water flowing through the water passage 1 are accelerated from the base end side of the water passage 1 and flowed into the melting tank 3 in a jet state. The water flow rate increasing means 4 for this purpose is provided in this order.

The flow rate switch 12 is a known one that detects whether or not water is flowing through the water passage 1 when the faucet W1 is opened, and the signal from the flow rate switch 12 is for turning on / off the air mixing means 2. Used for.

As the air mixing means 2, for example, an easily available compressor 2a that operates with a DC power supply or an AC power supply can be used, and is operated while the flow rate switch 12 detects that water is flowing in the water passage 1. .. As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the pipe 22 connected to the outlet port 21 of the compressor 2a extends from the side wall of the water passage 1 to the inside of the water passage 1 via the check valve 11a. ..

2 to 4 show the connection structure of the pipe 22 to the water passage 1 in the air mixing means 2, the specific structure of the water flow speed increasing means 4, and the dissolution tank 3.

The tip of the hose 1a constituting the water passage 1 is connected to the inlet port 32 of the dissolution tank 3 via the T-shaped joint 13 and the nozzle member 14.

A pipe 22 extending from the outlet port 21 of the compressor 2a is inserted into the side port 131 of the T-shaped joint 13, and the tip of the pipe 22 extends to the vicinity of the center of the center hole 131 of the T-shaped joint 13. .. As shown in FIG. 2, it is convenient to extend the pipe 22 from below in order to smoothly mix the air from the compressor 2a. Further, since the tip of the pipe 22 extends to the vicinity of the center of the central hole 131 having the highest flow velocity, it is convenient for effectively dispersing and mixing the bubbles discharged from the tip of the pipe 22 in the running water. Is good. The flow rate in the water passage 1 when the faucet W1 is opened is, for example, 7 to 8 L / min, and the amount of air mixed with the flowing water in the water passage 1 from the compressor 2a is, for example, 250 to 350 mL / min. Is.

The nozzle member 14 is screwed and connected to one end of the central hole 131 of the T-shaped joint 13, and has a nozzle hole 141 whose diameter decreases toward the tip. The nozzle hole 141 corresponds to the water flow speed increasing means 4 in the present invention. The nozzle hole 141 also extends in the horizontal direction along the same axis as the center hole 131 of the T-shaped joint 13, and its tip is opened in the inlet port 32 of the melting tank 3.

The dissolution tank 3 includes a tank body 31, an inlet port 32, an outlet (discharge) port 33, an excess air discharge portion 34, and an obstacle 35.

The tank body 31 has a cylindrical side wall 311 extending in the vertical direction, a bottom wall 312 having a concave inner surface 312a, and an upper wall 313 also having a concave inner surface 313a. The inlet port 32 extends horizontally in a cylindrical shape at the upper part of the tank body 31, and is screwed and connected to the nozzle member 14. The axis L1 of the inlet port 32 extends in the horizontal direction in line with the center hole 131 of the T-shaped joint 13 and the axes L2 and L3 of the nozzle hole 141, and intersects the vertical center axis L4 of the tank body 31. doing. The outlet (discharge) port 33 is provided in the lower part of the tank main body 31, and in the present embodiment, extends in a cylindrical shape in the horizontal direction. The inner diameter of the inlet port 32 is considerably larger than the outlet diameter of the nozzle hole 141.

The excess air discharge unit 34 hangs down from the upper wall 313 of the tank body 31 along the central axis L4 of the tank body 31 and communicates with the outside of the tank body 31 at the excess air discharge pipe 341 and the upper part of the tank body 31. It is composed of a valve member 342 provided so as to communicate with the excess air discharge pipe 341. Although not shown, it is desirable that the valve member 342 has a check valve structure. Further, the excess air discharge pipe 341 is hung so that the lower end thereof is below the vertical position of the inlet port 32.

In the present embodiment, the obstacle 35 has a plate shape extending downward in a plane orthogonal to the axis L3 of the inlet port 32, and the plate-shaped obstacle 35 has a punching metal-like portion or a net plate shape. It is a member having a large number of openings 351 penetrating in the thickness direction, such as a portion. The upper part of the obstacle 35 is fixed to a vertical wall-shaped mounting seat 314 provided on the inner surface of the upper part of the tank body 31. Further, the upper end of the region of the obstacle 35 provided with a large number of openings 351 is positioned higher than the lower end of the excess air discharge pipe 341. As shown in FIG. 3, shoulder-shaped notches 352 are provided on both sides of the upper portion of the plate-shaped obstacle 35 in the width direction, and a predetermined gap S is formed between the plate-shaped obstacle 35 and the inner surface of the tank body 31. It is done like this.

A shower head 5 is connected to the outlet (discharge) port 33 of the dissolution tank 3 via a hose 6.

5 and 9 show an example of the structure of the shower head 5. The shower head 5 includes, for example, a head body 51, a pressure reducing plate 52a, a holding member 53, a shielding plate 54, an upright wall 55, a support portion 56, and a cover 57. The head main body 51 has a substantially tubular shape, and has an annular inner side wall 511 extending to the tip end side (right side in FIG. 5). The decompression plate 52a corresponds to the decompression means 52 in the present invention.

The pressure reducing plate 52a has a through hole 521 through which the air-dissolved water discharged from the dissolution tank 3 passes. As shown in FIG. 6, in the present embodiment, a plurality (three) through holes 521 are uniformly formed in the circular pressure reducing plate 52a. An annular sealing material 58 is arranged on both sides of the pressure reducing plate 52a in the thickness direction.

As shown in FIG. 5, the pressing member 53 sandwiches the pressure reducing plate 52a with the head body 51 by an appropriate means such as a screw. The sealing material 58 is pressure-welded between the head body 51, the pressure reducing plate 52a, and the pressing member 53. When the air-dissolved water led from the dissolution tank 3 passes through the pressure reducing plate 52a (through hole 521), fine bubbles are generated due to the sudden release of pressure, and the water becomes cloudy fine bubble-containing water. The pressing member 53 has a bottomed tubular portion 531. The tubular portion 531 is formed with an opening 532 for the fluid inside in the radial direction to pass outward in the radial direction. As shown in FIG. 6, in the present embodiment, a plurality of openings 532 are provided radially in the circumferential direction of the tubular portion 531. The fine bubble-containing water after passing through the pressure reducing plate 52 flows from the inside of the tubular portion 531 to the outside of the tubular portion 531 through the opening 532, and passes between the inner side wall 511 and the tubular portion 531.

The shielding plate 54 overlaps with the nozzle plate 572 when viewed in the thickness direction (left-right direction in FIG. 5) of the nozzle plate 572 of the cover 57, which will be described later. The upright wall 55 is connected to the peripheral edge of the shielding plate 54 and extends in the thickness direction of the nozzle plate 572 in the direction away from the nozzle plate 572. The upright wall 55 has a cylindrical annular shape. A part of the inner side wall 511 is arranged in the inner space of the upright wall 55, and is opposite to the nozzle plate 572 from the tip position 511a separated from the shielding plate 54 by a predetermined distance (left side in the drawing in FIG. 5). Extends to. As can be seen from FIGS. 5 and 6, the inner space of the inner side wall 511 constitutes a flow path leading to the pressure reducing plate 52a.

The support portion 56 is a portion attached to the cover 57 in order to arrange the shielding plate 54 and the upright wall 55 in a predetermined position. The support portion 56 extends from the vicinity of the outer periphery of the shielding plate 54 to the nozzle plate 572 side (right side in the drawing of FIG. 5), and is attached to the nozzle plate 572 at an appropriate position by uneven fitting. As shown in FIG. 8, in the present embodiment, three support portions 56 are provided, and these support portions 56 are evenly spaced in the circumferential direction near the outer periphery of the shielding plate 54. The shielding plate 54, the upright wall 55, and the support portion 56 are integrally formed by, for example, resin molding.

The cover 57 has an outer cylinder portion 571 and a nozzle plate 572. The outer cylinder portion 571 has a cylindrical shape, and is appropriately fixed to the tip end portion of the head main body 51 by means. The nozzle plate 572 covers the tip of the outer cylinder portion 571. The nozzle plate 572 has a large number of discharge holes 573. Each discharge hole 573 penetrates in the thickness direction of the nozzle plate 572. As shown in FIG. 5, a large number of discharge holes 573 are formed evenly and evenly in the circular nozzle plate 572.

In the shower head 5 having the above configuration, the fine bubble-containing water generated through the pressure reducing plate 52a is changed in the flow direction as shown by the arrow in FIG. 5 and bypasses and reaches the nozzle plate 572. According to such a configuration, regardless of the orientation in which the shower head 5 is used, the water containing fine bubbles is stored in the space of the path indicated by the arrow in the figure. Therefore, the fine bubble-containing water after passing through the pressure reducing plate 52 maintains a cloudy state until immediately before being discharged from the nozzle plate 572, and is discharged from the nozzle plate 572.

Next, the operation of the fine bubble generator A1 of the present embodiment will be described.

When the faucet W1 is opened, water composed of cold water or hot water flows through the water passage 1. While the flow rate switch 12 detects that water is flowing through the water passage 1, the compressor 2a operates to mix air with the water flowing through the water passage 1. As described above, in the present embodiment, the pipe 22 extending from the compressor 2a extends into the water passage 1 from below, and the tip thereof extends to the vicinity of the center of the water passage 1, so that the air is effectively dispersed and mixed. The air-mixed water can flow into the melting tank 3.

The air mixed water is flowed into the dissolution tank 3 from the inlet port 32, but since the excess air discharge pipe 341 hangs down from the upper part of the dissolution tank 3 by a predetermined length, it is generally located at the lower end position of the excess air discharge pipe 341. An air reservoir P is formed in a space higher than the above (FIG. 2). The air-mixed water is accelerated by passing through the nozzle hole 141 (water flow speed increasing means 4) and becomes a jet flow to flow into the melting tank 3, but since this jet flow flows into the air reservoir P, it is therefore flowed into the air reservoir P. It collides with the plate-shaped obstacle 35 at high speed without decelerating. The air-mixed water that collides with the obstacle 35 at high speed in this way is agitated by the impact and flies while being finely crushed when passing through a large number of openings 351. At that time, the opportunity for the air to come into contact with the water with pressure increases, which promotes the dissolution of the air in the water. Further, even after the air-mixed water first collides with the plate-shaped obstacle 35 in the air reservoir P, the energy of the jet still remains, and the flow as shown by the arrows in FIGS. 2 and 4 in the melting tank 3. Continues to occur, and this flow repeatedly collides with the obstacle 35 to perform a stirring action. In the flow as shown by the arrow in FIG. 4, a predetermined gap S is formed between the plate-shaped obstacle 35 and the inner surface of the tank body by the shoulder-shaped notches 352 provided on both sides in the width direction. Promoted by. The above-mentioned action is basically performed under the pressure of the faucet W1.

The air remaining undissolved in the dissolution tank 3 is discharged to the outside through the excess air discharge pipe 341. The air-dissolved water in which air is dissolved at a predetermined concentration as described above is discharged from the outlet (discharge) port 33 and guided to the shower head 5 via the hose 6. Since the outlet (discharge) port 33 is provided in the lower part of the dissolution tank 3, the air-dissolved water is not discharged in a state of being mixed with relatively large bubbles, which causes irregular pulsation in the shower head 5. It is possible to avoid such a problem.

In the shower head 5, as described above, when the air-dissolved water passes through the through hole 521 of the decompression plate 52a (decompression means 52), fine bubbles are generated due to sudden pressure release, and the shower head 5 becomes cloudy containing the fine bubbles. Water is discharged from the nozzle plate 572 as shower water. Since the shower head 5 of the present embodiment has a special structure, the cloudy water containing fine bubbles is discharged regardless of the orientation as described above.

Since the above-mentioned fine bubbles are generated under the pressure of the faucet W1, a pressurizing pump that operates with a relatively large power as in the conventional case is not required, and for stirring in the melting tank, No mechanism that requires power is required. Further, since the air mixing means 2 only needs to send a predetermined amount of air into water of only about 0.2 MPa, for example, a commercially available and inexpensive compressor 2a using a DC power supply or an AC power supply is used. be able to. Therefore, the fine bubble generator A1 having the above configuration has a simple configuration and is easy to handle.

Although the specific embodiment of the present invention has been described above, the present invention is not limited to this, and various modifications can be made without departing from the idea of the invention. The specific configuration of each part of the fine bubble generator according to the present invention can be freely redesigned.

In the above embodiment, the case where the fine bubble generator is configured as a shower device has been described, but the present invention is not limited to this. The fine bubble generator according to the present invention can be used for, for example, kitchen equipment such as dish washing and vegetable washing, toilet washing, industrial washing, and the like, and in any case, the cleaning action by fine bubble-containing water is performed. You can enjoy it.

A1 Fine bubble generator W1 Faucet L1, L2, L3, L4 Axis line S Clearance P Air reservoir 1 Water passage 1a Hose 11 Check valve 12 Flow switch 13 T-shaped joint 131 Center hole 14 Nozzle member 141 Nozzle hole 2 Air mixing means 2a Compressor 21 Outlet port 22 Pipe 3 Melting tank 31 Tank body 311 Cylindrical side wall 312 Bottom wall 312a Concave inner surface 313 Upper wall 313a Concave inner surface 314 Mounting seat 32 Inlet port 33 Outlet port 34 Excess air exhaust part 341 Excess air exhaust pipe 342 valve Member 35 Obstacle 351 Opening 352 Notch 4 Water flow speeding means 5 Shower head 51 Head body 511 Inner side wall 511a Tip position 52 Decompressing means 52a Depressurizing plate 521 Through hole 53 Holding member 531 Cylindrical part 532 Opening 54 Shielding plate 55 Standing wall 56 Support part 57 Cover 571 Outer cylinder part 572 Nozzle plate 573 Discharge hole 58 Sealing material 6 Hose

Claims (10)

The waterway connected to the faucet and
An air mixing means that mixes air with the water flowing in the water passage,
A dissolution tank connected to the water passage and using the air-mixed water flowing in from the water channel as air-dissolved water.
A fine bubble generator including a decompression means for reducing the pressure of the air-dissolved water discharged from the dissolution tank.
The air-mixed water that has been made into a jet by increasing the flow velocity is flowed into the dissolution tank, and the air-mixed water that has flowed into the dissolution tank collides with an obstacle fixedly arranged in the dissolution tank. A fine bubble generator, characterized in that it is agitated by the action. The fine bubble generator according to claim 1, wherein the air-mixed water is jetted by a nozzle portion formed in the water passage and flowed into the dissolution tank. An excess air discharge pipe hangs down in the dissolution tank for a predetermined length to form an air reservoir in the upper part of the dissolution tank, and the air-mixed water formed as a jet is the air reservoir. The fine bubble generator according to claim 2, which is made to flow into the air. The fine bubble generator according to claim 3, wherein the obstacle extends in the vertical direction intersecting the inflow direction of the air mixed water as the jet, and the upper portion thereof is located in the air reservoir. The fine bubble generator according to claim 4, wherein the obstacle is a plate shape having a large number of openings penetrating in the thickness direction and intersecting the inflow direction of the air mixed water as the jet. The fine bubble generator according to claim 5, wherein the large number of openings are formed by providing a punching metal-shaped portion or a net plate-shaped portion. The fine bubble generator according to any one of claims 3 to 6, wherein the air-dissolved water is discharged from the lower portion of the dissolution tank. Any one of claims 1 to 7, wherein the air mixing means includes a flow rate switch installed in the water passage and an easily available compressor that operates while the flow rate switch is ON. The fine bubble generator according to. The fine bubble generator according to claim 8, wherein the compressor is operated by a DC power source or an AC power source. The fine bubble generator according to any one of claims 1 to 9, wherein the decompression means is provided in a shower nozzle to which air-dissolved water discharged from the dissolution tank is guided.

Images