JP2769013B2 - Spout - Google Patents

Description

Description: TECHNICAL FIELD The present invention relates to a spout which is attached to a tip of a spout or a shower head of a faucet so that water can be switched between spray spouting and foam spouting.

[Conventional technology]

Typical examples of shower heads for bathrooms and hand showers for hair washing and face washing, which have become widespread in recent years, are those that uniformly spray water from a large number of holes formed in a watering plate. .

Instead of such one-pattern watering, foam spraying in which foams are included in watering in addition to normal spray watering has been used. Examples thereof include those described in JP-A-58-35949.

Foaming of water supply is performed by incorporating a pressure reducing plate with a large number of holes at the discharge end, as adopted in general faucets, etc., and increasing the internal pressure based on the speed increase of the water supply when passing through these holes. This is based on the decline. Then, a suction hole for sucking outside air is opened to the atmosphere downstream of the pressure reducing plate, and at the time of water supply, air is sucked from the suction hole and mixed with the water supply to obtain foamed water.

Also in the shower head disclosed in the above-mentioned publication, such a foam function section is incorporated, and by switching a built-in switching valve, switching is made between spray-like normal water discharge and foam water discharge.

[Problems to be solved by the invention]

However, in the case of foam discharge, since the water supply passes through the small holes of the pressure reducing plate for foaming, the pressure loss of the flow is considerably large. For this reason, unless the water supply amount is set to a certain value or more, an appropriate water discharge pressure cannot be obtained. In addition, with this foam spouting, when the flow rate is small, the spouting does not become a foam or becomes a spouting without a feeling of foaming, so that it does not fulfill its original role such as being able to be used with a soft washing feeling without splashing water, and the usability is deteriorated.

In addition, a flow regulating network for adjusting the flow after foaming is often incorporated in addition to the pressure reducing plate, and in this case, foreign matter in the feedwater is easily clogged or scale is easily attached to the pressure reducing plate or the flow regulating network. For this reason, if the area of the flow path becomes small and the amount of discharged water becomes insufficient, or if the small holes of the pressure reducing plate are closed, appropriate foaming cannot be performed.

As described above, in the conventional foam water discharge port, since the speed increase of the supply water using the pressure reducing plate and the suction of the outside air due to the decompression of the internal flow path based thereon are used, the pressure loss of the supply water is large, and In addition to obstructions such as obstruction, there was a problem that it could not be used properly at low flow rates.

Therefore, an object of the present invention is to improve the usability by making it possible to obtain good foam water discharge in addition to spray water discharge.

[Means for solving the problem]

The water outlet of the present invention communicates the inlet and the first and second outlets of the fluid, a first flow path that connects the inlet with the first outlet, and the inlet and the second outlet. A second flow path, a swirl flow chamber disposed in the first flow path to swirl the flow of the fluid, and a center of the swirl flow of the fluid in the swirl flow chamber and the first flow path An outlet facing a first flow path to an outlet side, and a foam communicating with the outlet and having a cross-sectional area larger than an opening area of the outlet and having an end communicating with the first outlet. A foaming chamber, an air flow path communicating with the outside air to the foaming chamber, and switching means for switching between the first flow path and the second flow path.

In such a configuration, the switching means is provided in the swirling flow chamber and opens and closes the discharge port to thereby open and close the first port.
It is good also as a structure switched to the flow path of said and the said 2nd flow path.

Further, the first outlet may be a foam hole for discharging foamed water supply, and the second outlet may be a non-foam spout, for example, a shower hole for ordinary spray spout. In this case, the water supplied from the swirling flow chamber to the foaming chamber becomes foamed water and is discharged from the watering hole (first outlet), and when the flow path is switched to the second outlet side by the switching means, the shower hole is turned on. The spray water is discharged from the (second outlet).

[Action]

The water that has flowed into the swirling flow chamber becomes a spiral swirling flow, and an outward centrifugal force acts on the flow itself. And since the flow at the discharge port part opened in the center located near the center of the swirling flow is also spiral, the water flowing out of the discharge port is blown outward by centrifugal force and the conical A water film is sent to the foaming chamber. As a result, the water flowing into the foaming chamber is already in a state of being easily scattered, and if the foaming chamber is opened to the atmosphere by the air flow path, the air is sucked by the depressurizing effect of the water flowing at high speed from the discharge port. Then, the sucked air is quickly mixed into the flowing water supply in the form of a water film, and is discharged from the first outlet as foam discharge.

Further, by operating the switching means incorporated in the swirling flow chamber, water is supplied to the second outlet via a flow path different from the flow path on the foaming side, and non-foamed water, for example, a normal spray Water spouting is obtained.

〔Example〕

FIG. 1 is a longitudinal sectional view in which a water outlet is incorporated in a hand shower type faucet, FIG. 2 is a bottom view of a sprinkling plate portion, and FIG. 3 is a sectional view taken along line II of FIG.

A water discharge head 2 for switching between spray and foam water discharge is incorporated at the tip of a flow path 1a provided in the main body 1 of the hand shower. The water discharge head 2 includes a watering plate 3 fixed to the tip of the main body 1 and a foaming block 4 integrated with the watering plate 3 and incorporated into the main body 1. Further, water supplied from the flow path 1a is supplied to the spray side and the foam side. A switching valve 5 for switching is provided.

At the upper end of the foaming block 4, an annular wall 4a is formed as shown in FIG. 3 and is concentrically incorporated into the end of the flow path 1a. It is the next room 4b. The secondary side chamber 4b functions as a swirling flow chamber that forcibly swirls the water supplied from the flow path 1a using the supply water pressure and turns it into a vortex as described later. A total of three holes 4c are formed in the peripheral wall, and the secondary side chamber 4b is formed.
A discharge port 4e is provided at the center of the bottom wall 4d. These holes
The opening axis of 4c is tangential to the cross section of the secondary chamber 4b, and the inner diameter of the outlet 4e is much smaller than that of the secondary chamber 4b. A cylindrical foaming chamber 4f having a large volume is formed below the discharge port 4e, and an internal thread 4g is formed on the inner periphery thereof. When the female screw 4g receives water that flows in a water film form from the discharge port 4e,
When there is a pulsation in the water supply, it has a function of interfering with the pulsation and attenuating the pulsation. The reason why the female thread 4g was carved as an interference surface is that processing is simple, for one reason.
Instead, the inner peripheral wall of the foaming chamber 4f may have minute irregularities.

The annular wall 4a at the upper end of the foaming block 4 is closed by the inner wall of the main body 1, and a flow port 1c for spray water discharge is opened substantially coaxially with the discharge port 4e, and a total of six communication ports communicating with this are provided.
1 d is provided downward around the water discharge head 2. The lower ends of these communication ports 1d communicate with the annular flow path 1e around the foam lower block 4 to connect the flow path to the sprinkling plate 3.

A bush 6 is fixed to the upper end of the main body 1, and a handle 6a for operating the switching valve 5 is rotatably attached to the bush 6. Spindle 6b connected to handle 6a
A valve body 5a of a switching valve 5 that moves up and down in the axial direction in the secondary side chamber 4b of the foam lowering block 4 is fixed to a lower end of the valve. In the state shown in the figure, the valve body 5a closes the flow path to the flow path port 1c side, supplies water from the discharge port 4e to the foaming chamber 4f and discharges foam, and lowers the valve body 5a by operating the handle 6a. When the lower surface is brought into close contact with the bottom wall 4d of the secondary side chamber 4b,
Conversely, switch to the flow path to the spray side.

The water spray plate 3 is provided with an air suction structure for rectifying and discharging the foamed water and for foaming.
In the center part communicating with 4f, a water spray hole 3a for foam discharge is provided,
Around it, a large number of shower holes 3b communicating with the annular flow path 1e
Is open for spraying water. Note that a cross-shaped current plate 3c is incorporated in the water spray hole 3a.

FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing the upper surface side of the water spray plate 3 in a portion included in the foaming chamber 4f. An air suction cylinder 7 is formed coaxially from the center upward, and an air flow is formed therein. Road 7a
Is provided. In addition, twelve rectifying blades 8 extending radially from the air suction cylinder 7 are provided on the upper surface, and an annular pulsating prevention plate 9 is attached to the upper end of each rectifying blade 8. The pulsating flow prevention plate 9 is located at an end in the radial direction of the rectifying blade 8, and when incorporated in the foaming block 4, the pulsating flow preventing plate 9 is in the first position.
As shown in the figure, the foaming chamber 4f assumes a position protruding inward in the radial direction at a position along the inner wall.

Also, as shown in FIG. 1, the upper end of the air suction cylinder 7 faces the discharge port 4e of the foaming block 4, and the air suction pipe 7 has the discharge port 4e.
There is provided a backflow prevention plate 10 for preventing backflow of supply water fed from the tank.

Here, when water is supplied from the flow path 1a, the foaming chamber
The turning of water into 4f and then feeding it as a water film will be described with reference to the schematic diagrams of FIGS.

When water is supplied from the flow path 1a, the axes of the holes 4c (four in the illustrated example) of the annular wall 4a are oriented in the tangential direction with respect to the secondary chamber 4b having a circular cross section. Becomes a swirling flow. That is, as shown in FIGS. 5 and 6 (b), the water flows from the outer peripheral portion of the secondary chamber 4b along the inner wall, and the water from the four holes 4c merges to form a vortex. The vehicle starts turning in the secondary chamber 4b. At this time, hole 4c
Is larger than that of the outlet 4e,
The phenomenon that water stays in the secondary side chamber 4b occurs, and the internal pressure increases somewhat. Therefore, the flow energy of the water itself increases inside the secondary side chamber 4b, and centrifugal force due to the swirling flow acts. For this reason, the water flowing down from the discharge port 4e behaves to spread out under the influence of the centrifugal force, and is discharged as a conical water film F as shown by an arrow in FIG. 6 (a). .

On the other hand, the discharge port 4e is located substantially at the center of the foaming chamber 4f, and water with centrifugal force flows out at a large flow velocity, so that the internal pressure of the space inside the conical water film F decreases. For this reason, air is sucked in from the air flow path 7a, the water film F from the discharge port 4e hits the female screw 4g of the foaming chamber 4f, and the air is mixed with the broken water to foam the water supply. Then, the foamed water flows into the sprinkling holes 3a, and the flow is adjusted by the flow straightening plate 3c and discharged.

In the above configuration, when water is discharged from the water sprinkling hole 3a, the valve body 5a is moved upward as shown in FIG. 1 to close the passage hole 1c side and open the discharge port 4e. By this operation, the fifth
As shown in FIG. 6 and FIG. 6, the water supply becomes a water film F in the foaming chamber 4f, and the air sucked from the air suction cylinder 7 is mixed to foam. The foamed water is
Finally, the flow is adjusted by the cross-shaped current plate 3c and the sprinkling holes
Released from 3a.

In the foaming chamber 4f, the backflow prevention plate 10 prevents the backflow of the foamed water upward, and the upper end of the air flow path 7a of the air suction tube 7 is not closed by the foaming. For this reason, air suction is quickly performed, and the incorporation of air into the water supplied in the form of the water film F is promoted, and a good foam is obtained. Further, the pulsating flow prevention plate 9 forms a stagnation point of the foamed water, and serves to temporarily retain the foamed water, which is likely to be a discontinuous flow including air, and discharge it as a continuous flow from the water spray hole 3a.

As described above, the water supply is swirled and sent as a conical water film F into the foaming chamber 4f, and air is mixed into the water film F to foam the foamed water. , The pressure loss is significantly reduced. For this reason, even if the flow rate is small, the water supply is sufficiently foamed, and the pulsation is eliminated by the pulsation prevention plate 9, so that the optimal foam spouting water can be obtained without disturbance of the flow.

On the other hand, when the handle 6a is operated to lower the valve element 5a, the lower surface thereof closes the discharge port 4e using the bottom wall 4d of the secondary chamber 4b as a valve seat, and at the same time, opens the flow path port 1c formed in the main body 1. Thereby, the water supply from the flow path 1a flows from the flow path port 1c to the communication port 1d, reaches the annular flow path 1e around the foaming block 4, and
Is discharged from the shower hole 3b as spray water.

Therefore, by switching the switching valve 5,
Foam spouting and shower hole 3b using foaming block 4
You can use both spray water from the spray.
And, as described above, even if the flow rate is small, it can be sufficiently foamed, so that it can be used without trouble even for face washing and hair washing.

Also, since the valve element 5a of the switching valve 5 is incorporated by using the secondary side chamber 4b of the foaming block 4 for swirling the flow for foaming, for example, the flow paths on the spray side and the foam side are discharged. The size of the water discharge head 2 can be reduced as compared with the case where the ends are separately provided. That is, since the spray side and the foam side are switched by a uniaxially operated valve, the structure is simplified as compared with the case where each dedicated valve is incorporated. In particular, since the valve element 5a is incorporated by using the secondary side chamber 4b necessary for turning the water supply, no special room for the switching valve 5 is required. Therefore, even if it has both the function of the foam and the spray, a compact design in which the range occupied by the switching valve 5 is minimized can be performed.

In the embodiment, foam water is spouted from the water spray hole 3a as the first discharge port, and spray water is spouted from the shower hole 3b as the second discharge port. It is needless to say that foam water may be discharged from the second outlet, and that the water may be discharged in various forms other than foam water from the second discharge port, and is not limited to the combination of foam and spray.

〔The invention's effect〕

In the present invention, a centrifugal force is generated in the flow by swirling the water supply, and the centrifugal force is generated in the flow, and the water is fed into the foam chamber as a conical water film flow. ing. For this reason, the pressure loss is reduced and the flow rate is secured as compared with the case where a pressure reducing plate having a large number of small holes is used as in the related art, and poor water discharge due to adhesion of foreign matter or scale is also eliminated.

Also, the switching means is incorporated in the swirling flow chamber,
Since the second flow path for spray water discharge is provided separately from the first flow path for foaming, it can be used by switching to both foam spraying. And since the switching means is arranged in the swirling flow chamber, the space required for foaming can be used also as the storage space for the switching means, and the overall bulk can be made compact, and the hand shower etc. It can also be suitably used.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a vertical sectional view of a main part when a water outlet according to an embodiment of the present invention is incorporated in a hand shower, FIG. 2 is a bottom view of a sprinkler plate, and FIG. 3 is a line II in FIG. FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing an upper part of a watering plate in a part to be incorporated in the foaming chamber, FIG. 5 is a schematic cross-sectional view showing flow of water supply to a secondary side chamber, and FIG. It is explanatory drawing which shows generation | occurrence | production of a swirling flow inside, FIG. (A) is a schematic longitudinal cross-sectional view, and FIG. (B) is a schematic cross-sectional view. 1: Main unit, 1a: Flow path 1b: Primary chamber, 1c: Flow path port 1d: Connection port 2: Water spouting head 3: Sprinkling plate, 3a: Sprinkling hole 3b: Shower hole, 3c: Rectifying plate 4: Foaming block, 4a : Annular wall 4b: Secondary chamber (swirling flow chamber) 4c: Hole, 4d: Bottom wall 4e: Discharge port, 4f: Foaming chamber 4g: Female screw 5: Switching valve, 5a: Valve 6: Bush, 6a: Handle 6b: Spindle 7: Air intake cylinder, 7a: Air flow path 8: Rectifier blade, 9: Pulsation prevention plate 10: Backflow prevention plate

────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuation of the front page (56) References JP-A-3-96535 (JP, A) JP-A-3-96534 (JP, A) (58) Fields investigated (Int.Cl. ⁶ , DB name) E03C 1/084 B05B 1/16

Claims (2)

(57) [Claims] A first flow path that connects the inlet with the first outlet; a first flow path that connects the inlet with the first outlet; and a first flow path that connects the inlet with the second outlet. A swirl flow chamber arranged in the first flow path to swirl the flow of the fluid; and a first outlet side near the center of the swirl flow of the fluid in the swirl flow chamber. And a foaming chamber communicating with the outlet and having a cross-sectional area greater than the opening area of the outlet and having an end communicating with the first outlet. And a switching means for switching between the first flow path and the second flow path, and an air flow path communicating with the outside air to the foaming chamber. 2. The switching means according to claim 1, wherein said switching means is arranged in said swirling flow chamber and switches between said first flow path and said second flow path by opening and closing said discharge port. Item 9. The water outlet according to Item 1.