JP3217487B2 - Bathtub cleaning equipment - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a bathtub apparatus and, more particularly, to a filter tank of a cleaning apparatus filled with porous filter media such as activated stones and activated carbon.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, bath water has been cleaned by pumping hot water in a bathtub with a circulation pump and forcibly circulating through a circulation path provided with various types of cleaning equipment so that the cleaned hot water is ejected into the bathtub again. Developing device was developed.

[0003] This bathtub hot water purifying apparatus includes a circulation pump for circulating hot water, a pre-filter provided at a hot water inlet of a hot water suction pipe for filtering large dirt, and a filter material capable of filtering dirt and simultaneously filtering the dirt. In order to perform the water treatment according to the requirements, there are provided a filtration tank filled with a porous granular filter material, an ozone sterilizer for sterilization, and a cleaning device such as a heater for keeping hot water at an appropriate temperature.

In the filtration tank, activated stones such as barley stone that removes dirt components by ion exchange and simultaneously elute and activate minerals, activated carbon that adsorbs dirt and adsorbs dirt, and adsorbs dirt simultaneously A porous particulate material having various water treatment capacities such as zeolite to be removed by filtration is filled alone or in combination to form a filtration layer.

[0005] For this reason, the filtration tank is, as described above,
The water treatment capacity according to the capacity of the filled filter medium as well as the mere filtration capacity of the filtration layer is effective in purifying bath water.

[0006] With the development of the above-described cleaning device, it has become possible to enjoy a comfortable bath with clean and appropriate temperature water anytime for 24 hours without replacing the hot water.

[0007] When such a cleaning device is operated for about 5 to 6 months, the filter medium filled in the filtration tank becomes dirty and the filter layer is clogged, the amount of hot water circulated is reduced, and the cleaning performance is reduced. Will fall.

For this reason, when the filter layer is clogged,
Since the filter medium forming the filter layer is not always cheap and cannot be replaced frequently, the filter medium is taken out of the filter tank and washed.

[0009] In addition, since cleaning of the filter medium is troublesome and unfavorable because of dirty work, hot water is used to clean the filter layer so that the filter medium can be automatically cleaned without removing the filter medium from the filtration tank. Many devices having a so-called backwashing device for washing a filter medium by flowing in the opposite direction have been developed.

[0010]

However, when the filter medium is cleaned using the conventional backwashing apparatus, the filter medium is not so beautiful and the switching valve is liable to be broken.

In other words, simply flowing hot water in the direction opposite to the direction of filtration in the filter medium layer does not cause any collapse of the filter layer and the filter media are in close contact with each other. Even if the attached dirt was removed, it was difficult to remove the dirt from the filter medium inside the filter layer, and the entire filter medium could not be cleaned.

In order to reverse the direction in which the hot water flows, a switching valve must be provided. In addition, in order to discharge the washing water out of the bathtub, the flow of the hot water is switched in the direction of the drain pipe. Therefore, it is necessary to provide two three-way switching valves or one multi-directional switching valve capable of switching about seven directions.

However, if a switching valve is provided in a pipe through which dirty hot water flows, dirt is likely to be attached to the valve and cause a failure. Particularly, in the case of a multi-directional switching valve having a complicated structure, failure tends to occur. Since two valves are provided, there is still much chance that the valve will break down.

Further, as described above, since the filter medium cannot be effectively washed, a filter medium having a relatively large particle size is used to coarsen the filter layer so as to delay the clogging of the filter layer as much as possible. At the beginning of the operation of the apparatus in which the filter medium has not yet been contaminated, it is difficult to filter small contaminants and the hot water becomes cloudy.

The present invention solves the above-mentioned drawbacks of the prior art, and provides a bathtub hot water purifying apparatus capable of effectively cleaning a filter medium without using a valve for switching a flowing direction of hot water. It is intended to provide.

[0016]

That is, according to the present invention, hot water in a bath tub is pumped by a circulation pump and forcedly circulated in a circulation path provided with various cleaning equipment, and the purified hot water is returned to the bath tub. In the bath tub cleaning device, a filter tank for filtering dirt is formed by depositing a filter medium on a perforated plate to form a filter layer, and pressing the upper surface of the filter layer above the filter layer. A bathtub hot water characterized in that a mesh holding plate is provided so as to be movable up and down, a hot water inlet is provided below the filter layer and a hot water outlet is provided above the hot water so that the hot water flows through the filter layer from below to above. In the bathtub hot water purifier having the above-described structure, a hot water outlet for discharging hot water into the bathtub is connected to a hot water outlet provided above the filter layer of the filtration tank. Connection between the hot water spout and the drainpipe that drains out of the bathtub A hot water outlet, and two outlets for the hot water and the hot water are opened and closed as the mesh presser plate moves up and down. .

[0017]

The present invention is constructed as described above, and when performing a cleaning treatment, since the upper surface of the filter layer is pressed by a mesh pressing plate from above, a solid filter layer is formed without losing water pressure. However, if the mesh holding plate is moved upward during cleaning and the upper surface is not pressed from above, the filter layer collapses due to the water pressure of the hot water flowing from the bottom to the top of the filter layer, and the filter medium becomes a fluid state. The dirt attached to the filter medium particles can be effectively washed.

In addition, since the direction in which the hot water flows in the washing of the filter medium is the same as in the case of the cleaning treatment, there is no need to provide a switching valve for changing the flowing direction of the hot water unlike the conventional case.

Accordingly, it is sufficient to provide one three-way switching valve having a relatively simple structure for flowing the hot water having been washed through the drain pipe, so that the chance of failure of the valve is greatly reduced.

Further, two hot water outlets are provided, and the two outlets are selectively opened and closed so that one is opened and the other is closed in accordance with the up and down movement of a mesh holding plate for holding the filtration layer. In such a case, there is no need to provide a switching valve at all.

In addition, since the filter medium is automatically and effectively washed at predetermined intervals to keep the filter layer constantly clogged, the filter layer is formed with a filter medium having a relatively small particle size, and the operation of the apparatus is performed. Immediately after starting, small dirt can be easily filtered.

As a result, in the early stage of the operation, since the filter medium has not yet been clogged, small dirt cannot be filtered and the hot water becomes cloudy.

[0023]

Next, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 shows a first embodiment of the present invention, in which 1 is a bathtub containing hot water 2, 3 is a suction tube having a pre-filter 4 attached to the tip, 5 is a circulation pump, and 6 is a circulation pump. Connecting pipe,
7 is a heater, and 8 is a connecting pipe.

Reference numeral 9 denotes a filtration tank, reference numeral 10 denotes a filter medium deposited on a mesh plate 12, and reference numeral 11 denotes a
0 is the filtration layer formed.

Activated stones such as barley stone are used as the filter medium 10.
Activated carbon, natural or artificial zeolite, porous granular material such as ion-exchange resin or the like is used alone or in combination, and the particle size is about 2 mm, which is about 5 to 10 mm which has been conventionally used. It is preferable to use a considerably small one.

This is because a light filter medium having a small particle diameter is more likely to flow under water pressure during washing, which will be described later, and at the same time, it is possible to remove small dirt from the start of operation of the apparatus.

Reference numeral 13 denotes a mesh holding plate for holding the upper surface of the filtration layer 11, and the mesh holding plate 13 is fixed to the tip of a holding lever 14 slidably inserted into a lid 15 for closing the opening. The filtration layer 1 is operated by operating the holding lever 14.
1 is provided so as to be movable up and down.

The mesh holding plate 13 is formed by using a punching metal, which is a metal plate having a large number of holes, or by forming a mesh-like plate with a synthetic resin. At the same time, the plate is so thick that countless holes are formed to prevent the passage of the filter medium, and at the same time it is not easily bent.

Reference numeral 16 denotes a hot water inlet provided below the filtration layer 11, and reference numeral 17 denotes a hot water outlet provided above the filtration layer 11. By providing the hot water outlet, the hot water flows through the filtration layer. 11 flows from bottom to top.

Numeral 18 denotes a hot water pipe connected to the hot water outlet 17, and a hot water pipe 20 is branched from the middle of the hot water pipe 18 via a three-way switching valve 19.

When the hot water is purified by the above-described apparatus, the mesh holding plate 13 is lowered and the filtration layer 11 is removed.
The upper surface of the switch is firmly pressed, and the switching valve 1
9 is of course switched to the fountain pipe 18 side.

When the circulating pump 5 is operated in such a state, the hot water 2 in the bathtub 1 is pumped up by the suction pipe 3 while filtering large dirt by the pre-filter 4, and is passed through the connecting pipe 6 to the heater 7. Is heated to an appropriate temperature first.

The hot water heated to an appropriate temperature by the heater 7 is supplied to the connecting pipe 8.
Through the hot water inlet 16 into the filtration tank 9.

The hot water that has entered the filtration tank 9 enters the filtration layer 11 through the perforated plate 12 and is activated at the same time as dirt is filtered.
After being subjected to a treatment corresponding to the treatment capacity of the filter medium 10 such as adsorption and ion exchange and cleaned, the filter medium 10 passes through the mesh holding plate 13 and exits above the filter layer 11.

The hot water purified in the filtration tank 9 exits from the hot water outlet 17 above the filtration layer 11 and is jetted again into the bathtub 1 through a hot water pipe.

Next, when the filter medium 10 is washed, the mesh holding plate 13 is raised by operating the holding lever 14 as shown by a virtual line, and at the same time, the switching valve 19 is switched to the drain pipe 20 side.

As a result, as shown in FIG.
1 is not held down by the mesh holding plate 13, so that it collapses due to the upward pressure of the hot water flowing in from the lower hot water inlet, and the filter medium 10 falls apart and rises.

At this time, if the pressure is increased by providing a tapered hot water inlet 21 as shown in FIG. 2 and reducing the flow of hot water, the hot water rotates as shown by the arrow, so that the filtration layer 11 is further broken down. Also, as shown in FIG. 3, even if the shower nozzle 22 is attached to the hot water inlet 16 and hot water is blown out in a shower shape, the filtration layer 11 is easily broken.

As described above, when the filter layer 11 collapses and the filter medium 10 separates and rises and flows along the flow of hot water, the filter medium 10 is effectively rubbed with each other, and the dirt attached thereto is effectively removed, and the filter medium 10 is neatly cleaned. Go.

The hot water contaminated by such a washing operation is as follows:
It flows into the fountain pipe 18 via the hot water outlet 17 and the switching valve 1
9 and is discarded from the drain pipe 20. When the washing is completed, the mesh holding plate 13 is lowered to form a solid filter layer on which the filter medium 10 is densely deposited.
Switch to the 8 side and start cleaning hot water again.

At the time of this washing, the filter medium 10 having a small particle size and having a small particle size floats up and easily flows to enhance the washing effect. Therefore, in the present invention, it is preferable to use a filter medium having a very small particle size of about 2 mm as described above. preferable.

When a filter medium having a small particle diameter is used, the size of the filter layer becomes very fine and even small dirt can be easily filtered. Therefore, the filter medium must be clogged to some extent by the operation of the conventional apparatus. Since small dirt cannot be filtered, there is no disadvantage that hot water becomes cloudy at the beginning of operation, which is advantageous.

Next, a second embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS.

This embodiment is an apparatus in which a switching valve is not used for discharging hot water that has washed a filter medium.
As shown in FIG. 4, the filtration tank 9 is provided with two outlets, a hot water outlet 23 to which the hot water pipe 18 is connected as a hot water outlet and a hot water outlet 24 to which the hot water pipe 20 is connected.

In the state of hot water purification shown in FIG. 4, the mesh holding plate 13 is lowered to press the upper surface of the filtration layer 11 and at the same time close the drain hole 24.

The hot water thus purified by the filter layer 11 is jetted from the jet port 23 to the bathtub 1 through the jet pipe 18.

FIG. 5 shows a state in which the filter medium 10 is being washed. In this case, the mesh pressing plate 13 is moved upward to prevent the filter layer 11 from being pressed, and at the same time close the fountain port 23.

As a result, the filter medium 10 is washed and the dirty water is discarded from the drain hole 24 through the drain pipe 20. After the filter medium 10 has been washed for a predetermined time, the mesh holding plate 13 is lowered and the filter layer 11 is removed. And the cleaning of the hot water is started again with the outlet of the hot water as the spout 23.

As described above, in the apparatus of the second embodiment, the mesh holding plate 13 is moved up and down depending on whether the hot water is to be cleaned in the filtration tank 9 or the filter medium 10 is to be washed. The two hot water outlets are also automatically switched to the appropriate one of the spout 23 and the drain 24.

Thus, not only the switching valve for the cleaning operation but also the switching valve for draining the hot water contaminated by the washing is not required, and there is no need to worry about the failure of the switching valve.

[0052]

As described above, the present invention has the above-described structure and operation, and can efficiently and automatically clean the filter medium constituting the filtration layer, so that the hot water can be continuously prepared without any special man-hour and cost for maintenance. A bathtub hot water purifying apparatus is provided, which can keep the apparatus clean and at the same time does not cause a failure of the apparatus.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 shows a first embodiment,

Fig. 2 Filter media cleaning state and configuration of hot water inlet,

Fig. 3 Configuration of hot water inlet

FIG. 4 shows a state of hot water cleaning according to the second embodiment;

FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating a cleaning state of a filter medium according to a second embodiment.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Bathtub 2 Hot water 3 Water suction pipe 5 Circulation pump 9 Filtration tank 10 Filter medium 11 Filtration layer 12 Sink plate 13 Mesh holding plate 16 Hot water inlet 17 Hot water outlet 18 Spout pipe 19 Switching valve 20 Drain pipe 23 Spout port 24 Drain port

Claims (2)

(57) [Claims] 1. A bathtub hot water purifying apparatus for pumping hot water in a bathtub with a circulation pump, forcibly circulating a circulation path provided with various cleaning equipment, and ejecting the cleaned hot water into the bathtub again. , A filtration tank for filtering dirt is formed by depositing a filter medium on a perforated plate to form a filtration layer, and a mesh holding plate for pressing the upper surface of the filtration layer is provided above the filtration layer so as to be vertically movable. An apparatus for purifying bathtub hot water, characterized in that a hot water inlet is provided below the filter layer and a hot water outlet is provided above the filter layer, and the hot water is formed so as to flow upward through the filter layer. 2. A hot water outlet, which is provided above the filter layer of the filtration tank, has a hot water outlet to which a hot water pipe for discharging hot water into the bathtub and a hot water outlet to which a hot water pipe for discharging hot water out of the bathtub are connected. 2. The bathtub hot water purifying apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the two hot water outlets for the hot water and the hot water are opened and closed in accordance with the vertical movement of the mesh holding plate.