JP3463368B2 - Circulating warm bath - Google Patents

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a circulating warm bath equipped with a flow switch for detecting the cleaning time of a filter for collecting large dusts in bath water and a multi-contact reed switch.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art It has been conventional in household baths to remove dirt and activate bath water by circulating a bath (circulation) through a filter (hair catcher), filtration tank, activation tank, etc. Was also done. On the other hand, recently, so-called 24-hour baths have been developed in which not only the stains in the bath water are removed and activated, but also the temperature is controlled using a heat-retaining heater to allow bathing any time for 24 hours. .

Currently, most circulating warm baths in the market purify and deodorize bath water using biological treatment, but it is necessary to prevent foul odor and Escherichia coli from occurring in addition to removing stains in bath water. Therefore, a model equipped with an ultraviolet sterilizer for performing sterilization treatment and a model for providing ozone treatment by providing a small ozone generator have been proposed. In addition to the sterilization of bath water, a technology was also developed to generate a bubble by jetting air into the bath water while jetting air into the bath water in order to give the bathtub a massage effect. It has come to be added to the vessel.

Therefore, a conventional circulating hot water bath having the above-mentioned functions will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram of a system of a conventional circulating warm bath. In the figure, 1 is a bathtub, 2
Is a water inlet, 3 is a filter (hair catcher), 5
Is a circulation pump, 6 is a filtration tank, 7 is an activation tank, 8
Is a sterilizer, 9 is a heat retention heater, 10 is a drain port, 11 is a controller, 12 is a power supply unit, 13 is a display and operation unit, 1
8 is a one-contact type flow switch, and 20 is a circulation pipe.

When the circulation pump 5 is driven, the bath water in the bathtub 1 is sucked up from the water supply port 2 and enters the circulation pump 5 through the filter 3 and the one-contact type flow switch 18. At this time, large dust such as hair contained in the bath water is collected by the filter 3 arranged in the middle of the circulation pipe 20. Further, the filter 3 should be taken out periodically to remove large dust such as hair adhering to it, thereby preventing a decrease in circulating water volume and continuously removing large dust such as hair flowing into the circulation path. It is possible.

The operation of the one-contact type flow switch 18 in this case will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view of a conventional one-contact type flow switch of a circulating hot water bath. The one-contact type flow switch 18 is constructed by installing a leaf spring 17 inside the conduit 15 for urging by holding the permanent magnet 16 at the end portion on the inner side surface, and the reed switch contact on the side surface opposite to the installation surface. The contact point 19 is installed.

Normally, when the filter 3 is not clogged too much and flows at a certain flow rate or more, the leaf spring 17 having the permanent magnet 16 flows as shown in FIG. 4B. Is pushed downward by
The contact 19 is in the off state. When the filter 3 is clogged with dust and the flow rate drops to a certain point, the restoring force of the leaf spring 17 causes the permanent magnet 16 to approach the contact 19 and turn on the contact 19, as shown in FIG. 4A. The controller 11 detects this, and the display and operation unit 13 displays the cleaning time.

The bath water delivered from the circulation pump 5 is filtered by a filtration tank 6 filled with glass beads or ceramic balls. The filtered bath water is sent to the activation tank 7 and activated by natural stones, barley stones, etc. packed therein. The bath water from which the dirt has been removed in this manner is sterilized and deodorized by the sterilizer 8 using ultraviolet rays or ozone. Further, the temperature of the bath water purified in this way is controlled by the heater 9 and returned to the bath 1 through the drainage port 10. Such control of the circulation of the bath water is performed by the controller 11 connected to the power supply unit 12, the display / operation unit 13, and the like.

[0009]

In the above prior art, the filter 3 removes large dust such as hair mixed in the bath water, and the filter 3 is periodically removed to remove large dust such as adhered hair. Is effective in preventing a decrease in the amount of circulating water and continuously removing large dust such as hair flowing into the circulation path. However, this circulating hot water bath is used continuously for 24 hours, and the degree of clogging of the filter 3 with large dirt such as hair in bath water differs depending on how many times the user uses it. However, there is a problem that it is difficult to know when to wash.

As one of the solutions to this problem, the one-contact type flow switch 18 has heretofore been provided in the middle of the circulation pipe 20 so that the circulation pump 5 is automatically operated when the flow rate drops to a certain point. It has become possible to inform the user of the cleaning time of the filter 3 and the filtration tank 6 by stopping it. However, it is still impossible to selectively detect the cleaning time of the filter 3, the filtration tank 6 and the like, and it is difficult to detect a more precise decrease in the flow rate, and the user is notified of each cleaning time. It was also difficult. Further, the one-contact type flow switch 18 could not detect the abnormality of the circulation pump 5 or the like.

The present invention is intended to solve the above-mentioned problems. It is possible to more precisely and selectively grasp the cleaning time of a filter, a filtration tank, etc., and to notify the user of an advance notice of the cleaning time. An object of the present invention is to provide a circulating warm bath that can detect abnormalities in the above.

[0012]

To this end, according to the present invention, a multistage contact type flow switch having a plurality of contacts having different flow rate detection sensitivities is provided downstream of a filter, and a detection signal thereof is used to control a circulation pump or the like. By recognizing it by the controller, the notification time of the cleaning time of the filter and the filtration tank is notified by the notification element, and the circulation pump is stopped.

Further, a detection signal of the multi-stage contact type flow switch
Based on the above, the controller was made to recognize the cumulative flow rate of bath water. In addition, the detection signal of the multi-stage contact type flow switch
In addition, the controller was made to recognize the decreasing gradient of the bath water flow rate. In addition, the detection signal of the multi-stage contact type flow switch
In addition, the controller recognizes the flow rate gradient and the flow rate fluctuation of the bath water, detects the flow rate abnormality due to the abnormality of the circulation pump, and stops the circulation pump .

[0014]

With the above structure, the clogging of the filter and the filtration tank due to large dust such as hair and small dirt can be grasped as a flow rate level, an integrated flow rate, and a flow rate decrease gradient. Further, the abnormality of the circulation pump can be grasped as the abnormality detection of the flow rate gradient and the flow rate fluctuation. In addition, the amount of water flowing through the conduit can be accurately detected using the multi-contact reed switch.

[0015]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a schematic view of a system of a circulating hot water bath according to an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a sectional view of a multi-stage contact type flow switch of the circulating hot water bath. In each figure,
The same parts as those in the conventional example shown in FIG. 4 are designated by the same reference numerals. In FIG. 1, the water inlet 2 at the tip of the circulation pipe 20 is put in bath water stretched over the bath 1. A filter 3 and a circulation pump 5 are provided in the circulation path of the circulation pipe 20, and a multi-stage contact type flow switch 4 is provided downstream of the filter 3. Further, the circulation pump 5, the filtration tank 6, the activation tank 7, the sterilizer 8, and the heater 9 for heat insulation are sequentially connected by the circulation pipe 20, and the terminal end is connected to the drain port 10 to connect the bath water in the bathtub 1. It is included. The circulation pump 5, the sterilizer 8, and the heater 9 for keeping heat are the power supply unit 12, the display and operation unit 13 (notification element in the embodiment).
Is connected to the controller 11 to which is connected and enables control of normal operation. The above is the main circulation path for bath water in normal operation.

In FIG. 2, a multi-contact flow switch 4 has a leaf spring 17 installed inside a conduit 15 for urging a permanent magnet 16 at its end and urging the same on opposite sides of the installation surface. It is configured by installing and arranging multistage contacts 14a and 14b which are reed switch contacts having different detection sensitivities. The contacts 14a and 14b are arranged in a stacked manner and have different distances from the permanent magnet 16, so that the flow rate detection sensitivities are different from each other. In this embodiment, the contacts 14a, 14
Although b is two, any number of contacts may be provided.

Next, the operation will be described. When the circulation pump 5 is driven, the bath water in the bathtub 1 is sucked up from the water supply port 2,
It enters the circulation pump 8 through the circulation pipe 20, the filter 3, and the multi-contact flow switch 4. At this time, large dust such as hair contained in the bath water is collected by the filter 3 arranged in the middle of the circulation pipe 20. Further, the filter 3 should be taken out periodically to remove large dust such as hair adhering to it, thereby preventing a decrease in circulating water amount and continuously removing large dust such as hair flowing into the circulation path. It is possible.

Next, the operation of the multistage contact type flow switch 4 will be described. Normally, when the filter 3 is not clogged so much and flows at a certain flow rate or more, the leaf spring 17 having the permanent magnet 16 is moved downward by the flow of water as shown in FIG. 2 (a). Is pushed in the direction,
Both the two contacts 14a and 14b are in the off state. In addition, in the figure, the arrow shows the water flow. When the filter 3 is clogged with dust and drops to a certain point, the restoring force of the leaf spring 17 moves the permanent magnet 16 to the center of the conduit 15 as shown in FIG. , 14b, and one of the contacts 14a is turned on. The controller 11 recognizes the detection signal, and the display and operation unit 13 displays an advance notice of the cleaning time.

Further, when dust adheres to the filter 3 to cause clogging and the flow rate further decreases, the contacts 14a and 14b are restored by the restoring force of the leaf spring 17 as shown in FIG. 2 (c).
Both the contacts 14a, 14b are turned on together as they come closer to the side. The controller 11 recognizes the detection signal and stops the circulation pump 5 to prevent the circulation pump 5 from being overloaded.

In the method of detecting the flow rate drop based on the flow rate level and notifying the cleaning time of the filter 3, the cleaning time can be grasped more accurately by using the flow switch as a multistage contact having more contacts. It becomes possible to grasp not only the cleaning time of the filter 3 but also the cleaning time of the cleaning tank 6 which needs to be cleaned due to clogging. It is also possible to grasp a plurality of flow rates by using the flow switch as a multi-stage contact, read the respective flow rates and times by the controller 11 to calculate the integrated flow rate, and notify the cleaning time at a certain integrated flow rate. Further, the slope of the decrease in the flow rate is gentle in the initial stage where dust is clogged in the filter 3, and the slope of the decrease in the flow rate is steep in the latter half. In order to wash at a certain gradient where this gradient starts to become steep, it is possible to read a plurality of flow rates with the controller 11 and obtain a gradient of decrease in the flow rate, and to perform washing at a constant gradient of decrease in flow rate.

Further, the flow rate gradient is grasped by the multi-contact type flow switch 4 and the controller 11 as described above, and when the flow rate gradient is extremely increased or decreased, the circulation pump 5 is used.
It is also possible to stop the circulation pump 5 by detecting the abnormality. Further, the flow rate fluctuation can be grasped by the multi-stage contact type flow switch 4 and the controller 11, and when an abnormal flow rate fluctuation occurs, the circulation pump 5 can be stopped and the abnormality can be detected.

The bath water delivered from the circulation pump 5 is filtered by a filtration tank 6 filled with glass beads, ceramic balls or the like. The filtered bath water is sent to the activation tank 7 and activated by natural stones, barley stones, etc. packed therein. The bath water from which the dirt has been removed in this manner is sterilized and deodorized by the sterilizer 8 using ultraviolet rays or ozone. Further, the temperature of the bath water purified in this way is controlled by the heater 9 and returned to the bath 1 through the drainage port 10. Such control of circulation of the bath water is performed by controlling the circulation pump 5, the one-contact type flow switch 18, the sterilizer 8, the heat retaining heater 9 and the like by the controller 11.

[0023]

As described above, according to the present invention, by providing the multistage contact type flow switch in the bath water circulator,
You can grasp the flow rate level of the bath water flowing through the circulation path, integrated flow rate, flow rate gradient, and flow rate fluctuation. Therefore, the clogging of the filter and filtration tank due to large dust such as hair and small dirt can be grasped as the flow rate level, integrated flow rate, flow rate decrease gradient, and the cleaning time of the filter, filtration tank, etc. can be grasped more precisely and selectively. Moreover, the user can be informed of the advance notice of each cleaning time. Further, the abnormality of the circulation pump can be grasped as the abnormality detection of the flow rate gradient and the flow rate fluctuation. Further, by applying a reed switch equipped with a spring material, a permanent magnet, etc. as the multi-stage contact type flow switch, it is possible to accurately detect the fluctuation of the flow rate.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic view of a system of a circulating warm bath according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view of a multi-contact flow switch of a circulating hot water bath according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a system schematic diagram of a conventional circulation warm bath.

FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view of a conventional one-contact type flow switch for a circulating bath.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 bathtub 3 filters 4 Multi-stage contact type flow switch 5 circulation pumps 6 filtration tanks 11 Controller 13 Display and operation unit 14a, 14b contact 15 conduits 16 permanent magnet 17 leaf spring 20 circulation pipe

─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuation of the front page (58) Fields surveyed (Int.Cl. ⁷ , DB name) B01D 35/027 A47K 3/00 G01F 7/00

Claims (4)

(57) [Claims] 1. A circulating hot bath device in which a filter for filtering large dust and a filtration tank for filtering small dust are provided in a circulation path, and bath water in the bathtub is sucked up by a circulation pump to circulate in the circulation path. In addition, a multi-stage contact type flow switch having a plurality of contacts having different flow rate detection sensitivities is provided downstream of the filter, and the detection signal thereof is controlled.
Controller recognizes each controller
However, the circulating hot bath is characterized in that the notification time is used to give advance notice of the cleaning time of the filter and the filtration tank, and the circulation pump is stopped. 2. A detection signal of the multi-stage contact type flow switch
The circulating hot water bath according to claim 1 , wherein the controller recognizes an integrated flow rate of the bath water based on the above. 3. A detection signal of the multi-stage contact type flow switch
The circulating hot water bath according to claim 1 , wherein the controller recognizes a decrease gradient of the flow rate of the bath water based on the above. 4. A detection signal of the multi-stage contact type flow switch
The circulation system according to claim 1 , wherein the controller recognizes the flow gradient and the fluctuation of the flow rate of the bath water based on the above, and detects the flow rate abnormality due to the abnormality of the circulation pump to stop the circulation pump. Hot bath.