JP4070878B2 - Shower equipment - Google Patents

Description

[0001]
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a shower apparatus that can take a shower on the whole body in a sitting state.
[0002]
[Prior art]
In general, as shown in FIG. 8, the shower apparatus can be rotated horizontally and horizontally on the back plate 1 fixed to the side wall W of the bathroom, the chair 2 provided at the lower portion of the back plate 1, and the side plate W. A supported support shaft 10 and a pair of arms 3 and 3 attached to both ends of the support shaft 10 are provided. The back plate 1 is provided with nozzles 4 and 5 for taking a shower on the shoulder and waist of the bather sitting on the chair 2 and adjusting knobs 6 and 7 for adjusting the amount and temperature of the shower. Yes. On the other hand, the arm 3 is provided with a nozzle (not shown) for showering the bather's chest and legs.
[0003]
By the way, the arm 3 is relatively long and heavy. In addition, since the support shaft 10 is supported in a cantilevered state, if the support shaft 10 can freely rotate, the arm 3 rotates at a high speed downward due to its own weight. Is dangerous. Therefore, in the conventional shower apparatus, a friction mechanism such as a multi-plate friction mechanism is provided between the support shaft 10 and the side wall W or the back plate 1 to prevent the arm 3 from rotating downward at high speed. .
[0004]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
The frictional resistance of the friction mechanism acts not only when the arm 3 rotates downward, but also when the arm 3 rotates upward. Therefore, when the user rotates the arm 3 upward, it is necessary to rotate the arm 3 against its own weight and frictional resistance. In particular, when the arm 3 is positioned at or near the horizontal position, the entire weight of the arm 3 acts as a force for rotating the arm 3 downward. For this reason, there has been a problem that the burden on the user is large. This problem is significant because shower devices are often used by the elderly and disabled.
[0005]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
In order to solve the above problems, the present invention has an apparatus main body, a support shaft that is horizontally and rotatably supported by the apparatus main body, and nozzles that spray hot water, and both ends of the support shaft. In a shower apparatus provided with arms fixed to each part, an urging force of elastic means is provided between the support shaft and the apparatus main body at least for a predetermined rotation including a position where the arm is substantially horizontal. In the range, a cam mechanism is provided that converts the urging force to rotate the pair of arms upward and transmits the urging force to the support shaft, and the rotation urging force of the cam mechanism is applied to the weight of the pair of arms. Is set to be smaller than the downward rotational force acting on the support shaft.
[0006]
In this case, it is desirable to configure the cam mechanism so that the force transmitted from the cam mechanism to the support shaft increases as the arm approaches and rotates to a substantially horizontal position.
[0007]
When the arm moves downward beyond the predetermined range, the cam mechanism converts the urging force of the elastic means into a turning urging force for rotating the arm downward and transmits it to the support shaft. Is desirable.
[0008]
The cam mechanism is abutted against the end face cam by the cam cylinder in which the end face cam extending from the support shaft and extending in the circumferential direction is formed on one end face, and in cooperation with the cam cylinder. A coil spring that is extrapolated to a support shaft and presses the abutting member against the end face cam. It is desirable.
[0009]
It is desirable that a damper mechanism that allows low-speed rotation of the support shaft and prevents high-speed rotation is provided between the apparatus main body and the support shaft.
[0010]
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
An embodiment of the present invention shown in FIGS. 1 to 7 will be described below. The shower apparatus of this embodiment is the same as the conventional shower apparatus shown in FIG. 8 except for the structure related to the support shaft 10. Therefore, the description of the configuration other than the configuration related to the support shaft 10 is omitted with reference to FIG. 8, and only the configuration related to the support shaft 10 will be described here.
[0011]
As shown in FIGS. 1A and 1B, in this embodiment, a support cylinder 10 having a straight straight tube having a circular cross section is used as the support shaft 10. A bearing 11 is fitted to the outer periphery of one end side of the support cylinder 10 (left end side in FIG. 1; left and right mean left and right in FIG. 1). A bracket 12 is fixed to the bearing 11 with screws 13 as shown in FIG. A bracket 14 is provided on the right end side of the support cylinder 10 so as to be rotatable relative to the support cylinder 10 and not movable in the longitudinal direction of the support shaft 10 as will be described later. The brackets 12 and 14 are fixed to the side wall W of the bathroom with screws (not shown) or the like, so that the support cylinder 10 is supported on the side wall W so as to be rotatable in a horizontal state and not movable in the horizontal direction. ing.
The support cylinder 10 may be supported by the back plate 1. In the present invention, a fixing system such as the side wall W and the back plate 1 is referred to as an apparatus main body.
[0012]
In the support cylinder 10, connecting members 15, 15 each having a disk shape are fitted and fixed to the outer periphery between the left end and the bracket 12 and between the right end and the bracket 14. As shown in FIG. 2, the connecting member 15 is formed with a plurality of screw insertion holes 15a penetrating therethrough. Then, as shown in FIG. 3, the end portion of the support cylinder 10 is fitted into the fitting hole 3a of the arm 3, and the connecting member 15 is fitted into the counterbore portion 3b, and is inserted into each screw insertion hole 15a. The arm 3 is fixed to the support tube 10 via the connecting member 15 by screwing the screw 16 into the screw hole 3c and tightening.
[0013]
As indicated by an imaginary line in FIG. 3, a flexible resin hot-water supply pipe P is inserted into the support tube 10 through the notch 10a and pulled out from the support tube 10 through the notch 10b. The hot water supply pipe P drawn out from the support cylinder 10 is drawn into the arm 3 and connected to each nozzle of the arm 3. And the hot water supplied through the hot water supply pipe P is ejected from each nozzle.
[0014]
As shown in FIG. 1, a rotation biasing mechanism 30 that rotates and biases the support cylinder 10 so as to rotate the arm 3 upward is provided on the outer periphery of the intermediate portion of the support cylinder 10. The rotation urging mechanism 30 includes a coil spring (elastic member) 31 extrapolated to the support cylinder 10 and a cam mechanism that converts a linear urging force of the coil spring 31 into a rotation urging force with respect to the support cylinder 10. 40.
[0015]
That is, as shown in FIGS. 1 and 6, a cylindrical spring receiver 32 is fitted to the outer periphery of the intermediate portion of the support cylinder 10 and fixed by a pin 33. An adjustment nut 34 is screwed into the spring receiver 32, and the left end portion of the coil spring 31 is in contact with the adjustment nut 34. The right end portion of the coil spring 31 abuts on a movable cylinder 42 described later and urges it to the right in FIG. Therefore, the biasing force of the coil spring 31 can be adjusted as appropriate by moving the adjustment nut 34.
[0016]
As shown in FIG. 4, the cam mechanism 40 includes a cylindrical cam cylinder 41 that is extrapolated to the support cylinder 10. A plate portion 14 a of the bracket 14 is fixed to the right end surface of the cam cylinder 41. Accordingly, the cam cylinder 41 is connected to the side wall W through the bracket 14 so as not to move and to rotate, and moves in the axial direction relative to the support cylinder 10 or rotates together with the support cylinder 10. There is nothing.
[0017]
A movable cylinder 42 is slidably provided on the outer periphery of the support cylinder 10 between the cam cylinder 41 and the coil spring 31. The movable cylinder 42 is biased toward the cam cylinder 41 by the coil spring 31. A shaft 43 is provided at the right end of the movable cylinder 42 so as to pass through the movable tube 42 so as to be orthogonal to the axis. The shaft 43 is inserted into a long hole 10c formed in the support cylinder 10 and extending in the axial direction so as to be movable in the longitudinal direction. Therefore, the movable cylinder 42 can move in the axial direction with respect to the support cylinder 10 but cannot rotate.
[0018]
Rollers (contact members) 44 and 44 are rotatably provided at both ends of the shaft 43 protruding outward from the movable cylinder 42. Each roller 44 is urged to the right by the coil spring 31 via the movable cylinder 42 and the shaft 43, and abuts against the left end surface of the cam cylinder 41. Therefore, the roller 44 rolls on the left end surface of the cam cylinder 41 when the support cylinder 10 rotates as the arm 3 rotates in the vertical direction.
[0019]
As shown in FIG. 7, the left end surface of the cam cylinder 41 is formed with a pair of recesses 41a and 41a that are 180 ° apart in the circumferential direction, and another pair of recesses 41b and 41b that are 180 ° apart in the circumferential direction. Is formed. The pair of recesses 41a and 41a are arranged so that the rollers 44 and 44 enter when the arm 3 is rotated to the accommodation position. The other pair of recesses 41b and 41b are arranged such that the rollers 44 and 44 enter when the arm 3 is rotated to the upper position. Further, when the roller 44 enters the recess 41a or 41b, the support tube 10 and the arm 3 are fixed in position with moderation. That is, the position of the roller 44 is fixed to such an extent that the roller 44 cannot escape from the recesses 41a and 41b unless a turning force of a predetermined size or larger is applied to the arm 3.
[0020]
As shown in FIG. 7D, an end face cam 45 is formed on the left end face of the cam cylinder 41 between the recess 41a and the recess 41b. The end face cam 45 has a first cam surface 45a, a locking surface 45b, and a second cam surface 45c that are sequentially formed from the concave portion 41a side toward the concave portion 41b side.
[0021]
The first cam surface 45a is formed over an angle range of approximately 50 ° between the accommodation position and the use position, and has an upward slope from the concave portion 41a side to the concave portion 41b side. Therefore, when the roller 44 is in contact with the first cam surface 45a, the urging force of the coil spring 31 is converted into a rotation urging force that causes the arm 3 to rotate downward and is transmitted to the support cylinder 10. Is done. Therefore, when the arm 3 is in a free state in which the arm 3 can be freely rotated, the arm 3 is automatically rotated to the accommodation position by its own weight and the rotation biasing force of the cam mechanism 40. As a result, the roller 44 enters the recess 41a, and the arm 3 is fixed at the storage position.
[0022]
The locking surface 45b is formed as a downwardly inclined surface that has an upper end that follows the first cam surface 45a and a lower end that continues to the second cam surface 45c, and the arm 3 rotates downward from the upper position side. When the roller reaches the use position, the roller 44 is disposed so as to abut against it. Moreover, the inclination angle, shape, and the like of the locking surface 45b are set so that the roller 44 can be prevented from rolling from the use position toward the storage position side with a moderation.
[0023]
The second cam surface 45c is formed over an angle range of approximately 60 ° between the use position and the upper position, and is inclined downward from the locking surface 45b side toward the concave portion 41b side. Therefore, when the roller 44 is in contact with the second cam surface 45c, the urging force of the coil spring 31 is converted into a rotation urging force that attempts to rotate the arm 3 upward and transmitted to the support cylinder 10. The However, even if the arm 3 is rotated to any position between the use position and the upper position, the rotation urging force transmitted to the support cylinder 10 is lowered downward by the weight of the arm 3. It is set to be smaller than the rotational power. Therefore, the arm 3 does not rotate upward due to the rotational biasing force of the cam mechanism 40, and rotates downward against the rotational biasing force by its own weight in a state where it can freely rotate.
[0024]
The inclination angle of the second cam surface 45c increases in the range from the locking surface 45b to the part indicated by the symbol A, and increases from the part A to the concave part 41b in the range from the part A to the concave part 41b. It is getting smaller. Here, the part A is a part where the roller 44 comes into contact when the arm 3 becomes substantially horizontal. Therefore, the rotational biasing force applied to the support cylinder 10 by the cam mechanism 40 is greatest when the arm 3 is substantially horizontal, and becomes smaller as the arm 3 is moved upward and downward from the horizontal position. In particular, in this embodiment, the difference between the downward rotational force due to the weight of the arm 3 and the upward rotational biasing force by the cam mechanism 40 is constant regardless of the rotational position of the arm 3. The inclination angle of the second cam surface 45c is set.
[0025]
A damper mechanism 50 is provided between the support cylinder 10 and the cam cylinder 41 to prevent the support cylinder 10 from rotating rapidly.
That is, the cylindrical body 51 and the lid body 52 are extrapolated on the outer peripheral surface of the support cylinder 10 so as to be positioned inside the cam cylinder 41. The right end surface of the cylinder body 51 and the left end surface of the lid body 52 abut each other.
[0026]
The cylinder 51 is fixed to the support cylinder 10 by a knock pin 53. On the other hand, the lid body 52 is fitted to the support cylinder 10 so as to be relatively rotatable, and is fixed to the plate portion 14 a of the bracket 14. A flange portion 51 a is formed on the outer peripheral surface of the cylindrical body 51. The flange portion 51a and the lid body 52 are sandwiched between the plate portion 14a of the bracket 14 and the stepped surface 41c of the cam cylinder 41, whereby the cylinder body 51 is fixed to the bracket 14 and eventually the support cylinder 10 Is fixed to the bracket 14. In addition, the lid 52 is fixed to the bracket 14 and is rotatably supported by the bracket 14 via the lid 52 by being fitted to the support cylinder 10 so as to be rotatable.
[0027]
Note that a long hole 51b through which the shaft 43 is inserted is formed in the cylindrical body 51 at a location facing the long hole 10c of the support cylinder 10. Of course, the long hole 51b has the same size and shape as the long hole 10c, and the shaft 43 can move in the longitudinal direction.
[0028]
Between the right end surface of the flange portion 51a of the cylindrical body 51 and the left end surface of the lid body 52, a plurality (two in this embodiment) of discs 54 and 55 facing each other are arranged. The left disk 54 is non-rotatably connected to the cam cylinder 41, and the right disk 55 is non-rotatably connected to the cylinder 51. Between these discs 54 and 55, between the right end surface of the flange portion 51 a and the disc 54, between the disc 55 and the left end surface of the lid 52, and the step surface 41 c of the flange portion 51 a and the cam cylinder 41. Between the two, a viscous fluid is filled. Therefore, when the arm 3 tries to rotate rapidly, a shearing resistance is generated in the viscous fluid filled between them, thereby preventing the arm 3 from rapidly rotating.
Reference numeral 56 denotes an O-ring for preventing the viscous fluid from leaking outside.
[0029]
Further, in this shower apparatus, in order to make sure that the roller 43 has surely entered the recesses 41a and 41b, that is, the arm 3 has been rotated downward to reach the accommodation position, and upward. A sound generating mechanism 60 is provided so that it can be seen that the upper position has been reached by turning.
[0030]
More specifically, in the plate portion 14a of the bracket 14, two support holes 61 penetrating the plate portion 14a are disposed and formed at a distance of approximately 180 ° in the circumferential direction. A steel ball 62 is rotatably accommodated in each support hole 61. However, a part of the steel ball 62 protrudes rightward from the support hole 61. Only one support hole 61 and steel ball 62 may be provided.
[0031]
A striking plate 63 having a thin disk shape is fitted to the outer periphery of the support cylinder 10 adjacent to the bracket 14. The striking plate 63 has a locking recess 63a formed at its inner peripheral end, and is non-rotatably connected to the support cylinder 10 by a pin 64 fitted in the locking recess 63a. However, there is a slight backlash between the locking recess 63a and the pin 64, and the striking plate 63 can be slightly rotated in the circumferential direction of the support tube 10 by that amount. Further, the striking plate 63 abuts against the steel ball 62 due to its own elasticity.
[0032]
The striking plate 63 is formed with an escape hole 65 penetrating therethrough. The escape holes 65 are formed in two sets, two as one set. One set of escape holes 65 is arranged such that a portion protruding from the support hole 61 of the steel ball 62 enters when the roller 44 enters the recess 41a. The other set of escape holes 65 is arranged so that a portion protruding from the support hole 61 of the steel ball 62 enters when the roller 44 enters the recess 41b. In addition, although the internal diameter of the escape hole 65 is large enough for the part which protruded from the support hole 61 of the steel ball 62 to enter, in order to prevent the steel ball 62 from passing through the escape hole 65, it can prevent. The outer diameter of the steel ball 62 is set slightly smaller.
[0033]
In the sound generation mechanism 60 having the above-described configuration, it is assumed that the arm 3 is now rotated downward. When the support cylinder 10 is rotated accordingly, the pin 64 hits the side surface of the locking recess 63a. Thereby, the striking plate 63 rotates integrally with the support cylinder 10. When the arm 3 rotates to the accommodation position, the roller 44 enters the recess 41a. At this time, the center of the escape hole 65 does not coincide with the center of the steel ball 62 and is located slightly closer to the front side than the center of the steel ball 62 by the backlash between the locking recess 63a and the pin 64. Of the inner peripheral surface of the hole 65, only the inner peripheral surface facing the direction opposite to the rotation direction is in contact with the outer peripheral surface of the steel ball 62.
[0034]
However, since the striking plate 63 is elastically deformed and is in contact with the steel ball 62, the inner peripheral surface of the escape hole 65 slides down the outer peripheral surface of the steel ball 52 by the elastic force, and the striking plate 63 is supported by the support cylinder. 10 is rotated in the direction of rotation. When the center of the escape hole 65 coincides with the center of the steel ball 62, the steel ball 62 enters the escape hole 65 and the striking plate 63 collides with the plate portion 14a vigorously. Thereby, a striking sound is generated, and vibration is generated in the plate portion 14a and the striking plate 63. By listening to this striking sound or by feeling the vibration transmitted to the arm 3 through the support cylinder 10 by hand, it can be seen that the roller 44 has entered the recess 41a and the arm 3 has reached the accommodation position.
This point is the same when the arm 3 rotates upward until it reaches the upper position and the roller 44 enters the recess 41b.
[0035]
In the shower apparatus having the above-described configuration, it is assumed that the arm 3 is now located at the accommodation position. When the arm 3 is rotated upward from this state, an upward force exceeding a predetermined magnitude is applied to the arm 3 to cause the roller 44 to escape from the recess 41a. Thereafter, the arm 3 is rotated upward against the weight of the arm 3, the downward biasing force of the cam mechanism 40, and the resistance of the damper mechanism 50. In this case, when the arm 3 is located in the vicinity of the housing position, almost the entire weight of the arm 3 is supported by the support cylinder 10, so that a large force is not required to rotate the arm 3 upward. . Therefore, the arm 3 can be easily rotated.
[0036]
When the arm 3 exceeds the use position, the downward turning force due to its own weight increases. However, at that time, the rotation biasing force by the cam mechanism 40 acts to rotate the arm 3 upward. Therefore, the arm 3 can be easily rotated upward. Moreover, until the arm 3 reaches the upper position from the use position, the difference between the downward turning force due to the weight of the arm 3 and the upward turning biasing force by the cam mechanism 40 is substantially constant. The arm 3 can be rotated upward with a substantially constant force.
[0037]
Further, when the arm 3 is rotated downward from the upper position, a force of a predetermined magnitude or more is applied to the arm 3 to cause the roller 44 to escape from the recess 41b. Then, the arm 3 rotates downward against the upward biasing force of the cam mechanism 40 by its own weight. At this time, since the cam mechanism 40 urges the arm 3 to rotate upward, the arm 3 does not rapidly rotate downward due to its own weight. In particular, in this embodiment, the damper mechanism 60 prevents the arm 3 from rapidly turning downward more reliably. Then, when the roller 44 hits the locking surface 45b, the arm 3 stops at the use position.
[0038]
When the arm 3 that has reached the use position is further rotated downward, a force of a predetermined magnitude or more is applied to the arm 3. Then, the roller 44 gets over the locking surface 45b. When the roller 43 gets over the locking surface 45b, the arm 3 is rotated downward until the arm 3 reaches the accommodation position by its own weight and the downward biasing force of the cam mechanism 40. Also at this time, the damper mechanism 60 prevents the arm 3 from rapidly rotating downward.
[0039]
As described above, in this shower device, the cam mechanism 40 is located with respect to the arm 3 in a predetermined range in which the arm 3 receives a large downward turning force due to its own weight, that is, in a range between the use position and the upper position. Since the upward biasing force is applied, not only can the arm 3 be prevented from rapidly rotating downward, but also the arm 3 can be easily rotated upward.
[0040]
Further, if the arm 3 is simply biased upward, the arm 3 can be biased upward by using the coil spring 31 as a torsion spring. However, in this case, the urging force by the torsion spring changes only linearly according to the rotation angle of the arm 3, whereas the cam mechanism 40 can arbitrarily set it. For example, as in this embodiment, the difference between the downward turning force due to the weight of the arm 3 and the upward rotational biasing force by the cam mechanism 40 is made substantially constant between the use position and the upper position. It can be done.
[0041]
Further, since the coil spring 31 and the cam cylinder 41 are extrapolated to the support cylinder 10 and an end face cam is formed on the end surface of the cam cylinder 41, the coil spring 31, the movable cylinder 42, the roller 44 and the cam cylinder 41 are connected to the support cylinder 10. Can be arranged in a line. The size of the apparatus can be reduced.
[0042]
In addition, this invention is not limited to said embodiment, A design change is possible suitably.
For example, a roller is used as the contact portion of the cam mechanism, but it may be a simple protrusion.
[0043]
【The invention's effect】
As described above, according to the first to fifth aspects of the invention, it is possible not only to prevent the arm from rapidly rotating downward, but also to easily rotate the arm upward. The effect is obtained.
According to the second aspect of the invention, the effect is obtained that the arm can be rotated upward with a substantially constant force regardless of the rotation position of the arm.
According to the invention which concerns on Claim 3, the effect that an arm can be reliably rotated to an accommodation position is acquired.
According to the invention which concerns on Claim 4, the effect that size reduction of the whole apparatus can be achieved is acquired.
According to the invention which concerns on Claim 5, the effect that it can prevent more reliably that the arm 3 rapidly rotates below is acquired.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a view showing a support cylinder and its related structure according to an embodiment of the present invention, in which FIG. 1 (A) is a front view thereof, and FIG. 1 (B) is a plan view thereof.
FIG. 2 is an enlarged view taken along arrow X in FIG. 1 (B).
FIG. 3 is an exploded view showing a mounting structure of a support cylinder and an arm according to the embodiment.
FIG. 4 is an enlarged cross-sectional view taken along line YY in FIG.
5 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line P-P in FIG. 4;
6 is an enlarged cross-sectional view taken along line ZZ in FIG.
7 is a view showing a cam cylinder used in the embodiment, FIG. 7 (A) is a side view thereof, and FIGS. 7 (B) and 7 (C) are B arrows in FIG. 7 (A). FIG. 7 (D) is an enlarged cross-sectional view taken along line DD in FIG. 7 (B).
FIG. 8 is a perspective view showing an example of a conventional shower device.
[Explanation of symbols]
W Bathroom side wall (device body)
3 Arm 10 Support cylinder (support shaft)
31 Coil spring (elastic member)
40 Cam mechanism 41 Cam cylinder 44 Roller (contact member)
45 End cam 50 Damper mechanism

Claims (5)

Shower apparatus comprising an apparatus main body, a support shaft that is horizontally and rotatably supported by the apparatus main body, and arms that have nozzles for injecting hot water and are respectively fixed to both ends of the support shaft. In this case, the biasing force of the elastic means is applied between the support shaft and the apparatus main body so that the pair of arms are rotated upward in at least a predetermined rotation range including a position where the arms are substantially horizontal. A cam mechanism that converts the rotation biasing force to the support shaft and transmits the rotation biasing force to the support shaft. The rotation biasing force of the cam mechanism is generated by the downward rotation force acting on the support shaft by the weight of the pair of arms. A shower device characterized by being set small. 2. The cam mechanism according to claim 1, wherein the cam mechanism is configured such that a force transmitted from the cam mechanism to the support shaft increases as the arm approaches and rotates to a substantially horizontal position. Shower equipment. When the arm moves downward beyond the predetermined range, the cam mechanism converts the urging force of the elastic means into a rotational urging force that rotates the arm downward and transmits the urging force to the support shaft. The shower device according to claim 1 or 2, characterized by. The cam mechanism is abutted against the end face cam by the cam cylinder in which the end face cam extending from the support shaft and extending in the circumferential direction is formed on one end face, and in cooperation with the cam cylinder. A contact member that converts the urging force of the elastic means into a turning urging force, and a coil spring that is extrapolated to a support shaft and presses the contact member against the end face cam as the elastic means. The shower device according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the shower device is used. 5. A damper mechanism is provided between the apparatus main body and the support shaft, which is provided with a damper mechanism that allows the support shaft to rotate at a low speed and prevents high-speed rotation. The shower device according to.

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