JP5572969B2 - Rotating bubble generator - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a swirling bubble generating apparatus that mixes gas with a swirling liquid in a mixing chamber to generate a bubble-containing liquid and discharges the bubble-containing liquid from a discharge port.

  Conventionally, in the field of bathtubs, adapters with a bubble generating function are known that can generate fine bubbles in a bathtub and can perform comfortable bathing. Also, in the field of water purification, there are known bubble generating devices that generate fine bubbles in order to dissolve oxygen in the air in water or to diffuse unnecessary gases and volatile substances dissolved in water to the atmosphere. .

  Patent Document 1 discloses a funnel wall having a jet port formed at the top of a funnel-shaped conical container, a funnel wall having an air suction port that enters the inside of the conical container from the edge of the bottom to the inside and has a narrowed tip, and a cone. We have proposed a microbubble generator with a water inflow pipe attached to the inner wall of the container.

  In Patent Document 1, since the water forms a swirling flow around the spout along the conical container and the funnel wall, a vacuum state can be formed at the center thereof. The air sucked by the vacuum state can generate fine bubbles in the jet flow by colliding with the swirling flow.

  On the other hand, a device that forms fine bubbles by generating a negative pressure or vacuum air column in the swirl chamber causes the air column at the center of the swirl flow to bend and decenter from the center of the swirl chamber due to variation in swirl speed. The phenomenon occurs. When the air column is decentered from the axis of the swirl chamber, the air column and the end surface of the swirl chamber come into contact with each other, so that a problem arises that metal molecules fall off, that is, wear due to so-called erosion.

  Patent Document 2 discloses a liquid introduction port for introducing a liquid along a tangential direction of a swirl chamber surface, a gas introduction port disposed on one wall surface orthogonal to the surface on which the liquid introduction port is disposed, A gas-liquid discharge port disposed on the wall surface is provided, and a preliminary swirling unit that rectifies the liquid introduced from the gas introduction port on the outer periphery of the swirl chamber, and a liquid rectified inside the preliminary swirl unit and the gas introduced from the gas introduction port. Has proposed a fine bubble generator provided with a main swirl that makes contact with the gas.

  In Patent Document 2, since the liquid once rectified in the preliminary swirl unit is mixed with gas in the main swirl unit, the eccentricity of the air column that becomes negative pressure or vacuum due to the swirl flow is suppressed, and the air column that is the center of the swirl flow Can coincide with the axis of the swirl chamber.

JP 11-333491 A JP 2003-181258 A

  The swirling bubble generator forms a swirling flow that circulates and swirls around the swirling chamber axis, and the gas passing through the air column at the center of the swirling flow is mixed with liquid at the gas-liquid discharge port to eject liquid containing bubbles. To do. Therefore, in this apparatus, it is essential to suppress the eccentricity of the air column, so-called stabilization. By aligning the center of the swirl flow with the gas inlet, the gas sucked into the swirl chamber by the negative pressure formed by the swirl flow becomes fine bubbles in the gas-liquid. That is, the coincidence between the gas inlet and the center of the swirling flow is a necessary condition for ensuring a stable amount of bubbles.

  On the other hand, as described above, since the air column at the center of the swirl flow is under negative pressure or vacuum, wear due to erosion occurs at the contact portion with the swirl chamber wall surface. Even when the gas inlet and the center of the swirling flow coincide with each other, wear of the wall surface occurs when the end of the air column at the center of the swirling flow and the wall surface of the swirling chamber orthogonal to the air column come into contact with each other. In particular, in order to generate 10 to 30 μm microbubbles, the gas inlet has a smaller diameter than the air column diameter, and contact between the end of the air column and the wall surface of the swirl chamber cannot be avoided.

  In Patent Document 2, although the eccentricity of the air column with respect to the swirl chamber can be suppressed, when the gas inlet has a small diameter, the end of the air column and the swirl chamber wall surface orthogonal to the air column are in contact with each other, and the wear of the wall surface is reduced. Will occur. In addition, since the preliminary swirl portion is formed on the outer periphery of the main swirl portion, the resistance between the swirl flow and the inner surface of the swirl chamber increases, and in order to form an air column at the center of the swirl flow, the swirl speed is increased, so-called swirl flow is formed. It is necessary to increase the pump pressure.

  An object of the present invention is to provide a swirl type bubble generating device capable of achieving both stabilization of the amount of bubble generation and prevention of wear due to erosion while having a simple structure.

  A swirl type bubble generating device according to the present invention has, as a prerequisite, a cylindrical swirl mixing chamber that mixes gas with swirling liquid, and a liquid introduction capable of introducing liquid in a tangential direction of the inner peripheral surface of the swirl mixing chamber. A gas introduction part formed at one end of the swirl mixing chamber in the axial direction, and a gas-liquid discharge port opposed to the gas introduction part and formed at the other end of the mixing chamber in the axial direction And have.

According to the first aspect of the present invention, the swirl mixing chamber is formed in order from one end side in the axial direction, and is a cylindrical first swirl chamber that is one end side portion of the swirl mixing chamber , a tapered portion, and the swirl A cylindrical second swirl chamber that is the other end side portion of the mixing chamber, the first swirl chamber is formed to have a larger diameter than the second swirl chamber , and the tapered portion includes the first swirl chamber and the first swirl chamber is formed so as to be continuously reduced in diameter from said first swirl chamber toward the second turning chamber in the portion between the second swirl chamber, the liquid inlet may be introduced form the liquid to the second swirl chamber is, the gas introduction unit includes a columnar protrusion protruding into the swirl mixing chamber formed in the axial center and coaxial and the gas-liquid discharge port headed the first turning chamber, the first swirl chamber and a formed gas inlet to the protruding portion so as to open the distal end of the projection medium the gas inlet The one end of the swirl mixing chamber is formed in an annular recess positioned around the base end of the protruding portion, and a cross section of the annular recess divided by a plane including the axis Is formed in a pair of semicircular shapes projecting outward in the axial direction of the swirl mixing chamber.

  The invention of claim 2 is characterized in that, in the invention of claim 1, the length of the projecting portion is about ¼ of the length from one end portion to the other end portion of the swirl mixing chamber. .

  According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the first or second aspect of the present invention, the diameter of the protruding portion is about ¼ of the diameter of the swirl mixing chamber.

According to the first aspect of the present invention, it is possible to achieve both stabilization of bubble generation and prevention of wear due to erosion while having a simple structure. In other words, since the tip of the protrusion that contacts the low-pressure portion generated at the center of the swirling flow is formed in a hemispherical shape centered on the gas inlet, the contact portion between the air column and the tip of the protrusion is Since there is no flat part orthogonal to the column and it is difficult to contact the air column, wear of the tip can be prevented. And a gas inlet can be contact | abutted to the low voltage | pressure part formed in the center part of a swirl flow, and the stable bubble supply amount can be ensured.
One end of the swirl mixing chamber is formed in an annular recess positioned around the base end of the projecting portion, and the cross section of the annular recess protrudes outward in the axial direction of the swirl mixing chamber. The frictional resistance of the swirling flow due to the protruding portion can be suppressed, the negative pressure dispersed at the tip of the protruding portion can be diffused to the outer periphery of the swirling mixing chamber, and the swirling flow formation in the swirling mixing chamber is promoted can do.

  According to the invention of claim 2, since the length of the protruding portion is about 1/4 of the length from one end portion to the other end portion of the swirling mixing chamber, the frictional resistance of the swirling flow by the protruding portion is suppressed. However, it can be formed coaxially with the axis of the air column and the axis of the swirling mixing chamber, and the center of the swirling flow can be reliably brought into contact with the gas inlet.

  According to invention of Claim 3, since the diameter of the said protrusion part was made into about 1/4 of the diameter of the said swirl | mixing mixing chamber, the contact of a swirl flow center and a front-end | tip part reliably by the hemispherical front-end | tip part of a protrusion part. The negative pressure of the part can be dispersed.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS It is whole explanatory drawing of the bath hot water supply system of an Example. It is a front view of the circulation adapter which concerns on a present Example. It is a figure which shows the III-III line cross section in FIG. It is a figure which shows the IV-IV sectional view in FIG. It is a figure which shows the VV sectional view in FIG. It is a figure which shows the VI-VI line cross section in FIG. It is a perspective view of the switching valve case which concerns on a present Example. It is a front view of the switching valve case which concerns on a present Example. It is a figure which shows the IX-IX line cross section in FIG. It is a perspective view of the guide member which concerns on a present Example. It is a front view of the guide member which concerns on a present Example. It is a figure which shows the XII-XII line cross section in FIG. It is a rear view of the guide member which concerns on a present Example. It is a front view of the filter member which concerns on a present Example. It is a figure which shows the XV-XV sectional view in FIG. It is principal part sectional drawing of the filter member which concerns on a present Example. It is explanatory drawing of bubble operation mode.

  Hereinafter, the best mode for carrying out the present invention will be described based on an embodiment applied to a circulation adapter.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the bath supply system of the embodiment includes a bathtub 1, a bath water heater 2, a circulation circuit 3, and a circulation adapter 4. The bath water heater 2 includes a first heat supply unit 5 for hot water supply composed of a combustion unit for gas and the like, a heat exchange unit, a second heat supply unit 6 for bath bathing, and a pump 7 for circulating water and hot water. Each device is controlled by a controller 8.

  In addition, the controller 8 is electrically connected to the operation panel 9, and when the user presses a push button provided for each operation mode installed on the operation panel 9, a hot water bath instruction and various operation modes are provided. The selection signal is transmitted to the controller 8 and the operation of the bath water heater 2 is started.

  A water and hot water distribution circuit related to the first heat supply unit 5 for hot water supply will be described. After the water introduced into the introduction path 10 is supplied to the first heat supply unit 5 through the first flow rate sensor 11, it is heated by the first heat supply unit 5. The heated hot water is a path that is supplied to the bathtub 1 and other hot water supply system devices through the discharge path 12.

  A circulation circuit of water and hot water related to the second heat supply unit 6 for bath remedy will be described. The circulation circuit 3 includes a return path 13 and a forward path 14. The hot water of the bathtub 1 sucked from the circulation adapter 4 by the operation of the pump 7 is heated by the second heat supply unit 6 through the return path 13 and is supplied to the bathtub 1 from the circulation adapter 4 through the forward path 14. . A second flow rate sensor 15 is provided in the return path 13 downstream of the pump 7. The discharge path 12 and the return path 13 are connected by a branch discharge path 16, and the communication is controlled by an electromagnetic valve 17.

Next, the circulation adapter 4 will be described with reference to FIGS.
2 is a front view of the circulation adapter 4, FIG. 3 is a sectional view taken along line III-III in FIG. 2, FIG. 4 is a sectional view taken along line IV-IV in FIG. 6 shows a sectional view taken along line VI-VI in FIG.

  The circulation adapter 4 is a first tubular body 18 disposed outside the bathtub 1 and a first tubular body 18 which is disposed through the bathtub wall from the inner side of the bathtub 1 and is screwed into the first tubular body 18. It has two cylindrical bodies 19. The first and second cylindrical bodies 18 and 19 have a first flange portion 18a and a second flange portion 19a, respectively, and the sealing properties between the bathtub wall and the flange portions 18a and 19a are secured by the annular packings 20 and 21. doing.

  On the inner peripheral side of the second cylindrical body 19, a metal switching valve case 23 that is fixed to the second flange portion 19 a by a bolt 22 is disposed. The surface of the switching valve case 23 is provided with a bubble jet outlet 24 (gas-liquid outlet) and a suction inlet 25 that open in the horizontal direction, and a horizontal hole-shaped follow-up jet jet to be described later toward the tank bottom. An outlet 26 is formed. A mesh-like filter member 27 is mounted on the bathtub-side surface portion of the circulation adapter 4 so as to cover the second flange portion 19 a and the switching valve case 23.

  The end wall portion 28 of the first cylindrical body 18 is formed with three port portions of a suction pipe 29, a discharge pipe 30 and an intake pipe 31. The suction pipe 29 is a return path 13, and the discharge pipe 30 is a forward path 14. Are connected to each other. The intake pipe 31 is connected to an intake unit (not shown) having a filter, an orifice, a check valve and the like via an intake pipe.

  As shown in FIGS. 7-9, the switching valve case 23 is continuous with the disk-shaped 1st switching valve part 23a arrange | positioned at the bathtub side wall surface, and the back surface of the 1st switching valve part 23a, and is 1st switching. It comprises a cylindrical second switching valve portion 23b having a smaller diameter than the valve portion 23a. 9 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line IX-IX in FIG.

  On the surface of the first switching valve portion 23a, a pair of first suction portion 81 that is recessed, a tapered bubble jet outlet 24, a second recess 52 that will be described later, and a pair of symmetrically arranged axes. A bolt hole 23c, three cutout portions 23d formed on the outer peripheral edge of the first switching valve portion 23a, and three arc-shaped openings for fixing the switching valve case 23 to the second cylindrical body 19 are formed by the bolts 22. Is done. The first suction portion 81 has a fan shape when viewed from the front, and is configured such that a main portion of the fan continues to the suction port 25 and expands from the axial center of the first switching valve portion 23a toward the outer peripheral direction. . Inside the first switching valve portion 23a, a linear memorial jet outlet 26 connected to the downstream end of a supply chamber 38, which will be described later, extends from the axis of the first switching valve portion 23a toward the outer circumferential direction. Is formed.

  As shown in FIGS. 3-6, the 2nd switching valve part 23b made into the same axial center as the 1st switching valve part 23a is the outer cylinder part 32 fitted to the internal peripheral surface of the 2nd cylindrical body 19, and The inner cylinder part 33 which forms a plurality of functional spaces in cooperation with the outer cylinder part 32 is provided. That is, the outer cylinder part 32 and the inner cylinder part 33 have five functions of a swirl chamber 34 (a swirl mixing chamber), a suction chamber 35, a swirl spare chamber 37, a supply chamber 38, and a suction chamber 39 in the switching valve case 23. Space exists.

  As shown in FIG. 6, a cylindrical swirl chamber 34 is formed in the upper part of the second switching valve portion 23b. The axis of the swirl chamber 34 is substantially parallel to the axis of the circulation adapter 4. The first swirl chamber 34 a has a diameter D 1 on the inner side, the diameter is smaller than the diameter D 1 on the bubble jet outlet 24 side, and the bubble jet outlet The second swirl chamber 34b has a diameter D2 larger than the diameter D3 of 24, and a communication passage opening 42 (liquid introduction port). In addition, the taper part which reduces in diameter toward the 2nd turning chamber 34b from the 1st turning chamber 34a is formed between the 1st turning chamber 34a and the 2nd turning chamber 34b.

An intake nozzle portion 40 (gas introduction portion) is fitted in the first swirl chamber 34a with an O-ring interposed. The intake nozzle portion 40 is formed coaxially with the axial center of the swirl chamber 34 and protrudes toward the first swirl chamber 34a toward the bubble jet outlet 24, and at the front end of the axial center of the projecting portion 40a. An annular inlet 40b (gas inlet) formed, and an annular recess 40c that is located around the base end of the protrusion 40a and that has a projecting semicircular shape outward in the axial direction of the swirl chamber 34. And consists of The cross-section of the annular recess 40c divided by a plane including the axis of the swirl chamber 34 is formed in a pair of semicircular shapes projecting outward in the axis direction of the swirl chamber 34. still,
The intake inlet 40 b is connected to an intake communication passage 41 that communicates with the intake pipe 31.

The front end of the protrusion 40a has a smaller diameter than the diameter D3 of the bubble jet outlet 24 with the intake inlet 40b as the center, and is configured in a hemispherical shape with a diameter d set by the following equation (1). Yes.
d = (1/4 ± 0.1) × D1 Formula (1)
If the diameter d is smaller than (1 / 4−0.1) × D1, it is difficult to form the intake air inlet 40b that supplies a necessary amount of bubbles, and if it is larger than (1/4 + 0.1) × D1, The frictional resistance of the swirl flow is increased and the generation of air columns formed at the center of the swirl flow is hindered. The diameter d is preferably set to 1/4 × D1.

The length l from the bottom of the annular recess 40c to the tip of the protrusion 40a is configured to be a length l set by the following equation (2).
l = (1/4 ± 0.1) × L (2)
L is the axial direction length of the swirl chamber 34, that is, the length from the bottom of the annular recess 40c to the bathtub side end of the second swirl chamber 34b. If the length l is shorter than (1 / 4−0.1) × L, the air column formed at the center of the swirling flow and the axis of the swirling chamber 34 coincide with each other, so that the so-called swirling flow center portion can be kept straight. It is difficult to connect to the intake inlet 40b. On the other hand, if it is longer than (1/4 + 0.1) × L, the frictional resistance of the swirling flow increases, and the negative pressure required for sucking air, that is, the negative pressure due to the swirling flow located in front of the intake inlet 40b. The pressure part cannot be formed. In addition, thread-like foreign matters, such as hair, included in the swirling flow are entangled with the protrusions 40a, thereby inhibiting the swirling flow. The length l is preferably set to 1/4 × L.

  Hot water supplied in the tangential direction of the inner peripheral surface of the swirl chamber 34 from the communication passage opening 42 disposed in the second swirl chamber 34b swirls in the swirl chamber 34 around the axis, and the axis of the swirl chamber 34 is centered. And form a coaxial air column. By this air column, air is sucked from the intake communication passage 41 through the intake air inlet 40b and then mixed with the swirling hot water, and the gas-liquid containing fine bubbles is ejected from the bubble jet outlet 24.

The contact portion between the air column and the tip of the protrusion 40a has a hemispherical shape at the tip of the protrusion 40a. Therefore, there is no flat part perpendicular to the air column, and it is difficult to contact the air column. Can be prevented. Furthermore, on the base end side, an annular recess 40c that is a semicircular shape projecting outward in the axial direction of the swirl chamber 34 is formed, so that the negative pressure distributed on the base end side is hot water. Diffused in swirling flow. In addition, it minimizes the friction resistance of handed circumfluence.

  The suction chamber 35 has a suction port 25 at the end on the bathtub side. The swirl preliminary chamber 37 is arranged in parallel with the swirl chamber 34, and is connected by a communication path 36 that communicates in the tangential direction of the inner peripheral surface of the swirl chamber 34. A connection region between the communication path 36 and the swirl chamber 34 is a communication path opening 42. The supply chamber 38 communicates with the memorial jet outlet 26 at the end on the bathtub side. The suction chamber 39 is arranged in series on the side opposite to the bathtub with respect to the swirling preliminary chamber 37 and the supply chamber 38. Further, the swirl chamber 34, the suction chamber 35, the swirl reserve chamber 37, the supply chamber 38, and the suction chamber 39 are all arranged in parallel to the axis of the circulation adapter 4.

  With this configuration, hot water supplied from the swirl preliminary chamber 37 swirls at high speed along the inner peripheral shape of the swirl chamber 34, which is suitable for air suction, bubble miniaturization, generation of ultrasonic waves of a predetermined frequency, and the like. Swivel rotation speed can be obtained. A check ball 80 as a check valve is installed in the swirl preliminary chamber 37, and only the flow of hot water from the suction chamber 39 is allowed.

  As shown in FIG. 4, the switching valve case 23 has an outlet switching member 43 that passes through the inner cylinder portion 33 and controls the hot water outlet to be switched between a bubble jet outlet 24 and a memorial jet outlet 26. Is provided. The spout switching member 43 is attached to a valve shaft 45 that is slidably supported by a receiving portion 44 formed in the inner cylinder portion 33 at the center portion, and a countertub-side end portion that is one end side of the valve shaft 45. The first switching valve 46, the second switching valve 47 installed on the other end side across the first switching valve 46 and the receiving portion 44, the bathtub side end of the valve shaft 45 that is the other end side from the second switching valve 47. It comprises a hemispherical bearing member 48 fixed to the part.

  The first switching valve 46 includes a blocking portion 49 that controls the communication state between the swirling preliminary chamber 37 and the suction chamber 39, and a communication portion that is provided in parallel with the blocking portion 49 and that allows the suction chamber 39 and the supply chamber 38 to always communicate with each other. And 50. The second switching valve 47 enables the supply chamber 38 and the follow-up jet outlet 26 to communicate with each other, and allows the first concave portion 51 having a smaller diameter and a cylindrical shape than the second switching valve 47 to be opened and closed. A second recess 52 having a larger diameter than the first recess 51 is integrally formed in the first switching valve portion 23 a on the bathtub side from the first recess 51. The valve shaft 45 includes a first support portion 53 and a second support portion 54 formed on the suction chamber 39 side.

  A bias spring 57 is disposed between the first receiving seat 55 and the first supporting portion 53 provided in the receiving portion 44, and the second supporting portion 54 and the second receiving seat 56 fixed to the inner cylinder portion 33 are arranged. A shape memory alloy spring 58 is disposed between them. The elastic force of the bias spring 57 and the shape memory alloy spring 58 is balanced, and the position of the outlet switching member 43, that is, the state of the so-called first switching valve 46 and second switching valve 47 is made of shape memory alloy. As long as the elastic force of the spring 58 does not change, the spring 58 does not change. The positional relationship between the first switching valve 46 and the second switching valve 47 is such that when the second switching valve 47 closes the first recess 51, the blocking portion 49 of the first switching valve 46 opens, and conversely The second switching valve 47 is configured to open when the shut-off portion 49 closes the swivel reserve chamber 37.

  More specifically, when the hot and cold water is at a low temperature or normal temperature, the shape memory alloy spring 58 is in a contracted state. At this time, since the second switching valve 47 closes the first recess 51 and the blocking portion 49 is open, hot water is supplied to the swirl chamber 34 via the swirl preliminary chamber 37 and the communication path 36. Next, when high-temperature hot water, for example, 50 ° C. hot water is supplied into the circulation adapter 4, the shape memory alloy spring 58 expands in response to the temperature change, and the bias spring 57 is compressed and the second switching valve is compressed. 47 opens and the shut-off part 49 closes.

  Next, the guide member 59 attached to the surface of the first switching valve portion 23a will be described with reference to FIGS. 10 is a perspective view of the guide member 59, FIG. 11 is a front view, FIG. 12 is a cross-sectional view taken along line XII-XII of FIG. 11, and FIG. The resin guide member 59 constitutes a so-called circulation adapter main body side wall on the inner side of the filter member 27 and on the bathtub side of the switching valve case 23, and the bolt 22 penetrates the switching valve case 23, and The two cylindrical bodies 19 are fastened.

  The guide member 59 includes a first jet opening 60a provided on the outer periphery of the bubble jet outlet 24, and a tapered portion 60b having a circular shape when viewed from the front, formed in a tapered shape in cross section that expands from the first jet opening 60a toward the bathtub side. , An arcuate groove portion 61 formed along a region below the tapered portion 60b, a first engagement hole 63 formed at an upper position of the taper portion 60b and engageable with a jet guide member 62 described later, an arcuate groove portion The second engagement hole 64 is formed at a lower position 61 and engageable with the jet guide member 62.

  Furthermore, the guide member 59 includes a first protrusion 66 that can be engaged with a sliding member 65, which will be described later, at a right end position, a second protrusion 67 that can be engaged with the sliding member 65, at a left end position, and a guide. A second suction portion 82 that is formed on the back surface of the member 59 and forms a partition wall at the end of the bathtub of the first suction portion 81, an arcuate suction end portion 83 that is provided on the radially outer peripheral side of the second suction portion 82, and a bolt A pair of bolt bosses 59a that are provided so as to protrude toward the bathtub and correspond to the hole 23c and are arranged symmetrically with respect to the axial center, three notches 59b formed on the outer peripheral edge of the guide member 59, and three It consists of an arcuate opening.

  The guide member 59 is fixed to the bolt boss portion 59a by a bolt inserted from the back surface of the bolt hole 23c with respect to the first switching valve portion 23a. The guide member 59 and the switching valve case 23 are fixed to the second cylindrical body 19 by inserting bolts 22 into three arcuate openings in an integrated state.

  The arc-shaped groove 61 has a substantially U-shaped cross section composed of a bottom surface 68, an upper wall 69, a lower wall 70, and side walls 71, 72 that are orthogonal to the valve shaft 45 on the opposite bathtub side, that is, substantially parallel to the side wall of the adapter body. A sliding member 65 having a rectangular cross section, which is guided by the bottom 68, the upper wall 69, and the lower wall 70, is slidably accommodated in the recess.

  A substantially central portion of the bottom surface 68 of the arc-shaped groove portion 61 is formed with a through-opening 61a that supports the other end portion of the valve shaft 45 and allows the valve shaft 45 to slidably pass through in the axial direction. The sliding member 65 includes an arcuate through-hole 79 formed in a substantially arc shape that allows the sliding member 65 to pass through the other end portion of the valve shaft 45 so as to be movable in the left-right direction, and the periphery of the arc-shaped through-hole 79. An inclined portion 73 that is slidably contacted with the bearing member 48 and is inclined with respect to a surface orthogonal to the valve shaft 45, that is, a so-called bottom surface 68, and is semicircular in cross section and in contact with the bearing member 48; 65 It comprises from the operation part 74 extended toward the bathtub side at the left end part.

  The inclination part 73 is comprised so that the height from the bottom face 68 with respect to the bathtub side may become high as it goes to the right side. That is, when the operation unit 74 is manually operated to the right end position, the sliding member 65 slides to the right in the arc-shaped groove 61, and the bias spring 57 is stronger than the elastic force of the shape memory alloy spring 58. The bearing member 48 that is in sliding contact with the inclined portion 73 moves along the inclined portion 73 toward the countertub side. On the other hand, when the operation unit 74 is manually operated to the left end position, the sliding member 65 slides to the left in the arc-shaped groove 61, and the bias spring 57 is stronger than the elastic force of the shape memory alloy spring 58. The bearing member 48 that is in sliding contact with the inclined portion 73 moves toward the bathtub along the inclined portion 73.

  Therefore, when the bearing member 48 is in sliding contact with the inclined portion 73, the height of the inclined portion 73 from the bottom surface 68 with respect to the bathtub side is as shown in FIGS. When manually operated, the valve shaft 45 is in the first position where the second switching valve 47 is closed and the blocking portion 49 is opened, and when the operating portion 74 is manually operated to the left end position, the valve shaft 45 is moved to the first position. The second switching valve 47 is set to be in the second position where the valve is opened and the blocking portion 49 is closed.

  Even when the operation unit 74 is manually operated to the right end position, when the hot water temperature becomes high, the shape memory alloy spring 58 expands in response to the temperature change and the bias spring 57 is compressed. Therefore, the valve shaft 45 is configured to be in the second position where the second switching valve 47 is opened and the blocking portion 49 is closed.

  A recess (not shown) that can be engaged with the first projection 66 and the second projection 67 is formed on the bottom surface of the operation unit 74 on the adapter body side, and the operation unit 74 is positioned at the right end position or the left end position. When manually operated, the first protrusion 66 or the second protrusion 67 is engaged, so that the sliding member 65 can be positioned and a moderate feeling of moderation is given to the user.

  The circular jet guide member 62 has the same axial center position as the axial center of the circulation adapter 4, a second jet opening 75 having the same diameter as the first jet opening 60 a, a crescent shaped operation opening 76, and a first engagement. A first engagement portion 77 that engages with the joint hole 63 and a second engagement portion 78 that engages with the second engagement hole 64 are configured.

  The second jet opening 75 allows the bubble jet flow along the trajectory from the bubble jet outlet 24 to pass substantially linearly, and the outer peripheral portion of the second jet opening 75 deviates from the outer peripheral portion of the bubble jet, so-called trajectory. It is configured to block the jet.

  The outer edge side portion of the jet guide member 62 is connected to the guide member 59 by a first engagement portion 77 and a second engagement portion 78. Further, a partly spaced space is formed between the guide member 59 and the jet guide member 62 on the outer edge side portion of the jet guide member 62, and the bubble opening mode is set by the operation opening 76 and the spaced space on the outer edge side portion. At this time, the hot water flow can be recirculated from the outside of the jet guide member 62 to the bubble jet outlet 24.

  As shown in FIGS. 14 to 16, the filter member 27 includes an annular filter main body portion 84 and a mesh portion 85 made of a metal mesh disposed on the outer edge of the filter main body portion 84. 14 is a front view of the filter member 27, FIG. 15 is a cross-sectional view taken along line XV-XV in FIG. 14, and FIG.

  The filter main body 84 includes a circular opening 86, a rib 87 installed at the back edge of the opening 86 every 90 °, an engagement 88 provided on the inner peripheral surface, and a protrusion provided on the outer peripheral surface. 89. The engaging portion 88 is configured so that the filter member 27 can be attached to the switching valve case 23 by engaging with the notches 23d and 59b described above.

  The rib portion 87 abuts against the surface of the bolt boss portion 59a in order to maintain a uniform and predetermined distance between the mesh portion 85 and the suction end portion 83 when the engaging portion 88 is engaged with the notches 23d and 59b. It is configured as follows. The mesh portion 85 includes a mesh-shaped front portion 85 a through which hot water can pass and an outer peripheral portion 85 b having an attachment portion 85 c that can be engaged with the protruding portion 89.

Next, each operation mode will be described.
The circulation adapter 4 can execute three operation modes: a pouring operation mode, a chasing operation mode, and a bubble operation mode. The user can select one of the operation modes with a push button on the operation panel 9.

(Pouring hot water operation mode)
When the operation unit 74 is operated to the normal position (see FIG. 2) and the pouring operation mode is selected on the operation panel 9, water is introduced into the introduction pipe 10. The water moved to the first heat supply unit 5 is heated and then proceeds to the discharge pipe 12. At this time, the solenoid valve 17 is opened by the instruction of the controller 8 so that the hot water is led to the return path 13 via the branch discharge pipe 16 and a part of the hot water is introduced into the circulation adapter 4 from the return path 13. 25. Note that hot water is supplied from the suction port 25 only in the pouring operation mode.

  On the other hand, the remaining hot water is introduced into the suction chamber 39 through the forward path 14. The hot water introduced into the suction chamber 39 has the first switching valve 46 shut off the route to the swirl reserve chamber 37 and the second switching valve 47 is opened. After passing through the two recesses 52, it is sent to the chasing jet outlet 26 facing downward in the bathtub. Thus, the hot water is poured into the bathtub.

(Bubble operation mode)
As shown in FIG. 17, when the operation unit 74 is operated to the bubble position (see FIG. 2) and the bubble operation mode is selected on the operation panel 9, the controller 8 activates the pump 7 and sucks hot and cold water in the bathtub. 25 is introduced into the return path 13 through the suction chamber 35. At this time, the second heat supply unit 6 is not in operation, and hot water circulates at the temperature introduced in the return path 13 and is introduced into the suction chamber 39 through the forward path 14.

  Hot water entering the swirl preliminary chamber 37 from the suction chamber 39 passes through the communication path 36 and is introduced into the swirl chamber 34 from the communication path opening 42. Since the communication path 36 is connected in the tangential direction of the swirl chamber 34, the hot water swirls around the central axis in the longitudinal direction of the swirl chamber 34, and a predetermined negative pressure is generated in the swirl chamber 34. The air sucked by the negative pressure is sucked into the central portion of the swirl chamber 34 from the intake hole 41, mixed with hot water, and the bubble mixed hot water is ejected from the bubble jet outlet 24 that opens horizontally while swirling.

  Since the intake nozzle 40 has a columnar protrusion 40a that protrudes into the swirl chamber 34 toward the bubble jet outlet 24 and has a hemispherical tip, the low pressure portion formed at the center of the swirl The intake inlet 40b can be brought into contact with the air supply port, and a stable bubble supply amount can be ensured.

  In addition, since the tip of the protrusion 40a is formed in a hemispherical shape centering on the intake inlet 40b, there is no flat part perpendicular to the air column at the contact portion between the air column and the tip of the protrusion. Since it is difficult to contact the air column, it is possible to prevent the tip portion from being worn. Furthermore, on the base end side, an annular recess 40c that is a semicircular shape projecting outward in the axial direction of the swirl chamber 34 is formed, so that the negative pressure dispersed on the base end side is swirling. And the friction of the swirling flow can be reduced.

(Mourning mode)
When the operation unit 74 is operated to a normal position (see FIG. 2) and the memorial operation mode is selected on the operation panel 9, the pump 7 and the second heat supply unit 6 start to operate according to instructions from the controller 8, and the inside of the bathtub Hot water is introduced into the return path 13 through the suction port 25. The hot water heated by the second heat supply unit 6 is introduced into the suction chamber 39 through the forward path 14. The path after the suction chamber 39 is the same as in the pouring operation mode.

(Safety device function)
Finally, the safety device function will be described. When the operation unit 74 is operated to the bubble position and the memorial operation mode is selected on the operation panel 9, the pump 7 and the second heat supply unit 6 start to operate according to an instruction from the controller 8, and the hot water in the bathtub is sucked in. 25 to the return path 13. The hot water heated by the second heat supply unit 6 is introduced into the suction chamber 39 through the forward path 14.

  Initially, since the bearing member 48 is in sliding contact with the inclined portion 73, the valve shaft 45 is in the first position where the second switching valve 47 is closed and the blocking portion 49 is opened. 58 expands to switch the valve shaft 45 to a second position, that is, a state in which the so-called bearing member 48 and the inclined portion 73 are separated from each other, and hot hot water is guided to the memorial jet outlet 26.

1) In the above-described embodiment, an example of a circulation adapter for a bathtub has been described. However, it is sufficient that at least a liquid is swirled to generate bubbles, and the present invention also applies to a shower tap, a jet water purifier, and the like. The swirl type bubble generator can be applied.

2] In addition, those skilled in the art can implement the present invention in various forms added with various modifications without departing from the spirit of the present invention, and the present invention includes such modifications. is there.

  INDUSTRIAL APPLICABILITY The present invention can be used in general bubble generation devices that mix gas in a swirling liquid in a mixing chamber to generate bubble-containing liquid, and in particular, stabilization of bubble generation amount and prevention of wear due to erosion are required. Suitable for a bubble generator.

4 Circulation adapter 24 Bubble jet outlet (gas-liquid outlet)
34 Swirl chamber (swirl mixing chamber)
34a First swirl chamber 34b Second swirl chamber 36 Communication path 37 Swirling reserve chamber 40 Intake nozzle section (gas introduction section)
40a Projection 40b Intake inlet (gas inlet)
40c annular recess 42 communication passage opening (liquid inlet)

Claims (3)

A cylindrical swirl mixing chamber that mixes gas with the swirling liquid, a liquid inlet that can introduce liquid into the tangential direction of the inner peripheral surface of the swirl mixing chamber, and an axial end of the swirl mixing chamber In a swirl type bubble generating device having a formed gas introduction part and a gas-liquid discharge port formed opposite to the gas introduction part and formed at the other end in the axial direction of the swirl mixing chamber,
The swirl mixing chamber is formed in order from one end side in the axial direction, and is a cylindrical first swirl chamber that is one end side portion of the swirl mixing chamber , a tapered portion, and the other end side portion of the swirl mixing chamber. A cylindrical second swirl chamber,
The first swirl chamber is formed to have a larger diameter than the second swirl chamber , and the tapered portion is formed between the first swirl chamber and the second swirl chamber in a portion between the first swirl chamber and the second swirl chamber . It is formed to continuously reduce the diameter toward
The liquid introduction port is formed to be able to introduce liquid into the second swirl chamber,
It said gas introduction portion comprises a columnar protrusion protruding into the swirl mixing chamber formed in the axial center and coaxial and the gas-liquid discharge port headed the first turning chamber, open to the first swirl chamber And a gas inlet formed in the projecting portion,
The tip of the protrusion is configured in a hemispherical shape centered on the gas inlet,
One end portion of the swirl mixing chamber is formed in an annular recess positioned around the base end portion of the projecting portion, and a cross section of the annular recess divided by a plane including the axis is the axis of the swirl mixing chamber A swirl type bubble generating device characterized by being formed in a pair of semicircular shapes protruding outward in the direction.   2. The swirling bubble generating apparatus according to claim 1, wherein a length of the protruding portion is about ¼ of a length from one end portion to the other end portion of the swirling mixing chamber.   3. The swirling bubble generating device according to claim 1, wherein a diameter of the protruding portion is about ¼ of a diameter of the swirling mixing chamber.