JP6563764B2 - Water discharge structure - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a water discharge structure in a faucet or the like, and more particularly to a water discharge structure incorporating an impeller.

  In a local washing apparatus mounted on a flush toilet, a technique for creating a large water mass having a certain volume has been proposed in order to pursue a comfortable washing feeling. In Patent Document 1, a water reservoir chamber is formed next to a water passage, and water is intermittently discharged by taking air from the air flow path into the water reservoir chamber. The subsequent high-speed portion catches up with the tip low-speed portion in the water mass, and the low-speed portion is swallowed into the high-speed portion, thereby forming a large water mass (see FIG. 3 of Patent Document 1).

  On the other hand, some faucets installed in bathrooms have a built-in impeller. The impeller rotates about the direction of water flow by the water flow and intermittently passes water through an opening formed in the bottom surface. The impeller contributes to water saving by limiting the amount of water flow, while giving a unique and moderate strength tactile sensation through intermittent water flow (see Patent Document 2).

JP 2013-238017 A JP2013-162985A

  The water discharge device described in Patent Document 1 is difficult to apply to a faucet installed in a wash basin, a kitchen, a bathroom, or the like because it is necessary to secure a space for a water reservoir. The impeller described in Patent Document 2 proposed in the past by the present applicant is intended to improve the rotational performance while realizing intermittent water flow. The present inventor paid attention to the intermittent water flow function of the impeller, and thought that if a structure of the impeller was further devised, a large water mass as in Patent Document 1 could be formed.

  This invention is made | formed based on the said subject recognition of this inventor, The main objective is to provide the technique for forming a large water mass in the water discharging apparatus which incorporates an impeller.

  In order to solve the above-described problems, a water discharge structure according to an aspect of the present invention incorporates an impeller that discharges a water mass from an opening formed on a bottom surface by rotating with a water flow direction as an axial direction. The opening of the impeller is formed so as to merge with the subsequent second water mass after the end portion of the first water mass breaks apart.

  Another embodiment of the present invention is also a water discharge structure. This water discharge structure incorporates an impeller that discharges a water mass by rotating with the water flow direction as an axial direction. On the bottom surface of the impeller, there are formed a large opening through which a water mass passes and a small opening through which a part of water flow escapes. The area ratio of the large opening and the small opening and the water flow rate are balanced so that the end portion split off from the first water mass joins the subsequent second water mass.

  According to the present invention, it becomes easy to form a large water mass by an impeller.

It is a disassembled perspective view of a water faucet. It is an exploded side view of a faucet. It is a top view of an impeller. It is a 1st schematic diagram for demonstrating the mechanism in which a large water mass is formed from an impeller. It is a 2nd schematic diagram for demonstrating the mechanism in which a large water mass is formed from an impeller. It is a 3rd schematic diagram for demonstrating the mechanism in which a large water mass is formed from an impeller. It is a 4th schematic diagram for demonstrating the mechanism in which a large water mass is formed from an impeller. It is a 5th schematic diagram for demonstrating the mechanism in which a large water mass is formed from an impeller. It is a figure which shows the relationship between the area ratio of a large opening and a small opening, and a large water mass effect. It is a figure which shows the water discharge state in case an area ratio is 0%. It is a figure which shows the water discharging state in case an area ratio is 2.7%. It is a figure which shows the water discharging state in case an area ratio is 5.3%. It is a figure which shows the water discharging state in case an area ratio is 8.0%. It is a figure which shows the water discharging state in case an area ratio is 10.7%. It is a figure which shows the water discharging state in case an area ratio is 13.3%. It is a figure which shows the water discharging state in case an area ratio is 16.0%. It is a 1st external view of the impeller which has two small openings. It is a 2nd external view of the impeller which has two small openings. It is an external view of an impeller having three small openings. It is an external view of an impeller having four small openings.

FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective view of the faucet 100. FIG. 2 is an exploded side view of the faucet 100.
The faucet 100 in the present embodiment is a shower used in a bathroom. The water discharge pipe 102 is connected to a water supply source by a hose or the like (not shown). A cap member 108 having a plurality of water passage holes is attached to the distal end portion of the water discharge pipe 102. The impeller 104 and the water jet member 106 are accommodated between the water discharge pipe 102 and the cap member 108.

  The impeller 104 has twelve blade portions, and a plurality of openings (water vents) are formed in the bottom surface portion (details will be described later with reference to FIG. 3). The impeller 104 receives the water supplied from the water discharge pipe 102 at the blade portion, and rotates with the water flow direction (arrow F in FIGS. 1 and 2) as the axial direction. Water is intermittently passed through the opening of the impeller 104.

  The water jet member 106 has a shaft 110, and the impeller 104 is fitted on the shaft 110. The impeller 104 rotates on the cap member 108 while being supported by the shaft 110 of the water flow injection member 106. A plurality of water holes 112 are formed on the upper surface of the water jet member 106. The water flow holes 112 of the water jet member 106 are opened obliquely so that water can be applied to the side surface of the blade portion of the impeller 104 to apply a rotational force to the impeller 104.

  The cap member 108 also has a plurality of water holes. The cap member 108 of the present embodiment is formed with 48 water holes having a diameter of 0.8 mm.

FIG. 3 is a top view of the impeller 104.
The impeller 104 in this embodiment has a circular shape with a diameter of about 27 millimeters. A shaft hole 114 is formed at the center of the impeller 104, and the shaft 110 of the water jet member 106 is inserted therein. Twelve blade portions 116 are arranged on the bottom surface of the impeller 104. The bottom surface of the impeller 104 is divided into a water flow area 118 and a shielding area 120. In the present embodiment, the two blade portions 116 aligned in a straight line are used as a boundary line, and the water flow region 118 and the shielding region 120 are each formed as a semicircular region.

  The water flow area 118 has a large opening 122. In the water flow area 118 of this embodiment, all except the formation part of the blade part 116 is opened as the large opening 122. Although the shielding area 120 may be completely shielded, one or more small openings 124 may be formed.

  Although the details will be described later, the large opening 122 is a water inlet for making a large water mass. On the other hand, the small opening 124 is an opening for relieving the water pressure applied to the shielding region 120 by allowing a part of the water in the shielding region 120 to escape. The water flow area 118 has the side wall 126, but the shielding area 120 does not have the side wall 126. For this reason, most of the water flowing into the water flow area 118 does not escape from the side surface of the impeller 104 and passes through the large opening 122. On the other hand, a part of the water that has flowed into the shielding area 120 and has not flowed into the large opening 122 escapes from the small opening 124 or the side surface of the impeller 104.

  Since the water flow area 118 has the large opening 122, almost no water pressure is applied to the impeller 104 in the water flow area 118. On the other hand, the shielding area 120 is likely to be subjected to a large water pressure on the bottom surface. Therefore, the water pressure difference between the water flow region 118 and the shielding region 120 is alleviated by allowing some of the water flowing into the shielding region 120 to escape from the side surfaces of the impeller 104 and the small openings 124. As a result, the impeller 104 is prevented from being excessively inclined and the rotation balance is deteriorated.

FIG. 4A to FIG. 4E are schematic diagrams for explaining a mechanism by which a large water mass is formed from the impeller 104. FIG. 4A to FIG. 4E are in chronological order. Both the water supply and water discharge directions are in the right direction of the drawing. For convenience, the upper side of the central axis is defined as a region R1, and the lower side is defined as a region R2.
First, when the large opening 122 of the impeller 104 is in the region R1, the water collected from the large opening 122 is discharged (FIG. 4A). Due to the rotation of the impeller 104, the large opening 122 moves to the region R2. At this time, water is again discharged from the large opening 122 (FIG. 4B). On the other hand, since water discharged from the region R1 is blocked, the water discharged in FIG. 4A forms a water mass M1. Since the head portion of the water mass M1 receives the supply water pressure from behind, the water mass M1 becomes relatively fast. On the other hand, since the tail part of the water mass M1 is not subjected to the feed water pressure, it becomes relatively slow. That is, the water mass M1 is faster at the head and slower at the tail.

  Eventually, the water mass M1 is divided into three parts into a head part Mh1, a center part Mm1, and a tail part Mt1 due to the speed difference of each part (FIG. 4C). Due to the rotation of the impeller 104, the large opening 122 moves to the region R1. At this time, water is again discharged from the large opening 122 to the region R1. Since water discharged from the region R2 is blocked, the water discharged in FIG. 4B forms a water mass M2.

  A new water mass M3 is formed behind the three-divided water mass M1 (FIG. 4D). Since the leading portion of the water mass M3 is high speed, the slow trailing portion Mt1 of the preceding water mass M1 is swallowed by the high speed leading portion of the water mass M3, and a large water mass B is formed. Hereinafter, the effect that the large water mass B is formed by the subsequent water mass M3 eating the tail part of the preceding water mass M1 is referred to as a “large water mass effect”. The water mass M2 is also divided into three parts, a head part Mh2, a center part Mm2, and a tail part Mt2.

  The tail portion Mt2 of the water mass M2 is also caught up by the subsequent water mass M4, and the large water mass effect occurs also in the region R2 (FIG. 4 (e)). The water mass M3 including the large water mass B is divided into three. As a result, the water mass M3 in FIG. 4 (e) is divided into a large water mass B and a small water mass C.

  The impeller 104 can intermittently discharge a plurality of water masses having different volumes by generating a large water mass effect as well as making a water mass by intermittent water flow as in the conventional case. As shown in FIG. 4 (e), by generating a strong pressure by the large water mass B and a gentle pressure by the small water mass C alternately, it is possible to realize skin irritation that is effective even with a limited amount of water supply. .

In order to generate the large water mass effect, it is necessary that the water mass M is split and the subsequent water mass M catches up with the preceding water mass M. For that purpose, it is necessary to design the size of the large opening 122 and the small opening 124 to be in an optimal balance in accordance with the water flow rate of the water discharge pipe 102 (water supply amount per unit time).
For example, when the water flow rate is high, a large volume of water can be discharged even if the large opening 122 is small. On the other hand, in consideration of rotational properties, it is necessary to increase the total area of the small openings 124 in order to reduce the water pressure. When the water flow rate is low, it is necessary to enlarge the large opening 122, but the necessity to enlarge the small opening 124 is reduced. Thus, it is desirable to adjust the size of the large opening 122 and the small opening 124 or the area ratio thereof according to the water flow rate.

  FIG. 5 is a diagram showing the relationship between the area ratio of the large opening 122 and the small opening 124 and the large water mass effect. S1 represents the total area of the large opening 122 (hereinafter referred to as “large opening area”), and S2 represents the total area of the small opening 124 (hereinafter referred to as “small opening area”). Therefore, S2 / S1 means small opening area / large opening area (hereinafter referred to as “area ratio”). In the present embodiment, the size of one small opening 124 is about 2.7% of the large opening area. And it is testing by changing this small opening 124 between 0-6 pieces.

  FIG. 5 shows that a large water mass effect occurs when three subjects hold their hands at a point 150 to 200 (millimeters) away from the cap member 108 with a water supply amount of 6.5 (liters / minute). The result of judging by tactile sensation is shown. 150 to 200 (mm) is a general distance from the shower to the skin when using the shower in the bathroom. All three subjects can no longer feel the large water mass effect when the area ratio becomes 13.3% or more.

6A to 6G, the area ratio is 0%, 2.7%, 5.3%, 8.0%, 10.7%, 13.3%, and 16.0%, respectively. The water discharge state in the case of.
The location where the large water mass B is generated is marked. As shown in FIGS. 6A to 6G, when the area ratio exceeds 13.3%, the large water mass effect does not occur. It is considered that the intermittent opening effect of the impeller 104 becomes relatively weak because the small opening area is too large.

  In addition, when it experimented on the said conditions, when the area ratio became less than 5.3%, it became clear that the rotational property of the impeller 104 worsened. Specifically, if a rotation stop occurs in the impeller 104 in a water flow test prescribed in advance by the present applicant, it is determined that “rotational performance has deteriorated”. Therefore, in consideration of rotational stability, the area ratio is preferably set to a range of 5.3% or more and less than 13.3%. In addition, even when the amount of water supply is changed from 6.5 (liters / minute), if it is in the range of about 4.5 to 8.5 (liters / minute), it is examined from both the large water mass effect and the rotational property Even so, there was no change in the appropriate area ratio.

FIGS. 7A to 7D are external views of the impellers 104 having different numbers of small openings 124.
Each figure shows a top view, a side view, and a bottom view of the impeller 104 from the left. FIG. 7A and FIG. 7B show the case where there are two small openings 124. In Fig.7 (a), it arrange | positions so that two small opening 124a, 124b may become line symmetry with respect to the dividing line D which divides the water flow area | region 118 equally. On the other hand, the two small openings 124a and 124b in FIG. 7B are not arranged in line symmetry. Although it is not essential to arrange the small openings 124 so as to be line-symmetric, it is preferable to arrange two or more small openings 124 so as to be line-symmetric with respect to the dividing line D as shown in FIG. However, the rotation is stable.

  In FIG. 7C, three small openings 124 are arranged, but these small openings 124 are not symmetrical with respect to the dividing line D. In order to stabilize the rotation, it is desirable to arrange one small opening 124 on the dividing line D and arrange the remaining two small openings 124 so as to be symmetrical with respect to the dividing line D.

  In FIG. 7D, the four small openings 124 are arranged so as to be substantially line symmetric with respect to the dividing line D. When only one small opening 124 is arranged, it is desirable to arrange the one small opening 124 so as to overlap the dividing line D.

In the above, based on embodiment, it demonstrated centering on the water discharging structure of the faucet 100, especially the structure of the impeller 104. FIG.
The impeller 104 of the present embodiment has a water flow area 118 and a shielding area 120. It is confirmed that a large water mass effect can be generated by adjusting the area ratio of the large opening 122 formed in the water flow region 118 and the small opening 124 formed in the shielding region 120 according to the water flow rate. It was. That is, even a small part such as the impeller 104 can achieve a non-monotonous and voluminous skin irritation by applying a water mass array including both the large water mass B and the small water mass C to the skin. . Moreover, since the large water mass can be discharged spirally by using the impeller 104, a specific skin irritation is realized.

  Based on the given conditions of use such as the size of the faucet 100 and the water flow rate, and pursuing the optimum value of the area ratio accordingly, the large water mass effect can be realized even with the impeller 104 I understood. Of course, the water flow rate may be adjusted given the area ratio. In other words, it was confirmed that the impeller 104 can realize the large water mass effect by pursuing the optimum balance of the design values of the water flow speed, the large opening area, and the small opening area. In the present embodiment, the water flow rate is set to 6.5 (liters / minute), but a large water mass effect is obtained without changing the area ratio in the range of 4.5 to 8.5 (liters / minute). Can be realized. When the water flow rate is set outside this range, the large water mass effect can be similarly realized by adjusting the area ratio so as to adapt to such a water flow rate.

  The present invention has been described based on some embodiments. Those skilled in the art will understand that these embodiments are examples, and that various modifications and changes are possible within the scope of the claims of the present invention, and that such modifications and changes are also within the scope of the claims of the present invention. It is where it is done. Accordingly, the description and drawings herein are to be regarded as illustrative rather than restrictive.

In this embodiment, the faucet 100 for bathrooms has been described as an object. However, the water discharge structure of the present invention can be applied to various faucets such as a kitchen and a washroom, a local cleaning device, and the like. Note that, as in Patent Document 1, in order to stabilize the rotation of the impeller 104, a plurality of protrusions may be provided on the back surface (the surface on the side in contact with the cap member 108) of the impeller 104.
The diameter of the water passage hole formed in the cap member 108 of the present embodiment is 0.8 mm, but the impeller 104 is the same as the present embodiment as long as it is within the range of 0.6 to 1.0 mm. The large water mass effect can be maintained at the design value.

The following invention is recognized from the above description.
The water discharge structure according to an aspect of the present invention incorporates an impeller that discharges a water mass from an opening formed on the bottom surface by rotating the water flow direction as an axial direction, and the end portion of the first water mass is split. After the separation, the opening is formed so as to merge with the subsequent second water mass.

  By forming the opening so that the water mass passed through the opening breaks up and is swallowed by the subsequent water mass to form a large water mass, the impeller gives a feeling of water discharge peculiar to the large water mass. It becomes easy to realize.

The bottom surface may be formed with a water passage region in which an opening for discharging a water mass is formed and a non-formed shielding region.
The shield region may be a completely shielded region where no opening is formed, or a small hole as a water escape route may be formed to relieve water pressure.

  A small opening may be formed on the bottom surface in addition to the large opening for allowing the water mass to pass therethrough. The ratio of the total area of the small openings to the total area of the large openings is preferably less than 13.3%. Further, the ratio of the total area of the small openings to the total area of the large openings is 5.3% or more, and more preferably.

One water passage region having a large opening and one shielding region having a small opening may be formed on the bottom surface. And in a shielding area | region, a small opening may be arrange | positioned so that it may become line symmetrical with respect to the dividing line which divides a water flow area | region equally.
Such a small opening arrangement method makes it easy to balance the impeller. For example, when there is one small opening 124, the small opening 124 is disposed on the dividing line. When the number of small openings 124 is an odd number of 3 or more (2n-1), one small opening 124 is arranged on the dividing line, and the remaining small openings 124 are arranged symmetrically on the left and right of the dividing line. That's fine. When there are an even number (2n) of small openings 124, n small openings 124 may be arranged symmetrically on the left and right with respect to the dividing line.

  The water discharge structure in another aspect of the present invention also incorporates an impeller that discharges a water mass by rotating with the water passing direction as an axial direction. On the bottom surface of the impeller, there are formed a large opening through which a water mass passes and a small opening through which a part of water flow escapes. Then, the area ratio of the large opening and the small opening and the water flow rate are balanced so that the terminal portion split off from the first water mass joins the subsequent second water mass.

  100 faucet, 102 water discharge pipe, 104 impeller, 106 water flow injection member, 108 cap member, 110 shaft, 112 water passage hole, 114 shaft hole, 116 blade portion, 118 water passage region, 120 shielding region, 122 large opening, 124 small openings, 126 side walls, M water mass, B large water mass.

Claims (3)

A cap member having a plurality of water passage holes;
An impeller rotating on the cap member,
The impeller rotates a water passage direction as an axial direction, thereby discharging a water mass through an opening formed in a bottom surface and the water passage hole ,
On the bottom surface, there are formed a water passing region in which a large opening for allowing a water mass to pass therethrough and a shielding region in which a small opening different from the large opening is formed,
The ratio of the total area of the small openings to the total area of the large openings is such that when the amount of water supply per unit time is in the range of 4.5 to 8.5 (liters / minute), the end of the first water mass After the division breaks off, it is adjusted to merge with the subsequent second water mass,
The ratio of the total area of the small openings to the total area of the large openings is less than 13.3% . Water discharge structure according to claim 1, wherein the ratio of the total area of the small opening to the total area of the large opening is not less than 5.3%. On the bottom surface, a water-permeable region having the large opening and a shielding region having the small opening are formed one by one,
The water discharge structure according to claim 1 or 2 , wherein the small openings are arranged in the shielding area so as to be line-symmetric with respect to a dividing line that equally divides the water flow area.