JPH03161063A - Foam discharging opening - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To eliminate pressure loss and clogging of foreign matter by a method wherein a foaming chamber and an air passage in communication with a whirling stream chamber are provided and the foaming chamber is provided with a reverse flow prevention mechanism. CONSTITUTION:When water is supplied from a spout 50, the water runs into a downstream side chamber 8 from its outer periphery along the inner wall thereof and joins the water from a hole 6a and a stream thus formed starts a rotating movement therein while creating a swirl. In the downstream side chamber 8, the fluid energy of the water itself increases and a centrifugal action takes place due to a whirling stream to form the dropping water into a cone- shaped water screen F for discharging. Since a discharge opening 3a is located in the center of a foaming chamber 5 and since the water runs out at a high speed accompanied by centrifugal force, an inner spatial pressure inside the cone-shaped water screen F is decreased, whereby air is sucked in from an air stream 22a to produce foam. The foamed water runs into a water diffusing hole 21 and its stream is straightened by a current plate 23 for discharging.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [Field of Industrial Application] The present invention relates to a foam spout that is attached to the tip of a faucet spout, shower head, etc., and is used to foam supplied water.

[Conventional technology]

BACKGROUND ART Faucets equipped with a foam spout have been used in the past in order to reduce the sound of water being supplied, the sound of water falling into a sink, etc., and to eliminate water splashing. The most commonly used one is, for example, the one described in Japanese Patent Publication No. 31621/1983.

FIG. 9 is a cross-sectional view schematically showing the one described in this publication and other general foam spouts. In the figure, a pressure reducing plate 52 having a large number of small holes 52a is housed in a water discharge cap 51 fixed to the tip of a spout 50 of a water faucet. There is an air hole 5 in the peripheral wall of the water discharge cap 5l downstream of the pressure reducing plate 52 to introduce outside air into the water supply.
3 is opened, and a plurality of rectifiers wI54 are arranged at the outlet for rectifying the flow.

In such a foam spout, when the water supplied from the spout 50 passes through the small holes 52a of the pressure reducing plate 52, the flow is increased. For this reason, the water discharge cap 5 on the downstream side of the pressure reducing plate 52
1 is reduced in pressure, outside air is sucked in through the air port 53, and this air mixes into the water supply, thereby turning the flow into foam. Furthermore, since the mesh of the straightening net 54 is fine, the supplied water is vigorously agitated even when it collides with the straightening net 54 and flows away, so that foaming is further promoted.

In addition, instead of such a structure, there is also a structure in which a high-velocity flow from small holes in a pressure reducing plate impinges on a water sprinkling plate provided at the discharge end, and further agitates together with the mixed air to promote foaming.

[Problem to be solved by the invention]

However, since the water supplied from the spout 50 passes through the small holes 52a of the pressure reducing plate 52, the pressure loss of the flow is quite large. For this reason, appropriate water discharge pressure cannot be obtained unless the valve opening of the faucet is set above a certain level, and if the flow rate is reduced, the water does not foam or have a foamy feel. Put it away.

Furthermore, since the pressure reducing plate 52 and the rectifier i54 are provided in two stages, rescale clogged with foreign matter in the water supply is likely to adhere. For this reason, the flow path area becomes small, resulting in an insufficient amount of water to be discharged, and in particular, if the small holes 52a of the pressure reducing plate 52 are closed, appropriate foaming cannot be achieved.

In this way, the conventional foam spout uses a pressure reducing plate to increase the speed of the water supply and to reduce the pressure in the internal flow path to suck in outside air, so the pressure loss of the water supply is large and the flow path In addition to problems such as blockage, there were other problems such as the inability to use the system properly at low flow rates.

Therefore, an object of the present invention is to ensure a flow rate without causing pressure loss or clogging with foreign matter, and to always obtain appropriate foaming.

[Means to solve the problem]

In order to achieve the above objectives, the foam spout of the present invention has the following features:
a swirling flow chamber that communicates with a water supply source and swirls the flow;
a foaming chamber that communicates with the swirling flow chamber through a discharge port opened approximately in the center of the swirling flow chamber; and an air flow path that sucks air into the foaming chamber by a reduced pressure drop when water flows in from the discharge port. The foaming chamber is characterized in that it is equipped with a backflow prevention mechanism that partitions an air intake section and an air and water supply mixing section.

In addition, if the inner wall of the foaming champer is made into a minutely uneven surface,
Pulsating flow caused by forced swirling in the swirling flow chamber can be interfered with, and can be changed to a stable flow.

[Effect]

The water flowing into the swirling flow chamber becomes a swirling swirling flow, and an outward centrifugal force acts on the flow itself. and,
The flow at the outlet opening in the center of the swirling flow chamber also has a spiral shape, so the water flowing out from the outlet is blown outward by centrifugal force, forming a conical water belly from the outlet and forming foam. into the chemical chamber. As a result, the water flowing into the foaming chamber is already in a state where it is easy to scatter, and if the foaming chamber is opened to the atmosphere through air holes, air will be sucked in by the depressurizing effect of the water flowing in at high speed from the discharge port. .

Then, this sucked air flows in and is quickly mixed into the water film-like water supply, and is discharged as foamy water.

In this way, without using a pressure reducing plate with many small holes, by swirling the supplied water to make it more likely to scatter, and then mixing in air, foamy water can be obtained, resulting in foaming with reduced pressure loss. It becomes possible.

〔Example〕

Hereinafter, features of the present invention will be specifically explained with reference to embodiments shown in the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a longitudinal cross-sectional view of a main part of a spout showing an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line 1-1 in FIG.

In the figure, a water discharging head 1 for foaming is attached to the tip of a spout 50. The water spouting head 1 has a circular cross section, and a streamline extending from the spout 50 in a substantially horizontal direction curves downward from the center of the water spouting head 1 at a right angle, forming an internal flow path through which water is discharged from the water sprinkling plate 2 provided at the lower end. It has been pierced.

The inside of the water discharging head 1 is divided into upper and lower parts by a partition wall 3,
The upper part of this partition wall 3 is a swirling flow chamber 4, and the lower part is a foaming chamber 5. The swirling flow chamber 4 is divided into an upstream chamber 7 and a downstream chamber 8 by an annular wall 6 that connects the partition wall 3 and the upper inner wall of the water discharge head 1 . The upstream chamber 7 has an annular flow path, and the downstream chamber 8 communicates with the foaming chamber 5 through a discharge port 3a formed in the partition wall 3. In addition, the partition wall 3 and the annular wall 6 are made into an integral part, and the assembly structure is such that this is fixed in the water spouting head l.

The annular wall 6 is arranged coaxially with the cross section of the flow path of the water discharging head 1, and has holes 6a at four locations as shown in FIG. These holes 6a are oriented such that streamlines are tangential to the cross section of the downstream chamber 8 inside the annular wall 6. On the other hand, the discharge port 3a open to the bottom of the downstream chamber 8 is located at the center of the downstream chamber 8, and its inner diameter is much smaller than the inner diameter of the downstream chamber 8.

The water sprinkling plate 2 rectifies and discharges foamy water and is equipped with an air suction structure for foaming the water. FIG. 3(a) shows an overall perspective view of the water spraying plate 2.

One end of the water sprinkling plate 2 is provided with a base 20 that is integrated with the discharge end of the water spouting head 1 by screwing or the like.
A total of six water sprinkling holes 2L are provided in the 0 (see FIG. 4). Then, an air suction tube 22 is formed coaxially upward from the center of the base 20, and an air flow path 22a is formed inside the tube.
has been established.

As shown in FIG. 1, the base 20 is designed so that the axial length of the water sprinkling holes 21 is increased to a certain extent so that the foamy water passing therethrough can be rectified. A cross-shaped rectifying plate 23 is installed inside each water sprinkling hole 21, thereby eliminating disturbances in the flow of foamy water flowing through the water sprinkling hole 21. Further, on the upper surface of the base 20, six rectifying blades 24 are provided which extend radially from the air suction tube 22 as shown in the figure. These rectifying blades 24 pass between adjacent water holes 21 to reach the edge of the base 20, and their height is higher than that of the water spray holes 21.
It is about half of the axis length of 1. Furthermore, a circular annular current plate 25 is provided on the upper surface of the base 20, which is coaxial with the pace 20 and passes through the center of the water sprinkling hole 21. This annular current plate 25 passes over the intersection of the cross-shaped current plate 23 provided in the water spray hole 21 as shown in FIG.
This is approximately twice as large as the previous year.

The air suction tube 22 is shaped like a truncated cone with a diameter reduced from the upper surface of the pace 20, and uses a conical surface 22b on its outer periphery as a guide for foamy water. Further, the upper end of the conical surface 22b is formed into a cylindrical shape having an equal diameter, and the upper end thereof faces the discharge port 3a of the swirling flow chamber 4. A backflow prevention plate 26 is provided at a position higher than the upper half of the air intake cylinder 22. This backflow prevention plate 26 has a disk shape and is attached in a horizontal position, and has an outer diameter smaller than or about the same as that of the annular rectifier plate 25. Furthermore, as shown in Figure 1,
A backflow prevention plate 27 in the form of an annular body provided coaxially with the foaming chamber 5 is integrated with the lower surface of the partition wall 3 . The inner diameter of this backflow prevention plate 27 is larger than or about the same as that of the lower backflow prevention plate 26, and is approximately equal to that of the annular rectifying plate 25.

Note that instead of being provided integrally with the partition wall 3, the annular backflow prevention plate 27 may be provided on the water spray plate 2 side as shown in FIG. 3(b). In this case, the backflow prevention plate 27 is integrated with the upper end of the air suction cylinder 22 by four stays 27a, and has a structure that does not impede the flow of water and air. Further, the annular current plate 25 provided on the upper surface of the pace 20 has a fifth
As shown in the figure, it may have a hexagonal shape with an apex angle between each drainage hole 2l.

Furthermore, a female thread 5a is formed on the inner circumferential wall of the foaming chamber 5 as an interference surface. This female screw 5a is the discharge port 3a.
If there is pulsation in the water supply when it hits the water supply flowing in a water belly shape, it has the function of interfering with this and damping the pulsation. One of the reasons why the female thread 5a was carved as an interference surface is that it is easy to process.
Alternatively, the inner circumferential wall of the foaming chamber 5 may have minute irregularities.

Here, when water is sent from the spout 50, the upstream chamber 7
From there, water flows into the downstream chamber 8 through the hole 6a of the annular wall 6. At this time, since the axis of the hole 6a faces in the tangential direction with respect to the downstream chamber 8 having a circular cross section, the water forms a swirling flow within the downstream chamber 8. That is, as shown in FIG. 2, water flows from the outer periphery of the downstream chamber 8 along the inner wall, and the water from the four holes 6a joins and swirls inside the downstream chamber 8 forming a vortex. Begin to. At this time, hole 6a
If the entire flow path area of is larger than that of the discharge port 3a,
A phenomenon occurs in which water accumulates in the downstream chamber s, and the internal pressure also rises to some extent. Therefore, inside the downstream chamber 8, the flow energy of the water itself increases, and a centrifugal force due to the swirling flow acts. Therefore, the water flowing downward from the discharge port 3a behaves to spread outward under the influence of centrifugal force, and is discharged as conical water MP as shown by the arrow in FIG.

On the other hand, the discharge port 3a is located approximately at the center of the foaming chamber 5, and since water accompanied by centrifugal force flows out at a high flow rate, the internal pressure in the space inside the conical water film F decreases. Therefore, air is sucked in from the air flow path 22a, and the water film F from the discharge port 3a collides with the female screw 5a of the foaming champer 5, and air is mixed with the broken water, thereby foaming the supplied water. Then, the foamed water flows into the drainage hole 21, the flow is adjusted by the current plate 23, and the water is discharged.

In the above flow, the backflow prevention plate 26 provided on the upper side of the foaming chamber 5. 27 is a cone-shaped water [F from the discharge port 3a] and the suction air from the upper end of the air suction tube 22 does not act as a barrier, but allows these water and air to quickly pass downward. Then, the water film F hits the female screw 5a and breaks, and the foamy water mixed with air flows to the backflow prevention plate 26.
．． 27 acts as a barrier, the discharge port 3a and the air intake tube 2
2 is prevented from flowing backward to the upper end side. For this reason,
The upper end of the air suction cylinder 22 is not covered with foamy water or water supplied from the discharge port 3a, and air suction is performed smoothly. Therefore, a sufficient amount of air suction is ensured to promote foam formation, and the degree to which water is directly mixed with the flowing air is also reduced, so air suction noise and water supply noise are also reduced.

Further, the water film F hits the female thread 5a of the foaming chamber 5, and due to the unevenness of its surface, it interferes with the pulsation of the flow and damps it. In other words, the water supply flows through the swirling flow chamber 4.
After being forced to swirl in the water to increase the flow energy, it flows into the water film F shape from the outlet 3a. Therefore, pressure fluctuations are more likely to occur due to pulsation and inertia of the flow itself, compared to a straight pipe flow. On the other hand, female screw 5
If a minute uneven surface is provided as shown in a, and the flow is reflected in different directions, it is possible to interfere with the pulsating energy, and the flow can be stabilized. Therefore, the foamy water mixed with air does not flow intermittently or have any strength or weakness, and stable water discharge at a constant flow rate is possible.

Furthermore, the conical surface 22b of the air suction cylinder 22 gently guides the foamy water to the water sprinkling hole 21, thereby preventing cavitation or separation from the channel wall for the gas-liquid two-layer flow containing air bubbles. It can be sent out without being generated. Therefore, the generation of water supply noise during water discharging is suppressed, and even if the flow rate is increased, the usage environment is not affected. Moreover, when the flow rate is small, foamy water is discharged without filling the foaming chamber 5 with water. In this case, the flow velocity of the foamy water also decreases and disturbance of the streamlines is likely to occur, but the foamy water quickly flows away to each water sprinkling hole 21 along the conical surface 22b. Therefore, even when the flow rate is small, by actively guiding the foamy water, it is possible to prevent it from stagnation in the foaming chamber 5, and by sending it evenly to each watering hole 21, it is possible to eliminate fluctuations in the water spouting form. Can be done.

The foamy water stabilized as described above is reflected from the female screw 5a toward each water sprinkling hole 21 as shown by the arrow in FIG.
This behavior becomes particularly noticeable as the flow rate increases. At this time, the annular current plate 25 on the pace 20 prevents foamy water from concentrating toward the center. That is, since the annular rectifying plate 25 acts as a baffle plate and suppresses the flow toward the center, foamy water is not spouted only from the center side of the water sprinkling holes 21, and foamy water is uniformly distributed from each water sprinkling hole 2l. is obtained.

Furthermore, the foamy water, which is suppressed from concentrating on the center side and is equalized in the radial direction, is further stabilized in the ice discharging state by the rectifying blades 24 that are arranged radially and partition the spaces between the respective water sprinkling holes 21. That is, the radially arranged rectifying vanes 24 weaken the swirling force of the water supplied by the swirling flow chamber 4, and prevent the flows toward the respective drainage holes 21 from interfering with each other. Therefore, dynamic water spouting is stabilized by reducing the swirling force, and at the same time, foamy water divided by each rectifying blade 24 is stably spouted without being influenced by the outside world.

Immediately before being discharged, the foamy water is rectified by a cross-shaped rectifying plate 23 when passing through the drainage hole 21 . Since the rectifying plate 23 divides the flow path in the water sprinkling hole 2l into four, the foamy water becomes divided flows while passing through the rectifying plate 23, is rectified so that they flow parallel to each other, and spreads outward. You can get water that is not concentrated in the center.

As described above, the supplied water is swirled and sent into the foaming chamber 5 as a conical water film F, and air is mixed into this to create foam, compared to the conventional case where a pressure reducing plate is used. As a result, pressure loss is significantly reduced. In addition, even when the flow rate is small, the water supply is sufficiently foamed, and the annular current plate 2
5. Since foamy water is stabilized by the straightening vanes 24 and passed through the current plate 23, optimal foamy water can be obtained without flow disturbance.

FIG. 6 is a sectional view of the main parts of an example of a hand shower type faucet using the foam spout of the present invention, and FIG. 7 is a perspective view showing how it is installed in a kitchen. Note that the same members as those shown in FIGS. 1 to 5 are indicated by common reference numerals, and detailed explanation thereof will be omitted.

The water discharging head 1 is integrated into a shower body 30 for use as a hand shower, and has a flow path 3 formed inside the shower body 30.
It communicates with 0a. The shower main body 30 is supported by a holder 33 fixed to a counter 32 of a cabinet 31 so as to be able to be taken in and taken out, and a hose (not shown) is connected to the base end of the holder 33 to supply water from a hot water mixer tap, an electric water heater, etc. Provide hot water. The holder 33 allows the shower main body 30 including the hose to be pulled out, and can be held in the hand to wash containers and the like. Note that such a hand shower that is equipped with a hose and can be freely pulled out has been commonly used.

Further, the upstream chamber 7 is formed into an annular shape when assembled into the shower main body 30, and the annular backflow prevention plate 27 is integrally provided on the partition wall 3 side, and the other structure is almost the same as that in FIG. .

On the other hand, a shallow sink 34 and a deep sink 35 are formed side by side on the counter 32, and the water spout head l provided with the foam spout of the present invention is installed on the shallow sink 34 side.

Further, on the side of the deep sink 35, a normal single-lever type hot water mixing faucet 35a is provided.

As already explained, the foamy water spouted from the shower body 30 provided with the water spouting head 1 becomes a stable shower water sprinkling without any disturbance in its flow after being turned into foam. For this reason,
Even if the sink 34 is shallow, foamy water is separated into a plurality of streamlines and showered, so the degree of water scattering is reduced and the problem of water splashing can be eliminated. In particular, even when the cutting board 34a is slid using the stepped portion 34b provided in the shallow sink 34 as shown in the figure, and water is spouted onto the cutting board 34a, the water does not splash so much that it prevents the floor from getting wet. Nor.

In this way, if you sprinkle water in the shower without disturbing the flow after it turns into foam, not only will there be less water splashing when it hits the bottom of the sink, but there will also be less water splashing when washing containers, etc. , further improving usability.

Figure 8 is a qualitative graph comparing the characteristics with the conventional structure, and the solid line shows the characteristics when using the structure in Figure 6.
The conventional structure is shown by a broken line.

In FIG. 8(a), the horizontal axis shows the amount of water supplied and the vertical axis shows the pressure loss, which is the value of the pressure drop in the internal flow path, and the pressure loss is reduced compared to the conventional structure. Due to this reduction in pressure loss, the flow rate of water flowing into the foaming chamber 5 is maintained, so that the drop in internal pressure is greater than in the conventional structure, as shown in FIG. 8(b). Since this internal pressure drop increases rapidly from a region where the flow rate is small, even in the case of a small flow rate, the mixing of air is promoted and appropriate foaming becomes possible. In addition, Figure 8 (
C) indicates the amount of air sucked in, and the amount of air sucked is increased compared to the conventional structure due to the large internal pressure drop.

In this way, in addition to being able to reduce pressure loss, air is quickly mixed in, making it possible to obtain water with sufficient foaminess even in the low flow rate region where foaming has been particularly difficult.

〔Effect of the invention〕

As explained above, in the present invention, centrifugal force is generated in the flow by swirling the supplied water, and using this, the water is sent into the foam chamber as a conical water film flow, and the internal pressure generated at this time is air is mixed in due to the drop in For this reason, compared to the conventional case of using a pressure reducing plate with many small holes, the pressure loss is reduced and a sufficient flow rate is ensured, and problems with water discharge caused by foreign matter or scale adhesion are eliminated. In other words, the reduction in loss means an increase in the speed of the internal flow, and the generation of internal negative pressure based on this also increases. For this reason, the air suction rate from the air flow path becomes high, and water with sufficient foaminess can be obtained even at a low flow rate, making it possible to use it in a wide range of fields.

Furthermore, by providing minute irregularities on the inner wall of the foaming chamber, it is possible to create an interference effect on the wave motion of the water supplied from the outlet, attenuating the pulsation that occurs when a swirling flow is forced. This allows the flow to be stabilized.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

Fig. 1 is a longitudinal cross-sectional view of a main part of a foam spout showing an embodiment of the present invention, and Fig. 2 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line 1-1 in Fig. 1, showing the generation of swirling flow inside the annular wall. , FIG. 3(a) is a perspective view of the water sprinkling plate, FIG. 3(b) is a perspective view of the water sprinkling plate with an annular backflow prevention plate integrated at the upper end, and FIG. 4 is a bottom view of the water discharging head. Figure 5 is a cross-sectional view of the water discharge head showing another straightening plate structure, Figure 6 is a vertical cross-sectional view showing an example of the water discharge head being incorporated into the shower body, and Figure 7 is a perspective view showing installation on a kitchen counter. 8 is a graph showing a comparison of characteristics with a conventional structure, and FIG. 9 is a schematic diagram of the conventional structure. 1: Water discharge head 2: Sprinkling plate 3: Partition wall 3a: Discharge port 4: Swirling flow chamber 5: Foaming chamber 6: Annular wall 7: Upstream chamber 20: Base 22: Air suction tube 5a: Female thread 6a: Hole 8: Downstream chamber 21: Sprinkle hole 22a: Air flow path 22b: Circular surface 23: Rectifier plate 25: M-shaped rectifier plate 27: Backflow prevention plate 30: Shower body 31: Cabinet 33: Holder 24: Rectification blade 26: Backflow prevention plate 27a: Stay 30a: Channel 32: Counter

Claims (1)

[Scope of Claims] 1. A swirling flow chamber that communicates with a water supply source and swirls the flow; a foaming chamber that communicates with the swirling flow chamber through a discharge port opened approximately in the center of the swirling flow chamber; an air flow path that sucks air into the foaming chamber by a reduced pressure drop when water flows in from the outlet; A foam spout characterized by being equipped with a foam spout. 2. The foam spout according to claim 1, wherein the inner wall of the foam forming chamber has an uneven surface that receives the water supplied from the discharge port and interferes with the flow.