JPH03237978A - Air bubble bath circulation apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To suppress a monotonous feeling by preliminarily storing the water stream in a jet nozzle and the amount of air sucked through an air pipe in a memory device in a controllable manner so as to variously changing both of an air control valve and a flow control means with the elapse of time. CONSTITUTION:At first, a time controller 11 outputs instructions to an air amount controller 12 and a water, flow controller 13 according to a jet pattern and a circulation pump 5 and a flow control valve 7 are operated by the instructions due to the water flow controller 13 and the amount of circulated water in a circulation water channel 4 of bathtub water is controlled on the basis of the flow bypassing a bypass path 6 from a branch point B to a confluent point A and a water stream changing timewise flows to a jet nozzle 3. An air control valve 9 controls the amount of air sucked in the jet nozzle 3 from an air pipe 8 corresponding to the opening degree of the valve. By this method, the water stream and air amount supplied to the jet nozzle 3 are individually variously changed.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a bubble bath circulation device that circulates water in a bathtub and injects a jet stream containing air bubbles into the bathtub to provide a bubble bath.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION A conventional bubble bath circulation device is illustrated in FIG.
1 is equipped with a circulation outlet 22 for discharging bathtub water to a circulation channel 24 and a jet nozzle 23 for returning bathtub water to the bathtub 21,
A circulation waterway 2 is connected to this circulation outlet 22 and the jet nozzle 23.
The jet nozzle 23 is equipped with a circulation pump 25 that circulates the bath water, and the jet nozzle 23 is equipped with a solenoid valve 27 that controls the amount of air in the middle, and an air pipe 26 that sucks air from the atmosphere. Connect to form a bathtub water circulation circuit.

Next, the operation panel 32 for controlling the operation of this device is connected to the controller 28.
is connected to the controller 28 by a signal line 34, and the time controller 29 is connected to the controller 28.
, a valve switching controller 30, and a drive controller 31, the valve switching controller 30 is electrically connected to the magnetic valve 27, and the drive controller 31 is electrically connected to the circulation pump 25, respectively. Then, the time controller 29 stores the opening and closing operations of the air valve 27 over time in the order shown in the figure, as shown in the upper part of FIG. 5, and this signal is input to the valve switching controller 30 to open and close the air valve 27. make it work.

When the user presses the injection switch 33 provided on the operation panel 32, this signal enters the controller 28 via the signal line 34, first the drive controller 31 drives the circulation pump 25, and then the time controller 29 The opening/closing signal of the solenoid valve 27 is input to the valve switching controller 30, and the valve switching controller 30 switches the solenoid valve 27 in the order (1) to (4) stored in the time controller 29 shown in FIG. open and close. At this time, since the circulation pump 25 is already circulating, the bath water in the bathtub 21 is transferred to the circulation outlet 2.
2, passes through a circulation waterway 24, is pressurized by a circulation pump 25, and becomes a powerful water flow within a chef nozzle 23. Therefore, this water flow causes an ejector effect and creates a negative pressure at the air suction pipe connection part inside the jet nozzle 23, and tries to suck air from the atmosphere through the air pipe 26, and the solenoid valve 2
When the valve 7 opens, air is sucked in, and when the valve is closed, the suction is stopped.

When the intake of air is controlled according to the opening/closing order of the electromagnetic valve 27 shown in the upper part of FIG. 5, the jet strength of the bubble flow jetted from the jet nozzle 23 is as shown in the lower part of FIG. The negative pressure is high at the beginning of opening of the electromagnetic valve 27, and a large amount of air is sucked in, showing a peak value P. After that, the negative pressure decreases and becomes constant, and the amount of air sucked is also constant, showing a value S. Next, 1tTj
When the first valve 27 is closed to stop air intake and only water is injected, the strength is approximately O, and the jet bubble jet flow corresponds to the order of (1) to (4) depending on the elapsed time of the solenoid valve 27. It was made as shown in the picture, and bathers enjoyed a bubble bath created by this bubble jet.

Problems to be Solved by the Invention However, in the above configuration, the opening and closing time of the solenoid valve 27 is sequentially changed so that the time change of the jet strength given by the jet flow is experienced as a variable factor. In the case of long-time injection as shown in (1) in the figure, there was a point where the portion t of the constant jet strength S was long and gave a monotonic window. Moreover, in order to avoid this problem, if one injection time is shortened to consist of only short-time injections such as (2) and (3), there is a problem that it gives a feeling of being busy.

Furthermore, since the amount of air is controlled only by opening and closing the solenoid valve 27,
The jet strength of the jet flow is also F at the peak value P and F+ at the constant value S.
The jet flow is monotonous with little variation as it always gives the same strength, and the amplitude of the jet strength is large and the stimulation given to the body is intense, which has an effect that contradicts the feeling of relaxation. These points were issues that required further improvement.

In order to solve the above-mentioned conventional problems, it is an object of the present invention to provide a comfortable bubble injection bath that suppresses the monotony, makes the body and mind more relaxed, and naturally encourages bathers to bathe for a long time.

Means for Solving the Problems The means of the present invention, which is a distant relative of the above object, is to direct the water to the jet nozzle attached to the bathtub when the bathwater is returned to the bathtub via the circulation waterway connected to the bathtub. A means for controlling the amount of circulating water is provided, and the amount of air sucked into the jet nozzle by this circulating water is changed by controlling an air valve provided in the middle of an air pipe connected to the jet nozzle. A pattern in which the water flow and air volume in the jet nozzle are changed individually and in various ways over time is stored in advance in the memory element of the controller, and when the operation switch on the operation panel is pressed during use, the controller follows the above pattern,
The strength of the water flow passing through the jet nozzle is controlled by a means for controlling the circulation amount of bath water provided in the circulation channel, and the amount of air is controlled by the air valve, so that the frequency of change per unit time is controlled by the air flow rate. The amount of water (or water flow) is large and the water flow (or amount of air) is small, and the change period of the jet strength of the bubble flow that is a combination of both is long, and the change period includes small changes with short amplitude in the middle of the change. It is designed to create a different injection pattern.

Effect: According to the above-mentioned means, the bubble flow ejected into the bathtub from the jet nozzle is: (a) In addition to the jet strength which changes constantly or slowly over a long period of time, small changes in the amplitude of the jet strength occur over a short period of time. (b) The amplitude of the jet strength changes variously in a short period of time.

Example Examples thereof will be described below with reference to the drawings.

FIGS. 1 to 3 show an example of the embodiment, in which a circulation waterway 4 is connected to a bathwater circulation outlet 2 provided at the bottom of the bathtub 1, and the other end of the circulation waterway 4 is provided at the top of the bathtub 1. jet nozzle 3
In the middle of the circulation waterway 4, a bypass passage 6 is connected to a confluence point A and a branch point B. A flow rate control valve 7 for controlling the flow rate is provided in the middle of the bypass passage 6, and a circulation pump 5 is provided in the middle of the circulation waterway 4 between the confluence point A and the branch point B. An air pipe 8 for sucking air from the atmosphere is connected to the air pipe 8, and an air control valve 9 for controlling the intake amount of air is provided in the middle of the air pipe 8.

A controller 10 for controlling this device is provided, and the controller 1
0 is connected to the operation panel 14 by a signal line 17, and the operation panel 14 is equipped with a plurality of operation switches 15 and 16 corresponding to a plurality of injection patterns to be described later. Further, the controller 10 is composed of a time controller 11 that receives a signal from the operation panel 14, an air amount controller 12 that receives a signal from the time controller 11, a water flow rate controller 13, etc. 1
2 controls the air control valve 9, and the water flow rate controller 13 controls the circulation pump 5 and the flow rate control valve 7.

To explain the operation of this embodiment with the above configuration, first, when the user presses the operation switch 15 on the operation panel 14, the time controller 11 has previously stored an injection pattern, which will be described later, so that the injection pattern is followed. The time controller 11 issues an instruction to each of the air amount controller 12 and water flow rate controller 13. Then, the circulation pump 5 and the flow rate control valve 7 are operated according to instructions from the water flow rate controller 13, and the amount of circulating water in the bathtub water circulation channel 4 is controlled by the flow rate bypassing the bypass path 6 from the branch point B to the confluence point A. , a water flow that changes over time flows through the jet nozzle 3. Further, the air control valve 9 controls the amount of air sucked into the jet nozzle 3 from the air pipe 8 according to the opening degree of the valve.

In this way, the water flow and the amount of air supplied to the jet nozzle 3 described above are individually varied and supplied according to the jet pattern described later, thereby creating the bubble flow that is the object of the present invention.

Therefore, first, the amount of air sucked into the jet nozzle 3 is controlled by the air control valve 9, as shown in the upper part of FIG. 3(a).
There are three stages: ``High'', which opens to the maximum depending on the opening degree of the valve, ``Small'', which opens halfway, and ``Stop J,'' which completely closes the valve.

In addition, the water flow can be set to "weak", in which the flow rate control valve 7 is opened to the maximum, the bypass flow rate escaping to the bypass path 6 is maximized, and the amount of circulating water to the circulation channel 4 is reduced, and the flow rate control valve 7 is fully closed. The amount of circulating water to the circulating water channel 4 is controlled in two stages: "Strong" and "Strong", which maximizes the amount of circulating water.

Next, when the amount of air and the water flow are individually changed depending on the elapsed time as shown in the figure above, these are combined and a water flow containing air bubbles is generated as a so-called bubble flow at the jet nozzle 3.
As shown in the lower diagram of FIG. 3, the jet flow strength shown on the vertical axis is varied in the bathtub 1. Among these, in the tie straw bags (A), (E), (S), and (R), the air amount is "stopped" and 0, so the jet strength is approximately O regardless of the water flow. This is because the jet strength of a water flow alone is significantly smaller than that of a bubble flow containing air, and in this example, this jet strength is indicated as O. Next, at timings (B) and (F), the air amount is "small" in both cases, but there is a difference in water flow between "weak" and "strong", and the opening degree of the air control valve 9 Even if there is, the amount of air intake induced by the water flow is different, and the water flow
"Strong" has a larger amount of air, so the jet strength is greater. In addition, when the timing is switched by the controller 10, such as from (a) to (b) or from (su) to (nu), and the jet strength after switching is greater than before switching, immediately after switching As detailed in the conventional example above, the jet strength shows a peak value P that is larger than the S value at a certain time after that, and the value of the peak value P varies depending on the changing conditions of the water flow and air amount. Ru. In addition, if it is simply expressed as jet strength in the text, it means S value. In addition, even if the air volume is the same at timings (c) and (g), the water flow is different, and as with the comparison between (b) and (f) above, there is a difference in jet strength, and (B).

The air control valve 9 and the flow rate control valve 7 are arranged such that the jet strength of each of them differs stepwise in the order of (c), (f), and (g).
Set the opening degree of the multiple valve.

Note that when the jet strength decreases, such as when transitioning from timing (c) to (d) or from (d) to (e), the intake air amount decreases, so the peak value P at the beginning of the transition is a change that does not appear. In this way, the air volume is set to 3 levels and the water flow is set to 2 levels.
If each stage is individually controlled and combined, the jet strength will be in five stages from 0 to 4.

Then, the valve openings of the flow rate control valve 7 and the air control valve 9 are combined, and the difference between the before and after changes in the jet flow strength is taken as the amplitude, and the combinations where this amplitude can be obtained from 1 to 4 are determined as follows. It is shown in Table 1. As shown in this table, when the five levels of jet strength described above are combined, the high and low jet strengths corresponding to each amplitude are clearly shown, so this combination can be used to create various jet strengths with different specifications. You can create spray patterns. For your reference, the first
An example corresponding to the tree table in Figure 3 is shown in the bottom column of the table.

(Margin below) Table 1 In the table, it means that any number is acceptable instead of O.

Then, based on the bubble flow shown in Figure 3fa1,
The injection pattern of this embodiment will be explained below in accordance with FIG. 2. (In Figure 81, the amplitude of the jet strength is all set to 1, and the jet strength of the jet nozzle 3, which changes gradually over time, is understood as a temporal change. As shown by the broken line in the figure,
Changes over long periods of time, such as those separated by E, F, and G spans, are also shown at the same time. In other words, in span D, the change in elevation when switching each jet is gradual, but the jet strength shows the maximum amplitude from O to 4 with a period of about 35 seconds, and in the conventional example, when switching Compared to the situation in which the same jet flow amplitude was instantaneously and rapidly changed by opening and closing a solenoid valve for air intake, the effect on the bubble bath bather was changed from instantaneous and excessively strong stimulation. It becomes possible to soften the stimulation to a moderately strong one. Even if the change in jet strength has a long period of approximately 35 seconds, small changes in jet strength due to switching of each jet are synthesized during the change, making it monotonous for bathers. Note that at point C in the figure, the water flow has changed from "weak" to "strong", but the air amount has changed from "high" to "low J" and the intake air Because the amount decreases, the peak value no longer appears as in the other examples.In this way, change the water flow from "weak J" to "strong" midway, and set "strong" for about 20 seconds. By setting the water flow at a constant level and controlling the air volume in two stages, the jet pattern can be achieved for a long time, which is unachievable with conventional means of controlling the water flow at a constant level and the air volume at two stages. Over time, the amplitude of the jet strength is 2 or more (4 in this span D, 2 in the span G described below), and during that time, the amplitude changes by 1 or 2 (l in this injection pattern). It is possible to create an injection pattern with gradual changes that include

Next, for spans E and F, the water flow is constant at "weak J", and the air volume is also controlled in two stages, so if you look at each individually, there is no difference from the conventional one, but the water flow strength is the same. It is improved in that there is a gradual transition from E to F with an amplitude of 1, and the average jet strength of each span is different as shown by the broken line.

In addition, since span G includes a part where the jet strength switches between 2 and 3, the water flow and air amount change individually at each jet strength, and unlike other spans, the water flow does not change. It is noticeable that the change occurs in a short period of time, but if you look closely at the change shown by the broken line, you can see that the jet strength changes between 1 and 3 with an amplitude of 2 and about 3.
It is a pattern that changes slowly in 0 seconds, and the span D is 2.
The amplitude is 1/1.

Next, in Figure 2(b), the control of the flow rate control valve 7 is switched to two stages, ``strong'' and ``weak'', the same as in the previous example, but this switching process is instantaneous as in the previous example. However, depending on the switching time, two speed gradients of 5 seconds and 15 seconds are used to gently shift the speed linearly. Regarding the amount of air, the air control valve 9 is controlled in three stages, ``stop,''``low,'' and ``high,'' the same as in the previous example. '', the switching time required for one stage is 3 seconds, the transition is gradual compared to the previous example, and the number of switching per unit time is smaller than the previous example, indicating an injection pattern that combines the water flow and air amount. .

First, span M, which shows a simple injection pattern, will be explained. First, the air volume is "small" and constant, the water flow is initially "weak" and the jet strength is 1, and then the elapsed time is 90 seconds to 5.
When the water flow strength increases to "strong" with a velocity gradient of angle θ in seconds, the jet strength increases almost linearly from the initial point U in 1 as shown by the slope α in the figure, and the elapsed time is 95. In seconds, the jet strength shown at point V reaches 3 and then shows a constant value. At point 7, the water flow slowly rises from point U over a period of 5 seconds, so the amount of air intake increases to follow the negative pressure that increases as the water flow becomes stronger. The peak value P is not generated as in the example.

After that, the jet strength continues to change as the water flow changes, and the jet pattern becomes similar to the water flow change pattern.

Compared to the previous example shown in Figure (a), the water flow and air volume do not change suddenly and rapidly, and the jet strength does not have a small amplitude, so it provides a more gradual and gentle stimulation to the bather. give.

Next, to explain the span K, at the start, the air amount changes from "stop" to "small" indicated by one point, so the jet flow strength first rises to 1 indicated by point R, and then the water flow increases with a velocity gradient θ1.
However, during this time, the amount of air remains constant at "low", and the jet strength is 3 as shown at point m on the slope of angle α1.
rises to.

Then, since we added two small changes after that, we were able to take a longer time for the "strong" part of the water flow than in the example of Span M without creating a monotonous feeling, and after that, the water flow descends in contrast to when it rises. .

In addition, the span L is the amount of air in the gradual rise and fall process of the water flow.
This is an example of a change from "little" to "many." During this time, the water flow rises from "weak" to "strong" with a velocity gradient θt, but the amount of air remains "small" and constant until point P on the way.
The jet strength increases to point r with a velocity gradient of α2. Thereafter, since the air amount increases to "large" indicated by point q and then shows a constant value, the jet flow strength increases to 4 indicated by one point, with 5 points corresponding to the q point as an inflection point. Although subsequent changes are omitted, in the case of a transition that takes a long time to ascend and descend at a slow velocity gradient, as in this example, changes in air volume are included in the middle to avoid a monotonous feeling, and the speed of the jet strength is It is best to create a subtle and delicate effect by changing the gradient midway through.

Next, Figure (C) shows an example of an injection pattern created in a different manner from the example shown in Figures (A) and (Middle) in the front row. In the previous example, the number of changes per unit time of the water flow was small, and the number of changes of the air amount was made large, but in this example, the number of changes per unit time is smaller, and the number of changes per unit time is higher for the water flow than for the air amount. I made it less.

For this purpose, first, as shown in Figure 3(b), the water flow is
As in the case of example (b), the switching time for each stage is 3 seconds, and in combination with the amount of air, the jet nozzle 3 as shown in the figure It has a jet strength of

At this time, "Strong" and "Weak" are given the same jet strength as in the previous example, and "Medium", which was newly established this time, is intermediate between them. When,
3 is the same as the combination of "strong" water flow and "low" air flow, and when the air flow is "low", it is the same as the combination of "weak" water flow and "high" air flow from the flow rate control valve 7. It was set as 2. This is to prevent the amplitude of the jet strength from increasing when the water flow is switched if the water flow is divided into only two stages, "strong" and "weak." For example, when the amount of air is "large" and the water flow is almost constant, when the water flow is switched between "strong" and "weak", the change in jet strength will be as large as 2. ” and “medium” or “medium” and “weak”, the change can be suppressed to a small value of 1, and the change in jet strength can be made gradual.

Based on the above conditions, we will now explain the injection pattern shown in Figure (C). First of all, in the above figure, the air amount shows gradual and large changes over time, and this change changes between "stop", "low" and "high" at a small frequency of 3 times in about 110 seconds. There is. As for the water flow, the number of changes per unit time is greater than that of the air amount, and when this water flow and the air amount are at the bottom, that is, under these conditions, the circulation pump 5 is driven and controlled. When the flow rate control valve 7 and the air control valve 9 are controlled by the device 10, an injection pattern is obtained in which the jet strength on the vertical axis changes smoothly and gently with the elapsed time on the horizontal axis shown in the figure below. This injection pattern exhibits characteristics similar to those shown in the previous figure, in which the water flow and air volume conditions are in an inverse relationship. Furthermore, Figure 2 (C
) will be omitted.

Furthermore, in the present embodiment, it is also possible to create a jet pattern with a large amplitude of jet flow strength and strong stimulation to the bather, which is the same as in the conventional example, but the description and explanation thereof are omitted.

Effects of the Invention As is clear from the above explanation, in the present invention, the jet strength of the bubble flow jetted by the jet nozzle is gradually controlled over a long period of time.
And by using injection patterns with varying amplitudes,
It has the effect of giving the bather a relaxed feeling without feeling monotonous.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

Fig. 1 is a configuration diagram showing an embodiment of the bubble bath circulation device of the present invention, Fig. 2 is a characteristic diagram showing the bubble injection pattern of the same embodiment, and Fig. 3 is a water flow that creates the injection pattern of Fig. 2. FIG. 4 is a configuration diagram showing a conventional bubble bath circulation device, and FIG. 5 is a characteristic diagram showing the bubble injection pattern of the conventional example. 3... Jet nozzle, 5... Circulation pump, 7... Flow rate control valve, 9... Air control valve, 10... Control vessel.

Claims (1)

[Claims] a bathtub; a circulation waterway for guiding water in the bathtub to the outside and returning it back into the bathtub via a jet nozzle; and a flow rate control means provided in the circulation waterway to control the amount of bathwater circulated by a circulation pump. , communicates with the jet nozzle;
An air pipe having an air control valve for controlling the amount of air in the middle, and the flow of bath water passing through the jet nozzle and the amount of air sucked through the air pipe by the ejector effect generated by this passing water are separately controlled. , and by varying the frequency of change per unit time, the air volume (or water volume) is high and the water volume (or air volume) is low, so that the period of the jet strength of the bubble flow that is a combination of both is long, In addition, the air control valve and the flow rate control means for controlling the amount of circulating water in the bathtub are changed variously over time so that small changes with short amplitudes are included in the middle of the change, and the memory element is controllably controlled. A bubble bath circulation device equipped with a pre-memorized controller.