JPH07324819A - Bath unit - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To arbitrarily adjust bath water purifying ability according to the degrees of the bath water contamination or the variations of water quality in different localities. CONSTITUTION:A bath unit 1 wherein water is taken out of a bathtub 2, purified by an electrolytic treatment and sent back into the bathtub 2 is provided with a circulating means 4 for taking the water out of the bathtub 2 and sending it back therein, a purifying means 6 for purifying such bath water by an electrolytic action and a first operating means (automatic purifying switch 10a) for generating the signal to perform the purifying operation responsively to the operation. The bath unit is further provided with second operating means (weak purifying switch 10c, and strong purifying switch 104) for generating the signal for designating an arbitrary magnitude of the purifying ability responsively to the operation and a control means 8 for controlling the aforesaid means 4 and 6 responsively to the signals from all the operating means (10a, 10c and 10d).

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a bath unit for taking out bath water from a bath, purifying it by electrolytic treatment, and returning it to the bath.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Generally, when a person takes a bath, organic substances, chlorides and the like from the human body are mixed with the bath water, so that the bath water becomes cloudy or slimy. On the other hand, one that purifies bath water is considered.

For example, as disclosed in Japanese Utility Model Laid-Open No. 2-108794, an electrolytic cell is provided in the middle of a circulating water channel connected to a bath, and this electrolytic cell converts chloride ions in the bath water into hypochlorite ions. The generated water is used to purify the bath water by the sterilizing action by the oxidizing power of this available chlorine. This electrolytic cell has a structure in which a power source is connected to a positive electrode plate and a negative electrode plate installed inside, and H ₂ O + Cl ⁻ → ClO ⁻ +
The reaction of H ₂ produces available chlorine.

The purifying operation by the electrolytic cell is fixed to a certain capacity, and the operating time is set to be long or short depending on the contamination of bath water.

[0005]

By the way, in the above-mentioned conventional example, when the purifying operation is executed, the bath water is purified to a required level unless the length of the operating time is controlled according to the degree of contamination of the bath water. I can't. In other words, if the water in the bathtub is not too dirty, the operating time will be short, so you can enter the bath relatively quickly, but if the water in the bathtub is heavily soiled, you will inevitably have to perform the cleaning operation for a long time. , It will take too long to get ready for bathing.

Further, water quality of tap water supplied to the tub (chloride ion (Cl - concentration and the conductivity ^of)) to have a deviation in each region, when the execution time of the cleaning operation is constant, the region The effective chlorine generation efficiency in the electrolytic cell varies from time to time, resulting in a difference in the progress of purification.

[0007] Therefore, an object of the present invention is to make it possible to arbitrarily adjust the purification capacity according to the degree of contamination of bath water and the deviation of water quality by region.

[0008]

A bath unit of the present invention takes out bath water from a bath, purifies it by electrolytic treatment, and returns it to the bath. Circulation means for taking bath water out of the bath and returning it, and Purifying means for purifying bathtub water by electrolytic action, first operating means for outputting a signal for executing a purifying operation in response to an operation, and a signal for designating strength of the purifying ability in response to operation Second
It is provided with operating means and control means for controlling each element in response to an output signal from each operating means.

The above-mentioned second operating means can be arranged at a position where the bather can operate, or can be concealed at a position where the contractor can operate.

[0010]

When the first operating means is operated, the circulating means and the purifying means are operated, the bath water is taken out of the bath, purified by the electrolytic treatment in the purifying means, and then returned to the bath.

When the second operating means is operated, the level of the purifying ability of the purifying means is set according to the operation, so that the electrolytic treatment is carried out under that condition.

The second operating means may arbitrarily set the strength of the purification capacity in consideration of the degree of fouling of the bath water or the water quality deviation for each area.

[0013]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS The details of the present invention will be described below with reference to the embodiments shown in FIGS. 1 to 4 relate to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 1 is a schematic configuration diagram of a bath unit, FIG. 2 is a flowchart of an automatic cleaning operation mode of the bath unit, and FIG. 3 is a weak cleaning operation by interruption. FIG. 4 is a flow chart of the mode, and FIG. 4 is a flow chart of the strong purification operation mode by interruption.

The bath unit 1 in the illustrated example comprises a bath kettle 4 for heating the bath water of the bath 2, a purifying device 6 as a purifying means for purifying the bath water by electrolytic treatment, and a combustion control and purifying device for the bath kettle 4. A controller 8 as a control unit for performing purification control of 6 and an operation unit 10 for inputting various commands to the controller 8 are provided.

The bath pot 4 is of a natural circulation type,
The inflow side and the outflow side of the bath water of the heat exchanger 12 are connected to the bath 2 via a pair of water pipes 14a and 14b, respectively, and the heat exchanger 12 is heated below the heat exchanger 12. A gas burner 16 is provided for the heat exchanger 1.
An exhaust duct 18 is provided so as to surround the gas burner 16 and the gas burner 16, and an exhaust fan 20 is arranged at the upper outlet of the exhaust duct 18. The bath pot 4 corresponds to the circulation means in the claims.

A water level sensor 22 for detecting the water level of the bath water is attached to an appropriate portion of the wall of the heat exchanger 12. As the water level sensor 22, various types such as a diaphragm type and a type using a semiconductor resistance element are applied.

The purifying device 6 has a bypass water passage 24 provided so that an inlet and an outlet are respectively opened to the water pipes 14a and 14b on the inflow side and the outflow side of the bath water of the heat exchanger 12. A circulation pump 26 for stirring bath water and an electrolysis tank 28 for electrolyzing bath water are sequentially arranged in the middle of the bypass water passage 24, and a DC power supply 30 is connected to each electrode of the electrolysis tank 28. Has been done.

The power source 30 switches the polarity of the voltage applied to the electrodes between positive and negative inversion at a predetermined cycle for the purpose of, for example, preventing a decrease in electrolysis efficiency due to adhesion of scale to the electrodes of the electrolytic cell 28. .

A steam / water separator 32 for discharging hydrogen gas generated by electrolysis to the outside is attached to the upper part of the electrolytic cell 28, and an exhaust pipe of the steam / water separator 32 is close to the gas burner 16. The exhaust duct 18 is opened below the exhaust duct 18.

The operation unit 10 includes an automatic purification switch 10a for specifying an automatic operation mode for automatically setting the presence / absence of purification and the strength of the purification ability, and a bath water temperature setting switch 1.
0b, a weak purification switch 10c for designating a weak operation mode with weak purification ability, a strong purification switch 10d for setting a strong operation mode with strong purification ability, and other various switches are provided, and a signal is output according to the operation. . The purification switch 10a corresponds to the first operating means in the claims, and the weak purification switch 10c and the strong purification switch 10d correspond to the second operating means in the claims.

The housing 7 of the bath unit 1
An adjustment switch 9 for steplessly adjusting the purification capacity of the purification device 6 in accordance with the water quality of each region is provided inside. Basically, the adjusting switch 9 is appropriately operated by the contractor when the bath unit 1 is installed, based on the quality of tap water in the installation area, and the bather cannot operate it. The adjustment switch 9 is a stepless switch such as a volume switch, but may be a multi-step changeover switch such as a dip switch.

The controller 8 is composed of a microcomputer in this example, and comprises a discrimination means 8a, a purification permission means 8b, and a purification condition changing means 8c.

The discriminating means 8a discriminates the degree of contamination of the bath water as shown in Table 1 below, based on the detection output of the water level sensor 22 and the output from the automatic cleaning switch 10a of the operating section 10. Is. Purification permission means 8b
Is to permit or reject the execution of the cleaning operation based on the determination result of the determination means 8a. The purification condition changing unit 8c changes the purification condition of the purification device 6 based on the determination result of the determination unit 8a when the purification permission unit 8b permits the execution of the cleaning operation, and the weak purification switch of the operation unit 10. The purifying condition of the purifying device 6 is changed based on the outputs from the 10c and the strong purifying switch 10d, and the criterion of the purifying condition by the purifying device 6 is changed based on the output from the adjusting switch 9.

Next, the operation of the bath unit 1 having the above structure will be described. In the bath unit 1 here, the automatic operation mode, the weak operation mode, and the strong operation mode can be selectively executed.

[0025]

[Table 1]

In the flow charts of Table 1 and FIG. 2, the bathing flag F _N is a flag for indicating that the bath has been bathed in the bathtub 2, and the cleaning flag F _J is one of the cleaning operations. It is a flag for indicating that it has been done.

As can be seen from Table 1, when the bathing flag F _N is "0", it is fresh water and the state before bathing,
Alternatively, it indicates either the state of remaining water and the state after purification, and "1" indicates the state after bathing and before purification.

Further, when the purification flag F _J is "0", it indicates that no purification operation has been executed before (that is, it is fresh water), and when it is "1" or more, it indicates any before. It indicates that the purification operation has been executed (hence, it is residual water).

First, the discriminating means 8a constituting the controller 8 takes in the detection output of the water level sensor 22 and discriminates whether the water level sensor 22 is in the on state or the off state (step 1).

When the water level sensor 22 is in the off state, the bathtub 2 is not filled with hot water and the bathtub water is drained. At this time, therefore, the discrimination means 8a causes the bathing flag F _N and the purification flag. Clear both F _J and "0" (step 2). Further, a discrimination signal indicating that there is no bath water is given to the purification permission means 8b.

Then, it is determined whether or not the automatic cleaning switch 10a has been operated (step 3). If the automatic cleaning switch 10a has not been operated, the process returns to step 1. On the other hand, even if the automatic purification switch 10a is operated, the purification operation cannot be performed without the bath water, so the purification permission unit 8b disallows the execution of the purification operation and the automatic purification switch After ignoring the command from 10a and turning on an LED (not shown) provided in the operation unit 10 or issuing an alarm by a buzzer or the like (step 4),
Return to step 1.

In step 1, when the water level sensor 22 is in the ON state, the bathtub 2 is filled with hot water.
At this time, the discrimination means 8a gives a discrimination signal indicating that bath water is present to the purification permission means 8b, and next, whether or not the pressure from the water surface of the bath water (head pressure) detected by the water level sensor 22 has changed. Is determined (step 5).

If the head pressure has changed, it means that the bath has been bathed in the bathtub 2. Therefore, at this time, the discrimination means 8a
In order to indicate that the bath is in the state after bathing and before purification, the bathing flag F _{N is set} to 1 (step 6) and then the process proceeds to the next step 7. If the head pressure has not changed, the state is in the state before bathing, so the process directly proceeds to step 7.

In step 7, the automatic cleaning switch 10a
Is determined to be operated, and if the automatic purification switch 10a is not operated, the process returns to step 1. On the other hand, when the automatic purification switch 10a is operated, it is subsequently determined whether or not the bathing flag F _N is "0" (step 8).

When the bathing flag F _N is "0", as shown in Table 1, there is no contamination of bath water because it is fresh water and before bathing, or residual water and after purification. The discrimination signal of is given to the purification permission means 8b.

Therefore, in this state, the purification permitting means 8b does not permit the execution of the purification operation, ignores the command from the automatic purification switch 10a, and lights the LED (not shown) provided in the operation section 10. After issuing an alarm such as a buzzer (step 9), the process returns to step 1.

On the other hand, in step 8, the bathing flag F
_{When N} is not "0" but "1", it means that the condition is after bathing and before purification, so the determining means 8a next determines whether or not the purification flag F _J is "0" (step 10). ).

When the purification flag F _J is "0" (at this time, the bathing flag F _N is "1"), as shown in Table 1, it is determined that the water is in a state after bathing in fresh water and before purification. Therefore, the determination unit 8a determines that the degree of contamination of the bath water is slight and accordingly outputs the signal in the weak operation mode to the purification condition changing unit 8c. At the same time, a signal for discriminating that the bath water is contaminated is given to the purification permission means 8b.

In response to this, the purifying permission means 8b permits execution of the purifying operation of the bath water, and the automatic purifying switch 10a.
The signal of the purification command from the same is also output to the purification condition changing means 8c. The purifying condition changing means 8c sets the purifying ability of the purifying device 6 to a low condition after setting the internal timer T ₁ (step 11) in response to the input of the purifying command and the signal input of the weak operation mode. The purifying operation is executed under this condition (step 12). That is, the circulation pump 26 is started, and each electrode of the electrolytic cell 28 is energized to electrolyze the bath water.

Here, in order to set a low capacity during the cleaning operation, for example, when the electrodes of the electrolytic cell 28 are energized at predetermined intervals, the electrolysis power (voltage or current) is reduced or energized. There are methods such as reducing the electrode area. Also, the set time of the internal timer T ₁ may be set short.

When the internal timer times out (step 13), the cleaning operation is stopped (step 1).
4) The bathing flag F _N is cleared to "0" to indicate the completion of purification, and the purification flag F _J is incremented to indicate that the purification operation has been executed (step 15). Then, it returns to step 1.

On the other hand, in step 10, when the purification flag F _J is "1" or more (at this time, the bathing flag F _N is "1"), as shown in Table 1, after the bathing of the residual water, the purification is performed. Since it can be determined that the state is the previous state, the determination unit 34 determines that the bathtub water is contaminated and outputs a strong operation mode signal to the purification condition changing unit 8c accordingly. At the same time, a signal for discriminating that the bath water is contaminated is given to the purification permission means 8b.

In response to this, the purification permission means 8b permits the execution of the bath water purification operation, and the automatic purification switch 10a.
The signal of the purification command from the same is also output to the purification condition changing means 8c.

The purifying condition changing means 8c sets the internal purifying capacity of the purifying device 6 to a high purifying condition after the cleaning command is input and the internal timer T ₂ is set in response to the signal input of the strong operation mode (step 16). And the purifying operation is executed under this condition (step 17). That is, the circulation pump 26 is started, and each electrode of the electrolytic cell 28 is energized to electrolyze the bath water.

Here, in order to set a high capacity during the cleaning operation, for example, when the electrodes of the electrolytic cell 28 are energized at predetermined intervals, the energization time interval is shortened or the electrolytic power (voltage or voltage) is set. There are methods such as increasing the electric current) and increasing the area of the electrode to be energized. Further, the set time of the internal timer T ₂ may be set long.

If the internal timer times out (step 18), the cleaning operation is stopped (step 1).
4) The bathing flag F _N is cleared to "0" to indicate the completion of purification, and the purification flag F _J is incremented to indicate that the purification operation has been executed (step 15). Then, it returns to step 1.

It should be noted that if bathing into the residual water is repeated, the water in the bathtub may become contaminated and the purification by the purification device 6 may not be sufficient. In this example, the purification flag F _J is incremented every time purification is performed, and therefore the purification flag F _J is set to a predetermined number of times K (however,
If K> 1) or more, a warning can be issued to replace with fresh water.

On the other hand, the weak purification switch 10c of the operation unit 10
When is operated, the interrupt processing shown in FIG. 3 independent of the above processing is executed. In other words, purification condition changing means 8c in accordance with an input of a weak operation command associated with the operation of weak cleaning switch 10c, after setting an internal timer T ₃ (step 21), the purifying capability of the purifier 6 same as above The condition is set to be low, and the purification operation is executed under this condition (step 22). When the internal timer times out (step 23), the cleaning operation is stopped (step 24), and the processing ends.

Further, the strong purification switch 10 of the operation unit 10
When d is operated, the interrupt process shown in FIG. 4 independent of the above process is executed. In other words, purification condition changing means 8c is strong purification according to the input of the strong operation command associated with the operation of the switch 10d, after setting an internal timer T ₄ (step 31), the purification capability of the cleaning device 6 similar to the above A high condition is set, and the purification operation is executed under this condition (step 32). When the internal timer times out (step 33), the cleaning operation is stopped (step 34), and the process ends.

However, step 1 in the above-mentioned weak operation mode and strong operation mode in the automatic operation mode of FIG. 2, and in weak operation mode of FIG. 3 and strong operation mode of FIG.
The purification conditions at 2, 17, 22, and 32 are appropriately set by the purification condition changing unit 8c based on the standard purification conditions designated and set by the contractor with the adjustment switch 9 in advance. Therefore, the purification conditions in steps 12, 17, 22, and 32 may be different depending on the designation of the adjustment switch 9.

As described above, in this embodiment, when the automatic operation mode is executed, the cleaning operation is not executed by ignoring the state of the bath water, but the cleaning operation is performed according to the degree of contamination of the bath water. Whether or not it is necessary is determined, and the cleaning operation is executed only when necessary, and the cleaning condition is changed depending on the degree of contamination of the bath water.
Therefore, the concentration of available chlorine generated in the bath water does not have to be higher than necessary, ensuring the safety of bathers and ensuring that the bath water is always purified under optimal conditions. Become.

[0052] In addition, not only the automatic operation mode described above, along with the have to be able to arbitrarily designate the weak operation mode and strong operation mode in accordance with the wishes of the bather, water quality caused by region (chloride ion (Cl ^- ) Concentration and electrical conductivity)) so that the construction company can adjust the strength of the purification capacity. Therefore, in addition to the purification according to the bather's wishes, the bath water can be stably purified regardless of the deviation in water quality between regions.

The present invention is not limited to the above embodiment. For example, the bath unit 1 can be configured by the purification device 6 alone, or can be configured by combining the jet device and the purification device 6. The bath kettle 4 is not limited to the natural circulation type, but may be a forced circulation type,
In this case, since the circulation pump 26 is installed in the bypass water passage 24 of the bath kettle 4, the circulation pump 26 of the purification device 6
May be omitted. Furthermore, in the above-described embodiment, the automatic operation mode is provided, but the present invention also includes the configuration without the automatic operation mode. In addition, in a configuration in which a single purification operation is performed under a fixed purification condition, the strength of the purification condition may be adjusted steplessly or in multiple steps.

In addition to the above, in the above embodiment, the degree of contamination of the bath water is indirectly determined based on a combination of various states such as replacement of bath water, change in water level due to bathing, presence or absence of past purification operation, and the like. However, the present invention also includes a device for directly determining the degree of contamination of bath water by using an infrared absorption amount measuring sensor, a conductivity measuring circuit, an effective chlorine measuring sensor, etc., which are not shown.

[0055]

According to the present invention, the strength of the purification capacity can be arbitrarily set by the second operating means according to the degree of contamination of the bath water and the water quality deviation depending on the area. You will be able to purify the water.

In particular, when the bather designates the weak driving or the strong driving in consideration of the degree of dirt in the bathtub water according to the number of bathers, the purification should be performed according to the wishes of the bathers. You can In addition, water quality (chloride ion (C
l ^- if such concentration or conductivity, etc.) Contractor the strength of the purification capacity taking into account the deviation of the) was made to adjust the
It will be possible to provide a stable bath unit in which the progress of purification does not vary from region to region.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic configuration diagram of an embodiment of a bath unit of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a flowchart of an automatic operation mode of the bath unit.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart of a weak operation mode with interruption of the bath unit.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart of a strong operation mode with interruption of the bath unit.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Bath unit 2 Bathtub 4 Bath kettle 6 Purification device 8 Controller 10 Operation part 10a Automatic purification switch 10c Weak purification switch 10d Strong purification switch

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. A bath unit for taking out bath water from a bath, purifying it by electrolytic treatment and returning it to the bath, a circulation means for taking bath water out of the bath and returning it, and purifying the taken bath water by electrolytic action. Purification means to
First operating means for outputting a signal for executing the cleaning operation in response to the operation, second operating means for outputting a signal for specifying the strength of the cleaning capacity in response to the operation, and output from each operating means A bath unit comprising: a control unit that controls each of the elements in response to a signal. 2. The bath unit according to claim 1, wherein the second operating means is arranged at a position where a bather can operate. 3. The second operation means is concealed at a position where a contractor can operate it.
Bath unit.