JPH08117741A - Ultraviolet sterilizer for bathtub - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE: To provide an ultraviolet sterilizer for a bathtub which has simple structure, can be produced at low costs, and is good at safety. CONSTITUTION: A pipe 8 of fluororesin having high ultraviolet transmittance is located in a water purification circuit which circulates and purifies water in a bathtub, a sterilizer of an ultraviolet lamp 9 is installed adjacent to the pipe 8, and water passing through the pipe 8 is irradiated with ultraviolet rays from the lamp 9.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention circulates water in a bath in a water purification circuit communicating with the bath and irradiates the water with ultraviolet rays to sterilize and purify bacteria and other germs contained in the water. The present invention relates to an ultraviolet sterilizer for bathtubs.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, as a UV sterilizer for bathtubs of this type, for example, a running water type internally illuminated UV sterilizer is generally known. This running water type internally illuminated ultraviolet sterilizer is equipped with a stainless steel pipe, a sterilizing lamp installed in the pipe, and a quartz glass protective tube for protecting the sterilizing lamp. By irradiating the treated water flowing outside the protection tube with ultraviolet rays from the inside with a sterilizing lamp, bacteria and various bacteria in the treated water are sterilized by the energy of the ultraviolet rays to be purified.

An external illumination type ultraviolet sterilizer is an apparatus using another type of ultraviolet irradiation, which is compared with the internal illumination ultraviolet sterilizer. This external illumination type ultraviolet sterilizer is equipped with a quartz glass piping pipe that passes ultraviolet rays well, and a sterilizing lamp arranged in parallel to the outside of this piping pipe. By irradiating with ultraviolet rays, bacteria and various bacteria in the treated water are sterilized and purified.

The external illumination type UV sterilizer is characterized by being less affected by the temperature and water quality of the treated water, while the internal illumination type UV sterilizer is more energy efficient than the external illumination type. Are better. Therefore, as a conventional UV sterilizer for bathtubs, an internally illuminated UV sterilizer for bathtubs is generally used.

[0005]

However, in the conventional ultraviolet sterilizer for an internally illuminated bathtub as described above, a quartz glass protective tube is indispensable as a material for separating the sterilizing lamp and the treated water. The surface of the quartz glass is apt to be contaminated with dirt, which often causes deterioration of sterilization performance. Moreover, since both the quartz glass and the sterilization lamp are made of glass, they are relatively easily damaged, and the sterilization lamp is easily affected by the temperature of the treated water, and the temperature of the treated water is extremely high or low. However, there is a problem that a stable bactericidal effect cannot be obtained in the case of large fluctuations in height.

The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and an object thereof is to provide an ultraviolet sterilizer for bathtubs, which has a simple structure and can be manufactured at low cost, and which is excellent in safety. .

[0007]

In order to solve the above-mentioned problems and to achieve the above-mentioned objects, the present invention circulates water in a bath 1 as shown in, for example, FIGS. In the water purification circuit 2 for purifying the water, a pipe 8 made of fluororesin having a high ultraviolet transmittance is interposed, and the pipe 8
The UV sterilization lamp 9 is installed next to the pipe pipe 8
It is characterized in that the water passing through the inside is irradiated with ultraviolet rays from the ultraviolet sterilization lamp 9.

The ultraviolet sterilizer for bathtubs of the present invention is
For example, as shown in FIG. 1, it is preferable that the piping pipe 8 and the ultraviolet sterilization lamp 9 have a structure in which both ends are commonly supported by a pair of connecting members 10 and 11.

Further, the ultraviolet sterilizer for bathtubs of the present invention is
For example, as shown in FIG. 1, a pair of connecting members 10, 11
It is preferable that a cleaning port 28 into which a cleaning tool for cleaning the inside of the pipe 8 is inserted is provided in at least one of the above.

Further, in the apparatus for sterilizing ultraviolet rays for a bath according to the present invention, for example, as shown in FIG. 1, the piping pipe 8 of fluororesin has a tetrafluoroethylene-hexafluoropropylene copolymer resin or tetrafluoroethylene. It is preferable to use a pipe made of one of a perfluoroalkoxyethylene copolymer resin and a tetrafluoroethylene resin.

[0011]

The present invention has the above-mentioned configuration,
When the UV germicidal lamp is turned on and the water passing through the fluororesin piping pipes next to each other is irradiated with ultraviolet rays,
Since the ultraviolet ray transmittance of the piping pipe is high and the ultraviolet ray is well transmitted, it is possible to efficiently sterilize bacteria and various bacteria contained in water.

By supporting both ends of the pipe and the ultraviolet sterilizing lamp with a pair of connecting members in common, the number of components can be reduced and the supporting structure can be simplified, and the workability of assembling and disassembling can be improved. Can be improved.

Furthermore, by providing a cleaning port on at least one of the pair of connecting members, a cleaning tool can be inserted through this cleaning port to easily clean the inner surface of the pipe.

Furthermore, the piping pipe is made of tetrafluoroethylene-
By using a pipe made of any one of hexafluoropropylene copolymer resin, tetrafluoroethylene-perfluoroalkoxyethylene copolymer resin, or tetrafluoroethylene resin, it is possible to maintain a high ultraviolet transmittance. As a result, it is possible to suppress a decrease in sterilization efficiency and improve the safety of the piping pipe.

[0015]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. 1 to 5 show an embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 1 is a sectional view of an ultraviolet sterilizer for bath, FIG. 2 is a front view of the ultraviolet sterilizer for bath, and FIG. 3 is AA of FIG. FIG. 4 is a plan view of the UV sterilizer for bathtubs, and FIG. 5 is an explanatory view showing a usage state of the UV sterilizer for baths.

In FIG. 5, 1 is a bath, and 2 is a water purification circuit for circulating and purifying the water in the bath 1. The water purification circuit 2 is connected to the bathtub 1 through a supply pipe 3 and a return pipe 4, and the water purification circuit 2 is connected from the supply pipe 3 to the water purification circuit 2.
The water in the bathtub 1 introduced therein is filtered in the water purification circuit 2 and bacteria, germs and the like are sterilized, and returned to the bathtub 1 through the return pipe 4.

The water purification circuit 2 has a hydraulic pump 5 for taking in water in the bath 1 through a supply pipe 3, and the hydraulic pump 5.
A filtering device 6 for filtering the water supplied by the above, and an ultraviolet sterilizing device 7 for sterilizing bacteria and various bacteria contained in the filtered water are provided. The water sterilized by the ultraviolet sterilizer 7 is returned from the return pipe 4 into the bathtub 1, and the water in the bathtub 1 is purified by circulating the water between the bathtub 1 and the water purification circuit 2 in this way. It can be maintained hygienically.

As shown in FIGS. 1 to 4, the ultraviolet sterilizer 7 has a pipe 8 made of a fluororesin in a pipe shape, an ultraviolet sterilization lamp 9, and a pair of connecting members 10 and 1.
1 and. The material of the pipe 8 of the ultraviolet sterilizer 7 is a fluororesin having a high ultraviolet transmittance, specifically, tetrafluoroethylene-hexafluoropropylene copolymer resin (FEP), tetrafluoroethylene-perfluoroalkoxy. Either one of ethylene copolymer resin (PFA) and tetrafluoroethylene resin (PTFE) is suitable.

Here, tetrafluoroethylene resin (PTF
E) is the oldest discovered fluorocarbon resin with excellent chemical, electrical, mechanical, temperature and surface properties.
Although it has the characteristic that it is a substance, it has a very high viscosity above the crystal melting point (327 ° C) and is difficult to melt-form, so it must be formed by a special forming method similar to powder metallurgy. There is a difficulty that you cannot do it. On the contrary,
Tetrafluoroethylene-hexafluoropropylene copolymer resin (F
EP) has the characteristic of having melt moldability in various characteristics of tetrafluoroethylene resin (PTFE), has the same skeleton as that of PTFE, and is partially- It has a chemical structure with a CF ₃ side chain. This F
The main difference between EP and PTFE is operating temperature, and continuous operating temperature is 260 ° C for PTFE and 2 for FEP.
The point is 00 ° C.

The tetrafluoroethylene-perfluoroalkoxyethylene copolymer resin (PFA) has a melting point of FEP.
It is much higher and close to PTFE, and the continuous use temperature is the same 260 ° C. And chemical, electrical, mechanical and surface properties are also very similar, and the melt moldability is very good,
It has the flexibility of thermoplastics and the use characteristics very close to those of PTFE.

Therefore, according to the pipe 8 of the fluororesin (PTFE, FEP, PFA) having such characteristics, ultraviolet rays can be well transmitted due to its property, so that the treated water flowing in the pipe is exposed to ultraviolet rays. It can be irradiated efficiently. Moreover, these fluororesins (PTF
Since dirt is unlikely to adhere to the surface of the piping pipe 8 of (E, FEP, PFA), it is possible to prevent dirt contained in the treated water from adhering to the inner surface of the piping pipe 8.

A pair of upper and lower connecting members 10 and 11 are fitted to both ends of the pipe 8 having such characteristics. Upper connection member 10 attached to the upper end of the pipe 8
Is a cylinder shaft body 12 having a T-shaped liquid passage, and this cylinder shaft body 1.
2 and a flange portion 13 integrally provided in the middle of
The flange portion 13 is formed to have a substantially rhombic plan shape. The cylindrical shaft body 12 is integrally formed with the flange portion 13 so as to be eccentric to one side of one diagonal line,
A lamp mounting hole 14 for holding the upper end of the ultraviolet sterilizing lamp 9 is formed on the opposite side of the cylindrical shaft body 12 so as to be symmetrical with the cylindrical shaft body 12.

The cylindrical shaft body 12 has a lower connecting portion 12a having a liquid passage opening downward, a horizontal connecting portion 12b having a liquid passage opening sideward, and an upper projecting portion 1 having a liquid passage opening upward.
2c, and the upper end of the pipe 8 is fitted to the lower connecting portion 12a. Reference numeral 15 denotes a fastening tool for the piping pipe 8, which fastens the piping pipe 8 to the lower connecting portion 12a to prevent water from leaking from the joint surface between the two members 8 and 12a. Further, a return pipe 4 for returning water to the bathtub 1 is connected to the lateral connection portion 12b of the cylindrical shaft body 12.

A cap screw 16 is detachably screwed onto the upper protruding portion 12c of the cylindrical shaft body 12, and the liquid passage of the upper protruding portion 12c forms a cleaning port 28. The cap screw 16 is removed to remove the cleaning port 28 of the upper protrusion 12c.
By opening the cleaning tool, a cleaning tool such as a cleaning brush can be inserted into the pipe 8 through the cleaning port 28.

On the other hand, the lower connecting member 11 attached to the lower end of the pipe 8 is a cylindrical shaft body 17 having an I-shaped liquid passage.
And a flange portion 18 integrally provided in the middle of the cylindrical shaft body 17, and the planar shape of the flange portion 18 is formed in a substantially rhombic shape so as to be symmetrical with the flange portion 13 of the upper connecting member 10. The cylinder shaft body 17 is eccentric with respect to the flange portion 18 on one side of one diagonal line. A lamp mounting hole 19 for holding the lower end of the ultraviolet sterilizing lamp 9 is formed on the opposite side of the cylindrical shaft body 17 so as to be symmetrical with the cylindrical shaft body 17.

The liquid passage of the cylindrical shaft 17 is opened vertically, and the outlet of the filtering device 6 is connected to the lower connecting portion 17a having the liquid passage opened downward, and the liquid passage opened upward. The lower end of the pipe 8 is fitted into the upper connecting portion 17b. A fastening tool 15 is attached to the lower end of the piping pipe 8 similarly to the upper end thereof. By fastening the piping pipe 8 to the upper connecting portion 17b with the fastening tool 15, the members 8 and 17b are joined together. Prevents water from leaking from the surface.

Sockets 2 for the ultraviolet germicidal lamp 9 are provided in the lamp mounting holes 14 and 19 of the upper and lower connecting members 10 and 11, respectively.
0 and 21 are fitted respectively. These sockets 2
0 and 21 are fixed to fixing plates 22 and 23, respectively, and as shown in FIG. 4, by fixing the fixing plates 22 and 23 to the connecting members 10 and 11 with a plurality of mounting screws 24, respectively. The sockets 20 and 21 are the connection members 10 and 11, respectively.
Each is detachably attached to. The ultraviolet sterilization lamp 9 is detachably mounted between the sockets 20 and 21 facing each other vertically.

Therefore, the ultraviolet sterilizing lamp 9 is arranged next to and parallel to the pipe 8 and irradiates the water in the pipe with ultraviolet light from the side through the pipe 8. Reference numeral 25 is a lead wire derived from each socket 20, 21.

As the ultraviolet sterilization lamp 9 as described above,
For example, a low pressure mercury discharge lamp can be used. This low pressure mercury discharge lamp has an artificially obtained wavelength of 253.7 nm.
Using (nanometer) ultraviolet rays, the energy of the ultraviolet rays sterilizes bacteria and other germs. Such a low-pressure mercury discharge lamp is similar to a general fluorescent lamp in principle, but uses quartz glass that transmits ultraviolet rays having a wavelength of 253.7 nm well as the material of the lamp tube, and uses a fluorescent material on the inner surface of the tube. The feature is that it is not applied.

A protective tube 26 is provided outside the piping pipe 8 and the ultraviolet sterilizing lamp 9 provided between the pair of connecting members 10 and 11 to cover the entire piping pipe 8 and the ultraviolet sterilizing lamp 9. ing. As shown in the sectional views of FIGS. 1 and 3, the protective tube 26 is made of a tubular body having an elliptical cross section, and the upper end thereof is fitted into an elliptical seat provided on the lower surface of the upper connecting member 10. The lower end is fitted into an elliptical seat provided on the upper surface of the lower connecting member 11. The protective tube 26 is made of a corrosion-resistant aluminum alloy, and its inner peripheral surface is a reflecting surface that can well reflect ultraviolet rays.
Therefore, the water passing through the inside of the pipe 8 is directly irradiated with the ultraviolet rays generated by the ultraviolet ray sterilization lamp 9 and also with the ultraviolet rays reflected by the reflection surface, so that the synergistic effect of the both effectively sterilizes the water. Be seen.

Further, as shown in FIG. 2, a pair of support rods 27, 27 is interposed between the pair of connecting members 10, 11. The pair of support rods 27, 27 are arranged in parallel with the pipe 8 and the ultraviolet sterilization lamp 9. The fixed plate 22 is provided on both ends of each support rod 27.
(Or 23) and the flanges 13 (or 18) respectively penetrate the tip ends of the mounting screws 24, 24, and by the pair of support rods 27, 27,
The two connecting members 10 and 11 are held at a predetermined interval.

According to the ultraviolet sterilizer for bathtub having the above-mentioned structure, as shown in FIG. 5, by driving the hydraulic pump 5, the water in the bathtub 1 is supplied from the supply pipe 3 to the water purification circuit 2. After being introduced into the inside, the treated water is filtered by the filtration device 6, and then supplied to the ultraviolet sterilization device 7. In this ultraviolet sterilizer 7, the treated water enters the pipe 8 from the lower connecting member 11 and is irradiated with ultraviolet rays from the ultraviolet sterilizing lamp 9 until reaching the upper connecting member 10. The energy of this ultraviolet light sterilizes bacteria and other bacteria in the treated water,
The treated water is purified and returned to the bathtub 1 through the return pipe 4.

In this case, the sterilization efficiency of the treated water greatly changes depending on the ultraviolet ray output of the ultraviolet ray sterilizing lamp 9 and the ultraviolet ray transmittance of the pipe 8. Therefore, when the ultraviolet ray output of the ultraviolet ray sterilizing lamp 9 is lowered, it is necessary to replace the ultraviolet ray sterilizing lamp 9, and when the ultraviolet ray transmittance of the pipe 8 is lowered, the surface thereof needs to be cleaned. There is.

In such a case, the replacement work of the ultraviolet sterilization lamp 9 can be performed as follows, for example. First, the mounting screws 24 screwed to the upper and lower connecting members 10 and 11 are removed, and the upper and lower fixing plates 2 are removed.
Holding the sockets 2 and 23, the sockets 20 and 21 are pulled out from the lamp mounting holes 14 and 19, respectively. As a result, one of the upper and lower sockets 20 and 21 is detached from the ultraviolet sterilization lamp 9 and taken out, and the other is taken out with the ultraviolet sterilization lamp 9 attached.

Therefore, the old ultraviolet sterilization lamp 9 is replaced with a new one, and the ultraviolet sterilization lamp 9 is attached to one of the sockets 20 (or 21) and inserted into the respective lamp mounting holes 14 and 19. Then, the ultraviolet sterilization lamp 9 is attached to the other socket 21 (or 20) in the protective tube 26.
After mounting, fix the upper and lower fixing plates 22, 23 with the mounting screw 24.
The ultraviolet sterilization lamp 9 replacement work is completed by screwing each of them to the connecting members 10 and 11. Therefore, the replacement work of the ultraviolet sterilization lamp 9 can be performed very easily in a short time.

The cleaning work of the piping pipe 8 can be performed, for example, as follows. First, the cap screw 16 is removed and the cleaning port 28 is released. Next, a cleaning tool such as a cleaning brush is inserted into the pipe 8 through the cleaning port 28, and the dirt attached to the inner surface of the pipe 8 is removed with the cleaning brush or the like. Thereby, the ultraviolet transmission efficiency of the pipe 8 can be restored, and the sterilization efficiency of the treated water can be returned to the original high state.

After that, the cap screw 16 is screwed into the upper projecting portion 12c again, and the cleaning port 28 is closed, whereby the cleaning work of the piping pipe 8 is completed. Therefore, the piping pipe 8
The cleaning work can be performed very easily in a short time.

The fluororesin piping pipe 8 is made of either tetrafluoroethylene-hexafluoropropylene copolymer resin, tetrafluoroethylene-perfluoroalkoxyethylene copolymer resin or tetrafluoroethylene resin. And
Since it is less fragile than the conventional quartz glass, there is almost no risk of damaging the pipe 8 during cleaning work, and therefore, there is no risk of the quartz glass being damaged and entering the bathtub 1. Therefore, according to this ultraviolet sterilizer for bathtubs, since the structure is simple and the maintenance is easy, the productivity is excellent, the maintenance and management are economical, and the safety can be improved.

As described above, the present invention is not limited to the above embodiment. In the above embodiment, an example in which the cleaning port 28 is provided only on the upper connecting member 10 has been described. The member 11 may be formed of the same material as the upper connecting member 10, and the lower connecting member may be provided with the cleaning port 28. Further, as the ultraviolet sterilization lamp 9, an example using a low-pressure mercury discharge lamp having a wavelength of 253.7 nm has been described in the above embodiment, but it goes without saying that a sterilization lamp that emits ultraviolet rays having a wavelength other than this can be used. Is.

Further, in the above examples, the fluororesin is tetrafluoroethylene-hexafluoropropylene copolymer resin (FEP), tetrafluoroethylene-perfluoroalkoxyethylene copolymer resin (PFA) or tetrafluoroethylene. Although an example of using any one of the resins (PTFE) has been described, other fluororesins having a high ultraviolet transmittance (close to the ultraviolet transmittance of quartz glass). It can be used if present. Furthermore,
In the above-described embodiment, the pair of connecting members 10 and 11 have a structure in which both ends of the pipe 8 and the ultraviolet sterilization lamp 9 are commonly supported, but it goes without saying that different members may be separately supported. . Thus, the present invention
Various changes can be made without departing from the spirit of the invention.

[0041]

As described above, according to the present invention,
Fluorine resin piping pipe with high UV transmittance is interposed in the water purification circuit, and an ultraviolet sterilizing lamp is installed next to it to irradiate the water passing through the piping pipe with ultraviolet rays. It is possible to efficiently sterilize bacteria and miscellaneous bacteria contained in the water, and a simple structure that can be manufactured at low cost.
It is possible to provide an ultraviolet sterilizer for bathtubs, which is highly safe and does not break the piping pipe.

Further, since the piping pipe and the ultraviolet sterilizing lamp are commonly supported by the pair of connecting members at both ends, the number of constituent parts can be reduced and the supporting structure can be simplified and maintenance can be performed. It is possible to provide an ultraviolet sterilizer for bathtubs that is easy and easy to maintain and manage.

Further, since the cleaning port is provided on at least one of the pair of connecting members, the cleaning tool can be inserted through the cleaning port to easily clean the inner surface of the piping pipe. It is possible to obtain an effect that it is possible to prevent the decrease in the ultraviolet transmittance due to the stain on the inner surface of the.

Further, the piping pipe is made of tetrafluoroethylene-
Hexafluoropropylene copolymer resin (FEP), tetrafluoroethylene-perfluoroalkoxyethylene copolymer resin (P
FA) or tetrafluoroethylene resin (PTFE),
By using a pipe made of any one of the resins, it is possible to maintain a high ultraviolet transmittance and suppress a decrease in sterilization efficiency, and at the same time, improve the durability of the piping pipe and achieve a highly safe ultraviolet sterilization for bathtubs. The effect that the device can be provided is obtained.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a vertical sectional view of an ultraviolet sterilizer for bathtubs of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a front view of the ultraviolet sterilizer for bathtubs of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a sectional view taken along line AA of FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a plan view of the ultraviolet sterilizer for bathtubs of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a schematic explanatory view showing a usage state of the bathtub ultraviolet sterilizing apparatus of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols] 1 bathtub 2 water purification circuit 3 supply pipe 4 return pipe 7 ultraviolet sterilizer 8 pipe pipe 9 ultraviolet sterilization lamp 10, 11 connection member 12, 17 cylinder shaft body 13, 18 flange part 14, 19 lamp mounting hole 16 Cap screw 20,21 Socket 28 Cleaning port

Claims (4)

[Claims] 1. A water purification circuit for circulating and purifying water in a bathtub is provided with a fluororesin piping pipe having a high ultraviolet transmittance, and an ultraviolet sterilization lamp is provided adjacent to the piping pipe. An ultraviolet sterilizer for bathtubs, characterized in that the water passing through the inside is irradiated with ultraviolet rays from the ultraviolet sterilization lamp. 2. The ultraviolet sterilizer for bath tubs according to claim 1, wherein both ends of the pipe and the ultraviolet sterilization lamp are commonly supported by a pair of connecting members. 3. The ultraviolet sterilizer for bathtubs according to claim 2, wherein at least one of the pair of connecting members is provided with a cleaning port into which a cleaning tool for cleaning the inside of the pipe is inserted. UV sterilizer for bathtubs. 4. The ultraviolet sterilizer for a bath according to claim 1, wherein the piping pipe of the fluororesin is tetrafluoroethylene-hexafluoropropylene copolymer resin, tetrafluoroethylene-
An ultraviolet sterilizer for a bath, which is a pipe made of any one of perfluoroalkoxyethylene copolymer resin or tetrafluoroethylene resin.