JPH0975624A - Apparatus for purifying bathtub water - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To obtain an apparatus for purifying bathtub water constituted so as to extend the life of an ultraviolet lamp without lowering steriliziing effect. SOLUTION: An ion wind generator 28 is provided to the suction pipe 12 connected to the ejector part of a jet nozzle 11 and a control unit allows an ultraviolet lamp 8 to light only for a bathing time zone and a sterilizing time zone set to about 1hr thereafter to sterilize bath water by ultraviolet rays to immediately clean contaminated hot bath water. A non-sterilizing time zone is controlled so as to prevent the propagation of bacteria by operating the ion wind generator to mix an ion wind with hot water bath.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a bath device, and in particular, it performs a cleaning treatment such as filtration and sterilization while forcibly circulating hot water in a bathtub and at the same time keeps it warm at the bath temperature to keep the bath water clean and at an appropriate temperature. The present invention relates to a so-called 24-hour bath device in which the user can take a bath at any time for 24 hours.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Recently, a bath water purifying device has been actively used, which keeps the hot water in the bathtub clean and at an appropriate temperature constantly, allows a comfortable bathing at any time for 24 hours, and saves water.

An example of such a bath water cleaning device is shown in FIG. 5, in which 1 is a bath, 2 is hot water, 3 is a suction pipe for pumping up hot water 2 in the bath 1, and 4 are An apparatus main body in which devices for cleaning the hot water pumped up by the hot water suction pipe 3 are collectively arranged, and 9 is a spout pipe for ejecting the hot water treated by the device main body 4 again into the bathtub 1. .

In order to remove dirt from the bath water, the apparatus body 4 is filled with various granular filter media such as activated carbon, activated stone, porous ceramic balls, etc., or a fibrous filter, individually or in combination, and a filtration tank 5. A circulation pump 6 for forcedly circulating hot water, a heater 7 for keeping the hot water at an appropriate temperature, an ultraviolet lamp 8 for sterilizing the hot water with ultraviolet rays, and the like are arranged in series and installed in the filtration tank 5. The hot water pipe 3 is connected to the heater 7 and the hot water pipe 9 is connected to form a cleaning line.

Numeral 10 is a prefilter attached to the tip of the hot water pipe 3 for removing large dirt in advance before it is pumped up to the apparatus main body 4, and 11 is hot water after cleaning treatment in the bathtub 1 as a jet flow having a high flow rate. Intake pipe 1 ejected to the
Reference numeral 2 is a jet nozzle connected to the ejector section.

An intake valve 13 such as a solenoid valve for opening and closing the conduit is provided at the tip of the intake pipe 12 connected to the ejector portion of the jet nozzle 11. When the intake valve 13 is opened, the intake force of the jet nozzle 11 causes the intake pipe to open. Air is sucked in from 12, and this air is mixed in the hot water at the ejector portion, and the air is jetted together with the hot water from the jet nozzle 11 into the bathtub 1 to form a bubble bath.

Further, in this apparatus, in order to remove the dirt on the filter material of the filtration tank 5, the hot water is made to flow backward into the tank and the hot water discharge pipe 1
In order to carry out so-called backwashing in which the water is discharged from 7, or to strengthen the jet flow, the hot water pipe 3 and the hot water pipe 10 are each provided with a switching valve 14 so that the pipe lines can be switched so that the hot water flows through the bypass pipe 16 with less resistance. And 15 are deployed.

Reference numeral 18 is provided in the hot water suction pipe 3 in order to prevent hot water in the pipe from slipping out when it is filled with water or to prevent the hot water from flowing back into the bathtub 1 when the operation of the circulation pump 6 is stopped. A check valve 19 is a differential pressure sensor that detects a water shortage in the pipeline based on the pressure difference between the suction side and the discharge side of the circulation pump 6 and prevents the idle operation of the circulation pump 6 and the empty heating of the heater 7. Yes 2
Reference numeral 0 denotes a hot water temperature sensor that controls the power supply to the heater 7 to constantly detect the hot water temperature and send it to the control device in order to keep the hot water temperature at an appropriate temperature.

In the device configured as described above, the user sets various operating conditions as necessary by using the operation panel functioning as a key input device and a display device as shown in FIG. The set conditions can be displayed, the operation is set by the run / stop key 21,
The hot water 2 in the bathtub 1 is cleaned by a prefilter 10 to remove large dirt, then sterilized with an ultraviolet lamp 8 for ultraviolet light, filtered by a filter tank 5, heated by a heater 7, and then jetted from a jet nozzle 11 at the tip of a spout tube 9. .

Further, the jet mode can be set by the jet key 22 so that a bath flow can be enjoyed by a bather by jetting a jet flow in which hot air is mixed with air.

Reference numeral 23 is a bathing key, and when a bather first operates the bathing key 23, a predetermined time after that is set as a bathing time zone. For example, when ozone sterilization is performed, this is limited to this bathing time zone. The ozone sterilization is stopped to protect the bather from harmful ozone, or various controls can be performed based on the bathing time zone, such as the setting of the sterilization time zone in the present invention.

When the strength is set by the jet key 22, the changeover valves 14 and 15 are switched and the hot water 2 in the bathtub 1 drawn from the hot water suction pipe 3 flows directly to the hot water pipe 9 through the bypass pipe 16. The resistance of the circulation path is reduced, and a strong jet flow is ejected from the jet nozzle 11.

When it is desired to continue the cleaning process to wash the filter material in the filtration tank 5, the switching valves 14 and 15 are switched by setting backwashing with a backwashing key (not shown), and the bathtub 1 drawn from the hot water pipe 3 The hot water 2 in the bypass pipe 16
There is also provided a backwashing mode in which the inside of the filtration tank 5 is backflowed through, and the water is drained from the hot water discharge pipe 17 to perform so-called backwashing.

Further, the operation panel shown in FIG. 6 is provided with a display switching key 24 and a setting changing key 25. By operating the display switching key 24, the display on the display panel 26 is changed to hot water temperature or time, and The setting of the hot water temperature or the time is changed by operating the setting change key 25, and the setting state of the operating condition by the above key operation is displayed by the plurality of display lamps 27.

Therefore, if the display switching key 24 is operated to switch the display panel 26 to the time display, and further the setting change key 25 is operated to set the time, as described above, the bathing key 23 is not operated and the bathing for a day is performed. The time zone can be set automatically.

When the bathing time zone is automatically set by using the display switching key 24 and the display panel 26, in addition to the control when the bathing key 23 is manually operated as described above, the bath temperature is set to the bathing time. It is convenient to control the bath temperature only in the zone and keep the bath temperature low during the non-bath period to save the heating cost.

Further, as shown in this example, when the sterilization of bath water is changed from the conventional ozone sterilization by the ozone ozoneizer to the ultraviolet sterilization by the ultraviolet lamp 8, harmful ozone is not generated from the hot water even if the bath water is sterilized. So you can enjoy bathing in clean water with peace of mind.

[0018]

However, if the bath water is sterilized by the ultraviolet lamp 8,
The ultraviolet lamp 8 is expensive, and the illuminance decreases as the irradiation time elapses. Naturally, if the illuminance decreases, the sterilizing power also decreases. Therefore, the irradiation time is about 10,000 hours using the device for about 1 year. When it comes to the end of its life, it will have to be replaced.

Therefore, in the case of ultraviolet sterilization, in order to extend the life of the ultraviolet lamp 9 as much as possible, it is considered that the application of power to the ultraviolet lamp 8 is controlled to be turned on and off to prevent ultraviolet sterilization all day long. .

According to this control method, only a predetermined time during which the bathing is expected within a day is defined as a sterilization time zone, and power is applied to the ultraviolet lamp 8 during this sterilization time zone for sterilization. There is a method and a method of repeating application and stop of power supply to the ultraviolet lamp 8 in a short time.

When the sterilization time period is set to be controlled for a certain period of time, the ultraviolet lamp 8 is supplied with power for only a few hours a day, so that the life is considerably extended, but the cleaning of the hot water is not sufficient. , Even if a cleaning device is installed, hot water must be replaced frequently.

That is, since the lifestyle is not the same every day, the bathing time period and the sterilization time period may not always match. In this case, in a state where the bath water is not sterilized by the bathing and bacteria are further proliferated. Even if it is left for a long time, and the bathing time and the sterilization time match, if a sterilized hot water is not sterilized for a long time, a large amount of bacteria will re-proliferate. By the time of the sterilization time, the hot water will be very dirty.

If the application and stop of the power supply to the ultraviolet lamp are repeated in a short time, the time for applying the power to the ultraviolet lamp can be reduced to about half a day without substantially reducing the sterilizing effect. 8 is ON-O
The life of the FF is shortened due to the frequent repetition of the FF.

The object of the present invention is to solve the above-mentioned drawbacks of the prior art, to prolong the life of the ultraviolet lamp 8 significantly, and to provide a bath water purifying device which can keep the hot water clean. And

[0025]

[Means for Solving the Problems] That is, according to the present invention, the hot water in the bathtub is forcibly circulated by a circulation pump through a cleaning pipe provided with various cleaning means to perform a cleaning treatment and then returned to the bathtub again. In the purifying apparatus, the first claim is that a sterilizing means and an ionic wind treating means for treating air containing anions of oxygen are provided as the purifying means.
A hot water pipe for pumping hot water in the bathtub, a circulation pump as a forced circulation means, an ultraviolet lamp as a sterilization means, a filtration tank as a filtration means, and a hot water pipe for jetting hot water into the bathtub are connected in series to form a bathtub A second aspect of the present invention is that in a bath water purifying device having a cleaning pipe, an ion wind generating device is provided as an ion wind treatment means in an intake pipe connected to an ejector section provided in the cleaning pipe. In the first and second claims, the control device performs the sterilization process by sterilizing the sterilizing means by operating the sterilizing means only during the sterilizing time period determined based on the bathing time period set manually or automatically. Cleaning the bath water according to the third aspect, wherein the non-sterilized zone where the treatment is stopped is controlled by operating the ionic wind treatment means to perform ionic wind treatment to prevent the growth of bacteria by mixing ionic wind into the hot water. It is an oxidizer.

[0026]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION Next, an embodiment of the configuration of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 shows a piping diagram of an embodiment of the present invention. In the piping diagram of this embodiment, the same components as those of the conventional example are designated by the same reference numerals, and thus the components are constructed. The description of the same parts as those described above will be omitted.

Reference numeral 28 denotes an ion wind generator. In this embodiment, in order to form a bubble bath, the jet nozzle 11 is provided with an ejector portion which accelerates the flow velocity to form a negative pressure and sucks air based on the pressure difference. Since the intake pipe 12 is connected to the edger section, the ion wind generator 28 is arranged in the middle of the intake pipe 12 for forming the bubble bath.

Therefore, the jet key 2 on the operation panel
When you operate 2 to set the jet mode, the intake pipe 12
Open the intake valve 13 and the hot air mixed with the air from the jet nozzle 11 is jetted into the bathtub 1 as a jet flow to form a conventional bubble bath. At the same time as opening the intake valve 13, the ion wind generator 28 is activated. Then, in the bathtub 1, hot water mixed with ionic wind is discharged from the jet nozzle 11 into the bathtub 1.
It jets out as a jet stream.

When ionic wind is mixed in the hot water instead of the air when enjoying a bubble bath, not only a cleaning effect that suppresses the growth of bacteria in the hot water of the bathtub occurs but also a general feeling of irritability is eliminated. Since the ionic wind, which is said to have a soothing effect, is released from the bathtub, the bubble bath becomes more comfortable.

The basic construction of the ion wind generator 28 is shown in FIG.
In the apparatus, the needle negative electrode and the plate positive electrode, to which a high voltage of several KV of direct current formed by being rectified by a rectifier circuit after being transformed by a step-up transformer are applied, are arranged to face each other. The device is a device that allows the introduced air to pass between the electrodes to which the high voltage is applied, to contain the oxygen anions generated in the anion generating portion around the needle-shaped anion electrode, and to discharge the air as ion wind.

As described above, when the air is made into an ionic wind by the high-pressure discharge of the needle-shaped negative electrode, not only oxygen anions but also cations and ozone are generated during the high-pressure discharge.
The ionic wind inevitably contains cations and ozone, though in small amounts.

Therefore, in the ion wind generator 28 shown in this embodiment, a reticulated negative electrode and an ozone decomposing filter filled with an ozone decomposing agent such as activated carbon or a metal catalyst are provided after the high-pressure discharge electrode, and the Ions and ozone are removed to generate an ionic wind containing only oxygen anions.

Next, power is applied to the ultraviolet lamp to sterilize the ultraviolet lamp only during the sterilizing time period determined based on the bathing time period which is manually or automatically set by the controller, and the power source to the ultraviolet lamp 8 is supplied. In the non-sterilized zone where the application of the water is stopped, the ion wind generator 28 is operated to mix the ion wind in the hot water to prevent the growth of bacteria and keep the hot water clean. 4 will be described.

FIG. 3 is a control block diagram showing a configuration in which the control device controls the entire device. Reference numeral 29 denotes a key input device provided on the operation panel for setting various operating conditions. The key input device includes a run / stop key 21 for setting the operation, a jet key 22 for setting and releasing the bubble bath, a bath key 23 for manually or automatically setting a bathing time period, a display switching key 24, And a setting change key 25 is provided.

That is, the bathing key 23 is a key for manually setting the bathing time zone of the day, and when the bathing key 23 is operated for the first time, the bathing time zone of a predetermined time such as 5 hours is set thereafter. .

The display switching key 24 and the setting change key 2
Reference numeral 5 is a key used for automatically setting the bathing time zone, and the user displays the time on the display panel 26 while adjusting the bathing time zone to the living time zone such as 18:00 to 23:00. Once set, the same time zone is automatically set as the bathing time every day unless the setting is changed.

When the bathing time zone is set by operating the bathing key 23 or the display switching key 24 and the setting change key 25 in this way, the hot water soiled during this bathing time zone is immediately cleaned by sterilization. For this reason, the sterilization time period in which power is applied to the ultraviolet lamp 8 to sterilize the ultraviolet rays based on the set bathing time period is automatically set as a time obtained by adding a predetermined time after the bathing time period has elapsed.

That is, for example, when the bathing key 23 is operated or the display switching key 24 and the setting change key 25 are operated to set the bathing time zone from 18:00 to 23:00, the bathing time zone is used in the present invention. 1 more after passing
The time zone from 18:00 to 24:00 with time added is automatically set as the sterilization time zone.

As described above, the apparatus is controlled by the hot water temperature sensor 20 detecting the hot water temperature and the differential pressure sensor 19 detecting the lack of water.

Reference numeral 30 is a timer used for temporally controlling the apparatus, and as mentioned above, the bath time is set by operating the bath key 23 or by using the display switching key 24 and the setting change key 25. , And set the sterilization time zone and measure the elapsed time based on the set bathing time zone.

Reference numeral 31 is a control device for controlling the entire device. The control device 31 is a CPU 32 for performing various arithmetic processes, and a program RO storing a control program.
RAM 34 for temporarily storing M33 and control data
It is a micro-computer that consists of etc.

Reference numeral 35 is a circulation pump drive circuit for driving the circulation pump 6, 36 is a heater drive circuit for driving the heater 7, and 37 is an ultraviolet lamp drive circuit for supplying power to the ultraviolet lamp 8 and lighting it. is there.

38 is an ion wind generator drive circuit for driving the ion wind generator 28, 39 is an intake valve drive circuit for opening and closing the intake valve 13, and 40 is a key input device 29 on the operation panel. Deployed display panel 2
6 is a display device drive circuit for driving a display device 41 including six or a plurality of display lamps 27.

The control device 31 includes a program ROM 3
According to the program shown in the flow chart of FIG. 4 stored in FIG. 3, the UV sterilization and ozone wind generator is operated, UV sterilization is performed only for the set sterilization time zone, and ozone wind is generated during the non-sterilization time zone. The device is operated to control ion wind to prevent bacterial growth.

In the first step S1, it is judged whether or not the operation is set by operating the start / stop key 21, and if the operation is set, the intake valve 13 provided in the intake pipe 12 in the second step S2. And the third step S3 ion wind generator 28 is operated at the same time.

As a result, the air sucked from the intake pipe 12 is changed into ion wind by the ion wind generator 28 and mixed in the hot water, and is filtered from the jet nozzle 11 by the filter tank 5 and heated by the heater 7 to an appropriate temperature. The hot water in a state in which the wind is mixed and the bacteria are not propagated is constantly ejected to the bathtub 1. The cleaning process of the bathtub hot water is performed in the automatically set jet operation state.

While the bath water is being cleaned in this manner, it is determined whether or not the sterilization time zone has been set in the fourth step S4.

As described above, the sterilization time period is based on the bathing time period and the bathing time period plus about one hour after the bathing time period has elapsed in order to immediately clean the hot water contaminated by the bathing. Automatically set.

Therefore, in order to determine whether or not the sterilization time zone has been set in the fourth step S4, the bathing key 23 is used as in the case of determining whether or not the bathing time zone has been set.
Is operated, or whether the timer 30 detects that the time has reached a predetermined bathing time zone by using the display switching key 24 and the setting changing key 25.

As described above, when it is determined that the sterilization time zone is set in the fourth step S4, power is applied to the ultraviolet lamp 8 through the ultraviolet lamp drive circuit 37 in the fifth step S5 to turn on the lamp. The ultraviolet sterilization is started, and at the same time, the elapsed time of the sterilization is started to be measured by the timer 30 in the sixth step S6.

When ionic wind is mixed in the bath water during bathing, it is preferable that the bather's mood can be relaxed due to the sedative effect of the ionic wind diffused in the bathroom. Since it is not necessary to stop the operation of the generator, the apparatus of the present invention is automatically in a jet operation state in which the jet flow mixed with ion wind is jetted into the bath for 24 hours.

However, since some bathers do not like the bubble bath, it is determined whether or not the jet is stopped by operating the jet key 22 in the seventh step S7, and when it is determined that the jet is stopped. Is the eighth
At step S8, the intake valve 13 is closed and, at the same time, at step 9 the operation of the ion wind generator 28 is manually set by operating the jet key 22 again or automatically after a predetermined time has elapsed. Stop until done.

In this way, if the jet is stopped, the mixing of the ionic wind is stopped. If the jet is not stopped, or if the jet is stopped and it is set again, the ionic wind is mixed. UV sterilization is continued until it is detected that the timer 30 sterilization time period has elapsed in step S10.

If it is determined in the 10th step S10 that the timer 30 has detected that the sterilization time period has elapsed, the 11th step is executed.
In step S11, the application of power to the ultraviolet lamp 8 is stopped through the ultraviolet lamp drive circuit 37 to stop the ultraviolet sterilization. After that, if the operation is set, the intake valve 13 is opened and ion wind is generated at the same time. The device 28 is operated to continue to mix the ionic wind into the hot water, and even if the ultraviolet sterilization is stopped, the cleaning process in which the bacteria are prevented from growing in the hot water in the bath is continued.

In the embodiment of the invention described above, the ion wind generator 28 is provided in the intake pipe 12 connected to the jet nozzle 11 to form the bubble bath, so that when the bubble bath is stopped as described above. Ion wind generator 28
Must be stopped, and the ion wind cannot be mixed into the hot water while the operation of the ion wind generator 28 is stopped.

However, since the ion wind generator 28 may be installed in an intake pipe connected to an ejector portion provided at any position of the pipe line, for example, an ejector portion is provided upstream of the filtration tank 5 and this ejector portion is provided. By disposing the ion wind generator 28 in the intake pipe to be connected, the formation of the bubble bath and the generation of ion wind are completely unrelated, and the ion wind generator can be operated for 24 hours.
Moreover, it is convenient to prevent bacteria from propagating on the filter medium filled in the filter tank 5 more effectively.

[0058]

The present invention is constructed as described above, and since ultraviolet sterilization is performed only during the sterilization time period determined based on the bathing time period of about one-third of the day, the ultraviolet lamp is Lifespan is greatly extended.

Moreover, since the sterilization time zone is set based on the bathing time zone, the hot water polluted by the bath is immediately cleaned by ultraviolet ray sterilization, and in addition, in the non-sterilization time zone other than the sterilization time zone Ionic winds are mixed in to prevent the growth of bacteria.

In addition, if ionic wind is mixed in the hot water, not only the growth of bacteria can be prevented, but also the ionic wind diffused from the hot water in the bathtub gives a bathing person a calming effect and a relaxed state, making it more comfortable. You will be able to bathe in.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is an example piping diagram,

[Fig. 2] Ion wind generator,

FIG. 3 is a control block diagram,

FIG. 4 is a control flow chart,

FIG. 5 is a conventional piping diagram,

FIG. 6 is an operation panel.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 Bath 2 Hot water 3 Hot water suction pipe 4 Device body 5 Filtration tank 6 Circulation pump 8 Ultraviolet lamp 9 Hot water pipe 11 Jet nozzle 12 Intake pipe 28 Ion wind generator

Continuation of the front page (51) Int.Cl. ⁶ Identification number Reference number within the agency FI Technical display location C02F 1/50 520 C02F 1/50 520L 531 531B 540 540A 550 550C 550D 560 560C 560Z 9/00 502 9/00 502R 502D 502N 503 503A

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. A bathtub hot water purifying apparatus, in which hot water in a bathtub is forcedly circulated by a circulation pump through a cleaning pipeline provided with various cleaning means to perform a cleaning treatment and then returned to the bathtub again.
An apparatus for cleaning bathtub hot water, comprising a sterilizing means and an ion wind processing means for processing with air containing oxygen anions as the cleaning means. 2. A hot water suction pipe for pumping hot water in a bathtub, a circulation pump as a forced circulation means, an ultraviolet lamp as a sterilization means, a filtration tank as a filtration means, and a spout tube for jetting hot water into the bathtub in series. In a bathtub hot water purification device that is connected to form a bathtub hot water purification conduit, an ion wind generator is provided as an ion wind treatment means in an intake pipe connected to an ejector section provided in the purification conduit. A bath water purifier characterized by: 3. The non-sterilization period during which the control device operates the sterilizing means to perform sterilization only during the sterilization time period determined based on the bathing time period set manually or automatically, and the sterilization process is stopped. 3. The apparatus for cleaning bath water according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the belt is controlled so as to operate an ionic wind treatment means so as to perform ionic wind treatment to prevent microbial growth by mixing ionic wind into the hot water.