JPH10113687A - Circulating warm bath - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To sterilize the bacteria and useless microorganisms and to prevent their propagation in a septic tank. SOLUTION: An inner-cylinder case 44 is made rotatable with respect to an outer-cylinder case 42, and a filter medium 48 is packed in the inner-cylinder case 44. Plural through-holes 50 are provided in the periphery 44A of the inner- cylinder case 44, and the inner-cylinder case 44 is rotated by a motor 40. A heater 46 to heat the bathwater W in a purification cylinder 16 is arranged in the gap between the inner-cylinder case 44 and outercylinder case 42. Accordingly, the inner-cylinder case 44 is rotated by the motor 40, and the bathwater W accumulated in the cylinder 16 is heated by the heater 46 to a temp. at which the bacteria, etc., propagated in the inner-cylinder case 44 are sterilized.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a circulating hot water bath in which bath water in a bath tub is taken, purified, sterilized, kept warm and heated, and returned to the bath tub. It can be applied to vessels and water heaters.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, a so-called 24-hour circulating hot water bath has been developed at home to purify hot water in a bath tub with a filter medium, heat the hot tub and return it to the bath tub so that the bath tub can always be used. It has come to be used. In other words, this circulating hot water bath purifies and heats the bath water without changing the bath water every day, makes it possible to take a bath anytime for 24 hours, and makes it extremely convenient and water saving so that the bath tub can be used. is there.

[0003] The circulating warm water bath has a built-in filter for removing coarse dust in the bath water, and a water intake section for taking the bath water from the bath tub, and irradiating various bacteria and unnecessary microorganisms in the bath water with ultraviolet rays. A sterilizing device for sterilizing by means of a bath, etc., a purifying tube as a purifying tank for purifying the bath water by filtering and removing foreign substances such as secretions from the body in the bath water, and a heater for heating the bath water to maintain the temperature at a constant temperature. And a discharge unit for discharging bath water into the bathtub,
In general.

[0004] Here, the purifying cylinder is formed, for example, in a tubular shape, and the purifying cylinder is filled with a filter medium made of natural stone such as barley stone or ceramics, and the filter medium is further filled with microorganisms as purifying bacteria. They are attached and bred. That is, microorganisms take in dirt such as foreign substances in the bath water, eat them as food, decompose them, and purify the bath water by the biological action of the microorganisms, whereby the microorganisms grow.

[0005]

However, in the sterilizing apparatus employed in the circulating warm bath and irradiating with ultraviolet rays or the like, since the sterilizing power is weak, it is difficult to sterilize germs without fail and the germs may survive. was there. For this reason, not only the purifying bacteria but also other bacteria and the like in the bath water that cannot be sterilized by the sterilizer may circulate together with the bath water and propagate in the purification cylinder. In such a case, the bacteria and the like are mixed. There is a risk that the bath water may flow out of the purification column into the bathtub.

The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and has as its object to provide a circulating warm bath capable of disinfecting various germs and unnecessary microorganisms and preventing propagation in a septic tank.

[0007]

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a circulating warm water bath, wherein a bathing section draws bath water in a bath tub, a bath purifies the bath water with a filter medium, and heats the bath water to purify the bath water. A circulating warm water bath in which the discharge section returns heated bath water into the bath tub,
The septic tank, an inner cylinder filled with a filter medium in which heat-resistant microorganisms propagate, an outer cylinder in which the inner cylinder is rotatably arranged, a driving unit capable of rotating the inner cylinder, and a bath in the septic tank. And heating means for heating water.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided the circulating warm bath according to the first aspect, wherein a through hole is formed in an outer peripheral surface of the inner cylinder, and a heating means is provided in a gap between the inner cylinder and the outer cylinder. Is disposed, and the heating means heats the bath water purified by the filter medium in the inner cylinder and discharged to the outside of the inner cylinder through the through hole.

The operation of the circulating warm bath according to claim 1 will be described below. The water in the bath tub takes in the bath water, and the filtering medium in the purification tank purifies the bath water, and the discharge unit returns the heated, purified and heated bath water to the bath tub. Further, an inner cylinder is rotatably arranged inside an outer cylinder constituting an outer frame of the septic tank, and the inside of the inner cylinder is filled with a filter medium in which heat-resistant microorganisms propagate. And while a drive means can rotate an inner cylinder, a heating means heats the bath water in a septic tank.

Therefore, when a normal water stream for purifying the bath water is introduced into the septic tank, the bath water enters into the inner cylinder filled with the filter medium, and the bath water is purified by the filter medium. Heat the bath water.

On the other hand, when sterilizing the inside of the septic tank, for example, with the circulation of the bath water in the circulating warm bath stopped, the driving means rotates the inner cylinder and the heating means heats the bath water accumulated in the septic tank. . For this reason, by rotating the inner cylinder, the heating can be performed uniformly without causing uneven heating between the filter media in a short time, and the filter media can be surely sterilized.

Therefore, even if the sterility of the sterilizing apparatus is low and the germs and the like survive, the germs and the like can be surely sterilized without the germs continuously growing on the filter medium in the septic tank.

The operation of the circulating warm bath according to claim 2 will be described below. The present invention has the same function as the first embodiment.
However, according to the present invention, a through-hole is formed in the outer peripheral surface of the inner cylinder, and a heating means is disposed in a gap between the inner cylinder and the outer cylinder, and the through-hole is purified by a filter medium in the inner cylinder. The heating means heats the bath water discharged to the outside of the inner cylinder through the filter, so if the normal water flow for purifying the bath water is introduced into the septic tank, the bath water enters the inner cylinder and the filter medium After the bath water is purified, the bath water is heated, so that the bath water has an appropriate temperature. And even when sterilizing the inside of a septic tank, it becomes possible to easily heat the filter medium with the inner cylinder by the heating means.

[0014]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS A first embodiment of a circulating warm water bath according to the present invention is shown in FIGS. 1 to 7, and the present embodiment will be described with reference to these drawings.

As shown in FIG. 1, a bathtub 2 for storing bath water W is provided.
The device main body 12 of the circulating warm water bath 10 according to the present embodiment is installed at a location in the bathroom adjacent to 2. In the apparatus main body 12, a circulation pump 14 for circulating bath water W in a bathtub 22, a purifying tube 16 for filtering bath water W with a filter medium 48 stored therein, and a three-way valve for automatically switching drainage during washing. 18 and an ultraviolet sterilizer 20 for sterilizing various bacteria in the bath water W with ultraviolet rays are housed and provided.

A circulating pipe 32 connected to the circulating pump 14 constitutes a water absorption path for the bath water W. The circulating pump 32 extends from the circulating pump 14 to the outside of the apparatus main body 12, and its tip is connected to hair in the bath water. Pre-filter unit 34 which is a water intake section provided with a top filter for removing coarse dust
It is connected to.

A pipe 24 is provided in the apparatus main body 12 so that the bath water W flows in the order of the circulation pump 14, the purifier 16, the three-way valve 18, and the ultraviolet sterilizer 20, and the pipe 24 is discharged from the ultraviolet sterilizer 20. The bath water W is sent to the circulation pipe 28. The distal end of the circulation pipe 28 connected to the ultraviolet sterilizer 20 and extended from the apparatus main body 12 is connected to a blowing unit 30 which is a discharge unit having a water supply port. In addition, a drain pipe 26 is connected to the three-way valve 18, and the three-way valve 18 switches the flow path so that drainage during cleaning in the purification column 16 is discharged to the drain pipe 26.

On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 2 and FIG.
2 is formed in the outer cylinder case 42.
A cylindrical inner cylinder case 44 is arranged so as to have a double cylinder structure coaxial with 2, and the inner cylinder case 44 is filled with a large number of filter media 48 made of granular ceramics. .

The outer peripheral surface 44 of the inner cylinder case 44
A is formed so as to have a predetermined gap with respect to the inner peripheral surface of the outer cylinder case 42.
Has a predetermined range (for example, 12
A plurality of through holes 50 are provided over a range of 0 °. The diameter of these through holes 50 provided on the outer peripheral surface 44A of the inner cylinder case 44 is smaller than the outer diameter of the filter medium 48, and there is no possibility that the filter medium 48 will jump out of the inner cylinder case 44 from the through holes 50.

Further, the inner cylinder case 44 and the outer cylinder case 42
A heater 46 as heating means for heating the bath water W in the purification column 16 is disposed at a position below the purification column 16 in a gap portion between the heater 46. A water guide pipe 58 is provided on the end face of the right inner cylinder case 44 in FIG. 2 so as to protrude therefrom. A water pipe 60 surrounding the water guide pipe 58 and protruding from the outer cylinder case 42 is provided. Are provided on the outer cylinder case 42. The water guide pipe 58 and the water discharge pipe 60 are connected to the pipe 24, respectively.

On the other hand, a boss 52 is formed on the end surface of the inner cylinder case 44 on the left side in FIG. 2, and is provided between the water guide pipe 58 and the water discharge pipe 60 and between the boss 52 and the outer cylinder case 42.
, Bearings 54 are arranged respectively. Therefore, the inner cylinder case 44 becomes rotatable with respect to the outer cylinder case 42 by these bearings 54. And the water pipe 5
An O-ring 5 for sealing is provided between the pipe 8 and the water pipe 60.
6 are interposed.

A driven gear 36 is fixed to the outer peripheral side of the water guide pipe 58, and a driven gear 38 fixed to a rotating shaft of a motor 40 as driving means is meshed with the driven gear 36. Accordingly, the driven rotation of the motor 40 causes the driven gear 36 meshed with the driving gear 38 and the inner cylinder case 44 connected to the driven gear 36 via the water guide pipe 58 to rotate integrally while being supported by the bearing 54. Will be done.

Then, Bacillus Subtilis ATCC 6633, a microorganism belonging to Bacillus subtilis, which has excellent heat resistance, is added to the filter medium 48 in the inner cylinder case 44 into which the bath water W flows through the water pipe 58. Has been attached as. In other words, this purifying bacterium propagates on the surface of the granular ceramics forming the filter medium 48, inside the porous pores of the granular ceramics, on the peripheral portion of the granular ceramics, and further on other portions in the purification column 16, Foreign matter such as organic matter secreted from the body in the bath water is decomposed and purified by the propagated bacteria.

As described above, the bath water W is introduced from the water guide pipe 58 into the space inside the inner cylinder case 44, purified by the filter medium 48 inside the inner cylinder case 44, and passed through the through hole 50.
4, enters the gap between the outer cylinder case 42 and the inner cylinder case 44, is heated by the heater 46, and then is discharged through the water pipe 60 to the outside of the purification cylinder 16. It will be formed in the purifying cylinder 16. When necessary, the inner cylinder case 44 is rotated with the driving rotation of the motor 40, and the filter medium 48 in the inner cylinder case 44 is stirred.

The operation of the circulating warm bath 10 according to the present embodiment will be described below. In the state shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the bath water W
When the normal water flow for purifying the water is introduced from the circulating pump 14 through the pipe 24 and the water guide pipe 58 into the purifying cylinder 16 as shown by the arrow, the water flows into the inner cylinder case 44 filled with the filter medium 48. The bath water W enters and the filter medium 48 purifies the bath water W. Then, the water passes through a plurality of through holes 50 penetrating through the inside and outside of the inner cylinder case 44, and flows from the inner cylinder case 44 to the gap between the inner cylinder case 44 in which the heater 46 is disposed and the outer cylinder case 42. The water W enters, the heater 46 heats to a set temperature suitable for bathing, and the bath water W is adjusted to an appropriate temperature.
The water is discharged from the purification column 16 via the water discharge pipe 60.
At this time, the three-way valve 18 on the downstream side of the purification column 16 is switched so as to take a circulation path in which the bath water W returns to the bath tub 22 via the blowing unit 30.

From the above, when the circulation pump 14 operates,
The pre-filter unit 34 takes in the bath water W in the bathtub 22, purifies the bath water W in the purifier 16 and heats it to a predetermined temperature, and the ultraviolet sterilizer 20 sterilizes and purifies the water via the three-way valve 18. The heated and sterilized bath water W is blown out, and the unit 30 returns to the bathtub 22.

On the other hand, when sterilizing the inside of the cleaning column 16, the motor 40 is stopped as shown in FIGS. 4 and 5 in a state where the circulation pump 14 is stopped and the circulation of the bath water W in the circulation hot water bath 10 is stopped. The cylinder case 44 is rotated. Further, the heater 4 disposed in a gap between the inner cylinder case 44 and the outer cylinder case 42
6 transfers the bath water W accumulated in the purification cylinder 16 to the inner cylinder case 44.
The bacteria are heated to a temperature that can sterilize the germs and the like that have proliferated therein and that does not kill the purified bacteria. For this reason, the inner cylinder case 44
Of the filter medium 4 in a short time by the rotation of
The heating can be performed uniformly without causing uneven heating between the filters 8, and the filter medium 48 can be surely sterilized.

That is, the inner cylinder case 4 is
By rotating the filter medium 4 and stirring the filter medium 48, the filter medium 4
8 is uniformly heated to the sterilization temperature, and accordingly, the dirt attached to the surface of the filter medium 48 can be removed.

Therefore, even if the sterility of the ultraviolet sterilizer 20 is low and the germs and the like survive, the germs and the like can be surely sterilized without the germs continuing to propagate in the filter medium 48 in the purification tube 16. become.

Then, after the motor 40 is driven and rotated for a certain period of time to rotate the inner cylinder case 44, a position rotated by 180 ° with respect to the position shown in FIGS. The inner cylinder case 44 is stopped at the position shown in FIGS. Further, with the rotation of the inner cylinder case 44 stopped, the circulation pump 14 is operated at a high speed to send a high-speed water flow into the inner cylinder case 44 via the water guide pipe 58.

As a result, the bath water W sent from the water guide pipe 58 removes dirt generated from the filter medium 48 when the filter medium 48 is washed and floating in the inner cylinder case 44 from the inside of the inner cylinder case 44. Through the through-hole 50, it is sent out to the gap between the inner cylinder case 44 and the outer cylinder case 42. Further, the sent dirt is discharged from the purification column 16 via the water discharge pipe 60. At this time, the three-way valve 18 on the downstream side of the purification cylinder 16 is switched so that the dirt passes through the drain pipe 26 and is discharged into a discharge groove (not shown).

Next, a second embodiment of the circulating warm water bath according to the present invention is shown in FIG. 8, and the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. The same members as those described in the first embodiment are denoted by the same reference numerals, and redundant description will be omitted.

As shown in FIG. 8, the circulating warm water bath 10 of the present embodiment does not have a heater 46, and instead has an agitating portion projecting vertically in the inner cylinder case 44 of the circulating warm water bath 10. The stirring rod 72 having a plurality of 72A is disposed so as to extend in the left-right direction. The stirring rod 72 has a built-in heater (not shown), and the left end of the stirring rod 72 is fixed to the outer cylinder case 42.

Therefore, when the inner cylinder case 44 is rotated,
Since the filter medium 48 in the inner cylinder case 44 is forcibly stirred by the stirring section 72A of the stirring rod 72, the heater in the stirring rod 72 heats the bath water W with this. The same operation as in the first embodiment is achieved.

Although the above embodiment has been described based on the structure in which the heater as the heating means is incorporated in the purification column 16 as the purification tank, the heater is separately provided outside the purification column 16. When purifying the bath water W, the purifier 1
The bath water W may be heated by the outer heater 6.

In the second embodiment, the stirring bar 72 has a structure with a built-in heater. However, the stirring bar 72 has a structure without a built-in heater. Instead, the heater 46 of the first embodiment is used instead. May be provided in the purification column 16.

On the other hand, in the above embodiment, a large number of filter media 48 to be filled in the inner cylinder case 44 are made of granular ceramics, but may be made of natural stones such as barley stone instead of ceramics.

Further, in the above embodiment, a circulating hot water bath which is a so-called 24-hour bath has been described. However, the present invention is also applicable to a circulating bath water heater, a water heater, a water heater and the like. It is possible.

[0039]

According to the present invention, as a result of the construction described above, it is possible to obtain a circulating warm water bath capable of disinfecting various bacteria and unnecessary microorganisms and preventing propagation in the septic tank. .

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a conceptual diagram showing a first embodiment of a circulating warm water bath according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is an enlarged cross-sectional view showing a purification column of the first embodiment of the circulating warm water bath according to the present invention, showing a state in which bath water is being purified.

FIG. 3 is a view taken in the direction of arrow 3-3 in FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is an enlarged cross-sectional view showing the purification column of the first embodiment of the circulating warm water bath according to the present invention, showing a state in which the inside of the purification column is sterilized.

FIG. 5 is a view taken in the direction of arrows 5-5 in FIG. 4;

FIG. 6 is an enlarged cross-sectional view showing a purification column of the first embodiment of the circulating warm water bath according to the present invention, showing a state in which dirt is being discharged.

FIG. 7 is a view taken in the direction of arrow 7-7 in FIG. 6;

FIG. 8 is an enlarged sectional view showing a purification column of a circulating warm water bath according to a second embodiment of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Circulating warm water bath 12 Device main body 16 Purification cylinder (purification tank) 40 Motor (drive means) 42 Outer cylinder case (outer cylinder) 44 Inner cylinder case (inner cylinder) 46 Heater (heating means) 48 Filter medium 50 Through-hole

Claims (2)

[Claims] 1. A water collecting section takes in bath water in a bath tub, a purifying tank purifies the bath water with a filter medium, heats the bath water, and a discharge section returns the purified and heated bath water into the bath tub. A circulating warm water bath, wherein the septic tank comprises: an inner cylinder filled with a filter medium in which heat-resistant microorganisms grow; an outer cylinder in which the inner cylinder is rotatably arranged; and a drive capable of rotating the inner cylinder. Means, and heating means for heating bath water in the septic tank. 2. A through hole is formed in the outer peripheral surface of the inner cylinder, and a heating means is disposed in a gap between the inner cylinder and the outer cylinder. The heating means is purified by a filter medium in the inner cylinder and passes through the through hole. The circulating bath according to claim 1, wherein the heating means heats the bath water discharged outside the inner cylinder.