JPH10165469A - Bathing water purifier - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To improve disinfection efficiency without decreasing purification ability or contentment of one who is taking the bath in case of the purifier or using ultraviolet light for disinfection of circulating bathtub water. SOLUTION: This bathing water purifier makes forced circulation of water in a bathtub 1 and after a depuration batch 3, letting the water pass through an ultraviolet light irradiation device 4 for disinfection. In the bathtub 1 with the purifier, a bather detector 5 to detector human body and a flow control device 6 to control the quantity of circulating water according to the output from the detector 5 are installed to. The detector controls the quantity of the circulating water to be smaller than a certain figure, which is prescribed by the irradiation ability of the ultraviolet light irradiation device.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an apparatus for circulating and purifying bath water such as a public bath or a hot spring.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art FIG. 2 shows an example of this type of conventional bath water purifying apparatus. Water in a bathtub 1 is forcibly circulated by a pump 2, passed through a purifying tank 3, and then passed through an ultraviolet irradiation device 4. Although sterilization is performed, 100% sterilization in one pass is expensive and uneconomical, so that the number of bacteria is usually gradually reduced by increasing the number of circulations.

[0003]

In the above circulating water purifying apparatus, as the circulating water flow rate is reduced, the number of bacteria in the circulating water is reduced, but the amount of water to be sterilized is also reduced. In the past, it was assumed that the rate of bacterial reduction in the entire system did not change even if the flow rate of the circulating water was changed.
Alternatively, it was determined in consideration of the purification ability of the septic tank.
However, it was found that the sterilization efficiency in the bathtub 1 greatly depends on the flow rate of the circulating water with respect to the ultraviolet irradiation ability, as described later. Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide a bath water purifying apparatus that can improve sterilization efficiency without lowering conditions such as satisfaction during bathing.

[0004]

As shown in FIG. 1, a bath water purifying apparatus according to the present invention forcibly circulates water in a bathtub 1 by a pump 2, passes through a purifying tank 3, and then passes through an ultraviolet irradiation device 4. In the bath water purifying apparatus which performs the sterilization process by performing the bathing, a bath detecting means 5 for detecting a human body in the bathtub 1 and a flow control means 6 for controlling the amount of circulating water by the output of the detecting means 5 are provided. Is not detected, the amount of circulating water is limited to a certain value or less determined by the irradiation capability of the ultraviolet irradiation device.

[0005]

Investigation of the relationship between the circulating flow rate of bath water passing through the ultraviolet irradiation device 4 and the amount of bacteria remaining in the bath tub 1 reveals that when the circulating flow rate exceeds a certain value, the survival rate of bacteria rapidly increases. I do. This is because, at a certain flow rate or more with respect to a certain dose of the ultraviolet irradiation device 4, the dose of bacteria to the lethal dose does not reach the lethal level. It is considered that the so-called light recovery function of recovery by the light works to repair the damaged portion. Therefore, in order to ensure an effective amount of ultraviolet light, it is necessary to limit the flow rate of the circulating water passing through the ultraviolet irradiation device 4 having a constant illuminance to a certain value or less determined by the ultraviolet irradiation ability. This adversely affects the jetting speed of bubbles in the bubble bath, or the stirring ability for sucking and circulating dirt and the like settled at the bottom of the bathtub or adhered to the bathtub wall. Therefore, in the present invention, only when the bather is not in the bathtub 1, the flow rate of the circulating water is limited to a certain value or less, and the sterilization of the circulating water can be performed without reducing the purification ability and the satisfaction of the bather. This is to improve the efficiency.

[0006]

FIG. 1 shows an embodiment of the apparatus according to the present invention. Water in a bathtub 1 is forcibly circulated by a pump 2 and passes through a purification tank 3 to dissolve impurities in dust and water. After being removed, it is sterilized by passing through an ultraviolet irradiation device 4. People bathtub 1
As the bathing detecting means 5 for detecting that the water has entered the inside, a pressure type level sensor 5 for detecting the water level of the bathtub 1 is interposed in the reheating pipe 8 of the bath kettle 7 to detect a change in the water level due to the presence or absence of bathing. I try to detect. As the flow rate control means 6 for controlling the circulating water amount to a fixed value or less, a method of switching the flow rate between two stages by valves 6a and 6b as shown in the figure,
Alternatively, a method of controlling the speed of the motor of the pump 2 can be considered. While the level sensor 5 detects a person in the bathtub 1, the bath is operated at an optimal flow rate as a bubble bath, and when no person is detected, the output of the sensor 5 controls the amount of circulating water to a certain value or less. Then, operation with high sterilization efficiency by ultraviolet irradiation is performed.

[0007]

As described above, according to the present invention, by detecting the presence or absence of bathing in the bath water circulating through the ultraviolet irradiation device 4, a sufficient flow rate for the bubble bath and the like, and sterilization by ultraviolet irradiation can be made effective. Since it is possible to switch to the obtained flow rate, there is an advantage that the sterilization efficiency of the circulating water can be improved without reducing the satisfaction of the bather.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a system diagram of a circulating water purification device according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a system diagram of a conventional circulating water purification device.

[Explanation of symbols]

 Reference Signs List 1 bathtub 2 pump 3 septic tank 4 ultraviolet irradiation device 5 means for detecting bathing 6 means for controlling flow rate 7 bath kettle 8 reheating pipe

──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continued on the front page (51) Int.Cl. ⁶ Identification code FI F24H 1/00 602K

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. The bathtub water is forcibly circulated by a pump,
In a bath water purifying apparatus configured to perform sterilization by passing through a septic tank and then passing through an ultraviolet irradiation device, a bathing detecting means for detecting a human body in the bathtub, and an amount of circulating water is controlled by an output of the detecting means. A bath water purifier comprising a flow control means, wherein when no bathing is detected, the amount of circulating water is limited to a certain value or less determined by the irradiation capacity of the ultraviolet irradiation device.