JPH1057266A - Shower device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To enable a shower device to be used most favorably for both washing and massaging by adding a powder massaging function to the shower device. SOLUTION: In a shower device provided in, e.g. a shower booth or a bathroom, etc., a supply source of powders F, which are mixed into a fluid, such as hot or cold water, released from a water spray hole 5b bored in a water spray plate 5a provided at the terminal of the flow passage of a shower head 5, is provided downstream from the water spray plate 5a, and when hot or cold water or the mixed hot and cold water is being supplied the powders F are mixed into the mixed hot and cold water flow to provide a shower containing the powders F.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a shower apparatus provided in a bathroom, for example, and more particularly to a shower apparatus in which fine particles are ejected together with a shower flow to improve a massage effect.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art A general shower apparatus used conventionally blows out hot water from a shower head connected to a hose. As a result of the advancement of the function expansion, those that can be switched to concentrated water discharge or spray water discharge, those that have a strong and weak water force to give a massage effect, and that the jet flow is foamed to improve the cleaning effect Things are also widely used.

[0003] Among these shower devices, those aimed at improving the massage effect include intermittent ejection, in which water is ejected and stopped at minute intervals, and intermittent throttling of the ejection amount in order to give strength to the ejection flow. In most cases, the main feature is pulsation of the jet flow from the shower head.

On the other hand, in a bathtub provided in a bathroom,
For example, like a conventionally known bubble tub,
There is a type in which hot water in a bathtub is agitated by blowing air in a jet state and foamed to give a massage effect. In addition, as a purpose to increase the massage effect during bathing as well,
For example, JP-A-2-299658 and JP-A-8-6
A facility for storing granules such as ceramic balls described in Japanese Patent No. 6451 in a bathtub or circulating the same with hot and cold water has already been proposed.

[0005] In a bathtub for storing or circulating such granules, in the case of the storing system, the granules collide with a human body by fluidization by injecting hot water into the bathtub to enhance the massage effect, and the circulation system is used. Similarity can be found in that the same effect is obtained by using fluidization when particles are contained in the circulating flow and sent into the bathtub in the case of the same.

[0006]

However, in a bath tub in which granules are accumulated or circulated in a bath tub, in any case, a person uses his / her body in a bathtub to take a bath. The fluidization and strength of the skin cannot be changed appropriately, and the massage effect is limited.

For example, in the case where the granules are stored in a bathtub and fluidized by a jet flow from the outside, the jet flow is strong near a jet port provided on the wall of the bathtub, so that the granules are also stirred by this. Being hit strongly by the body,
The desired massage effect can be achieved. However,
Since the degree of agitation by the jet is small for a part of the body that is away from the jet or facing away from the jet, a sufficient massage effect cannot be obtained.

[0008] Further, since the massage is performed by the particles moving around by stirring the hot water in the bath tub or supplying a jet from the outside, the massage is not suitable for, for example, selecting a shoulder or waist and intensely massaging. In other words, since the particles move around as if drifting in the bathtub, there is no operation to apply or loosen the particles according to the body part at all, simply leave the body in the hot water It is easy to end up with a traditional massage.

On the other hand, if a strong jet is applied to a shoulder or a waist using a shower head, a local massage can be performed, but only the effect of the jet can be expected. And its massage effect is low.

[0010] As described above, the use of the movement of the granules in the bathtub to promote the massage of the body during bathing is not suitable for massaging the entire body uniformly or for locally strong massage. However, the alternative shower head is mainly used for cleaning and is not necessarily suitable for massage.

The problem to be solved in the present invention is to add a massage function using granules to a shower device so that it can be used most preferably for both washing and massage.

[0012]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention is directed to a method of forming a particle, which is mixed with a fluid such as hot water or water, discharged from a water sprinkling hole formed in a water sprinkling plate downstream of a water sprinkling plate provided at the end of a flow path of a shower head. A supply source is provided.

By providing a supply source of the granules downstream of the sprinkler plate, if the granules are mixed into the flow of the mixed water when supplying water, hot water or a mixture thereof, the granules are mixed. It is carried in the direction of the sprinkler with the flow of water. If the sprinkling holes are made larger than the granules, the granules mixed with the mixed water will also pass through the sprinkling holes together with the mixed water, whereby shower watering containing the granules can be obtained.

[0014]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS In the present invention, a storage case for storing granules is provided in a main body of a shower head, and a water spray plate is provided at a position where the storage case faces an internal flow path of the main body of the shower head. A nozzle that discharges the granules to the internal flow path by the suction force of the flow of the mixed water flowing in the direction can be provided, and a vacuum that can be opened to the outside air in conjunction with a decrease in the internal pressure in the storage case A breaker may be provided.

Further, the middle of the pipe for supplying hot water or water to the shower head is cut off, and the outlet end of the upstream pipe is reduced in diameter to be inserted into a double pipe inside the inlet end of the downstream pipe. And a hopper for granules having a cut-out flow path communicated therearound. In this case, the upstream pipe and the cut-out flow path of the hopper can be provided with on-off valves that can be remotely operated.

Further, in a facility such as a shower booth for supplying a fluid such as hot water or water and particles mixed therein to a shower head, a collection net capable of collecting particles under the floor is provided. At the bottom of the collecting net, there is provided a particle mixing means for mixing the particles into a fluid such as hot water or water, and the hot water is connected to an end of a supply pipe for supplying a fluid such as water and showered. The base ends of the circulation supply pipes connecting the flow paths to the inlet side of the head may be connected to each other.

The sprinkling plate of the shower head may be provided with a sprinkling hole substantially at the center thereof, and a swirling mechanism for coaxially swirling the flow containing the particles upstream of the sprinkling hole. In this case, a cylindrical swirl chamber is provided on the inner peripheral surface of the sprinkler plate substantially coaxially with the water sprinkling hole, and the swirl chamber is provided with a swirler having a spiral groove formed on the peripheral surface thereof. A configuration in which a spiral swirling flow path is formed between the groove and the inner circumference of the swirling chamber can be employed.

[0018]

1 is a longitudinal sectional view schematically showing a shower booth provided with a shower device according to the present invention.

In the figure, a collecting pit 1a having an inclined surface is formed on the floor of the shower booth 1, and a drain pipe 1b is connected to the collecting pit 1a. Is installed so that the net rack 2 for collecting and recovering can be removed. A floor plate 3 having a large number of holes 3a is provided on the collection pit 1a, and a hot / water mixing faucet 4 is provided on the wall, and a shower head 5 is connected via a hose 4a.

The shower head 5 has a hose 4
a and a water passage plate 5a having a water sprinkling hole 5b at the discharge end as shown in FIG. 2, and such a structure is conventionally used. Are the same as those used for In the shower device of the present invention, a cartridge type storage case 6 is detachably attached to the upper end portion of the shower head 5, and granules mixed into the shower water to improve the massage effect in the storage case 6. F is stored.

The granular material F is a material that can be used many times without being discarded on the drain pipe 1b side, and has such a hardness, shape and size that the skin is not damaged even if it hits a human body. . Ceramics can be mentioned as a material of the granules F satisfying such conditions, and the outer diameter is 1 to 5 m.
A sphere of about m whose surface is smooth can be suitably used. Further, in order to reduce the hardness, the surface of a ceramic sphere may be coated with an elastic film such as rubber or sponge, and further, these may be formed into a sphere using hard rubber or synthetic resin as a material. There may be.

The storage case 6 has an internal shape such that the whole of the storage case 6 faces obliquely when the shower head 5 is hung on a hanger 1c provided on a wall as shown in FIG. That is, as shown in FIG. 2, the shape of the storage case 6 covering the watering chamber 5d facing the watering plate 5a and having a relatively large internal volume from the water supply chamber 5d on the downstream side to the supply path 5e having a small flow path area. At the same time, a nozzle 6a is projected into the supply path 5e, the nozzle 6a substantially matching the flow direction of the mixed water toward the sprinkling chamber 5d.

Further, a vacuum chamber 6b is provided at the upper end side of the storage case 6, and a valve body 6d urged outward by a spring 6c is incorporated therein, and a ventilation opening for opening the valve body 6d to the outside air. 6e can be seated around. A vacuum breaker can be formed by incorporating the valve body 6d into such a vacuum chamber 6b. If the internal pressure of the storage case 6 is about the same as the outside air, the valve body 6d is opened by the urging force of the spring 6c. When the internal pressure is reduced and the internal pressure is reduced, the outside air pressure is superior, and the valve body 6d is pushed downward in the drawing, so that air can be sucked into the storage case 6 from the ventilation port 6e.

In the above configuration, when the mixed water is sent out from the hot and cold water mixing faucet 4, the streamlined nozzle 6a is opened in the supply flow path 5e inside the shower head 4. The granules F are sucked from the nozzle 6a by the ejector effect due to the flow of the mixed water passing through the supply flow path 5e. Therefore, the granules F are mixed into the mixed water and sufficiently mixed while passing through the watering chamber 5d, and then released from the watering holes 5b.

In order to promote the suction of the particles F, the flow passage area of the supply passage 5e in the portion where the nozzle 6a is located is made to have a flow passage cross section narrowed so as to be smaller than the upstream and downstream. It is preferable that the internal pressure is reduced by increasing the flow rate of the mixed water passing around 6a. Further, such a decrease in the internal pressure is propagated also through the nozzle 6a inside the storage case 6,
The valve element 6d of the vacuum chamber 6b moves in a direction to open the ventilation port 6e as the internal pressure drops. Therefore, the granules F in the vacuum chamber 6b can cause a flow of falling down to the nozzle 6b side by their own weight without stagnation, and the granules F are continuously and uniformly discharged from the nozzle 6a. be able to.

Since the granules F are mixed in the mixed water spouted from the water sprinkling holes 5b, the granules F hit the body of the user, thereby stimulating the skin of the body. Can be massaged. The shower head 5 can be held in hand to apply the jet from the sprinkler plate 5a to the shoulders and waist, so that only the necessary parts can be selected and locally massaged, and the shower head 5 can be applied to the body. Moving it closer or farther away can also change the strength of the jets, allowing more effective massage.

The particles F ejected from the shower head 5 together with the mixed water are collected through the holes 3a of the floor plate 3 into the collecting pit 1
a, and is collected by the net rack 2. Then, by periodically taking out the net rack 2, collecting the granules F, packing the granules F in the storage case 6, and reusing the granules F, the granules F can be used many times without being disposable.

FIG. 3 is a schematic longitudinal sectional view showing an example of another shower facility, and FIG. 4 is a longitudinal sectional view of a main part thereof. Note that the same components as those in the previous example are indicated by common reference numerals.

In this example, a hot water supply main pipe 11 is provided outside the shower booth 1 in place of the hot and cold water mixing faucet, and a pressurizing pump 11a and an opening / closing valve 11b are incorporated in the hot water supply main pipe 11, and the inside of the shower booth 1 is provided. Supply pipe 1
The lower end of 2 is connected to hot water supply pipe 11 to form a hot water supply path. The supply pipe 12 has a larger diameter than the hot water supply main pipe 11 as shown in FIG.
At the upper end side, a hose 12a to the shower head 5 is connected, and an operation handle 11c for opening and closing the on-off valve 11b is provided.

Further, a particle F is provided outside the shower booth 1.
Is provided at the lower end of the hopper 13, and a cut-out chamber 13a is provided at the lower end of the hopper 13 so as to surround the joint between the hot water supply main pipe 11 and the supply pipe 12. The cutoff valve 13 is provided in the middle flow path to the cutout chamber 13a.
b, and an operation handle 13c for opening and closing the b is provided in the shower booth 1.

In this example, the cut-off valve 13b is closed, and the opening / closing valve 11 of the hot water supply main pipe 11 is operated by the operation handle 11c.
When b is opened, only the mixed water is ejected from the shower head 5 and can be used as a normal shower. Then, if the cutout valve 13b is opened by the operation handle 13c,
As shown in FIG. 4, the lower end of the supply pipe 12 opens into the cut-out chamber 13a.
, The mixture F rising in the supply pipe 12 pulls the granules F in the cut-out chamber 13a. Therefore, the mixed water mixed with the particles F is supplied to the shower head 5, and the shower water for massage is obtained in the same manner as in the previous example.

FIG. 5 is a schematic vertical sectional view of a main part showing still another example, in which the granules F can be circulated and used without performing a collecting operation.

A drainage tank 21 is provided below the floor plate 3 of the shower booth 1 and a mortar-shaped collecting net 22 having a mesh size capable of collecting the particles F is provided in the drainage tank 2.
The drain 21 a is connected to the bottom of the tank 21. And the supply pipe 2 from the bottom side of the collection net 22
3, the other end of the supply pipe 23 is extended to the wall of the shower booth 1, and the supply pipe 23 is connected to the shower head 5 by a hose 23a.

Further, a hot water supply main pipe 2 connected to an external hot water supply source
4 is connected to an opening / closing valve 24a that is opened / closed by an operation handle 24b provided in the shower booth 1 and one end of the opening / closing valve 24a is located on the bottom side of the collection net 22. Then, a granule mixing unit 2 for mixing the granules F into the hot water is provided at the pipe end of the hot water supply main pipe 24 and the base end of the supply pipe 23.
5 is provided.

FIG. 6 is a schematic diagram showing the internal mechanism of the granule mixing unit 25. The bottom of the collection net 22 and the supply pipe 23 are shown.
And a communication pipe 25a between the
A constant-volume rotary vane pump 26 is incorporated in the middle of a, and a water wheel 27 is provided downstream of the connection point with the communication pipe 25a and between the end of the hot water supply main pipe 24.

As is generally known, the vane pump 26 has a rotor 26a provided in a housing and a plurality of vanes 26b provided movably in a radial direction.
The characteristic is that the discharge flow rate is high and there is no backflow of the fluid due to the back pressure, and the fluid sealed between each vane 26b and the housing can be forcibly discharged by rotation of the rotor 26a. is there.

The water wheel 27 is installed so as to have a rotating shaft 27a at a position distant from the internal flow path of the supply pipe 23, and the blades 27b receive the pressure of the hot water supply flow from the hot water supply main pipe 24 in the direction of the arrow in FIG. It is made rotatable. The rotation of the rotary shaft 27a can be transmitted to the rotor 26a of the vane pump 26. In the illustrated example, these are connected via a gear box 28 containing a gear train.

The gear box 28 is provided with a plurality of gears for transmitting the rotation of the rotating shaft 27a to the rotor 26a to rotate the rotor 26a in the direction of the arrow in the figure. The relationship between the number of teeth of each gear in the gear train and the relationship between the rotation of the rotor 26a in proportion to the rotation speed of the rotating shaft 27a, and the relationship of decelerating or increasing the speed by enabling the gears to be shifted. do it.

In such a configuration, the operation handle 24b
When the open / close valve 24a is opened, the mixed water is supplied to the supply pipe 2
3 is supplied to the shower head 5 and discharged. Then, if an appropriate amount of the granules F are previously introduced into the flow path from the collection net 22 to the supply pipe 23, the granules F accumulated at the bottom of the collection net 22 are removed from the fluid mixing unit 2.
5 through the connecting pipe 25a.

That is, the water turbine 27a is rotated in the direction shown in FIG. 6 by the flow of hot water from the hot water main pipe 24, so that the rotor 26a is also rotated.
6b, a certain amount of granules F are cut out between the feed pipes 2b.
Sent to 3. Therefore, the granules F are mixed into the hot water supply flow and supplied from the supply pipe 23 to the shower head 5. Then, the mixed water sprinkled from the shower head 5 is discharged from the drain pipe 21 a of the drain tank 21, only the granules F are collected in the collection net 22, and the mixed water newly supplied from the hot water supply main pipe 24. And the circulation flow from the supply pipe 23 to the shower head 5 is repeated.

Instead of the gear box 28, for example, the flow rate of hot water from the hot water main pipe 24 is sensed by a sensor, and the rotation of the rotor 26a of the vane pump 26 is performed so as to cut out the particles F in an amount corresponding to this flow rate. The speed may be controlled electrically.

Here, in the case of discharging the mixed water mixed with the granules F, the size of the water sprinkling holes 5b is set to a normal size so that the granules F can quickly pass through the water sprinkling holes 5b of the shower head 5. It is necessary to make it larger than in the case of a shower head. For this reason, the force of the mixed water from the water sprinkling hole 5b is weakened, and the detergency is reduced, and even if the particles F are included, the massage power is weakened.

The structure shown in FIG. 7 can be suitably used as the structure of the shower head for preventing such deterioration of the washing and massage functions.

In the example shown in the figure, the water spray plate 32 provided on the main body 31 of the shower head connected to the supply source of the mixed water and the granules F described above has only one water spray hole 3 at the center thereof.
2a is opened, and a swirler 33 for swirling the flow before jetting from the sprinkling hole 32a is incorporated.

The water sprinkling hole 32 a is sufficiently larger than the outer diameter of the granules F and is of such a size that a plurality of granules F can collectively be ejected together with the mixed water at a portion facing the inner side of the main body 31. Is a cylindrical swirling chamber 32 coaxially with the sprinkling hole 32a.
b is formed and the swirler 33 is fixedly held therein.
The swivel element 33 uses, for example, a part of a bolt as shown in FIG. 8, and has a shape in which a spiral groove 33a is cut along the entire length in the axial direction on the peripheral surface thereof. One end is abutted against 31a and is fixed in swivel chamber 32b.

In the case where the swirler 33 is incorporated, the mixed water and the particles F mixed in the mixed water form a spiral flow while passing through the inner peripheral wall of the swirling chamber 32b and the groove 33a, and enter the water sprinkling hole 32a. Immediately before, the swirling flow is centered on the sprinkling hole 32a. For this reason, when the flow is discharged through the water sprinkling hole 32a, the centrifugal force of the flow itself acts due to the history of the corrected swirling flow, and condensed water sprinkling from the water sprinkling hole 32a as shown in the drawing is obtained. Can be.

With such a conical water spray accompanied by a centrifugal force, the water force of the mixed water from the water spray holes 32a is also maintained at a high level, and there is no reduction in the cleaning power. In addition, compared to normal uniform water sprinkling, since the particles are scattered in a droplet form instead of a continuous streamline, the particles F are easily separated from the mixed water, and the particles F themselves are directly The degree of contact with the skin of the body increases. Therefore, the massage effect by the granules F is further improved as compared with the case where water is sprinkled while the granules F are contained in the uniform flow of the mixed water.

Further, the mixed water containing the particles F is swirled by the swirler 33.
The flow velocity when passing through the peripheral groove 33a and the water sprinkling hole 32a is increased because the flow path is greatly narrowed and the speed is increased when passing through the peripheral groove 33a. Therefore, it is difficult for the granules F to stay in the grooves 33a and the water sprinkling holes 32a, and the flow path is not blocked by clogging or the like.

[0049]

According to the present invention, mixed water such as water or hot water mixed with granules is jetted from the water spray holes of the shower head.
It can supplement the massage function that also serves as washing, and in particular, it is possible to intensively massage the shoulder and waist etc. by holding the shower head by hand, so that the granules accumulated in the bathtub can be jetted as before The massage effect is remarkably improved as compared with the case of stirring.

By providing an independently operable on-off valve or the like in each of the supply systems for the mixed water and the granules, the mixed water can be used as a normal shower by spraying only the mixed water. It is possible to switch to watering for massage mixed with, and to provide equipment utilizing both functions of washing and massage with simple equipment only by providing an on-off valve.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a longitudinal sectional view showing an outline of a shower booth provided with a shower device of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a longitudinal sectional view showing a main part of a shower head of the shower device of FIG.

FIG. 3 is a longitudinal sectional view showing an outline of a facility for sending granules from outside a shower booth.

4 is a longitudinal sectional view showing a configuration for cutting out granules into a mixed water flow channel in the example of FIG. 3;

FIG. 5 is a vertical cross-sectional view showing an outline of a facility in which granules can be circulated and used.

FIG. 6 is a partially cutaway view showing an outline of a granule mixing unit in the equipment of FIG. 5;

FIG. 7 is a longitudinal sectional view of a main part of a shower head capable of maintaining a high cleaning and massage effect with mixed water containing granules.

FIG. 8 is a front view of the swirler in the example of FIG.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1: Shower booth 1a: Collection pit 2: Net rack 3: Floor plate 3a: Hole 4: Hot and cold mixing faucet 5: Shower head 5a: Sprinkler plate 5b: Spray hole 6: Storage case 6a: Nozzle 11: Hot water main pipe 12 : Supply pipe 13: Hopper 13a: Cutting chamber 21: Drain tank 22: Collection net 23: Supply pipe 24: Hot water supply main pipe 25: Granule mixing unit 26: Vane pump 27: Water wheel 28: Gear box 31: Main body 32: Watering Plate 32a: watering hole 32b: swirl chamber 33: swirler 33a: groove

Claims (10)

[Claims] 1. A shower apparatus comprising, downstream of a water spray plate provided at the end of a flow path of a shower head, a supply source of particulates mixed with a fluid such as hot water or water discharged from water holes formed in the water spray plate. . 2. A storage case for storing granules is provided in a main body of the shower head, and at a position where the storage case faces an internal flow path of the main body of the shower head, a suction force of a flow of the mixed water flowing toward the water spray plate is provided. 2. The shower device according to claim 1, further comprising a nozzle for discharging the particles into the internal flow path by the nozzle. 3. The shower device according to claim 2, wherein the storage case is provided with a vacuum breaker that can be opened to the outside air in conjunction with a decrease in the internal pressure. 4. A double-tubular part which is cut off in the middle of a supply pipe of hot water or water to a shower head, and has a small diameter at an outlet end of an upstream pipe and is inserted into an inlet end of a downstream pipe. 2. The shower device according to claim 1, further comprising a hopper for the granular material having a cut-out flow path communicated therewith. 5. An on-off valve which can be remotely operated in each of the upstream pipe and the cut-out flow path of the hopper.
The shower device as described. 6. A facility such as a shower booth for supplying a shower head with a fluid such as hot water or water and particles mixed therein with a collection net capable of collecting particles below the floor. At the bottom of the collecting net, there is provided a particle mixing means for mixing the particles into a fluid such as hot water or water, and the end of a supply pipe for supplying a fluid such as hot water or water is connected to the particle mixing means and a shower is provided. A shower device in which the base ends of a circulation supply pipe that connects a flow path to the inlet side of the head are connected to each other. 7. The water spray plate of the shower head is provided with a water spray hole substantially at the center thereof and a swirl mechanism upstream of the water spray hole for swirling the flow containing the particles coaxially. The shower device as described. 8. A sprinkler provided on the inner peripheral surface of the sprinkler plate substantially coaxially with the water sprinkling hole, and a swirler having a spiral groove formed on the peripheral surface thereof. 8. The shower device according to claim 7, wherein a spiral swirling flow path is formed between the groove and the inner circumference of the swirling chamber. 9. The shower apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the granules are in the form of spheres made of ceramics. 10. The shower apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the granules are in the form of spheres made of an elastic agent such as rubber or sponge.