JPH11221556A - Hot bathwater circulator - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To sterilize the pipeline of the circulator as well as hot water with a simple structure. SOLUTION: The hot water W in a bathtub Y is sucked into this hot water circulator 10, passed through a sterilization tank 13, an adsorbent tank 14 and a hollow-fiber membrane tank 16, sterilized and purified. Meanwhile, the hot water W is heated in a heat insulating tank 12 and discharged again into the bathtub Y through the circulating circuit of the circulator 10, a bypass pipe 27 is provided between the suction pipe 17 and delivery pipe 25 in the circulating circuit, and a closed circuit excluding the bathtub Y is formed. The hot water W sealed in the closed circuit is heated and circulated to sterilize the pipeline. As a result, the amt. of the hot water W heated in the heat treatment is decreased, an additional heating means is not needed, and the hot water is sufficiently heated to a specified temp. by the existing heat insulating tank 12.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a bath tub hot water circulating apparatus for sucking hot water in a bath tub to remove impurities and then discharging the hot water into the bath tub.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, as a bath tub hot water circulation device, a device provided with biochemical purification means using porous natural stone (such as barley stone) has been well known. Changes in consciousness have created a feeling of resistance to the presence of microorganisms, and are now favoring non-biochemical purification. In addition, as the purifying means, there are various kinds of purifying means such as the above-mentioned biochemical purifying and physical filtration, each of which has advantages and disadvantages.

[0003]

At present, this kind of bathtub hot water circulating apparatus is required to have at least a function of sterilizing, purifying, and keeping heat of the bathtub water, and it is necessary to provide a bathing condition of a user, for example, It is urgently necessary to take a sudden dirt response to bathing after sports and the use of many people exceeding the normal number of people.

The present invention has been made to solve the above problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide a bath tub hot water circulation device having a simple structure and always having a stable purifying function.

[0005]

According to the first aspect of the present invention, a hot water in a bathtub is sucked through a suction pipe by a pump, and the sucked hot water is sucked through a heat retention tank and a sterilization tank to form an adsorption tank and hollow fibers. In a bath tub hot water circulating device that filters by passing through the membrane tank in order and discharges it again to the bath tub through a discharge pipe, a bypass circuit is provided in which the hot water is discharged to the bath tub by bypassing the hollow fiber membrane tank. Is the gist.

[0006]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS One embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to FIGS. The bathtub hot water circulation device 10 is disposed above the bathtub Y. The bathtub circulation device 10 has a pump 11 for sucking hot water W in the bathtub, a warming bath 12 having a heater therein for heating or keeping the drawn hot water W, and a UV lamp for irradiating the hot water W with ultraviolet rays. Sterilization tank 13, adsorbent tank 14 containing at least one kind of granular activated carbon or zeolite as an adsorbent for adsorbing substances dissolved in hot water W, hollow for filtering solids mixed in hot water W It has a hollow fiber membrane tank 16 containing a fiber membrane.

The pump 11 has a check valve S and a suction pipe 17.
Is connected inside the bathtub Y. Pump 1
In the upper part of 1, a heat insulating tank 12 and a sterilizing tank 13 are provided with the first connecting pipe 1.
The adsorbent tank 14 is connected to the sterilization tank 13 via a second connection pipe 19. The adsorbent tank 14 is connected to a five-way valve 15 via a third connection pipe 20. That is, the adsorbent tank 14 is arranged in series with the internal circuit of the bathtub hot water circulation device 10.

The five-way valve 15 is connected to the upper part of the hollow fiber membrane tank 16 via a fourth connection pipe 21, and the lower part of the hollow fiber membrane tank 16 is again connected to the five-way pipe via a fifth connection pipe 22. Connected to valve 15. The five-way valve 15 has hot water W in the bathtub Y.
A drain pipe 26 for draining water to the outside is connected, and the five-way valve 15 is connected to the three-way valve 2 through a sixth connection pipe 23.
4 is connected. The three-way valve 24 is connected to the discharge pipe 2
5 and connected to the bathtub Y via a bypass pipe 27 in the middle of the suction pipe 17.

The various components including the five-way valve 15 and the three-way valve 24 are controlled by a controller (not shown). Next, the operation at the time of the normal purification operation in the present embodiment will be described.

As shown in FIG. 1, during a normal purification operation, the three-way valve 24 connects the sixth connection pipe 23 and the discharge pipe 25. When the pump 11 is driven, the hot water W in the bathtub Y is pumped into the heat retention tank 12 and the sterilization tank 13 via the suction pipe 17, the pump 11, and the first connection pipe 18. Thereafter, the hot water W is discharged into the bathtub Y through the flow path of the second connection pipe 19 → the adsorbent tank 14 → the third connection pipe 20 → the five-way valve 15 → the sixth connection pipe 23 → the three-way valve 24 → the discharge pipe 25. You.

The heater accommodated in the heat insulation tank 12 is used for heat insulation, and the hot water W is heated to an appropriate temperature by passing through the heat insulation tank 12. The hot water W is supplied to the sterilizing tank 13.
Are sterilized by irradiation with ultraviolet rays when passing through the position. Since the effect is improved by repeating the sterilization by ultraviolet rays, the sterilization tank 13 operates for 24 hours.

Further, as the warm water W passes through the adsorbent tank 14, impurities such as ammonia, protein, fat, etc., which cause turbidity or slime of the warm water W dissolved or mixed in the warm water W, are removed. It is absorbed and purified by activated carbon or zeolite. Insoluble impurities such as scale in the hot water W are also physically filtered in the adsorbent tank 14.

Next, various operation operations other than the normal purification operation in the present embodiment will be described. First, the operation during the rapid filtration operation will be described.

As shown in FIG. 2, the rapid filtration operation is arbitrarily operated by the controller when a large number of people take a bath after sports. During the rapid filtration operation, the controller is operated by the user, and the five-way valve 15 is switched from the normal purification operation to the rapid filtration operation. When the pump 11 is driven, the hot water W in the bathtub Y is supplied to the suction pipe 1.
7, pumped into the heat insulation tank 12 and the sterilization tank 13 via the first connecting pipe 18. Thereafter, the hot water W is supplied to the second connection pipe 19 → the adsorbent tank 14 → the third connection pipe 20 → the five-way valve 15
→ Fourth connecting pipe 21 → Hollow fiber membrane tank 16 → Fifth connecting pipe 22 →
Five-way valve 15 → sixth connection pipe 23 → three-way valve 24 → discharge pipe 25
Is discharged into the bathtub Y through the flow path of (1).

As the hot water W passes through the hollow fiber membrane tank 16, solids and various bacteria not adsorbed in the adsorbent tank 14 are filtered and rapidly purified. The hot water W
Is 5 to 15 l / m when passing through the hollow fiber membrane tank 16.
In and the flow rate is small. For this reason, the hollow fiber membrane tank 16 is usually bypassed by the five-way valve 15, and the rapid filtration operation is performed periodically or arbitrarily. The bathtub Y
Assuming that a family of four is using, as a guideline for the rapid filtration operation, there is no organic suspended matter brought in by a normal person once a day.

As described above, when the rapid filtration operation by the hollow fiber membrane tank 16 is repeated, the hollow fiber membrane contained in the hollow fiber membrane tank 16 gradually becomes clogged. As the clogging of the hollow fiber membrane progresses, the hollow fiber membrane tank 1
The filtration performance of No. 6 decreases. For this reason, it is necessary to wash the hollow fiber membrane contained in the hollow fiber membrane tank 16 at an appropriate time. In the present embodiment, the hot water W is circulated in a direction opposite to the circulation direction of the hot water W during the normal operation, so that the hollow fiber membrane tank 16
Washing by backwashing to remove dirt clogged on the surface of the hollow fiber membrane accommodated in the container.

Next, the operation of the hollow fiber membrane tank 16 during the backwash operation will be described. As shown in FIG. 3, during the backwash operation, the controller switches the five-way valve 15 from the normal cleaning operation. Then, when the pump 11 is driven, the hot water W in the bathtub Y is pumped into the heat retention tank 12 and the sterilization tank 13 via the suction pipe 17, the pump 11, and the first connection pipe 18. Thereafter, the hot water W is supplied to the second connecting pipe 19 → adsorbent tank 1
4 → third connecting pipe 20 → five way valve 15 → fifth connecting pipe 22 → hollow fiber membrane tank 16 → fourth connecting pipe 21 → five way valve 15 → drain pipe 2
The water is drained out of the bathtub hot water circulation device 10 through the flow path 6.
The standard for performing the backwashing operation is the same as the above-described filtration operation.

Next, the operation during the heat treatment operation will be described. As described above, the repetition of the normal purification operation and the rapid filtration operation causes the propagation of microorganisms such as bacteria on the inner surface of the piping system of the bath tub hot water circulation device 10 and the inside of the hollow fiber membrane tank 16. The microorganisms accelerate the clogging of the hollow fiber membrane accommodated in the hollow fiber membrane tank 16 and shorten the life of the hollow fiber membrane. For this reason, it is necessary to sterilize the inner surface of the piping system of the bathtub hot water circulation device 10 to prevent the generation of microorganisms. In this embodiment, microorganisms are sterilized by circulating hot water through the piping system.

As shown in FIG. 4, during the heat treatment operation, the five-way valve 15 and the three-way valve 24 are switched by the controller so as to form a closed circuit H, and the hot water W is confined in the closed circuit H. Then, when the pump 11 is driven, the hot water W flows into the bypass pipe 27 → the pump 11 → the first connecting pipe 18 → the heat retaining tank 12 → the sterilizing tank 13 → the second connecting pipe 19 →
Adsorbent tank 14 → Third connecting pipe 20 → Five-way valve 15 → Fourth connecting pipe 21 → Hollow fiber membrane tank 16 → Fifth connecting pipe 22 → Five-way valve 15
→ The sixth connecting pipe 23 → the three-way valve 24 → the bypass pipe 27 circulates in the closed circuit H except for the bathtub Y. In the present embodiment, the amount of the warm water W circulating in the closed circuit H is about 4 l.
It has become.

The temperature of the hot water W is raised to 70 degrees by passing through the heat retaining tank 12. Then, the warm water W circulates through the closed circuit H, thereby sterilizing bacteria that have been propagated or trapped in the pipe inner surface of the closed circuit H or the hollow fiber membrane tank 16. The hot water W is discharged to a bathtub without being drained to the outside because of the high temperature. At this time, the discharge amount of the hot water W is adjusted by the three-way valve 24 and is gradually discharged into the bathtub Y.

Before the heat treatment operation is completed and the normal operation is resumed, the hollow fiber membrane tank 16 is bypassed by the controller. That is, the fourth connecting pipe 2
1. Inside the hollow fiber membrane tank 16 and the fifth connecting pipe 22, sterile 70 ° C. warm water W remains. Therefore, the inside of the hollow fiber membrane tank 16 is kept in an aseptic state, and it becomes difficult for bacteria to propagate. Further, since the normal operation is performed by bypassing the hollow fiber membrane tank 16, various bacteria are prevented from entering the inside of the hollow fiber membrane tank 16.

Therefore, according to the present embodiment, the following effects can be obtained. -Sterilization of the warm water W can be maintained at a stable level by operating the sterilization tank 13 for 24 hours. In addition, the sterilization of the entire system is always maintained reliably by sterilization by the rapid filtration operation by the hollow fiber membrane tank 16 and the heat sterilization of the piping system inside the apparatus 10 by the heat treatment operation regularly. You.

For a substance dissolved in warm water W as in the past, a purification method using an adsorbent is employed without employing a biochemical purification method utilizing microorganisms. As a result, it is possible to substitute a purifying means for recent biochemical purification.

According to the actual use of the user, even if it is different from normal use such as after sports or bathing for a large number of people, rapid filtration is enabled by using the filtration function of the hollow fiber membrane tank 16. For example, a sand filtration method can be considered as a physical filtration method, but it is difficult to function for rapid filtration, and it is necessary to take measures against sand flowing into a pipe, and the structure is complicated.

Since the expensive and quickly clogged hollow fiber membrane tank 16 is not used for regular filtration, the life of the hollow fiber membrane can be improved. Note that the present embodiment may be modified and implemented as follows.

In the present embodiment, the adsorbent tank 14 is disposed between the sterilizing tank 13 and the five-way valve 15, but the adsorbent tank 14 is disposed between the bath Y and the pump 11 and between the pump 11 and the heat retaining tank 12. One-way valve 1
5 and the three-way valve 24. Also in this case, a sufficient flow rate of the hot water W circulating in the bathtub hot water circulation device 10 can be obtained, and the same effect as in the above embodiment can be obtained.

In the present embodiment, various components are automatically switched by a controller (not shown), but may be manually switched by a user of the apparatus. Even in this case, the same effect as in the above embodiment can be obtained.

The hollow fiber membrane tank 16 in this embodiment may be replaced with a sand filtration tank. Even in this way, small solids and the like can be filtered. In the present embodiment, a flow rate adjusting means for the hot water W such as a two-way valve may be provided between the bypass pipe 27 and the pump 11.
This prevents the hot water W from flowing into the pump 11 at once.

[0029]

According to the present invention, it is possible to provide a bath tub hot water circulation apparatus excellent in heat retention, sterilization and purification without using a biochemical purification method using microorganisms.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a circuit diagram of a bath tub hot water circulation device showing a hot water flow path during a normal purification operation.

FIG. 2 is a circuit diagram of a bath tub hot water circulation device showing a hot water flow path during a rapid filtration operation.

FIG. 3 is a circuit diagram of a bath tub hot water circulation device showing a hot water flow path during a backwash operation.

FIG. 4 is a circuit diagram of a bath tub hot water circulation device showing a hot water flow path during a heat treatment operation.

[Explanation of symbols]

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 ... Hot water circulation apparatus, 11 ... Pump, 14 ... Adsorbent tank, 15 ... Five-way valve, 16 ... Hollow fiber membrane tank containing hollow fiber membrane, 17 ... Suction pipe, 25 ... Discharge pipe, 27 ... Bypass pipe ,
H: closed circuit, W: hot water, Y: bathtub.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A hot water in a bathtub is sucked through a suction pipe by a pump, and the sucked hot water is filtered by passing through a heat retaining tank and a sterilizing tank in order of an adsorption tank and a hollow fiber membrane tank. A bathtub hot water circulation device for discharging water to a bathtub through a discharge pipe, wherein the hot water bypasses the hollow fiber membrane tank and is discharged to the bathtub.