JP3748973B2 - 24-hour bath sterilizer - Google Patents

Description

[0001]
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a heat sterilization apparatus for a 24-hour bath that simultaneously retains and sterilizes a 24-hour bath by using a semiconductor thermoelectric conversion element.
[0002]
[Prior art]
In recent years, so-called 24-hour baths are rapidly spreading as convenient baths that can be used anytime for 24 hours. It has been reported that in such 24-hour bath water, Legionella bacteria (hereinafter simply referred to as “bacteria”) are inhabited by hot water of about 40 ° C. and organic matter from the body of the bather. It has been pointed out that there is a risk of infecting people with reduced immune functions such as sick people.
As such bacteria sterilization means, for example, means for heating and sterilizing hot water to a predetermined temperature with an electric heater and means for adding a chemical such as chlorine and ozone are provided. In addition, a device for purifying hot water by using such a chemical addition means and purifying hot water by using a microbial membrane is also provided.
In the conventional 24-hour bath, when boiling water from water, it is usually heated by means of boiling water such as gas, and when kept at a temperature suitable for bathing, it is heated by an electric heater provided separately. To do.
[0003]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
Since the conventional 24-hour bath heat sterilization apparatus is configured as described above, in the electric heater means, the temperature of the heated water must be lowered, and a separate cooling device such as an air cooling device is required. On the other hand, there is a problem that an electric heater or the like for keeping hot water is required separately, which is uneconomical.
[0004]
In addition, chemical addition means such as chlorine and ozone have problems such as toxic concerns for bathers and odors.
[0005]
Furthermore, in a purification apparatus using a microbial membrane, the addition of a drug causes toxicity to the microorganism and interferes with the purification function. It was.
[0006]
The present invention has been made to solve the above-mentioned problems, and it is possible to sterilize bath water safely and surely without adding a sterilizing agent, and to heat a 24-hour bath that can be easily and economically heated. The object is to obtain a sterilizer.
[0007]
Another object of the present invention is to obtain a 24-hour bath heat sterilization apparatus that increases the sterilization frequency and enables more complete sterilization by adopting a countercurrent heat exchange system.
[0008]
Another object of the present invention is to provide a 24-hour bath heat sterilizer capable of simultaneously sterilizing hot water and keeping warm.
[0009]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
According to the first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a heat sterilization apparatus for a 24-hour bath by introducing a semiconductor thermoelectric conversion element having an endothermic surface for depriving heat and a heat dissipating surface for releasing heat; An inflow path for heat sterilization; and an outflow path for introducing hot water sterilized by the heat radiating surface into the heat absorption surface and supplying the hot water to the bathtub, while exchanging heat between the hot water in the inflow path and the hot water in the outflow path The inflow path is an inner pipe and the outflow path is a double pipe provided outside the inner pipe so as to flow oppositely .
[0011]
In the heat sterilization apparatus for a 24-hour bath according to the invention described in claim 2 , the semiconductor thermoelectric conversion element is formed so as to be able to supply a heat amount exceeding the natural heat dissipation amount of hot water.
[0012]
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
An embodiment of the present invention will be described below.
Embodiment 1 FIG.
1 is a cross-sectional view (a) and AA cross-sectional view (b) showing a 24-hour bath heat sterilization apparatus according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention, and a graph showing the temperature distribution of hot water along a flow path (c). ).
1 (a) and 1 (b), reference numeral 1 denotes a double pipe composed of an outer pipe 2 having a closed tip and an inner pipe 4 disposed so as to have a folded space 3 therein. Heat exchange of the mold. That is, the inside of the inner pipe 4 is formed as a hot water inflow path 5 and the outside of the inner pipe 4 is formed as an outflow path 6 in a counterflow type.
[0013]
7 is a semiconductor thermoelectric conversion element utilizing the Peltier effect, and includes a heat radiating surface 7a that radiates heat to the outside and a heat absorbing surface 7b that takes heat away from the outside. Three semiconductor thermoelectric conversion elements 7 are arranged in the vicinity of the end portion of the inner tube 4 on the folded space 3 side so that the heat radiation surface 7a faces the inflow passage 5 and the heat absorption surface 7b faces the outflow passage 6. It is installed. Further, the semiconductor thermoelectric conversion element 7 has a heat absorption capacity of 60 to 90 watts, and heats about 40 ° C. hot water flowing into the inflow path 5 to 70 ° C. or more by the three heat radiating surfaces 7a. It has the ability to sterilize sufficiently and to supply a quantity of heat that exceeds the natural heat dissipation of hot water. That is, it has the ability to sufficiently sterilize about 400 liters of bath water and keep the temperature at 40 ° C. or higher.
[0014]
The dimensions and materials of the outer tube 2 and the inner tube 4, the arrangement position and the number of the semiconductor thermoelectric conversion elements 7 are taken into consideration various conditions such as the desired hot water heating temperature, flow rate, and heat transfer area. It is determined.
Although not shown in the drawings, as other configurations, a water boiling means such as a gas for boiling water from water, an operating circuit of the semiconductor thermoelectric conversion element 7, a pump means for circulating hot water, and a means for removing dust such as hair And purification means using microbial membranes. Conventional and well-known means can be used for these means.
[0015]
Next, the operation will be described.
As shown in FIGS. 1A and 1C, when hot water of about 40 ° C. is introduced from the bathtub (not shown) into the inflow passage 5, it is sequentially heated by the heat radiation surfaces 7a of the three semiconductor thermoelectric conversion elements 7, Heated to 70 ° C or higher. Thereby, sufficient sterilization is performed.
The hot water that has been sterilized is turned back in the turn-back space 3 and enters the outflow passage 6. Then, the semiconductor thermoelectric conversion element 7 is sequentially cooled by the heat absorbing surface 7b, and further cooled to about 50 ° C. by exchanging heat with the low-temperature hot water flowing in the opposite direction to the inflow path 5, and exits the outflow path 6 to the bathtub (not shown). To be supplied.
Hot water naturally radiates heat in a bathtub or the like, but the amount of heat that exceeds the amount of heat released is supplied to the hot water by the heat radiating surface 7a of the semiconductor thermoelectric conversion element 7. That is, the semiconductor thermoelectric conversion element 7 is supplied with predetermined power that can supplement the heating amount. Therefore, whenever hot water is reheated by the semiconductor thermoelectric conversion element 7, sterilization and heat retention are performed simultaneously.
By repeating the above operation, hot water sterilization and heat insulation are always performed.
[0016]
In addition, by making it counter current, the low temperature hot water introduced into the inflow path 5 is preheated by the high temperature hot water that flows through the outflow path 6 before reaching the heat radiation surface 7a of the semiconductor thermoelectric conversion element 7. Therefore, it is not necessary to rely on heating only for the heat radiating surface 7a. Therefore, since the heating efficiency is improved, the flow rate of hot water to be heated can be increased, and the sterilization frequency is increased to enable more complete sterilization.
[0017]
As described above, according to the first embodiment, since heating and cooling of hot water can be performed simultaneously by the semiconductor thermoelectric conversion element 7, a separate cooling device can be eliminated, and power consumption can be greatly saved. An effect is obtained.
Further, since the sterilization is performed by heating the hot water, it is possible to eliminate the need for adding a sterilizing chemical and to eliminate the concern about toxicity to the bather and the generation of odor.
Furthermore, since the addition of a sterilizing agent is not required, a conventional purification device using a microbial membrane can be used in combination, and the effect of increasing the degree of freedom in system configuration can be obtained.
[0018]
Further, since the semiconductor thermoelectric conversion element 7 serves as both a heat retaining means and a sterilizing means, the sterilization and the heat retaining can be performed at the same time without separately providing an electric heater or the like for the heat retention. The effect that size reduction can be achieved is also obtained.
In addition, since the counter-flow type heat exchange method using the double pipe 1 is adopted, the heating efficiency is improved, the flow rate of hot water to be heated can be increased, and the sterilization frequency can be increased to achieve more complete sterilization. An effect is also obtained.
Furthermore, since there are no consumables such as a sterilizing agent, an effect of being maintenance-free can be obtained.
In addition, since the semiconductor thermoelectric conversion element 7 often used in the advanced technology field is used, an advantageous effect can be obtained in that the product can be differentiated.
[0019]
In the first embodiment, the counter flow type using the double pipe 1 is adopted as the heat exchange method. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and a parallel flow, a cross flow, or a combination of them may be adopted. Good.
Moreover, you may employ | adopt not only the double tube 1 but a multiple tube.
[0020]
【The invention's effect】
As described above, according to the first aspect of the present invention, the semiconductor thermoelectric conversion element having the heat absorbing surface for depriving heat and the heat radiating surface for releasing heat, and hot water from the bathtub are introduced into the heat radiating surface for heat sterilization. And an outflow passage that introduces hot water sterilized by the heat radiating surface into the heat absorption surface and supplies the hot water to the bathtub, and the hot water in the inflow passage and the hot water in the outflow passage face each other while exchanging heat. Since the inflow path is an inner pipe and the outflow path is a double pipe provided outside the inner pipe, hot water can be heated and cooled simultaneously by the semiconductor thermoelectric conversion element. A cooling device can be eliminated, and power consumption can be greatly saved.
Further, since the sterilization is performed by heating the hot water, it is possible to eliminate the need for adding a sterilizing agent and to eliminate the concern of toxicity to the bather and the generation of odor.
Furthermore, since the addition of a sterilizing chemical is not required, a conventional purification device using a microbial membrane can be used in combination, and the degree of freedom in system configuration can be increased.
In addition, since there are no consumables such as sterilizing chemicals, an effect of being maintenance-free can be obtained.
Furthermore, since a semiconductor thermoelectric conversion element often used in the advanced technology field is used, an advantageous effect can be obtained in that the product can be differentiated.
[0021]
Further, since the hot water and hot water flow entrance road outlet channel is configured by providing adjacent the said inlet passage and the outlet passage to flow to face with the heat exchanger, and improving the heating efficiency, to be heated The flow rate of hot water can be increased, so that the frequency of sterilization can be increased to achieve more complete sterilization.
[0022]
According to the second aspect of the present invention, the semiconductor thermoelectric conversion element is formed so as to be able to supply a heat amount that exceeds the natural heat dissipation amount of hot water, so that it is not necessary to separately provide an electric heater or the like for heat insulation. With such a structure, there is an effect that sterilization of hot water and heat insulation can be performed simultaneously.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view (a) and AA cross-sectional view (b) showing a 24-hour bath heat sterilization apparatus according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention, and a graph showing hot water temperature distribution along a flow path ( c).
[Explanation of symbols]
5 Inflow path 6 Outflow path 7 Semiconductor thermoelectric conversion element 7a Heat radiation surface 7b Heat absorption surface

Claims (2)

A semiconductor thermoelectric conversion element having an endothermic surface for depriving heat and a heat dissipating surface for releasing heat, an inflow path for introducing hot water from a bathtub into the heat dissipating surface and heat sterilizing, and hot water heat sterilized by the heat dissipating surface e Bei and outflow path for supplying to the tub is introduced into the heat absorbing surface,
The inflow path is an inner pipe and the outflow path is a double pipe provided outside the inner pipe so that the hot water in the inflow path and the hot water in the outflow path flow in opposite directions while exchanging heat. A heat sterilizer for a 24-hour bath. Semiconductor thermoelectric conversion element, 24-hour bath heat sterilization apparatus according to claim 1, characterized in that the suppliable to form a heat in excess of natural heat radiation amount of hot water.

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