JP4044584B2 - Bubble generator and method of using the same - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a bubble generating device that easily and inexpensively generates minute bubbles and a method of using the same.

  The present applicant has previously filed a patent application by developing a bubble generating device that can be greatly simplified in structure as compared with a conventional device of the same type and, as a result, can be realized at low cost (Patent Document 1). ).

JP 2005-204972 A

  By the way, all the conventional apparatuses including the bubble generating apparatus developed by the present applicant are provided with a pump having a constant flow rate and a lift output. For this reason, for example, microbubbles can be generated in the bathtub by a so-called circulation system in which hot water in a bath tub is sucked and air is dissolved in the hot water and returned to the bathtub in a gas-liquid mixed state. However, since a pump is required, there are certain limits to downsizing and cost reduction of the apparatus, and maintenance measures such as failure due to aging are also required. Furthermore, since there is application of the Electrical Appliance and Material Safety Law, restrictions on product design derived from this legal regulation are added.

  On the other hand, the details of the behavior of the microbubbles are not necessarily clarified, but the application fields in which the effects are realized are spreading not only in the conventional fields of use. For example, in a household where dishwashing is performed with microbubble-dissolved water at home, the removal of dirt is clearly improved. There are also reports of application examples.

  The present invention, as described above, emphasizes the expansion of the application range of microbubbles, particularly application to familiar fields, and is an extremely simple and inexpensive configuration without using a pump that is an electrical product. It is an object of the present invention to provide a bubble generating device that can be easily used in familiar fields and a method for using the same.

Bubble generating device according to the present invention has a predetermined internal volume, the container inside septum wall is divided into the bubble separation chamber located in the stirring chamber and the lower positioned above the agitating chamber and the bubble separation chamber A communication hole formed in the partition to communicate with the inlet, an inlet for introducing pressurized tap water into the stirring chamber from the nozzle provided at the top of the container and provided at the tip, and rotatably attached to the upper end of the container from the nozzle Turbine rotating with an introduced water flow, rotating blades integrally mounted coaxially with the turbine and configured to be rotatable in the agitating chamber, outlet for extracting the bubble dissolved liquid from the bubble separation chamber, and bubble dissolved liquid connected to the outlet The pressure reducing valve which decompresses and discharge | releases, and the drain valve provided in the lower end of the container are provided.

  Also, the method of using the bubble generating device according to the present invention is the first step of opening the inlet and the drain valve, closing the pressure reducing valve and introducing air at atmospheric pressure into the container, closing the drain valve and introducing the inlet Is connected to a source of pressurized water supply to introduce the tap water into the container, and the second step of rotationally driving the rotating blades by the flow of water introduced from the nozzle, the air in the container pressurized by the introduction of the tap water The third step of stirring and dissolving in the tap water in the stirring chamber by the rotation of the rotating blades, opening the required amount of the pressure reducing valve, separating the undissolved bubbles in the communication hole, and dissolving the bubbles introduced from the stirring chamber into the bubble separation chamber The fourth step of discharging the liquid through the outlet and the pressure reducing valve, and when the air introduced in the first step in the fourth step is consumed, the process returns to the first step and the tap water in the container is discharged. Then Those having a fifth step of introducing air into the container.

  As described above, the present invention makes it possible to generate microbubbles without the need for a pump by effectively utilizing the pressure of the water supply as described above. It becomes simple, and in particular, the application of microbubbles to familiar fields becomes easy.

Embodiment 1 FIG.
This invention pays attention to the pressure which a water supply has, and uses the pressure of this water supply creatively for both promotion of bubble dissolution and promotion of bubble miniaturization. The pressure of the water supply varies depending on the region, but is generally 0.2 Mpa or more at the consumption end of ordinary households. Hereinafter, for example, a configuration of a bubble generating device assumed to be installed and used near a water tap in a home and a method of using the same will be described.

  FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view showing a configuration of a bubble generating apparatus according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a partial view of the nozzle and turbine portions of FIG. 1 viewed from below. In the figure, in the prototype, the container 1 has a diameter of 140 mm, a height of 315 mm, and an internal volume of 4.3 liters. For example, the container 1 is a small one that can be easily placed in a kitchen or a washroom of a general household. The inside of the container 1 is divided by a partition wall 2 into an agitation chamber 3 positioned above and a bubble separation chamber 4 positioned below. A communication hole 5 that communicates between the chambers 3 and 4 is formed in a part of the partition wall 2.

A pedestal 6 is attached to the center of the upper end of the container 1 and has a structure that rotatably supports the rotating shaft 8 via a bearing 7. A see-through plate 9 is fitted on the upper surface of the pedestal 6 so that the presence or absence of rotation of the rotating shaft 8 can be easily determined by looking at the indication of “−” drawn on the upper end surface of the rotating shaft 8 from the outside. It has become.
A turbine 10 is attached to the rotating shaft 8 in the vicinity of the inner wall at the upper end of the container 1. A water supply port 11 that is an introduction port is provided through the upper end wall of the container 1, and a nozzle 12 for blowing tap water on the outer periphery of the turbine 10 is formed at the inner end thereof as shown in FIG. 2. At the outer end of the water supply port 11, a water connection port 13 for connecting a hose from a tap of a water supply is formed.

  A screw 14 which is a rotary blade for stirring and dissolving the taken-in air in water is attached to the lower end of the rotary shaft 8, and an air dispersion drum 15 is attached to the lower end of the screw 14. In the vicinity of the upper end of the side wall of the container 1, as will be described later in detail, a water surface observation window 16 is formed for observing the rising water surface once the air once taken in is consumed.

At the lower end of the container 1, a drain valve 17 that is a drain valve and an outlet 18 that is a lead-out port for taking out bubble dissolved liquid are provided. Further, a hose 19 is connected to the outlet 18, and a pressure reducing adjustment valve 20 that is a pressure reducing valve is connected to the tip of the hose 19.
On the other hand, an opening valve 21 that is an opening valve is provided at the upper end of the container 1.

  Next, the usage method of the bubble generator in Embodiment 1 of this invention is demonstrated. Here, for example, as described above, it is assumed that it is installed near a kitchen sink in the home and used when washing dishes. In addition, each measured data when using the prototype described above is also described.

  First, as a first step, the water supply port 11 and the drain valve 17 are opened, and the decompression adjustment valve 20 is closed, and atmospheric pressure air is introduced into the container 1. The opening operation of the water supply port 11 is performed by closing a water tap connected to the water supply connection port 13 via a hose and removing one end of the hose. Although it touches also in a back | latter stage, you may make it open simultaneously the open valve 21 provided in the upper end of the container 1, and even if this open valve 21 is open | released and the hose to the water supply connection port 13 is left attached, the container It is possible to introduce air into 1. As shown in FIG. 1, the drain valve 17 has a simple structure. When the drain valve 17 is pushed in, the long diameter portion at the tip protrudes into the container 1 and is opened as a valve. When pulled to the front, the long diameter portion at the tip is fitted and closed with the packing fitted on the outer periphery.

  Next, as a second step, the drain valve 17 is pulled into a closed state, and a hose is connected to the water connection port 13 (as described above, when the upper portion of the container 1 is opened only by the open valve 21, Since the hose is not removed, of course, there is no need to connect the hose again.) Open the faucet that is the source of water supply. Accordingly, tap water (hereinafter referred to as water as appropriate) is vigorously introduced into the container 1 through the water supply port 11, but the inner end of the water supply port 11 is a nozzle 12. At the same time, the water flow ejected from the nozzle 12 efficiently rotates the turbine 10, thereby rotating the screw 14 at several thousand r / min.

In the third step, the screw 14 rotating in the stirring chamber 3 stirs and dissolves the air in the container 1 in water. The air introduced in the first step is at atmospheric pressure, but when the container 1 is in a sealed state in the second step and pressurized tap water is introduced thereto, the air at the previous atmospheric pressure is The pressure is gradually increased by the water pressure, and the air volume is reduced accordingly, and the water level in the container 1 rises.
During this time, that is, while the introduction of water is continuing, the screw 14 continues to rotate, and the pressurized air on the water surface is effective in the stirring operation by the rotation of the screw 14 due to the effect of the pressure. Dissolved in water. Further, the air in the vicinity of the blades of the screw 14 is pushed downward in the water, guided into the air dispersion drum 15, and then subdivided in the process of passing through the small holes formed around the air dispersion drum 15 to enter the surrounding water. Dissipates and dissolves.

When the pressure of the air on the water surface gradually increases and reaches the pressure of the tap water, the introduction of water naturally stops, and as a result, the rotation of the screw 14 also stops.
In the prototype, the time from introduction of water to stoppage was 15 seconds at a water pressure of 0.47 Mpa.

The above is the preparation stage of the bubble dissolving solution. Hereinafter, in the fourth step, the decompression adjusting valve 20 is appropriately opened, for example, to operate when the bubble dissolving solution is used for dishwashing or the like. When the required amount of the pressure reducing valve 20 is opened, the bubble dissolved liquid that has been separated from the non-dissolved bubbles through the communication hole 5 and introduced into the bubble separating chamber 4 from the stirring chamber 3 passes through the outlet 18, the hose 19, and the pressure reducing adjusting valve 20. After that, it is derived to the outside.
As described in detail in the above-mentioned patent document 1, as a pressure reducing valve 20, a ball valve generally used frequently is not suitable here because the dissolved bubbles are coarsened upon discharge, and the outline of the internal structure is shown in FIG. As shown in FIG. 5, it is necessary to adopt a structure in which the decompression operation is performed very smoothly and the generation of bubbles in this part is reliably prevented.

  By the way, the bubble solution used for cleaning or the like is more effective as the bubble diameter is smaller and the number of bubbles is larger, and the remaining time in water is longer. As described in the above-mentioned Patent Document 1, since the measurement of the absolute diameter of the bubble requires a large-scale device, here, relative measurement using a fluorometer that is also introduced in the same Document 1 is used. By the value measurement, the characteristics of the bubble dissolved solution prepared by the prototype of the present application are measured.

  In this relative value measurement, the bubble solution derived from the pressure reducing valve 20 is sampled by collecting a quantity of height (100 mm) corresponding to turbidity 10 with a fluorometer (height 350 mm). . And, as the size of the generated bubbles is small and the number is large, it is considered that it takes time for the bubbles in the water to disappear and become clear, so immediately after collecting the sample liquid, The bottom portion was observed, and the time (seconds) until the transparency gradually increased and the bottom marker plate could be identified was measured. It is assumed that the longer this time, the smaller the bubbles and the greater the number.

In step 3 above, the transparency (second) of the sample liquid at the stage where the introduction of water was stopped and the screw 14 was stopped was 100 seconds. This value can be said to have sufficiently good characteristics as a bubble dissolving solution.
Assuming that the screw 14 is left standing for a long time with this pressure balance, 23 hours (about 1 day) have elapsed after the screw 14 has stopped, and 89 hours (about 3.7 days), respectively. The transparency (seconds) measured after the lapse was 100 seconds and 70 seconds, respectively. Accordingly, it can be seen that, for example, daily use such as dishwashing and washing, etc., the reduction of microbubbles due to this neglect is negligible. This is presumably because separation into the air hardly occurs because the bubble solution in the container 1 is held under pressure of the water supply.

Next, when the pressure reducing valve 20 is opened in step 4 and the derivation of the bubble dissolved solution is continued, the pressure of the air in the container 1 decreases and a pressure difference is generated between the tap water and the pressure difference. Accordingly, tap water is introduced, the screw 14 is rotated, and the stirring and dissolving action is resumed.
FIG. 3 shows changes in the rotational speed (r / min) of the screw 14 and changes in the transparency (seconds) of the sample liquid derived at the respective flow rates when the opening degree of the pressure reducing adjustment valve 20 is changed and the derived flow rate is changed. Is shown. As indicated by the characteristics of the solid line, the rotational speed of the screw 14 increases as the derived flow rate increases. Moreover, as shown by the dotted line characteristics, the degree of transparency decreases as the derived flow rate increases. This is presumably because the amount of air stirring and dissolving in the water newly introduced from the faucet does not increase in proportion to the increase in the derived flow rate, and the efficiency of bubble miniaturization is reduced accordingly.

  Here, in order to evaluate the bubble stirring and dissolving effect by the rotation of the screw 14, data experimentally performed without the screw 14 is shown in FIG. 4. Compared with the transparency result shown in FIG. 3, the number of seconds is greatly reduced. As a result, the stirring and dissolving effect by the screw 14 is confirmed.

When the decompression control valve 20 is opened and the derivation and use of the bubble dissolved solution is continued, the air introduced into the container 1 in the first step is gradually consumed, and accordingly, the water surface in the container 1 is reduced. As a result, the upper end position of the screw 14 is finally reached, and the efficient stirring and dissolving effect of air cannot be obtained. This stage can be easily determined by the water surface position from the water surface observation window 16. As the bubble generating device, the bubble dissolving solution cannot be taken out any further, so the operation enters the fifth step for returning to the initial state.
That is, the faucet is closed, the hose to the water connection port 13 is disconnected, the drain valve 17 is opened, the water in the container 1 is discharged, and air at atmospheric pressure is introduced again. At this time, instead of removing the hose to the water connection port 13, the release valve 21 may be opened. In this case, since it is not necessary to remove the hose, the operation is simplified and the time for discharging water is also shortened. In the prototype experiment, this discharge time was 40 seconds. Of course, if the hose is removed simultaneously with the opening of the release valve 21, the discharge time is further shortened.

As described above, the bubble generating apparatus according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention is a so-called batch process in which a series of operations from the first step to the fifth step is repeated. The amount of the bubble dissolving solution that can be used in one batch processing was 160 liters at a water pressure of 0.2 Mpa in the prototype. Therefore, the volume of the container 1 may be set based on the data of the usable amount, taking into account the work content and work frequency using the bubble dissolved solution.
In addition, for example, when a structure in which a manually operated air pump is connected to the upper portion of the container 1 and the air in the container 1 is reduced, the air pump can be used to appropriately replenish air, in particular, batch processing. In addition, continuous use is also possible.

  FIG. 5 is derived by the change in the number of rotations (r / min) of the screw 14 and the respective flow rates when the pressure of the tap water is 0.3 MPa and the opening degree of the pressure reducing valve 20 is changed and the derived flow rate is changed. It shows changes in the transparency (seconds) of the sample liquid. When considered together with the similar result of FIG. 3 at a pressure of 0.47 Mpa, it can be seen that both the rotational speed and the transparency are substantially the same regardless of the pressure when compared at the same flow rate. Therefore, in a practical pressure range of tap water, it is possible to obtain a bubble dissolving solution having a certain quality corresponding to the amount used (usage flow rate).

As described above, since the bubble generating apparatus according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention can obtain a desired microbubble dissolved solution without requiring a pump, there is no generation of power consumption noise, and the apparatus is simple and compact. It becomes inexpensive, and in particular, the application of microbubbles to familiar fields becomes easy.
In addition, since the method of use is only required to connect to the tap of the water supply and operate each valve, it is particularly easy to apply microbubbles to familiar fields.

It is sectional drawing which shows the structure of the bubble generator in Embodiment 1 of this invention. FIG. 2 is a partial view of a nozzle 12 and a turbine 10 in FIG. 1 as viewed from below. It is a characteristic view which shows the change of the rotation speed of the screw 14 and the transparency (second) of a sample liquid at the time of changing the derivation | leading-out flow volume from the pressure reduction adjustment valve 20 with the pressure of tap water of 0.47 Mpa. It is a characteristic view which shows the relationship between the derived | led-out flow rate in the state without the screw 14, and transparency (second). It is a characteristic view which shows the change of the rotation speed of the screw 14, and the transparency (second) of a sample liquid at the time of changing the derivation | leading-out flow volume from the pressure reduction adjustment valve 20 with the pressure of tap water of 0.3 Mpa.

Explanation of symbols

1 container, 2 partition, 3 stirring chamber, 4 bubble separation chamber, 5 communication hole, 8 rotating shaft,
10 turbine, 11 water supply port, 12 nozzle, 13 water connection port,
14 screw, 16 water surface observation window, 17 drain valve, 18 outlet,
20 Depressurization adjusting valve, 21 Opening valve.

Claims (4)

Has a predetermined internal volume, the container inside septum wall is divided into the bubble separation chamber located in the stirring chamber and the lower located above, to the partition wall so as to communicate the the stirring chamber and the bubble separation chamber The formed communication hole, the inlet for introducing pressurized tap water into the stirring chamber from the nozzle provided at the top of the vessel and provided at the tip, the flow of water introduced from the nozzle rotatably attached to the upper end of the vessel A turbine rotating at the same time, a rotating blade integrally mounted coaxially with the turbine and configured to be rotatable in the agitation chamber, an outlet port for extracting the bubble solution from the bubble separation chamber, and the bubble dissolution connected to the outlet port A bubble generating apparatus comprising a pressure reducing valve for depressurizing and discharging a liquid, and a drain valve provided at a lower end of the container. The first step of opening the inlet and drain valve, closing the pressure reducing valve and introducing atmospheric air into the container, closing the drain valve and connecting the inlet to a pressurized water supply source A second step of introducing the tap water into the container and rotationally driving the rotary blade by the flow of water introduced from the nozzle; and the air in the container pressurized by the introduction of the tap water is supplied to the rotary blade The third step of stirring and dissolving in the tap water in the stirring chamber by rotation of the above, by opening the required amount of the pressure reducing valve, undissolved bubbles are separated at the communication hole and introduced from the stirring chamber into the bubble separation chamber. The fourth step of discharging the bubble-dissolved solution through the outlet and the pressure reducing valve under reduced pressure, and when the air introduced in the first step is consumed in the fourth step, the first step is again performed. Using the air bubble generating device according to claim 1, wherein further comprising a fifth step of introducing air into the vessel while discharging the tap water in the container back to. Provided with an open valve provided at the upper end of the container to open the inside of the container to the outside air;
3. The bubble generating apparatus according to claim 2, wherein, in the first and fifth steps, the opening valve is opened instead of or along with the opening operation of the introduction port. how to use. A water surface observation window for observing the water surface position in the container from the outside provided on the side wall of the container,
The method of using the bubble generating device according to claim 2 or 3, wherein in the fifth step, consumption of the introduced air can be determined from a water surface position observed from the water surface observation window.

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