JP7634828B2 - Freestanding washbasin - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a stand-alone washstand that can be used for washing hands, faces, mouths, hair, etc.

As a way to obtain water in places where there is no water supply facility, for example, Patent Document 1 discloses a technology for condensing moisture in the air to produce water, which is a technology for condensing moisture in the air to produce condensed water.

On the other hand, for the treatment of wastewater in places without drainage facilities, for example, Patent Document 2 shows a technology that reduces the effort required to remove wastewater by permeating the wastewater through an evaporation filter and blowing hot air onto it to evaporate it. In addition, Patent Document 3, which shows a technology that does not require drainage facilities, shows a technology in which wastewater mixed with feces and urine is burned and passed through a filter to condense the water, which is then collected and reused for stirring the feces and urine, etc.

Patent No. 6271744 Patent No. 5353226 JP 2001-336195 A JP 2021-122595 A

Mobile washbasins in nursing homes, hospital rooms, and other facilities are required to allow people to wash their hands and brush their teeth anywhere. Such mobile washbasins must temporarily store a certain amount of water needed to wash the face, mouth, and hair. Water must be supplied manually on a regular basis, and it is difficult to move the device to a location far from the water supply. For this reason, there are many cases where it is deemed unusable, depending on the environment, such as the location of use and the condition of the person using it. Moreover, since it requires water (liquid) as a raw material, the locations where it can be introduced are limited. Not only in nursing homes and hospitals, but in recent years, water supply has been cut off in evacuation shelters during disasters, and hand washing, which is the basis of hygiene management, is often impossible.

In addition to the technology disclosed in Patent Document 1, there are many other documents on obtaining water from the air. Water servers that obtain water from the air are also available on the market, making this relatively easy to implement. Therefore, by adopting technology that condenses and utilizes moisture in the air in a portable washbasin device, water supply problems can be solved.

On the other hand, portable washbasin devices such as those shown in Patent Document 4 are not directly connected to a drain pipe like the drainage treatment of built-in washbasins, so they must temporarily store the water used for washing the face, rinsing the mouth, washing the hair, etc. As this is drained after hand washing and oral care (rinsing the mouth and brushing the teeth), from the standpoint of hygiene management, care must be taken with regard to germs and odors, and care must be taken when handling the drain tank and the drain hose from the washbasin.

In the technology of Patent Document 2, the wastewater is generated when the liquid-contacting parts used to make the cup beverage are automatically rinsed, and is not brought into contact with people, so the level of contamination of the wastewater is lower than that of mobile washbasins. In contrast, in the technology of Patent Document 3, the wastewater is wastewater mixed with feces and urine. The level of contamination and the inclusion of solid matter makes it far more polluted than the wastewater from the washbasin, and the treatment equipment is large and cannot be moved around to be temporarily taken to nursing homes, hospitals, or evacuation facilities.

The present invention was made in consideration of the above situation, and aims to provide a standalone washbasin device that can function independently for a relatively long period of time without water supply or drainage, even in places without water supply or drainage facilities, such as nursing homes and hospital rooms, or in evacuation facilities during water outages.

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides a standalone washbasin device comprising a sink mounted on a stand and a faucet provided at the front and rear of the sink,
A water generating function unit that produces liquid condensed water using an adsorbent that adsorbs moisture in the air taken in from the atmosphere and a heater that heats the adsorbent;
a filtering pump for applying pressure to the condensed water produced by the fresh water production function unit and filtering the condensed water through a reverse osmosis membrane filter to produce purified water;
A water supply tank for storing the purified water;
a faucet pump that pumps the purified water from the water supply tank in response to an operation of the faucet and supplies the purified water to the faucet;
A filter membrane for filtering wastewater from the sink;
a drainage tank that is tapered downward and has an outlet opening on its bottom surface and that collects the drainage water filtered by the filtration membrane;
A water purification filter configured by wrapping activated carbon in a nonwoven fabric, which allows the wastewater from the outlet opening of the drainage tank to pass through under the pressure of the weight of the wastewater accumulated in the drainage tank and drop into a vaporization chamber;
A vaporization chamber that heats and vaporizes the wastewater that falls from the water purification filter ;
and a silver ion filter disposed between the inside of the vaporization chamber and the atmosphere.

According to the present invention, a filtration membrane and a water purification filter are placed at the inlet and outlet of the drainage tank, respectively, and the space inside the drainage tank is sealed watertight except for the inlet and outlet. Therefore, germs and odors from the drainage after hand washing or oral care (mouth rinsing and tooth brushing) do not come into direct contact with the outside air from any point other than the inlet and outlet, and even if decay occurs inside the drainage tank, odors are unlikely to leak out to the outside.

In addition, the water purification filter, which is made of activated carbon wrapped in nonwoven fabric, drips wastewater into an evaporation tray in small amounts by gravity, and the wastewater that falls into the evaporation tray evaporates. The evaporation tray is set to a temperature of over 100 degrees, which kills most bacteria and viruses, and any bacteria or viruses that spread without coming into contact with the heat of the evaporation tray are captured by the silver ion filter, maintaining hygiene.

1A shows a stand-alone washbasin device according to an embodiment, in which FIG. 1A is a perspective view seen from diagonally front, FIG. 1B is a perspective view seen from above at the rear, and FIG. 1C is a partially cutaway side view. FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing the inside of a stand-alone washbasin device.

Figure 1 shows a free-standing washbasin according to an embodiment of the present invention. Figure 1A is a perspective view from diagonally ahead, Figure 1B is a perspective view from above the rear, and Figure 1C is a partially cutaway side view. In the figure, the free-standing washbasin 1 has a stand 3 that can be moved and fixed freely by casters 2 with stoppers, a sink 4 mounted on the stand 3, a faucet 5 mounted behind the front of the sink 4, a water production function unit 6, a water supply tank 7, and an evaporation function unit 8. When viewed from the front, the stand 3 is gate-shaped overall, with an open space S below. A person in a wheelchair can place their knees under the space S below.

Figure 2 shows a block diagram showing the inside of the independent washbasin device 1. A water production function unit 6, a water supply tank 7, and an evaporation function unit 8 are provided within the stand 3. The water production function unit 6 is a function unit that produces liquid water from air in the atmosphere, and the evaporation function unit 8 is a function unit that vaporizes wastewater and releases it into the atmosphere. The lifting mechanism 19 is a so-called gas pressure lifting mechanism or hydraulic lifting mechanism, and the sink 4 is lowered by operating the lever 19a to push down the sink 4. On the other hand, the sink 4 is raised by operating the lever 19a to push up the sink 4. The power source for the independent washbasin device 1 can be a battery, a household electric lamp, etc., and there are no particular restrictions.

The water production function section 6 comprises an air intake section 9 that filters and takes in air from the atmosphere, a liquefaction section 10, and a condensed water tank 11. The liquefaction section 10 extracts liquid water from the air taken in from the air intake section 9. A fan 9b and a silver ion filter 9c are attached in this order to the intake port 9a of the air intake section to prevent the intrusion of viruses and germs. The liquefaction section 10 comprises a cylindrical housing containing numerous plate-shaped adsorbents 20 that adsorb moisture from the taken-in air, and a heater 21 installed within the adsorbents. The adsorbent 20 is mainly made of a polymeric moisture absorbent (for example, N-isopropylacrylamide (NIPAM)).

In the liquefaction section, the air containing moisture is adsorbed by the adsorbent. When electricity is applied to the heater 21, the adsorbent 20 is heated and the moisture adsorbed by the adsorbent 20 is desorbed. When the heater 21 raises the temperature of the adsorbent 20 to 40°C to 60°C, the adsorbed moisture is liquefied. The water desorbed from the adsorbent 20 falls into the condensed water tank 11. To make the adsorbent 20 adsorb moisture again, electricity is stopped from being applied to the heater 21. By repeating this process, condensed water C is stored in the condensed water tank 11. The arrow W indicates the air flow, and the air that has passed through the adsorbent 20 is returned to the atmosphere through the opening 11a.

The condensed water C thus accumulated in the condensed water tank 11 is pumped up by the filtration pump 12, and is sent to the reverse osmosis membrane filter (RO filter) 13 with an appropriate pressure applied for reverse osmosis. The reverse osmosis membrane filter 13 removes floating impurities such as inorganic and organic matter and germs, and the purified water M accumulates in the water supply tank 7. The faucet pump 18 operates in response to the operation of the operating valve of the faucet 5, and supplies the purified water M in the water supply tank 7 to the faucet 5.

A plastic pipe 4a is attached to the drain of the sink 4. A filter membrane 14 is further provided downstream. The filter membrane 14 filters relatively large debris. The wastewater P that passes through the filter membrane 14 is stored in a drain tank 15 provided downstream. The drain tank 15 is tapered downward and has an outlet opening at the bottom. The filter membrane 14 functions to prevent odors in the drain tank 15 from leaking into the sink 4. A water seal trap may be provided as the pipe 4a to more reliably prevent odor leakage. The shape of the drain tank 15 that tapers downward can be a truncated cone, a truncated square pyramid, a sphere, a hemisphere, etc. In this embodiment, a truncated cone is used. The drain tank 15 is tapered downward and has an outlet opening at the bottom in order to drop all of the wastewater from the drain tank 15 into the next stage of the water purification filter 16. The filter membrane 14 and the water purification filter 16 seal the drain tank 15 watertight except for the inlet and outlet. In this example, coarse filtration was performed using a filter (MF membrane, mesh size 10 μm) that captures the target substance on its surface and inside as the filtration membrane 14.

The vaporization function unit 8 includes a water purification filter 16 and a vaporization chamber 17. The upper end of the water purification filter 16 is removably connected to the outlet 15a on the bottom surface of the drainage tank 15. The lower end of the water purification filter 16 is removably inserted through an opening 17f provided in the ceiling of the vaporization chamber 17.

The water purification filter 16 is made of activated carbon wrapped in nonwoven fabric. The pressure of the weight of the wastewater P stored in the drainage tank 15 causes the wastewater P to pass from top to bottom through the water purification filter 16. The filtered wastewater passes through the water purification filter 16 and falls into the evaporation chamber 17. The water purification filter 16 prevents the wastewater from passing easily due to its flow path resistance, so the amount of water falling per unit time is small. And because the entrance to the drainage tank 15 is blocked by the filtration membrane 14, the passage of the wastewater through the water purification filter 16 is further slowed down, and it falls as droplets.

The vaporization chamber 17 is equipped with an evaporation tray 17a that receives droplets falling from the water purification filter 16, a heater 17b that heats the evaporation tray 17a, a silver ion filter 17c, and a fan 17d. Wastewater P drips from the water purification filter into the evaporation tray 17a in small amounts and is vaporized by the heat of the evaporation tray 17a. The evaporation tray 17a is set to a temperature above the boiling point of water, and most bacteria and viruses are killed by the heat. Bacteria and viruses that diffuse without coming into contact with the heat of the evaporation tray 17a are captured by the silver ion filter 17c, maintaining hygiene. The purified air is exhausted from the exhaust port 17e.

According to the independent washbasin device 1, a filter membrane 14 and a water purification filter 16 are placed at the entrance and exit of the drainage tank 15, respectively, and the space inside the drainage tank 15 is sealed watertight except for the entrance and exit. Therefore, germs and odors from the drainage after hand washing or oral care (mouth rinsing and tooth brushing) do not come into direct contact with the outside air from any point other than the entrance and exit, and even if decay occurs inside the drainage tank 15, odors are unlikely to leak to the outside.

The water purification filter 16, which is made of activated carbon wrapped in nonwoven fabric, drips wastewater into the evaporation dish 17a in small amounts, which quickly heats the water to over 100 degrees, killing most bacteria and viruses. Also, any bacteria or viruses that diffuse without coming into contact with the heat of the evaporation dish are captured by the silver ion filter 17c, maintaining hygiene.

In the above embodiment, if a commonly used "cross-flow filtration" reverse osmosis membrane filter is used as the reverse osmosis membrane filter, the waste water that is discarded may be led to the drainage tank 15 and used to clean the drainage tank 15. In FIG. 2, the path of the waste water from the reverse osmosis membrane filter 13 is indicated by FL. If a truncated cone, sphere, or hemisphere is used as the drainage tank 15, the waste water is discharged in the circumferential direction along the side of the drainage tank 15, and the waste water cleans the inner side of the drainage tank 15 while drawing a spiral due to the pressure of the filtration pump 12. This allows the waste matter to fall into the purification filter 16, and the drainage tank 15 can be kept clean.

In addition, when using a "cross-flow filtration type" reverse osmosis membrane filter, a separate tank RT can be provided and waste water can be allowed to flow into the tank RT using a switching valve SW, allowing the waste water stored in the tank RT to be used for purposes other than drinking water, such as for laundry or for flushing the toilet.

REFERENCE SIGNS LIST 1 Independent washbasin device 2 Caster 3 Stand 4 Sink 5 Faucet 6 Water production function section 7 Water supply tank 8 Evaporation function section 9 Air intake section 10 Liquefaction section 11 Condensed water tank 12 Filtration pump 13 Reverse osmosis membrane filter 14 Filtration membrane 15 Drainage tank 16 Water purification filter 17 Evaporation chamber 18 Faucet pump 19 Lifting mechanism 20 Adsorbent 21 Heater

Claims (4)

A stand-alone washbasin device having a sink mounted on a stand and a faucet mounted behind the front of the sink,
A water generating function unit that produces liquid condensed water using an adsorbent that adsorbs moisture in the air taken in from the atmosphere and a heater that heats the adsorbent;
a filtering pump for applying pressure to the condensed water produced by the fresh water production function unit and filtering the condensed water through a reverse osmosis membrane filter to produce purified water;
A water supply tank for storing the purified water;
a faucet pump that pumps the purified water from the water supply tank in response to an operation of the faucet and supplies the purified water to the faucet;
A filter membrane for filtering wastewater from the sink;
a drainage tank that is tapered downward and has an outlet opening on its bottom surface and that collects the drainage water filtered by the filtration membrane;
A water purification filter configured by wrapping activated carbon in a nonwoven fabric, which allows the wastewater from the outlet opening of the drainage tank to pass through under the pressure of the weight of the wastewater accumulated in the drainage tank and drop into a vaporization chamber;
A vaporization chamber that heats and vaporizes the wastewater that falls from the water purification filter ;
An independent washbasin device comprising: a silver ion filter disposed between the inside of the vaporization chamber and the atmosphere. The stand-alone washbasin device of claim 1,
An independent washbasin device characterized in that the drain tank is sealed watertight except for the filtration membrane and the water purification filter provided at the inlet and outlet of the drain tank. 2. The independent washbasin apparatus of claim 1, wherein the evaporation chamber comprises an evaporating dish that receives the wastewater falling from the water purification filter, and a heater that heats the evaporating dish to a temperature above the boiling point of water . In the stand-alone washbasin of claim 1, the reverse osmosis membrane filter is a cross-flow filtration type reverse osmosis membrane filter, the drainage tank is a truncated cone, a sphere, or a hemisphere, and waste water that is discarded from the reverse osmosis membrane filter is guided to the drainage tank, and the waste water is discharged in a circumferential direction along the side of the drainage tank.