JPH0367404B2 - - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [Field of Industrial Application] The present invention relates to a unit bathtub, which can be used as a unit bathtub in a business hotel or one-room apartment, or as a second bath for home use.

[Background technology and its problems]

In recent years, Western-style stationary bathtubs, which have been widely used in business hotels and one-room apartments, are easy to install and take up little space, as they allow you to do everything from washing your body to taking a shower inside the bathtub. There is an advantage that there is no

In such Western-style bathtubs, the bathtub is surrounded by a curtain or a panel of an appropriate height because hot water splashes and wets the surrounding floor surface when taking a bath, especially when using a shower. However, when the bather exits the bathtub after taking a shower, there is an inconvenience in that the water that adheres to the bather's body and is carried out of the bathtub drips onto the floor. Moreover, in response to such problems, when waterproofing is performed on the floor surface, the ease of installation, which is an advantage of Western-style bathtubs, is impaired.

In addition, in general Western-style bathtubs, an overflow plug is installed at an appropriate position below the upper edge to prevent the hot water in the bathtub from overflowing over the upper edge and wetting the surrounding floor. An opening is provided and the water level is kept below a certain level by discharging hot water that exceeds the opening. However, in bathtubs with such overflow plugs, even if a bather leans into the bathtub to submerge his or her body in warm water,
The problem was that the water level, once rising, gradually fell, which was inconsistent with Japan's bathing custom of soaking up to the neck in hot water.

[Purpose of the invention]

An object of the present invention is to provide a bathtub unit that is easy to install, allows a bather to soak up to his or her neck in hot water, and does not easily wet the surrounding floor.

[Means and actions for solving problems]

The present invention was developed in consideration of the fact that a problem that arises when taking a bath is that the overflow stopper, which prevents water from overflowing, is always activated when a bather attempts to submerge himself or herself in hot water up to his or her neck.

For this reason, the present invention provides a water intake that is opened at a predetermined reference water level in the bathtub and drains water from the bathtub to maintain the water level at the reference water level when the water level in the bathtub rises above the reference water level, and this water intake. a stopper that can block the water intake, and a stopper that blocks the water intake with the stopper and stops draining when the water level rises beyond an operating water level that is a predetermined height above the reference water level due to a sudden rise in water level; The bathtub unit includes a bathtub water level adjustment mechanism including a body driving means.

In the present invention configured in this way, the water level in the bathtub during hot water supply is normally maintained at the standard reference water level by drainage from the water intake of the bathtub water level adjustment mechanism, but when a bather bends over inside the bathtub, If the water level suddenly exceeds the operating water level, the stopper of the bathtub water level adjustment mechanism and the stopper driving means will stop draining water from the water intake, and the water level in the bathtub will be low enough for the bather to be immersed up to his or her neck in hot water. maintained at a sufficient height. At this time, the water level in the bathtub is normally regulated below a standard water level that will be almost full when the water level rises, for example, for one adult. Even in the event of a flood, a large amount of water will not overflow at once, and the surrounding floor surface will be prevented from getting wet by exceeding the instantaneous storage capacity of the waterproof floor.

〔Example〕

Hereinafter, one embodiment of the present invention will be described based on the drawings.

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the bathtub unit 10 of this embodiment is made of synthetic resin such as FRP or metal such as stainless steel, and is integrally molded so that the floor surface 11 is approximately rectangular. be.

This bathtub unit 10 has side walls 21 and a bottom surface 11.
One corner is partitioned into a triangle so that the area ratio is 2:1 or less, and the bottom plate 22 is provided almost horizontally on the non-triangular side of the bottom 11, that is, the side with a larger area. Side walls 23, 24, 25, 26 of the same height are erected, and the bathtub 20 is formed by these side walls 21, 23, 24, 25, 26 and the bottom plate 22. Here, a water guide part 27 is provided at the upper edge of the side wall 21 as a means for regulating the direction of water overflow, and is lower than other parts, and when the bathtub 20 is full of water, water overflows exclusively from this water guide part 27. It is like that.
Further, in most of the central part of the side wall 21, a double transparent plate-like member 21A made of a glass plate or the like with a predetermined interval therebetween as a heat insulating layer is fitted in a watertight manner. A protective member 21B made of resin or the like is attached to the upper edge. Furthermore, a first drain pipe 28 closed with a removable rubber plug or the like is opened at the lower end of the side wall 23, and the bottom plate 22 extends slightly radially toward the opening of the first drain pipe 28. The water in the bathtub 20 can be completely drained from the first drain pipe 28 by removing the rubber stopper.

On the other hand, the bottom surface 11 is partitioned into a triangle by side walls 21.
Above, a waterproof floor 30 adjacent to the bathtub 20 is provided. This waterproof floor part 30 includes a bottom plate 31 that is provided almost horizontally and has an area less than half of the bathtub 20, and a side wall 2 that is erected around the bottom plate 31.
3, 26 and continuous frame members 32, 33,
A predetermined amount of water can be stored depending on the height of the frame members 32 and 33. Further, the other end of a second drain pipe 34 whose one end is connected to the first drain pipe 28 is opened at one corner of the waterproof floor section 30, and the bottom plate 31 is connected to the opening of the second drain pipe 34. The water in the waterproof floor part 30 received by overflow from the water guide part 27 is completely drained from the second drain pipe 34. The surface of the bottom plate 31 is provided with an uneven anti-slip layer 35 to prevent the bather from slipping and falling due to wet water.

Furthermore, an overflow valve 40 is provided inside the side wall 21 as a bathtub water level adjustment mechanism that opens and closes according to the water level. As shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, this overflow valve 40 includes a substantially cylindrical casing 44 that is divided into first, second, and third cavities 41, 42, and 43 in order from the top. It is attached to the inner wall surface 23A of the side wall 23 by a pipe portion 45 extending horizontally from the second cavity 42. This pipe section 45
is passed through packings 46, 47 made of rubber or the like and the wall surface 23A, and is fixed by being tightened with a nut 48. As shown in FIG. The upper end of a third drain pipe 49, which is provided in the third drain pipe 49 and whose lower end is connected to the first drain pipe 28, is connected thereto. In addition, the pipe portion 4
5 and the second cavity 42 are in communication with each other,
A water intake port 51 is opened between the second and third cavities 42 and 43, and water can be drained from the third cavity 43 through a third drain pipe 49.

A spherical plug 52 is inserted into the third cavity 43 so as to be movable up and down from the open lower end surface, and this plug 52 is pressed against an O-ring 53 attached to the lower surface of the water intake port 51. When water intake 51
It is constructed so that it can be occluded. On the other hand, a spherical float 54 is inserted into the first cavity 41 so as to be movable up and down from the open upper end surface, and the plug body 52 horizontally passes through the centers of the plug body 52 and the float 54. It is suspended and supported by a substantially rectangular connecting member 55. Here, the plug body 52 is formed to have a specific gravity larger than that of water so that it does not float on its own in water, and the float 54 is formed so that it can raise the plug body 52 and the connecting member 55 together by its own buoyancy. has been done.

Here, the height of the water intake 51 is the reference water level.
L ₁ and the height of the float 54 is the operating water level L ₂ ,
When the water level in the bathtub 20 is below the operating water level _L2 , the overflow valve 40 keeps the water intake port 51 open and drains the water that exceeds the standard water level _L1 to return the water level in the bathtub 20 to the standard water level. Maintain water level below L ₁ . On the other hand, due to a sudden rise in water that exceeds the drainage capacity of the water intake 51, the water surface in the bathtub 20 drops to the operating water level.
When the water reaches _L2 or more, the buoyancy of the float 54 causes the stopper 52 to rise via the connecting member 55, thereby closing the water intake 51 and stopping further drainage.

Note that the reference water level L ₁ is the water level when the bathtub 20 is full of water minus the volume of one adult (approximately 65 cm). On the other hand, the first cavity 41
Cuts 41A and 43A are provided for inserting the connecting member 55 from the upper end side and the third cavity 43 from the lower end side, and the plug body 52, float 54, and connecting member 55 move up and down together.
so as not to interfere with the operation of the Also, the first
A large number of small holes 41B for pouring water are provided in the stepped portion of the lower end of the cavity 41.
The water surface within the tank is always the same as the surrounding water surface. Furthermore, a plurality of water holes 43B are provided on the side surface of the third cavity 43 along the lower surface of the O-ring 53, so that the water level inside the cavity 43 is always equal to the surrounding water level, and the water resistance during drainage is maintained. is made smaller.

In this embodiment configured as described above, bathing is performed in the following steps.

As shown in FIG. 6A, when hot water is poured into the bathtub 20, the water level gradually rises, but the water level remains at the standard water level.
When the water level reaches L ₁ , the overflow valve 40 starts draining water, and the water level in the bathtub 20 reaches the standard water level.
Do not exceed L ₁ .

When a bather enters the bathtub 20, the water level in the bathtub 20 rises above the operating water level _L2 due to a rapid rise in water, as shown in FIG. 6B. For this reason,
Water is injected into the first cavity 41 from the small hole 41B, the float 54 floats up and pulls up the stopper 52 via the connecting member 55, the water intake port 51 is closed, water drainage by the overflow valve 40 is stopped, and bathing is completed. The person is kept fully immersed up to the neck in warm water. Note that the water surface in the bathtub 20 is the water guide part 27.
When the temperature reaches 100, the hot water in the bathtub 20 is transferred to the water guide section 27.
The hot water overflows from the waterproof floor part 30.
By receiving the water from the other wall surfaces 23 and 2,
4, 25, and 26 from overflowing and wetting the surrounding floors, etc.

After this, when the bather leaves the bathtub 20,
As shown in FIG. 6C, the waterproof floor section 30 is used to wipe the body, and water droplets that adhere to the body and fall are received by the waterproof floor section 30 and are prevented from wetting the surrounding floor surface.

According to this embodiment, the following effects can be obtained.

That is, the water level in the bathtub 20 is normally maintained at the reference water level _L1 by the overflow valve 40,
Hot water can be prevented from overflowing from the bathtub 20 even if you forget to stop it when pouring water.

Furthermore, when a bather enters the bathtub 20, the water level in the bathtub 20, which was at the standard water level _L1 , rises rapidly and exceeds the operating water level _L2 , and the water draining from the overflow valve 40 is stopped and the bathtub 20 is maintained full of water, allowing bathers to fully soak up to their necks, allowing them to bathe in accordance with Japanese customs.

Here, the overflow valve 40 is connected to the bathtub 2.
Since it is operated by the buoyancy of the float 54 in response to changes in the water surface within the water, no other detection means, driving means, etc. are required, and the structure can be extremely simple.

In addition, since the reference water level L ₁ is the water level after removing approximately the volume of water for one adult from the fully-filled state of the bathtub 20, it is assumed that the overflow when a bather enters the bathtub 20 is zero or slight. The amount can be reduced.

Further, a waterproof floor section 30 is provided adjacent to the bathtub 20, and a water guide section 27 along the waterproof floor section 30 is provided at the upper edge of the bathtub 20 as a water overflow direction regulating means.
Because the water overflow from the bathtub 20 is
It is possible to prevent the surrounding floor from getting wet because it is limited to the water and is received exclusively by the waterproof floor part 30.

Moreover, since the overflow of water from the bathtub 20 caused by a bather's bathing can be suppressed to zero or a small amount, the amount of water stored in the waterproof floor section 30 may be small, and the amount of water stored in the waterproof floor section 3
0 is less than half the area of the bathtub 20 to make the whole bathtub compact, and the height of the frame members 32 and 33 can be lowered to facilitate the entry and exit of bathers.

Furthermore, water droplets that adhere to the bather and fall from the bather's body when the bather exits the bathtub 20 can be caught by the waterproof floor section 30 when the bather wipes his or her body on the waterproof floor section 30, and the water droplets that adhere to the bather and fall from the bather's body when the bather exits the bathtub 20 can be caught by the waterproof floor section 30 when the bather wipes his or her body on the waterproof floor section 30. You can keep the surface dry.

Furthermore, since the waterproof floor 30 is provided with an uneven anti-slip 35, even when the waterproof floor 30 is wet, it is possible to avoid the risk of a bather slipping and falling.

Furthermore, since the bathtub unit 10 of this embodiment is manufactured integrally with the waterproof floor part 30, it can be manufactured easily and inexpensively, and in addition, it can be easily installed.

Moreover, since most of the side wall 21 of the bathtub unit 10 is made of a transparent plate member 21A such as a glass plate,
Even a compact bathtub 20 can provide a visually open feeling, and since the transparent plate member 21A has a double structure, the heat retention of the bathtub 20 is not deteriorated.

Note that this embodiment is not limited to the above embodiment, but also includes modifications as shown below.

That is, the installation position of the overflow valve 40 is not limited to the position of the above-mentioned embodiment, and may be changed as appropriate, or if it is embedded in a part of the side wall of the bathtub 20, it is aesthetically pleasing and desirable from a practical standpoint.

Furthermore, the shapes of the overflow valve 40 as a whole, the plug body 52, the float 54, etc. are not limited to the above embodiments, and the plug body 52 may be shaped like a needle valve with a conical upper end, for example.

Furthermore, the bathtub water level adjustment mechanism is not limited to the mechanical overflow valve 40 that uses the float 54 as a stopper driving means as in the previous embodiment. For example, as shown in FIG. 7A, a sensor 71 that detects the operating water level _L2 , a solenoid valve 72 that can close the water intake port 51 provided at the reference water level _L1 ,
and a solenoid valve 72 based on the signal from the sensor 71 when the water level in the bathtub 20 exceeds the operating water level _L2 .
A control device 73 may be provided that operates the water intake port 51 to close the water intake port 51. Alternatively, as shown in FIG. 7B, a sensor 74 for detecting the reference water level _L1 is provided,
If drainage from the water intake port 51 is allowed only when the water surface in the bathtub 20 is between the reference water level _L1 and the operating water level _L2 , the water intake port 51 may be provided below the reference water level _L1 . At this time, it is desirable that the electromagnetic valve 72 or the stopper 52 be placed as close as possible to the water intake port 51 and at the same height to avoid accumulation of waste water.

On the other hand, the shapes of the bathtub 20 and the waterproof floor part 30 are as follows:
For example, the bottom surface 11 may be divided parallel to the short sides, or the bottom surface 11 may have a shape other than a rectangle. However, by forming the bottom surface 11 in a rectangular shape as in the embodiment described above, the versatility of the bathtub unit 10 can be increased. However, by arranging it as in the above embodiment, the bathtub 2
0 can be lengthened in the diagonal direction so that the body can be stretched during bathing, and the waterproof floor part 30 can be shaped triangularly so that the shape is suitable for a bather to stand even in a narrow area.

Further, although the transparent plate member 21A such as a double glass plate is provided on most of the side wall 21, it may be a single layer, or the present invention does not include providing the transparent plate member 21A. It is not essential and may be similar to other side walls.

Further, the diagonal portions of the waterproof floor 30 of the bathtub 20 may be buried and used as shelves or seats. In this case, the length of the bathtub 20 in the diagonal direction, which is the longitudinal direction, is not reduced.
The amount of hot water that satisfies 0 can be saved.

Further, the area of the waterproof floor section 30 may be less than half the area of the bathtub, but it is desirable to make it a certain extent so as not to make it difficult for bathers to stand. Further, it is desirable that the heights of the frame members 32 and 33 be changed as appropriate depending on the maximum amount of water that can flow into and be stored in the waterproof floor section 30.

Furthermore, although the waterproof floor part 30 is provided with a non-slip member 35, this may be replaced with a net laid on the waterproof floor part 30. By laying a thick net or a slat-like material, it is possible to prevent slipping. In addition, the discomfort caused by the bather's feet being immersed in water collected on the waterproof floor part 30 can be eliminated.

Further, in the above embodiment, the waterproof floor section 30 provided integrally adjacent to the bathtub 20 may be a separate body, or the waterproof floor section 30 is not essential to the present invention and may be omitted. Good too.

〔Effect of the invention〕

According to the bathtub unit of the present invention as described above, a bather can soak up to his or her neck in hot water without getting the surrounding floor wet.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

Fig. 1 is a perspective view showing one embodiment of the present invention;
3 is a sectional view of the overflow valve of the embodiment as seen from the side; FIG. 4 is a sectional view of the overflow valve of the embodiment as seen from the front; FIG. The figure is a sectional view showing the main part of the embodiment, FIGS. 6A to 6C are schematic sectional views showing the usage state of the embodiment, and FIGS. 7A and B are sectional views showing a modification of the present invention. . 10... Bathtub unit, 11... Bottom, 20...
...Bathtub, 27...Water conduction unit which is a water overflow direction regulating means, 30...Waterproof floor part, 40...Overflow valve which is a bathtub water level adjustment mechanism, 51...Water intake, 52...Bung body, 54...Bung A float is a body driving means, L ₁ ...Reference water level, L ₂ ... Operating water level.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A water intake that is opened at a predetermined reference water level in the bathtub and drains water from the bathtub to maintain the water level at the reference water level when the water level in the bathtub rises above the reference water level, and this water intake A stopper whose mouth can be closed; and when the water level rises beyond an operating water level that is a predetermined height above the reference water level due to a sudden rise in water level, the stopper closes the water intake and stops drainage. 1. A bathtub unit comprising a bathtub water level adjustment mechanism including a stopper driving means. 2. The bathtub unit according to claim 1, wherein the reference water level is a water level at which the bathtub becomes almost full when a bather bends down into the bathtub. 3. In the bathtub unit according to claim 1 or 2, a waterproof floor part is provided adjacent to the bathtub, the area of which is less than half of the bathtub, and which is capable of draining water in response to overflow from the bathtub. A bathtub unit characterized by: