JPH0411218B2 - - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION (a) Field of Industrial Application The present invention relates to a bubble-generating bathtub capable of controlling a bubble jet.

(B) Conventional technology Conventionally, bathtubs that generate jet-like bubbles in the bathtub have already been disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. 59-135058, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 61-87558,
JP-A-57-173060, JP-A-58-103456, JP-A-57
-175360 etc. and is publicly known.

The basic principle of these bathtubs is that a hot water intake hole and a nozzle are provided in the bathtub, these are communicated through a water pipe, a pump is inserted in the middle of the water pipe, and the pump is driven to circulate the bath water. It sucks in more outside air and sprays bath water along with air bubbles from the nozzle.

In bubble generating bathtubs based on these basic principles, the amount of bubble bath water and discharge pressure spouted from the nozzle into the bathtub are constant and continuous, so there are no changes.
It is monotonous, and on the contrary, if you continuously apply a jet of bubble bath with a high discharge pressure to the affected areas such as the back, shoulders, abdomen, etc., you will feel uncomfortable, and sometimes you will feel suffocated and even have difficulty breathing. There was a risk that it would have the opposite effect.

Therefore, as disclosed in the above-mentioned publication, a plurality of pumps are interposed in the middle of multiple branched water pipes, and the discharge pressure is varied by selectively controlling the number of drives of the pumps. It is possible to obtain changes in the pressure of the bubble bath water jet from the nozzle, or by interposing electromagnetic valves in each of the plurality of branched water pipes, and controlling the opening and closing of each valve to control the discharge pressure of the bubble group. There are devices that can change the discharge pressure by changing the discharge pressure, or by incorporating a discharge amount adjustment mechanism into the nozzle.

(C) Problems to be Solved by the Invention However, in the case where the jet flow form is changed by combining pump operation time control and electromagnetic valve flow rate control, the electromagnetic valve is used primarily. Since it is used to control the flow rate,
Sensitive to valve hysteresis.

Therefore, even if you operate a valve with a constant opening to always obtain a constant flow rate, it is not actually possible to obtain a water flow with a constant flow rate and flow pressure, and therefore bubbles are generated in the foamer. However, in the bathtub, the desired bubble jet pressure is not achieved, and the change in the bubble jet felt by the body is different from the initial change, so there is no reproducibility of the change in the bubble jet each time.

Furthermore, because the flow rate is controlled by a valve, the flow pressure of the water flow rate is inversely proportional to the flow rate. Bubble jet flow is performed in a state that is inversely proportional to the flow pressure.

Therefore, for example, if you want to control the bubble jet to alternate between a strong jet state and a weak jet state, even if you alternately change the size of the valve restriction, the flow rate will become small when the flow pressure is high. The amount of bubbles taken in decreases as the flow rate decreases, and conversely, when operating a valve with low flow pressure and high flow rate, the amount of bubbles taken in decreases as the flow pressure decreases.
In the end, it is not possible to reliably control the amount of bubbles taken in only by operating the valve, and the only changes that can be felt by the body are changes caused by the flow pressure of the water flow.

Therefore, it is impossible to control the bubble jet with high accuracy and reproducibility, such as controlling the amount of bubbles in the bubble jet by changing the size of both water flow and water pressure at the same time, and variations in the changes are monotonous. requires a separate adjustment valve mechanism and multiple pumps to change the discharge pressure, volume, etc.
It is disadvantageous in terms of cost and wasteful in terms of power saving.Furthermore, if extra branches, pumps, valves, etc. are installed in the middle of the water pipe, pressure loss will gradually occur due to water scale, dirt, etc. that accumulate over time. This resulted in a drawback that the desired adjusted discharge pressure amount could not be obtained.

This invention solves the above-mentioned drawbacks, is advantageous in terms of power saving, and has a large variation in the discharge change of bubble bath water.Therefore, it not only has health effects but also provides fun playtime during bathing. It is an object of the present invention to provide a bubble-generating bathtub capable of controlling a bubble jet so that the bathtub can be enjoyed to the fullest.

(d) Means for solving the problems In the present invention, a jet nozzle is provided in the bathtub body,
A hot water intake hole for circulating hot water is provided, and a water pipe is used to communicate between the nozzle and the hot water intake hole, and a motor-driven pump is interposed in the middle of the water pipe, and bath water in the bathtub is supplied through the water pipe. In a bubble-generating bathtub configured to allow circulation and to generate jet-like bubbles from a nozzle into the bathtub by inhaling air from mid-circulation, by changing the frequency of the AC power supply using an inverter, The number of revolutions of the motor can be controlled, the strength of the ejection force of the bubble jet can be changed, the time of the frequency conversion process can be controlled, and the retention time of the converted frequency can be controlled. It is an object of the present invention to provide a bubble generating bathtub capable of controlling a bubble jet flow by controlling the fluctuating time and retention time of the jet flow.

(E) Effect In this invention, while the bath water in the bathtub body 1 is circulated by the pump 6 driven by the motor 8, a jet of air bubbles is ejected from the nozzle into the bathtub body together with the bath water, thereby making it possible to take a bubble bath. This is the result.

In particular, since the motor 8 is connected to the inverter 10, the motor 8 can be operated in any cycle, and the rotation speed of the pump 6 can be arbitrarily changed to allow the bath water to be circulated by the pump 6. or,
The intake air etc. is changed in quantity and pressure,
From the nozzle 3, a discharge pressure that is arbitrarily changed can be obtained.

In other words, if a frequency is set in advance by the control device, the rotation speed of the motor is controlled to increase or decrease depending on the frequency, and the rotation speed of the pump is changed, thereby increasing the strength of the discharge force of the bubble jet. In addition, by controlling the time of the frequency conversion process in such a state, the fluctuation time due to the change in the ejection force of the bubble jet can be controlled,
It can be controlled so that the change process from weak discharge force to strong discharge force or vice versa becomes rapid or slow, and it can also be controlled to have a constant strength or weakness depending on the converted frequency. The discharge force to generate a jet of bubbles is
By controlling the retention time, it is possible to control how long a bubble jet of constant strength or weakness is maintained.

In this way, the rotation speed of the motor 8, its fluctuation time, and holding time are controlled according to the output frequency converted by the inverter 10, its fluctuation time, and holding time, thereby controlling the rotation speed of the pump 6, etc. The amount and pressure of bubble bath water discharged from the nozzle 3 are changed over time.

(f) Effects According to the present invention, since the inverter is connected to the motor and the bubble jet is configured to be changed arbitrarily, the number of revolutions of the motor increases in proportion to the output frequency produced by the inverter. Therefore, by programming the output frequency of the inverter to any type, the rotation speed of the motor can be easily controlled in any form, which is transmitted to the pump and output from the nozzle. It is possible to change the discharge amount and discharge pressure of the bubbles to be discharged, and when converting the frequency, the fluctuation time and holding time can be controlled.
Bathers can freely control the amount and pressure of bubbles to their own preferred strength or weakness, as well as the cycle. The time of the fluctuation process can also be controlled, and the therapeutic effect can be further improved by adjusting the discharge pressure most suited to the affected area of the bather.

In particular, since the pump rotation speed is controlled by an inverter, the discharge amount and discharge pressure can be controlled proportionally.For example, if the pump rotation speed is increased, both the discharge amount and the discharge pressure can be increased.
The responsiveness to the control of jet flow changes is improved, and the jet flow of the predicted and controlled form is obtained as is from the beginning, resulting in good reproducibility, and the desired jet flow form can always be formed, making it suitable for valve control. The accompanying drawbacks such as hysteresis can also be eliminated.

Furthermore, in addition to the therapeutic effect, by creating a jet of bubbles that changes depending on the bather's preference, the enjoyment of bubble bathing is dramatically increased, creating a completely new form of bathing called playful bubble bathing. It has the effect of

In addition, since such a bubble bath inverter is used, it can be manufactured at a low cost, and it can be configured as simple as possible mechanically, and it is also electrically power saving, so it is economical and mechanical. This has the effect of providing a device that is useful in terms of aspects as well.

(G) Embodiments The embodiments of the present invention will be explained in detail based on the drawings.
FIG. 1 is an overall schematic explanatory diagram of the bubble-generating bathtub A of the present invention, in which a nozzle 3 is provided on the side wall of the bathtub body 1, a hot water suction hole 16 is provided on the bottom plate, and a hot water intake hole 16 is provided in the bottom plate. , and a water pipe 7 are connected to each other.

A pump 6 driven by a motor 8 is interposed in the middle of the water pipe 7, and the pump 6 is driven by the electric drive of the motor 8, and the bath water in the bathtub body 1 is pumped through the hot water intake hole 16 and the nozzle. 3. It is configured to circulate through the water pipe 7.

4 is a valve, which is located in the middle of the water pipe 7, and the pump 6
The nozzle 3 is interposed between the nozzle 3 and the opening/closing degree of the nozzle 3 to be manually adjusted so that it can be used to adjust the amount of bath water circulated, etc.

Further, an air intake hole 5 is provided in the middle of the water pipe 7, so that air can be sucked in from the middle of the circulation of the bath water.

That is, in the structure shown in FIG. 1, an intake pipe is connected to the pump 6, and an intake hole 5 is formed in the middle of the circulation through the intake pipe.

Therefore, when the pump 6 is driven, the bath water in the bathtub body 1 is circulated through the water pipe 7, and the bath water is jetted out from the nozzle 3 as a jet. Since the hole 5 is formed, air is taken into the water pipe 7 through the intake hole 5, and the bath water mixed with air bubbles is ejected from the nozzle 3 as a jet stream.

Note that the pump 6 is used as the air intake means.
There are two possible cases: air is taken into the water pipe 7 by the ejection function of the circulating bath water, and air is taken in directly by the pump 6 and mixed into the circulating bath water in the water pipe 7.

In either case, the technique of mixing air into the circulating bath water and spouting the bubble-mixed bath water as a jet from the nozzle 3 is already known in the art, and such a known technique is adopted.

In such a circulating bubble bathtub, in the embodiment of the present invention, as shown in FIG. 1, an inverter 10 is connected to the motor 8, and the rotation speed of the motor 8 is controlled by changing the frequency of the AC power source using the inverter. It is configured to change the strength of the ejection force of the bubble jet, and with this configuration, the frequency conversion function of the inverter 10 is controlled according to a preset program, and the output frequency is proportional to the output frequency. The number of rotations of the motor 8 is controlled, and the rotational speed is transmitted to the pump 6 to change the discharge amount and pressure of the bubble jet discharged from the nozzle 3.

Furthermore, when converting the frequency using the inverter 10, by controlling the time of the conversion process, it is possible to control the fluctuation time due to the change in the ejection force of the bubble jet.

Furthermore, by controlling the time for which the converted frequency is maintained, the time for which the ejection force of the bubble jet is maintained can be controlled.

That is, in order to control the frequency conversion function of the inverter 10 according to a preset program, the inverter 10 in this embodiment includes a frequency setter 12, a start/stop time setter 13, and a hold time setter 14. has been established.

Each setting device 12, 13, 14 will be explained in detail according to a graph showing the correlation between the ejection force of bubbles from the nozzle and time shown in Fig. 2. Fig. 2 shows the bubble jet flow controlled by the inverter of the present invention. The various types of setting devices 12, 13, and 14 described above will be explained in detail based on the graph of FIG. 2.

The frequency setter 12 controls the discharge forces e and f of the bubble jet.
In Fig. 2, the discharge force e is the discharge force under light load, that is, the weakest discharge force, and the discharge force t is the discharge force under overload, that is, the lowest discharge force. This shows a case of strong ejection force, and is a state in which such strong and weak ejection forces are applied alternately and periodically.

The maximum allowable value of the output frequency that determines the maximum allowable value of the discharge force t is within a range that does not reduce the life of the equipment, that is, the temperature rise of the motor 8, the proof stress of mechanical parts such as bearings, and the mechanical parts such as bearings and blades of the pump 6. proof strength,
Determine by considering factors such as pressure intensity of water pipes.

The start and stop time setter 13 sets the strong and weak discharge power e,
This is used to set the fluctuation times b and d of f, that is, when performing frequency conversion, the time for the conversion process is set.

In Fig. 2, this is to control the fluctuation time in the process of changing from weak ejection force e to strong ejection force f, or from ejection force f to weak ejection force e, and the shorter this time, the stronger or weaker the ejection force. The time for repeated discharge is shortened, and frequent strong and weak bubble jets can be obtained.

The holding time setter 14 sets the holding times a and c of the strong and weak ejection forces e and f, that is, it sets the time for holding the converted frequency.

By controlling the holding times a and c, the duration of strong ejection and weak ejection can be controlled.

In this way, by programming the combination of controls for each setter 12, 13, and 14, the second
As shown in the figure, it is possible to obtain a variable bubble jet in which a strong bubble jet and a weak bubble jet are alternately and periodically ejected from the nozzle 3, and on the other hand, the frequency setting vessel 12
By changing the form of the ejection force in many ways, it becomes possible to create many types of bubble jets, such as strong and weak ejection, for example, it is possible to change the ejection force to strong ejection, normal ejection, and weak ejection.Additionally, if you add time settings to this, By freely changing the intensity interval, it is possible to obtain a greater variety of bubble jet forms.

In FIG. 2, in the holding times a and c and the fluctuation times b and d, the holding time c of the strong ejection force is approximately 1.5 times the holding time a of the weak ejection force, and the holding time c of the strong ejection force is approximately 1.5 times the holding time a of the weak ejection force, and the fluctuation time b,
d is the same time and is the same time as the holding time a of the weak ejection force.

Furthermore, in such time control, the holding time and the varying time a, b, c, and d are controlled so that a, b, c, and d are periodically repeated as one cycle.

Therefore, in the graph of FIG. 2, the correlation between ejection force and time is expressed as a trapezoid in one cycle.

In addition, 15 shows an AC commercial power supply, 9 is an AC reactor for noise reduction interposed between the motor 8 and the inverter 10, and 11 is an AC commercial power supply 15.
A zero-phase reactor for reducing radio nozzles is shown interposed between the inverter 10 and the inverter 10.

Figure 3 illustrates the state of the bubble jet in each state of a ₁ , b ₁ , c ₁ , and _{d 1} in Figure 2 and the effective bathing posture at that point. , b 1 is a weak discharge force e, indicating that the bather is relaxing and resting, and b ₁ is a strong discharge force f
Since the bubble jet from the nozzle 3 _gradually becomes stronger toward This shows a state in which a person is applying a powerful jet of air bubbles to pressure points on their shoulders or waist, and d ₁ is a state in which the air jet is gradually weakening toward a weak discharge force. This shows a person relaxing his shoulders as he slowly exhales.

In this way, by using the inverter 10, the bubble jet can be changed freely,
Therefore, it is possible to fully obtain the therapeutic effect of bubble ultrasonic waves, and also to create the fun of playing with the changes in the bubble jet.Furthermore, the power consumption required to obtain such an effect can be reduced. This will lead to as much power savings as possible.

In other words, from an economic point of view, the load of the device of the present invention has a square-law reduction torque characteristic;
This method of varying the ejection amount and ejection force of the bubble jet leads to significant power savings, as shown in the following equation.

E=y [1-{ ³ ₁ t ₁ + 2 ³ ₂ t ₂ + ³ ₃ t ₃ ) / (t ₁ + 2t ₂ + t ₃ )}] × 100 (%) where, E: Energy saving compared to continuous operation Rate (%) ₁ : _Maximum output frequency/power frequency ₃ : Minimum output frequency/power frequency ₂ : ( ₁ + ₃ )/2 t1: Duration of maximum output frequency _t2 : Acceleration/deceleration time between maximum and minimum frequency t ₃ : Duration of minimum output frequency y : Electrical efficiency

[Brief explanation of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic explanatory diagram of the bubble generating bathtub of the present invention, and among these, symbols 3, 4, 5, 6,
Parts 7 and 8 are systematically the same as conventional devices for generating jet-like bubbles in a bathtub. FIG. 2 is a graph showing the relationship between the ejection force and time of the bubble jet in the bubble generating bathtub of the present invention. Third
The figure shows an example of how a bather can use the system in each state shown in FIG. 1... Bathtub, 2... Bubbles, 3... Nozzle, 4...
...Valve, 5...Intake hole, 6...Pump, 7...
Water pipe, 8...Motor, 9...AC reactor for noise reduction, 10...Inverter, 11...Zero-phase reactor for radio noise reduction.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1 The bathtub body 1 is provided with a nozzle 3 for jet flow and a hot water intake hole 16 for circulating hot water, and the nozzle 3 and the hot water intake hole 16 are provided in the bathtub body 1.
A pump 6 driven by a motor 8 is interposed in the middle of the water pipe, so that bath water in the bathtub can be circulated through the water pipe 7, and air is pumped out from the middle of the circulation. In a bubble-generating bathtub configured to generate jet-like bubbles from the nozzle 3 into the bathtub upon inhalation, an inverter 10 is connected to the motor 8, and the inverter 10 changes the frequency of the AC power supply. A bubble generating bathtub capable of controlling a bubble jet by controlling the rotation speed of a motor 8 and changing the strength of the discharge force of the bubble jet. 2. Bubble jet control according to claim 1, wherein when converting the frequency using the inverter 10, by controlling the time of the conversion process, it is possible to control the fluctuation time due to changes in the discharge force of the bubble jet. Possible bubble generation bathtub. 3. Bubble jet control according to claim 1, in which when the frequency is converted by the inverter 10, the time for which the converted frequency is held is controlled, thereby controlling the time for which the ejection force of the bubble jet is held. Possible bubble generation bathtub.