JPH0452133B2 - - Google Patents

Description

[Detailed Description of the Invention] [Industrial Application Field] The present invention relates to a shower device used in bathrooms, shower rooms, etc., which drives a shower nozzle up and down. This technology is intended to suppress fluctuations in the injection pressure and also to clean the inside.

[Prior Art] Recently, shower devices have been recognized as having features such as ease of preparation for bathing, water saving, and energy saving, and have become established as a convenient means of bathing. On the other hand, as social needs for health promotion have increased, attention has been focused on the skin irritation and thermal stimulation effects caused by the spray pressure of showers. In other words, a stimulating hot bath increases blood flow, activates various functions such as the circulatory system, respiratory system, and autonomic nervous system, and is effective for relaxing the mind and body, recovering from fatigue, and beautifying. has been recognized.

In order to increase these effects, it is necessary to take measures such as changing the temperature and water pressure of the jet water to maintain the stimulating effect of the jet water as long as possible.

To this end, attempts have been made to move the shower head itself up and down and back and forth in order to spray hot water over a wide area of the body with as little amount as possible, and as a conventional example, a driving method using a hydraulic cylinder has been adopted.

This system, as shown in Figure 6,
The direction of the water flow sent into the hydraulic cylinder 7 is reversed by passing it through the switching valve 1, so that it can continuously move up and down. That is, the shower nozzle 2 is driven up and down by fixing an elevating body 10 to a wire 9 connected to a piston 8 in a hydraulic cylinder 7, and attaching the shower nozzle 2 to this elevating body 10.

[Problems to be Solved by the Invention] Conventionally, as shown in an example of piping in FIG. However, since it is discharged as shower water, the following problems arose.

a Since the piping resistance of the left and right shower nozzles 2, 2 is different, a difference occurs in the injection pressure of the shower nozzles 2, 2, and the balance of shower comfort is lost.

b To make the injection pressures of the left and right shower nozzles at the same level, it is necessary to adjust the flow rate regulating valve V each time, which is cumbersome to operate.

c Since the shower injection pressure and the vertical movement speed of the shower nozzle are related, for example, if the shower injection pressure is increased, the vertical movement speed becomes faster.
It is difficult to maintain and adjust the lifting speed to a comfortable level.

d Seal accuracy of the switching valve 1 that switches the driving direction to the hydraulic cylinder is required, and if its performance is poor, the shot path will cause the water to flow directly to the spraying side of the shower nozzle, which is likely to cause problems such as a decrease in vertical lifting speed. Improving sealing performance requires expensive processing costs.

The present invention was made in view of these problems, and its purpose is to improve the balance of the injection pressure of the shower nozzle, stabilize the vertical lifting speed, and improve the reliability of vertical lifting/lowering switching. An object of the present invention is to provide a shower device that can improve performance and durability.

[Means for Solving the Problems] The shower device of the present invention is a shower device that switches the water supply direction to the hydraulic cylinder 7 and drives the shower nozzle 2 up and down with the driving water from the hydraulic cylinder 7, and the shower nozzle 2 The shower water supply system to 2 and the drive water supply system to the hydraulic cylinder 7 are separate systems, and the switching valve 1 is provided inside and above the shower device, and the drainage port 1a of the switching valve 1 is installed.
It is characterized by being opened downward.

[Function] In this way, by making the shower water supply system to the shower nozzle 2 and the drive water supply system to the hydraulic cylinder 7 separate systems, the injection pressure from the shower nozzle 2 can be controlled by the shower nozzle. 2, the shower pressure can be kept almost constant and its adjustment is easy, and the ascending and descending speed of the shower nozzle 2 is not affected by the shower jet, making it stable and comfortable. This allows a shower jet condition to be obtained. Moreover, by opening the drain port 1a of the switching valve 1, the water pressure on the drainage side is lowered, and the pressure difference between the water supply side port (primary side) and the drainage side port (secondary side) of the switching valve 1 is reduced. Therefore, the switching valve 1 can have a low-cost sealing performance. Furthermore, by providing the switching valve 1 above the interior of the shower device and directing its drain port 1a downward, the interior of the device can be easily cleaned. It has also been designed to be able to be used effectively.

[Examples] Examples of the present invention will be described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the shower device S includes a piston 1 in a vertical hydraulic cylinder 7.
4 are arranged vertically so that they can be raised and lowered freely, and rollers 15, 15'
A wire 16 wound around the piston 14 is tightly connected to the piston 14, a slider 17 as the elevating body 10 is connected to the wire 16, and a shower nozzle 2 is fixed to the slider 17.

On the other hand, pressurized water for driving the shower nozzle 2 up and down is supplied from port A of the four-way valve 13 serving as the switching valve 1 through the fan hole 13a of the four-way valve 13, and then via port B to the upper pressurizing chamber 18 of the hydraulic cylinder 7. is pumped to
After the piston 14 is lowered, it returns to the port C of the four-way valve 13, passes through the fan hole 13b of the four-way valve 13, and drains water from the port D. In such a flow of pressure water, the slider 17 rises, causing the shower nozzle 2 to rise. Then, the shower nozzle 2 rises and comes into contact with the height adjustment clamp 19 to operate the switching mechanism 3, and the four-way valve 1
3 is switched, and the pressurized water from port A is forced into the lower pressurizing chamber 21 of the hydraulic cylinder 7 through the fan hole 13a whose position has been changed by switching, and then through the port C to raise the piston 8. The water returns to port B, passes through the fan hole 13b whose position has been changed, and drains from port D. As the piston 8 rises, the slider 17 descends, and the shower nozzle 2 also descends. This operation is repeated below.

The switching mechanism section 3 for reversing switching includes a slide rod 22 held so as to be slidable;
The reversal switching spring mechanism 4 meshes with the rack gear 23 and is connected to the four-way valve 13. pinion gear 2
4. A reversing spring shaft 27 which is inserted into the reversing spring bearing 29 so as to be able to protrude and retract freely, and which is inserted through the reversing spring 26 and is biased to project against the reversing spring bearing 29; It is composed of a connecting pin 28 and the like that connects the reversing spring shaft 27 to the pinion gear 24 so that the reversing spring shaft 27 is reversed by the elastic restoring force of the compressed reversing spring 26 when it crosses a dead line L connecting the centers of the reversing spring shaft 27 and the pinion gear 24. When the shower nozzle 2 rises and comes into contact with the upper height adjustment clamp 19, the slide rod 22 fixed thereto is lifted up, the pinion gear 24 meshed with the rack gear 23 is rotated, and the reversing spring 26 is rotated.
The inverted spring shaft 27 is inverted while compressing the inverted spring bearing 2.
9 side and swings to the right in FIG. The pinion gear 24 is protruded larger and the pinion gear 24 is reversed, and the four-way valve 13 is reversely switched.
The positions relative to B, C, and D are changed so that the pressure water flow path can be switched.

In the water supply system that supplies water to the switching valve 1, the water supply system to the shower nozzle 2 and the water supply system to the hydraulic cylinder 7 that drives the shower nozzle 2 are piped to separate systems, and the water supply system to the hydraulic cylinder 7 is piped separately. The system is such that the drainage from the switching valve 1 to be switched is released downward from its drainage port 1a.

In Fig. 3a, a constant flow valve 38 is built in on the inlet side of port A on the water supply side to the switching valve 1, and the constant flow valve body 39 is configured to operate when the water supply pressure increases and the water supply amount increases. The state shown in FIG. 4a shifts to the state shown in FIG. 4b, and the inlet diameter of the water passage hole 40 becomes _d1 > _d2 , and the water supply amount is automatically adjusted to a substantially constant amount regardless of the water supply pressure. The constant flow valve body 39 can be made of an elastic material with restoring force such as synthetic rubber, and the amount of water supplied to the hydraulic cylinder 7 is adjusted to match the desired lifting speed of the shower nozzle 2 of 6 to 8 cm/sec.
The hole diameter d ₁ of the constant flow valve body 39, the depth l, the hardness, and the valve seat hole diameter d ₃ can be combined and set as appropriate.

As shown in FIG. 3a, the fan hole 13a of the valve body 31 of the switching valve 1 penetrates to the valve cover 32 side.
b is opened only on the switching valve body 33 side and the valve cover 32
It does not penetrate to the side. Port A and port B communicate through the fan hole 13a of the valve body 31 to drive the piston 14 in the hydraulic cylinder 7, and the return water returns to port C and is discharged from port C, which communicates through the fan hole 13b of the valve body 31. be done. Here, the drain port 1a of the switching valve 1 is connected to the slider 1 as shown in FIG. 2a.
The belt 34 is tightly tied to the upper and lower ends of the drain port 1a and is wound around the wheels 51, 51 to hide the slit 49 of the casing through which the shower nozzle 2 moves. It is used as cleaning water for the drive mechanism.

As shown in FIG. 3a, the switching valve 1 has a valve body 31 rotatably built in between a switching valve body 33 and a valve cover 32 via a valve shaft 35, and sealed with O-rings 36 and 37. There is water. The rotational force of the valve body 31 is obtained as follows. The vertical movement of the slider 17 is transmitted to the height adjustment clamp 19 and the slide rod 22 to move the rack gear 23 up and down, and the linear movement of the rack gear 23 is converted into rotational movement by the pinion gear 24, thereby obtaining smooth rotational force. Can be done. Here, the valve stem 35 has two parts such as a C ring.
Fasteners 48 and 50 are provided, the pinion gear 24 and the valve shaft 35 are integrated, and the pinion gear 24 is rotatably attached to the outer surface of the valve cover 32. The pinion gear 24 is provided with a fan-shaped groove 42 that constitutes a delay mechanism that does not rotate the valve body 31 until the reversal spring 26 crosses the dead line L, and the fan-shaped groove 42 is integrated with the valve shaft 35. It is in play with the spool pin 43.

According to the above configuration, since the drain side port D is in an open state, the pressure distribution at the valve body 31 is such that the water supply side port A has a gauge pressure difference of approximately 1 to 2 kg/cm ² or more compared to the drain side port D. pressure is ensured. Moreover, since the valve body 31 has a through groove structure on the port A side and a covered groove structure on the port D side, the valve body 31 is strongly attracted to the switching valve body 33 side due to this covered groove structure. Therefore, smoothness is only required on one side of the valve body 31 and the switching valve body 33 on which they slide, and there is no need for precision on the side of the valve body 31 opposite to the switching valve body 33, making it possible to make plastic molded products. Sealing performance can be easily ensured using inexpensive manufacturing methods such as

1 and 3, when the reversing spring 26 moves from the right side to the left side in the figure, that is, when the rack gear 2
3 performs a downward movement, the total load (weight) _W0 of the rack gear 23, slide rod 22, and height adjustment clamp 19 is added, and the reversal spring 26 is burdened by the amount equivalent to the above-mentioned load. In order to solve this problem, a brake spring 45 is inserted as a brake spring means 5 into the lower part of the rack gear 23.
It is arranged in a structure that shares the burden of gravity based on the above load W ₀ with a restoring force of 5. A compression spring is used as the brake spring 45, and is set so that the load _W0 is offset by the restoring force of the brake spring 45 when the reversal spring shaft 27 crosses the dead line L. If the restoring force of the brake spring 45 is W ₁ and the restoring force of the brake spring 45 at position B is W ₂ , then the resistance of the brake spring on the rack gear 23 side at positions A and B is W ₁ −W ₀ =W ₀ −
Set the spring constant so that W ₂ . The reversing spring shaft 27 is connected to the pinion gear 24 by a crank structure in which a connecting pin 28 is connected, and the other end is inserted into and removably into a reversing spring bearing 29, and the reversing spring bearing 29 is connected to the valve cover 32 of the switching valve 1. It is rotatably mounted. A buffer spring 46 as a buffer spring means 6 is attached to the open end of the reverse spring shaft 27 on the reverse spring bearing 29 side, and the pinion gear 24 rotates too much due to the residual restoring force of the reverse spring 26 and the switching valve 1 is switched. It also serves as a shock prevention mechanism to prevent excessive rotation and to cushion the impact when reversing.

As a result of the above operation, when the shower nozzle 2 moves up and down, the switching valve 1 operates equally in both the up and down directions, without causing hysteresis, and provides continuous smooth drive with less noise and impact. can be obtained.

[Effects of the Invention] In short, in the present invention, the shower water supply system to the shower nozzle and the drive water supply system to the hydraulic cylinder are separate systems, so the injection pressure from the shower nozzle is equal to that of the shower nozzle. It is not involved in the lifting drive, the shower pressure can be kept almost constant, and it is easy to adjust, and the lifting speed of the shower nozzle is not affected by the shower jet, resulting in a stable and comfortable shower jetting condition. It has the advantage that it can be obtained. Moreover, since the drain port of the switching valve is open, the water pressure on the drain side can be lowered and the pressure difference between the water supply side port (primary side) and the drain side port (secondary side) can be increased. The switching valve can have an inexpensive sealing performance, and since the switching valve is provided above the inside of the shower device and its drain port is directed downward, there is an advantage that it can be effectively used for cleaning the inside of the device.

Further, since only the sliding surface where the switching valve body and the valve body rub against each other has a smooth structure, finishing of the face of the valve body opposite to the switching body can be omitted, which is advantageous in terms of manufacturing.

In addition, since a constant flow valve is provided on the water supply side port of the switching valve, there is an advantage that fluctuations in the amount of water caused by fluctuations in water supply pressure can be suppressed, and the shower nozzle can be driven up and down at a constant speed by the hydraulic cylinder.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

Figures 1a, b, and c are schematic diagrams of the entire system according to an embodiment of the present invention, an inverted front view and an overall perspective view of the switching valve, and Figures 2a and b are the same switching mechanism and reverse switching spring. A partially cutaway side view showing the mechanism;
Front view, Figures 3a, b, and c are longitudinal cross-sectional views, front views, and plan views of the same switching valve portion as above, Figures 4 a and b are operation explanatory diagrams of the constant flow valve as above, and Figure 5 is same as above. Figures 6a and 6b are schematic explanatory diagrams and perspective views of a conventional example, in which 1 is a switching valve, 1a is a drain port,
2 is a shower nozzle, and 7 is a hydraulic cylinder.

Claims (1)

[Scope of Claims] 1. A shower device that switches the direction of water supply to a hydraulic cylinder and drives the shower nozzle up and down using drive water from the hydraulic cylinder, which comprises: a shower water supply system to the shower nozzle; and a shower water supply system to the hydraulic cylinder. A shower device in which a water supply system for drive water is separated from the drive water supply system, a switching valve is provided in the upper part of the interior of the shower device, and the drainage port of the switching valve is opened downward. 2. The shower device according to claim 1, wherein in the switching valve, only the sliding surface on which the switching valve body and the valve body rub against each other has a smooth structure. 3. The shower device according to claim 1, further comprising a constant flow valve provided at the water supply side port of the switching valve.