JPH0678846B2 - Hot water circulating bathtub with filter - Google Patents

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention [Industrial applications]

This invention keeps the warm water clear by filtering it with a filter.
The present invention relates to a hot water circulation type bathtub device that keeps a hot water temperature at a constant value by a heating means, and more particularly to a hot water circulation type bathtub device having a filter that can be conveniently installed in a narrow bathtub space.

[Prior art]

A hot-water circulating bathtub device has been developed which holds hot water in a bathtub at a constant temperature and keeps the hot water clear. This hot water circulation bath device is provided with a heating means for keeping the temperature of the hot water constant and a filter for filtering the hot water. The heating means keeps the temperature of the hot water at a constant temperature, and the filter continuously filters the hot water to remove foreign matters such as dirt and keep it clean. Therefore, the hot water circulation type bathtub device of this structure can bathe at any time for 24 hours without changing the hot water in the bathtub every day,
It is extremely convenient and highly water-saving. Natural stone is generally used as a filter for hot water filtration. Natural stone has a function of removing fine foreign substances and sterilizing bacteria contained in warm water. Natural stone filters are porous stones, for example, "Baihanishi"
Alternatively, stones that are crushed and sintered into a porous state are used. The filter of natural stone is ammonia (sweat) emitted from the human body
Also, it adsorbs protein (dust). It has been clarified that the natural stone filter adsorbs ammonia and proteins contained in warm water according to the following conditions. That is, the natural stone filter in which warm water circulates provides a comfortable environment for the reproduction of microorganisms, and the microorganisms parasitize there. Microorganisms decompose by eating ammonia and protein contained in warm water as food. Therefore, the sweat and dirt in the warm water are effectively adsorbed by the microorganisms on the natural stone filter. A natural stone filter that clarifies warm water in this state does not cause clogging in a short time, unlike a filter that simply mechanically filters foreign matter, and the washing period of warm water can be extended. For example, if 200 liters of warm water is continuously filtered with a natural stone filter that uses 10 kg of "Baihanishi" with an average particle size of 10 to 40 mm, the number of people bathing in one day is 5 to 10 months, and It can be used without cleaning for a long time. The present inventor first developed and commercialized a hot water circulating bathtub device for outdoor installation. The device was connected to the bath with two hoses that passed through the wall of the bath. This hot water circulation type bathtub device has a drawback that the installation work is troublesome. The reason for this is to install a through hole in the wall of the bathtub. There is also a drawback that it cannot be installed unless there is space outside the building close to the bathtub.

[Problems to be Solved by the Invention]

As a hot water circulating bathtub device that solves this drawback, we have developed a device for installation in the bathroom. This device can be installed without making holes in the wall of the bathroom, so it can be easily installed. However, this device has the drawback of occupying a small space in the bathroom. To make matters worse, it is extremely difficult to miniaturize the hot water circulation bath device. That is because the filter requires a considerable amount of natural stone. A small filter with a small amount of natural stone cannot sufficiently filter hot water. That is, a filter having a low filtration capacity has drawbacks that the warm water becomes muddy when a small number of people take a bath, and once the warm water becomes muddy, it takes time to clarify the water and the life of the filter is short. The present invention was further developed with the object of eliminating this drawback, and an important object of the present invention is to provide a filter capable of reducing the occupied space in the bathroom even though a large capacity filter can be used. A hot water circulating bathtub device is provided.

[Means for Solving the Problems of the Related Art] In order to achieve the above-mentioned object, the present invention has the following configuration. That is, the hot water circulation type bathtub apparatus including the filter of the present invention includes a filter 3 for filtering hot water in the bathtub 1 clearly, a circulation pump 2 forcibly circulating the hot water in the bathtub 1 through the filter 3, and a filter 3. A circulation pump 2 is provided in a circulation path of hot water connected in series, and a heating means 4 for heating the hot water and a hot water temperature of the bathtub 1 are detected to control the heating means 4 to bring the hot water temperature to a set temperature. And a temperature sensor 5 for controlling. Further, in the hot water circulation bath device of the present invention, the overall shape of the casing 3A of the filter 3 is a thin plate, and the hot water inflow pipe 7A and the outflow pipe 7B are connected to the casing 3A to form a hot water circulation path. They are connected in series and the filter 3 is laid on the floor of the bathroom.

[Action]

In the hot water circulation bath device of the present invention, a hot water circulation path in which a circulation pump 2 and a filter 3 are connected in series is connected to the bath 1. When the circulation pump 2 is operated, the hot water in the bathtub 1 is sent to the filter 3 by the circulation pipe 7. The warm water sent to the filter 3 is filtered here and is returned to the bath 1. Therefore, the hot water in the bath 1 is kept clear by the filter 3. On the other hand, in the hot water circulation path, the heating means 4 and the temperature sensor 5 are provided.
And are provided. The heating means 4 is controlled by the temperature sensor 5 to keep the hot water temperature constant. Therefore, bathtub 1
The warm water inside is kept clear and at a constant temperature. The filter filled with natural stone or the like is placed on the floor of the bathroom with the entire shape of the casing being a thin plate. This filter can be installed just like a rug used on the floor of a bathroom. The filter installed on the floor does not take up space even if the internal volume is increased.

[Preferred embodiment]

An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. However, the examples shown below exemplify a hot water circulating bathtub apparatus for embodying the technical idea of the present invention, the hot water circulating bathtub apparatus of the present invention, the material, shape of the components, The structure and arrangement are not specified in the structure below. The hot water circulating bath apparatus of the present invention has various modifications within the scope of the claims. Further, in this specification, for easy understanding of the claims, the numbers corresponding to the members shown in the embodiments are referred to as "Claims of claims" and "Means for solving conventional problems. The "column" and the "column of action" are added. However, the members described in the claims are not limited to the members shown in the embodiments. A hot water circulation type bathtub apparatus including the cleaning means shown in FIG.
The circulating pump 2, the filter 3, the heating means 4, the temperature sensor 5, and the cleaning switching valve 6 are provided. The circulation pump 2 sucks the warm water in the bathtub 1 through the filter 3 and recirculates the sucked warm water to the bathtub 1. Therefore, the suction side of the circulation pump 2 is connected to the bottom of the bath 1 via the filter 3 and the primary filter 8, and the discharge side of the circulation pump 2 is connected to the bath 1. The circulation pump 2 is housed in the main body case 15. An operation panel is provided on the front surface of the main body case 15. The operation panel is provided with a dial for adjusting the set temperature of hot water. The primary filter 8 removes foreign matters such as hair contained in warm water. This is detachably attached to the open end of the circulation pipe 7 in the bathtub 1. As the filter material of the primary filter 8, for example, synthetic resin foam having open cells, water-resistant filter paper, non-woven fabric, net material, etc. can be used, and for example, one having a mesh of about 0.3 to 5 mm can be used. The filter 3 is a natural stone that is a filter medium in the casing 3A.
Filling 3B. As the filter material, any material that can filter hot water in place of natural stone can be used. As shown in FIG. 1, the casing 3A is formed in a thin plate shape so that it can be laid and installed on the floor of the bathroom. As shown in FIG. 1, the thin plate-shaped filter 3 is provided with a hot water channel meandering in a zigzag shape, and the hot water channel is filled with natural stone 3B. The meandering hot water channel has an inflow pipe 7A at one end,
The outflow pipe 7B is connected to the other end, and the inflow pipe 7A is connected to the circulation pump 2.
The outflow pipe 7B is connected to the bathtub 1. The casing 3A having a meandering hot water channel has a second sectional shape.
Shown in the figure. The casing 3A shown in this figure is provided with a ridge 3C projecting inwardly on the bottom plate and the upper plate. Ridge 3C
The meandering hot water channel is provided and the upper plate is supported to improve the load bearing strength applied to the upper plate. The casing 3A having this shape is convenient for being inflation-molded with a hard synthetic resin. The bottom plate has a hole (not shown) for filling the natural stone 3B. This hole is watertightly closed after being filled with natural stone 3B. If necessary, the casing 3A of the filter 3 can be heat-insulated by covering the surface with a heat insulating material, as shown in FIG. As the natural stone 3B, porous natural stone, for example, “Baihanishi” or the like can be used so that microorganisms can inhabit therein by allowing warm water to permeate. Further, as the natural stone 3B, it is possible to use a natural stone which is not used as it is but is crushed and sintered to a predetermined outer shape. The temperature sensor 5 and the heating means 4 are provided in the circulation path of hot water. Heating means 4 provided with a temperature sensor 5 in FIG.
Indicates. The heating means 4 heats the warm water circulated under the control of the temperature sensor 5 to a constant temperature. The heating means 4 is a heater, which is embedded in a cylindrical ceramic. The hot water is heated by passing through a cylindrical ceramic containing a heater. This invention does not specify the position and shape of the heating means. The heating means 4 can be connected to any place in the circulation path of the hot water, and other than the cylindrical ceramic cook can be used. A hot water circulation bathtub apparatus including the filter of the present invention,
By providing the cleaning switching valve 6, the filter 3 can be backwashed. The connection state of the cleaning switching valve 6 is shown in FIGS. 4 to 6. The cleaning switching valve 6 cleans the filter 3 by changing the hot water passage. The illustrated cleaning switching valve 6 includes a valve case 9 having five ports opened, a valve body 10 that moves in the valve case 9, and a motor that is a driving means 11 of the valve body 10. The valve case 9 is shown in FIGS. 7 and 8. The valve case 9 includes an upper lid 9A and a main body 9B. The upper lid 9A and the main body 9B have a cylindrical shape and are watertightly connected to each other. Top lid
One port E is opened through 9A. Four ports A, B, C and D are opened on the bottom surface of the main body 9B. As shown in FIG. 8, the main body 9B has a cylindrical partition wall 26 in the middle.
Is provided and is partitioned by a partition wall 26 into an inner side and an outer side. The inside of the partition wall 26 is divided into two by a central partition plate 27, and ports A and B are opened in each division chamber. Central partition board
In FIG. 5, 27 is inclined from left to right at an upward slope of about 60 degrees. The outside of the partition wall 26 is divided into three by three outer partition plates 28,
Ports C and D are opened in the two lower division chambers. Two of the three outer partition plates 28 are horizontally extended in FIG. 7 to divide the outer side of the partition wall into two parts, and the other is a lower part of the dividing chamber, which is about 60 degrees from the center. It is divided into two by an outer partition plate 28 extending downward. The discharge side of the circulation pump 2 is connected to the 1-port E of the upper lid 9A. The port A of the main body 9B is connected to the inflow side of the filter 3, the port B is connected to the outflow side of the filter 3, the port C is connected to the drain pipe 12, and the port D is connected to the bathtub 1. The overall shape of the valve body 10 that switches and connects the ports is cylindrical. The outer shape is designed to be slightly smaller than the inner surface of the valve case 9 so that it can rotate inside the valve case 9 without a gap. The valve body 10 has two passages that are not communicated with each other in order to switch the hot water passage. A bottom view of the valve body 10 is shown in FIG. 9, and a sectional view thereof is shown in FIG. This valve body 10
Has a filter passage 13 and a switching passage 14. The filter passage 13 connects the circulation pump 2 by switching between the inflow side and the outflow side of the filter 3. Switching passage 14
Connects the outflow side of the filter 3 and the bathtub 1, and the inflow side of the filter 3 and the drain pipe 12 by switching. As shown in FIG. 8, the filter passage 13 is provided so as to vertically penetrate the valve body 10. The switching passage 14 is formed in a concave shape having an upper surface closed and an lower surface opened. As shown in the bottom view of FIG. 9, the filter passage 13 and the switching passage 14 are fan-shaped with an opening angle of about 60 degrees and are provided at symmetrical positions. In the cleaning switching valve 6 having this structure, the valve body 10 is stopped at the 3 position, and switching is performed between the hot water filtering step, the filter cleaning step, and the rinsing step. When the valve body 10 is rotated, the filter passage 13 and the switching passage 14
When and stop at the positions shown by the diagonal lines in FIG. 7, the hot water filtering step is started. As shown in FIGS. 4 and 7, in the valve body 10 in this position, the filter passage 13 connects the ports E and A of the upper lid 9A, and the switching passage 14 connects the ports B and D. To do. Therefore, the discharge side of the circulation pump 2 is connected to the inflow side of the filter 3, and the circulation pump 2 supplies hot water to the inflow side of the filter 3. Further, the outflow side of the filter 3 is connected to the bathtub 1 through the ports B and D, and the hot water that has passed through the filter 3 is supplied to the bathtub 1. That is, in this step, the hot water circulates through the bath 1, the circulation pump 2, the filter 3, and the bath 1, and the hot water in the bath 1 is filtered and circulated. When the valve body 10 is rotated 120 degrees clockwise and the filter passage 13 and the switching passage 14 are moved to the shaded positions in FIG. 11 and stopped, the filter 3 is put into a cleaning step. In the valve body 10 in this position, as shown in FIGS. 5 and 11, the filter passage 13 connects the port of the upper lid 9A to the port B, and the switching passage 14 connects the ports A and C. . Therefore, the discharge side of the circulation pump 2 is connected to the outflow side of the filter 3, and the circulation pump 2 supplies hot water to the outflow side of the filter 3. The hot water supplied to the outflow side of the filter 3 flows backward in the filter 3 and backwashes the natural stone 3B in the filter. The warm water from which the filter 3 has been backwashed passes through the ports A and C and is drained from the drain pipe 12. That is, in this step, hot water is drained after backwashing the filter 3 through the bath 1, the circulation pump 2, the filter 3, and the drain pipe 12. When the valve body 10 is rotated 60 degrees counterclockwise and the filter passage 13 and the switching passage 14 are stopped at the positions shown by the hatched lines in FIG. 12, the rinsing step is started. In the valve body 10 in this position, as shown in FIG. 6, the filter passage 13 connects the port E of the upper lid 9A to the port A, and the switching passage 14 connects the ports B and C. Therefore, the discharge side of the circulation pump 2 is connected to the inflow side of the filter 3,
The circulation pump 2 supplies hot water to the inflow side of the filter 3. The warm water supplied to the inflow side of the filter 3 drains the dirty water that has been backwashed inside the filter 3. Since the outflow side of the filter 3 is connected to the drain pipe 12 by the ports B and C, the warm water that flows in the forward direction in the filter 3 and contains dirt is not supplied to the bathtub 1 and is discharged from the drain pipe 12. Be drained. That is, in this step, hot water circulates through the bath 1, the circulation pump 2, the filter 3, and the bath 1. In this way, the hot water circulation type bathtub device in which hot water is passed through the filter 3 in the forward direction and rinsed after backwashing the filter 3 shortens the backwash time of the filter 3 to make the bath 1 immediately after washing. There is a feature that can remove dirt. However, the rinsing step can be omitted by prolonging the cleaning time of the filter 3. For example, when there is a rinsing step, the cleaning time of the filter 3 is set to 30 seconds to 2 minutes, and when there is no rinsing step, the cleaning time is set to 30 seconds to 1 minute. In the hot water circulating bath apparatus shown in FIGS. 4 to 6, the filter 3 is washed with the hot water in the bath 1, but as shown by the chain line in FIG. 4, the main body 9B of the upper lid 9A of the washing switching valve 6 is shown. It is also possible to connect the tap water through the on-off valve and backwash the filter 3 with tap water. In this case, in the washing process, the circulation pump 2 is operated or stopped, and the filter 3 is backwashed with both hot water and tap water, or with tap water only. Filter 3 with tap water
The method of backwashing is characterized in that the hot water in the bathtub 1 does not decrease in the washing process. The method of backwashing the filter 3 with warm water in the bathtub 1 has a feature that installation of water is not required and installation work is easy. The cleaning switching valve 6 shown in the figure does not pose any problem in the attitude of mounting it on the hot water circulation bath device. Therefore, this cleaning switching valve 6
Can be turned upside down or fixed by rotating it by a required angle. The cleaning switching valve 6 shown in FIGS. 4 to 6 is provided with packing 31 on the upper surface of the main body 9B so that water does not leak at the position where the valve body 10 stops. The packing 31 is made of a rubber-like elastic body. The packing 31 is opened similarly to the upper surface of the main body 9B so as not to close the opening on the upper surface of the main body 9B. Furthermore, as shown in FIGS. 4 and 4 (A), the protrusion 29 is formed on the upper surface of the valve body 10 and the upper lid 9A so that the valve body 10 can be lightly rotated and water does not leak at the stop position. 30 are provided. The projections 29 and 30 of the valve body 10 and the upper lid 9A are provided at positions where the valve body 10 is forcedly pushed down when they hit each other at the stop position of the valve body 10. The protrusion 29 fixed to the upper surface of the valve body 10 is inclined on both sides. When the valve body 10 rotates and approaches the stop position, the inclined projection gradually pushes down the valve body 10 and presses the lower end surface of the valve body 10 against the packing 31. If the upper lid 9A and the protrusions 29 and 30 of the valve body 10 are prevented from coming into contact with each other when the valve body 10 rotates, the valve body 10 can be rotated lightly. Therefore, the protrusion 30 of the upper lid 9A is provided at a position that presses the protrusion 29 of the valve body 10 only when the valve body 10 approaches the stop position.

【The invention's effect】

The hot water circulation type bathtub apparatus having the filter of the present invention has a feature that the volume of the filter can be increased so as to be arranged so as not to disturb a narrow bathtub or bathroom. That's because the filter is laid on the floor of the bathroom. The filter laid on the floor has, for example, an outer shape of 1 m x 1 m and a thickness of 3 c.
As m, the internal volume can be 30 liters. For this reason,
The filter can be filled with a large amount of filter media, and a hot water circulation bath device with excellent filtering ability can be installed in a small bathroom. A filter filled with a large amount of filter medium has a high ability to filter hot water clearly, and has a feature that it can keep hot water clean even when a large number of people take a bath. It also has the feature that the cleaning time of the filter can be extended and the maintenance can be simplified. Furthermore, a remarkable feature of the present invention is that the temperature of the bathroom can be comfortably heated by the filter. This is because a filter that circulates hot water is laid on the floor of the bathroom, which warms the air in the bathroom. In particular, the hot water circulation type bathtub device is designed to be able to take a bath at any time by operating continuously for 24 hours. Therefore, if the indoor temperature can be always warmed to an appropriate temperature by using a filter, it has a feature that you can take a bath anytime comfortably. In addition, the floor surface is warm when you take a bath and can be used comfortably even in cold weather. However, if a heat-insulated filter is used, the temperature of the upper surface will drop. However, since hot water is circulated inside, it can be warmer than the floor of a bathroom such as tiles.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a hot water circulation type bath apparatus including a filter according to an embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a sectional view of the filter, FIG. 3 is a sectional view of a heating means having a temperature sensor, and FIG. To FIG. 6 are schematic cross-sectional views showing the cleaning switching valve, and FIGS. 7, 11, and 12 are plan views showing the valve position of the cleaning switching valve in the filtering process, the cleaning process and the rinsing process, and FIG. Is a perspective view showing the main body of the cleaning switching valve,
FIG. 10 and FIG. 10 are a bottom view and a sectional view of the valve body, and FIG. 4 (A) is a sectional view taken along the line aa of FIG. 1 ... tub, 2 ... circulation pump, 3 ... filter, 3A ... casing, 3B ... natural stone, 3C ... projection, 4 ... heating means, 5 ... temperature sensor, 6 ... cleaning switching valve , 7 ... Circulation pipe, 7A ... Inflow pipe, 7B ... Outflow pipe, 8 ... Primary filter, 9 ... Valve case, 9A ... Top lid, 9B ... Main body, 10 ... Valve body, 11 ... … Driving means, 12 …… Drain pipe, 13 …… Filter passage, 14 …… Switching passage, 15 …… Main body case, 26 …… Differential partition, 27 …… Center partition plate, 28 …… Outside partition plate, 29 …… Protrusion, 30 ... Protrusion, 31 ... Packing, A, B, C, D, E ... Port.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A filter (3) for filtering hot water in a bath (1) for clarity, a circulation pump (2) for forcedly circulating hot water in the bath (1) through the filter (3), and a filter (3). ) And a circulation pump (2) are provided in a hot water circulation path connected in series to heat the hot water (4)
And a temperature sensor (5) for detecting the hot water temperature of the bathtub (1) and controlling the heating means (4) to control the hot water temperature to a set temperature, the filter (3) includes: The overall shape of the casing (3A) is a thin plate. The casing (3A) is connected to the hot water inflow pipe (7A) and the outflow pipe (7B) in series in the hot water circulation path. A hot water circulating bathtub device comprising a filter, wherein the filter (3) is laid on the floor of a bathroom.