JPH0745017B2 - Foam spout - Google Patents

Description

Description: TECHNICAL FIELD The present invention relates to a foam spout that is attached to the tip of a spout of a faucet, a shower head, or the like to foam water supply.

[Conventional technology]

BACKGROUND ART A faucet provided with a foam spouting port has been conventionally used in order to reduce the sound of water supply and the sound of falling to a sink or the like and to prevent splashing of water. The most commonly used one is described, for example, in Japanese Patent Publication No. 63-31621.

FIG. 9 is a cross-sectional view showing the outline of the foam spout according to this publication and other general foam spouts. In the figure, a pressure reducing plate 52 having a large number of small holes 52a is housed in a water discharge cap 51 fixed to the tip of a spout 50 of a water faucet. Then, an air hole 53 for taking in outside air into the water supply is opened in the peripheral wall of the water discharge cap 51 downstream of the pressure reducing plate 52, and a plurality of rectifying nets 54 for rectifying the flow are arranged at the outlet. There is.

In such a foam spout, the flow speed is increased when the water supply from the spout 50 passes through the small hole 52a of the pressure reducing plate 52.
Therefore, the inside of the water discharge cap 51 on the downstream side of the pressure reducing plate 52 is depressurized, and the outside air is sucked in through the air port 53, and the air is mixed into the water supply to foam the flow. Further, since the mesh of the rectifying network 54 is fine, the water supply is vigorously agitated even when the water supply collides against it and flows away, further promoting foam formation.

In addition, instead of such a structure, there is also one that promotes foaming by causing a water spray plate provided at the discharge end to collide with a flow having a high flow rate from a small hole of the pressure reducing plate and further stirring with the mixed air.

[Problems to be Solved by the Invention]

However, the water supplied from the spout 50 is supplied through the small hole 52a of the pressure reducing plate 52.
Therefore, the pressure loss of the flow is considerably large. For this reason, unless the valve opening of the faucet is set to a certain value or more, an appropriate water discharge pressure cannot be obtained, and when the flow rate is reduced, it does not become foam or has no foam feeling. I will end up.

Further, since the pressure reducing plate 52 and the rectifying network 54 are provided in two stages,
It is easy for foreign matter in the water supply to become clogged and scale to adhere. Therefore, if the flow passage area becomes small and the amount of water discharged becomes insufficient, or if the small holes 52a of the pressure reducing plate 52 are closed, proper foaming cannot be performed.

As described above, the conventional foam spout uses the speedup of the water supply using the pressure reducing plate and the suction of the outside air due to the depressurization of the internal flow path based on this, so that the pressure loss of the water supply is large and In addition to obstacles such as blockage, there was a problem that it could not be used properly at low flow rates.

Therefore, an object of the present invention is to secure a flow rate without causing pressure loss and clogging of foreign matter, and to always obtain appropriate foaming.

[Means for Solving the Problems]

In order to achieve the above object, the foam spout of the present invention,
A fluid inlet and an outlet, a communication passage communicating between the inlet and the outlet, a swirl flow chamber arranged in the communication passage, and a fluid from the communication passage to an inner wall of the swirl flow chamber. A hole where the inflow shaft supplies as an oblique flow,
A discharge port near the center of the swirl flow of the fluid in the swirl flow chamber and facing the communication path to the outlet side, and a space having a cross-sectional area larger than the opening area of the discharge port and communicating with the discharge port. A foam spout provided with a foaming chamber having an end thereof communicated with the outlet, and an air flow path formed on the outlet side to the outside air and formed substantially coaxially toward the outlet side. There is a backflow prevention plate protruding around the air flow path, and an annular backflow prevention plate around the discharge port and occupying a larger area than the backflow prevention plate, the annular backflow prevention plate The protrusion length of is shorter than the distance from the discharge port to the backflow prevention plate of the air flow path, and the annular gap between these backflow prevention plates is used as a passage for the water discharged from the discharge port. Characterize.

Moreover, if the inner wall of the foaming chamber is made into a minute uneven surface,
A pulsating flow or the like due to forced swirling in the swirling flow chamber can be interfered with, and a stable flow can be obtained.

[Action]

The water that has flowed into the swirl flow chamber becomes a spiral swirl flow, and the centrifugal force outward acts on the flow itself. And
Since the flow at the discharge port opened almost in the center of the swirling flow chamber is also spiral, the water flowing out from the discharge port is blown outward by the centrifugal force, forming a conical water film like a foam from the discharge port. It is sent to the chemical conversion chamber. As a result, the water flowing into the foaming chamber is already in a state of being easily scattered, and if the foaming chamber is opened to the atmosphere through an air hole or the like, the air is sucked by the depressurizing effect of the water flowing in at a high speed from the discharge port. . Then, the sucked air is promptly mixed into the water film-shaped water supply that is flowing in, and is discharged as foam water discharge.

As described above, without using a pressure reducing plate having a large number of small holes, by supplying air after swirling the water supply to make it easily scattered, foam spouting can be obtained, and foaming with reduced pressure loss can be achieved. It will be possible.

Further, the backflow prevention plate around the air flow path and the annular backflow prevention plate around the discharge port prevent the flow of the foam water toward the air flow path side and the discharge port side, and prevent the air from the air flow path. Each of the suction and the discharge of the swirling flow from the discharge port is maintained as a rapid flow.

Furthermore, by forming the inner wall of the foaming chamber into a minute uneven shape, it becomes possible to stabilize the flow by interfering with the wave motion of the water discharged from the discharge port.

〔Example〕

Hereinafter, the features of the present invention will be specifically described with reference to the embodiments shown in the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a longitudinal sectional view of an essential part of a water spout showing an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a sectional view taken along the line I-I of FIG.

In the figure, a water discharge head 1 for foaming is attached to the tip of a spout 50. The water spouting head 1 has a circular cross section, and a streamline extending from the spout 50 in a substantially horizontal direction is bent at a right angle downward from the center of the water spouting head 1 to form an internal flow path discharged from a water spray plate 2 provided at the lower end. Has been done.

The interior of the water discharge head 1 is vertically divided by a partition wall 3,
The swirl chamber 4 is above the partition 3 and the foaming chamber 5 is below. The swirl flow chamber 4 is divided into an upstream side chamber 7 and a downstream side chamber 8 by an annular wall 6 that connects the partition wall 3 and the upper end inner wall of the water discharge head 1. The upstream chamber 7 has an annular flow path, and the downstream chamber 8 communicates with the foaming chamber 5 through a discharge port 3a formed in the partition wall 3. In addition,
The partition wall 3 and the annular wall 6 are integrally molded, and are assembled in the water discharge head 1.

The annular wall 6 is arranged coaxially with the cross section of the flow path of the water discharge head 1, and has holes 6a at four positions as shown in FIG. These holes 6a are arranged so that the streamlines are tangential to the transverse section of the downstream chamber 8 inside the annular wall 6. On the other hand, the discharge port 3a opened to the bottom of the downstream side chamber 8 is located at the center of the downstream side chamber 8 and its inner diameter is significantly smaller than the inner diameter of the downstream side chamber 8.

The water sprinkling plate 2 is provided with an air suction structure for rectifying and discharging the foam water and foaming the water, and FIG. 3 (a) is an overall perspective view thereof.

At one end of the water spray plate 2 is provided a base 20 integrated with the discharge end of the water discharge head 1 by screwing or the like, and a total of six water spray holes 21 are provided in this base 20 (see FIG. 4).
An air suction cylinder 22 is formed coaxially upward from the center of the base 20, and an air flow path 22a is provided inside the air suction cylinder 22.

In the base 20, as shown in FIG. 1, the axial length of the water sprinkling hole 21 is increased to some extent so that the passing foam water can be rectified. Then, a cross-shaped straightening plate 23 is incorporated inside each of the water spray holes 21, so that the turbulence of the flow of the foam water flowing through the water spray holes 21 is eliminated. Also,
On the upper surface of the base 20, as shown, six straightening vanes 24 radially extending from the air suction cylinder 22 are provided. These flow straightening vanes 24 penetrate between the adjacent water spray holes 21 and reach the edge of the base 20, and the height thereof is about half the axial length of the water spray holes 21. Further, on the upper surface of the base 20, there is provided a circular annular current plate 25 which is coaxial with the base 20 and passes through the center of the water spray hole 21. This annular flow straightening plate 25 passes above the intersection of the cross-shaped flow straightening plates 23 provided in the water spray holes 21 as shown in FIG. 1, and its height is about twice that of the flow straightening vanes 24.

The air suction cylinder 22 is formed in a truncated cone shape with a diameter reduced from the upper surface of the base 20, and the conical surface 22b is used as a guide for the foam water on the outer circumference thereof. Further, the conical surface 22b is formed in a cylindrical shape having an equal diameter from the upper end portion, and the upper end thereof faces the discharge port 3a of the swirl flow chamber 4. A backflow prevention plate 26 is provided at a position higher than the upper half of the air suction cylinder 22. This backflow prevention plate 26 is a disc shape and is attached in a horizontal posture,
The outer diameter thereof is smaller than or equal to that of the annular flow regulating plate 25. Further, as shown in FIG. 1, an annular backflow prevention plate 27 is provided on the lower surface of the partition wall 3 and is coaxial with the foaming chamber 5.
Are integrated. The inner diameter of the backflow prevention plate 27 is equal to or larger than that of the backflow prevention plate 26 below, and the ring-shaped straightening plate 25
Is almost equal to.

The annular backflow prevention plate 27 may be provided on the water spray plate 2 side as shown in FIG. 3B, instead of being provided integrally with the partition wall 3. In this case, the backflow prevention plate 27 is the air suction cylinder.
It is integrated with four stays 27a at the upper end of 22 and has a structure that does not impede the flow of water and air. Further, the annular flow regulating plate 25 provided on the upper surface of the base 20 may have a hexagonal shape having an apex angle between the water spray holes 21 as shown in FIG.

Further, a female screw 5a is formed as an interference surface on the inner peripheral wall of the foaming chamber 5. The female screw 5a has a function of attenuating the pulsation when the water that flows in the form of a water film from the discharge port 3a interferes with the pulsation when the water is pulsating. It should be noted that the reason why the female screw 5a is carved as the interference surface is for one reason that it is easy to process. Instead of this, the inner peripheral wall of the foaming chamber 5 may be provided with minute irregularities. .

Here, when water is sent from the spout 50, the water flows from the upstream chamber 7 through the hole 6a of the annular wall 6 into the downstream chamber 8.
At this time, the axis of the hole 6a is oriented in the tangential direction with respect to the downstream chamber 8 having a circular cross section, so that the water becomes a swirling flow in the downstream chamber 8. That is, as shown in FIG. 2, water flows along the inner wall from the outer peripheral portion of the downstream side chamber 8 and swirls in the downstream side chamber 8 while the water from the four holes 6a merges to form a vortex. start. At this time, if the entire flow passage area of the hole 6a is larger than that of the discharge port 3a, a phenomenon in which water stays in the downstream chamber 8 occurs and the internal pressure rises to some extent. Therefore, in the inside of the downstream chamber 8, the flow energy of the water itself increases, and the centrifugal force due to the swirling flow acts. For this reason, the water flowing down from the discharge port 3a has the behavior of spreading outward under the influence of the centrifugal force, and is discharged as a conical water film F as shown by the arrow in FIG.

On the other hand, the discharge port 3a is located almost in the center of the foaming chamber 5, and water accompanied by centrifugal force flows out at a high flow rate, so that the internal pressure of the space inside the conical water film F decreases. Therefore, the air is sucked from the air flow path 22a, the water film F from the discharge port 3a hits the female screw 5a of the foaming chamber 5, and the air is mixed with the crushed water to foam the water supply. Then, the foamed water flows into the water spray holes 21, and the straightening vanes 23
The flow is regulated by and is discharged.

In the above flow, the backflow prevention plates 26, 27 provided on the upper side of the foaming chamber 5 are provided with the conical water film F from the discharge port 3a.
And, these water and air are allowed to pass immediately downstream without becoming a barrier against the suction air from the upper end of the air suction cylinder 22. The backflow prevention plates 26 and 27 serve as barriers to prevent the backflow of the foamed water in which the water film F hits the female screw 5a and is mixed with air, to the discharge port 3a and the upper end side of the air suction cylinder 22. It Therefore, the upper end of the air suction cylinder 22 is not covered with foamed water or water supply from the discharge port 3a, and air is smoothly sucked. Therefore, a sufficient amount of sucked air is secured to promote foaming, and the degree to which the feed water directly mixes with the inflowing air is reduced, so that the air suction sound and the water supply sound are also reduced.

Further, the water film F hits the female screw 5a of the foaming chamber 5, and the unevenness of the surface thereof interferes with the pulsation of the flow to damp it. That is, the feed water is forcibly swirled in the swirling flow chamber 4 to increase the flow energy and then flows into the water film F from the discharge port 3a. Therefore, compared to general pipe flow due to pulsation and inertia of the flow itself,
Pressure fluctuations are likely to occur. On the other hand, if a minute uneven surface such as the female screw 5a is provided so as to be different in the direction in which the flow is reflected, pulsation energy can be interfered and the flow can be stabilized. Therefore, the foam water mixed with air does not flow intermittently and is not accompanied by strength, and stable water discharge with a constant flow rate is possible.

Further, since the conical surface 22b of the air suction cylinder 22 guides the foam water to the water spray hole 21 while gently guiding the foam water, cavitation or separation from the flow path wall is prevented against the flow of the gas-liquid two-layer flow containing bubbles. It can be delivered without causing it. For this reason,
Generation of water supply noise at the time of water discharge is suppressed, and even if the flow rate is increased, the usage environment is not affected. Further, when the flow rate is small, the foam water is discharged without filling the inside of the foam formation chamber 5. In this case, the flow velocity of the foamed water also decreases and the streamline is apt to be disturbed, but the foamed water quickly flows off to each water spray hole 21 along the conical surface 22b. Therefore, even when the flow rate is small, it is possible to prevent the staying in the foaming chamber 5 by positively guiding the foam water, and by evenly feeding the foam water into each water spray hole 21, there is no fluctuation in the water discharge form. be able to.

The foamed water having a stable flow as described above is reflected from the female screw 5a toward each water spray hole 21 as shown by the arrow in FIG. 1, and this behavior becomes remarkable especially when the flow rate increases. At this time,
The annular flow regulating plate 25 on the base 20 prevents the foam water from concentrating on the center side. That is, the ring-shaped rectifying plate 25 acts as a baffle to prevent the inflow to the center side, so that the foam water is not discharged only from the center side of the water spray holes 21, and the water spray holes are provided.
A uniform foamy water is obtained from 21.

Further, the foamed water, whose concentration on the center side is suppressed and which is uniformized in the radial direction, is further stabilized in the water discharge state by the flow regulating vanes 24 that are radially arranged and partition between the water spray holes 21. That is, the straightening vanes 24 arranged radially reduce the swirling force of the water supply by the swirling flow chamber 4 and prevent the flows toward the water spray holes 21 from interfering with each other. For this reason, the dynamic water discharge is stabilized by the reduction of the turning force, and at the same time, only the amount of the foam water divided by the flow control vanes 24 is discharged in a stable state without being affected by the external environment.

Immediately before being discharged, the foam water is straightened by the cross-shaped straightening plate 23 when passing through the water spray holes 21. rectifier
Since 23 divides the flow path in the sprinkling hole 21 into four, the foamed water is divided into flows while passing through the straightening vane 23 and is rectified so as to be parallel to each other, and spreads outward or to the center. You can get water spout without concentration.

As described above, the supply water is swirled and sent into the foam formation chamber 5 as a conical water film F, and air is mixed into this to form foam, so compared to the case where a pressure reducing plate is used as in the conventional case. As a result, the pressure loss is significantly reduced. Even if the flow rate is small, the water supply is sufficiently foamed, and
5. Since the foam water is stabilized by the flow straightening vanes 24 and passed through the flow straightening plate 23, the optimum foam water discharge can be obtained without the turbulence of the flow.

FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view of a main part showing an example in which the foam spout according to the present invention is a hand shower type water faucet, and FIG. 7 is a perspective view showing a state of installation in a kitchen. The same members as those shown in FIGS. 1 to 5 are designated by common reference numerals, and detailed description thereof will be omitted.

The water discharge head 1 is integrated with the shower body 30 for use as a hand shower, and has a flow passage 30a formed therein.
Is in communication with. The shower main body 30 is supported by a holder 33 fixed to a counter 32 of a cabinet 31 so that it can be freely taken in and out, and a hose (not shown) is connected to the base end of the shower main body 30 to supply water or hot water from a hot and cold water mixing tap or an electric water heater. To do. And
The holder 33 allows the shower main body 30 including the hose to be pulled out, and the holder 33 can be held by hand to wash the container and the like.
A hand shower that is equipped with such a hose and can be pulled out is generally used conventionally.

Further, the upstream side chamber 7 is formed in an annular shape when incorporated in the shower body 30, the annular backflow prevention plate 27 is integrally provided on the partition wall 3 side, and the other structures are almost the same as those in FIG.

On the other hand, the counter 32 has a shallow sink 34 and a deep sink 35.
Is formed side by side, and the water discharge head 1 having the foam water discharge port of the present invention is installed on the shallow sink 34 side. In addition, on the deep sink 35 side, a normal single lever type hot and cold water mixing tap
35a is provided.

The foam spouted water from the shower main body 30 provided with the water spouting head 1 becomes stable shower sprinkling without flow disturbance after being foamed as described above. For this reason,
Even if the sink 34 is shallow, the foam water is separated into a plurality of streamlines and discharged into the shower, so that the degree of water scattering is reduced and the obstacle of water splash can be eliminated. In particular, as shown in the drawing, the plate 34a is slid again by using the stepped portion 34b provided in the shallow sink 34, and even if water is discharged onto the cutting plate 34a, the water splash does not increase, so that the floor is wet. Nothing.

In this way, if the shower water is sprayed without disturbing the flow after foaming, not only the water splash when hitting the bottom of the sink but also the water splash when washing the container etc. , Further improves usability.

FIG. 8 is a qualitative graph comparing the characteristics with the conventional structure. The characteristics when the structure of FIG. 6 is used are shown by solid lines,
The conventional structure is shown by a broken line.

In FIG. 8 (a), the horizontal axis shows the water supply amount and the vertical axis shows the pressure loss represented by the value of the pressure drop in the internal flow path, and the pressure loss is reduced as compared with the conventional structure.
Then, due to this decrease in pressure loss, the foaming chamber 5
Since the flow velocity of the water flowing in is maintained, the internal pressure drop is larger than that of the conventional structure as shown in FIG. 8 (b). Since this internal pressure drop rapidly increases from a small flow rate region, air mixing is promoted even when the flow rate is small, and proper foaming becomes possible. It should be noted that FIG. 8 (c) shows the amount of sucked air, and the amount of sucked air is larger than that of the conventional structure because the internal pressure drop is large.

In this way, the pressure loss can be reduced, and the air can be mixed in quickly, so that spouting with a sufficient degree of foaming can be obtained even in the low flow rate range where foaming is difficult.

〔The invention's effect〕

As described above, in the present invention, the centrifugal force is generated in the flow by swirling the feed water, and the centrifugal force is used to feed the centrifugal force into the foam chamber as a conical water film flow, and the internal pressure generated at this time is generated. The air is mixed due to the decrease of. Therefore, as compared with the conventional case where a pressure reducing plate having a large number of small holes is used, the pressure loss is reduced, the flow rate is secured, and defective water discharge due to adhesion of foreign matter or scale is eliminated.

In addition, the reduction of the pressure loss is, in other words, the speedup of the internal flow, and the internal negative pressure based on this is increased. For this reason, the air suction rate from the air flow path also becomes high, water discharge having a sufficient degree of foaming can be obtained even at a low flow rate value, and it can be used in a wide range of fields.

By providing backflow prevention plates around the air flow path and around the discharge port, respectively, the flow of foam water to the air flow path side and the discharge port side can be blocked, and suction and discharge of air from the air flow path Each of the swirling flows is discharged promptly, and foam formation is further effectively promoted.

Furthermore, if minute irregularities are provided on the inner wall of the foaming chamber, it is possible to have an interference effect on the waves of the feed water from the discharge port, and dampen the pulsations and the like that occur when a swirling flow is forced. To stabilize the flow.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a longitudinal sectional view of an essential part of a foam spout showing an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a sectional view taken along the line I-I of FIG. 1 showing the generation of a swirling flow inside an annular wall. 3 (a) is a perspective view of the water spray plate, FIG. 3 (b) is a perspective view of the water spray plate when an annular backflow prevention plate is integrated at the upper end, and FIG. 4 is a bottom view of the water discharge head. FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view of a water discharge head showing another rectifying plate structure, FIG. 6 is a vertical cross-sectional view showing an example in which the water discharge head is incorporated in the shower body, and FIG. 7 is a perspective view showing the installation on the counter of the kitchen. FIG. 8 is a graph showing a characteristic comparison with a conventional structure, and FIG. 9 is a schematic diagram of a conventional example. 1: Water discharge head, 2: Water spray plate 3: Partition wall, 3a: Discharge port 4: Swirling flow chamber 5: Foaming chamber, 5a: Female screw 6: Annular wall, 6a: Hole 7: Upstream chamber, 8: Downstream chamber 20 : Base, 21: Sprinkler hole 22: Air suction cylinder, 22a: Air flow path 22b: Conical surface 23: Straightening plate, 24: Straightening vane 25: Annular straightening plate, 26: Backflow prevention plate 27: Backflow prevention plate, 27a: Stay 30: Shower body, 30a: Flow path 31: Cabinet, 32: Counter 33: Holder

Claims (2)

[Claims] 1. A fluid inlet and an outlet, a communication passage communicating between the inlet and the outlet, a swirl flow chamber arranged in the communication passage, and a fluid from the communication passage in the swirl flow chamber. A hole in which the inflow axis supplies as an oblique flow to the inner wall of the outlet, an outlet near the center of the swirling flow of the fluid in the swirl chamber and facing the communication path to the outlet, and the outlet. And a foaming chamber having a space having a cross-sectional area larger than the opening area of the discharge port and having its end communicating with the outlet, and open to the outside air on the outlet side toward the discharge port side. A foam discharge port having an air flow path formed substantially coaxially, the backflow prevention plate protruding around the air flow path, and a range larger than the backflow prevention plate around the discharge port. With an annular backflow prevention plate occupying, The protruding length of the annular backflow prevention plate is made shorter than the distance from the discharge port to the backflow prevention plate of the air flow path, and the annular gap between these backflow prevention plates is used to discharge water from the discharge port. The foam spout is characterized by being used as a passageway. 2. The foam spout according to claim 1, wherein the inner wall of the foaming chamber is an uneven surface which receives water supplied from the discharge port and interferes with the flow.