JPH0321221B2 - - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION FIELD OF INDUSTRIAL APPLICATION The present invention relates to a shower head for use in showering with a household water heater.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION In recent years, showers are increasingly being used in the bathrooms of ordinary households. This is due to the widespread use of electronically controlled water heaters such as instantaneous water heaters, which has made it possible to obtain hot water at the appropriate temperature simply by turning the faucet. Figure 3 shows a typical home hot water supply system diagram. Here, the configuration is such that hot water is supplied to four locations, a kitchen 2, a washroom 3, a bath 4, and a shower 5, using an instantaneous water heater 1 installed outdoors. The water heater 1 detects running water generated when a hot water tap is opened, ignites an internal burner, and heats the water flowing out from the water inlet.
Make hot water and send it to the faucet. The combustion amount of the burner is controlled so that the hot water temperature reaches the temperature set by the indoor remote controller 6. (For example, Japanese Patent Publication No. 55-51141) Problems to be Solved by the Invention The biggest problem with the configuration shown in FIG. The cold water (hereinafter referred to as dead water) accumulated in the pipe 7 comes out from the faucet. Particularly in shower 5, etc., the human body is directly exposed to hot water, so extreme care must be taken to stabilize the temperature of the water. Traditionally, users manually checked the temperature of the water before using the shower, but this was uncomfortable, especially in the winter.

Means for Solving the Problems In order to solve the above problems, the shower head of the present invention includes a plurality of small-diameter shower ports around the periphery,
A shower cap with a large-diameter drain port in part,
The shower head has a valve body that opens and closes the large-diameter drain port, and the valve body is driven by a driver that opens and closes the drain port depending on the water temperature.

Function: With the above configuration, when the water temperature in the shower head is low due to dead water, the drain port is opened and the water is drained. When the dead water finishes and the temperature rises, the drain port is closed and the small-diameter shower port acts as a shower.

DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to FIGS. 1 and 2. FIG. 1 shows a shower head of the present invention in cross-section. A shower cap 10 provided on a shower head 13 is provided with a small-diameter shower port 8 for showering and a large-diameter drain port 9 in the center. Valve body 1 faces this large-diameter drain port 9.
1, and this valve body 11 controls the opening and closing of the large-diameter drain port 9 by means of a driving body 12. Here, driver 1
2 is made of a shape memory alloy that expands and contracts depending on the temperature.

Now, when the hot water tap (not shown) of the shower is opened, cold water is discharged from the shower head 13 due to dead water as explained in FIG. At this time, the shape memory alloy driving body 12 is contracted and the valve body 11 opens the large diameter drain port 9. (FIG. 1) As a result, the resistance of the large-diameter drain port 9 is lower than the water flow resistance of the small-diameter shower port 8, and most of the water flows out from the drain port 9 and does not form a shower. When the shower head 13 is filled with hot water after the dead water has finished draining, the driving body 12 expands due to this temperature, and the valve body 1 as shown in FIG.
1 closes the drain port 9. As a result, hot water is dispersed from the shower opening 8 to form a shower.

Here, the shape memory alloy of the driving body 9 has a transformation point at 33 to 35°C, and is configured to contract at low temperatures and expand at high temperatures. Further, it is also conceivable that the driving body 12 is made of a bimetal or the like other than this.

In the present invention, only the shower head has been described, but a similar structure can be easily inferred for the other hot water faucets 2 to 4 shown in FIG. Furthermore, even if a hot water storage type water heater is used instead of the instantaneous water heater 1, the same effect can be obtained.

In addition, the shower base 10 can be used in combination with the configuration of the present invention.
By applying a paint that changes color depending on the temperature, or by configuring the nozzle 10 and the shower head 13 themselves with a temperature-sensitive color-changing material, it is possible to determine the end of dead water based on the change in color.

Effects of the Invention As explained above, the shower head of the present invention does not perform a shower while the dead water in the hot water supply pipe is flowing out, but drains from the drain port, and does not perform a shower when the dead water ends and the hot water temperature rises. Therefore, you can visually check where the water is coming out and know when the dead water has finished. This improves usability since there is no need to manually check whether the dead water has ended each time. Furthermore, by preventing unnecessary outflow of hot water, energy consumption of fuel and water can be saved.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a sectional view of a shower head according to an embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a sectional view showing the operating state of the shower head of FIG. 1, and FIG. 3 is a system diagram showing hot water supply piping equipment. 8... Shower port, 9... Drain port, 10... Shower cap, 11... Valve body, 12... Drive body, 1
3...Shower head.

Claims (1)

[Scope of Claims] 1. A shower cap provided with a large-diameter drain port and a plurality of small-diameter shower ports, and a valve body for opening and closing the large-diameter drain port, the valve body being configured to open and close the large-diameter drain port. A shower device that is driven by a driver that opens and closes the drain port depending on the temperature. 2. The shower device according to claim 1, wherein the driving body is made of a shape memory alloy that expands and contracts depending on the temperature of the hot water.