JPH0336621Y2 - - Google Patents

Description

[Detailed Description of the Invention] [Industrial Application Field] This invention relates to a flowing water switching device that changes color in whole or in part when the temperature reaches a certain level.

[Conventional technology]

In general, a water flow switching device is attached to the water faucet or the like in order to switch hot water or the like discharged from the water faucet or shower nozzle into a shower state or into a normal running water state. However, when such a water flow switching device is applied to a shower nozzle, etc., the temperature of the hot water is not known, so
There are problems such as getting burns from pouring boiling water over your head, and feeling discomfort when pouring cold water over your head. For this reason, a faucet with a thermometer as disclosed in Japanese Utility Model Application No. 56-168563 has been developed and is now in use in some areas. That is, this faucet with a thermometer is as shown in FIG. Attach a sheet-like liquid crystal thermometer 4 with a digital display using a digital display, or attach a sheet that changes color depending on temperature changes, and use these to determine the temperature of the hot water 5 that passes through the faucet 3 and is discharged. It senses and displays the temperature. In the figure, 6 and 7 are respectively hot water pipes 1
and a valve operating section attached to the cold water pipe 2.

[Problem that the invention attempts to solve]

However, when using the liquid crystal thermometer 4 as described above, there is a problem that it is expensive, and when a sheet that changes color is used, the sheet may peel off from the faucet 3 due to contact with hot water or objects. There are problems with durability, such as being easy to use.

This idea was devised in view of these circumstances, and is an inexpensive and highly durable temperature display that changes color in whole or in part due to temperature changes, and allows you to easily know the temperature based on the color change. The purpose is to provide a flowing water switching device having the following features.

[Means for solving problems]

In order to achieve the above object, the flowing water switching device of this invention includes a cylindrical body whose upper opening is fitted onto a faucet and which discharges hot water from the lower opening, and a cylindrical body which is provided in the cylindrical body and which discharges hot water from the lower opening. A water flow switching device equipped with a throttle means for adjusting the discharge state of the water, wherein at least a part of the cylindrical body contains a temperature-sensitive color-changing material mainly consisting of three components: an acid color developing material, an acidic material, and a solvent. The structure is made of a synthetic resin material containing.

That is, in the flowing water switching device of this invention, the cylindrical body is made of a synthetic resin material containing a thermochromic substance, and when the temperature of the thermochromic substance reaches a certain temperature, the whole or part of the cylindrical body Parts are starting to discolor. Therefore, when the temperature of the hot water to be measured reaches the above-mentioned constant temperature, a part of the flowing water switching device itself changes color, and the above-mentioned constant temperature can be determined from the color change. In addition, instead of attaching a sheet-like liquid crystal thermometer to the faucet or a sheet that changes color when the temperature reaches a certain temperature, the above device uses a thermochromic substance contained in the synthetic resin material that makes up the water switching device. Since it can be obtained by molding the temperature display sheet in advance, it does not have the problem of peeling of the temperature display sheet as in the prior art, has excellent durability, and is inexpensive. At the same time, the color change also makes it visually interesting.

The synthetic resin material that can constitute the cylindrical body of the above-mentioned flowing water switching device may be any material as long as it has the heat resistance, durability, etc. required for normal flowing water switching devices, such as PP (polypropylene) resin. ，
PE (polyethylene) resin etc. are used.

As the temperature-sensitive color-changing substance, it is possible to use a mixture mainly consisting of three components: an acid color-developing substance, an acidic substance, and a solvent.

Acid color developing substance develops color with the above acidic substance,
It exhibits a reversible phenomenon of discoloration or discoloration upon deoxidation, and 3,6-bisdiethylamino-o
-Carboxyphenylxanthenelactam, 3-
Examples include xanthene-based substances that develop a red to orange-red color, such as diethylamino-7,8-benzo-o-carboxyphenylxanthenelactam and 3-diethylamino-7-chloro-o-carboxyphenylxanthenelactam. It will be done. Also,
4,4-bisdimethylaminodiphenyl-o-carboxyphenylmethanelactam, 4,4-bisdiaminodiphenyl-o-carboxyphenylmethanelactam, 4,4-bisdimethylaminodiphenyl-p-dimethylamino- Examples include phthalide-based substances that develop a color from purple to blue, such as o-carboxyphenylmethanelactam. moreover,
Examples include those that exhibit a yellow color, such as 3,6-diethoxyfluoran. These can be used alone or in combination to obtain the desired color.

The acidic substance acts to develop the color of the above-mentioned acid color developing substance and to determine the depth of the color, and includes dibenzotriazole, 4-laurylaminosulfonylbenzotriazole, 5-butylbenzotriazole, 1,2 , triazoles such as dibutyl 3-triazoledicarboxylate, hydroxyl group-containing substances such as bis-p-hydroxyphenylmethane, methyl β-oxynaphthoate, and phenol formaldehyde, organic acids such as stearic acid, anthracenecarboxylic acid, and phytic acid. , toluidine anthranilate, ammonium stearate, 1(3)-
Salts such as acetylbenzotriazole and 1(3)-benzoylbenzotriazole, easily decomposable acid derivatives, and the like are used alone or in combination.

The solvent rapidly dissolves either the acid color developing substance or the acidic substance at a specific temperature, thereby inhibiting the binding of the two. Here, the above-mentioned specific temperature becomes the discoloration temperature, and the discoloration temperature can be freely adjusted by selecting the type of solvent. Typical examples of solvents include alcohols such as cetyl alcohol, dodecyl alcohol, oleyl alcohol, and octyl alcohol, acidamides such as stearylamide, acetoacetylanilide, and oleylamide, and esters such as stearic acid glyceride, lanolin, and diphenyl phthalate. , isophorone, decalin, naphthalene, petroleum, rapeseed oil, wood wax, paraffin wax, and other thermofusible solids can be used.

The temperature-sensitive color-changing substance is made by solid-dissolving the above three components consisting of the acid color developing substance, acidic substance, and solvent, or adding other additives in a non-thermoplastic resin and forming it into a granular body. This non-thermoplastic resin is coated with a film of
Polyurethane resin, epoxy resin, melamine resin, phenol resin, furan resin, diallyl phthalate resin, epoxy phthalate resin, etc. can be used. In addition, natural polymer compounds such as alginate, carrageenan, pectin, and chitosan salt, cationized starch, orboxymethylated starch, and carboxylated guar gum can be used as compounds to form a film that covers and protects the granular solid solution. Semi-synthetic polymer compounds such as polyvinyl alcohol,
Polyvinylpyrrolidone, polyacrylic acid amide, polymaleic acid copolymer, etc., and mixtures thereof are used. In addition, examples of the above-mentioned other additives include surfactants and fillers.

The cylindrical body of the flowing water switching device according to this invention is made of the synthetic resin material containing the thermochromic substance,
For example, it can be obtained as follows. That is, first, the thermochromic material is manufactured. This thing is
Considering the special characteristics of the flowing water switching device, it is manufactured as follows. First, add an acid developer to 0.5~
5 parts by weight (hereinafter abbreviated as "parts"), 0.5 to 5 parts of acidic substance, preferably 1 to 3 parts, and 10 parts of solvent.
~60 parts, preferably 20 to 50 parts, and further 5 to 40 parts, preferably 1 to 30 parts of a non-thermoplastic resin are mixed to form a solid solution of the above three components.
Next, this is poured into a solution in which 3 to 50 parts of the above-mentioned film-forming substance is dissolved, with stirring, and the oil droplets are converted into solid granules and thermochromic granules. The cylindrical body is made by mixing 5 to 50 parts, preferably 15 to 30 parts, of this thermochromic substance to 100 parts of the resin in the synthetic resin material, and molding this mixture by injection molding or the like. , A thermochromic substance is placed in advance in the shape of letters or figures in a mold corresponding to a predetermined location of the flowing water switching device, and in that state, a synthetic resin material is injected into the mold to form the mold. etc.

In this case, the cylindrical body can freely select the color that changes color by combining the types and compounding ratios of the three components used in the thermochromic substance,
Further, the temperature at which the color changes can be freely set within the range of -40 to 200°C. In addition, the cylindrical body is not colored only with the thermochromic substance, but
The ground color may be formed using conventionally known dyes or pigments, and the density or hue of the ground color may be changed using a thermochromic substance.

Next, this invention will be explained based on examples.

〔Example〕

Gelatin 10% by weight (hereinafter abbreviated as "%") at 85℃
For 100 parts of aqueous solution, 3 parts of 4,4-bisdimethylaminodiphenyl-P-dimethylamino-o-carboxyphenyl methanlactam, 2 parts of dibenzotriazole, and 35 parts of octyl alcohol.
10 parts of epoxy resin (Epicure #828, manufactured by Yuka Ciel Epoxy Co., Ltd.), 6 parts of epoxy resin curing agent (Epicure U, manufactured by Yuka Ciel Epoxy Co., Ltd.)
1 part and 2 parts of silicon dioxide (manufactured by Nippon Aerosil Co., Ltd., Aerosil) were mixed, and the mixture was filtered to obtain granules. Next, this was washed with water and air-dried to obtain 52 parts of granules. Next, this granular material
52 parts, 100 parts of 8% polyvinyl alcohol aqueous solution,
After uniformly mixing 10 parts of aluminum stearate fine powder and 15 parts of surfactant, 255 parts of a 10% aqueous solution of carboxymethyl cellulose, 28 parts of a 50% aqueous tannic acid solution, and salt were added to the mixture while stirring. 55 parts and 6 parts of borax were added. The resulting granules were diluted with saturated saline and filtered to obtain 75 to 85 parts of a granular thermochromic material (color change: colorless to dark blue). Next, this thermochromic substance
By mixing 20 parts of PP resin and 100 parts of PP resin and injection molding using a conventionally known method, the outer case 11 and water spout which constitute the cylindrical body of the water flow switching device 10 as shown in FIG. I got 12. The outer case 11 has a cylindrical shape with a bottom, and a hole 13 is provided in the center of the bottom, and small holes 14 for water sprinkling are bored at predetermined intervals in the other part of the bottom. The spout 12 has a cylindrical shape, and its upper end engaging portion is connected to the hole 13 of the outer case 11.
are rotatably engaged in the circumferential direction. A guide protrusion 12a is provided on the inner surface of the spout 12 so as to protrude toward the axial center, and a lever 15 for rotation is provided on the outer peripheral surface. 16 is a hollow conical flexible cover whose lower end opening edge is fitted into the opening edge of the upper end opening of the outer case 11;
A cylindrical engaging portion 18 that fits around the outer periphery of a faucet (not shown) is provided vertically from the inner periphery of the faucet. 19 is provided integrally with the water spout 12 and is connected to the outer case 1.
It is a substantially cylindrical valve seat body that stands up from the periphery of the hole 13 of No. 1, and the upper side is the engaging portion 18.
The cover 16 surrounds the lower side of the cover 16, and its upper edge is in contact with the inner surface of the cover 16. The lower inner surface of the valve seat body 19 is formed into an inclined surface with a slightly smaller diameter on the lower end side, and this small diameter portion 19a serves as a valve seat portion, whereas the valve body 20a of the valve body 20
are moving forward and backward. The lower side of the valve body 20 is formed in a valve stem portion, extends inside the spout 12 along the axis, and is provided with a linear guide groove 21 on its outer circumferential surface. And this guide groove 2
1 is engaged with a guide protrusion 12a of the spout 12. Therefore, when the spout 12 is rotated by rotating the lever 15, the valve body 20 moves up and down, and the valve body 20a opens and closes the valve seat 19a.

In this configuration, first, the running water switching device 1 is fitted by fitting the engaging portion 18 to the tip of the faucet.
Attach 0. Next, by operating the lever 15, as shown in FIG. 1, the valve body 20 is raised to open the valve seat 19a, and in this state hot water is discharged from the faucet. As a result, the hot water flowing from the faucet enters the valve seat body 19, passes between the valve seat portion 19a and the valve body 20a, and is discharged from the spout 12 as a bundle of hot water. At this time, the temperature of the hot water is 5
When the temperature is below ~15°C, the spout 12 exhibits a dark blue color, but when the temperature exceeds that temperature, the color gradually decreases and becomes almost colorless. Further, when the lever 15 is operated to lower the valve body 20 and close the opening of the valve seat body 19 as shown in FIG. 2, the hot water in the valve seat body 19 is pressurized and the cover is 16 is pushed upward, and enters into the space 22 between the outer case 11 and the outer peripheral surface of the valve seat body 19 through the gap 16a between the upper edge of the valve seat body 19 and the cover 16 that is created at that time, and then the small A shower of warm water is discharged from the hole 14. At this time, the temperature of the shower-like hot water should be 5 to 5.
When the temperature is below 15° C., the outer case 11 exhibits a dark blue color, but when the temperature rises above that temperature, the color gradually decreases and becomes almost colorless. In this way, the temperature of the hot water can be determined by the color of the spout 12 or the outer case 11.

By changing the blending ratio of the three components constituting the thermochromic substance, the color and temperature at which it changes color can be freely changed, and furthermore, general dyes can be used together with the thermochromic substance. This enables various applications, such as not only a change from colored to colorless or from colorless to colored, but also a change from colored to colored. As an example of such an application, for example, the marble molding method (a method in which a single molded product is molded by injecting different molding materials from multiple injection nozzles) is used to create temperature-sensitive color changes with different color change temperatures and colors. There is a method of injection molding the outer case 24 and water spout 25 of the water flow switching device 23 as shown in FIG. 3 using a plurality of molding materials containing a chemical substance. The outer case 24 and spout 25 manufactured by this method are
Each part 26, 27 made of a different molding material,
28, 26a, 27a, and 28a change color to different colors at different temperatures, and the flowing water switching device 2
The color of number 3 will show various changes. On this occasion,
Each of the above parts 26, 27, 28 and 26a, 27
If the color change temperatures of a and 28a are set at constant temperature intervals from a low temperature to a high temperature, the temperature state can be accurately known from the change in color. In addition, the double or triple injection molding method (a method in which one molded product is injection molded in two or three times to form a two- or three-layer laminate) is used. As shown in the cross-sectional view in Fig. 4, the outer cover and the center part 29 of the spout are made of a normal colored molding material, and the surface part 30 is made of a transparent molding material containing a thermochromic substance. By doing so, when the temperature reaches the color change temperature of the thermochromic substance, the surface portion 30 becomes colorless and transparent, and the color of the center portion 29 can also be made to stand out on the surface. In this case, if letters or patterns indicating the temperature are formed on the surface of the center portion 29, they will appear embossed. Also,
As shown in FIG. 5, the portions 31, 32, and 33 may be formed using different molding materials so as to change color to different colors at different temperatures.
In this case, in addition to manufacturing by the double injection molding method, each part 31, 32, 3
3 may be molded into a ring shape, and then connected by force fitting after molding.

In addition, in the above-mentioned flowing water switching device,
It is preferable to set the temperature at which discoloration occurs depending on the purpose of use. For example, when used in a bathroom shower, some discolor at 30 to 40 °C, some discolor at 41 to 44 °C, and some discolor at 45 °C or higher. The outer cover and spout of three types of water bottles are manufactured using a thermochromic substance, and the temperature is cold when there is no discoloration, slightly warm when discolored in one place, moderate temperature when discolored in two places, and warm when there is discoloration in two places.
If all parts change color, the temperature status such as hotness can be known. As a result, the temperature of the liquid can be accurately determined based on the color that changes color and the number of discolored areas.

In this manner, since the cylindrical body of this water switching device changes color, the temperature display portion does not peel off unlike the conventional device and has excellent durability. Also,
It can be manufactured by mixing a thermochromic substance into a synthetic resin material and molding it using a normal molding method, making it inexpensive.

[Effect of idea]

As described above, since the flowing water switching device of this invention contains a thermochromic substance, the entire or part of the cylindrical body of the flowing water switching device changes color when the temperature reaches a certain level. Therefore, the temperature of the fluid can be determined by its color change. In addition, it has excellent durability and is inexpensive. Furthermore, it has the advantage that the color change is interesting and satisfies the visual sense.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

Figures 1 and 2 are longitudinal sectional views showing one embodiment of this invention, Figure 3 is a perspective view of an applied example, Figures 4 and 5 are sectional views of another applied example, and Figure 6. is a front view of the vertical example. 10... Flowing water switching device, 11... External case,
12... Water spout, 14... Small hole, 18... Engaging portion.

Claims (1)

[Scope of Claim for Utility Model Registration] (1) A cylindrical body whose upper opening is fitted onto a faucet and which discharges hot water from the lower opening, and a cylindrical body which is provided in the cylindrical body and adjusts the discharge state of the hot water discharged from the lower opening. A flowing water switching device equipped with a restricting means, wherein at least a part of the cylindrical body is made of a synthetic resin material containing a temperature-sensitive color-changing substance mainly consisting of three components: an acid color developing substance, an acidic substance, and a solvent. A flowing water switching device comprising: (2) A mixture of the above temperature-sensitive color-changing substance mainly consisting of three components: an acid color developing substance, an acidic substance, and a solvent is dissolved in a non-thermoplastic resin to form a granule, and this is granulated into a hydrophilic polymer compound. The water flow switching device according to claim 1, which is coated with a utility model.