JPH0357236Y2 - - Google Patents

Description

[Detailed Description of the Invention] [Industrial Application Field] The present invention relates to a steam sauna that creates a high humidity environment within a sauna booth.

[Prior Art] A conventional steam sauna of this type is shown in FIG. 9. That is, in the conventional steam sauna 91, the exhaust passage 3 is formed in the upper part of the sauna booth 92, and the steam supply pipe 94 is opened and arranged in the lower part. The steam supply pipe 94 is
Steam generated by heating the water stored in the water tank 95 with a heater 96 and boiling it is supplied to the room 97 . On the other hand, fresh air is forcibly blown through a fan 99 to an air supply pipe 98 disposed within the steam supply pipe 94 and is discharged near the outlet side of the steam supply pipe 94 . Then, by mixing the steam and fresh air and spouting it into the indoor room 99 of the sauna booth 92, the temperature of the steam is lowered and
This creates an atmosphere of appropriate temperature and high humidity. The reason for supplying fresh air is that if only the steam generated by boiling the stored water is spouted into the room 97, the room temperature 97 will become high and there is a risk of getting burned. The air-fuel mixture injected into the chamber 97 sequentially rises to the upper part of the chamber and is discharged from the exhaust passage 93 to the outside. During use, the air-fuel mixture is continuously ejected into the interior 97.

[Problem to be solved by the invention] As described above, in the conventional steam sauna 91, steam generated by boiling and fresh air are mixed and supplied, and this is exhausted from the exhaust passage 93. However, the heat capacity of the exhausted air-fuel mixture was lost, making it impossible to effectively utilize the heat capacity.
That is, there were disadvantages in that heat loss was large and the total amount of steam used increased. In addition, since the water stored in the water tank 95 is boiled (heated to 100°C) to generate steam, a large-capacity heater 96 of 3200 W or more is usually required just to boil the stored water. This has caused an increase in the size and cost of the equipment.

Furthermore, since the capacity of the heater 96 is large, there is a problem in that when the output increases, the voltage of the commercial power source temporarily drops significantly, causing flickering in other home appliances, televisions, and the like.

[Means for solving the problem] The steam sauna of the present invention includes a sauna booth;
an air flow path disposed outside the sauna booth, one end of which opens in a part of the sauna booth, and the other end of which opens in another part of the sauna booth; a blower device, provided in the air flow path, for blowing air from the one end side to the other end side of the air flow path; provided in the air flow path, heating the air flowing in the air flow path; a single electric heater; a power supply circuit that supplies power to the electric heater, and when increasing the current flowing to the electric heater, the current flowing through the electric heater is continuously increased gradually over time; a container for storing water; and an ultrasonic oscillator installed in the container for generating steam; A steam generating means installed in the air flow path is provided.

[Operation] In the steam sauna of the present invention, the ultrasonic oscillator is operated to vibrate the water stored in the water tank and generate mist-like water vapor. This atomized water vapor is ejected into the room as a mixed fluid of steam and hot air, and is circulated together with the air through the air flow path and the blower. The temperature of the circulating fluid with steam is usually between 38 and 45°C. Since this is a circulating steam sauna, the heat capacity of the circulating fluid does not directly escape to the outside, allowing for effective heat utilization.

In the present invention, when increasing the output of the electric heater for heating the air flowing through the air flow path, the applied current is gradually increased over time, so the voltage drop in the commercial power supply is significantly reduced. Flickering of lights, TVs, etc. is prevented.

[Embodiments] The present invention will be described below with reference to embodiments shown in the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a schematic vertical sectional view of a steam sauna 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention. This steam sauna 1 is provided with a seat section 8 in a sauna booth (hereinafter abbreviated as "booth") 2, so that a user can sit down and use the steam sauna 1. A suction port 18 is provided in the upper part of the booth 2, and the air in the booth interior 11 is introduced into a steam generator 37 through a duct 39, a blower 36, and a duct 41, and after being heated and humidified in this steam generator 37. , is blown out from the air outlet 19 into the booth interior 11 through the duct 62,
As a result, the booth interior 11 is configured to have a high temperature and high humidity atmosphere.

The steam generator 37 includes an ultrasonic oscillator 52 and an air heating heater 46 in a container 37A, and mixes water vapor generated by atomization of water W with air introduced into the container 37A from an inlet 44. At the same time, heating is performed by the heater 46.
The hot and humid air is blown out into the booth interior 11 from the outlet 19 through the duct 62.

In this steam sauna 1, when the switch for starting use is operated, the blower 36 and the heater 46 are first activated, and warm air circulates in the booth interior and through the ducts 39, 41, 62, etc.
The inner surfaces of 41 and 62 are heated. Thereafter, the ultrasonic oscillator 52 is activated and water vapor is generated.

Power is supplied to the heater 46 from a commercial power source (for example, 100 V AC) via an electric circuit box 70. A control circuit using a power transistor or the like in the electric circuit box 70 gradually increases the current flowing to the heater 46 continuously over time when the output of the heater 46 increases. Therefore, flickering in televisions, household lighting equipment, etc. is prevented.

Next, the configuration of the booth 2, the steam generator 37, etc. will be described in detail with reference to FIGS. 2 to 8.

Figure 2 is a front view of the booth, Figure 3 is a vertical sectional view showing the detailed configuration of booth 2 (cross-sectional view taken along line A-A' in Figure 2), Figure 4 is a perspective view of booth 2, and Figure 5 is a perspective view of booth 2. The figure is a sectional view taken along line C-C' in FIG. 2, and FIG. 6 is a perspective view of the vicinity of the bottom of the booth. 7 and 8 are configuration diagrams of the steam generator 37, with FIG. 7 being a sectional view in the longitudinal direction, and FIG. 8 being a sectional view taken along the line -- in FIG.

The bottom of the steam sauna 1 is the base plate 2A
The waterproof pan 4 is placed above the space 3 through the space 3.
is located. This waterproof pan 4 is made of FRP (glass fiber-reinforced synthetic resin), and the support portion 5 shown in FIG. 4 and the side skirt portion 6 shown in FIG. It is integrally molded together with the mounting portion 9 and the like. waterproof pan 4
A drainage trap 10 is provided on the floor portion 7 of the tank.

The inner panel 1 is placed on this side panel mounting portion 9.
2. A frame 13 and an outer panel 14 are erected.

As mainly shown in FIG. 3, the inner panel 12 is provided with a shelf 15 consisting of a concave portion projecting from the booth interior 11 toward the outside, and is configured to be able to place shampoo, conditioner, shaver, etc. . The FRP inner panel 12 has
Openings are provided for inhaling and blowing out gas in the booth chamber, and vent members 16 and 17 having slits are attached to the openings to form an inlet 18 and an outlet 19. Note that the vent member 17 is provided so that the blowing direction can be changed freely. The inner panel 12 has a thermostatic mixing valve 2 equipped with a connection fitting 21 at the base end of the shower hose 20, a hook 23 for the shower head 22, and a handle 24 for adjusting the water amount and temperature of the shower.
5. Temperature of the air blown into the booth interior 11;
Indoor operation panel 27 equipped with switches for controlling humidity and exhaust fan 26 shown in FIG.
is provided. A panel-shaped far-infrared heater 28 (FIG. 5) that irradiates far-infrared rays toward people inside the booth 11 is attached to the inner panel 12.

As shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, the FRP frame 13 rises from the four corners of the waterproof pan, and outer panels 1 are provided at three locations between the frames 13.
4 is removably attached, allowing inspection of internal piping, electrical wiring, etc. A door 30 is provided at the remaining location between the frames. A translucent glass 31 is attached to this door 30. An external operation panel 32 is provided adjacent to the door 30. This operation panel 32 includes main switches for electrical equipment in the sauna booth, switches for heating and humidifying, and lights 33 on the ceiling.
A switch for ON and OFF is provided.

A ceiling panel 35 is provided above the frame 13, and includes lighting 33 and a booth that illuminate the booth interior 11.
A fan 26 for exhausting air from the gas chamber 11 is installed. Further, a blower 36 is provided at the top of the booth 2 as a ventilation means. A steam generator 37 is installed below the seat portion 8 of the waterproof pan 4, as shown in an enlarged view in FIG. Blower 3
6 is connected to the inner panel 1 through the duct 39.
The discharge port 40 of the blower 36 is connected to the steam generator 37 via a flexible duct 41.

The structure of the steam generator 37 will now be described with reference to FIGS. 7 and 8.

Reference numerals 42 and 43 indicate an upper can body and a lower can body, and the flange portions 42a of these can bodies 42 and 43,
43a are overlapped and connected by bolts (not shown) to form a container 37A, in which water W is stored.

The upper can body 42 has an air inlet 44 and an air outlet 45 to which the duct 41 is connected, and is provided with a heater (sheathed heater in this embodiment) 46 as a heating means. Lower can body 43
A water supply pipe 47 is connected to the solenoid valve 48 via a solenoid valve 48, and a drain pipe 49 is connected to the solenoid valve 50 as a drainage means.
connected via.

The lower can body 43 is provided with an ultrasonic oscillator 52, a water temperature sensor 53, a float switch 54, and an overflow pipe 55.

Reference numeral 56 denotes a partition plate, which is provided substantially horizontally so as to partition the interior of the container 37A made up of the can bodies 42 and 43 into upper and lower sections. This partition plate 56
The air introduced from 4 is directly blown onto the water surface of the water W, thereby preventing the water surface from undulating. That is, if the water surface of the water W ripples excessively, the atomization effect of the water W by the ultrasonic oscillator 52 may be inhibited, and the amount of steam generated may decrease. Therefore, in this embodiment, the partition plate 56 is configured to prevent the airflow from the inlet 44 from being blown directly onto the water surface. The partition plate 56 is provided with an opening 57 above the ultrasonic oscillator 52 so that atomized water vapor can easily flow toward the discharge port 45 .

The partition plate 56 is configured to surround the lower portion of the heater 46 so that the radiant heat of the heater 46 is not absorbed by the water W. With this configuration, the radiant heat radiated downward from the heater 46 is absorbed or reflected by the partition plate 56,
It is used to heat the air flowing above the partition plate 56, improving heating efficiency.

A side plate 58 and a ceiling plate 59 are provided on the sides and above the heater 46 , and a gap is interposed between these side plates 58 and ceiling plate 59 and the upper can body 42 . These side plates 58 and ceiling plate 59 also absorb or reflect the radiant heat from the heater 46, thereby preventing the radiant heat from being transferred from the upper can body 42 to the outside, thereby improving heating efficiency. Further, if the partition plate 56 and the side plate 58 are provided as in this embodiment, the water vapor atomized from the water W passes through the opening 57 and is mixed with the circulating air flow in the zone downstream from the heater 46. . Therefore, water vapor does not come into direct contact with the heater 46,
This prevents water scale from adhering to the surface of the heater 46. As a result, the heat dissipation characteristics of the heater 46 are high over a long period of time. The ceiling plate 59 is fixed to the ceiling surface of the can body 42 with bolts (not shown), and the side plates 58 and the partition plate 56 are suspended from the ceiling plate 59.

Reference numeral 60 indicates a temperature sensor for the can body attached to the upper can body. Further, reference numeral 61 indicates a heater terminal.

As shown in the fourth and sixth figures, a flexible duct 62 is connected to the discharge port 45 of the upper can body 42,
The duct 62 is connected to an air outlet 19 provided in the inner panel 14 of the booth 2. Therefore,
In this embodiment, the ducts 39, 41, 62 and the steam generator 37 constitute a flow path for circulating the air in the booth interior 11.

As shown in FIG. 3, the inner panel 14 is provided with a fresh air port 63 for introducing fresh air from outside the booth 2 into the booth interior 11. A vent member 63a is provided in the fresh air port 63 so that the blowing direction can be changed freely.
In this embodiment, a is provided toward the vicinity of the face of the user sitting on the seat portion 8. As shown in FIG. 4, the fresh air port 63 is connected to a duct 64 and a damper device 65.
It is possible to communicate with the outside of the booth via. Further, as shown in FIG. 1, the exhaust fan 26 also communicates with the outside of the booth via a duct 66, a damper device 67, and a duct 68.

When the exhaust fan 26 is operated with the damper devices 65 and 67 open, the air is exhausted from the booth interior 11, and fresh air is introduced into the booth interior 11 from the fresh air port 63, causing the seat section 8 to be seated. Since fresh air is blown toward the face of the sauna user, it is possible to prevent hot flushes while using the sauna.

An electric circuit box 70 is installed below the waterproof pan 4 as shown in FIG.
A circuit for controlling electrical equipment of the steam sauna such as a far infrared heater 28, a blower 36, an ultrasonic oscillator 52, and a heater 46 based on signals from the box 62 is built into the box 62. Note that this circuit is also provided with a circuit that gradually increases the current flowing to the heater 46 when the output of the heater 46 increases. In this embodiment, the applied current is increased stepwise as shown in FIG. 10, and the current is increased by b amperes every predetermined a second. Note that the numerical values of a and b may be appropriately selected in consideration of the heater capacity and the like.

A panel 71 is detachably attached to the side surface of the waterproof pan 4.

In the steam sauna configured in this way, a user opens the door 30 to enter and exit. According to the normal usage method, before entering the booth room 11, the heating/humidifying switch provided on the external operation panel 32 is pressed. As a result, the blower 36, heater 46, and ultrasonic oscillator 52 are activated, and the booth interior 11 becomes warm and sufficiently humid. After this, I went inside the booth to warm up and take a shower.

When the heater 46 starts operating or increases its output during operation, the current supplied to the heater 46 is gradually increased over time as shown in FIG. 10, so that there is no voltage drop in the commercial power supply. There is no or very small amount of light, which prevents flickering on TVs, lights, etc.

In the booth room 11, the user operates the blower 36 by operating the switch on the indoor operation panel 27.
The rotation of the airflow outlet 19 can be controlled to adjust the flow rate of the airflow blown out from the air outlet 19. Further, by operating a switch on the operation panel 27, the output of the air heating heater 46 can be controlled to adjust the temperature of the blown air stream, and the output of the ultrasonic oscillator 52 can be controlled to adjust the air stream humidity. Similarly, the output of the far-infrared heater 28 can be adjusted and the exhaust fan 26 can be turned on and off. Note that output adjustment also includes turning off the device.
In this steam sauna, while staying in the booth room 11, the temperature and humidity inside the booth can be controlled by the far infrared heater 2.
8 operations, allowing booth users to create the most comfortable environment.

In the above embodiment, the current supplied to the heater 46 is increased stepwise.
It may be increased continuously as shown in the figure. Also,
The current supplied to the far-infrared heater 28 may also be gradually increased.

Note that the far-infrared heater 28 allows a sufficiently comfortable steam sauna to be used even without the use of the far-infrared heater 28. Furthermore, by operating the blower 36 and heater 46 without operating the ultrasonic oscillator 52,
It can also be used as a hot air sauna. Further, the electric circuit box 70 may be installed on the upper surface of the ceiling of the booth 2. In this way, the upper surface of the ceiling has good ventilation, so the electric circuit box 70
It can promote heat dissipation from.

[Effects] With the present invention, steam to make the room humid can be obtained using an ultrasonic device, and there is no need to heat the stored water to 100°C and boil it as in the past. Therefore, the heating source only needs to be of a small capacity to heat indoor air to an appropriate temperature, and it is possible to significantly reduce the thermal energy used compared to the conventional case. In addition, the circulating fluid, which is a mixture of steam and hot air, repeatedly circulates in a closed flow path, so the thermal energy of the circulating fluid does not directly escape to the outside as in the past, which improves thermal efficiency. Are better.

In addition, in the steam sauna of the present invention, when increasing the output of the electric heater for heating the air flowing through the air flow path, the current applied to the electric heater is gradually and continuously applied over time. This prevents flickering in televisions, lighting, etc.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a vertical cross-sectional view of a sauna booth schematically showing the entire steam sauna according to an embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a front view of the sauna booth according to the embodiment, and FIG. 3 is A of FIG. -A' line sectional view, Figure 4 is a perspective view showing the assembled state of the steam sauna, Figure 5
The figures are a sectional view taken along line C-C' in FIG. 2, FIG. 6 is a perspective view of the bottom of the steam sauna, and FIGS. 7 and 8 are sectional views of the steam generator. FIG. 9 is a sectional view showing a conventional example. FIGS. 10 and 11 are diagrams showing patterns of current applied to the heater. 1...Steam sauna, 2...Booth, 11...
...booth interior, 18...inlet, 19...outlet, 26...exhaust fan, 37...steam generator,
37A...Container, 39,41,62...Duct,
46... Heater, 47... Water supply pipe, 48, 50...
... Solenoid valve, 49 ... Drain pipe, 55 ... Overfloat pipe, 56 ... Partition plate, 65, 67 ... Damper device.

Claims (1)

[Scope of Claim for Utility Model Registration] A sauna booth; located outside the sauna booth, one end of which is open in a part of the sauna booth;
an air flow path whose other end side is open in another part of the sauna booth; provided in the air flow path to flow air from the one end side to the other end side of the air flow path; a single electric heater provided in the air flow path for heating the air flowing in the air flow path; a power supply circuit for supplying power to the electric heater; a power supply circuit that continuously and gradually increases the current supplied to the electric heater over time; a container for storing water; and a container provided in the container for generating steam; Equipped with an ultrasonic oscillator,
A steam sauna comprising: a steam generating means installed in the air flow path so that the generated steam is mixed with the air flowing through the air flow path.