JPH0363333A - Foam spout - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To enable spouting of foams and to prevent the occurrence of defective spouting due to adhesion of a foreign matter by a method wherein flowing water forms a water film in a way that it is helically swirled at a high speed in a swirl chamber and is caused to flow to a foaming chamber having a number of air intake holes. CONSTITUTION:A water spout is formed with a discharge head 1, a flow straightening cap 2 having a flow straightening plate 2b, a partition wall 3 having a discharge port 3a, a swirl chamber 4 partitioned into outer and inner swirl chambers 7 and 8, a foaming chamber 5 having air holes 5a, and an annular wall 6. Inflow water produces a vortexform swirl flow in the swirl chamber 4, and is fed in a conical water filmform state through the discharge port 3a to the foaming chamber 5. Further, the foaming chamber 5 is opened to the open air through the air holes 5a, air therearound is sucked by the pressure reducing effect of inflow water and is mixed in water. In this way, water can be drained as foamed spouting water.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [Field of Industrial Application] The present invention relates to a foam spout that is attached to the tip of a faucet spout, shower head, etc., and is used to foam supplied water.

[Conventional technology]

BACKGROUND ART Faucets equipped with a foam spout have been used in the past to reduce the sound of water falling into a sink or the like, and to eliminate splashing. The most commonly used one is, for example, the one described in Japanese Patent Publication No. 31621/1983.

FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional view schematically showing the one described in 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. There is an air hole 5 in the peripheral wall of the water discharge cap 510 downstream of this pressure reducing plate 52 to introduce outside air into the water supply.
3, and a plurality of rectifying nets 54 for rectifying the flow are arranged at the outlet.

In such a foam spout, when the water supplied from the spout 50 passes through the small holes 52a of the pressure reducing plate 52, the flow speed is increased. For this reason, the water discharge cap 5 on the downstream side of the pressure reducing plate 52
1 is reduced in pressure, outside air is sucked in through the air port 53, and this air mixes into the water supply, thereby turning the flow into foam. Furthermore, since the mesh of the straightening net 54 is fine, the supplied water is vigorously agitated even when it collides with the straightening net 54 and flows away, so that foaming is further promoted.

[Problem to be solved by the invention]

However, since the water supplied from the spout 50 passes through the small holes 52 of the pressure reducing plate 52, the pressure loss of the flow is quite large.

For this reason, an appropriate water discharge pressure cannot be obtained unless the valve opening of the faucet is set above a certain level, and if the flow rate is reduced, it becomes inconvenient to use and cannot produce sufficient foam.

Furthermore, since the pressure reducing plate 52 and the rectifying net 54 are provided in two stages, rescale clogged with foreign matter in the water supply is likely to adhere. For this reason, the flow path area becomes small, resulting in an insufficient amount of water to be discharged, and in particular, if the small holes 52a of the pressure reducing plate 52 are closed, appropriate foaming cannot be achieved.

In this way, the conventional foam spout uses a pressure reducing plate to increase the speed of the water supply, and based on this, reduces the pressure in the internal flow path to suck in outside air, so there are problems such as pressure loss of the water supply and blockage of the flow path. problem was unavoidable.

Further, in the case of foaming water spouted from the water spouting knob 51 provided at the tip of the spout 50, the size of the water spouted water is determined by the water spouting cap 51. For this reason, if the water spouting cap 51 has the same diameter as the spout 50, the spread will be the same as when the supplied water is directly spouted before foaming. On the other hand, since the foam water discharge softens the water supply, it can be suitably used for showers, etc. However, if the water spouting range is small, it may be suitable for a faucet, but the water spouting range is too small for a shower.

For this reason, the water discharge cap 51 may be made larger, but the pressure loss also increases accordingly, resulting in the same problem as described above.

Therefore, the present invention aims to ensure a flow rate without causing pressure loss or clogging with foreign objects, and to always obtain appropriate foaming, and to expand the range of water spout so that it can be used appropriately for showers, etc. The purpose is to

[Means to solve the problem]

In order to achieve the above object, the foam spout of the present invention includes a swirling flow chamber that communicates with a water supply source and swirls the flow, and a discharge port that is opened approximately in the center of the swirling flow chamber. The foaming chamber is characterized in that the foaming chamber is capable of discharging foamy water by sucking air from the outside by the inflow of water from the discharge port.

[Effect]

The water flowing into the swirling flow chamber becomes a swirling swirling flow, and an outward centrifugal force acts on the flow itself. and,
The flow at the outlet opening in the center of the swirling flow chamber also has a spiral shape, so the water flowing out from the outlet is blown outward by centrifugal force, forming a conical water film from the outlet and forming bubbles. into the chemical chamber. As a result, the water flowing into the foaming chamber is already in a state where it is easy to scatter, and if the foaming chamber is opened to the atmosphere through an air hole, air will be sucked in by the depressurizing effect of the water flowing in at high speed from the discharge port. .

Then, this sucked air flows in and is quickly mixed into the water film-like water supply, and is discharged as foamy water.

In this way, without using a pressure reducing plate with many small holes, by swirling the supplied water to make it more likely to scatter, and then mixing in air, foamy water can be obtained, resulting in foaming with reduced pressure loss. It becomes possible.

Moreover, since the water from the swirling flow chamber spreads into a conical shape due to centrifugal force, if the water is spouted in this spread state, the final water spouting area will also be expanded.

〔Example〕

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

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

In the figure, a water discharging head 1 for foaming is attached to the tip of a spout 50. The water discharging head 1 is a second
As shown in the figure, it has a circular cross section, and a connecting tube 1a to a spout 50 protrudes in the radial direction from the upper end.

A streamline extending substantially horizontally from the connecting tube 1a curves downward from the center of the water discharging head 1 at a right angle, forming an internal flow path through which water is discharged from the rectifying cap 2 provided at the lower end.

The inside of the water discharging head l is divided into upper and lower parts by a partition wall 3,
The upper part of this partition wall 3 is a swirling flow chamber 4, and the lower part is a foaming chamber 5. The swirling flow chamber 4 is divided into an outer swirling flow chamber 7 and an inner swirling flow chamber 8 by an annular wall 6 that connects the partition wall 3 and the inner wall at the upper end of the water discharging head 1 . The outer swirling flow chamber 7 communicates with the connecting tube 1a, and the inner swirling flow chamber 8 communicates with the foaming chamber 5 through a discharge port 3a formed in the partition wall 3. The partition wall 3 and the annular wall 6 are integrally molded, and the assembly structure is such that the partition wall 3 and the annular wall 6 are fixed in the water discharging head 1.

The annular wall 6 is arranged coaxially with the flow path cross section of the water discharging head 1, and has holes 6a at 411 locations as shown in FIG. These holes 6a form an internal swirling flow chamber 8 inside the annular shape 9!6.
The position is such that the streamlines are in the tangential direction with respect to the cross section. On the other hand, the outlet 3a open to the bottom of the inner swirling flow chamber 8 is located at the center of the inner swirling flow chamber 8, and its inner diameter is much smaller than the inner diameter of the inner swirling flow chamber 8.

Furthermore, an air hole 5a is opened in the peripheral wall of the foaming chamber 5, through which air is sucked to foam the supplied water. The inside of the foaming chamber 5 has a height and an inner diameter such that the supplied water spouted from the discharge port 3a can be sufficiently foamed by the air from the air hole 5a.

The rectifying cap 2 is attached to the lower end of the water spouting head by screws 2a, and a
There are 19. The rectifying cap 2 includes a rectifying plate 2b for quickly discharging foamy water.

Here, when water is sent from the spout 50, it flows from the outer swirling flow chamber 7 into an annular shape! ! Water flows into the internal swirling flow chamber 8 through the holes 6& of 6. At this time, since the axis of the hole 6a is oriented in the tangential direction with respect to the inner swirling flow chamber 8 having a circular cross section, water forms a swirling flow within the inner swirling flow chamber 8. That is, as shown in FIG. 3, water flows from the outer periphery of the inner swirling flow chamber 8 along the inner wall, and the water from the four holes 5a' joins to form a vortex while flowing into the inner swirling flow chamber 8. Start turning inside. At this time, hole 6a
If the entire flow path area is larger than that of the discharge port 3a, water will remain in the internal swirling flow chamber 8, and the internal pressure will increase somewhat. Therefore, the inner swirling flow chamber 8
Inside, the flow energy of the water itself increases, and centrifugal force acts due to the swirling flow. Therefore, the water flowing down from the discharge port 3a spreads outward under the influence of centrifugal force, and is discharged as a conical water film F as shown by the broken line in the figure.

In other words, the water does not flow down from the discharge port 3a as a cylindrical channel cross section, but is blown away in the radial direction by the action of the centrifugal force of the water itself, and this becomes a continuous flow to form a conical water film F. The thickness of the water film F becomes thinner as it moves away from the discharge port 3a, and it impinges on the lower end 12!9 of the foaming chamber 5.

On the other hand, the discharge port 3a is located approximately at the center of the foaming chamber 5, and since water with centrifugal force flows out at a high flow rate, the internal pressure in the space outside the conical water film F decreases. For this reason,
Air is sucked in through the air holes 5a, and the air is mixed with the water that hits the net 9 and breaks up, thereby turning the supplied water into foam.

The water that has become foamy as above is rectified while passing through the rectifying plate 2b of the rectifying cap 2, and is then flowed into the water discharging head 1.
is discharged from.

FIG. 4 is a sectional view of a main part showing another example of the structure of the discharge port 3a for forming a conical water film.

In the figure, the discharge port 3a has a cylindrical discharge cylinder 1 facing downward.
0 is formed, and a guide 11 is attached to the inner periphery of the lower end. The inner periphery of the lower end of the discharge tube 10 is formed as an inclined part ioa having a double-bedded cross section, and the guide 11 is provided with a tapered surface 11a along this inclined part tOa. and,
The gap between the slope 110a and the tapered surface 11a has a double-bedded truncated conical cross section, and water is discharged into the foaming chamber 5 as a conical water film due to this cross-sectional shape.

Such a structure of the outlet 3a can be adopted instead of that shown in FIG. In this case, in addition to the centrifugal force applied to the flow in the swirling flow chamber 4, the guide 11 guides the streamlines of the water in a shape that spreads toward the end, so that the water film F is stably formed. Further, even if the structure is such that water is directly fed without the swirling flow chamber 4, the water film F can be formed because the effect of expanding the streamlines of the water remains the same.

Furthermore, FIG. 5 shows that instead of forming a water film, a foaming chamber 5
The structure is such that the water is violently merged inside the tank to disperse °C.

In the figure, a discharge tube 12 is formed below the discharge port 3a as in the case of FIG. 4, and a plurality of holes 12 are provided at the lower end thereof.
A is opened so that all of the openings are oriented toward the axis of the discharge port 3a. Water from the discharge port 3a is discharged in the axial direction of the hole 12a, and flows so as to merge on the axis of the discharge port 3. Therefore, after merging, the water scatters in the foaming chamber 5 as shown by the broken line in the figure, and it becomes easier to foam when it hits the lower net 9 or the inner wall of the foaming chamber 5. .

FIG. 6 shows an example of a structure that allows water to be scattered within the foaming chamber 5 with a small pressure loss. this is,
In contrast to the structure shown in Fig. 1, a top plate 6b is provided at the upper end of the annular J6, an inner swirling flow chamber 8 is formed as a room separate from the outer cylinder circulation chamber 7, and a hole 6C is bored in the top plate 6b. The points are different.

Water flows into the internal swirling flow chamber 8 through the holes 5a and 5c, and at this time, the water from the hole 6a in the Kunjennyar direction forms a swirling flow. Since water also flows in from the hole 6C of the top plate 6b, a flow that tries to push it out toward the discharge port 3a against the centrifugal force is also generated. For this reason, in the structure shown in Fig. 1, the water from the outlet 3a was released as a water film, but the water flux is now torn off by the pushing force of the water from the hole 6C, as indicated by the broken line. As shown, the water is discharged from the discharge port 3a as scattered water. Further, as shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, the water flow path is not greatly constricted, and the pressure loss is reduced compared to these examples.

As described above, the water film F as shown in FIGS. 1 and 3 or the scattered water as shown in FIGS. 4 to 6 is sent into the foaming chamber 5 from the discharge port 3a. In addition, since the flow velocity increases in either case, the air hole 5a
Air is also quickly sucked out. Therefore, i
Air is mixed into the water that collides with the inner wall of the foaming chamber 9 or the foaming chamber 5, and a good foamy water discharge is obtained.

Furthermore, since the water discharged from the swirling flow chamber 4 spreads in a conical shape, the range of water discharged into the foaming chamber 5 also increases. Therefore, by increasing the diameter of the foaming chamber 5, the range of water that can be finally spouted can be expanded even if the spout 50 is small.

Therefore, even if the maximum flow rate from the spout 50 is determined, water can be spouted more slowly over a larger water spouting range than in the conventional example. As a result, in addition to softening the water supply by turning it into foam, it is now possible to discharge water with a large diameter.
It can also be suitably used for showers and other purposes.

In addition to the embodiments, various structures for swirling the flow in the swirling flow chamber 4 and foaming the flow in the foaming chamber 5 are conceivable.

For example, instead of the annular wall 6 provided in the swirling flow chamber 4, it is possible to form what corresponds to the annular wall 6 by a large number of rows of blades, and use the flow path between the guiding blades as the hole 6a, or
For example, a slit is provided in the slit and used as a flow path. In any of these, in order to transform the water supply flowing into the swirling flow chamber 4 into a whirlpool, the basic configuration is to use blades or slits in the tangential direction to feed the water in the direction of swirling. In addition, instead of the air hole 5a provided in the foaming chamber 5, an air cylinder may be raised upward from the center of the rectifying cap 2 and the upper end thereof may be used as an air suction part, or conversely, a swirling flow may be caused from the upper end of the water discharging head l. An air cylinder may be provided so as to pass through the discharge port 3 through the chamber, and air may be fed from the lower end of the air cylinder.

〔Effect of the invention〕

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

Furthermore, the centrifugal force generated by the swirling flow in the swirling flow chamber can spread the discharged water in a conical shape, and the range of the discharged water turned into foam in the foaming chamber can be expanded. Therefore, in addition to softening by foaming, water can be spouted slowly, making it suitable for use in showers, etc.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

Fig. 1 is a vertical cross-sectional view of essential parts of a foam spout showing an embodiment of the present invention, Fig. 2 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line I-1 in Fig. 1, and Fig. 3 (
a) is a vertical cross-sectional view showing the generation of swirling flow inside the annular wall;
FIG. 3(b) is a cross-sectional view, FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view of an example of forming a water belly using a guide, FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view of an example of merging water to create splash water, and FIG. The figure is a cross-sectional view of an example in which an annular wall is used to suppress splashed water, and FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional view of a conventional foam spout. 1: Water discharge head 1a: Connection cylinder 2: Rectifying cap 2a: Screw 2b: Rectifying plate 3: Partition wall 3a: Discharge port 4: Swirling flow chamber 5: Foaming chamber 5a: Air hole 6: Annular wall 6a: Hole 6b: Ceiling Plate 6c: Hole 7: Outer cylinder recirculation chamber 8: Inner cylinder recirculation chamber 9: Net 10: Discharge cylinder ll; Guide 12: Discharge cylinder 10a: Inclined part 11a: Taber surface 12a: Hole

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A swirling flow chamber that communicates with a water supply source and swirls the flow, and a foaming chamber that communicates with the swirling flow chamber through a discharge port opened approximately in the center of the swirling flow chamber, the foaming chamber comprising: A foam spout, characterized in that air is sucked in from the outside by the inflow of water from the discharge port, and foam water can be spouted.