JPH0411219B2 - - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION (a) Field of Industrial Application The present invention relates to a bubble-generating bathtub capable of controlling a bubble jet.

(B) Conventional technology Conventionally, bathtubs that generate jet-like bubbles in the bathtub have already been disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. 59-135058, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 61-87558,
JP-A-57-173060, JP-A-58-103456, JP-A-57
-175360 etc. and is publicly known.

The basic principle of these bathtubs is that a hot water intake hole and a nozzle are provided in the bathtub, these are communicated through a water pipe, and a pump is inserted in the middle of the water pipe. It sucks in outside air and blows out bath water along with bubbles from a nozzle.

In bubble generating bathtubs based on these basic principles, the amount of bubble bath water and discharge pressure spouted from the nozzle into the bathtub are constant and continuous, so there are no changes.
It is monotonous, and on the contrary, if you continuously apply a jet of bubble bath with a high discharge pressure to the affected areas such as the back, shoulders, abdomen, etc., you will feel uncomfortable, and sometimes you will feel suffocated and even have difficulty breathing. There was a risk that it would have the opposite effect.

Therefore, as disclosed in the above-mentioned publication, a plurality of pumps are interposed in the middle of multiple branched water pipes, and the discharge pressure is varied by selectively controlling the number of drives of the pumps. It is possible to obtain changes in the pressure of the bubble bath water jet from the nozzle, or by interposing electromagnetic valves in each of the plurality of branched water pipes, and controlling the opening and closing of each valve to control the discharge pressure of the bubble group. There are devices that can change the discharge pressure by changing the discharge pressure, or by incorporating a discharge amount adjustment mechanism into the nozzle.

(C) Problems to be Solved by the Invention However, in the case where the jet flow form is changed by combining pump operation time control and electromagnetic valve flow rate control, the electromagnetic valve is used primarily. Since it is used to control the flow rate,
Sensitive to valve hysteresis.

Therefore, even if you operate the valve at a constant opening to always obtain a constant flow rate, you cannot actually obtain a water flow with a constant flow rate and flow pressure, and therefore bubbles are generated in the foamer. However, in the bathtub, the desired bubble jet pressure is not achieved, and the change in the bubble jet felt by the body is different from the initial change, so there is no reproducibility of the change in the bubble jet each time.

Furthermore, since the flow rate is controlled by a valve, the flow rate and flow pressure of the water flow are inversely proportional. For example, if the flow rate is reduced, the flow pressure will increase, and the control of the water flow to the foamer will depend on the flow rate. Bubble jet flow is performed in a state that is inversely proportional to the flow pressure.

Therefore, for example, if you want to control the bubble jet to alternate between a strong jet state and a weak jet state, even if you alternately change the size of the valve restriction, the flow rate will decrease when the flow pressure is high. The amount of bubbles taken in decreases as the flow rate decreases, and conversely, when operating a valve with low flow pressure and high flow rate, the amount of bubbles taken in decreases as the flow pressure decreases.
In the end, it is not possible to reliably control the amount of bubbles taken in only by operating the valve, and the only changes that can be felt by the body are changes caused by the flow pressure of the water flow.

Therefore, it is impossible to control the bubble jet with high accuracy and reproducibility, such as controlling the amount of bubbles in the bubble jet by changing the size of both water flow and water pressure at the same time, and variations in the changes are monotonous. requires a separate adjustment valve mechanism and multiple pumps to change the discharge pressure, volume, etc.
It is disadvantageous in terms of cost and wasteful in terms of power saving.Furthermore, if extra branches, pumps, valves, etc. are installed in the middle of the water pipe, pressure loss will gradually occur due to water scale, dirt, etc. that accumulate over time. This resulted in a disadvantage that the desired adjusted discharge pressure amount could not be obtained.

Furthermore, the outside air is taken in through an air supply pipe opening provided on the side wall of the bathtub body, which has the drawback of making it difficult to mix in sufficient air and making it difficult to efficiently create bubbles in the bathwater. Ta.

This invention eliminates the above-mentioned drawbacks, performs efficient bubble formation, is advantageous in terms of power saving, and has a large variation in the discharge change of bubble bath water. Therefore, it has more than just a health effect. First, it is an object of the present invention to provide a bubble-generating bathtub capable of controlling a jet of bubbles, allowing the user to enjoy the fun of playing while taking a bath.

(d) Means for Solving the Problems In the present invention, the bathtub body includes: a side wall of the bathtub body;
A jet nozzle and a hot water intake hole for circulating hot water are provided at the bottom of the bathtub body, and a water pipe communicates between the nozzle and the hot water intake hole, and a motor-driven pump is inserted in the middle of the water pipe. At the same time, by connecting an inverter to the motor, the bath water in the bathtub can be circulated through the water pipe.
An air intake passage whose one end is open to the atmosphere is connected, air is sucked in from the open end of the air intake passage, and jet-like bubbles are generated from the nozzle into the bathtub. It is an object of the present invention to provide a bubble-generating bathtub capable of controlling a bubble jet, which is structured so that the operation can be freely controlled so that a bubble jet with arbitrary changes can be ejected from a nozzle provided on the side wall of the bathtub body. It is something.

(E) Effect In this invention, the pump 6 driven by the motor 8 sucks the bath water in the bathtub body 1 through the hot water intake hole 12 at the bottom, circulates it, and draws air from the intake passage 5 midway through the circulation, and the bath water is sucked into the bathtub body 1 by the pump 6 driven by the motor 8. A jet of air bubbles is ejected from the nozzle on the side wall along with the bath water.

In particular, since the motor 8 is connected to the inverter 10, the motor 8 can be operated in any cycle, and the rotation speed of the pump 6 can be arbitrarily changed to allow the bath water to be circulated by the pump 6. or,
The amount and pressure of air, etc. taken in during the circulation are changed, and a discharge pressure that is arbitrarily changed can be obtained from the nozzle 3 on the side wall.

That is, the frequency is set in advance by the control device,
When the time settings are made, the inverter 10 converts the input frequency according to these setting programs, and the rotation speed of the motor 8 is controlled in proportion to the output frequency converted by the inverter 10. , the number of rotations of the pump 6 is controlled to change the amount and pressure of bubble bath water discharged from the nozzle 3 on the side wall.

(F) Effect According to the present invention, since the inverter is connected to the motor and the bubble jet is configured to be able to change arbitrarily, the number of revolutions of the motor increases in proportion to the output frequency produced by the inverter. Therefore, by programming the output frequency of the inverter to any type, the rotation speed of the motor can be easily controlled in any form, which is transmitted to the pump and from the nozzle. The amount and pressure of the bubbles to be discharged can be changed, and the bather has the effect of being able to obtain the bubble jet of his/her preference. The treatment effect can be further improved by adjusting the discharge pressure most suitable for the patient.

In addition, when circulating bath water from the hot water intake provided at the bottom to the nozzle provided on the side wall via the water pipe, air is sucked in through the intake passage provided in the middle of the circulation. Since the process is smooth and the bath water is bubbled sufficiently, it has the effect that any control of the jet form of the bubbles can be followed well and the changes in the bubbles can be enjoyed.

Furthermore, in addition to the therapeutic effect, by creating a jet of bubbles that changes depending on the bather's preference, the enjoyment of bubble bathing can be dramatically increased, creating a completely new form of playful bathing. have an effect.

In addition, since such a bubble bath inverter is used, it can be manufactured at a low cost, and it can be configured as simple as possible mechanically, and it is also electrically power saving, so it is economical and mechanical. This has the effect of providing a device that is useful in terms of aspects as well.

(G) Embodiments The embodiments of the present invention will be explained in detail based on the drawings.
FIG. 1 is an overall schematic explanatory diagram of the bubble-generating bathtub A of the present invention, in which a bather is placed on the side wall of the bathtub body 1 at exactly the waist level with his/her legs extended and his/her back rested against the side wall. A nozzle 3 is provided at the bottom plate, and a hot water intake hole 16 is provided at the required position on the bottom plate.
are provided, and a water pipe 7 is communicated between them.

That is, the water pipe 7 has one end connected to the hot water intake hole 16 and the other end connected to the nozzle 3 so that the bath water flows through the hot water intake hole 1.
6, passes through a water pipe 7, and is ejected from the nozzle 3, forming a circulation path.

A pump 6 driven by a motor 8 is interposed in the middle of the water pipe 7, and the pump 6 is driven by the electric drive of the motor 8, and the bath water in the bathtub body 1 is pumped through the hot water intake hole 16 and the nozzle. 3. It is configured to circulate through the water pipe 7.

4 is a valve, which is located in the middle of the water pipe 7, and the pump 6
The nozzle 3 is interposed between the nozzle 3 and the opening/closing degree of the nozzle 3 to be manually adjusted so that it can be used to adjust the amount of bath water circulated, etc.

Further, an air intake hole 5 is provided in the middle of the water pipe 7, so that air can be sucked in from the middle of the circulation of the bath water.

That is, in the structure shown in FIG. 1, the intake passage 5 is connected to the pump 6, and when the bath water is circulated by the rotational movement of the pump 6, the negative pressure generated by the flow rate of the bath water is utilized. Air is sucked in from the open end 5' by the injection function.

Note that the intake passage 5 is constituted by a pipe having an open end 5' that opens upward.

Therefore, the bath water in the bathtub body 1 is circulated through the water pipe 7 by driving the pump 6, and the bath water is spouted as a jet from the nozzle 3 provided on the side wall of the bathtub body 1. In particular, Since an intake passage 5 is formed in the part of the water pipe 7 in the middle of circulation, air is taken into the bath water in the water pipe 7 through the intake passage 5, and the bath water mixed with air bubbles is ejected from the nozzle 3 as a jet. be.

Further, the opening end 5' of the intake passage 5 is opened upward, thereby preventing the bath water circulating through the water pipe 7 from easily leaking from the intake passage 5.

In addition, as a means for taking in air, in addition to the case where air is taken into the water pipe 7 by the escape function of the bath water circulated by the operation of the pump 6, there is also a method of taking air directly into the water pipe 7 by the pump 6. There is a possibility that it may get mixed into the circulating bath water.

In such a circulating bubble bathtub, as shown in FIG.
is connected, and the motor 8 is configured to be operated as desired. With this configuration, the frequency conversion function of the inverter 10 is controlled according to a preset program, and the converted output frequency is controlled. The rotational speed of the motor 8 is controlled proportionally, and the rotational speed is transmitted to the pump 6, so that the discharge amount and discharge pressure of the bubble jet discharged from the nozzle 3 are changed by controlling the operation of the pump 6. be.

That is, in order to control the frequency conversion function of the inverter 10 according to a preset program, the inverter 10 in this embodiment is provided with a frequency setting device 12, a start/stop time setting device 13, and a holding time setting device 14. and.

Each setting device 12, 13, 14 will be explained in detail according to the graph of FIG. 2 showing the correlation between the ejection force of bubbles from the nozzle and time. FIG. 2 shows the bubble jet flow controlled by the inverter of the present invention. Various forms are illustrated by the correlation between bubble ejection force and time, and each of the setting devices 12, 13, and 14 described above will be explained in detail based on the graph of FIG. 2.

The frequency setter 12 controls the discharge forces e and f of the bubble jet.
In Fig. 2, the discharge force e is the discharge force under light load, that is, the weakest discharge force, and the discharge force t is the discharge force under overload, that is, the lowest discharge force. This shows a case of strong ejection force, and is a state in which such strong and weak ejection forces are applied alternately and periodically.

The maximum allowable value of the output frequency that determines the maximum allowable value of the discharge force t is within a range that does not reduce the life of the equipment, that is, the temperature rise of the motor 8, the proof stress of mechanical parts such as bearings, and the mechanical parts such as bearings and blades of the pump 6. proof strength,
Determine by considering factors such as pressure intensity of water pipes.

The start and stop time setter 13 sets the strong and weak discharge power e,
This is to set the fluctuation times b and d of f, and the second
In the figure, it is used to control the fluctuation time in the process of changing from weak ejection force e to strong ejection force f, or from ejection force f to weak ejection force e, and the shorter this time, the stronger and weaker ejection becomes. The repetition time is shortened and frequent strong and weak bubble jets can be obtained.

The holding time setting device 14 is used to set holding times a and c for the strong and weak ejection forces e and f, and by controlling the holding times a and c, the time between strong and weak ejection can be controlled.

In this way, by programming the combination of controls for each setter 12, 13, and 14, the second
As shown in the figure, strong bubble jets and weak bubble jets are alternately and periodically ejected from the nozzle 3, and on the other hand, the frequency setter 12
By changing the form of the ejection force, the strength itself becomes many types of bubble jets, for example, it is possible to change it to strong ejection, normal ejection, and weak ejection.Additionally, if you add time settings to this, By freely changing the intensity interval, it becomes possible to obtain a more varied bubble jet form.

In addition, 15 shows an AC commercial power supply, 9 is an AC reactor for noise reduction interposed between the motor 8 and the inverter 10, and 11 is an AC commercial power supply 15.
A zero-phase reactor for reducing radio noise is shown interposed between the inverter 10 and the inverter 10.

Figure 3 illustrates the state of the bubble jet in each state of a ₁ , b ₁ , c ₁ , and _{d 1} in Figure 2 and the effective bathing posture at that point. , b 1 is a weak discharge force e, indicating that the bather is relaxing and resting, and b ₁ is a strong discharge force f
Since the bubble jet from the nozzle 3 _gradually becomes stronger toward This shows a state in which a person is applying a powerful jet of air bubbles to pressure points on their shoulders or waist, and d ₁ is a state in which the air jet is gradually weakening toward a weak discharge force. This shows a person relaxing his shoulders as he slowly exhales.

In this way, by using the inverter 10, the bubble jet can be changed freely,
Therefore, it is possible to fully obtain the therapeutic effect of bubble ultrasonic waves, and also to create the fun of playing with the changes in the bubble jet.Furthermore, the power consumption required to obtain such an effect can be reduced. This will lead to as much power savings as possible.

In other words, from an economic point of view, the load of the device of the present invention has a square-law reduction torque characteristic;
This method of varying the discharge amount and discharge pressure of the bubble jet leads to significant power savings, as shown in the following equation.

E=y[1-{( ^31t1 _{+ 232t2} + _33t3 ) _/ ( _t1 + ^2t2 _{+ t3} )} _] ×100(%) Here, ^E : Compared to _continuous operation Power saving rate (%) ₁ : _Maximum output frequency/power frequency ₃ : Minimum output frequency/power frequency ₂ : ( ₁ + ₃ )/2 t1: Duration of maximum output frequency _t2 : Addition between maximum and minimum frequency Deceleration time t ₃ : Duration time of minimum output frequency y : Electrical efficiency

[Brief explanation of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic explanatory diagram of the bubble-generating bathtub of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a graph showing the relationship between the ejection force and time of the bubble jet in the bubble generating bathtub of the present invention. Third
The figure shows an example of how a bather can use the system in each state shown in FIG. 1...Bathtub body, 3...Nozzle, 5...Intake passage, 5'...Open end, 6...Pump, 7...Water pipe,
8... Motor, 10... Inverter, 12... Frequency setting device, 16... Hot water intake hole.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1 Install a jet nozzle 3 on the side wall of the bathtub body 1,
A hot water intake hole 16 for circulating hot water is provided at the bottom of the bathtub body 1, and a water pipe 7 communicates between the nozzle 3 and the hot water intake hole 16, and a pump 6 driven by a motor 8 is inserted in the middle of the water pipe. At the same time, by connecting an inverter 10 to the motor 8, the bath water in the bathtub can be circulated through the water pipe 7, and in the middle of the circulation, the intake passage 5, one end of which is open to the atmosphere, is communicated. The system is configured to suck air through the opening end 5' of the intake passage 5 and generate jet-like bubbles from the nozzle 3 in the bathtub, and by frequency conversion of the inverter 10, the motor 8 can be operated freely. A bubble-generating bathtub capable of controlling a bubble jet, which is configured such that a bubble jet having arbitrary changes can be ejected from a nozzle 3 provided on a side wall of a bathtub body 1.