JPH0679684B2 - Foam spout - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [Industrial field of use] The present invention relates to a water discharge mechanism attached to the tip of a spout of a faucet, a shower head or the like and capable of discharging foam water containing air, and a foaming mechanism using the same. It relates to a foam spout that allows water to be obtained.

[Conventional technology]

BACKGROUND ART A faucet provided with a foam spouting port has been conventionally used in order to reduce the sound of water supply and the sound of falling to a sink or the like and to prevent splashing of water. The most commonly used one is, for example, one described in Japanese Patent Publication No. 63-31621.

FIG. 8 is a cross-sectional view showing the outline of another general foam spouting outlet described in this publication. In the figure, a pressure reducing plate 52 having a large number of small holes 52a is housed in a water discharge head 51 fixed to the tip of a spout 50 of a faucet. And
An air hole 53 for taking in outside air into the water supply is formed in the peripheral wall of the water discharge head 51 downstream of the pressure reducing plate 52, and a plurality of rectifying nets 54 for rectifying the flow are arranged at the outlet.

In such a foam spout, the flow speed is increased when the water supply from the spout 50 passes through the small hole 52a of the pressure reducing plate 52.
Therefore, the inside of the water discharge head 51 on the downstream side of the pressure reducing plate 52 is depressurized, the outside air is sucked from the air port 53, and the flow is foamed by mixing this air into the water supply. Further, since the mesh of the rectifying net 54 is fine, the water supply is vigorously agitated even when the water supply hits against the water flow and flows away, further promoting foam formation.

[Problems to be Solved by the Invention]

However, the water supplied from the spout 50 is supplied through the small hole 52a of the pressure reducing plate 52.
Since it passes through (inner diameter of about 1 mm), the pressure loss of the flow becomes considerably large. Therefore, unless the valve opening of the faucet is set to a certain value or more, an appropriate water discharge pressure cannot be obtained. Further, when the flow rate is reduced, water is not foamed or has no foamy feeling, resulting in poor usability. Furthermore,
Since the pressure reducing plate 52 and the flow straightening net 54 are provided in two stages, foreign matter in the water supply is easily clogged and scale is likely to adhere. For this reason, if the flow passage area becomes small and the amount of water discharge becomes insufficient, or if the small holes 52a of the pressure reducing plate 52 are closed, proper foaming cannot be performed.

As described above, the conventional foam spout uses the speedup of the water supply using the pressure reducing plate and the suction of the outside air due to the depressurization of the internal flow path based on this, so that the pressure loss of the water supply is large and In addition to obstacles such as blockage, there was a problem that it could not be used properly at low flow rates.

Therefore, it is an object of the present invention to replace the conventional foaming with a small pressure loss and to prevent scale adhesion and to always obtain appropriate foamed water.

[Means for Solving the Problems]

The foam water discharge port of the present invention forms a substantially annular upstream side chamber inside the water discharge head and a downstream side chamber defined by forming a partition wall between the upstream side chamber and the upstream side chamber, and the foamed water discharge port is discharged to approximately the center of the bottom of the downstream side chamber. An outlet is opened, and a plurality of holes having a flow path axis for swirling the water supply inside the downstream chamber are arranged in the partition wall at different height positions, and one end communicates with the discharge port and the other end It is characterized in that a foaming chamber serving as a water discharge end is provided, and the foaming chamber is provided with an air flow path for sucking air toward the discharge port.

[Action]

The water supplied to the water discharge head flows into the upstream chamber, and then flows into the downstream chamber from the hole formed in the partition wall. At this time, by appropriately adjusting the posture of the holes, the flow in the downstream chamber becomes a swirling swirl flow, and an outward centrifugal force acts on the flow itself. Then, since the flow at the discharge port opened in the center of the downstream chamber becomes a spiral, the water flowing out from the discharge port is blown out by the centrifugal force to the outside, and is discharged as a conical water film from the discharge port. It At this time, since the plurality of holes formed in the partition wall have different height positions from each other, the interference between the water sent from each hole to the downstream chamber is suppressed, and the turning force is increased.

Further, when the foaming chamber is integrally provided, the water from the discharge port becomes a conical water film and is sent to the foaming chamber. Since the air passage is provided in the foaming chamber toward the outlet, the air is sucked from the air passage due to the depressurizing effect of the water flowing at a high speed from the outlet. Then, the sucked air is promptly mixed into the water film-shaped water supply that is flowing in, and is discharged as foam water discharge.

As described above, without using a pressure reducing plate having a large number of small holes, by supplying air after swirling the water supply to make it easily scattered, foam spouting can be obtained, and foaming with reduced pressure loss can be achieved. It will be possible.

〔Example〕

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

In the figure, a water discharge head 1 for foaming is attached to the tip of a spout 50. The water spouting head 1 has a circular cross section, and a streamline extending from the spout 50 in a substantially horizontal direction is bent at a right angle downward from the center of the water spouting head 1 to form an internal flow path discharged from a water spray plate 2 provided at the lower end. Has been done.

The interior of the water discharge head 1 is divided into upper and lower parts by a partition wall 3, and an upper part of the partition wall 3 is a swirling flow chamber 4 and a lower part thereof is a foaming chamber 5. The swirl flow chamber 4 is partitioned into an upstream chamber 7 and a downstream chamber 8 by an annular partition wall 6 that connects the partition wall 3 and the inner wall of the upper end of the water discharge head 1. The upstream chamber 7 has an annular flow path, and the downstream chamber 8 communicates with the foaming chamber 5 through a discharge port 3a opened in the partition wall 3. The partition wall 3 and the ring-shaped partition wall 6 are integrally molded and fixed in the water discharge head 1.

The partition wall 6 is arranged coaxially with the flow passage cross section of the water discharge head 1, and
As shown in the figure, holes 6a, 6b, 6c are opened at three locations. Details of these holes 6a to 6c are shown in FIG. 3 and FIG.

As shown in FIG. 3 (b), the holes 6a to 6c formed in the partition wall 6 are in such a posture that the flow path axis is in the tangential direction with respect to the cross section of the internal downstream chamber 8. On the other hand, the downstream chamber 8
The discharge port 3a which is open to the bottom is located at the center of the downstream chamber 8 and has an inner diameter much smaller than that of the downstream chamber 8. For example, when the inner diameter of the downstream chamber 8 is 18 mm, the inner diameter of the discharge port 3a is about 8 mm, and the inner diameter of the holes 6a to 6c is 5 mm.
The thickness of the partition wall 6 is about 3 mm. As shown in FIG. 3 (b), the flow axis of each of the holes 6a to 6c is parallel to the tangent line to the inner peripheral wall of the downstream chamber 8, and even if the partition wall 6 has a wall thickness of about 3 mm, The length of the continuous flow path is sufficiently large so that the supplied water can be fed to the downstream chamber 8 while giving directionality.

Further, the holes 6a to 6c have different heights from the bottom of the downstream chamber 8 as shown in FIG. That is, the hole 6a closest to the inflow side has the lowest height, and the holes 6b and 6c arranged in the clockwise direction in FIG. Incidentally, it is not essential to lower the height from the inflow side hole 6a to the hole 6c in this order,
Anyway, the levels of the holes 6a to 6c should be different from each other. When the heights of the holes 6a to 6c are made different in this way, the respective holes 6a
The water flowing into the downstream chamber 8 from 6 to 6c is less likely to interfere with each other, and the water from the holes 6a to 6c can maintain the swirling flow along the inner peripheral wall of the downstream chamber 8. In other words, if holes 6a-6c have the same height,
The flow from 6a to 6c is disturbed by the inflow of water from other holes, and the forces of the swirling flows are weakened. On the other hand, if the water inflow position is divided into the upper and lower positions, the water from the holes 6a to 6c can flow almost once along the inner peripheral wall of the downstream side chamber 8, and the three upper and lower stages are formed. The swirling flow in the downstream chamber 8 can be strengthened by such a flow.

Further, as shown in FIG. 2, a weir 7a may be provided in the upstream chamber 7 so that water flows only in the clockwise direction in the figure.
The flow energy of the water supply decreases as it goes to the weir 7a. To compensate for this, the opening areas of the holes 6a to 6c are reduced in this order to accelerate the water flowing into the downstream chamber 8. To do so. By such a flow of water, a swirl flow having a strong swirling force can be generated in the downstream side chamber 8 as compared with a case where the upstream side chamber 7 is divided and supplied in two directions.

In FIG. 1, the positions of the holes 6a to 6c are shown as being different from the actual positions for the sake of explanation. Also, the second
Although the holes 6a to 6c are all shown as openings in the figure,
Actually, the heights of the holes 6a to 6c are different as shown in FIG.

On the other hand, the water sprinkling plate 2 is provided with an air suction structure for rectifying and discharging the foam water and foaming the foam water, and FIG. 5 (a) is an overall perspective view thereof.

At one end of the water spray plate 2 is provided a base 20 integrated with the discharge end of the water discharge head 1 by screwing or the like, and a total of six water spray holes 21 are provided in this base 20 (FIG. 6). An air suction cylinder 22 is formed coaxially upward from the center of the base 20, and an air flow path 22a is provided inside the air suction cylinder 22. A cross-shaped straightening vane 23 is incorporated in each water spray hole 21, and six straightening vanes 24 extending radially from the air suction cylinder 22 are provided on the upper surface of the base 20 as shown in the drawing. In addition, the top surface of the base 20 is coaxial with the base 20 and has a water spray hole.
A circular ring-shaped straightening plate 25 passing through the center of 21 is provided.

A backflow prevention plate 26 is provided at a position higher than the upper half of the air suction cylinder 22. The backflow prevention plate 26 has a disc shape and is attached in a horizontal posture, and its outer diameter is smaller than or equal to that of the annular flow regulating plate 25. Further, as shown in FIG. 1, an annular backflow prevention plate 27 is provided below the partition wall 3 so as to be coaxially arranged with the foaming chamber 5. The backflow prevention plate 27 may be integrated with the water spray plate 2 as shown in FIG. 5 (b). In this case, four stays 27a are connected to the upper end of the air suction cylinder 22 to integrate the annular backflow prevention plate 27,
The structure will not interfere with the flow of water and air. And
When incorporated in the water discharge head 1, the upper end of the backflow prevention plate 27 is brought into close contact with the upper surface of the partition wall 3. Further, a female screw 5a is formed as an interference surface on the inner peripheral wall of the foaming chamber 5.

Here, when water is sent from the spout 50, the water flows from the upstream chamber 7 through the holes 6a to 6c of the partition wall 6 into the downstream chamber 8. At this time, as described above, the flowed water becomes a swirling flow in the downstream chamber 8 depending on the posture of the axes of the holes 6a to 6c. At this time, the entire flow passage area of the holes 6a to 6c is the discharge port 3a.
If it is larger than that, the phenomenon that water stays in the downstream chamber 8 occurs, and the internal pressure rises to some extent. Therefore, inside the downstream chamber 8, the flow energy of the water itself increases, and the centrifugal force due to the swirling flow acts. Therefore, the water flowing down from the discharge port 3a has a behavior of spreading outward under the influence of the centrifugal force, and is discharged as a conical water film F as shown by an arrow in FIG. Then, in the case of the dimensional relationships such as the inner diameters and positions of the holes 6a to 6c, the inner diameter of the downstream chamber 8 and the inner diameter of the discharge port 3a as described above, the normal flow rate of a general shower and the thickness of water supplied to the bathtub By setting the conditions to some extent, the swirling force of the flow in the downstream chamber 8 can be increased. Further, by opening the holes 6a to 6c so as to have different heights as shown in FIG. 4, it is possible to suppress interference between the flows from the holes 6a to 6c and further increase the turning force.

On the other hand, the discharge port 3a is located almost in the center of the foaming chamber 5, and water accompanied by centrifugal force flows out at a high flow rate, so that the internal pressure of the space inside the conical water film F decreases. Therefore, the air is sucked from the air flow path 22a, the water film F from the discharge port 3a hits the female screw 5a carved in the foaming chamber 5, and the air is mixed with the crushed water to foam the water supply. It Then, the foamed water flows into the water spray holes 21, and the flow is regulated by the straightening vane 23 to be discharged.

As described above, the supply water is swirled and sent into the foam formation chamber 5 as a conical water film F, and air is mixed into this to form foam, so compared to the case where a pressure reducing plate is used as in the conventional case. As a result, the pressure loss is significantly reduced. Therefore, even if the flow rate is small, the water supply is sufficiently foamed, and the foamed water is stabilized by the annular flow straightening plate 25 and the flow straightening vanes 24 to stabilize the flow of water.
Since 3 is passed, optimum foam spouting can be obtained without flow turbulence.

Note that the inner diameter of the flow passage cross section of the air flow passage 22a of the air suction cylinder 22 is
If the distance between the upper end of the air suction cylinder 22 and the lower surface of the partition wall 3 is set to about 6 mm, it is confirmed that the noise is small and the amount of air suction is large in the case of ordinary household water supply pressure. It was Therefore, by providing such a dimensional relationship, it can be supplied as a product with low noise and good foaming.

FIG. 7 is a schematic cross-sectional view showing an example in which a water film can be discharged by a swirling flow, in which the water discharge head 1 is provided with only a swirling flow chamber 4.

In the drawing, an annular partition wall 6 is formed inside the water discharge head 1 as in FIG. 1, and the outside thereof is connected to the spout 50, and an upstream side chamber 7 and an inside thereof are referred to as a downstream side chamber 8. A water discharge port 8a is opened at the center of the bottom of the downstream chamber 8 as a discharge port, and holes 6a to 6c are provided in the partition wall 6 with the dimensional relationship and the flow channel axis line described in FIG. And these holes 6a ~
As shown in FIG. 4, 6c are arranged at different height positions to suppress interference between the respective flows flowing from the holes 6a to 6c into the downstream chamber 8.

Even in the configuration including only the swirl flow chamber 4 as described above, the supplied water swirls in the downstream chamber 8 to form a swirl flow, and the water from the discharge port 8a spreads out by the action of the centrifugal force to the broken line in the figure. As shown by, the water is discharged as a conical water film F. Since the height positions of the holes 6a to 6c are made different to strengthen the swirling force of the flow, the centrifugal force of the water discharged from the discharge port 8a also becomes large, and the mist formation of the water film F is promoted. For this reason, soft-touch water discharge using the water film F instead of foam water discharge can be obtained.

〔The invention's effect〕

As described above, in the present invention, after swirling the water supply, it is discharged as a conical water film flow,
It is made to foam and spout water by suction of air. Therefore, the pressure loss is small as compared to the conventional case where the pressure reducing plate is used, and the problem of scale adhesion is solved. Further, since the height positions of the plurality of holes of the annular wall opened to form the swirling flow are made different, it is possible to suppress the interference between the water flows from the respective holes, and the swirling force becomes stronger. Therefore, swirling of the flow is promoted even when the flow rate is small, and the problem that foaming is generally insufficient at a small flow rate can be solved.

[Brief description of drawings]

1 is a longitudinal sectional view of a main part of a foam spout according to the present invention, FIG. 2 is a sectional view taken along the line II of FIG. 1, and FIG. 3 (a) is a longitudinal sectional view showing details of holes formed in an annular wall. Fig. 3 (b) is a cross-sectional view, Fig. 4 is a diagram showing the height position of holes formed in the annular wall, Fig. 5 is a perspective view of the water spray plate, and Fig. 6 is a bottom view of Fig. 1. Figure, 7th
FIG. 8 is a diagram showing water film discharge by a swirl flow chamber, and FIG. 8 is a schematic diagram of a conventional example. 1: Water discharge head, 2: Water sprinkling plate 3: Partition wall, 3a: Outlet port 4: Swirling flow chamber 5: Foaming chamber, 5a: Female screw 6: Partition wall, 6a, 6b, 6c: Hole 7: Upstream chamber 8: Downstream side chamber, 8a: Water discharge port (discharge port) 20: Base, 21: Water sprinkling hole 22: Air suction tube, 22a: Air flow path 23: Flow plate, 24: Flow vane 25: Annular flow plate, 26, 27: Reverse flow Prevention plate

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A water discharge head is provided with a substantially annular upstream side chamber and a downstream side chamber defined by a partition wall formed between the upstream side chamber and the upstream side chamber, and a discharge port is opened substantially at the center of the bottom of the downstream side chamber. A plurality of holes having flow channel axes for swirling the water supply inside the downstream chamber are arranged in the partition wall at different height positions, and one end communicates with the discharge port and the other end serves as a water discharge end. A foam spout provided with the foaming chamber described above, and an air flow path for sucking air toward the discharge port in the foaming chamber.