Water discharge member

Abstract

To provide a water discharge member capable of appropriately discharging a cascade-like water flow from a water discharge port.SOLUTION: A water discharge member 3 for discharging hot water from an oblong water discharge port 3A includes an oblong supply port 3B for receiving the supply of the hot water, an oblong water discharge port 3A for discharging the supplied hot water, a pipeline 3C connecting the supply port 3B and the water discharge port 3A to correctly face each other in a pipe axis direction in the pipe shape of an oblong transverse section corresponding to the port width of each of them, and planar net-like bodies 3D, 3E provided in the pipeline 3C so as to separate from both side walls C3 in the pipe axis direction. The net-like bodies 3D, 3E each have a number of nets for the hot water to pass therethrough in the pipe axis direction.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 3

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a water discharger, and more particularly to a water discharger that discharges hot and cold water from a horizontally elongated water discharge port. [Background technology]

[0002] Patent Document 1 discloses a water faucet device in which the water outlet for discharging hot and cold water is formed in a wide, flat shape. By making the water outlet wide and flat, hot and cold water is discharged as a wide, flat waterfall-like water flow. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] JP 2010-209549 A Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] When the water discharge member that directs hot and cold water to the spout is made of a wide, flat, tubular member that corresponds to the shape of the spout, the speed of the flowing water is likely to vary. Specifically, the water flowing along the side walls of the water discharge member at both edges is likely to slow down due to pipe friction resistance. On the other hand, the water flowing through the center of the water discharge member is less likely to encounter such resistance and is likely to increase in speed. As a result, the waterfall-like water flow discharged from the spout is likely to collapse and distort toward the center. Therefore, the present invention provides a water discharge member that can properly discharge a waterfall-like water flow from the spout. [Means for solving the problem]

[0005] In order to solve the above problems, the water discharger of the present invention takes the following measures.

[0006] In other words, the first invention of the present invention is a water-discharge member that discharges hot water from a horizontally long water outlet, the water-discharge member having a horizontally long supply outlet that receives a supply of hot water, the horizontally long water outlet that discharges the supplied hot water, a pipeline that connects the supply outlet and the water outlet with a horizontally long tubular cross-section that corresponds to the mouth width of each so as to face them directly in the pipe axis direction, and a planar mesh body that is arranged within the pipeline so as to be spaced apart from both side walls in the pipe width direction and has a number of meshes that allow hot water to pass through in the pipe axis direction.

[0007] According to the first invention, the water flowing through the center of the pipe can be made to pass through many meshes of the net-like body. This allows the flow speed in the center to be reduced by frictional resistance caused by contact with the net-like body, and to approach the flow speed at both edges flowing along the side walls of the pipe. As a result, a wide, flat waterfall-like water flow with little variation in flow speed can be appropriately discharged from the horizontally long water outlet.

[0008] A second aspect of the present invention is the water-discharge member according to the first aspect, wherein the mesh body is provided in two sheets facing each other with a gap in between in the axial direction of the tube.

[0009] According to the second aspect of the present invention, by providing two mesh bodies side by side in the axial direction of the pipe, the flow velocity in the center can be more effectively reduced. Also, by providing two mesh bodies, it is possible to appropriately reduce the flow velocity in the center without making each mesh excessively fine. Therefore, it is possible to appropriately achieve both ensuring the amount of water discharge and preventing the collapse of the waterfall-like water flow.

[0010] A third aspect of the present invention is the water-discharge member according to the second aspect of the present invention, wherein one of the two mesh bodies arranged on the downstream side has finer mesh than the other arranged on the upstream side.

[0011] According to the third aspect of the present invention, the flow velocity at the center of the mesh body on the downstream side close to the water outlet can be more effectively reduced, and therefore a flat waterfall-like water flow with little variation in flow velocity can be appropriately discharged from the water outlet.

[0012] The fourth invention of the present invention is a water-discharge member according to any of the first to third inventions above, which has no obstacles between the mesh body and the supply port inside the pipeline, which disperses the supplied hot and cold water in the pipe width direction by collision.

[0013] According to the fourth invention, the water flow, which has a high flow rate in the center due to the absence of obstacles upstream of the mesh body, can be appropriately rectified by the mesh body to reduce flow rate variation.

[0014] The fifth invention of the present invention is a water-discharge member according to any one of the first to third inventions above, wherein the top plate of the pipeline has a slit into which the mesh body can be inserted in the pipe height direction, and the bottom plate of the pipeline has a fitting groove into which the lower edge of the mesh body inserted into the pipe through the slit can be fitted.

[0015] According to the fifth aspect of the present invention, the mesh body can be assembled so that it can be easily and appropriately fixed in position relative to the pipeline. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0016] [Figure 1] FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing the schematic configuration of a water discharge member according to the first embodiment. [Diagram 2] FIG. 2 is an enlarged view taken along the arrow II in FIG. [Diagram 3] FIG. [Figure 4] 1 is an exploded perspective view of the water discharge member with the mesh body removed. FIG. [Diagram 5] 2 is a partially cross-sectional perspective view of the water-discharge member taken along a plane passing through the central axis. FIG. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0017] Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

[0018] First Embodiment (Schematic configuration of water discharge member 3) First, the configuration of the water discharger member 3 according to the first embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to Figures 1 to 5. In the following description, when directions such as front, back, top, bottom, left, and right are indicated, they refer to the respective directions shown in each figure.

[0019] The directions shown in each figure are those seen by a user standing in front of a water faucet device 1 to which the water discharge member 3 according to this embodiment is applied. In the following description, when no specific reference figure is given or when no reference figure has a corresponding reference symbol, any of Figures 1 to 5 will be referred to as appropriate.

[0020] As shown in Fig. 1, the water-discharge member 3 according to this embodiment is incorporated into the tip of a water-discharge pipe 2 constituting a washbasin faucet device 1. The water-discharge pipe 2 is installed so as to extend in a gooseneck shape from the top of the top plate of a washbasin vanity unit (not shown) toward the front side of the figure.

[0021] The faucet device 1 is configured so that the water discharge state can be switched by operating a switching handle or a temperature adjustment handle (not shown) that are installed on the top of the tabletop alongside the water discharge pipe 2. Specifically, the faucet device 1 switches between hot and cold water discharge / stop by operating the switching handle. Also, the faucet device 1 adjusts the temperature of the hot and cold water discharged (mixture ratio of hot and cold water) by operating the temperature adjustment handle.

[0022] The discharge pipe 2 has a tubular shape that extends in a gooseneck shape with a horizontally long cross section. As a result, although the discharge pipe 2 has a gooseneck shape, when viewed in a plan view, the pipe axis direction, which is the direction in which a line passing through the center of the pipe extends, is configured to extend straight in the front-rear direction.

[0023] 2, a water discharge member 3 having a horizontally elongated water discharge port 3A that opens diagonally downward toward the front of the figure is incorporated into the tip of the water discharge pipe 2. The water discharge port 3A is provided so that its opening faces straight in the pipe axial direction from the tip of the water discharge pipe 2 that extends in a gooseneck shape.

[0024] The water outlet 3A is formed in a wide mouth shape that extends flatly to the left and right. This allows the water outlet member 3 to discharge hot water supplied from the upstream side through the inside of the water outlet pipe 2 as a wide, flat waterfall-like water flow (flat water discharge) from the water outlet 3A.

[0025] When the flow speed of the waterfall-like water flow discharged from the water discharge port 3A becomes faster at the center than at the left and right edges, the waterfall-like water flow is likely to distort toward the center where the flow speed is higher. However, the water discharge member 3 according to this embodiment is configured to suppress the occurrence of such distortion and enable the waterfall-like water flow to be properly discharged from the water discharge port 3A.

[0026] (Configuration of each part of the water discharge member 3) The specific configuration of each part of the water spouting member 3 will be described in detail below. As shown in Fig. 3, the water spouting member 3 is formed in a tubular shape with a horizontally long cross section that extends straight in the axial direction of the pipe. Specifically, the water spouting member 3 has a horizontally long supply port 3B that receives a supply of hot water from the upstream side, and a horizontally long water discharge port 3A that discharges the supplied hot water as a waterfall-like water flow.

[0027] The water discharge member 3 also has a conduit 3C that connects the supply port 3B and the water discharge port 3A. The conduit 3C is configured to connect the supply port 3B and the water discharge port 3A in a tubular shape with a horizontally long cross section corresponding to the mouth width of each of them so that they face each other in the pipe axis direction.

[0028] The water discharge member 3 also has two rectangular mesh bodies 3D, 3E incorporated in the center of the pipe 3C. The two mesh bodies 3D, 3E are arranged facing each other with a gap in the pipe axial direction. More specifically, the two mesh bodies 3D, 3E are arranged in the center of the pipe 3C, respectively, spaced apart from the left and right side walls C3. Of the two mesh bodies 3D, 3E, the mesh body 3E arranged on the downstream side corresponds to "one" in the present invention. The mesh body 3D arranged on the upstream side corresponds to "the other" in the present invention.

[0029] The two mesh bodies 3D, 3E are each formed by weaving many metal wires into a flat net shape, so that they have a surface shape with many meshes that allow hot and cold water to pass in the axial direction of the pipe. The two mesh bodies 3D, 3E function as flow straighteners that reduce the flow speed of the water flowing through the center of the pipe 3C by using frictional resistance caused by contact when passing through the meshes.

[0030] Of the two mesh bodies 3D, 3E, the mesh body 3E located on the downstream side has finer mesh than the mesh body 3D located on the upstream side. Specifically, the mesh of the downstream mesh body 3E is 100 mesh (100 meshes per inch). The mesh of the upstream mesh body 3D is half that, at 50 mesh (50 meshes per inch). The two mesh bodies 3D, 3E are rectangular and have the same width and height.

[0031] As shown in Fig. 3, the water discharge member 3 is inserted into the opening at the tip of the water discharge pipe 2 in the pipe axial direction and fixed with a fixing screw S (see Fig. 2). As a result, the water discharge member 3 is set in a state in which its upstream supply port 3B is connected to a water passage (not shown) that passes through the water discharge pipe 2. In detail, the water discharge member 3 is set in a state in which an O-ring (annular packing) (not shown) is attached to a groove 3G formed on its outer periphery, and it is sealed inside the water discharge pipe 2 via the O-ring.

[0032] In addition, a straightening net (not shown) is set so as to cover the entire area of ​​the supply port 3B on the upstream side of the water discharge member 3. The straightening net (not shown) functions as a filter to remove impurities contained in the hot water supplied from the upstream side and to suppress water dripping downstream due to the action of surface tension when the water is stopped.

[0033] As shown in Fig. 4, the pipe 3C is formed in a symmetrical shape having a top plate C1 forming the upper surface, a bottom plate C2 forming the bottom surface, and side walls C3 forming both side surfaces in the pipe width direction. The top plate C1 and the bottom plate C2 are formed in a flat shape extending parallel to each other in the pipe width direction. The left and right side walls C3 are formed in a curved plate shape curving in a semicircular arc outwardly in the pipe width direction in a symmetrical manner.

[0034] The pipe 3C is made of an injection-molded resin part. The pipe 3C is configured to connect the supply port 3B and the water discharge port 3A with a generally cylindrical pipe shape having the above-mentioned horizontally long cross section. However, more strictly speaking, the pipe 3C is formed in a tapered pipe shape so that the mouth width of the water discharge port 3A is slightly wider than that of the supply port 3B due to a draft angle that is set to make it easier to remove the molded product from the mold. The "draft angle" refers to the tapered shape that is set in the direction in which the molded product is removed.

[0035] The supply port 3B and the water outlet 3A are each formed in a horizontally long mouth shape corresponding to the pipe shape of the pipe 3C. Specifically, the upper and lower edges of the supply port 3B and the water outlet 3A are each formed in a shape that extends parallel to each other in the pipe width direction along the inner circumferential surfaces of the top plate C1 and the bottom plate C2. In addition, the left and right edges of the supply port 3B and the water outlet 3A are each formed in a shape that curves like a semicircle arc symmetrically toward the outside in the pipe width direction along the inner circumferential surfaces of each side wall C3.

[0036] The top plate C1 of the pipe 3C is formed with two horizontally long slits A1 into which the two corresponding mesh bodies 3D, 3E can be inserted from above in the pipe height direction into the pipe, while the bottom plate C2 of the pipe 3C is formed with two horizontally long fitting grooves A2 into which the lower edges of the corresponding mesh bodies 3D, 3E inserted into the pipe from the slits A1 can be fitted.

[0037] The slits A1 are formed in the center of the top plate C1, except for both ends in the pipe width direction, so as to extend parallel to the pipe width direction and have the same length, with a space between each other in the pipe axis direction. Each slit A1 is formed in an intermediate region spaced in the pipe axis direction from the downstream edge of the top plate C1 facing the water outlet 3A and the upstream edge of the top plate C1 facing the supply port 3B.

[0038] Similarly, the fitting grooves A2 are formed in the center of the bottom plate C2, excluding both ends in the tube width direction, so as to extend parallel to each other in the tube width direction and have the same length, with a space between them in the tube axial direction. Each fitting groove A2 is formed at a position directly below each slit A1 in the tube height direction.

[0039] As a result, each of the mesh bodies 3D, 3E is inserted into the tube through each of the slits A1, and the lower edges of the mesh bodies 3D, 3E are fitted into the corresponding fitting grooves A2. This fitting causes each of the mesh bodies 3D, 3E to be set in a fixed position within the tube with its surface facing straight in the tube axial direction.

[0040] As shown in Fig. 5, by providing the two mesh bodies 3D, 3E in the pipe 3C, the water flowing through the center of the pipe is made to flow through the meshes of the two mesh bodies 3D, 3E. The two mesh bodies 3D, 3E are provided facing each other with a gap in the pipe axial direction without overlapping each other. Therefore, the flow speed of the water flowing downstream through the two mesh bodies 3D, 3E can be effectively reduced by the frictional resistance caused by contact with the two mesh bodies 3D, 3E.

[0041] Specifically, the two mesh bodies 3D, 3E are arranged so that they do not overlap, so that hot and cold water is not blocked between them, and can pass through each mesh in stages and flow appropriately downstream. Also, by providing two mesh bodies 3D, 3E, it is possible to appropriately reduce the flow rate in the center without making each mesh excessively fine.

[0042] More specifically, the mesh of the upstream mesh body 3D is 50 mesh, whereas the mesh of the downstream mesh body 3E is twice as fine, 100 mesh, which makes it possible to more effectively reduce the flow velocity in the center of the downstream mesh body 3E closer to the water outlet 3A.

[0043] As a result, the flow speed of the water flowing through the center of the pipe 3C can be appropriately brought close to the flow speed of both edges flowing along each side wall C3. In particular, by providing a gap between each of the two mesh bodies 3D, 3E and each of the side walls C3 in the pipe width direction, the flow speed of the center can be effectively reduced without reducing the flow speed of both edges flowing along each side wall C3. Due to the above action, a wide, flat waterfall-like water flow with little variation in flow speed can be appropriately discharged from the horizontally elongated water discharge port 3A of the water discharge member 3.

[0044] The water discharge member 3 is configured such that there are no obstacles in the area between the two mesh bodies 3D, 3E and the supply port 3B in the pipe 3C that would cause the supplied hot and cold water to collide and disperse in the pipe width direction. Therefore, the water discharge member 3 is configured such that the hot and cold water flows straight in the pipe axis direction from the supply port 3B of the pipe 3C to the water discharge port 3A without being dispersed in the pipe width direction.

[0045] In other words, the water discharge member 3 is configured so that the hot and cold water flows at a higher flow rate in the center because there are no obstacles upstream of the upstream mesh body 3D. The water discharge member 3 can then properly straighten the hot and cold water that flows in this way by using the two mesh bodies 3D, 3E to prevent large variations in flow rate between the center and both edges.

[0046] The straightening net (not shown) placed over the supply port 3B of the aforementioned pipe 3C acts as a filter to remove impurities contained in the hot water supplied from the upstream side, and does not disperse the supplied hot water in the pipe width direction by collision. In other words, the hot water supplied to the supply port 3B from the discharge pipe 2 (see FIG. 2) has already been spread so as to spread over the entire area of ​​the supply port 3B in the pipe width direction according to the horizontally long pipe shape inside the discharge pipe 2, and is not spread by the straightening net.

[0047] The upstream mesh body 3D is disposed downstream away from the straightening net (not shown) that covers the above-mentioned supply port 3B. Therefore, the upstream mesh body 3D does not overlap with the straightening net (not shown), and hot water can be appropriately passed through each mesh to flow downstream without being blocked between them.

[0048] To summarise the above, the water discharger member 3 according to the first embodiment has the following configuration: Note that in the following, the reference characters in parentheses correspond to the respective components shown in the above embodiment.

[0049] That is, the water spouting member (3) is a member that spouts hot water from a horizontally elongated water spouting port (3A). The water spouting member (3) has a horizontally elongated supply port (3B) that receives a supply of hot water, and the horizontally elongated water spouting port (3A) that spouts the supplied hot water.

[0050] The water discharge member (3) has a pipe (3C) that connects the supply port (3B) and the water discharge port (3A) in a tubular shape with a horizontally long cross section corresponding to the mouth width of each of them so that they face each other in the pipe axis direction. The water discharge member (3) also has planar mesh bodies (3D, 3E) with a large number of meshes that allow hot and cold water to pass in the pipe axis direction, which are provided within the pipe (3C) and spaced apart from both side walls (C3) in the pipe width direction.

[0051] According to the above configuration, the water flowing through the center of the pipe (3C) can be passed through the numerous meshes of the mesh bodies (3D, 3E). This allows the flow speed in the center to be reduced by frictional resistance caused by contact with the mesh bodies (3D, 3E) and to approach the flow speed at both edges along the side walls (C3) of the pipe (3C). As a result, a wide, flat waterfall-like water flow with little variation in flow speed can be appropriately discharged from the horizontally elongated water outlet (3A).

[0052] In addition, two mesh bodies (3D, 3E) are provided facing each other with a gap in the pipe axis direction. According to the above configuration, by providing two mesh bodies (3D, 3E) side by side in the pipe axis direction, the flow speed in the center can be reduced more effectively. Furthermore, by providing two mesh bodies (3D, 3E), it is possible to appropriately reduce the flow speed in the center without making each mesh excessively fine. Therefore, it is possible to appropriately achieve both ensuring the amount of water discharge and preventing the collapse of the waterfall-like water flow.

[0053] In addition, of the two mesh bodies (3D, 3E), the one (3E) arranged on the downstream side has finer mesh than the other (3D) arranged on the upstream side. With this configuration, the flow speed at the center can be more effectively reduced in the downstream mesh body (3E) closer to the water outlet (3A). Therefore, a flat waterfall-like water flow with little variation in flow speed can be appropriately discharged from the water outlet (3A).

[0054] In addition, the water discharge member (3) is configured so that there are no obstacles between the mesh bodies (3D, 3E) and the supply port (3B) inside the pipe of the pipeline (3C) that would cause the supplied hot and cold water to collide and disperse in the pipe width direction. With this configuration, the absence of obstacles upstream of the mesh bodies (3D, 3E) causes the water flow to have a high flow rate in the center, but the mesh bodies (3D, 3E) can appropriately rectify the water flow to one with little variation in flow rate.

[0055] In addition, the top plate (C1) of the pipeline (3C) has a slit (A1) into which the mesh bodies (3D, 3E) can be inserted in the pipe height direction. The bottom plate (C2) of the pipeline (3C) has a fitting groove (A2) into which the lower edge of the mesh bodies (3D, 3E) inserted into the pipe from the slit (A1) can be fitted. With the above configuration, the mesh bodies (3D, 3E) can be assembled to the pipeline (3C) so as to be easily and appropriately fixed in position.

[0056] Other embodiments Although one embodiment of the present invention has been described above, the present invention can be embodied in various forms as described below in addition to the above embodiment.

[0057] 1. The water discharge member of the present invention may be incorporated into the water discharge pipe of a faucet device used for purposes other than washing, such as in a kitchen or bathroom.

[0058] 2. The water discharge member may be one that widens the pipe width direction from the supply port on the upstream side to the water discharge port on the downstream side. Also, the water discharge member may be one that has a pipe shape in which the pipe axis direction of the pipe extends linearly when viewed in a plan view, but curves downward when viewed from the side.

[0059] 3. The mesh body provided inside the pipe of the pipeline may be made of metal wires woven into a mesh shape, or may be made of resin wires woven into a mesh shape. The mesh body may also be made of a resin material injection molded into a lattice shape. The mesh body may have a large number of meshes that allow hot and cold water to pass in the axial direction of the pipe, and the wire diameter and density of the wires that make it up are not particularly limited. The mesh body may be fixed to the pipe by being glued or fastened.

[0060] In addition, the mesh body may be provided in two pieces arranged in the axial direction of the pipe, or may be provided in one piece or in three pieces or more. When two mesh bodies are provided in the pipe with a gap in the axial direction of the pipe, the mesh body on the downstream side and the mesh body on the upstream side may be configured so that the mesh size is the same. Also, the mesh size of the upstream mesh body may be finer than that of the downstream mesh body.

[0061] The fineness of the mesh of these mesh bodies, and the relationship between the fineness of the mesh when multiple mesh bodies are provided, are determined according to the application conditions, such as the arrangement in the water discharge member, the pipe shape of the water discharge member, the size of the pipe, the water discharge flow rate, etc., and are not limited to a specific pattern. However, it can be said in any application conditions that by making the mesh of the downstream mesh body closer to the water discharge port finer than the upstream mesh body, the flow speed of the water flowing through the center just before the water discharge port can be effectively reduced.

[0062] The embodiments disclosed herein should be considered to be illustrative and not restrictive in all respects. The scope of the present invention is defined by the claims, not by the description of the embodiments described above, and is intended to include all modifications within the meaning and scope of the claims. [Explanation of symbols]

[0063] Reference Signs List 1...water faucet device, 2...water discharge pipe, 3...water discharge member, 3A...water discharge port, 3B...supply port, 3C...pipe, C1...top plate, C2...bottom plate, C3...side wall, A1...slit, A2...engagement groove, 3D...network body (other), 3E...network body (one), 3G...groove, S...fixing screw

Claims

1. A water discharge member that discharges hot and cold water from a horizontally elongated water outlet, A horizontally long supply port for receiving hot and cold water; The horizontally elongated water outlet for discharging the supplied hot and cold water; A pipe that connects the supply port and the water discharge port in a pipe axial direction and has a horizontally long cross section corresponding to the width of each port, The water-discharge member has a planar mesh body having a large number of mesh holes that are provided within the pipe of the pipe so as to be spaced apart from both side walls in the pipe width direction, and allows hot and cold water to pass through in the pipe axial direction.

2. The water discharge member according to claim 1, The water discharge member has two mesh bodies provided facing each other with a gap in the pipe axis direction.

3. The water discharge member according to claim 2, Of the two mesh bodies, one arranged on the downstream side has finer mesh than the other arranged on the upstream side.

4. The water discharge member according to any one of claims 1 to 3, A water discharge member in which there are no obstacles between the mesh body and the supply port within the pipe of the pipeline, which disperses the supplied hot and cold water in the pipe width direction by collision.

5. The water discharge member according to any one of claims 1 to 3, A water-discharge member in which the top plate of the pipeline has a slit into which the mesh body can be inserted in the pipe height direction, and the bottom plate of the pipeline has a fitting groove into which the lower edge of the mesh body inserted into the pipe through the slit can be fitted.

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