Bathroom disinfection system

Abstract

To provide a bathroom disinfection system capable of appropriately suppressing excessive increase of the concentration of gas such as a free gas from disinfection water when performing disinfection treatment of a bathroom.SOLUTION: A bathroom disinfection system SY includes a disinfection water spraying device 4 capable of performing a disinfection water spraying process to a bathroom to perform disinfection treatment of the bathroom, wherein a non-disinfection water spraying process for spraying non-disinfection water to the bathroom 1 instead of the disinfection water can be performed, and when the disinfection water spraying process is performed, the non-disinfection water spraying process is performed before the disinfection water spraying process is performed, and the disinfection water spraying process is started after the non-disinfection water spraying process is completed.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to a bathroom disinfection system that sprays disinfected water such as ozone water into a bathroom.

Background Art

[0002] As a specific example of a bathroom disinfection system, for example, as described in Patent Document 1, there is one equipped with an ozone water spraying device capable of spraying ozone water, which is disinfected water, into a bathroom. According to such a configuration, by spraying ozone water having a disinfection effect into the bathroom, each part such as the wall surface of the bathroom is subjected to a disinfection treatment, and an effect of suppressing the growth of mold and various bacteria can be obtained.

[0003] However, in the above prior art, as described below, there was still room for improvement.

[0004] That is, when ozone water is sprayed into a bathroom, ozone gas is released from this ozone water, and when the ozone gas concentration in the bathroom increases, the odor peculiar to ozone becomes stronger. Therefore, in such a situation, if a user accidentally enters the bathroom, there is a risk of feeling uncomfortable. In addition, there is also a risk that high-concentration ozone gas leaks out of the bathroom through the gaps in the bathroom door or the like, and the user feels uncomfortable due to the odor.

[0005] Such a situation becomes more prominent in a situation where the room temperature in the bathroom is high, such as immediately after a user finishes taking a bath, and ozone gas is easily released from ozone water. Therefore, it is desirable to appropriately suppress such a situation. In addition, as disinfected water, other than ozone water, for example, there is hypochlorous acid water, etc. However, even when using such other types of disinfected water, the same situation as described above can occur.

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0006]

Patent Document 1

[0007] The present invention has been conceived under the circumstances as described above, and an object of the present invention is to provide a bathroom disinfection system capable of appropriately suppressing an excessive increase in gas concentration such as free gas from disinfected water when performing disinfection treatment in a bathroom. [Means for Solving the Problems]

[0008] To solve the above problems, the present invention takes the following technical means.

[0009] The bathroom disinfection system provided by the present invention is a bathroom disinfection system including a disinfected water spraying device capable of performing a disinfected water spraying step into the bathroom for performing disinfection treatment in the bathroom, wherein a non-disinfected water spraying step of spraying non-disinfected water into the bathroom is enabled instead of the disinfected water, and when the disinfected water spraying step is executed, the non-disinfected water spraying step is executed prior thereto, and after the completion of the non-disinfected water spraying step, the disinfected water spraying step is started.

[0010] According to such a configuration, the following effects can be obtained. That is, when the step of spraying germicidal water into the bathroom is executed to perform germicidal treatment of the bathroom, the step of spraying non-germicidal water is executed prior thereto. For this reason, for example, when the room temperature of the bathroom is high, such as immediately after the user finishes taking a bath, it is possible to execute the step of spraying germicidal water after reducing the room temperature of the bathroom by the step of spraying non-germicidal water. As a result, it is possible to prevent the bathroom from becoming an atmosphere with an excessive high concentration of free gas or volatile gas of germicidal water due to the high room temperature of the bathroom, and it is possible to appropriately eliminate or alleviate the discomfort of the user caused by the free gas or volatile gas. In addition, according to the step of spraying non-germicidal water, the effect of cleaning the bathroom with non-germicidal water can be expected prior to spraying germicidal water. Therefore, it is also preferable for enhancing the hygiene level of the bathroom.

[0011] In the present invention, preferably, the bathroom is further provided with a ventilation fan, and during the execution of the step of spraying non-germicidal water, the ventilation of the bathroom by the fan is also configured to be simultaneously executed.

[0012] According to such a configuration, when the step of spraying non-germicidal water is executed, the ventilation of the bathroom is also simultaneously executed, so that it is possible to rapidly reduce the room temperature of the bathroom and increase the temperature reduction range. Therefore, it is more preferable for suppressing the increase in the concentration of free gas or volatile gas of germicidal water due to the high room temperature of the bathroom.

[0013] In the present invention, preferably, the bathroom is further provided with room temperature detection means, and when the step of spraying germicidal water into the bathroom is performed, when the room temperature of the bathroom is higher than a predetermined first temperature, the step of spraying non-germicidal water is executed prior to the step of spraying germicidal water, while when it is equal to or lower than the first temperature, the step of spraying non-germicidal water is not executed.

[0014] According to such a configuration, the following effects can be obtained. That is, when the germicidal water spraying process for the bathroom is carried out, if the room temperature of the bathroom is low and even if the germicidal water spraying process is carried out as it is, the possibility that the free gas or volatile gas of the germicidal water becomes excessively high is low, the non-germicidal water spraying process is not carried out. Therefore, regardless of the room temperature of the bathroom, compared with the case where the non-germicidal water spraying process is always carried out, it is possible to save the energy and water resources consumed in the non-germicidal water spraying process. In addition, since it is not necessary to wait for the end of the non-germicidal water spraying process to start the germicidal water spraying process, it is also possible to start the germicidal water spraying process immediately.

[0015] In the present invention, preferably, when the non-germicidal water spraying process is started, when the room temperature of the bathroom subsequently drops below a predetermined second temperature, the non-germicidal water spraying process ends, and then the germicidal water spraying process is started.

[0016] According to such a configuration, when the non-germicidal water spraying process is executed, it is possible to eliminate the waste that the non-germicidal water spraying process continues to be executed more than necessary even though the room temperature of the bathroom has sufficiently dropped.

[0017] In the present invention, preferably, the bathroom further includes humidity detection means, and when the humidity of the bathroom is higher than a predetermined first humidity when the non-germicidal water spraying process ends, the ventilation of the bathroom by the fan is further executed, and then when the humidity drops below a predetermined second humidity, the germicidal water spraying process is started.

[0018] According to such a configuration, the following effects can also be obtained. That is, the gas concentration such as the free gas or volatile gas of the sterilizing water in the bathroom is affected by the humidity in addition to the room temperature of the bathroom, and the higher the humidity, the easier it is to reach a high concentration. On the other hand, according to the above configuration, when the humidity in the bathroom is high, the sterilizing water spraying process is started after the humidity is reduced by ventilation in the bathroom. Therefore, the sterilizing water spraying process is not executed in a state where the humidity in the bathroom is high, and it is possible to more thoroughly prevent the gas concentration such as the free gas of the sterilizing water from increasing.

[0019] In the present invention, preferably, the sterilizing water spraying device includes an ozone water generating device that electrolyzes water supplied from the outside to generate ozone water as the sterilizing water, and a nozzle capable of spraying the ozone water generated by the ozone water generating device into the bathroom, and when the ozone water generating device is turned off and the ozone water generation is stopped, the non-sterilizing water spraying process can be executed in a mode in which the water is sprayed from the nozzle.

[0020] According to such a configuration, by switching the on / off operation of the ozone water generating device, it is possible to appropriately execute both the spraying of ozone water as sterilizing water and the spraying of water as non-sterilizing water. Therefore, the overall configuration can be simplified and the manufacturing cost of the entire system can be reduced.

[0021] Other features and advantages of the present invention will become more apparent from the following description of the embodiments of the invention with reference to the accompanying drawings.

Brief Description of the Drawings

[0022]

Figure 1

Figure 2

Figure 3

Best Mode for Carrying Out the Invention

[0023] Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the present invention will be specifically described with reference to the drawings.

[0024] The bathroom sterilization system SY shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 includes a bathroom drying device A incorporating a sterilized water spraying device 4. The bathroom drying device A has a configuration in which a main body A0 installed on the ceiling portion 10 of the bathroom 1 where the bathtub 11 is installed is combined with a remote control 2 separate from this. Here, in the present embodiment, "ozone water" is used as the sterilized water, and "tap water" is used as the "non-sterilized water". As will be described later, the sterilized water spraying device 4 is an ozone water spraying device capable of spraying ozone water into the bathroom 1, but instead of spraying ozone water, it is also possible to execute spraying of tap water.

[0025] The bathroom drying device A is configured to receive hot water supply from a hot water supply device 8. The hot water supply device 8 can supply hot and cold water to the bathtub 11 via a piping portion 80, and also has a general hot water supply function to places such as the kitchen, and is provided with a bathroom remote control 81A and a kitchen remote control 81B.

[0026] The main body A0 of the bathroom drying device A includes a blower fan 30 (also referred to as a circulation fan), a heat exchanger 31 for heating air, a ventilation fan 32 for the bathroom 1, a control unit 5, and housings 34, 34a covering these. It also includes a temperature sensor Sb (an example of means for detecting the room temperature of the bathroom) and a humidity sensor Sc (an example of means for detecting the humidity of the bathroom) for detecting the room temperature and humidity of the bathroom 1. The blower fan 30 can suck air in the bathroom 1 from an air suction port 35a provided in the lower surface portion of the housing 34, and blow the air into the bathroom 1 through a louver 36 provided at the air outlet. The direction of the louver 36 can be changed by a motor (not shown), and the air blowing angle during blowing can be appropriately changed. The heat exchanger 31 is for heating the air sucked into the blower fan 30 from the air intake port 35a. As a medium for this heating, hot water is supplied from the hot water supply device 8 to the heat exchanger 31. When hot water is supplied from the hot water supply device 8 to the heat exchanger 31 during the operation of the blower fan 30, the air sucked from the air intake port 35a is heated, and warm air is blown into the bathroom 1 from the louver 36. During the bathroom drying operation of the bathroom drying device A, the above-mentioned warm air blowing and ventilation by the ventilation fan 32 are executed in parallel. In a state where the supply of hot water to the heat exchanger 31 is stopped, non-warm air (unheated air) can be blown into the bathroom 1 from the louver 36.

[0027] The ventilation fan 32 is a fan that can exhaust the air in the bathroom 1 (including ozone gas described later) to the outside. When this ventilation fan 32 is operated, the air in the bathroom 1 is sucked into the housing 34 from the air intake port 35a and enters the installation area of the ventilation fan 32, and is exhausted to the outside from the exhaust port 37. The rotational speed of this ventilation fan 32 is variable, and the ventilation air volume in the bathroom 1 can be increased or decreased.

[0028] As described above, the germicidal water spraying device 4 is a device (ozone water spraying device) that can selectively spray either ozone water as germicidal water or tap water as non-germicidal water. This germicidal water spraying device 4 includes a water supply pipe section 60 that receives tap water supply from the outside, an on-off valve Va such as a solenoid valve provided in the middle of this water supply pipe section 60, a temperature sensor Sa for detecting the water temperature, an ozone water generation device 42 provided downstream thereof, and a nozzle 43 provided at the end of the water supply pipe section 60. The ozone water generation device 42 adopts a method of generating ozone water by, for example, electrolyzing water. When the on-off valve Va is in the open state and the ozone water generation device 42 is driven on, the ozone water generated in the ozone water generation device 42 is sprayed from the nozzle 43 toward the bathroom 1. The ozone water is sprayed, for example, toward substantially the entire area other than the vicinity of the upper ends of each side wall surface 12 of the bathroom 1, the bathtub 11, and substantially the entire floor surface 13. When the ozone water generator 42 is turned off, tap water can be sprayed from the nozzle 43.

[0029] The control unit 5 is configured using a microcomputer or the like, and executes operation control and data processing of each part of the bathroom drying device A. Further, it controls the germicidal water spraying device 4, and executes a series of operation steps including a germicidal water spraying step of spraying ozone water into the bathroom 1, a non-germicidal water spraying step of spraying tap water into the bathroom 1, a germicidal water rinsing step after the germicidal water spraying step, and a bathroom drying step after the completion of this germicidal water rinsing step. Details thereof will be described later.

[0030] The control unit 5 can perform wireless data communication with the remote controller 2 via the communication unit 50. The remote controller 2 is, for example, portable, and includes a communication circuit (not shown) for wireless communication with the control unit 5 via the communication unit 50, a plurality of operation switches 20 for performing various operation commands, and a display unit 21 and the like.

[0031] Next, an example of the operation processing procedure executed in the above-described bathroom disinfection system SY will be described with reference to the flowchart shown in FIG. 3. At the same time, its operation will also be described.

[0032] For example, when the remote controller 2 is used by the user and an operation to start the disinfection process of the bathroom 1 is performed, the driving of the ventilation fan 32 is started (S1: YES, S2). Although omitted in FIG. 3, the driving of this ventilation fan 32 continues until the end of the bathroom drying step in step S15, for example. Although omitted in FIG. 3, the driving of this ventilation fan 32 continues until the end of the bathroom drying step in step S15, for example.

[0033] On the one hand, the control unit 5 detects the room temperature of the bathroom 1 based on the signal from the temperature sensor Sb (S3). As a result, when the room temperature of the bathroom 1 is higher than a predetermined first temperature, a non-sterilized water spraying process for spraying tap water into the bathroom 1 is started (S4: YES, S5). This non-sterilized water spraying process is a process for reducing the room temperature of the bathroom 1 in advance in view of the possibility that the ozone gas concentration in the bathroom 1 may become excessively high if ozone water spraying is performed while the room temperature of the bathroom 1 remains high. When the room temperature of the bathroom 1 is high, such as immediately after the user finishes taking a bath, it can be expected that the room temperature of the bathroom 1 will decrease by executing the non-sterilized water spraying process. In addition, a preliminary cleaning effect of washing away the dirt on each part of the bathroom 1 using tap water can also be expected. The non-sterilized water spraying process ends when the room temperature of the bathroom 1 drops to a predetermined second temperature or lower (S6: YES, S7).

[0034] After the end of the non-sterilized water spraying process, the control unit 5 detects the humidity of the bathroom 1 based on the signal from the humidity sensor Sc (S8). As a result, when the humidity of the bathroom 1 is in a high humidity state higher than a predetermined first humidity, it enters a standby state in which the driving of the ventilation fan 32 is continued, and a period for the humidity of the bathroom 1 to decrease is ensured (S8: YES, S9).

[0035] After that, when the humidity in the bathroom 1 drops below a predetermined second humidity, a germicidal water spraying step of spraying ozone water into the bathroom 1 is started (S10: YES, S11). By this germicidal water spraying step, germicidal cleaning of each part of the bathroom 1 using ozone water is performed. When the room temperature of the bathroom 1 is high during the execution of this germicidal water spraying step, the release of ozone gas from the ozone water is promoted and the ozone concentration in the bathroom 1 tends to increase. Also, when the bathroom 1 has high humidity, the ozone concentration tends to be even higher. When the ozone concentration is high, the odor peculiar to ozone becomes strong. For example, high-concentration ozone gas may leak from the gap of the door of the bathroom 1 to the outside of the bathroom 1, and there is a risk that the user may feel uncomfortable due to the odor. On the other hand, in the present embodiment, since the room temperature and humidity of the bathroom 1 are lowered in advance before the ozone water is sprayed, it is appropriately suppressed that the ozone concentration in the bathroom 1 becomes excessively high after the spraying of the ozone water. Note that bathroom ventilation is continuously performed even during the germicidal water spraying step. The germicidal water spraying step ends when the ozone water spraying time or the ozone water spraying amount reaches a predetermined value (S12: YES, S13).

[0036] Note that, different from the above, when the room temperature of the bathroom 1 is not so high in step S4 and is not higher than a predetermined first temperature, the steps of S5 to S10 are not executed. Therefore, even though the room temperature of the bathroom 1 is low and there is originally no need to execute the non-germicidal water spraying step, it is appropriately eliminated that the non-germicidal water spraying step is executed.

[0037] After the completion of the ozone water spraying process, a rinsing process with tap water sprayed from nozzle 43 into bathroom 1 is executed (S14). This rinsing process with tap water is the same as the non-ozone water spraying process described above in terms of spraying tap water from nozzle 43. However, the main purpose of the non-ozone water spraying process is to lower the room temperature of bathroom 1 (and perform pre-rinsing before the disinfection treatment), while the main purpose of the rinsing process with tap water is to drain the ozone water from bathroom 1. In this rinsing process with tap water, the ozone water adhering and remaining on each part of bathroom 1 is washed away and drained to the outside from the drain outlet of bathroom 1. This avoids the unnecessary long-term adhesion of ozone water to each part of bathroom 1. The rinsing process with tap water ends when the spraying time or spraying amount of tap water reaches a predetermined value.

[0038] After the completion of the rinsing process with tap water, a bathroom drying process accompanied by hot air blowing into bathroom 1 is executed (S15). At that time, preferably, the rotation speed of the ventilation fan 32 is made higher than the normal speed until then. Immediately after the completion of the rinsing process with tap water, there is a possibility that ozone water or ozone gas remains in bathroom 1. However, by executing the bathroom drying process, it is possible to efficiently and quickly discharge the ozone water and ozone gas to the outside of bathroom 1. The bathroom drying process ends when the execution time or ventilation volume of the bathroom drying process reaches a predetermined value, or when the drying of bathroom 1 progresses and its humidity drops to a predetermined value. In this way, by executing the rinsing process with tap water and the bathroom drying process after the ozone water spraying process, it is possible to make bathroom 1 in a hygienic state without the remaining ozone water or ozone gas and without an ozone odor.

[0039] The sterilized water spraying device 4 in this embodiment is configured to also function as a non-sterilized water spraying device. Therefore, compared with the case of providing a non-sterilized water spraying device separately from the sterilized water spraying device 4, the configuration of the entire system can be simplified and the manufacturing cost can be reduced. Further, since ozone water and tap water are sprayed from the same nozzle 43, it is also possible to make the spraying area of the ozone water coincide with the spraying area of the tap water for flushing the ozone water, thereby enhancing the flushing effect of the ozone water.

[0040] The present invention is not limited to the contents of the above-described embodiment. The specific configuration of each part of the bathroom sterilization system according to the present invention can be freely designed and changed in various ways within the scope intended by the present invention.

[0041] In the above-described embodiment, when the room temperature of the bathroom 1 is higher than a predetermined first temperature, the non-sterilized water spraying step is executed prior to the sterilized water spraying step. However, the present invention is not limited to this. When the sterilized water spraying step is executed, the non-sterilized water spraying step can be configured to always be executed regardless of the room temperature of the bathroom 1 prior to that. Further, in addition to or instead of the room temperature of the bathroom 1, for example, depending on whether the start time of the sterilized water spraying step is within a predetermined time immediately after the user finishes bathing (e.g., within a predetermined time from when the user exits the bathroom to the outside), the execution / non-execution of the non-sterilized water spraying step can be controlled. That is, if the start time of the sterilized water spraying step is within a predetermined time immediately after the user finishes bathing, since the room temperature and humidity of the bathroom 1 are considered to be high, in this case, the non-sterilized water spraying step is configured to be executed prior to the sterilized water spraying step. The sterilized water spraying step is not limited to being started by a predetermined switch operation, and may be started by program control other than user operation, such as timer setting.

[0042] In the above-described embodiment, when an operation to start the disinfection treatment of the bathroom 1 is performed, the driving of the ventilation fan 32 is started. However, the present invention is not limited to this. When an operation to start the disinfection treatment is performed, the driving of the ventilation fan 32 may not be started. In that case, the humidity of the bathroom 1 may be detected, and if the humidity of the bathroom 1 is in a high humidity state as a result, the ventilation fan 32 may be driven, or the ventilation fan 32 may be driven when the disinfection water spraying step is started.

[0043] The disinfection water may be any liquid that exhibits a disinfection effect and is not limited to ozone water. For example, it is also possible to use other types of disinfection water such as hypochlorous acid water. The non-disinfection water is not limited to tap water. For example, it is also possible to use water other than tap water, such as well water pumped up by a pump.

[0044] In the above-described embodiment, the disinfection water spraying device is configured to also function as a non-disinfection water spraying device. However, the present invention is not limited to this. A non-disinfection water spraying device may be provided separately from the disinfection water spraying device. The disinfection water spraying device may be configured to be able to spray disinfection water into the bathroom, and the specific method of generating the disinfection water and the concentration of specific components of the generated disinfection water are not limited either. The nozzles for spraying the disinfection water are not limited to a single one, and a plurality of them may be used, and the specific number thereof does not matter. Also, the spraying of the disinfection water or non-disinfection water may be in a mode of being intermittently sprayed, for example, at a predetermined short cycle, instead of continuous spraying.

[0045] In the above-described embodiment, the disinfection water spraying device 4 is incorporated into the bathroom drying device including the blowing fan and the ventilation fan. However, the present invention is not limited to this. It is also possible to adopt a configuration in which the disinfection water spraying device is installed at a location different from the bathroom drying device.

Explanation of Reference Numerals

[0046] SY Bathroom Disinfection System Sb Temperature Sensor (Room Temperature Detection Means) Sc humidity sensor (humidity detection means) 1 Bathroom 32 Ventilation fan 4 Disinfectant water spraying device 42 Ozone water generator 43 Nozzle

Claims

1. A bathroom disinfection system comprising a disinfected water spraying device capable of performing a step of spraying disinfected water into the bathroom for the purpose of disinfecting the bathroom, wherein a step of spraying non-disinfected water into the bathroom is enabled in place of the disinfected water, and when the step of spraying disinfected water is executed, the step of spraying non-disinfected water is executed prior thereto, and the step of spraying disinfected water is started after the completion of the step of spraying non-disinfected water.

2. The bathroom disinfection system according to claim 1, further comprising a ventilation fan for the bathroom, wherein during the execution of the step of spraying non-disinfected water, ventilation of the bathroom by the fan is also executed simultaneously.

3. The bathroom disinfection system according to claim 1, further comprising a room temperature detection means for the bathroom, wherein when the room temperature of the bathroom is higher than a predetermined first temperature when the step of spraying disinfected water into the bathroom is performed, the step of spraying non-disinfected water is executed prior to the step of spraying disinfected water, while when it is at or below the first temperature, the step of spraying non-disinfected water is not executed.

4. The bathroom disinfection system according to claim 3, wherein when the step of spraying non-disinfected water is started, the step of spraying non-disinfected water ends when the room temperature of the bathroom subsequently drops below a predetermined second temperature, and then the step of spraying disinfected water is started.

5. The bathroom disinfection system according to claim 2, further comprising a humidity detection means for the bathroom, wherein when the humidity of the bathroom is higher than a predetermined first humidity at the time when the step of spraying non-disinfected water ends, ventilation of the bathroom by the fan is further executed, and the step of spraying disinfected water is started when the humidity subsequently drops below a predetermined second humidity.

6. The bathroom disinfection system according to any one of claims 1 to 5, The bathroom disinfection system includes an ozone water generator that electrolyzes water supplied from the outside to generate ozone water as the disinfected water, and a nozzle capable of spraying the ozone water generated by this ozone water generator into the bathroom. When the ozone water generator is turned off and the ozone water generation is stopped, the non-disinfected water spraying step can be executed in such a manner that the water is sprayed from the nozzle.

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