Warm bath device

Abstract

To provide a warm bath device which allows easy maintenance using a fiber chip as a filter medium.SOLUTION: A warm bath device 100 uses a filter medium mat 30 made by filling in a bag a fiber chip 32 being a mass of non-woven synthetic resin fiber serving as a filter medium, and installed at a position where easy maintenance is available. With this configuration, easy maintenance of the filter medium mat 30 is available. Further, since a filter facility is positioned in the vicinity of a bathtub 10, an increase of bacteria and the like can be suppressed due to a short distance of each pipe. Further, a back washing mechanism of the filter medium mat 30 in the warm bath device 100 can reduce a frequency of replacing the filter medium mat 30, which further reduces a work load of a manager and the like. Further, the filter medium mat 30 removed by the replacement can be cleaned in a general washing machine, which allows easy maintenance at low cost.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a hot bath facility that uses fiber chips as a filter material. [Background technology]

[0002] In large public baths at hot spring facilities and lodging facilities, there are hot spring facilities that filter the hot water stored in the bathtub, circulate it, and reuse it. As a filtration device for such hot spring facilities, a sand filter that filters hot water by passing it through a container filled with filter sand, as in the invention described in the following [Patent Document 1], is commonly used. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2005-193214 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] However, filtration devices using this sand filter are large in scale, and due to their configuration, a large machine room is often installed away from the bathtub, and the filtration device is often installed in this machine room. This not only requires equipment costs and installation space, but also creates problems such as the long distance of the circulation piping from the bathtub to the filtration device, making it easy for bacteria such as Legionella to grow in the piping. Another problem is that the sand filter itself easily becomes a breeding ground for bacteria such as Legionella.

[0005] In addition, over time, sand filters accumulate dirt that cannot be removed by backwashing, necessitating periodic extensive cleaning and replacement of the filter media, which poses the problem of requiring a lot of labor for maintenance.

[0006] The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and aims to provide a hot bath facility that uses fiber chips as a filter material and is easy to maintain. [Means for solving the problem]

[0007] The present invention provides (1) A hot bath facility having a bathtub (10), a filter for filtering the hot water in the bathtub (10), a filter housing (20) for housing the filter, a water intake pipe (14a) for supplying the hot water in the bathtub (10) to the filter housing (20), and a return pipe (14b) for returning the hot water filtered by the filter to the bathtub (10), The filter medium storage section 20 is provided outside the bathtub 10, The filter material is a filter material mat 30 composed of fiber chips 32 formed by agglomerating synthetic resin fibers and a bag-shaped net member 34 in which the fiber chips 32 are packed. The above problem is solved by providing a hot bath facility 100 characterized in that the filter medium mat 30 is accommodated in the filter medium accommodation section 20 so as to be removable. (2) The above problem is solved by providing the hot bath equipment 100 described in (1) above, characterized in that it has spaces Sa and Sb above and below the filter mat 30 within the filter material storage section 20, and the upper space Sa is connected to a filtration pipe 13a branching off from the water intake pipe 14a and a backwash drain pipe 15b branching off from the return pipe 14b, and the lower space Sb is connected to a backwash water supply pipe 15a branching off from the water intake pipe 14a and a filtration pipe 13b branching off from the return pipe 14b. (3) Further includes a heating means 16 for heating the hot water flowing through the return pipe 14b, The above problem is solved by providing the hot bath equipment 100 described in (1) above, characterized in that the heating means 16 is placed in a storage space below the step 11 provided on the lower periphery of the bathtub 10. (4) The fiber chips 32 are formed by intertwining synthetic resin fibers in a nonwoven state and are in the form of a sphere, a cylinder, a cube, a rectangular parallelepiped, a polygonal column, or an irregular column with an outer dimension of 10 mm to 15 mm. The above problem is solved by providing the hot bath facility 100 described in (1) above, which is characterized in that the filter mat 30 can be washed in a washing machine. (5) The above problem is solved by providing the hot bath equipment 100 described in (3) above, which is characterized in that at least the water intake pipe 14a, the filter material storage section 20, the return pipe 14b, and the heating means 16 are installed in the bathtub 10 having the step section 11, and are unitized. [Effects of the Invention]

[0008] The hot bath equipment of the present invention uses a filter mat made of bagged fiber chips of nonwoven synthetic resin fibers as a filter medium, and the filter medium storage section of this filter mat is installed in a location that makes maintenance such as replacing the filter mat easy. Furthermore, because the filtering equipment is located near the bathtub, the distance between each pipe is short, which helps prevent the growth of bacteria such as Legionella in the pipes. Furthermore, since the hot bath facility according to the present invention is equipped with a backwashing mechanism for the filter mat, it is possible to reduce the frequency of filter mat replacement, further reducing the workload of the manager, etc. Furthermore, the filter mat removed for replacement can be washed in a standard washing machine, making maintenance easy and low-cost. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0009] [Figure 1] 1 is a schematic diagram of a hot bath facility according to the present invention. [Figure 2] 1 is a diagram showing a filter mat for a hot bath facility according to the present invention. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0010] The hot bath facility of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of a hot bath facility 100 according to the present invention. The hot bath facility 100 according to the present invention includes a bathtub 10, a filter (filter mat 30) for filtering the hot water in the bathtub 10, a filter housing 20 for housing the filter mat 30, a water intake pipe 14a for drawing and delivering hot water from the bathtub 10 to the filter housing 20, and a return pipe 14b for returning the hot water filtered by the filter mat 30 to the bathtub 10. The hot bath facility 100 according to the present invention is designed to have a filter housing 20 and associated equipment for each bathtub 10. This allows these filtering equipment (such as the filter housing 20) to be located near the bathtub 10, shortening the distance between the pipes and suppressing the growth of bacteria such as Legionella bacteria within the pipes.

[0011] The hot bath facility 100 of the present invention uses a filter mat 30 shown in FIG. 2 as a filter medium. This filter mat 30 is basically composed of fiber chips 32, which are nonwoven aggregates of synthetic resin fibers, and a bag-shaped net member 34 into which the fiber chips 32 are packed. The fiber chips 32 are preferably made by entangling a specific synthetic resin fiber, such as polyethylene terephthalate (PET), in a nonwoven state and forming aggregates with external dimensions of approximately 10 mm to 15 mm. The shape of the fiber chips 32 is not particularly limited, and any shape, such as a sphere, cube, rectangular parallelepiped, polygonal column, or irregular shape, may be used. Cylindrical shapes are particularly preferred. The net member 34 is also not particularly limited, and a mesh size that does not allow the fiber chips 32 to pass through is used. However, the size of the net member 34 must be such that there is no large gap between the net member 34 and the side wall of the filter medium storage unit 20 when it is stored in the filter medium storage unit 20. If the filter medium storage section 20 is large, a plurality of filter medium mats 30 may be laid out.

[0012] Furthermore, the filter medium storage unit 20 is located in a position that facilitates maintenance of the exterior of the bathtub 10. It is particularly preferable to provide an equipment storage unit adjacent to the bathtub 10, for example, with an openable top, and to install the filter medium storage unit 20 and associated equipment within this equipment storage unit. This configuration allows the hot bath equipment 100 of the present invention to be compact and space-saving, and also facilitates the unitization of the hot bath equipment 100. Furthermore, as described above, the filter medium storage unit 20 accommodates the filter medium mat 30 in a removable manner. Therefore, it is preferable to provide an upper cover 20a on the upper surface of the filter medium storage unit 20, which is provided with a well-known waterproofing measure such as a packing, and to open this upper cover 20a to insert or remove the filter medium mat 30. Furthermore, spaces Sa and Sb are provided above and below the filter medium mat 30. These spaces Sa and Sb are preferably formed by, for example, installing a permeable upper perforated plate 22a such as punched metal or grating at a predetermined gap from the bottom surface of the filter medium storage unit 20, and installing a lower perforated plate 22b at a predetermined gap from the upper surface (upper cover 20a) of the filter medium storage unit 20. The filter medium mat 30 is then sandwiched between these upper and lower perforated plates 22a and 22b. In this case, it is preferable to avoid creating a gap between the filter medium mat 30 and the side wall of the filter medium storage unit 20, as described above. In addition, it is preferable that the upper perforated plate 22a and the lower perforated plate 22b of the filter medium storage unit 20 are detachable, as well as detachable, to facilitate cleaning of the inside of the filter medium storage unit 20.

[0013] The upper space Sa is connected to the filtration pipe 13a branched from the water intake pipe 14a via the three-way valve 18a and the backwash drainage pipe 15b branched from the return pipe 14b via the three-way valve 18b. The lower space Sb is connected to the backwash water supply pipe 15a branched from the water intake pipe 14a via the three-way valve 18a and the filtration pipe 13b branched from the return pipe 14b via the three-way valve 18b.

[0014] In addition, the water intake pipe 14a is equipped with a well-known pump means 12 that pumps the hot and cold water from the bathtub 10 to the filter medium storage section 20, etc., and is provided upstream with a hair catcher 24 that captures and removes relatively large debris such as hair, and a disinfectant adding section 28 that adds a disinfectant such as sodium hypochlorite. Furthermore, the water intake pipe 14a is preferably equipped with an air introduction section 26 that mixes air into the backwash water used when backwashing the filter medium mat 30, or that allows air washing of the filter medium mat 30.

[0015] Also connected to the return pipe 14b are a backwash drain pipe 29 for draining backwash water during backwash, an on-off valve 17b for opening and closing this backwash drain pipe 29, an on-off valve 17a for closing the return pipe 14b during backwash, and well-known heating means 16 such as a heater, boiler, or heat exchanger for heating the hot water flowing through the return pipe 14b. The on-off valves 17b and 17a may be configured as three-way valves.

[0016] It is also common to provide a step around part or the entire periphery of the bottom (lower part) of the bathtub 10, creating a step 11 that users can use when entering the bathtub 10. Therefore, it is preferable to use the space below this step 11 as a storage space and place the heating means 16, which is particularly large, in this storage space. With this configuration, there is no need to construct a separate installation location for the heating means 16, making it possible to save space and make the bathing equipment 100 more compact. It also makes it easier to unitize the bathing equipment 100.

[0017] Next, an example of how to use and operate the hot bath facility 100 according to the present invention will be described. First, a manager or the like opens the equipment housing, for example, and then opens the top lid 20a of the filter medium housing 20. Next, the upper porous plate 22a is removed, and the filter medium mat 30 is placed on the lower porous plate 22b. At this time, care is taken to minimize gaps between the filter medium mat 30 and the side wall of the filter medium housing 20. Next, the upper porous plate 22a is placed above the filter medium mat 30, and the top lid 20a is closed. The top lid 20a is equipped with a well-known waterproofing means, such as a packing, to prevent water leakage from the top lid 20a during filtration or backwashing. Then, the manager or the like closes the equipment housing.

[0018] Next, the water supply tap (hot water tap) to the bathtub 10 is opened. This allows hot water or water to be supplied into the bathtub 10. Note that hot water here refers to hot spring water, groundwater, tap water, warm water, etc. At this time, the water level of the hot water in the bathtub 10 is acquired by a water level sensor (not shown) and output to the control unit of the bathing equipment 100. Then, when the water level in the bathtub 10 reaches a preset water level, the control unit closes the water supply tap (hot water tap) and stops the supply of hot water.

[0019] Next, the administrator or control unit operates pump means 12. At this time, three-way valve 18a is set to the filtration pipe 13a side, and three-way valve 18b is set to the filtration pipe 13b side. Also, on-off valve 17a is set to the open state, and on-off valve 17b is set to the closed state. As a result, hot water in bathtub 10 is taken into water intake pipe 14a from water intake port 10a, and relatively large debris such as hair is caught and removed by hair catcher 24. Furthermore, a predetermined amount of disinfectant is appropriately added to the hot water that passes through hair catcher 24 by disinfectant adding unit 28 to kill bacteria and the like. The disinfectant-added hot water then flows through filtration pipe 13a via three-way valve 18a and is pressure-fed to space Sa above filter medium housing unit 20. It is then filtered as it passes through fiber chips 32 of filter medium mat 30, capturing and removing fine impurities that could not be captured by hair catcher 24. The hot water filtered by the filter mat 30 is then pumped from the lower space Sb through the filtered water pipe 13b and the three-way valve 18b to the return pipe 14b, and is pumped to the heating means 16 through the on-off valve 17a.

[0020] In addition, the temperature of the hot water flowing through the return pipe 14b is measured by a temperature measuring means (not shown) and output to the control unit. The control unit controls the on / off and output (heating power) of the heating means 16 based on the hot water temperature obtained by the temperature measuring means. It also controls the pump means 12 to adjust the flow rate of the hot water. As a result, the hot water flowing down the return pipe 14b is heated to an appropriate temperature by the heating means 16 and then discharged into the bathtub 10 from the outlet 10b. This maintains the hot water in the bathtub 10 at a preset temperature. Basically, the pump means 12 operates continuously while the bathtub 10 is in use, and the hot water in the bathtub 10 is constantly circulating and filtered by the filter mat 30.

[0021] Furthermore, if the water level in the bathtub 10 drops below a preset level due to use or other reasons, the control unit recognizes this drop in water level via a water level sensor and opens the water supply valve (hot water supply valve), which refills the bathtub 10 with water and maintains the amount of water in the bathtub 10 at the preset water level.

[0022] Next, the backwashing method for the hot bath facility 100 according to the present invention will be described. First, when backwashing the hot bath facility 100, the three-way valve 18a is switched to the backwash water supply pipe 15a, and the three-way valve 18b is switched to the backwash drain pipe 15b. Furthermore, the on-off valve 17a is closed, and the on-off valve 17b is open. The administrator or control unit then operates the pump means 12 and, if present, the air introduction unit 26. As a result, hot water in the bathtub 10 taken into the water intake pipe 14a from the water intake port 10a flows through the hair catcher 24 and the three-way valve 18a, through the backwash water supply pipe 15a, and is pumped to the space Sb below the filter media housing unit 20 as backwash water. At this time, a disinfectant with a higher concentration than that used during filtration may be added to the backwash water from the disinfectant addition unit 28 to provide stronger disinfection and sterilization of the filter media mat 30 than during filtration.

[0023] The backwash water then passes through the filter mat 30 from the lower side to the upper space Sa, peeling off impurities and the like captured by the fiber chips 32 and sending them together with the backwash water to the backwash drainage pipe 15b. If the air inlet 26 is present, backwashing may be performed by mixing air into the backwash water, or the supply of backwash water may be stopped and air introduced to bubblingly wash the filter mat 30 (air washing). In these configurations, the turbulence of the water caused by the introduction of air can more effectively peel off and remove impurities.

[0024] The backwash water sent to the backwash drain pipe 15b is then discharged via the three-way valve 18b and the on-off valve 17b to the outside through the backwash drain pipe 29 together with the impurities. This removes the impurities accumulated in the fiber chips 32, restoring the filtering ability of the filter mat 30. When backwashing of the filter mat 30 is completed, the administrator or control unit switches the three-way valve 18a to the filtration pipe 13a and the three-way valve 18b to the filtration pipe 13b. The on-off valve 17a is opened and the on-off valve 17b is closed. The pump unit 12 is then operated. This resumes filtering the hot water in the bathtub 10 through the filter mat 30.

[0025] Next, we will explain how to replace and clean the filter mat 30. When replacing or cleaning the filter mat 30, the manager or other person first stops the heating means 16 and the pump means 12. This stops the inflow and circulation of hot and cold water into the filter media storage unit 20. Next, the manager or other person opens the equipment storage unit and removes the upper lid 20a and upper perforated plate 22a to expose the filter media mat 30. Next, the filter media mat 30 is removed from the filter media storage unit 20 and replaced with a cleaned filter media mat 30. Next, after fitting the upper perforated plate 22a and upper lid 20a into the filter media storage unit 20, the equipment storage unit is closed and the heating means 16 and the pump means 12 are operated. This allows the hot and cold water in the bathtub 10 to be filtered by the replaced filter media mat 30.

[0026] The filter mat 30 removed for replacement can be washed in a commonly known washing machine. This washes away impurities that could not be removed by backwashing, further restoring the filtering ability of the filter mat 30. The filter mat 30 can then be reused as a replacement.

[0027] Although the hot spring equipment 100 of the present invention may be constructed at a desired location using conventional construction methods, the components of the hot spring equipment 100, i.e., the bathtub 10, hair catcher 24, pump means 12, disinfectant adding section 28, air inlet section 26, filter media housing section 20, heating means 16, and the piping connecting these (water intake piping 14a, return piping 14b, filtration piping 13a, filtrate piping 13b, backwash water supply piping 15a, backwash drain piping 15b, backwash drain piping 29), three-way valves 18a, 18b, on-off valves 17a, 17b, etc., may be integrated and installed in a storage space under the equipment housing section and footboard 11, for example, and then installed as a unit at a desired location. This configuration allows the hot spring equipment 100 of the present invention to be installed easily and quickly.

[0028] As described above, the hot bath facility 100 according to the present invention uses a filter mat 30 made of bagged fiber chips 32 made of nonwoven aggregates of synthetic resin fiber as a filter medium, and the filter medium storage section 20 of this filter mat 30 is installed in a position that makes maintenance easy. This makes maintenance such as replacing the filter mat 30 much easier than with conventional sand filters. Furthermore, there is no need for a large filter such as a sand filter or a machine room to install it, which saves space and reduces equipment costs.

[0029] In addition, since the filtering equipment (filtering medium container 20, etc.) is located near the bathtub 10, the distance between each pipe is short, which makes it possible to suppress the growth of bacteria such as Legionella bacteria within the pipes. In addition, the hot bath equipment 100 can be unitized, making it easy to install the hot bath equipment 100 in a short time.

[0030] Furthermore, since the hot bath facility 100 according to the present invention is equipped with a backwashing mechanism for the filter mat 30, it is possible to reduce the frequency of replacement of the filter mat 30, further reducing the workload of the manager, etc. Also, the filter mat 30 removed for replacement can be washed in a standard washing machine, making maintenance extremely easy and low-cost.

[0031] Furthermore, the configuration, mechanism, shape, dimensions, operation, piping route, and shape and dimensions of the fiber chips 32 of the hot bath equipment 100, filter media storage section 20, etc. shown in this example are merely examples, and are not limited to this example, and the present invention can be modified and implemented within the scope that does not deviate from the gist of the present invention. [Explanation of symbols]

[0032] 10 Bathtub 11 Stepping section 13a Filtration piping 13b Drainage piping 14a Water intake pipe 14b Return piping 15a Backwash water pipe 15b Backwash drainage piping 16 Heating means 20 Filter material storage section 30 Filter Mat 32 Fiber Chips 34 Netting material 100 Bathing facilities Sa Upper space Sb Lower space

Claims

1. A hot bath facility having a bathtub, a filter for filtering hot water in the bathtub, a filter housing for housing the filter, a water intake pipe for sending hot water in the bathtub to the filter housing, and a return pipe for returning the hot water filtered by the filter to the bathtub. The filter medium storage unit is provided outside the bathtub, The filter material is a filter material mat composed of fiber chips made of aggregated synthetic resin fibers and a bag-shaped net member filled with the fiber chips, The hot bath facility is characterized in that the filter mat is accommodated in the filter medium accommodation section so that it can be inserted and removed.

2. A hot spring facility as described in claim 1, characterized in that there is space above and below the filter material mat within the filter material storage section, and a filtration pipe branching off from the water intake pipe and a backwash drainage pipe branching off from the return pipe are connected to the upper space, and a backwash water supply pipe branching off from the water intake pipe and a filtration pipe branching off from the return pipe are connected to the lower space.

3. The water heater further includes a heating means for heating the hot water flowing through the return pipe.

2. The hot bath facility according to claim 1, wherein the heating means is disposed in a storage space below a step provided on the lower periphery of the bathtub.

4. The fiber chips are synthetic resin fibers intertwined in a nonwoven state and are in the form of a sphere, a cylinder, a cube, a rectangular parallelepiped, a polygonal column, or an irregular column with an outer dimension of 10 mm to 15 mm, 2. The hot bath facility according to claim 1, wherein the filter mat is washable in a washing machine.

5. 4. The hot bath facility according to claim 3, wherein at least a water intake pipe, a filter medium storage section, a return pipe, and a heating means are installed in a bathtub having a step section, and are unitized.

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