Stirring device

Abstract

To realize a mixing device that can expand the area covered by a single mixing device. [Solution] An agitation device 10 used to agitate water in an aquarium 1 comprises an apparatus main body 11 having an underwater pump 22 and a discharge nozzle 24 that discharges water supplied by the underwater pump 22, and a guide rail 12 on which the apparatus main body 11 is mounted so that it can move up and down, the discharge nozzle 24 has a liquid injection pipe 31 connected to the underwater pump 22, and a trumpet tube 32 whose inlet cross-sectional area is larger than that of the outlet of the injection pipe 31 and which widens toward the outlet side, the outlet of the injection pipe 31 faces the inlet of the trumpet tube 32, and the water flow discharged from the injection pipe 31 and flowing into the trumpet tube 32 draws the surrounding water into the inlet of the trumpet tube 32, and the apparatus main body 11 is mounted so as to be able to rotate horizontally relative to the guide rail 12.

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to an agitator used for agitating water in an aquarium. [Background technology]

[0002] For example, in the tanks of industrial wastewater treatment facilities, the water in the tanks is stirred to prevent waste from settling and to homogenize the water quality.

[0003] Patent Document 1 describes an agitator for use in a sewage treatment tank. In this agitator, a propeller is fitted to the rotating shaft of a horizontal submersible motor, and the propeller is surrounded by a guide ring. The guide ring is connected to a discharge bend that branches upward and downward. When the propeller is rotated by the submersible motor, an upward water flow is generated from the upward outlet of the discharge bend, and a downward water flow is generated from the downward outlet of the discharge bend. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0004] [Patent Document 1] Patent No. 4073665 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0005] However, it is not easy to configure a propeller-type agitator to emit a strong water current, and depending on the size and shape of the tank, it may not be possible to supply a water current of sufficient speed to some areas of the tank. In such cases, it is necessary to install another agitator.

[0006] The present invention has been made in consideration of the above circumstances, and has an object to realize a mixing device that can expand the area covered by a single mixing device. [Means for solving the problem]

[0007] In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, the first invention is an agitation device used to agitate water in an aquarium, comprising: a device main body having an underwater pump and a discharge nozzle that discharges water supplied by the underwater pump; and a guide rail on which the device main body is mounted so that it can move up and down, the discharge nozzle has a liquid injection tube connected to the underwater pump and a trumpet tube whose inlet cross-sectional area is larger than that of the outlet of the liquid injection tube and which widens toward the outlet side, the outlet of the liquid injection tube faces the inlet of the trumpet tube, and the water flow discharged from the liquid injection tube and flowing into the trumpet tube draws the surrounding water into the inlet of the trumpet tube, and the device main body is mounted so that it can rotate horizontally relative to the guide rail.

[0008] The second invention is based on the first invention, in which the main body of the device further includes a connecting pipe extending from the discharge port of the underwater pump and branching into multiple branches, and multiple discharge nozzles are provided, each connected to the outlet of the connecting pipe after branching.

[0009] In the third invention, in the first invention, the device body further comprises an air supply pipe having one end opening into the discharge nozzle, and air is supplied into the discharge nozzle via the air supply pipe.

[0010] The fourth invention is based on the second invention, in which the orientation of the outlet of the trumpet tube differs among the multiple discharge nozzles. Effect of the Invention

[0011] In this invention, a discharge nozzle is directly or indirectly connected to the underwater pump. The outlet of the liquid injection tube of the discharge nozzle faces the inlet of the trumpet tube. The inlet of the trumpet tube has a larger flow path cross-sectional area than the outlet of the liquid injection tube, and the trumpet tube widens toward the outlet side, functioning as a diffuser. In the discharge nozzle, the surrounding water is sucked into the inlet of the trumpet tube by the water flow discharged from the liquid injection tube and flowing into the trumpet tube. Such a discharge nozzle has a longer reach of the water flow than a propeller-type agitator. On the other hand, such a discharge nozzle has a strong water flow that it discharges itself. In this invention, the device body is attached to a guide rail so that the device body does not tip backwards due to the water flow discharged by the discharge nozzle itself. And since the device body is restrained by the guide rail, the device body is attached so that it can rotate horizontally relative to the guide rail. Therefore, it is possible to set the discharge direction of the water flow with a long reach in various directions, and it is possible to realize an agitator that can expand the area covered by one agitator. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0012] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a stirring device according to an embodiment. [Diagram 2] FIG. 2 is a side view of the stirring device according to the embodiment. [Diagram 3] FIG. 3(a) is a top view of the agitation device according to the embodiment before the device body is horizontally rotated, and FIG. 3(b) is a top view of the device body after it has been horizontally rotated. [Figure 4] FIG. 4 is a diagram for explaining the reaching state of the water flow discharged from the discharge nozzle of the agitation device according to the embodiment. [Diagram 5] FIG. 5 is a perspective view of a stirring device according to another embodiment. [Figure 6] FIG. 6 is a perspective view of another stirring device according to another embodiment. [Figure 7] FIG. 7 is a top view of a discharge nozzle to which an air supply pipe is attached in still another stirring device according to another embodiment. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0013] Hereinafter, the embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. Note that the following embodiments are merely examples of the present invention and are not intended to limit the scope of the present invention, its applications, or its uses.

[0014] This embodiment is an agitator 10 according to the present invention. The agitator 10 is installed in a water tank 1 of a factory wastewater treatment facility, for example. The agitator 10 is used to agitate water (such as wastewater) stored in the water tank 1 for the purpose of preventing sedimentation of waste matter.

[0015] [Configuration of the mixing device] 1 and 2, the agitator 10 includes a base 20, an apparatus body 11 placed on the base 20, and a guide rail 12 on which the apparatus body 11 is mounted so as to be movable up and down. The base 20 includes a support plate 20a and a plurality of legs 20b fixed to the rear surface of the support plate 20. The guide rail 12 is fixed to a wall surface 1a of the water tank 1.

[0016] The device main body 11 includes a submersible pump 22, a connecting pipe 23 that extends from the discharge port of the submersible pump 22 and branches into two, and a pair of discharge nozzles 24 each connected to an outlet of the connecting pipe 23 after branching. Each discharge nozzle 24 discharges water supplied by the submersible pump 22. In the following, the side of the device main body 11 on which the discharge nozzles 24 are provided will be referred to as the "front side" and the opposite side as the "rear side."

[0017] The submersible pump 22 is configured to, for example, suck in water from below and discharge the water upward from an outlet at the front. An inlet of a connecting pipe 23 is connected to the outlet at the front. A grip 22a for a user to hold is provided on the upper surface of the housing of the submersible pump 22. One end of a chain 18 for pulling the device main body 11 up from above the water surface of the aquarium 1 is connected to the upper surface (grip 22a) of the housing 21. A ring is provided on the other end of the chain 18. A cable 19 is also connected to the submersible pump 22. Control signals and power are supplied to the submersible pump 22 via the cable 19. In FIG. 2, the water flow sucked in by the submersible pump 22 and directed toward the discharge nozzle 24 is indicated by dashed arrows.

[0018] The connecting pipe 23 forms a flow path connecting the submersible pump 22 and each discharge nozzle 24. The connecting pipe 23 has a T-junction 23a connected to the outlet of the submersible pump 22, and a pair of post-branching pipes 23b connected to a pair of outlets provided after branching at the T-junction 23a. The T-junction 23a extends upward from its inlet and branches to the left and right. The post-branching pipes 23c have a 90-degree elbow. The post-branching pipes 23c are bent so that their inlets face the sideways and their outlets face forward. A pair of discharge nozzles 24 are attached to the connecting pipe 23 in parallel to each other.

[0019] As shown in FIG. 2, the discharge nozzle 24 has a liquid injection pipe (nozzle) 31 connected to the outlet of the post-branch pipe 23c, and a trumpet tube 32 having a larger flow passage cross-sectional area (diameter) at the inlet than at the outlet of the liquid injection pipe 31 and expanding in a substantially tapered shape toward the outlet side. The trumpet tube 32 narrows to a narrowed portion 32a near the inlet, and expands from the narrowed portion 32a toward the outlet side. The liquid injection pipe 31 and the trumpet tube 32 are connected by a plurality of connecting members 33 so that the central axis of the liquid injection pipe 31 and the central axis of the trumpet tube 32 are substantially aligned, and the outlet of the liquid injection pipe 31 faces the inlet of the trumpet tube 32 at a short distance. The inlet of the trumpet tube 32 has a larger area than the outlet of the liquid injection pipe 31 and is open to the outside. In the discharge nozzle 24, the surrounding water is sucked into the inlet of the trumpet tube 32 by the water flow discharged from the liquid injection pipe 31 and flowing into the trumpet tube 32 (see FIG. 4).

[0020] The guide rail 12 has an open front side in cross-sectional view. The guide rail 12 has a pair of front end portions 12a on either side of the open portion in cross-sectional view. The guide rail 12 may be made of, for example, a lip channel steel (C channel).

[0021] The agitator 10 is attached so as to be horizontally rotatable relative to the guide rail 12. The agitator 10 further includes a belt member 13 for restraining the device body 11, a belt holder 14 for holding an end of the belt member 13, a support pillar 15 to which the belt holder 14 is attached, and a rail locking portion 16 that protrudes rearward from the support pillar 15 and is locked to the guide rail 12.

[0022] The belt member 13 is made of a flat belt. There are two belt members 13. One belt member 13 is wound around the upper part of the housing 21, and the other belt member 13 is wound around the lower part of the housing 21.

[0023] Two belt holders 14 are provided for each belt member 13. Both ends of each belt member 13 are fixed to a support column 15 (or a member fixed to the support column 15) by a pair of belt holders 14. Each belt holder 14 is formed by a bolt that fastens the end of the belt member 13 to the support column 15. Here, the support column 15 is a member for supporting the device main body 11 from the rear side. The support column 15 is fixed to the upper surface of the base portion 20 and extends upward from the upper surface of the base portion 20. The support column 15 is provided with a belt guide 17 through which the belt member 13 passes.

[0024] The rail locking portion 16 is a plate material that is substantially T-shaped when viewed from above (see FIG. 3(a)). The rail locking portion 16 is disposed inside the guide rail 12, and is fixed to the rear side of the support pillar 15 through an open portion on the front side of the guide rail 12. A pair of front end portions 12a of the guide rail 12 hold the rail locking portion 16 inside the guide rail 12 so that the rail locking portion 16 does not come off the guide rail 12. When the device main body 11 is moved up and down along the guide rail 12, the rail locking portion 16 slides against the inner surface of the guide rail 12.

[0025] When the belt member 13 is tightly wrapped around the trunk of the housing 21 of the device main body 11 and both ends of the belt member 13 are fastened to the support columns 15 by both belt holding portions 14, the device main body 11 cannot be rotated horizontally relative to the guide rail 12.

[0026] From this state, by loosening the bolts of both (or one) of the belt holding parts 14, the restraint of the belt member 13 to the device body 11 is weakened, and the device body 11 can be rotated horizontally relative to the guide rail 12. Then, as shown in Fig. 3(a) and Fig. 3(b), after the device body 11 is rotated horizontally and the direction of the discharge nozzle 24 is adjusted, both ends of the belt member 13 are fixed to the support columns 15 by both belt holding parts 14 with each belt member 13 tightly wound around the trunk of the housing 21. When the device body 11 is rotated horizontally, the base part 20, the support column 15, and the belt guide 17 do not rotate horizontally, but the device body 11 also rotates horizontally relative to the base part 20, the support column 15, and the belt guide 17.

[0027] Furthermore, during maintenance of the device body 11, the device body 11 can be moved above the water surface along the guide rails 12 by pulling the chain 18 from above the water surface.

[0028] [Mixer operation] In the agitator 10, when the submersible pump 22 is operated, the submersible pump 22 discharges water from the discharge port. The water discharged from the submersible pump 22 is supplied to each discharge nozzle 24 via the connecting pipe 23. In each discharge nozzle 24, the water flow discharged at high speed from the liquid injection pipe 31 flows into the trumpet tube 32, and the water near the inlet of the trumpet tube 32 is sucked into the inlet of the trumpet tube 32 due to the negative pressure generated at that time. As a result, a water flow greater than the discharge amount of the liquid injection pipe 31 is discharged from the trumpet tube 32. The discharge amount of the trumpet tube 32 is, for example, 4-5 times the discharge amount of the liquid injection pipe 31. As shown in FIG. 4, the water flow discharged from each trumpet tube 32 reaches the wall surface 1b of the water tank 1 opposite to the wall surface 1a on which the agitator 10 is attached. The water flow is reflected by the wall surface 1b. As a result, a wider range of water is agitated by the water flow.

[0029] [Effects of the embodiment] In this embodiment, a discharge nozzle 24 with a longer reach of the water flow is used compared to a propeller-type agitator. A plurality of discharge nozzles 24 are connected to one submersible pump 22 via a connecting pipe 23 that branches into multiple parts. Even if a plurality of discharge nozzles are connected to one submersible pump 22, it is possible to make the reach of the water flow discharged from each discharge nozzle 24 longer compared to a propeller-type agitator. Therefore, the water in a wide range of the water tank 1 is agitated by the water flow discharged from each discharge nozzle 24. In addition, the discharge nozzle 24 sucks the surrounding water to the inlet of the trumpet tube 32, so that the water around the inlet is also agitated. On the other hand, the device body 11 is restrained by the guide rail 12, but is attached so as to be horizontally rotatable relative to the guide rail 12. Therefore, it is possible to set the discharge direction of the water flow with a long reach in various directions. According to this embodiment, it is possible to realize an agitator 10 that can expand the area covered by one agitator 10.

[0030] [Other embodiments] In the above-described embodiment, the orientation of the outlet of the trumpet tube 32 may be different between the multiple discharge nozzles 24. For example, as shown in Fig. 5, the outlet of the trumpet tube 32 of one of a pair of discharge nozzles 24 may face horizontally, and the outlet of the trumpet tube 32 of the other discharge nozzle 24 may face diagonally upward. This allows efficient stirring of water even in an aquarium 1 with a certain degree of depth. Note that the angle of the discharge nozzle 24 in the vertical direction may be freely adjusted, for example, by rotatably attaching a branched pipe 23c (a 90-degree elbow portion) to the T-junction 23b.

[0031] In the above embodiment, two discharge nozzles 24 are connected to one submersible pump 22, but as shown in Fig. 6, one discharge nozzle 24 may be connected to one submersible pump 22. Also, three or more discharge nozzles 24 may be connected to one submersible pump 22.

[0032] In the above-mentioned embodiment, the device body 11 may further include an air supply pipe 25 having one end opening into the discharge nozzle 24 and a pump 26 for feeding air into the air supply pipe 25, as shown in FIG. 7, in order to perform aeration of the water in the water tank 1. The air supply pipe 25 is inserted into the discharge nozzle 24 through a gap between the connecting members 33 adjacent in the circumferential direction, and is fixed to a fixing metal fitting 27 attached to the post-branching pipe 23b (or the inlet side of the discharge nozzle 24). The air supply pipe 25 bends upward behind the fixing point of the fixing metal fitting 27, extends above the water surface, and is connected to the pump 26. Note that the outlet of the air supply pipe 25 may be arranged so that air is discharged from the air supply pipe 25 by the above-mentioned negative pressure, without providing the pump 26. [Industrial Applicability]

[0033] The present invention can be applied to an agitator used for agitating water in an aquarium, etc. [Explanation of symbols]

[0034] 1. Aquarium 10 Stirring device 11. Device body 12 Guide rail 13 Belt member 14 Belt holder 20 Pedestal 22 Submersible pump 23 Connecting pipe 24 Discharge nozzle 31 Liquid injection tube 32 Trumpet

Claims

1. An agitation device used to agitate water in a water tank, A device body having an underwater pump and a discharge nozzle for discharging water supplied by the underwater pump; The device body is provided with a guide rail on which the device body is mounted so as to be movable up and down, The discharge nozzle has a liquid injection pipe connected to the underwater pump, and a trumpet pipe having a flow path cross-sectional area at the inlet larger than that at the outlet of the liquid injection pipe and expanding toward the outlet side, the outlet of the liquid injection pipe faces the inlet of the trumpet pipe, and is configured so that the surrounding water is sucked into the inlet of the trumpet pipe by the water flow discharged from the liquid injection pipe and flowing into the trumpet pipe, The device body is attached to the guide rail so as to be horizontally rotatable.

2. The device body further includes a connecting pipe extending from the discharge port of the submersible pump and branching into a plurality of branches, The stirring device according to claim 1 , wherein a plurality of the discharge nozzles are provided, each of the discharge nozzles being connected to an outlet of the connecting pipe after branching.

3. The device body further includes an air supply pipe having one end opening into the discharge nozzle, The agitation device according to claim 1 , wherein air is supplied into the discharge nozzle through the air supply pipe.

4. The stirring device according to claim 2 , wherein the orientations of the outlets of the trumpet tubes are different among the plurality of discharge nozzles.

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