Fluid sprinkling – spraying – and diffusing – Selectively usable or variable diverse terminal outlets – And valve controlling flow
Reexamination Certificate
2001-09-21
2004-05-11
Hwu, Davis (Department: 3752)
Fluid sprinkling, spraying, and diffusing
Selectively usable or variable diverse terminal outlets
And valve controlling flow
C239S436000, C239S553000, C239S525000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06732957
ABSTRACT:
TECHNICAL FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a flow path switching device which can be suitably applied to a shower unit and the like disposed in a bathroom, etc. and used for washing a human body, etc., and specifically to a flow path switching device applied suitable to a shower unit which can create purified water by adsorbing and decomposing residual chlorine contained in service water, and a shower unit having the same.
BACKGROUND ART OF THE INVENTION
For example, as disclosed in JP-A-11-9485, a conventional flow path switching device, which is provided in a shower head and the like of a purified water shower unit and the like, switches a flow path to be selected by closing one flow path among two flow paths by a valve body as well as by opening the other flow path. Namely, the respective two flow paths must be opened/closed simultaneously, thereby making the structure complicated. By this complication in structure, the pressure loss increases, the discharge amount of the shower decreases, and user's comfortableness may be damaged. Further, because it is very difficult to dispose the complicated mechanism in a limited space in a shower head, the size of a shower head having the conventional flow path switching mechanism becomes large as the whole or partially, thereby injuring its appearance.
Further, a conventional purified water shower unit removing or decomposing residual chlorine contained in service water and having means for switching raw water and purified water, is constructed, for example, as shown in FIG.
5
. Purified water shower unit
100
depicted in
FIG. 5
has a shower head
101
and a shower grip
102
, and raw water is introduced into a switching device
103
and distributed to a purified water flow path “b” having therein a filter material
104
and a raw water flow path “a” bypassing the filter material
104
. Raw water or purified water having passed through filter material
104
is led to the head portion, and discharged as shower. Thus, in a conventional purified water shower unit, because flow path switching device
103
is disposed at an upstream side of filter material
104
, it is necessary for a user to use both hands in order to switch flow paths as shown in FIG.
6
.
Moreover, in the conventional purified water shower unit
100
, filter material
104
is formed as a cylindrical shape and raw water flows into the cylindrical filter material
104
from its outer side surface, and by this structure, the inflow cross-sectional area of the filter material
104
is ensured to be large and its flow path resistance is reduced.
In such a purified water shower unit
100
having switching device
103
for switching raw water flow path “a” and purified water flow path “b”, after raw water is introduced into switching device
103
, it is distributed to the periphery side and the inner circumferential side of filter material
104
by the switching device
103
, and the inner circumferential side is made into the raw water flow path “a” and the periphery side is made into the purified water flow path “b”. When raw water is led to the inner circumferential side, the raw water passes through the inner circumferential side as it is, and introduced into shower head
101
and then discharged as shower water. When raw water is led to the periphery side of filter material
104
, the raw water flows from the periphery of the filter material
104
to the inner circumferential side of the filter material
104
to the inner circumferential side of the filter material
104
through the filter material
104
, and introduced into shower head
101
and then discharged as purified water shower.
Thus, in the conventional purified water shower unit, since the purified water flow path “b” is formed so as to make water flow from the periphery to the inner circumferential side of filter material
104
, pressure operates on the filter material
104
in a direction toward the center. Therefore, a reinforcement member
105
for a filter material, such as a cylindrical member made of a porous plastic or a plastic having many holes, is required at the inner circumferential side of the filter material
104
.
Namely, in the conventional purified water shower unit
100
, because switching device
103
for switching raw water flow path “a” and purified water flow path “b” is disposed at a position upstream of filter material
104
and reinforcement member
105
is required at a center position of the cylindrical filter material
104
, when a user switches the flow path during use of the shower, the user has to switch using both hands as shown in
FIG. 6
, and the shower unit is large in shape by a volume corresponding to the reinforcement member
105
, or, the water purification ability thereof is low.
DISCLOSURE OF THE INVENTION
An object of the present invention is to provide a flow path switching device which has a simple structure and can save space, and which can achieve a low pressure loss, and a shower unit equipped with the flow path switching device.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a purified water shower unit having a switching device between a raw water flow path and a purified water flow path, in which the switching operation can be performed by one hand, a shape of a filter material can be sufficiently maintained even if a water pressure is applied to the filter material, and the filter material is efficiently worn off over the whole and the space in the unit can be efficiently used.
To accomplish the above objects, a flow path switching device according to the present invention comprises two flow paths having pressure losses different from each other, and a valve body provided corresponding to one of the two flow paths which has a lower pressure loss, and the two flow paths are switched by opening/closing the flow path having a lower pressure loss with the valve body.
Where, it is preferred that the pressure loss of the flow path with a lower pressure loss is in a range of ⅕ to {fraction (1/20)} of a pressure loss of the other flow path.
A shower unit according to the present invention comprises such a flow path switching device. It is constructed as a shower unit capable of switching between raw water and purified water by providing a filter material in the shower unit.
The shower unit according to the present invention is suitable as a purified water shower unit equipped with a filter material. Namely, a shower unit according to the present invention comprises a cylindrical filter material, a raw water flow path, a purified water flow path, and a flow path switching device constructed so that the raw water flow path and the purified water flow path are switched by opening/closing the raw water flow path.
Particularly, this shower unit may be constructed so that raw water flowing in the purified water flow path flows from inside of the cylindrical filter material toward outside thereof. The purified water flow path may be always opened.
Further, in this shower unit, it is preferred that the flow path switching device is provided at a position downstream of the filter material.
Furthermore, it is preferred that the filter material is formed using a sulfite or an activated carbon, and calcium sulfite is desired as the used sulfite and fibrous activated carbon is desired as the used activated carbon.
Although the filter material is provided in a housing, a part of or the whole of the housing enclosing the filter material may be transparent.
Further, preferably a reinforcement member with a water permeable property is disposed on a periphery of the filter material, more preferably, the reinforcement member with a water permeable property is formed from a nonwoven fabric, and further more preferably, such a reinforcement member with a water permeable property is layered around the periphery of the filter material. Further, it is preferred that a pressure loss due to the reinforcement member with a water permeable property is higher than a pressure loss due to the filter material.
Further, it is preferred that a water per
Kanaya Keigo
Yonezawa Yasuo
Hwu Davis
Piper Rudnick LLP
Toray Industries Inc.
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