JPH11216477A - Device for sterilizing water and its method - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a 24-hour bath by which legionella, staphylococcus, etc., are effectively sterilized. SOLUTION: An iodine-combined sterilizing resin is used as the sterilizer of legionella, etc., and arrange not only 111 a bathtub but also in a circulating line. A floating material 26 of the iodine-combined sterilizing resin 24 is used in the bathtub. Water is injected from the discharge port 21 of a circulator 3 along the bathtub, hence the floating material 26 is effectively floated around in the bathtub 2, and the whole bathtub is sterilized.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an apparatus and a method for disinfecting water optimal for disinfecting a water tank such as a bathtub.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art A home bath or the like is provided on the market with a hot water circulation device which enables comfortable bathing for 24 hours and can save water. It is known that the 24-hour bath mainly includes a water filtering unit, a sterilizing unit, a heating unit, and the like.

[0003]

In the above-mentioned 24-hour bath, water can be purified and sterilized to some extent using activated carbon.
It was found that pathogenic Escherichia coli O157, Legionella bacteria, or Staphylococcus aureus had proliferated in the water for 4 hours in the bath.

[0004]

As a countermeasure for sterilizing these staphylococci and the like, it is known to use an iodine compound sterilizing resin. This iodine compound disinfecting resin has a positive charge as a whole, the property of an ion exchange resin that has the property of bringing nearby negatively charged substances close together, and the iodine's own oxidizing power causes the cell membrane of bacteria to In combination with the property of baking and sterilizing, it draws negative germs present in water and instantly sterilizes it with iodine from the resin surface.

[0005] However, since the iodine compound sterilizing resin attracts various bacteria by an electric suction force, only the various bacteria existing around the resin can be sterilized. From such a property, a sterilization treatment tank provided with an iodine compound sterilization resin may be interposed in a circulation path that originally circulates hot and cold water to sterilize various bacteria in passing water.

The present inventor has arranged a sterilization treatment tank provided with an iodine compound sterilization resin in a circulation path based on the above findings, and examined the sterilization effect thereof. As a result, the number of staphylococci and the like was reduced as compared with those not using the iodine compound sterilizing resin, but these bacteria still existed in the water stored in the bathtub. This is because the flow rate of the water in the sterilization tank was much smaller than the amount of water stored in the bathtub, and it was expected that the sterilization treatment alone would not have sufficient sterilization power.

Therefore, the present inventor has developed the apparatus and method of the present invention, focusing on exerting a sterilizing effect on the entire bath by using an iodine compound sterilizing resin even in water storage in a bathtub or the like. In this case, the iodine compound sterilizing resin is not necessarily light in specific gravity, but many of the germs are easily attached to the hair floating on the water surface and propagated, and it is preferable that the sterilization is mainly performed at the water surface. A floating body containing an iodine compound sterilizing resin is used to exert a sterilizing effect.

[0008] Examples of the floating body include a structure in which an iodine compound sterilizing resin, a polyethylene resin having a low specific gravity, a closed cell foam resin and the like are contained in a net-like bag to improve buoyancy. As long as the floating object does not get in the way when bathing, a floating object having a size of about 15 cm square can be exemplified regardless of its form. In this case, as described above, since the iodine compound sterilizing resin exerts a sterilizing effect only on the water around the resin, it is desirable to cause the iodine compound to migrate or swim by some means.

As a measure for this purpose, the present inventor has taken measures to make the floating body swim by using the water discharge pressure of the pump provided in the circulation path, so that a further sterilizing effect is exerted. In this case, it is preferable that the discharge port is set so as to be ejected along the bath surface of the bathtub, whereby the water in the bathtub is swirled along the bath surface, and the floating object also migrates or swims.

When used in a bathtub, organic matter such as dirt floats. Since the organic matter such as the dirt also has a negative charge, it may be electrically sucked into the iodine compound sterilizing resin to reduce the sterilizing effect. Therefore, it is preferable to arrange a filter tank as a biological purification and physical purification tank upstream of the iodine compound sterilization resin in the sterilization treatment tank.

Further, in order to maintain the purifying / sterilizing effect, the iodine compound sterilizing resin and the filter tank are removably housed in a net-like basket, and it is economical to take them out every 1-2 weeks, wash them, and use them. It is a target.

Further, the above sterilizing effect can be applied not only to a bathtub having a circulation path, but also to a water storage device having a water storage tank and a circulation device. Further, the circulation device disposed in the circulation path is not limited to a small device provided in the bathroom, such as an upper edge portion of the bathtub, but also includes a circulation device installed outside the bathroom.

[0013]

An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a configuration diagram of a 24-hour bath incorporating a sterilization apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention,
FIG. 2 is a configuration diagram of the circulation device, and FIG. 3 is a plan view of the bathtub.

As shown, a 24-hour bath 1 includes a bathtub 2
And a circulating device 3 for circulating water in the bathtub 2.

The circulation device 3 has a water absorption pipe 5
A piping unit 7 including the discharge pipe 6 extends downward. The apparatus main body 4 is installed at the upper edge of the bathtub 2, and a circulation pump 8, a filter tank 9, a sterilization tank 10, and a heater 11 as a heating means are sequentially arranged inside the circulation path 12. Have been.

In the filter tank 9, a large number of natural activated stones 14 or ceramic balls are accommodated in a mesh basket 13, and are accommodated so as to be able to be taken out from the upper lid 15 of the apparatus main body 4. The sterilizing tank 10 is filled with a bead-shaped iodine compound sterilizing resin 17 (for example, “Triosin”: manufactured by Hydro Biotech Corporation) in a mesh basket 16, and the mesh basket 16 is a mesh basket 13 of the filter tank 9. And can be taken out from the upper lid 15 of the apparatus main body 4.

The piping unit 7 can be fixed to a tank wall at a corner of the bathtub 2 by a suction cup 19, and the upper end of the water absorption pipe 5 is connected to the suction side of the circulation pump 8 of the apparatus main body 4.
The upper end of the discharge pipe 6 is connected to the downstream side of the heater 11. The water inlet 20 of the water pipe 5 is connected to the discharge port 2 of the discharge pipe 6.
1, a pre-filter 2 that captures visible dust such as hair, dirt, etc.
2 are provided. As shown in FIG. 2, the discharge port 21 is attached to the piping unit 7 so as to be pivotable within a range of 90 degrees with respect to the water intake port 20.
As described above, the swiveling position is set so as to be able to discharge along the tank wall of the bathtub 2.

Further, in the bathtub 2, an iodine compound sterilization resin floating body 26 containing a mixture of bead-like iodine compound sterilization resin 24 (for example, “triosin”) and polyethylene resin in a resin net-like bag 25 is provided. Is arranged. The floating body 26 is approximately 15 cm in size, and floats on the water surface of the bathtub 2.

When the 24-hour bath 1 having the above configuration is used, the circulation device 3 is driven while the floating object 26 is kept floating in the bathtub 2. Then, in the circulation device 3, the water in the bathtub 2 is sucked by the operation of the circulation pump 8, dust such as hair is captured by the prefilter 22, and then enters the filter tank 9 to remove organic substances. And sterilization tank 1
Bacteria such as Legionella bacteria, Escherichia coli, and staphylococci are removed by the iodine compound sterilizing resin 17 of 0, and hot water heated by the heater 11 through the circulation path 12 is discharged from the discharge port 21 of the piping unit 7 into the bathtub 2. Is done. In this case, since the iodine compound sterilization treatment is performed on the downstream side of the filter tank 9, there is no need to perform biological purification on the iodine portion, and the sterilization treatment tank 10 can be made relatively small.

On the other hand, since the iodine compound sterilizing resin floating body 26 is present in the bathtub 2, the water around it is sterilized. Since the floating body 26 has a configuration in which the discharge port 21 discharges circulating water along the bath wall of the bathtub 2, the flow of hot water is a swirling flow along the bathtub wall. Therefore, the germicidal resin floating body 26 swirls and swims due to the flow of the hot water in the bathtub 2, and has an action of sterilizing germs such as staphylococci with respect to the hot water in the entire bathtub. The removal can prevent deterioration such as atopy even in the bath 1 for 24 hours.

Although the scale in the bathtub is removed by the filter tank 9 of the circulating device 3, a part thereof may reach the sterilization tank 10. May decrease. In such a case, the upper lid 15 of the apparatus main body 2 is opened, and the mesh basket 16 is opened.
The ability can be maintained by taking out the iodine compound sterilizing resin 17 every time, washing and reusing or replacing it. In this case, the cleaning reuse or replacement operation is an operation of taking out the net cage 16 together, so that it can be easily performed.

Further, a configuration in which a bubble generating mechanism is added to the circulating device 3 of the above-described embodiment, or a configuration in which an ozone generating device is added can also be adopted.

[0023]

As is apparent from the above description, according to the present invention, the iodine compound sterilizing resin is disposed not only in the bathtub but also in the circulation path, and the iodine compound sterilization resin in the bathtub is used as a floating body, and Since the configuration is such that the floating body is made to swim using the discharge force of the pump in the above, there is an effect that the sterilizing effect of the entire bathtub is greatly improved.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a configuration diagram of a 24-hour bath incorporating a sterilization apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a configuration diagram of the circulation device.

FIG. 3 is a plan view of the bathtub.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 24 hour bath 2 Bathtub 3 Circulation device 4 Device main body 5 Water absorption pipe 6 Discharge pipe 7 Piping unit 8 Circulation pump 9 Filter tank 10 Sterilization treatment tank 11 Heater 17 Iodine compound sterilization resin 20 Water inlet 21 Discharge port 24 Iodine compound sterilization resin 26 Floating object

──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continued on the front page (51) Int.Cl. ⁶ Identification code FI C02F 1/50 550 C02F 1/50 550C 1/76 1/76 A

Claims (4)

[Claims] 1. A floating body including a water storage tank and a circulation path for circulating water in the water storage tank, the floating body including an iodine compound sterilizing resin disposed on the water surface of the water storage tank, and an iodine compound sterilization disposed in the circulation path. A water sterilization apparatus comprising a sterilization tank containing a resin, wherein the floating body is made to swim on the water surface of the water storage tank by using a discharge force of a pump arranged in a circulation path. 2. The water sterilization apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said water storage tank is a bathtub. 3. A floating body containing an iodine compound sterilizing resin is floated in a water storage tank, and a sterilization treatment tank containing an iodine compound sterilizing resin is disposed in a circulation path for circulating water in the water storage tank, and water passing through the circulation path is disposed. A method of sterilizing water, which sterilizes and uses the discharge force of a pump in a circulation path to make the floating body swim on the water surface of a water storage tank and sterilize. 4. The method according to claim 3, wherein said water storage tank is a bathtub.