MIST GENERATING DEVICE

The mist generating device includes a housing 11 having a water tank 12; a shaft portion 13 provided in the housing and extending in a vertical direction; an impeller 14 disposed on the shaft portion to be rotatable by means of the motor in a horizontal direction about a rotation axis that is the shaft portion; a nozzle 15 for jetting the water in the water tank toward the impeller; and a pump 21 for delivering the water in the water tank to the nozzle. The impeller includes a plurality of blades 14a arranged along a rotation direction of the impeller and configured to collide with the water jetted from the nozzle. The water jetted from the nozzle collides with the blades to thereby smash the water and generate mist. The housing includes a mist releasing port 18 for releasing the mist generated in the housing outwardly of the housing.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present disclosure relates to a mist generating device, and more particularly, to a mist generating device used for mist saunas, and mist baths for elderly person's or patient's arms and legs.

BACKGROUND ART

It is well known that exposure to mist which is atomized hot water or water promotes perspiration and improves blood circulation even when the mist is at lower temperatures. It is also well known that exposure to such mist increases metabolism and improves effects of holding water in the skin. In particular, exposing to the mist the whole body or body parts, such as arms and legs, of an elderly person and a patient who are bedridden and cannot take a bath, may lead to the occurrence of relaxation of mind and body, and is particularly beneficial. In this respect, when a particle diameter of the mist is larger in a mist bath, mist particles in contact with the human body unite with each other to make larger-diameter water droplets, which causes wetness and thus give unpleasantness and then reduces the effects of the mist bath. For this reason, it has come to attention that the particle diameter of the mist is desirably made as small as possible.

Previously, various devices for realizing a mist bath have been proposed. For example, Patent literatures 1 and 2 each disclose a mist generating device that is provided with an impeller having a plurality of blades extending across a rotation direction and arranged in a circle and that causes a jet flow jetted from a plurality of nozzles to collide with the blades to generate mist with a smaller particle diameter. In those mist generating devices, water in a water tank provided inside the devices is heated by a heater and the heated water in the water tank is jetted from the nozzles. This enables generation of the mist with a smaller diameter and at higher temperature, which is suitable for a mist bath.

CITATION LIST

PATENT LITERATURE

SUMMARY OF INVENTION

Technical Problem

In this respect, the mist generating devices disclosed in Patent literatures 1 and 2 cause the water jetted from the nozzles to collide with the blades of the impeller to thereby drive the impeller in rotation, and thus, the water needs to be jetted from the nozzles at relatively high velocity. For that reason, the mist generating devices disclosed in Patent literatures 1 and 2 require a pump capable of generating relatively high pressure and also need smaller diameter nozzles. Then, the need of a pump having relatively high performance may result in higher cost. The smaller diameter nozzles also may lead to a breakdown due to clogs with dust, etc., and may cause a user to perform frequent maintenance.

The impeller is then driven in rotation by colliding with the water jetted from the nozzles, and thus, a rotational speed of the impeller may not be constant due to pressure of a pump applied for jetting the water and a load applied to a rotation axis of the impeller, for example. A diameter of the mist obtained then varies in accordance with the rotational speed of the impeller. Thus, the mist generating devices of Patent literatures 1 and 2 may not stably produce mist having a desirable particle diameter.

The present disclosure is made in view of the above-mentioned problem, and an object of the present disclosure is to enable prevention of a breakdown of the device, and constant rotation of the impeller at a desirable speed, and production of the mist having a desirable diameter.

SOLUTION TO PROBLEM

To attain the above-mentioned object, the present disclosure is enabled by a mist generating device including a motor for turning an impeller.

Specifically, a mist generating device according to the present disclosure includes: a housing having a water tank for storing water; a heater provided in the water tank for heating the water in the water tank; a shaft portion provided in the housing and extending in a vertical direction; a motor connected to the shaft portion; an impeller disposed on the shaft portion to be rotatable by means of the motor in a horizontal direction about a rotation axis that is the shaft portion; and a nozzle for jetting the water in the water tank toward the impeller; and a pump for delivering the water in the water tank to the nozzle. The impeller includes: a plurality of blades arranged along a rotation direction of the impeller and configured to collide with the water jetted from the nozzle; and an upper plate and a lower plate situated on upper ends and lower ends of the plurality of blades, respectively, and arranged to sandwich the plurality of blades. The water jetted from the nozzle collides with the blades to thereby smash the water and generate mist. The housing is provided with a mist releasing port for releasing the mist generated in the housing outwardly of the housing.

According to the mist generating device of the present disclosure, the motor is connected to the shaft portion and the impeller is arranged to be rotatable by means of the motor in the horizontal direction about the rotation axis that is the shaft portion, so that the impeller can be rotated without the water jetted from the nozzle. The impeller thus can be rotated at a desirable rotational speed by the motor. This eliminates the need of having a smaller diameter of an opening of the nozzle and of generating relatively high pressure of the pump delivering water to the nozzle, and enables stable production of the mist having a desirable diameter. Moreover, the nozzle does not need to have a smaller diameter of the opening as described above, thus preventing the nozzles from being clogged with dust, etc., and causing a breakdown, and the maintenance frequency from increasing.

In the mist generating device according to present disclosure, a diameter of the opening of the nozzle is preferably more than or equal to 5 mm

This permits effective prevention of the nozzles from being clogged with dust, etc., avoidance of a breakdown of the device, and easier maintenance, as described above.

In the mist generating device according to present disclosure, it is preferable that the housing is provided with an outside air introducing port for introducing outside air into the housing, that the outside air introducing port is provided with an outside air introducing means for actively introducing outside air into the housing, that a diameter of an opening of the mist releasing port is smaller than that of the outside air introducing port, and that an interior of the housing is configured to be pressurizable by the active introduction of outside air into the housing by the outside air introducing means.

This enables increased pressure in the housing of the device since the outside air introducing means actively introduces outside air into the device and the diameter of the opening of the mist releasing port is smaller than that of the outside air introducing port. For this reason, vaporization of the mist can be prevented and a retained heat amount of the mist can be increased, so that a decrease in temperature of a mist flow released from the device can be prevented. As a result, mist suitable for mist baths, higher in temperature, and smaller in particle diameter can be obtained without a complex structure and higher cost.

In the mist generating device according to the present disclosure, it is preferable that the upper plate or the lower plate includes an opening at a center thereof.

In that way, the rotation of the impeller generates an air flow from upper or lower side of the impeller through an interior of the impeller toward an exterior of the impeller, to enable excellent dispersion of the generated mist from the impeller.

ADVANTAGEOUS EFFECTS OF INVENTION

Accordingly, the mist generating device according to the present disclosure enables prevention of a breakdown of device parts, and constant rotation of the impeller at a desirable speed, and production of the mist having a desirable diameter.

DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS

Embodiments of the present disclosure are described below with reference to the drawings. The following description of preferred embodiments is merely an example in nature, and is not intended to limit the present disclosure, application method thereof, or use thereof

A mist generating device according to an embodiment of the present disclosure is described with reference toFIGS. 1 to 3.

As shown inFIGS. 1 to 3, a mist generating device10according to the embodiment includes a housing11formed of a body portion11aand a lid portion11b. The lid portion11bis removably attached to the body portion11awith a screw or the like. A water tank12for storing water is provided inside the housing11. A shaft portion13, an impeller14, and a nozzle15are provided inside the water tank12. The shaft portion13extends in the vertical direction. The impeller14is disposed to be rotatable in the horizontal direction about a rotation axis that is the shaft portion13. The nozzle15is configured to jet the water of the water tank12toward the impeller14. An outside air introducing port16for introducing outside air into the housing11is then provided in the lid portion11bof the housing11. The outside air introducing port16is provided with a fan17as an outside air introducing means for actively introducing outside air into the housing11. Further, a mist releasing port18for releasing mist generated in the housing11into the outside of the housing11is provided in the lid portion11b.

The water tank12is provided with a heater19for heating the stored water and a float switch20for detecting that a predetermined amount of water is stored in the water tank12. The water in the water tank12is heated by the heater19and the heated water is jetted from the nozzle15by means of a pump21provided inside the housing11. Specifically, the pump21is connected to a suction hose23and a sending-out hose24. The suction hose23is connected to the water tank12through a suction hole22provided at the bottom of the water tank12and the sending-out hose24is connected to the nozzle15. Thus, the water in the water tank12is sucked in the suction hose23through the suction hole22by operation of the pump21and passes through the sending-out hose24to be jetted from the nozzle15. In the embodiment, while not being shown, a pump for delivering water from a certain source of water to the water tank12may be provided aside from the pump21for delivering the water to the nozzle15. Then, operation of the pump for delivering water to the water tank12may be controlled on the basis of detection by the float switch20.

The shaft portion13is formed of, specifically, a rotation shaft13aextending in the vertical direction in the water tank12, and bearing portions13bprovided at bottom and upper parts of the water tank12and supporting the lower and upper ends of the rotation shaft13a.The shaft portion13also includes a motor13cconnected to the rotation shaft13ato turn the rotation shaft13a.In the embodiment, the motor13cis mounted on the bearing portion13bof the shaft portion13, but not limited to this configuration. In the embodiment, the lid portion11bthen includes a protruding portion11cprotruding upward at a position corresponding to the motor13cto mount the motor13con the bearing portion13b.In this respect, when the motor13cis disposed at another position which renders the need of the protruding portion11cunnecessary, the protruding portion11cis naturally eliminated. While not being shown, the motor13calso includes a power source for driving the motor13cand a controller for controlling rotational speed of the motor13c.Rotation of the motor13ccan also be controlled either in forward or reverse direction.

The impeller14attached to be rotated in the horizontal direction as the rotation shaft13ais turned by the motor13cis provided on the rotation shaft13aof the shaft portion13. In the embodiment, the impeller14includes two impellers14that are arranged one above another. A lower impeller14then has a smaller diameter than an upper impeller14. The lower impeller14with a smaller diameter can suppress creation of waves on the surface of the water in the water tank12which is caused by the rotation of the impellers14, and thus can prevent occurrence of an abnormal detection by the float switch20. However, the embodiment is not limited to this configuration. The upper impeller14may have a smaller diameter than the lower impeller14, or the upper and lower impellers14may have a same diameter. Moreover, the embodiment is not limited to the two impellers14. One, or three or more of the impellers14may be provided.

In the embodiment, the nozzle15includes two nozzles15that are provided at positions corresponding to vertical positions of the two impellers14, respectively. The impellers14are each formed of a plurality of blades14aarranged along a rotation direction of the impellers14, and an upper plate14band a lower plate14csituated on the upper and lower ends of the plurality of blades14a,respectively, and arranged to sandwich the plurality of blades. It is preferable that the blades14aare particularly configured and arranged to have a shape facilitating creation of an air flow in the impellers14by the rotation of the impellers14. This enables active introduction of outside air into the housing11through the outside air introducing port16and thus pressurization in the housing11. An effect produced by pressurizing in the housing11will be described below.

With the above-described structure of the mist generating device10and as shown inFIG. 3, when water is jetted from the nozzles15toward the impellers14that rotate in the horizontal direction on the rotation shaft13athat is an axial center with the rotation shaft13abeing turned by the motor13c,the water collides with the blades14aof the impellers14. The water having collided with the blades14aturns into mist and spray including water droplets to scatter in different directions. Thereby, mist is generated. In the operation, since the rotation shaft13afor the impellers14is fixed in the vertical direction as described above and a centrifugal force therefore acts in the horizontal direction, the mist with a comparatively smaller diameter scatters and floats inside the water tank12. On the other hand, the spray with a larger diameter does not scatter upward and falls to a lower part of the water tank12where the water is stored. As a result, only the mist with a smaller diameter can be selectively taken out.

In the embodiment, it is also preferable that the upper plate14bof the upper impeller14includes an opening at the center thereof and the lower plate14cof the lower impeller14includes an opening at the center thereof. In this way, the rotation of the impellers14generates an air flow towards the impellers14as described above, and specifically, generates an air flow from the upper and lower openings of the respective upper and lower impellers14through an interior of the impellers14toward an exterior of the impellers14, to enable excellent dispersion of the generated mist from the impellers14(see dashed arrows inFIG. 3).

In the embodiment, the impellers14is turned by the motor13and thus, there is no need of a smaller diameter of openings of the nozzles. The diameter of openings of the nozzles is preferably more than or equal to 5 mm, for example. This permits prevention of the nozzles from being clogged with dust, avoidance of a breakdown of the device, and easier maintenance.

In the mist generating device10according to the embodiment, the outside air introducing port16is provided with the fan17as an outside air introducing means as described above, and outside air is then introduced into the housing11by operation of the fan17. As a result, the mist generated and floating inside the housing11is moved by air flow introduced from the outside air introducing port16and is released from the mist releasing port18. Moreover, in the mist generating device10according to the embodiment, an interior of the housing11is pressurized by the operation of the fan17, and a diameter of an opening of the mist releasing port18is particularly smaller than a diameter of an opening of the outside air introducing port16.

The mist generating device10according to the embodiment includes the heater19in the water tank12and water is then heated by the heater19as described above, and steam thus exists inside the water tank12. In the conventional mist generating devices, mist is vaporized as described above, resulting in decreased temperature of released mist flow. In contrast, the mist generating device according to the embodiment is configured to pressurize the interior of the housing11as described above, so that vaporization of the mist is prevented and a retained heat amount of the mist can be increased. As a result, a decrease in temperature of a mist flow released from the device can be prevented.

In the embodiment, while not being shown, a known power source, wiring, temperature setting device, and temperature sensor formed of a thermocouple, and the like, for operating the fan17, heater19, and pump21, can be suitably adopted.

Next, an example of a use configuration of the mist generating device10according to the embodiment will be described with reference toFIG. 4. A use configuration where the mist generating device10is used for a mist bath for a leg will be described. As shown inFIG. 4, the mist generating device10can be used in such a manner that the mist releasing port18of the mist generating device10and a bag member30for a user to put his/her leg in are connected by a hose31, so that the mist released from the mist releasing port18is introduced into the bag member30. This enables the user's leg to have a mist bath with the mist having a smaller particle diameter. While the use configuration of a mist bath for a leg is shown in this example, a use in a mist bath for the whole body is enabled by changing the size of the bag member30.

The outside air introducing port16and the mist releasing port18are provided in the lid portion11bof the housing11in the mist generating device10according to the embodiment; however, they may be provided in the body portion11a.In this respect, the mist releasing port18is preferably provided in a part as upper as possible from the viewpoint of preventing spray with a larger diameter from reaching the mist releasing port18. The two impellers14are then provided on the shaft portion13; however, the embodiments are not limited to this configuration. One, or three or more of the impellers14may be arranged. In this respect, a number of the nozzles15corresponding to the number of impellers14are provided.

Next, a mist generating device50according to a variant of the embodiment will be described. As compared with the mist generating device10according to the above-described embodiment, the mist generating device50according to the variant embodiment is different in that two shaft portions are provided, two impellers are provided on the respective shaft portions, and two mist releasing ports are provided. The mist generating device50according the variant embodiment will be described below with reference toFIG. 5. Configurations of the mist generating device50same as those of the mist generating device10according to the embodiment will not be described.

As shown inFIG. 5, two shaft portions53are arranged along the horizontal direction inside a water tank52provided in a housing51of the mist generating device50according to the variant embodiment. A motor53cfor turning a rotation shaft53bof the shaft portion53is then connected to the shaft portion53. On each of the two shaft portions53, two impellers54arranged one above another are disposed to be rotatable in the horizontal direction. A total of four nozzles55for jetting water to the impellers54are thus provided such that each of the nozzles55is placed at a position corresponding to respective one of the impellers54. The four nozzles55are connected through a sending-out hose64to a pump61provided inside the housing51. Water is jetted from the four nozzles55by operation of the pump61. In the variant embodiment, the multiple impellers54are thus arranged, enabling an increased amount of generated mist.

In the variant embodiment, two mist releasing ports58are then arranged in a lid portion51bof the housing51. Two people thus can utilize one mist generating device50at the same time. Even in that case, the variant embodiment includes the multiple impellers54for generating mist as described above and causes a larger amount of the generated mist. Even when the mist is released from the two mist releasing ports58, a decrease in an amount of the released mist from each of the mist releasing ports58can be thus prevented.

Moreover, in the variant embodiment, the mist generating device50according to the variant embodiment is, similarly to the mist generating device10according to the embodiment, configured to pressurize an interior of the housing51by means of operation of a fan57and a diameter of an opening of the mist releasing port58is smaller than a diameter of an opening of an outside air introducing port56. In particular, the variant embodiment includes the outside air introducing port56having the opening of a larger diameter to thereby increase in an amount of introduced outside air, enables the pressurization of the interior of the housing51even when there are the two mist releasing ports58, and then provides the mist sufficiently released from the two mist releasing ports58.

Accordingly, a mist generating device according to the present disclosure enables prevention of a breakdown of device parts, and constant rotation of an impeller, and production of desirable mist, and is thus particularly useful.

DESCRIPTION OF REFERENCE CHARACTERS

10,50Mist generating device

16,56Outside air introducing port

18,58Mist releasing port