DE8807958U1 - Control device for shower systems - Google Patents

Description

Description

The invention relates to a control device for shower systems for killing harmful bacteria/ viruses or the like (aerobes).

Aerobes are organisms that live in an oxygen-containing medium and meet their energy needs by oxidizing organic substances using free oxygen (oxybiosis). Such aerobes are very useful in nature. However, they can also be very harmful to health, as has been found when they are inhaled by humans and settle in the lungs or the blood flowing through the lungs.

It was found that these substances are of little importance in the normal use of water for washing or similar / although they are also contained in the water here /, but that they are released in large quantities when showering, especially in large shower facilities / through the vapors generated here, and are then inhaled by the people showering.

It was also found that the aerobes multiply particularly strongly in the limestone that settles in the water pipes because they find a favorable breeding ground here, especially when only water temperatures of 40 to 50° Celsius are generated in the storage tanks (boilers) in order to save energy. These are particularly favorable conditions for the proliferation of the aerobes, as was found.

The object of the invention is in particular to

To keep the control system free of aerobes and/or to limit the number of aerobes to a minimum.

This object is solved by the characterizing feature of claim 1.

Although a lot of limestone builds up in the pipes when the water is overheated to 60 to 70 degrees Celsius, it is still difficult to see why. uüueü tu" d T S Aerobes are created, the object of the invention is solved by temporarily heating the water of the shower system and thus also the deposited limestone to at least 60 to 70° Celsius and then flushing it through with this water, because it was found that according to the invention the aerobes then die and are washed out as a result of the flushing. In particular, the shower system can be opened and closed several times at short intervals in order to clean not only the showers and their supply lines themselves with superheated water, but also the return lines through which the water is pumped when the showers are closed. The return lines also contain aerobes. The measure mentioned is intended to prevent the return lines from only being flushed with cooled water and therefore having no cleaning effect.

Further details of the invention can be found in the subclaims and the description of an embodiment.

The drawing shows an embodiment of the invention in the form of a circuit diagram of a shower system.

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When the system is in normal use, hot water of around 40 to 50° Celsius is generated in the boiler (1) and fed to the system's taps (20, 21, 22, 2.3) by adding cold water in a mixing valve (2). In this form, the shower system is ready for use.

Since the water in the boiler (1) is heated to a relatively low

A switching device (24) is provided which heats the water in the boiler to higher temperatures, for example 60 to 70° Celsius. The switching signal for this can be triggered via a remote control (25). Once the water has reached its temperature, the mixing valve (2) is adjusted to suit the normal use of the shower.

(27) is a remote control which adjusts the mixing valve (2) in a suitable manner so that superheated water flows through the shower systems.

The system also includes control devices that act on a circulation pump when the shower system is switched off, so that the system's return lines are also cleaned with superheated water. This can be done several times in succession at short intervals.

Cleaning can be carried out using a timer (26), but also just as well using the remote control.

The individual switching processes (starting up the boiler, increasing the setpoint value of the thermostat, triggering the shower, switching to the circulation phase combined with the activation of the safety device) are carried out via the timer in the control system. The

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The control unit is equipped with potential-free outputs, which means that the individual processes can be monitored and/or controlled via a central control system.

By using a thermal sensor and/or flow switch, switching to a higher flushing temperature during a shower can be prevented.

The timer (26) can also operate the lock of a shower cubicle door using the remote control or trigger an optical or acoustic signal so that either the shower cannot be entered during the cleaning process with overheated water or a

Warning signal for this can be recognized.

Claims (12)

PATENT ATTORNEY KNEFEJi .... . #. .»..". Wertherstr.16 > Tel. O6441/463Kp :..# # . j ··"::": 6330 WETZLAB · POStfeCb 18^4 >t» ,;. .;. *..* .· CONTI-ARMATUREN GMBH, Hauptstraße 98, 6301 Wettenberg \ /Control device for shower systems Protection claims 1. Control device for shower systems for killing harmful bacteria, viruses or the like, characterized in that at least one control device is provided which allows the water heated to at least 60 to 70° Celsius to flow through the pipes, shower heads and the like at intervals depending on the time, in that a timer is also provided which regulates the flushing time and in that a timer is provided for flushing the system at intervals and in that means are provided (safety control) which prevent a perlon being showered from being scalded during the process of eliminating the viruses. 2. Device according to claim 1, characterized by a temporarily automatically opening valve for the flow of the superheated water through the system. 3. Device according to claim 2, characterized in that the valve has a specially controlled closing mechanism. 4. Device according to claim 1, characterized in that the shower system has a plurality of shower heads. 5. Device according to claim 1, characterized by a timer and a remote control which control the flushing of the shower system. 6. Device according to claim 1, characterized by an automatically operated switch which interrupts the flushing as soon as the shower system is used for showering or releases it to kill the aerobes. 7. Device according to claim 5, characterized in that the timer opens and closes the shower system at intervals, and by a ^tf valve which flushes the circulation return lines with superheated water when the shower system is closed. 8. Device according to claim 1, characterized in that the control device regulates the switching on and off times of the showers. 9. Device according to claim 1, characterized by a solenoid valve which is actuated by the control device or, in the case of large shower systems, by a series of solenoid valves which are actuated by the control device. 10. Device according to claim 1, characterized by an optical and/or acoustic signaling device for indicating the operation of the system during cleaning with superheated water. 11. Device according to claim 1, characterized by a locking device for the shower cubicle door when a cleaning process takes place or is to take place. 12. Device according to claim 1, characterized by a timer which briefly interrupts the flushing of the showers with superheated water at least once during one and the same cleaning process, and that the device allows the water to flow through the return lines at least once during one and the same cleaning process.