Water supply apparatus

• US 7,253,536 B2
• Filed: 03/29/2004
• Issued: 08/07/2007
• Est. Priority Date: 03/28/2003
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Toto Limited
• Original Assignee: Toto Limited
• Inventors: Onodera, Naoyuki, Hatakeyama, Makoto, Enomoto, Kazuyuki, Ishimaru, Satoshi, Fujimoto, Hidefumi, Nakayama, Kimihiro, Kuga, Tatsuhiro, Kudoh, Yukihiro
• Primary Examiner(s): Schuberg; Darren
• Assistant Examiner(s): Cuevas; Pedro J.
• Application Number:
  US10/551,214
• Publication Number:
  US 20060198728A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,226 Days
• Field of Search: 290/43, 290/54
• US Class Current: 290/43
• CPC Class Codes: E03D 3/00 Flushing devices operated by pressure of the water supply system flushing valves not connected to the water-supply main, also if air is blown in the water seal for a quick flushing
• CPC Class Codes: F03B 13/00 Adaptations of machines or engines for special use; Combinations of machines or engines with driving or driven apparatus if the apparatus aspects are predominant, see the relevant subclasses for such apparatus, e.g. H02K7/18; Power stations or aggregates incorporating only machines or engines of positive-displacement type F03C; hydraulic engineering aspects E02B; combinations with wind energy converters F03D9/008
• CPC Class Codes: F05B 2220/602 with energy recovery turbines
• CPC Class Codes: Y02B 10/50 Hydropower in dwellings
• CPC Class Codes: Y02E 10/20 Hydro energy

Abstract

A water supply apparatus includes an apparatus body disposed in a flow passage for sucking water to an indoor facility and a power generation unit installed in the apparatus body. Further, the power generation unit further comprises a rotating shaft extended in a direction perpendicular to the water channel direction of the flow passage, and impeller installed on the rotating shaft and rotated by a water flow, a magnet rotated interlockingly with the impeller, and a coil arranged oppositely to the magnet, wherein the impeller forms blades in the radial outer direction and forms clearances allowing water to pass to the inside of the blades. Since the clearances are formed between the blades and the rotating shaft such a trouble that water flowing into the base ends of the blades obstructs the rotation of the impeller can be eliminated to increase a power generation amount by the power generation unit. In addition, since there is no need to expand the flow passage on the outside of the impeller to reduce the rotational resistance of the impeller, the size of the water supply apparatus can be reduced.

Claims

1. A water supply apparatus in which an apparatus body is disposed in a midst of a flow passage for supplying water to an indoor facility and a power generating unit is installed in the apparatus body, the power generating unit comprising;

a rotating shaft extended in the direction perpendicular to the water flow direction of the flow passage;

an impeller mounted on the rotating shaft and rotated by a water flow;

a holder having a cylindrical portion with an arcuate cross section along the impeller and having a shaft support portion which supports a proximal end portion of the rotary shaft on a distal end portion of the cylindrical portion;

a magnet rotated interlockingly with the impeller; and

a coil arranged to face the magnet in an opposed manner wherein

the holder in the power generating unit is mounted on a peripheral surface of an opening portion formed in the apparatus body in a state that the shaft support portion is inserted into the inside of the flow passage from the opening portion,

the impeller forms blades in the outward radial direction and forms clearances allowing water to pass the inside of the blades;

a clearance is formed between outer peripheries of the blades and an inner wall of the flow passage, and the clearance is set larger than a clearance between the outer peripheries of the blades and the cylindrical portion for forming a flow passage which does not receive a pressure loss attributed to the impeller.

2. A water supply apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the holder of the power generating unit has a distal end portion thereof supported in a state tat the distal end is fitted in an inner surface of the apparatus body which faces the opening portion in an opposed manner.

3. A water supply apparatus according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the power generating unit includes intrusion suppression means which suppresses the intrusion of foreign substances between the blades and the magnet.

4. A water supply apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the intrusion suppression means is constituted by forming spear-headed thread-like grooves capable of generating water flow which pushes back the foreign substance to the blade side due to the rotation of the impeller on an outer periphery of the impeller.

5. A water supply apparatus according to claim 1 or 2, wherein a guide member which guides water toward the impeller is formed above the cylindrical portion.

6. A water supply apparatus according to claim 5, wherein a second guide member which guides water toward the impeller is arranged at a position where the second guide member faces the guide member in an opposed manner with the rotary shaft sandwiched therebetween.

7. A water supply apparatus according to claim 1 or claim 2, wherein in the power generating unit, the magnet is disposed inside the flow passage and the coil is disposed outside the flow passage in a hermetically partitioned manner from the flow passage.

8. A water supply apparatus according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the power generating unit arranges the rotating shaft on a center axis of the flow passage.

9. A water supply apparatus according to claim 1 or 2, wherein clearances are formed between outer peripheries of the blades and an inner wall of the flow passage in a state that the clearances are arranged asymmetrical with respect to an axis of the rotating shaft.

10. A water supply apparatus comprising:

an apparatus body disposed in a water supply flow passage;

a power generating unit removably disposed in the apparatus body, the power generating unit comprising;

a holder having an axial proximal end and an axial distal end;

said holder including an axially extending cylindrical portion and a cover, said cylindrical portion extending from said holder distal end towards said holder proximal end, and said cover extending from said holder proximal end towards said holder distal end, said cylindrical portion including an axial opening;

a rotating shaft rotatably supported at said axial distal end of said holder cylindrical portion in essentially a radial center of said cylindrical portion, said shaft axially extending towards said holder cover;

said holder being removably mounted on a peripheral surface of an opening in the apparatus body so that;

said cover is disposed exterior to said body and said cylindrical portion is disposed within said body and extends perpendicularly through a water flow path; and

water flow is capable of flowing over an exterior surface of said cylindrical portion and into an interior of said cylindrical portion through said axial opening;

an impeller disposed within the cylindrical portion of the holder and disposed on the rotating shaft, the impeller being rotatable by the water flow entering the interior of said cylindrical portion;

a magnet disposed within the holder and connected to the impeller so as to rotate with the impeller; and

a coil disposed in said cover of the holder and facing the magnet; and

the impeller including blades extending in a radially outward direction and including clearances for enabling water flow past the blades.

11. The water supply apparatus of claim 10, wherein to power generating unit includes intrusion suppression means for suppressing the intrusion of foreign substances between the blades and the magnet.

12. The water supply apparatus of claim 11, wherein the intrusion suppression means comprises spear-headed thread-like grooves capable of generating water flow for moving the foreign substance toward the impeller blades from rotation of the impeller on an outer periphery of the impeller.

13. The water supply apparatus of claim 10, wherein a guide member for guiding water toward the impeller is disposed above the cylindrical portion.

14. The water supply apparatus of claim 13, wherein the guide member is a first guide member, the apparatus further comprising a second guide member which guides water toward the impeller is arranged at a position where the second guide member faces the first guide member in an opposed manner with the rotary shaft sandwiched therebetween.

15. The water supply apparatus of claim 10, wherein in the power generating unit, the magnet is disposed inside the flow passage and the coil is disposed outside the flow passage, the coil and flow passage being separated by a hermetically sealed partition.

16. The water supply apparatus of claim 10, wherein the rotating shaft of the power generating unit is disposed on a center axis of the flow passage.

17. The water supply apparatus of claim 10, wherein the clearances are formed between outer peripheries of the blades and an inner wall of the flow passage so that the clearances are asymmetrically arranged with respect to an axis of the rotating shaft.