JP2003292096A - Water purifier for use in beverage dispenser - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To prevent a taste or the like of a beverage from being degraded by suppressing a mixture of air into beverage material water and also to improve the purifying function. <P>SOLUTION: The water purifier includes a filter 14 inside. It comprises a pair of upper and lower lids 19a and 19b, an inner filter 20, an outer filter 21, and granular activated carbon 40. The purifier also exhibits a cylindrical form as a whole. A delivery path 25 is formed between the pair of lids 19a and 19b at the core of the filter 14. Tap water moves into the filter 14 approximately in its radial direction, and the granular activated carbon 40 adsorbs impurities such as chlorine. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2004,JPO

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a water purifier, which is generally called a dispenser and is used in a juice dispenser for supplying juice, coffee, carbonated drinks and the like. In this specification, "juices" includes drinking water such as juice, coffee, carbonated drinks, etc., and particularly refers to drinking water in which the raw drinking water and the stock solution or carbon dioxide are mixed. To do.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In a juice dispenser, raw drinking water obtained by purifying tap water by filtration, juice stock solution and the like are mixed and delivered from a spout. Then, the purification of tap water is performed by a water purifier equipped with granular activated carbon.

In this case, the conventional water purifier comprises a cylindrical filter containing granular activated carbon, and tap water is passed through the filter along the axial direction of the cylinder to be filtered and purified by the granular activated carbon. It is supposed to be done.

[0004]

Therefore, in the conventional water purifier, there is a possibility that the water flow distance of the tap water becomes long, the water flow resistance becomes large, and the water flow amount becomes small. Therefore, in the conventional water purifier, in order to secure the amount of water to pass, granular activated carbon having a large particle size is used, and a large gap is secured between the granular activated carbons.

By the way, tap water contains air,
The air adheres to the surface of the granular activated carbon as bubbles and stays in the spaces between the granular activated carbon. In this case, in the conventional water purifier, it is inevitable that the bubbles become large because the gaps between the granular activated carbons are large. Moreover, since the activated carbon portion has a long passage length, the bubbles are difficult to be discharged, and the bubbles grow larger. Then, when vibration is applied to the water purifier or a water hammer is generated, the accumulated foam, that is, air, flows out together with the raw drinking water in a short time.

As described above, when a large amount of air is mixed with the raw drinking water in a short time, the mixing ratio of the raw drinking water with the raw liquid or carbon dioxide gas is significantly different from the determined ratio. In this case, the taste of the drinking water poured from the spout and the flavor of the throat are greatly impaired.

Moreover, as described above, in the conventional water purifier, since the granular activated carbon having a large particle size must be used, the total surface area of the activated carbon becomes small,
It was not satisfactory in terms of purification efficiency.

The present invention has been made in order to solve such conventional problems, and an object thereof is juices capable of preventing the taste and the like of drinking water from being impaired due to the inclusion of air. It is to provide a water purifier for a dispensing device.

[0009]

In order to achieve the above object, in the invention described in claim 1, a cylindrical filter is used and tap water is introduced from the outer periphery of the filter. It is characterized in that the purified raw water for drinking is derived from the shaft core.

Therefore, according to the first aspect of the invention, tap water is introduced from the outer circumference of the filter to the inside thereof to be purified, and is discharged as drinking raw water from the shaft core of the filter. For this reason, tap water moves in the radial direction of the filter inside the filter, so that the passage length of the tap water becomes short and the water flow resistance becomes small. Therefore, when the granular activated carbon is used as the purifying material of the filter, the granular activated carbon having a small particle size can be used. Therefore, the surface area of the whole activated carbon is increased, and the purification efficiency can be improved. Also, since activated carbon with a small particle size can be used,
The gaps between the activated carbons are small and large bubbles do not occur. Since the path length of the raw water is short, the bubbles are promptly discharged together with the raw drinking water without accumulating, and a large amount of bubbles are not mixed with the raw drinking water and discharged. Therefore, it is possible to maintain the mixing ratio of the raw drinking water and the undiluted solution or the like almost constant.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the first aspect, the filter contains activated carbon in a cylindrical case having a filter function.
Therefore, according to the invention of claim 2, depending on the case, a comparatively large foreign matter can be screened as a pre-stage of filtration.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the second aspect, a lead-out passage is provided in the axial core portion of the filter, and a lead-out passage is provided in the center of the lid portion provided at the axial end of the filter. Is provided with an outlet for raw drinking water.

Therefore, according to the third aspect of the invention, tap water introduced from the outer periphery of the filter can be filtered and smoothly extracted. The invention according to claim 4 is the invention according to claim 2.
Alternatively, in item 3, the activated carbon is granular activated carbon.

Therefore, according to the invention of claim 4, tap water can be purified by the granular activated carbon. According to the invention of claim 5, in claim 4, the average particle diameter of the granular activated carbon is 0.6.
It is characterized by being in the range of mm to 0.2 mm.

Therefore, according to the invention of claim 5, the particle size of the granular activated carbon is sufficiently small, and the above-mentioned action can be effectively achieved. The invention according to claim 6 is the invention according to claim 2 or 3, characterized in that the activated carbon is fibrous activated carbon.

Therefore, according to the invention of claim 6,
Tap water can be purified with fibrous activated carbon.

[0017]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to FIGS. The water purifier of this embodiment has a bottomed cylindrical case 11, a case lid 12 for sealing an upper end opening of the case 11, a stopper 13 for fixing and adhering the case lid 12 to the case 11, and an inside thereof. And a filtered filter 14 that is provided. Case 1
1 includes a packing 15 for maintaining watertightness and a convex portion 16 for installing the packing 15 at a joint with the case lid 12. Also, the case lid 12
Has an inflow port 17 for inflowing tap water, and an outflow port 18 for outflowing filtered raw water for drinking. The water purifier of this embodiment is attached to a tap water receiving unit (not shown) in a juice dispenser (not shown), filters and purifies tap water, and drinks the raw water thereof into a drinking water preparation unit ( (Not shown). In the drinking water preparation section, the raw drinking water is mixed with a stock solution such as juice or carbon dioxide at a predetermined ratio to form a predetermined drinking water, which is supplied from an outlet (not shown) to an external paper cup or the like.

In the case 11, in the filter 14, the male screw 29 of the support portion 23 provided on the lid body 19a as the lid portion is screwed with the female screw 30 provided on the outlet 18 of the case lid 12. It is drooped and fixed by that.
At that time, a fixed interval is provided between the upper end, the outer circumference, and the lower end of the filter 14 and the corresponding inner wall of the case 11 or the case lid 12. Therefore, the tap water supplied from the inflow port 17 is injected into each of these intervals, and the case 11 is filled with tap water.

The filter 14 includes a pair of upper and lower lids 19a and 19b, which are axial end portions, an inner filter 20, and
It is composed of the outer filter 21 and the granular activated carbon 40,
It has a cylindrical shape as a whole. The inner filter 20 and the outer filter 21 are made of a porous material or a fibrous material, and in the filter 14, a pair of lids 19a, 1
According to the annular protrusion 28a provided on the inner surface of 9b,
They are stored and arranged substantially concentrically. The inner filter 20,
The outer filter 21 and the lids 19 a and 19 b that form the upper and lower end surfaces thereof form a case of the filter 14.
The granular activated carbon 40 is filled between the inner and outer filters 20, 21. The granular activated carbon 40 has an average particle size in the range of 0.6 mm to 0.2 mm, and preferably,
It is within the range of 0.5 mm to 0.3 mm.

A lead-out path 25 is formed between the pair of lids 19a and 19b at the axial center of the filter 14. The support portion 23 provided in the central portion of the lid body 19 a includes an outlet 31 that communicates with the outlet 18 and the outlet 25.

A communication hole 26 for providing a communication path 22 is provided at an appropriate position of the pair of upper and lower lids 19a and 19b.
4 are provided at locations corresponding to the lead-out paths 25. Further, both lids 19a, 19 provided with the communication holes 26
Connecting protrusions 28b are provided on the inner surface of b. Both ends of the hollow member 27 are press-fitted into the upper and lower connecting protrusions 28b. As a result, the connecting path 22
Are penetrated in a state of being partitioned and formed in the outlet passage 25, and the upper and lower ends of the connecting passage 22 are opened upward and downward of the filter 14.

A small hole 41 is formed through the lower lid 19b. Now, the tap water supplied from the inflow port 17 fills the inside of the case 11 main body. Then, the tap water in the side area of the interval moves into the filter 14 substantially along its radial direction. Therefore, the tap water is used as the outer filter 21, the granular activated carbon 40, the inner filter 20, and the outlet path 2.
Pass 5 in sequence. Here, the granular activated carbon 40 exerts a function of adsorbing impurities such as chlorine, so that the filter 14 purifies tap water.

A pair of upper and lower lids 19 of the filter 14
By forming the communication path 22 whose upper and lower ends are open between the a and 19b, the communication path 22 connects the lower region and the upper region. As a result, a new tap water inflow / outflow path is provided in the lower region, and the flow of raw water in the water purifier can be changed. That is, tap water flows into the lower region from the upper region through the communication path, and accordingly, the tap water flows out from the lower region toward the side regions.

A part of tap water containing chlorine in the lower region is directly introduced into the outlet 25 through the small hole 41.
The purified tap water reaches the discharge channel 25 as drinking raw water,
It is supplied from the outlet 25 to the drinking water preparation section through the outlets 31 and 18, and is mixed there with the juice stock solution or carbon dioxide gas to become drinking water, which is supplied from the spout of the dispensing device to a cup or the like. Be done.

The above-described embodiment has the following effects.・ Tap water is introduced from the outer circumference of the filter 14 to the inside,
After being purified, it is led out from the lead-out path 25 of the shaft core of the filter 14. For this reason, the tap water will move substantially along the radial direction of the filter 14, the path length of the tap water inside the filter 14 will be shortened, and the water flow resistance will be reduced. Therefore, the granular activated carbon 40 having a small particle size can be used. Therefore, the surface area of the entire granular activated carbon 40 is increased, and the purification efficiency can be improved. Further, since the granular activated carbon 40 having a small particle size can be used, the gap between the granular activated carbons 40 becomes small, and large bubbles do not occur. Further, since the passage length of tap water is short, bubbles do not stay and are quickly discharged together with the raw drinking water, and a large amount of bubbles are not mixed with the raw drinking water and discharged. Therefore, the mixing ratio between the raw drinking water and the raw liquid can be kept almost constant, and the drinking water having the intended taste and flavor can be always supplied.

The filter 14 is configured by accommodating granular activated carbon 40 in an inner filter 20 and an outer filter 21 made of a porous material or a fiber material. Therefore, the outer filter 21 having a filter function can screen comparatively large foreign matter from tap water as a pre-stage of filtration, and extend the life of the granular activated carbon 40.

The average particle size of the granular activated carbon 40 is 0.6 m
Within a range of m to 0.2 mm, preferably 0.5 m
Since it is in the range of m to 0.3 mm, the particle size of the granular activated carbon 40 is sufficiently small, and the above-described purifying action and air retention preventing action can be effectively achieved.

Since part of the tap water containing chlorine in the lower region is introduced directly into the outlet 25 through the small hole 41, the raw drinking water stays in the outlet 25 for a long time. Also, the generation of various bacteria can be suppressed. That is, the raw drinking water in the outlet 25 does not contain chlorine because it is after being filtered. Therefore, if this raw drinking water stays for a long time,
Miscellaneous bacteria may propagate. On the other hand, by guiding a part of the tap water before filtration into the outlet path 25, the tap water contains chlorine, so that the generation of bacteria can be suppressed.

The present invention can be modified and implemented as follows. -In the said embodiment, although granular activated carbon 40 was used as a filter medium, it replaces with this and uses fibrous activated carbon. Even in this case, the same effect as that of the above embodiment can be obtained.

• A filter medium made of a hollow fiber membrane should be installed in the outlet 25. By newly installing a filter material such as a hollow fiber membrane in the outlet 25, the purification function of the filter 14 can be further improved.

Install a filter medium made of granular activated carbon or fibrous activated carbon in the outlet passage 25. Outgoing route 25
By newly installing a filter medium made of granular activated carbon or fibrous activated carbon, the purification function of the filter 14 can be further improved.

The granular activated carbon or fibrous activated carbon provided in the outlet 25 is coated with an antibacterial material such as silver to have a sterilizing effect. According to this structure, it is possible to sterilize the raw drinking water that has accumulated in the discharge passage 25 in a chlorine-removed state.

[0033]

As described above in detail, according to the present invention, it is possible to suppress the mixing of air into the raw drinking water, prevent the taste of drinking water from being impaired, and improve the purifying function. Since it works, it is an excellent invention as a water purifier for juice dispenser.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a sectional view of a water purifier.

FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view of a water purifier cartridge.

[Explanation of symbols]

14 ... Filter, 19a, 19b ... Lid, 20 ... Inner filter, 21 ... Outer filter, 25 ... Outflow path, 31 ... Outflow port,
40 ... Granular activated carbon.

Claims (6)

[Claims] 1. A water purifier used in a juice dispenser, wherein a cylindrical filter is used, and tap water is introduced from the outer periphery of the filter to purify the drinking raw water after purification. A water purifier for a juice dispenser, which is configured to be led out from a core. 2. The water purifier for juice dispensing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the filter is configured by accommodating activated carbon in a cylindrical case having a filter function. 3. The outlet according to claim 2, wherein an outlet passage is provided in the shaft core portion of the filter, and an outlet of the raw drinking water from the outlet passage is provided in the center of the lid portion provided at the axial end portion of the filter. A water purifier for a juice dispenser characterized by being provided. 4. The water purifier for a juice-dispensing device according to claim 2, wherein the activated carbon is granular activated carbon. 5. The water purifier for juice dispenser according to claim 4, wherein the average particle size of the granular activated carbon is within a range of 0.6 mm to 0.2 mm. 6. The water purifier for a juice dispenser according to claim 2 or 3, wherein the activated carbon is fibrous activated carbon.