KR20190073318A - Apparatus for discharging a fixed quantity of fluid and method for the same - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention relates to a quantitative extraction apparatus and a quantitative extraction method. According to an embodiment of the present invention, the quantitative extraction method comprises: a fluid supply step of enabling a filter to filtrate induced raw water to generate a fluid and opening a supply valve to discharge the fluid; a supply flow rate measurement step of enabling a flow rate sensor to measure the flow quantity of a fluid discharged from the supply valve to calculate the supply flow quantity of the fluid; a supply time measurement step of counting the supply time when the supply valve is opened to discharge the fluid; and a supply stop step of closing the supply valve to stop discharging the fluid when the supply flow quantity arrives at a preset target flow quantity or the supply time arrives at preset target supply time in a state where the supply valve is not closed by the flow rate sensor, wherein the target supply time is set to be enough time to discharge the fluid by the target flow quantity, and the target supply time is determined considering the pressure and flow speed of the raw water influencing the flow speed and pressure of the fluid discharged from the supply valve. The present invention can supply the fluid even though a failure occurs in the flow rate sensor.

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a quantitative extraction apparatus and a quantitative extraction method,

The present invention relates to a quantitative extracting apparatus and a quantitative extracting method, and more particularly, to a quantitative extracting apparatus and a quantitative extracting method capable of providing a predetermined amount of fluid to a user even when there is an abnormality in a flow rate sensor.

1 is a schematic view showing an operation principle of a general water tank type water purifier. 1, water is supplied to the storage tank 110 through the filter 150 and water supplied to the storage tank 110 is supplied to the hot water tank 120 and the cold water tank 130, Heating and cooling. The water supplied to the storage tank 110, the hot water tank 120, and the cold water tank 130 is extracted through the valve 140 through the respective paths.

The conventional water tank type water purifier uses a water tank for storing water such as the storage tank 110, the hot water tank 120 and the cold water tank 130, so that the inside of the water tank needs to be cleaned periodically There is. In addition, if the water tank is not cleaned frequently, water scarcity may occur inside, and fungi and various bacteria may propagate to pollute the water and cause food poisoning in some cases.

Therefore, in recent years, a direct water purifier has been widely used instead of the water tank type water purifier. That is, the water introduced immediately without the separate water tank is immediately purified and provided to the user.

However, since the water tank type water purifier extracts the water stored in the water tank, the water pressure is always maintained within a certain range, so that the water is extracted for a predetermined period of time The amount of water can be provided.

On the other hand, in the case of the direct water-purifying device, the water pressure of the raw water may be different at each installation site, and the amount of water extracted per unit time differs depending on the water pressure, so that it is difficult to extract a fixed amount. Particularly, when a failure or the like occurs in the flow rate sensor for measuring the amount of water to be extracted, it is difficult to quantitatively extract it.

An aspect of the present invention is to provide a quantitative extraction apparatus capable of providing a predetermined amount of fluid to a user even when there is an abnormality in a flow sensor.

The present invention also provides a quantitative extraction method capable of providing a user with a fixed amount of fluid even when there is an abnormality in the flow sensor.

A quantitative extraction method according to an embodiment of the present invention is a quantitative extraction method according to an embodiment of the present invention is a quantitative extraction method according to an embodiment of the present invention includes a fluid supply step of filtering raw water immediately to filter the fluid to generate a fluid, A supply time measuring step of counting a supply time when the supply valve is opened and the fluid is discharged, and a supply time measuring step of counting a supply time of the fluid, Stopping the discharge of the fluid by closing the supply valve when the supply time reaches a predetermined target supply time in a state in which the supply valve is not closed by the flow sensor, Wherein the target supply time is set to a time sufficient for the fluid to be discharged by the target flow rate, It is determined in consideration of the water pressure and flow rate of the raw water that affect the flow rate and pressure of the fluid discharged from the supply valve.

Here, the fluid generating device for generating the fluid may be a direct water purifier.

Here, the target supply time may be determined to be shorter than the target supply time when the fluid generating apparatus is installed at a high altitude higher than the reference height, when the fluid generating apparatus is installed at a lower ground lower than a predetermined reference height.

Here, the fluid includes at least one of hot water, cold water, and purified water, and the target supply time may be set according to the type of the fluid.

The method may further include an alarm output step of closing the supply valve and outputting an alarm when the supply time reaches the target supply time with the supply valve not closed by the flow sensor.

Here, the alarm output step may output the alarm to detect that there is an abnormality in the flow sensor by using at least one of visual and auditory.

A quantitative extraction apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention includes a filter unit for directly filtering incoming raw water to generate a fluid, a supply valve for controlling a flow rate of the fluid discharged to the outside, A flow rate sensor for measuring a supply flow rate; a counter for counting the supply time when the supply valve is opened to discharge the fluid; and a controller for controlling the supply flow rate to a predetermined target flow rate, And when the supply time reaches a predetermined target supply time in a state in which the supply of the fluid has not reached a predetermined target supply time, Sets the target supply time in terms of time, affects the fluid velocity and the water pressure discharged from the supply valve In consideration of the pressure and flow rate of the raw water to determine the target supply time.

Here, the fluid generating device for generating the fluid may be a direct water purifier.

Here, the control unit may set the target supply time when the fluid generating apparatus is installed at a lower ground lower than a predetermined reference height to a target supply time at which the fluid generating apparatus is installed at a higher altitude than the reference height It can be decided shortly.

The controller may further include an alarm unit for indicating that there is an abnormality in the flow rate sensor when the supply time reaches the target supply time and the supply valve is closed.

In addition, the means for solving the above-mentioned problems are not all enumerating the features of the present invention. The various features of the present invention and the advantages and effects thereof will be more fully understood by reference to the following specific embodiments.

According to the quantitative extraction apparatus and the quantitative extraction method according to an embodiment of the present invention, it is possible to supply the target flow amount of fluid using the supply time of the fluid other than the flow rate sensor. Therefore, even when there is an abnormality such as failure in the flow rate sensor, the fluid can be supplied.

1 is a schematic view showing an operation principle of a general water tank type water purifier.
2 is a schematic view showing a quantitative extraction apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.
3 is a flowchart showing a quantitative extraction method according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings, in order that those skilled in the art can easily carry out the present invention. In the following detailed description of the preferred embodiments of the present invention, a detailed description of known functions and configurations incorporated herein will be omitted when it may make the subject matter of the present invention rather unclear. In the drawings, like reference numerals are used throughout the drawings.

In addition, in the entire specification, when a part is referred to as being 'connected' to another part, it may be referred to as 'indirectly connected' not only with 'directly connected' . Also, to "include" an element means that it may include other elements, rather than excluding other elements, unless specifically stated otherwise.

2 is a schematic view showing a quantitative extraction apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.

2, the quantitative extraction apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention may include a supply valve 10, a flow rate sensor 20, a counter 30, a controller 40, and an alarm unit 50 .

Hereinafter, a quantitative extracting apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG.

The quantitative extraction apparatus 100 can control the flow rate of the fluid to be supplied and supply the fluid at a predetermined supply flow rate. The quantitative extraction apparatus 100 may be applied to any apparatus that needs to supply a certain amount of fluid, and may be applied to a direct water purifier as shown in FIG.

When the quantitative extraction apparatus 100 is applied to a direct water purifier, the fluid for controlling the flow rate of the quantitative extraction apparatus 100 may be at least one of purified water, hot water and cold water generated by the direct water purifier. That is, the quantitative extraction device can control to discharge the purified water, the hot water, and the cold water discharged by the water purifier by the preset supply flow rates, respectively.

Specifically, the direct water-purifying device can generate purified water by filtering the incoming raw water with the filter portion (f), and then supplies the purified water to the heater portion (h) to generate hot water or supply it to the cooling portion Thereby generating cold water. Here, the generated purified water, hot water, and cold water may be discharged to the outside through the supply valve 10, and the quantitative extraction apparatus 100 may control the opening and closing of the supply valve 10 so that the flow rate of the discharged fluid Can be adjusted.

The supply valve 10 regulates the flow rate of the fluid to be discharged. When the supply valve 10 is opened, the fluid is discharged, and when the supply valve 10 is closed, the supply of the fluid can be stopped. Therefore, the flow rate of the discharged fluid can be controlled by controlling the opening and closing of the supply valve 10.

The supply valve 10 may be opened according to a user's quantitative extraction signal input to the direct water purifier and may be configured to close the supply valve 10 according to the supply flow rate of the fluid measured by the flow sensor 20 . Here, the flow sensor 20 may include a rotating body rotated by a fluid flowing through the flow path, and the flow rate of the fluid passing through the rotating body may be sensed by using the rotating speed of the rotating body. That is, the flow rate of the fluid may be calculated using the number of rotations of the rotating body per unit time, and then the flow rate of the fluid may be calculated using the flow rate. The supply flow rate of the fluid measured by the flow sensor 20 may be transmitted to the controller 40.

Here, a counter 30 may be further included in addition to the flow rate sensor 20 to measure a time period during which the supply valve 10 maintains the supply of the fluid, that is, the supply time. The counter 30 may count the supply time from when the supply valve 10 is opened and the fluid begins to be discharged and then when the supply valve 10 is closed and the fluid discharge is stopped, Can be reset. The supply time measured by the counter 30 may be transmitted to the control unit 40.

The control unit 40 can adjust the flow rate of the discharged fluid by using the supply time measured by the counter 30 in addition to the supply flow rate of the fluid measured by the flow rate sensor 20. [ That is, the control unit 40 can close the supply valve 10 when the supply flow rate corresponds to a predetermined target flow rate or when the supply time reaches a predetermined target supply time.

Generally, by using the flow sensor 20, the flow rate of the fluid discharged from the supply valve 10 can be accurately measured. It is possible to supply the user with the fluid of the predetermined supply flow rate without the configuration of the counter 30 or the like. However, when the flow sensor 20 fails or the flow rate discharged from the supply valve 10 deviates from the measurement range of the flow sensor 20, an error may occur in the measured value of the flow sensor 20 . That is, when the failure of the flow sensor 20 occurs, the fluid continues to be discharged to supply the fluid at a predetermined target flow rate or more. In this case, a user may inconvenience such as overflowing the cup, and further, in the case of hot water, a risk of burns or the like may occur. Therefore, in the event of a failure or the like of the flow sensor 20, the supply valve 10 may be closed to prevent the danger.

However, according to the quantitative extraction apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention, even if a failure or the like occurs in the flow sensor 20, the flow of the fluid at the predetermined flow rate to the user without closing the supply valve 10 . That is, when the supply time measured by the counter 30 reaches a predetermined target supply time, the supply of the fluid can be performed in such a manner that the supply valve 10 is closed. Here, the target supply time is a time required for the supply valve 10 to discharge by the target flow amount, but the actual flow amount of the fluid discharged during the target supply time may be slightly different from the target flow amount.

However, the quantitative extraction using the target supply time may be performed temporarily until maintenance such as repair or replacement of the flow sensor 20 is performed. That is, it is possible to provide a flow amount close to the target flow rate without interrupting the supply of the fluid until the flow sensor 20 is repaired or replaced, thereby further improving the convenience of the user.

Here, the target supply time may vary depending on the installation area in which the fluid generating device, i.e., direct water purifier, is installed. That is, when the direct-acting water purifier is installed in a low-lying zone, the tap water used as the raw water may have a high water pressure and a high flow rate. On the contrary, when the water purifier is installed at a high altitude, It may be low and flow rate slow. In addition, there may be various cases such as when ground water is used as raw water. Therefore, installation conditions such as hydraulic pressure and flow rate of raw water may be changed depending on the installation area of the water purifier.

Since the installation conditions such as the water pressure and the flow rate of the raw water ultimately affect the flow velocity and the water pressure of the fluid discharged from the direct water-purifying device, the predetermined target supply time may be set in consideration of the installation conditions. Among various factors determined depending on installation conditions of the water purifier, in particular, the flow rate and water pressure of the raw water may be important.

If there is no abnormality in the flow rate sensor 20, the flow rate sensor 20 determines whether the supply valve 10 is closed. Here, in order to determine whether the supply valve 10 is closed by the flow rate sensor 20, the target supply time may be set to a time sufficient for the target flow rate to be discharged. Therefore, when the flow rate sensor 20 determines that the supply valve 10 is not closed, or when the target supply time elapses before the closing signal is input by the supply valve 10, It can be determined that the sensor 20 has a problem.

If there is a problem with the flow rate sensor 20, the user can notify the user of the presence of a problem with the flow rate sensor 20 through the configuration of the alarm unit 50. [ That is, when the measured supply time corresponds to the predetermined target supply time and the supply valve is closed, it can be regarded that there is an abnormality in the flow rate sensor 20. Therefore, Can be shown.

Specifically, the alarm unit 50 may allow the user to recognize that the flow sensor 20 has an abnormality through human senses such as sight and hearing. For example, you can output a warning sound or flash a warning light. Or the display unit such as the water purifier or the like may indicate that the flow sensor 20 has an abnormality so that the user can visually recognize the flow sensor 20. The user who senses that there is an abnormality in the flow sensor 20 can take measures against the abnormality of the flow sensor 20 through a customer center or the like. A predetermined amount of fluid can be supplied to the user through the measurement of the supply time by the counter 30 until the abnormality of the flow sensor 20 is corrected.

3 is a flowchart showing a quantitative extraction method according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 3, a fluid supply step S10, a supply flow measuring step S20, a supply time measuring step S30, a supply stop step S40, and an alarm output step S50 may be included.

Hereinafter, a quantitative extraction method according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG.

A quantitative extraction method according to an embodiment of the present invention relates to a method of controlling a flow rate of a supplied fluid to provide a flow rate by a predetermined supply flow rate. Therefore, the quantitative extraction method can be applied at any time when it is necessary to supply a certain amount of fluid, and in particular, the quantitative extraction method can be applied to a direct water purifier. The direct water purifier does not include a separate water tank. When the user's request for watering is input, the supply of raw water to the filter unit is started, and the purified water generated by the filtering unit is directly supplied to the user through the supply valve . In addition, the water purifier may further include a heater unit and a cooling unit. The heater unit and the cooling unit may be used to heat or cool the purified water, respectively, to generate hot water or cold water. Therefore, the above-described quantitative extraction method can be applied not only to the above constants but also to hot water or cold water.

First, the fluid supply step (S10) can open the supply valve and discharge the fluid through the supply valve. An outflow request for the fluid may be inputted to the direct water purifier or the like for generating the fluid, and the supply valve may be opened correspondingly.

When the supply valve is opened, the process may proceed to the supply flow measuring step (S20). The supply flow rate measuring step (S20) can measure the flow rate of the fluid discharged from the supply valve by using the flow rate sensor, and calculate the supply flow rate of the fluid. Here, the flow rate sensor may include a rotating body rotated by a fluid flowing through the flow channel, and the flow rate of the fluid may be determined from the rotating speed of the rotating body. Therefore, it is possible to calculate the supply flow rate of the fluid discharged from the supply valve by using the flow rate.

As shown in FIG. 3, when the supply valve is opened, the supply time measurement step S30 may be performed together with the supply flow rate measurement step S20. That is, the supply time measuring step S30 may start counting the supply time from when the supply valve is opened, and measure the supply time at which the fluid is supplied. Thereafter, it is possible to determine whether the supply flow rate measured using the flow sensor corresponds to a predetermined target flow rate or whether the counted supply time reaches a predetermined target supply time.

When the supply flow rate measured using the flow sensor corresponds to a predetermined target flow rate or when the counted supply time reaches a predetermined target supply time, the supply valve is closed in accordance with the supply stop step (S40) Can be stopped.

In general, the flow sensor can be used to provide a fluid at a predetermined target flow rate, and in this case, a fluid with an accurate target flow rate can be provided to the user. However, when the flow sensor fails or the flow rate of the flowing fluid exceeds the measurement range of the flow rate sensor, the flow rate sensor may fail to provide the flow rate of the target flow rate. That is, when a failure or the like occurs in the flow sensor, the fluid continues to be discharged to supply the fluid at a predetermined target flow rate, which may cause user inconvenience, and there is a risk of image generation. Therefore, when the failure of the flow sensor occurs, the supply valve can be closed to prevent the risk.

However, according to an embodiment of the present invention, even if a failure or the like occurs in the flow rate sensor, the user can be provided with a fluid having a predetermined target flow rate. That is, when the counted supply time reaches a predetermined target supply time, the supply of the fluid can be performed in such a manner as to close the supply valve. At this time, the flow rate of the fluid discharged during the target supply time and the target flow rate may have some errors. However, it is possible to provide the user with a fluid amount close to the target flow rate in spite of the failure of the flow sensor, so that the convenience of the user can be further improved.

Here, the target supply time may be calculated using the fluid generator installation condition for generating the fluid. That is, it is possible to calculate the time required for the fluid to be discharged by the target flow rate using the installing condition of the water purifier, and set the calculated time as the target supply time. Particularly, it is possible to calculate the time required for the fluid to be discharged by the target flow rate using the flow rate and the water pressure of the raw water supplied to the direct water-purifying device from among the installation conditions, and can set the target supply time.

In the supply interruption step 40, if the supply valve is closed by the arrival of the target supply time, it can be seen that there is a problem with the supply valve. The closing of the supply valve due to the arrival of the target supply time is a preliminary one, and it is prepared in case of abnormality such as failure of the flow sensor. Therefore, it can be determined that there is a problem with the flow sensor when the supply valve is closed by the flow sensor, and the supply valve is closed by the arrival of the target supply time.

Therefore, by using the alarm output step S50, the user can be informed that there is an abnormality in the flow rate sensor. Specifically, the alarm output step (S50) may output an alarm so that the user can recognize that the flow sensor has an abnormality through human senses such as sight and hearing. For example, you can output a warning sound or flash a warning light. Or a water purifier or the like may be displayed on the display unit so that the user can visually recognize the abnormality of the flow sensor. A user who has detected an abnormality in the flow sensor can take measures against the abnormality of the flow sensor through a customer center or the like. A predetermined amount of fluid can be supplied to the user by using the arrival time of the target supply time until the failure or the like of the flow sensor is corrected.

The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments and the accompanying drawings. It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various changes in form and details may be made therein without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as defined by the appended claims.

10: Supply valve 20: Flow sensor
30: counter 40:
f: filter portion h: heater portion
c: cooling section
S10: fluid supply step S20: supply flow measurement step
S30: Supply time measurement step S40: Supply interruption step
S50: Alarm output phase

Claims (10)

A fluid supplying step of directly filtering the incoming raw water to produce a fluid by filtering the filter section directly, and opening the supply valve to discharge the fluid;
A supply flow rate measuring step of measuring a flow rate of the fluid discharged from the supply valve by the flow sensor and calculating a supply flow rate of the fluid;
A supply time measuring step of counting a supply time when the supply valve is opened and the fluid is discharged; And
When the supply flow rate reaches a predetermined target flow rate or when the supply time reaches a predetermined target supply time in a state where the supply valve is not closed by the flow rate sensor, the supply valve is closed to discharge the fluid Aborting step to interrupt; Lt; / RTI >
The target supply time is set to a time sufficient for the fluid to be discharged by the target flow rate, and the target supply time takes into account the hydraulic pressure and the flow rate of the raw water affecting the fluid velocity and the water pressure of the fluid discharged from the supply valve A quantitative extraction method is determined.
The method according to claim 1,
Wherein the fluid generating device for generating the fluid is a linear water purifier.
3. The method of claim 2,
Wherein the target supply time is determined to be shorter than the target supply time when the fluid generating apparatus is installed at a high altitude higher than the reference height, when the fluid generating apparatus is installed in a lower zone lower than a predetermined reference height.
The method according to claim 1,
Wherein the fluid includes at least one of hot water, cold water, and purified water, and the target supply time is set according to the kind of the fluid.
The method according to claim 1,
An alarm output step of closing the supply valve and outputting an alarm when the supply time reaches the target supply time with the supply valve not closed by the flow sensor; Further comprising:
6. The method of claim 5,
The alarm output step may include a quantitative extraction method of outputting the alarm to detect an abnormality in the flow sensor by using at least one of visual and auditory information,
A filter unit for directly filtering the incoming raw water to generate a fluid;
A supply valve for regulating a flow rate of the fluid discharged to the outside;
A flow rate sensor for measuring a supply flow rate of the fluid discharged from the supply valve;
A counter for counting the supply time when the supply valve is opened and the fluid is discharged; And
When the supply time reaches a predetermined target supply time in a state in which the supply flow rate reaches a predetermined target flow rate or the supply valve is not closed by the flow rate sensor, the supply valve is closed to discharge the fluid A control unit for interrupting the operation; Lt; / RTI >
The control unit sets the target supply time to a time sufficient for the fluid to be discharged by the target flow rate and takes into account the hydraulic pressure and the flow rate of the raw water affecting the fluid velocity and the hydraulic pressure of the fluid discharged from the supply valve And determines the target supply time.
8. The method of claim 7,
Wherein the fluid generating device for generating the fluid is a linear water purifier.
9. The method of claim 8,
The control unit determines the target supply time when the fluid generating apparatus is installed at a lower ground lower than the predetermined reference height to be shorter than the target supply time when the fluid generating apparatus is installed at a higher elevation higher than the reference height Lt; / RTI >
8. The method of claim 7,
An alarm unit for indicating that there is an abnormality in the flow rate sensor when the supply time reaches the target supply time and the supply valve is closed; Further comprising:

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