CN113039012A

CN113039012A - Water purifier and household water purifier

Info

Publication number: CN113039012A
Application number: CN201980074198.9A
Authority: CN
Inventors: 熊谷宗乡; 门马哲也
Original assignee: Sharp Corp
Current assignee: Sharp Corp
Priority date: 2018-11-27
Filing date: 2019-11-20
Publication date: 2021-06-25
Also published as: JP7337839B2; JPWO2020110852A1; WO2020110852A1

Abstract

Realize even the solenoid valve is out of work and also can obtain purifier of pure water when having a power failure. A water purification device (1) is provided with an electromagnetic valve (31) for opening and closing a main path (50) on the main path (50), and is further provided with a bypass path (32) for bypassing the electromagnetic valve (31), and a path switching mechanism (33) for opening and closing the bypass path (32) in a non-electric manner.

Description

Water purifier and household water purifier

Technical Field

The present invention relates to a water purifier and a household water purifier.

Background

As a conventional water purifier, for example, a water purifier disclosed in patent document 1 is provided with an electromagnetic valve that opens and closes a water supply pipe that supplies water to a filter cartridge that filters water.

Documents of the prior art

Patent document

Patent document 1: japanese laid-open patent publication No. 6-91257 "

Disclosure of Invention

Problems to be solved by the invention

However, in the conventional water purifier, the electromagnetic valve does not operate at the time of power failure, and thus, there is a problem that purified water cannot be obtained.

An object of one aspect of the present invention is to realize a water purifying apparatus capable of obtaining purified water even if an electromagnetic valve does not operate at the time of power failure.

Means for solving the problems

In order to solve the above-described problems, a water purification apparatus according to an aspect of the present invention is a water purification apparatus for purifying water using a reverse osmosis membrane, the water purification apparatus including an electric power opening/closing mechanism that is operated by electric power to open and close a path from an inlet of raw water to be treated to a waste port of concentrated water generated by a purification treatment using the reverse osmosis membrane; the water purifier further comprises a bypass path bypassing the electric power opening and closing mechanism and a non-electric power opening and closing mechanism for opening and closing the bypass path in a non-electric power manner.

Advantageous effects

According to an aspect of the present invention, purified water can be obtained even if the solenoid valve does not operate at the time of power failure.

Drawings

Fig. 1 is a schematic diagram showing a schematic configuration of a water purification apparatus according to embodiment 1 of the present invention.

Fig. 2 is a schematic diagram showing a schematic configuration of a water purification apparatus according to embodiment 2 of the present invention.

Fig. 3 is a schematic diagram showing a schematic configuration of the electromagnetic valve bypass mechanism according to modification 1.

Detailed Description

[ embodiment 1]

Hereinafter, one embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail.

(Structure of Water purification device)

As shown in fig. 1, the water purification apparatus 1 is a purification apparatus for domestic water using a reverse osmosis membrane (RO membrane), and includes a main path (flow path) 50 for introducing raw water from an inlet 50a on one end side and discharging purified water from an outlet 50b on the other end side. When the water purifying apparatus 1 is a household water purifier, the inlet 50a is connected to a tap water pipe (raw water), and the outlet 50b is connected to an outlet opening/closing mechanism such as a faucet. The drain path (disposal path) 51 described later is connected to, for example, a drain pipe under the water tank.

A pressure switch 10, a solenoid valve bypass mechanism 30, a pressure reducing valve 11, a PP (polypropylene) filter 12, a front TDS13, a water temperature gauge 14, a front flow meter 15, a front AC (activated carbon) filter 16, Pump17, an RO membrane (reverse osmosis membrane) 18, a rear AC (activated carbon) filter 19, a rear flow meter 20, and a rear TDS21 are arranged in this order from the most upstream side of the main path 50.

The pressure switch 10 is a switch that is turned on at a constant pressure or more, and is turned on when the pressure of raw water (tap water pressure) can be detected by supplying raw water to the main path 50. The pressure reducing valve 11 keeps the water pressure of the tap water flowing in the main path 50 constant.

The electromagnetic valve bypass mechanism 30 has a function of flowing water flowing through at least the main path 50 during the purge operation and stopping the water flowing through the main path 50 when the purge operation is stopped. Details of the solenoid valve bypass mechanism 30 will be described later.

The PP (polypropylene) filter 12 is a nonwoven fabric made of polypropylene (PP) and having relatively thin meshes, and removes relatively large impurities such as rust contained in raw water. The material is not limited, and may be Polyethylene (PE). By removing relatively large impurities before arrival, deterioration of a reverse osmosis membrane (hereinafter, RO membrane) described later can be suppressed.

The front TDS13 and the rear TDS21 are water quality sensors that measure indicators indicating water quality, and measure the conductivity of water to detect the concentration of impurities in the water. The front TDS13 measures the quality of raw water introduced from the introduction port 50a, and the rear TDS21 measures the quality of purified water taken out from the take-out port 50 b. These measurement results are sent to a control section, not shown, which calculates the purge rate from the measurement value of the front side TDS13 and the measurement value of the rear side TDS 21.

The water temperature gauge 14 is used for calibration of the front side TDS13 and the rear side TDS 21. This is due to the temperature dependence of the conductivity measured by the front side TDS13 and the rear side TDS 21. The detection result is output to the control unit.

The front AC filter 16 removes the free substances such as free chlorine compounds contained in the raw water with activated carbon. The RO membrane 18 is deteriorated by a free chlorine compound (so-called chlorine) contained in the raw water. Therefore, by removing the free chlorine compounds with the front-side AC filter 16 before reaching, the deterioration of the RO membrane can be suppressed. The rear AC filter 19 is disposed to adjust taste and pH of the purified water using activated carbon.

The Pump17 is used to supply water to the RO membranes 18 at the subsequent stage while applying a predetermined pressure, and to realize a cross flow system by the RO membranes 18 described later.

The front-side flowmeter 15 and the rear-side flowmeter 20 are sensors for measuring the flow rate of water flowing through the main path 50. The measurement result is output to the control section, which calculates the recovery rate based on the introduced amount (usage amount) of raw water as a measurement value of the front-side flow meter 15 and the generated amount of purified water as a measurement value of the rear-side flow meter 20.

As the arrangement position of the front-side flow meter 15, as shown in fig. 1, it is preferable to provide the front-side flow meter 15 between the PP filter 12 and the front-side AC filter 16. This is because, by being disposed at the rear stage (downstream side) of the PP filter 12, it is possible to prevent dirt from adhering to the front-side flow meter 15.

The pressure reducing valve 11, the PP filter 12, the front TDS13, the water temperature meter 14, the front AC filter 16, the rear AC filter 19, the rear flow meter 20, and the rear TDS21 may be provided as needed.

The RO membrane 18 separates water molecules from impurities. Here, the water to be purified is caused to flow on the surface of the RO membrane 18 while applying a water pressure by Pumpl7, thereby being separated into treated water that has passed through the RO membrane 18 and non-passed drain water. The RO membrane 18 is separated into treated water (purified water) and drain water (concentrated water) by a so-called cross flow system.

The treated water flows through the main path 50, flows to the rear AC filter 19 at the rear stage of the RO membrane 18, and the drain water is discharged from the waste port 51a of the drain path 51. As described above, the waste port 51a is connected to, for example, an under-sink drain pipe.

The flushing solenoid valve 22 is provided on the drain path 51. The flush solenoid valve 22 is a flow rate limiting valve that limits the flow rate of drain water flowing to the drain path 51. For example, the flush solenoid valve 22 functions to restrict the flow rate in a closed state (power-off state (non-energized state)) and to release the flow path as much as possible in an open state (power-on state (energized state)) to allow water to flow.

(purification based on RO Membrane 18)

The RO membrane 18 can remove almost all impurities dissolved in water to obtain pure water of high purity regardless of whether it is harmful or harmless. The RO membrane 18 is formed of a mesh-like polymer film formed by crosslinking, and since only water molecules substantially permeate through the polymer film depending on the size of the mesh, separation from impurities is performed, and the above-described purification performance can be obtained. The separation of water from impurities by the RO membrane 18 is performed by a cross flow manner.

The cross flow system is a system in which water to be purified is passed over the surface of the RO membrane 18 while a constant water pressure is applied, and at this time, water that has passed through the RO membrane 18 by the water pressure is taken out as purified water, and water that has not passed through the RO membrane 18 and remains is discarded as drain water. Therefore, the cross flow method always separates impurities from water molecules by passing the surface of the RO membrane 18 through a liquid. In the process of flowing on the surface of the RO membrane 18, only water molecules permeate the RO membrane 18 and disappear, and therefore impurities are relatively concentrated and are discarded in a state of increasing concentration compared to before passing on the surface of the RO membrane 18. Thus, the purified water using the RO membrane 18 is accompanied by a certain amount of drain water (concentrated water).

Here, in order to pass water on the surface of the RO membrane 18 while applying a water pressure, a Pump17 (electric Pump) disposed at the front stage of the RO membrane 18 and a flush solenoid valve 22 disposed as a flow rate regulating mechanism on the drain path 51 at the rear stage of the RO membrane 18 are used. By flow restricting the amount of water delivered by the Pump17 at the rear section of the RO membrane 18, the path from the Pump17 across the surface of the RO membrane 18 to the flush solenoid valve 22 is pressurized by the force of the Pump 17. Since the higher the pressure is, the more the amount of purified water that permeates the RO membrane 18 increases, in practice, the liquid feeding performance and the flow rate limiting amount of Pump17 are determined in consideration of these balances so as to obtain the target pressure and purified water.

As described above, the flush solenoid valve 22 has a function of restricting the flow rate in the closed state as described above and releasing the flow path as much as possible in the open state to allow water to flow. Thereby, the function of generating purified water by applying pressure to the surface of the RO membrane 18 and the function of flushing the surface of the RO membrane 18 by passing a large amount of water as necessary are electrically switched.

In addition, since the RO membrane 18 has a fine structure as described above, pretreatment of water to be purified is generally performed to maintain the performance. For example, the removal of deposits, particulates, adhesive substances, and the like by a filter (referred to as a fine filter or the like: PP filter 12) mainly made of fibers such as PP (polypropylene) and PE (polyethylene) corresponds to the pretreatment. The adsorption and removal of chlorine, organic substances, and the like used for sterilization of a water supply pipe by a filter (front AC filter 16) mainly made of activated carbon corresponds to the above-described pretreatment.

(solenoid valve circuitous mechanism 30)

The solenoid valve bypass mechanism 30 includes a solenoid valve (electric power opening/closing mechanism) 31, a bypass path 32 bypassing the solenoid valve 31, and a path switching mechanism (non-electric power opening/closing mechanism) 33.

The electromagnetic valve 31 is disposed in the main path 50, and is a valve that is turned on when clean water is generated to supply raw water to the main path 50. The bypass path 32 is a path for allowing the raw water to flow to the pressure reducing valve 11 at the subsequent stage without passing through the solenoid valve 31. The path switching mechanism 33 is a switching mechanism that switches between a first path (1) that passes through the electromagnetic valve 31 and a second path (2) that passes through the bypass path 32 that does not pass through the electromagnetic valve 31.

The path switching mechanism 33 is constituted by, for example, a valve or the like for manually switching paths, and performs a switching operation without using electric power. Therefore, when the solenoid valve 31 does not operate during a power failure or the like, the path switching mechanism 33 is used to switch from the first path (1) to the second path (2). Here, switching from the first path (1) to the second path (2) by the path switching mechanism 33 is equivalent to bringing the bypass path 32 into an open state. In addition, switching from the second path (2) to the first path (1) by the path switching mechanism 33 is equivalent to bringing the bypass path 32 into the off state. That is, the path switching mechanism 33 may be a non-powered opening/closing mechanism that opens and closes the bypass path 32 as the second path (2) without power.

As described above, the water purification apparatus 1 according to embodiment 1 is a water purification apparatus that purifies water using the RO membrane (reverse osmosis membrane) 18. An electromagnetic valve 31 (electric opening/closing mechanism) is provided, and the electromagnetic valve 31 is electrically operated to open/close a path (main path 50+ drain path 51) extending from an inlet 50a for raw water to be treated to a drain 51a for concentrated water generated by the purification treatment of the RO membrane 18. The electromagnetic valve further includes a bypass passage 32 bypassing the electromagnetic valve 31, and a passage switching mechanism 33 (a non-power opening/closing mechanism) for opening/closing the bypass passage 32 in a non-power operation.

(Effect)

The electromagnetic valve 31 provided in the main path 50 opens the main path 50 to allow raw water to flow when energized (when the power is turned on), and closes the main path 50 to prevent raw water from flowing when de-energized (when the power is turned off). Therefore, in the main path 50, the solenoid valve 31 is closed at the time of power failure, and therefore, clean water cannot be obtained.

In the water purification apparatus 1 having the above-described configuration, when power is cut off, the bypass path 32 is opened by switching from the first path (1) to the second path (3) by the path switching mechanism 33, and thus, raw water can be sent to the PP filter 12 or the like at the subsequent stage through the bypass path 32. This enables water to be purified even during a power failure. Although the RO membrane 18 separates water from impurities by applying a certain level of water pressure as described above, water can be separated from impurities by the water pressure of raw water even in a state where the Pump17 is not activated at the time of power failure.

Further, it is preferable that the cleaning operation is started in conjunction with the operation of opening the faucet provided at the outlet 50b of the main path 50, and the cleaning operation is stopped in conjunction with the operation of closing the faucet. In this case, the power supply of water purifier 1 may be turned on by the operation of turning on the faucet, and the power supply of water purifier 1 may be turned off by the operation of turning off the faucet. The water outlet 50b may be any opening/closing mechanism, which is not a faucet, and is configured to open and close the water outlet. Thus, if the start/stop of the purge operation is performed in conjunction with the opening/closing operation of the faucet, the purge operation can be performed only when necessary, and therefore, useless purge operation in a state where the faucet is closed can be eliminated.

When the cleaning operation is stopped, in a state where the path switching mechanism 33 is switched to the second path (2), the flow rate of the second path (2) is appropriately maintained by the opening/closing amount of the path switching mechanism 33, and the flow rate of the outlet 50b of the main path 50 is appropriately adjusted by the opening/closing amount of the faucet. Accordingly, the raw water always flows through the main path 50 and the drain path 51, and therefore freezing of the main path 50 and the drain path 51 can be prevented.

The electromagnetic valve bypass mechanism 30 may be disposed on a path from an inlet 50a for raw water to be treated to a discharge 51a for concentrated water generated by the purification treatment of the RO membrane 18. In embodiment 2 below, an example in which the solenoid valve bypass mechanism 30 is provided on another route will be described.

[ embodiment 2]

Another embodiment of the present invention will be described below. Note that, for convenience of description, members having the same functions as those described in the above embodiments are given the same reference numerals, and description thereof will not be repeated.

(Structure of Water purification device)

As shown in fig. 2, a water purification apparatus 1A according to the present embodiment is different from the water purification apparatus 1 according to embodiment 1 in that a solenoid valve bypass mechanism 30 is disposed downstream of a flush solenoid valve 22 provided in a drain path 51. The water purifier 1A has the same configuration as the water purifier 1 according to embodiment 1 except for the position where the electromagnetic valve bypass mechanism 30 is disposed.

In the water purifier 1A, the path switching mechanism 33 and the electromagnetic valve 31 are disposed in this order from the flush electromagnetic valve 22 toward the waste port 51A of the drain path 51, and the bypass path 32 bypassing the electromagnetic valve 31 is provided.

Thus, the concentrate discharged from the flush solenoid valve 22 can be stopped or flowed by the solenoid valve 31. Even when the electromagnetic valve 31 is in the off state, the concentrated water can be discharged by switching from the first path (1) to the bypass path 32 as the second path (2) by operating the path switching mechanism 33.

The flush solenoid valve 22 is fully opened in the on state, and is not fully closed but slightly opened in the off state, so that the concentrate generated by the RO membrane 18 is always in a flowing state. However, when the solenoid valve 31 is turned off in the state of being switched to the first path (1) by the path switching mechanism 33, the discharge of the concentrate flowing from the flush solenoid valve 22 can be stopped.

(Effect)

By providing the solenoid detour mechanism 30 downstream of the flush solenoid 22, various effects are achieved.

For example, if the passage switching mechanism 33 is switched to the first passage (1) during the stop of the purge operation, the discharge of the concentrate flowing from the flush solenoid valve 22 is stopped by the solenoid valve 31, and therefore the pressure (water pressure) in the drain passage 51 can be maintained at a predetermined pressure. This can almost eliminate the time lag due to the lack of water pressure when the cleaning operation is resumed, and can obtain the cleaned water.

When the cleaning operation is stopped, the passage switching mechanism 33 is switched to the second passage (2), and the concentrated water always flows through the drain passage 51, thereby preventing freezing of the main passage 50 and the drain passage 51. In this case, when the purge operation is stopped, the flow rate of the second path (2) is appropriately maintained by the opening/closing amount of the path switching mechanism 33 in a state where the path switching mechanism 33 is switched to the second path (2), and the flow rate of the outlet 50b of the main path 50 is appropriately adjusted by the opening/closing amount of the faucet. Therefore, the concentrate water must always flow through the main path 50 and the drain path 51.

In the water purifying apparatus 1A, similarly to the water purifying apparatus 1 of embodiment 1, the start of the purifying operation may be performed in conjunction with the operation of opening the faucet provided at the outlet 50b of the main path 50, and the purifying operation may be stopped in conjunction with the closing operation of the faucet.

In the water purification apparatus 1A according to the present embodiment, the solenoid valve bypass mechanism 30 of the water purification apparatus 1 according to embodiment 1 described above is only required to be disposed downstream of the flush solenoid valve 22, and therefore, the water purification apparatus can be manufactured at low cost.

Further, the solenoid valve detour mechanism 30 may be provided not only downstream of the flush solenoid valve 22 but also between the flush solenoid valve 22 and the RO membrane 18.

[ modification 1]

Fig. 3 is a schematic diagram showing a schematic configuration of the electromagnetic valve bypass mechanism 60.

The solenoid valve bypass mechanism 60 includes a path opening/closing mechanism 63 instead of the path switching mechanism 33. The path opening/closing mechanism 63 is provided in the bypass path 62 as the second path (2).

The path opening and closing mechanism 63 closes the bypass path 62 when the electromagnetic valve 61 is in the on state, and the path opening and closing mechanism 63 opens the bypass path 62 when the electromagnetic valve 61 is in the off state. Therefore, the opening and closing operation of the path opening and closing mechanism 63 is to open and close the bypass path 62, and thus the first path (1) and the second path (2) are substantially switched. This makes it possible to perform the same operation as the path switching mechanism 33 described in embodiment 1, using a less expensive member. Therefore, even in a state where the electromagnetic valve 61 is not operated and the path is blocked at the time of power failure, by opening the path opening/closing mechanism 63, water can be made to flow through the bypass path 62.

The path opening/closing mechanism 63 may be a valve-like mechanism that continuously changes the degree of opening. For example, if the route opening/closing mechanism 63 provided in the bypass route 62 is configured to continuously change the opening degree, the amount of water flowing through the bypass route 62 can be continuously changed. Thus, the route opening/closing mechanism 63 can reduce the amount of water flowing through the bypass route 62 when the solenoid valve 61 is stopped and when purging is not necessary, and can increase the amount of water flowing through the bypass route 62 when purging is necessary. If this is utilized, in the case of nighttime or the like where the solenoid valve 61 is stopped and purging is unnecessary, the water supply to the bypass path 62 is slightly continued, whereby freezing of the bypass path 62 can be prevented. In addition, when the electromagnetic valve 61 is stopped due to daytime or power failure and purification is required, the water pressure required for purification can be secured by increasing the amount of water flowing through the bypass path 62.

The present invention is not limited to the above embodiments, and various modifications can be made within the scope shown in the claims, and embodiments obtained by appropriately combining technical means disclosed in different embodiments are also included in the technical scope of the present invention. Further, by combining the technical means disclosed in the respective embodiments, new technical features can be formed.

Description of the reference numerals

1. 1A, 1B water purifier

10 pressure switch

11 pressure reducing valve

12 PP filter

13 front side TDS

14 water temperature meter

15 front-side flow meter

16 front side AC filter

17 Pump

18 RO membrane

19 rear side AC filter

20 rear flow meter

21 rear side TDS

22 flushing solenoid valve

30. 60 solenoid valve circuitous mechanism

31. 61 magnetic valve (electric power opening and closing mechanism)

32. 62 bypass path

33. 63 route switching mechanism (non-electric power switch mechanism)

50 main path

50a inlet

50b outlet

51 drainage path

51a waste port

Claims

1. A water purification device for purifying water by using a reverse osmosis membrane,

an electric power opening/closing mechanism that is operated by electric power to open/close a path from an inlet of raw water to be treated to a discharge port of concentrated water generated by a purification treatment of the reverse osmosis membrane;

the water purifier further includes a bypass path bypassing the electric power opening/closing mechanism, and a non-electric power opening/closing mechanism for opening/closing the bypass path in a non-electric power manner.

2. The water purification apparatus of claim 1,

a flow rate limiting valve for reducing the flow rate in a power-off state compared with the flow rate in a power-on state is provided in a waste path reaching a waste port of the concentrated water generated by the purification treatment of the reverse osmosis membrane,

the waste path is provided with the power switching mechanism, the bypass path, and the non-power switching mechanism.

3. The water purification apparatus according to claim 1 or 2,

further comprises an outlet opening/closing mechanism for opening and closing an outlet through which purified water purified by the reverse osmosis membrane is taken out,

the main body device starts a purge operation in conjunction with an opening operation of the outlet by the outlet opening/closing mechanism, and stops the purge operation in conjunction with a closing operation of the outlet by the outlet opening/closing mechanism.

4. The water purifying apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the non-electric power opening and closing mechanism is a mechanism that continuously changes the opening degree of the bypass path.

5. A household water purifier comprising the water purifying apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 4.